LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
THIS BOOK
C. HALE SII'E. A. H
THE INDIAN WARS
of PENNSYLVANIA
An Account of the Indian Events, in
Pennsylvania, of The French and Indian
War, Pontiac s War, Lord Dunmore's
War, The Revolutionary War and the
Indian Uprising from 1789 to 1795
Tragedies of the Pennsylvania Frontier
Based Primarily on the Penna. Archives and Colonial Records
By
C. HALE SIPE
of the Pittsburgh and Butler Bars; Member of the His-
torical Society of Pennsylvania; Author of "The
Indian Chiefs of Pennsylvania" and "Mount
Vernon and the Washington Family"
Introduction by
DR. GEORGE P. DONEHOO, Former State
Librarian of Pennsylvania
For Schools, Colleges, Libraries and
Lovers of Informative Literature
THE TELEGRAPH PRESS
HARRISBURG. PA.
1929
Price $5.00, postpaid. Order from C. Hale Sipe, Butler, Pa.
De.r.
Eve
P4561
Copyrighted 1929
By
C. HALE SIPE
Printed in the United States of America
To the Memory of his Sainted Mother,
from Whom he Inherited a Love for
the History of Pennsylvania,
this Book is Reverently
Dedicated by The
Author
Principal Sources Utilized in the
Preparation of this Work
Archives of Pennsylvania.
Colonial Records of Pennsylvania.
Egle's History of Pennsylvania.
Gordon's History of Pennsylvania.
Day's Historical Collections.
Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania.
Pennypacker's Pennsylvania, the Key-
stone.
Loudon's Indian Narratives.
Rupp's County Histories.
Magazines of the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania.
Egle's Notes and Queries.
Miner's History of Wyoming.
Jenkin's Pennsylvania, Colonial and Fed"
eral.
Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution.
On the Frontier with Colonel Antes.
Meginness' Otzinachson.
Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley.
Hassler's Old Westmoreland.
Fisher's Making of Pennsylvania.
McClure's Old Time Notes.
Parkman's Works.
Jones' Juniata Valley.
Hanna's Wilderness Trail.
March's History of Pennsylvania.
Smith's History of Armstrong County.
Veech's Monongahela of Old.
McKnight's Pioneer History of North-
western Pennsylvania.
Conover's Journal of the Military Ex-
pedition of Major-General Sullivan
against the Six Nations of New York
in 1779.
Craig's The Olden Time.
Darlington's Fort Pitt and Letters from
the Frontier.
Darlington's Christopher Gist's Journals.
Hodge's Handbook of American Indians.
Sylvester's Indian Wars of New England.
Hulbert's Historic Highways of America.
Rupp's Early History of Western Penn-
sylvania and the West.
Thwaites' Early Western Travels.
Thwaites' Documentary History of Lord
Dunmore's War.
Walton's Conrad Weiser and the Indian
Policy of Colonial Pennsylvania.
Withers' Chronicles of Border Warfare.
Craig's History of Pittsburgh.
Cort's Henry Bouquet.
Keith's Chronicles of Pennsylvania.
Boucher's History of Westmoreland
County.
Albert's History of Westmoreland County.
Donehoo's Pennsylvania — A History.
DeSchweinitz's Life of David Zeisberger.
Espenshade's Pennsylvania Place Names.
Heckewelder's Works.
Mann's Life of Henry Melchior Muhlen-
berg.
Father Lambing's Works.
Butterfield's Washington- Irvine Corres-
pondence.
Washington's Journal.
Celeron's Journal.
Colden's History of the Five Nations.
Volwiler's George Croghan.
Johnson's Swedish Settlements on the
Delaware.
Loskiel's History of the Mission of the
United Brethren Among the Indians
of North America.
Patterson's History of the Backwoods.
Doddridge's Settlement and Indian Wars
of Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Godcharles' Daily Stories of Pennsyl-
vania.
Sawvel's Logan, the Mingo.
And many others.
INTRODUCTION
IT affords me much pleasure to write these few words of intro-
duction to "The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania," of which I
have read the manuscript.
Mr. Sipe has wisely followed the same scientific method in the
collection of his data for this work which he did in his "Indian
Chiefs of Pennsylvania." As a consequence the two books give a
thoroughly accurate picture of the thrillingly romantic period of
Pennsylvania history from 1755 to 1795, during which the
mountains and the valleys of the frontiers of Pennsylvania were
literally drenched with blood.
For nearly three quarters of a century after the Treaty of
William Penn with the Indians on the Delaware, the settlements
of the European races had spread peacefully westward to the
Blue Mountains. Even though there were occasional rumblings
of a threatening storm, the sky was still clear and peace dwelt
in the far-flung settlements, which stretched westward to the
foothills of the Alleghenies.
The struggle between France and Great Britain for the posses-
sion of the Ohio valley and the consequent effort on the part of
both of these rivals for the friendship of the Indian was the final
cause for the conflict between the Indian and the English settler.
The French had traded with the Delaware and the Shawnee,
but had not taken his lands for settlement. On the other hand,
the English had driven the Delaware from his ancestral habitat
on the river which bears his name to the Susquehanna and then
to the Ohio by his land purchases, just and unjust, and the same
fact applies to the Shawnee. The English had, in their spreading
settlements, taken up Indian lands, until practically nothing was
left of their lands east of the mountain ridges. Even their last
place of refuge on the waters of the Ohio, which they were oc-
cupying by permission of the Iroquois, was sought for by the
"land hungry" English.
This land hunger was, so far as the English were concerned, a
hunger for homes by these people of the British Empire, who had
never known what it was to own lands of their own. It was the
real motive in all of the migrations of these peoples from the
lands across the seas. And yet, it caused as serious consequences
to the Indian as did the Spanish search for gold.
INTRODUCTION
After the defeat of the army of General Edward Braddock by
the French and Indians in 1755, the storm which had been slowly
gathering along the waters of the upper Ohio, broke in all of its
mad fury along the eastern foothills of the Alleghenies and for a
period of forty years it raged with but few slight intermissions.
After the Conspiracy of Pontiac, 1763-4, the scene of action
for the worst Indian wars was shifted west of the Alleghenies.
The Purchase of 1768 opened the lands west of the mountains to
the settlers who poured over the mountain ridges in an ever in-
creasing tide. The occupation of these lands along the Ohio by
the white settlers from Pennsylvania and Virginia met with the
armed opposition of the Indians. As a consequence, there was
the long series of Border Wars, expeditions into the "Indian
country" west of the Ohio, and later the union of the British
with the Indians against all of the settlement? in western Penn-
sylvania. These wars did not end until the final overthrow of
the Indian and British by General Anthony Wayne, at Fallen
Timbers, and the Treaty at Greenville, which resulted, in 1795.
The hardships and sufferings of the pioneer settlers of Pennsyl-
vania during these long, weary years of border wars was, however,
the foundation upon which a new nation was to be builded.
Without the training and the discipline in hardship of those years
the War of the American Revolution, which followed so closely
upon these Indian wars, would have been doomed to failure.
These frontiers-men were trained in the use of the rifle and in the
methods of warfare. The generation of young men, which made
up the very backbone of Washington's army had known nothing
but warfare and strife from their earliest infancy. The war-
whoop of the Indian and the whistle of rifle bullets were the
familiar sounds of childhood.
Germantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Trenton, Saratoga and
Yorktown could not have been without these years of bitter
training, in the making of Morgan's Riflemen, Proctor's Brigade,
the Eighth Pennsylvania, the Thirteenth Virginia and the other
bodies making up the Continental Army from the frontiers of
Pennsylvania.
Not only the enlisted men, but also the great majority of the
most effective officers of the Army of Washington were trained
for war on the frontiers of Pennsylvania. Washington, Wayne,
Mercer, Morgan, Armstrong, Proctor, Burd, Clapham, Shippen,
Brodhead, St. Clair, Irvine, Crawford and Sullivan are but a few
INTRODUCTION
of the graduates of this "West Point" of the frontiers of Penn-
sylvania.
Mr. Sipe in his "Indian Chiefs of Pennsylvania" has given a
critical, and romantic picture of the Indian chiefs who played
such vital parts upon the stage of history during this period. In
the present work, "The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania," he tells
what these chiefs did to make the pioneer history of the frontiers
of Pennsylvania one of the most thrilling chapters in American
history. He fully and accurately covers the events of these
Border Wars, which had so much to do with the Birth of a Nation.
GEORGE P. DONEHOO.
PREFACE
ii^ I '^HE Indian Wars of Pennsylvania" has been written in
X response to the requests of many historians and educators,
not only in Pennsylvania but in other parts of the United States,
who were well pleased with the author's "Indian Chiefs of Penn-
sylvania." Until the appearance of "The Indian Chiefs of Penn-
sylvania," in April, 1927, the author was unknown to the lovers
of the history of the Keystone State; and he believes that the
fine reception given this book was due, in large measure, to the
fact that it was highly endorsed by that eminent authority on
Pennsylvania history. Dr. George P. Donehoo, whose "History
of the Indian Place Names in Pennsylvania" and forthcoming
"History of the Indian Trails of Pennsylvania" should find a
place in the library of every lover of the history of the Penn-
sylvania Indians.
"The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania" is based primarily on the
Pennsylvania Archives and the Pennsylvania Colonial Records.
No effort has been spared to make the book a trustworthy and
authoritative work on the great Indian wars and uprisings which
crimsoned the soil of Pennsylvania with the blood of both the
Indian and the white man during the long period from 1755 to
1795. Throughout the book will be found many references to
the Pennsylvania Archives and the Pennsylvania Colonial Re-
cords and many quotations from these and other trustworthy
sources.
The need for the present volume is apparent. There is no
more thrilling and tragic chapter in American History than the
period of the Indian wars and uprisings in Pennsylvania. Penn-
sylvania suffered more than did any other Colony during this
period. Yet how few are familiar with this important period in
the history of Pennsylvania! And the reason is that historical
writers have not given the Indian wars and uprisings in Pennsyl-
vania the attention that their importance deserves.
We read the history of Greece, of Rome, of England. Why
should we neglect the history of the great race that roamed the
hills and vales of Pennsylvania and left its sounding names on
the Pennsylvania mountains, valleys and streams?
The reader will note that more than one hundred and seventy-
five pages of the present volume deal with the Indian events in
PREFACE
Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War. The author be-
lieves that students of the Revolutionary struggle will appreciate
this fact. Few historians seem to realize how largely the Revolu-
tionary War was fought on the frontiers of Pennsylvania.
Perhaps a few words should be said concerning the plan of
"The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania." The author thought it
well not to have the book begin abruptly with the account of
the first conflict between the Indian and the white man in
Pennsylvania. Hence, the opening chapters are devoted to the
Indian's religion and character; to a view of the Indian tribes
that inhabited Pennsylvania; to a discussion of the Indian
policy of the Swedes on the Delaware and of William Penn;
and to the leading events in the Indian history of Pennsylvania
before the bloody warfare between the two races began. This
plan, the author believes, will enable the reader to make a more
intelligent and satisfactory study of the many years of bloody
conflict between the two races in Pennsylvania. The volume is
thus much more than a history of the Indian wars and uprisings
in the state bearing the name of Penn, the apostle.
C. HALE SIPE.
Butler, Pennsylvania,
February 2, 1929.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE author desires to thank the hundreds of Pennsylvanians
and others who subscribed for "The Indian Wars of Penn-
sylvania" before the manuscript was handed to the printer.
He especially thanks the following persons for substantial sub-
scriptions :
Governor John S. Fisher and State Librarian Frederick A.
Godcharles of Pennsylvania; Prof. John A, Anthony, Pittsburgh,
Penna., Jos. A. Beck, Esq., Pittsburgh, Penna.; G. H. Blakeley,
Bethlehem, Penna.; Hon. Marshall Brown, Pittsburgh, Penna.;
Capt. W. R. Furlong, Washington, D. C.; Earle R. Forrest,
Washington, Penna.; John Gribbel and W. Grififin Gribbel,
Wyncote, Penna.; Jos. F. Guflfey, Pittsburgh, Penna.; Hon.
D. B. Heiner, Kittanning, Penna.; Dr. C. G. Hughes, Pittsburgh,
Penna.; E. H. Hutchison, Harmony, Penna.; Dr. C. E. Imbrie,
Butler, Penna.; Prof. V. K. Irvine, Butler, Penna.; Mrs. Cecelia
R. Jamison, Greensburg, Penna.; Hon. J. W. King, Kittanning,
Penna.; Hon. Richard H. Koch, Pottsville, Penna.; H. K. Landis,
Lancaster, Penna.; J. B. Landis, Butler, Penna.; Rachel R. Lowe,
Pittsburgh, Penna.; Hon. W. Frank Mathues, Philadelphia,
Penna. ; Hon. Geo. W. Maxey, Scranton, Penna. ; W. H. McClane,
Washington, Penna.; Harry A. Neeb, Jr., Pittsburgh, Penna.;
H. R. Pratt, Baltimore, Md.; W. L. Riggs, Esq., McKeesport,
Penna.; A. C. Robinson, Sewickley, Penna.; J. V. Scaife, Pitts-
burgh, Penna.; Samuel Shoemaker, Philadelphia, Penna.; Homer
H. Swaney, Esq., Beaver Falls, Penna.; Vernon F. Taylor,
Indiana, Penna.; Hon. Henry W. Temple, Washington, Penna.;
Hon. Theo. L, Wilson, Clarion, Penna; Henry Wittmer, Pitts-
burgh, Penna.; J. E. Henretta, Kane, Penna.; J. B. Warriner,
Lansford, Penna.; W. M. Laverty, Philadelphia, Penna.; and
M. Wilson Stewart, Esq., Pittsburgh, Penna.
The author is under great obligation to Dr. George P. Donehoo
for his careful reading of the proofs and making many suggestions.
Additional thanks are due State Librarian Frederick A. God-
charles for many courtesies extended the author in the use of
rare volumes in the Pennsylvania State Library. Finally, the
author thanks the many educators and historians in Pennsylvania
and other parts of the United States, who suggested to him the
writing of this specialized history, and he hopes the book will
come up to their expectations.
C. HALE SIPE.
Butler, Pennsylvania,
February 2, 1929.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Captain John Smith's Sketch of a Susquehanna or Cones-
toga Chief 28
Conrad Weiser's Home and Monument 100
Marker Near Grave of Shikellamy 134
Statue to George Washington at Waterford, Pa 148
View of Braddock's Field in 1803 190
Marker at Kittanning 312
Statue of "The White Woman of The Genessee" 380
Monument Marking the Approximate Spot Where Wash-
ington Was Fired Upon, December 27th, 1753 400
Ravine on Battle Field of Bushy Run and Brush Creek
Church 440
Plan of the Battle of Bushy Run 448
A War Poster Used in Western Pennsylvania During the
Revolution 506
Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) 558
Major-General John Sullivan, Brigadier-General Edward
Hand and view of the Genesee River 604
Colonel (later Brevet General) Daniel Brodhead 628
Monument at Grave of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland 684
Monument at Grave of General Arthur St. Clair 698
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I — The Pennsylvania Indians — Their ReHgion and
Character 17
II — The Pennsylvania Indian Tribes 28
III — The Swedes and William Penn 59
IV — Principal Indian Events from 1701 to 1754. ... 82
V — Opening of the French and Indian War 152
VI — General Braddock's Campaign 177
VII — The First Delaware Invasion 203
VIII — Invasion of the Great and Little Coves and the
Conolloways 217
IX — Massacres of November and December, 1755. . 230
X — Massacres Early in 1756 255
XI — Carlisle Council — War Declared 276
XII — Atrocities in the Summer and Autumn of 1756 . . 284
XIII — Destruction of Kittanning 304
XIV— Efforts for Peace in 1756 321
XV— Events of the Year 1757 333
XVI — Post's Peace Missions — Grand Council at
Easton 356
XVII — General Forbes' Expedition against Fort Du-
quesne 387
XVIII— Pontiac's War 407
XIX— Pontiac's War (Continued) 439
XX— Pontiac's War (Continued) 450
XXI— Pontiac's War (Continued) 470
XXII— Lord Dunmore's War 488
XXIII— The Revolutionary War (1775, 1776 and 1777). 506
XXIV— The Revolutionary War (1778) 527
XXV— The Revolutionary War (1779) 573
XXVI— The Revolutionary War (1780) : 607
XXVII— The Revolutionary War (1781) 627
XXVIII— The Revolutionary War (1782-1783) 647
XXIX — The Post- Revolutionary Uprising 685
Appendix 720
Index 762
CHAPTER I
The Pennsylvania Indians — Their
Religion and Character
Go where we may, in Pennsylvania, we are put in remem-
brance of the American Indian by the beautiful names he
gave to the valleys, streams and mountains where he roamed for
untold generations, never dreaming that from afar would come
a stronger race which would plant amid the wilderness the hamlet
and the town and cause cities to rise where the forest waved over
the home of his heart. The Wyoming Valley; the Tuscarora
Valley; the winding Susquehanna; the blue Juniata; the broad
Ohio; the Kittatinny Mountain ; the Allegheny Mountains — these
are but a few of the everlasting reminders of the Pennsylvania
Indians. Until the new heavens arch themselves and until the
new earth comes, our Pennsylvania valleys will lie smiling in the
sunlight, our Pennsylvania streams will go singing to the sea,
and our Pennsylvania mountains will lift their summits to the
sky; and throughout the ages may succeeding generations of
Pennsylvanians realize that the Indian loved these valleys, these
streams, these mountains, with a love as strong as that hallowing
passion which touched the Grecian mountain-pass of Thermo-
pylae more than twenty-four hundred years ago, and has caused
it to glow with never-dying lustre through the long night of
centuries. It was love for the land of his fathers that caused the
Indian to fight to the death for his home and hunting grounds.
A child of nature, the Indian knew not the God of revelation;
but the God of the universe and nature he acknowledged in all
things around him, — the sun, the moon, the stars, the flowers,
the singing birds, the mighty oaks and sighing pines of the forest,
the pleasant valleys, the babbling brooks, the dashing water-falls,
the rushing rivers, the lofty mountains. Reverently he wor-
shipped the Great Spirit, who created him, who governed the
world, who taught the streams to flow and the bird to build her
nest, who caused day and night and the changing seasons, who
18 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
stocked the streams with fish and the forests with game for his
Red Children. To the Great Spirit went up many a pure prayer
from the Indian's dark bosom. He prayed when he went on the
chase; he prayed when he sat down to partake of the fruits of the
chase; he prayed when he went to war. And when he closed his
eyes in death, it was in the firm belief that death was mere
transition to the Happy Hunting Ground, where, with care and
sorrow removed, he would pursue the deer throughout the
endless ages of eternity.
The Testimony of Heckewelder
The Moravian missionary. Rev. John Heckewelder, who
labored for many years among the Delawares of Pennsylvania
and Ohio, beginning his work in 1762, makes the following state-
ments concerning the Indian's religion and character, in his
"Indian Nations", published in 1818:
"The Indian considers himself as being created by an all-
powerful, wise, and benevolent Mannito (Manitou); all that he
possesses, all that he enjoys, he looks upon as given to him or
allotted for his use by the Great Spirit who gave him life. He
therefore believes it to be his duty to adore and worship his
Creator and benefactor; to acknowledge with gratitude his past
favours, thank him for present blessings, and solicit the con-
tinuation of his good will. An old Indian told me, about fifty
years ago, that when he was young, he still followed the custom
of his father and ancestors, in climbing upon a high mountain or
pinnacle, to thank the Great Spirit for all the benefits before
bestowed, and to pray for a continuance of his favor; that they
were sure their prayers were heard, and acceptable to the Great
Spirit, although he did not himself appear unto them.
"They think that he, the Great Spirit, made the earth and all
that it contains for the common good of mankind ; when he stocked
the country that he gave them with plenty of game, it was not
for the benefit of a few, but of all. Every thing was given in
common for the sons of men . . . From this principle, hos-
pitality flows as from its source. With them, it is not a virtue,
but a strict duty. Hence they are never in search of excuses to
avoid giving, but freely supply their neighbour's wants from the
stock prepared for their own use. They give and are hospitable
to all, without exception, and will always share with each other
and often with the stranger, even to their last morsel. They
INDIAN RELIGION AND CHARACTER 19
rather would lie down themselves on an empty stomach, than
have it laid to their charge that they had neglected their duty by
not satisfying the wants of the stranger, the sick or the needy. . .
"They treat each other with civility, and show much affection
on meeting after an absence . . . They are not quarrelsome, and
are always on their guard, so as not to offend each other. They
do not fight with each other; they say that fighting is only for
dogs and beasts. They are, however, fond of play, yet very
careful that they do not offend. They are remarkable for the
particular respect which they pay to old age. In all their
meetings, whether public or private, they pay the greatest
attention to the observations and advice of the aged ; no one will
attempt to contradict them, nor to interfere in any manner or
even to speak, unless he is specially called upon."
Heckewelder says that, while marriages among the Indians
were not contracted for life, it being understood that the parties
were not to live together longer than they should be pleased with
each other, yet both parties, sensible of this understanding, did
every thing in their power to please each other. The husband
built the home, and considered himself bound to support the wife
and family by his exertions as hunter, fisher and trapper, while
the wife took upon herself the labor of planting and raising corn
and other products of the soil. The wife, he says, considered her
labor much lighter than that of the husband, "for they them-
selves say that, while their field labour employs them at most six
weeks in the year, that of the men continues the whole year round.
Neither creeks nor rivers, whether shallow or deep, frozen or free
from ice, must be an obstacle to the hunter, when in pursuit of
a wounded deer, bear, or other animal, as is often the case. Nor
has he then leisure to think on the state of his body, and to con-
sider whether his blood is not too much heated to plunge without
danger into the cold stream, since the game he is in pursuit of is
running off from him with full speed. Many dangerous accidents
often befall him, both as a hunter and a warrior (for he is both),
and are seldom unattended with painful consequences, such as
rheumatism, or comsumption of the lungs, for which the sweat-
house, on which they so much depend, and to which they often
resort for relief, especially after a fatiguing hunt or warlike ex-
pedition, is not always a sure preservative or an effectual remedy."
Heckewelder also says that, if the sick squaw longed for an
article of food, be it what it may or however difficult to procure,
the husband would at once endeavor to get it for her, and that
20 THE^INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
he knew of instances where the husband would go forty or fifty
miles for a mess of cranberries to satisfy his wife's longing.
Speaking of the Indians' cruelty to their enemies, Heckewelder
says:
"The Indians are cruel to their enemies! In some cases they
are, but perhaps not more so than white men have sometimes
shewn themselves. There have been instances of white men
flaying or taking off the skin of Indians who had fallen into their
hands, and then tanning those skins, or cutting them in pieces,
making them up into razor-straps, and exposing those for sale, as
was done at or near Pittsburg, sometime during the Revolutionary
War. Those things are abominations in the eyes of the Indians,
who, indeed, when strongly excited, inflict torments on their
prisoners and put them to death by cruel tortures, but never are
guilty of acts of barbarity in cold blood. Neither do the Dela-
wares, and some other Indian nations, ever, on any account,
disturb the ashes of the dead."
Contrary to the general supposition, the Indian was not cruel
by nature. His cruelty was confined to the times when he was
on the war path; and even then, there is no record of his having
committed a deed as disgusting, revolting and horrible as the
murder of the ninety-six Christian Delawares, at Gnadenhuetten,
Ohio, on the 8th of March, 1782, by Colonel David Williamson
and his band of Scotch-Irish settlers from Washington County,
Pennsylvania.
During the long Indian wars, in Pennsylvania, from 1755 to
1795, hundreds of white persons, captured by the Indians, were
adopted into Indian families, to take the places mostly of war-
riors who had fallen on the field of the slain. These captives, so
adopted, were treated with great kindness, and were looked upon
by the Indians as their own flesh and blood. Many, indeed,
were the instances of captives, recovered by the whites, who later
returned to the forest homes of their Indian friends and adopted
Indian relatives. Heckewelder speaks of the humanity and
delicacy with which the Indians treated female prisoners whom
they intended to adopt. The early Indian never captured
women, white or red, for immoral purposes. (Page 381.)
The fiercest passion in the Indian's wild heart was the love of
revenge, but, on the other hand, he would give his life for the
protection of a friend. There was none more constant and stead-
fast as a friend. He would share his last morsel with the stranger
within his gates. He was the noblest type of primitive man that
ever trod the earth.
INDIAN RELIGION AND CHARACTER 21
Among the children of men there were none who could equal
him in power of endurance and capacity for suffering. He could
travel on foot for days without food. He could be tortured to
death by fire without a groan escaping his lips, and he chanted
his death song with his latest breath.
The Indian's Pride
Says, Heckewelder, speaking of the Delawares or Lenni-Lenape;
"They will not admit that the whites are superior beings. They
say that the hair of their heads, their features, the various colours
of their eyes, evince that they are not like themselves Lenni
Lenape, an Original People, a race of men that has existed un-
changed from the beginning of time; but they are a mixed race,
and therefore a troublesome one. Wherever they may be, the
Great Spirit, knowing the wickedness of their disposition, found
it necessary to give them a great Book, and taught them how to
read it, that they might know and observe what he wished them
to do and to abstain from. But they, the Indians, have no need
of any such book to let them know the will of their Maker; they
find it engraved on their own hearts; they have had sufficient
discernment given to them to distinguish good from evil, and by
following that guide, they are sure not to err.
"It is true, they confess, that when they first saw the whites,
they took them for beings of a superior kind. They did not know
but that they had been sent to them from the abode of the Great
Spirit for some great and important purpose. They therefore
welcomed them, hoping to be made happier by their company.
It was not long, however, before they discovered their mistake,
having found them an ungrateful, insatiable people, who, though
the Indians had given them as much land as was necessary to
raise provisions for themselves and their families, and pasture for
their cattle, wanted still to have more, and at last would not be
contented with less than the whole country. 'And yet,' say those
injured people, 'these white men would always be telling us of
their great Book which God had given to them; they would
persuade us that every man was good who believed in what the
Book said, and every man was bad who did not believe in it.
They told us a great many things, which, they said, were written
in the good Book, and wanted us to believe it all. We would
probably have done so, if we had seen them practise what they
pretended to believe, and act according to the good words which
22 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
they told us. But no! While they held their big Book in one
hand, in the other, they had murderous weapons, guns and swords
wherewith to kill us, poor Indians. Ah! and they did so, too;
they killed those who believed in their Book, as well as those who
did not. They made no distinction!"
Effects of the White Man's Rum and Vices
Having seen that the Indian had many virtues, it is but fair
to add that many of these virtues were broken down by the white
man. We refer particularly to the ruin wrought among the
Indians by the white man's rum and vices. The Indian knew
neither rum nor shameful diseases until his contact with the
white man. Hear Heckewelder:
"So late as about the middle of the last century (the eighteenth
century), the Indians were yet a hardy and healthy people, and
many very aged men and women were seen among them, some of
whom thought they had lived about one hundred years. They
frequently told me and others that, when they were young men,
their people did not marry so early as they did since, that even
at twenty they were called boys, and durst not wear a breech-
clout, as the men did at that time, but had only a small bit of
skin hanging before them. Neither, did they say, were they sub-
ject to so many disorders as in later times, and many of them
calculated on dying of old age. But since that time, a great
change has taken place in the constitution of those Indians who
live nearest to the whites. By the introduction of ardent spirits
among them, they have been led into vices which have brought on
disorders which, they say, were unknown before; their blood be-
came corrupted by a shameful complaint, which, they say, they
had never known or heard of until the Europeans came among
them. Now the Indians are affected with it to a great degree;
children frequently inherit it from their parents, and after
lingering for a few years, at last die victims to this poison. Our
vices have destroyed them more than our swords.
"The general prevalence of drunkenness among the Indians is,
in a great degree, owing to the unprincipled white traders, who
persuade them to become intoxicated that they may cheat them
the more easily, and obtain their lands or pelfries for a mere
trifle. Within the last fifty years, some instances have even come
to my knowledge of white men having enticed Indians to drink,
and when they were drunk, murdered them. The effects which
INDIAN RELIGION AND CHARACTER 23
intoxication produces upon the Indians are dreadful. It has been
the cause of an infinite number of murders among them. I can-
not say how many have died of colds and other disorders, which
they have caught by lying upon the cold ground, and remaining
exposed to the elements, when drunk; others have lingered out
their lives in excruciating rheumatic pains and in wasting con-
sumptions until death came to relieve them of their sufferings.
I once asked an Indian at Pittsburgh, whom I had not seen before,
who he was. He answered in broken English: 'My name is
Blackfish ; when at home with my nation, I am a clever fellow,
and when here, a hog.' He meant that by means of the liquor
which the white people gave him, he was sunk to the level of that
beast."
Heckewelder says that reflecting Indians keenly remarked
"that it was strange that a people who professed themselves
believers in a religion, revealed to them by the Great Spirit him-
self; who say that they have in their houses the Word of God and
his laws and commandments textually written, could think of
making a beson (liquor), calculated to bewitch people and make
them destroy one another."
Heckewelder's observations concerning the English traders are
the sad truth. They took advantage of the Indians' inordinate
appetite for rum; they cheated them out of their skins and furs;
they debauched their women. The Pennsylvania Assembly, in
a letter to Governor Hamilton, February 27th, 1754, character-
ized the traders as "the vilest of our own inhabitants and convicts
imported from Great Britain and Ireland." The traders of other
Colonies, many of whom entered Pennsylvania, were no better
than the Pennsylvania traders. Said Governor Dinwiddie, of
Virginia, in a letter to Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, May
21st, 1753: "The Indian traders, in general, appear to me to be
a set of abandoned wretches." In a word, the English traders,
with few exceptions, were a vile and infamous horde, who, in-
stead of contributing to the betterment of the Indian, corrupted
and debauched him.
Protests Against the Rum Traffic
Rum was the curse of the Red Man, and the leading Indian
chiefs recognized it as such. Hence, from the very beginning of
the rum trafific among the Pennsylvania Indians, we find a series
of protests by their chiefs to the Pennsylvania Authorities. When
24 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Conestoga or Susquehanna chief, Oretyagh, with a number of
other chiefs of the Conestogas and Shawnees, bade farewell to
William Penn, on October 7th, 1701, just a short time before
Penn left his Province never to return, this sachem, in the name
of the rest, told him that the Indians had long suffered from the
ravages of the rum traffic, and Penn informed Oretyagh and
associate chiefs that the Assembly was at that time enacting a
law, according to their desire, to prevent their being abused by
the selling of rum among them. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 2, pages 45-
46.) Penn early saw the degredation which the Indians' un-
quenchable thirst for strong drink wrought among them, and he
did all in his power to remedy this matter. But the law was no
sooner enacted than it was disregarded by the traders. Then, in
the minutes of a council held at Philadelphia, on May 16th, 1704,
we read the last reference to Oretyagh in recorded history, a
protest against the rum traffic, as follows:
"Oretyagh, the chief now of Conestoga, requested him [Nicole
Godin, a trader] to complain to the Governor [John Evans] of
the great quantities of rum continually brought to their town,
insomuch that they [the Conestogas] are ruined by it, having
nothing left, but have laid out all, even their clothes for rum, and
may now, when threatened with war, be surprised by their
enemies, when besides themselves with drink, and so utterly be
destroyed." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 2, page 141.)
The great Shikellamy, the most renowned Indian that ever
lived in Pennsylvania, shortly after taking up his residence on
the Susquehanna, as vice-gerent of the Six Nations over the
Delawares, Shawnees and other Indians in the eastern part of
Pennsylvania, served notice on the Colonial Authorities that, if
the rum traffic among the Indians were not better regulated,
friendly relations between the Six Nations and the Colony of
Pennsylvania would cease.
As we shall see in the next chapter, the Shawnees, who entered
eastern Pennsylvania as early as 1694, began, about 1724 to 1727,
to migrate to the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny. One of the
reasons why they migrated to the western part of the state, was
to escape the ruinous effects of strong liquor. But the trader
with his rum followed them into the forests of their western homes.
Then the Shawnee on the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and
Allegheny took steps, in 1738, to restrain this pernicious traffic.
On March 20th of that year, three of their chiefs in this region,
namely; "Loyporcowah (Opessah's Son), Newcheconneh (Deputy
INDIAN RELIGION AND CHARACTER 25
King), and Coycacolenne, or Coracolenne (Chief Counsellor),"
wrote a letter to Thomas Penn and James Logan, Secretary of
the Provincial Council, in which they acknowledged the receipt
of a present from Penn and Logan of powder, lead, and tobacco,
delivered to them by the trader, George Miranda; in which they
say they have a good understanding with the French, the Five
Nations, the Ottawas, and all the French Indians; that the tract
of land reser\'ed for them by the Proprietory Government on the
west side of the Susquehanna does not suit them at present; and
that they desire to remain in the region of the Allegheny and
Kiskiminetas, make a strong town there, and keep their warriors
from making war upon other nations at a distance. They then
add:
"After we heard your letter read, and all our people being
gathered together, we held a council together, to leave ofif drinking
for the space of four years . . . There was not many of our
traders at home at the time of our council, but our friends, Peter
Chartier and George Miranda; but the proposal of stopping the
rum and all strong liquors was made to the rest in the winter, and
they were all willing. As soon as it was concluded of, all the rum
that was in the towns was staved and spilled, belonging both to
Indians and white people, which in quantity consisted of about
forty gallons, that was thrown in the street; and we have appoint-
ed four men to stave all the rum or strong liquors that is brought
to the towns hereafter, either by Indians or white men, during
the four years." A pledge signed by ninety-eight Shawnees and
the two traders above named accompanied this letter, agreeing
that all rum should be destroyed, and four men appointed in
every town to see that no strong liquor should be brought into
the Shawnee towns for the term of four years. (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 1, pages 549-55L)
Previous to this action on part of Loyparcowah and other
chiefs of the Shawnees, the Delawares at Kittanning made com-
plaints concerning the rum traffic. In 1732, the trader, Edmund
Cartlidge, wrote the Governor from Kittanning that the chiefs
there made reflections on the Government for permitting such
large quantities of rum to be carried to the Allegheny and sold to
the Indians at that place, contrary to law. Also, in 1733, the
Shawnee chiefs in the Allegheny region wrote the Governor re-
questing that he send them an order permitting them "to break
in pieces all kegs of rum so brought yearly and monthly by some
new upstart of a trader without a license, who comes amongst us
26 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and brings nothing but rum, no powder, nor lead, nor clothing,
but takes away with him those skins which the old licensed traders
who bring us everything necessary, ought to have in return for
their goods sold us some years since." Also in 1734, the Shawnee
chiefs at Allegheny wrote the Governor and requested that none
of the licensed traders be allowed to bring them more than thirty
gallons of rum twice in a year, except Peter Chartier, who "trades
further than ye rest."
Also, the able Indian orator and wise counselor, Scarouady,
later successor to Tanacharison, the Half King, protested to the
Pennsylvania Commissioners at the Carlisle Conference of Octo-
ber, 1753, as follows:
"Your traders now bring scarce any thing but Rum and Flour
. . . The Rum ruins us. We beg you would prevent its coming
in such quantities by regulating the traders . . . When these
Whiskey Traders come, they bring thirty or forty Caggs (kegs)
and put them down before Us and make Us drink, and get all the
Skins that should go to pay the Debts We have contracted for
Goods bought of the Fair Traders, and by these means we not
only ruin Ourselves but them too. These wicked Whiskey
Sellers, when they have once got the Indians in Liquor, make
them sell the very Clothes from their Backs. In short, if this
Practice be continued. We must inevitably be ruined. We most
earnestly, therefore, beseech You to remedy it." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 5, page 676.)
The whiskey traders were not checked. They continued their
work unabated, in spite of the solemn protestations of the Indian
chiefs and in spite of the protestations of such good white men as
Conrad Weiser, who, on November 28th, 1747, wrote the Provin-
cial Council of Pennsylvania characterizing the havoc wrought
among the Pennsylvania Indians as "an abomination before
God and man." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 5, page 167.)
The Testimony of Adario
The foregoing statements relate principally to the Pennsylvania
Indians. Let us, at this point, hear the testimony of a great
Indian chief whose tribe did not inhabit Pennsylvania, the brave
and sagacious Huron chief, Adario, who was gathered to his
fathers in 1701. Out of the past comes the voice of Adario:
"As for the maple-water that we drink, 'tis sweet, well tasted,
healthful, and friendly to the stomach, whereas your wine and
INDIAN RELIGION AND CHARACTER 27
brandy destroy the natural heat, pall the stomach, inflame the
blood, intoxicate, and create a thousand disorders. A man in
drink loses his reason before he is aware, or, at least, his reason is
so drowned that he is not capable of distinguishing what he ought
to do." When told that God had sent the Europeans to America
to save the souls of the Indians, this great Huron replied that it
was more likely that God had sent the Europeans to this continent
to learn to be good ; "for", said he, "the innocence of our lives, the
love we tender to our brethren, and the tranquility of mind which
we enjoy in contemplating business to our interest, these, I say,
are the three great things that the Great Spirit requires of all men
in general. We practice all these things in our villages naturally ;
while the Europeans defame, kill, rob, and pull one another to
pieces, in their towns. Your money is the father of luxury,
lasciviousness, intrigues, tricks, lying, treachery, falseness, and,
in a word, all the mischief in the world . . . Consider this and
tell me if we are not right in refusing to finger it, or so much as
look upon the cursed metal, since all these evils caused by it are
unknown to us . . . All our actions are guided by justice,
equity, charity, sincerity and true faith . . . Using bad language
and cursing the Great Spirit were never heard among us."
The Author's Purpose
The author's purpose in writing this chapter and the three
which follow before the wars between the Pennsylvania Indians
and the white man are treated, is to give the reader and student
that background which any fair minded student of the Indian
wars of Pennsylvania should have. As the reader proceeds, he
will find many things that reflect no honor on the whites. But
it is the author's duty to record the wrongs committed upon the
Indian as well as the wrongs committed by him. History must
not hide the truth.
CHAPTER II
The Pennsylvania Indian Tribes
We shall devote this chapter to a brief view of the Indian
tribes that inhabited Pennsylvania within the historic period.
The Susquehannas, Minquas, or Conestogas
THE Susquehannas is the general term applied to the Indians
living on both sides of the Susquehanna River and its
tributaries, in Pennsylvania, at the beginning of the historic
period. Racially and linguistically, they were of Iroquoian stock,
but were never taken into the league of the Iroquois, except as
subjects. These related tribes were known by various names.
Captain John Smith, the Virginia pioneer, who met them while
exploring Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in 1608, called them
the "Susquehannocks." The French called them the Andastes,
while the Dutch and Swedes called them Minquas. In the latter
days of their history as a tribe, they were called the Conestogas.
To Captain John Smith, of the Colony of Virginia, belongs the
distinction of being the first white man to see the Indians of
Pennsylvania, though he never set foot on Pennsylvania soil;
and the Indians meeting him and his companions, beheld for
the first time the race that was coming to drive them from their
streams and hunting grounds. These Indians were the Sus-
quehannas. Smith held a conference with sixty of the Susque-
hannocks, near the head of Chesapeake Bay, about August 1,
1608, as he and twelve companions were making an exploring
expedition. The sixty Susquehannocks had come from one of
their principal towns in what is now Lancaster County, Penn-
sylvania. Smith gives the following interesting description of
these Indians:
"Such great and well proportioned men are seldom seen, for
they seemed like giants to the English, yea, and to their neighbors,
yet seemed of an honest and simple disposition. They were with
much ado restrained from adoring us as gods. These are the
'•*>"•;
/><v
'/"i'-Vl-''' •"■■■•:■'■•■ ■ V !^
:^-^A><_:> b
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH'S SKETCH OF A SUSQUEHANNA OR
CONESTOGA CHIEF.
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 29
strangest people of all these countries, both in language and attire;
for their language it may well become their proportions, sounding
from them as a voice in the vault. Their attire is the skins of
bears and wolves; some have cossacks made of bears' heads and
skins, that a man's head goes through the skin's neck, and the ears
of the bear fastened to his shoulders, the nose and teeth hanging
down his breast, another bear's face split behind him, and at the
end of the nose hung a paw, the half sleeves coming to the elbows
were the necks of bears, and the arms through the mouth with
paws hanging at their noses. One had the head of a wolfe hanging
in a chain for a jewel, his tobacco pipe three quarters of a yard
long, prettily carved with a bird, a deer, or some such device at
the great end, sufficient to beat out one's brains; with bows,
arrows, and clubs, suitable to their greatness. Five of their chief
Werowances came aboard us and crossed the bay in the barge.
The picture of the greatest of them is signified in the map. The
calf of whose leg was three-quarters of a yard about, and all the
rest of his limbs so answerable to that proportion that he seemed
the goodliest man we ever beheld. His hair, the one side was
long, the other shorn close with a ridge over his crown like a
cock's comb. His arrows were five quarters long, headed with
the splinters of a white christall-like stone, in form of a heart,
an inch broad, an inch and a half or more long. These he wore
in a wolf's skin at his back for his quiver, his bow in the one hand
and his club in the other, as is described."
Smith goes on to say that these Susquehannas were scarce
known to Powhatan, the great Virginia chief, but that they were
a powerful tribe living in palisaded towns to defend them from
the Massawomeks, or Iroquois, and having six hundred warriors.
During the ceremonies connected with the visit of this band of
Susquehannas, Smith says that they first sang "a most fearful
song," and then, "with a most strange, furious action and a hellish
voice began an oration." When the oration was ended, they
decorated Smith with a chain of large white beads, and laid
presents of skins and arrows at his feet, meanwhile stroking their
hands about his neck. They told him about their enemies, the
Iroquois, who, they said, lived beyond the mountains far to the
north and received their hatchets and other weapons from the
French in Canada. They implored Smith to remain with them as
their protector, which, of course, he could not do. "We left them
at Tockwogh," he says, "sorrowing for our departure."
Smith's account of the large stature of the Susquehannas has
30 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
been corroborated by subsequent discoveries, when burying
grounds of this tribe, in Lancaster County, were opened and very
large human skeletons found.
The Susquehannas, in the early part of the seventeenth cen-
tury, carried on war with the "River Indians," as the Delawares,
or Lenape then living along the Delaware River, were called. The
Susquehannas were friendly with both the Swedes and the Dutch,
and shortly after the Swedes arrived on the Delaware in 1638, they
sold part of their lands to them. The Swedes equipped these
Indians with guns, and trained their warriors in European tactics.
When the Hurons were being worsted by the Iroquois in 1647, the
Susquehannas offered the friendly Hurons military assistance,
"backed by 1300 warriors in a single palisaded town, who had
been trained by Swedish soldiers." They were also friendly with
the colony of Maryland in the early days of its history, selling
part of their lands to the Marylanders, and receiving military
supplies from them.
The Swedes, during their occupancy of the lower Delaware,
carried on trade with the Susquehannas, the extent of which is
seen in the report of Governor-General John Printz, of New
Sweden, for 1647, in which he states that, because of the conflict
of his colonists with the Dutch, he had suffered a loss of "8,000 or
9,000 beavers which have passed out of our hands" and which,
but for the Dutch, would have been gotten from "the great
traders, the Minquas."
The French explorer, Champlain, says that, in 1615, the Car-
antouannais, as he calls the Susquehannas, had many villages on
the upper part of the Susquehanna, and that their town, Caran-
touan, alone, could muster more than eight hundred warriors.
The exact location of Carantouan has been a matter of much
conjecture, but the weight of authority places it on or near the
top of Spanish Hill, in Athens Township, Bradford County,
Pennsylvania, and within sight of the town of Waverly, New York
In the summer of 1615, Champlain was assisting the Hurons
in their war against the Iroquois, and when he was at the lower
end of Lake Simcoe, making preparations for advance against
the Iroquois town located most likely near the present town of
Fenner, in Madison County, New York, he learned from the
Hurons that there was a certain nation of their allies dwelling
three days journey beyond the Onondagas, who desired to assist
the Hurons in this expedition with five hundred of their warriors.
These allies were none other than that portion of the Susque-
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 31
hannas, living along the Susquehanna River, near the boundary
between the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Accordingly,
Champlain sent his interpreter, Estienne Brule, with twelve
Huron companions, to visit Carantouan, the chief town of the
Susquehannas in that region, for the purpose of hastening the
coming of the five hundred warriors.
Brule and his five hundred allies from Carantouan arrived be-
fore the Onondaga fortress too late to be of any assistance to
Champlain, who had already made two attacks upon the town,
had been wounded twice by the Onondagas, and, despairing of
the arrival of the promised assistance of five hundred warriors,
had already retreated toward Canada several days before the
arrival of Brule and his Indians. Brule then returned with his
five hundred warriors to the town of Carantouan.
Brule spent the autumn and winter of 1615 and 1616 in a tour
of exploration into the very heart of Pennsylvania, visiting the
various clans of the Susquehannas and, some authorities say,
the Eries. He followed the Susquehanna River to its mouth, and
returned to Carantouan. This intrepid Frenchman thus gained,
by actual observation, a knowledge of a large section of the state
and of its primitive inhabitants almost one hundred years before
any other white man set foot within the same region.
Another town of the Susquehannas was the one, later called
Gahontoto, at the mouth of Wyalusing Creek, Bradford County.
The Moravian missionaries, Bishop Commerhoff and David
Zeisberger, visited the site of this town in the summer of 1750.
Another of the towns of the Susquehannas is believed to have
been at the mouth of Sugar Creek, in Bradford County, above the
present town of Towanda. Still another of their towns, this one
fortified, was near the mouth of Octorara Creek, on the east side
of the Susquehanna River, in Maryland, about ten miles south
of the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. One of their
forts was in Manor Township, Lancaster County, near the
Susquehanna River, between Turkey Hill and Blue Rock.
Another was on Wolf Run near Muncy, Lycoming County. The
location of their principal fort was long a matter of dispute, and,
at one time, actual warfare, between the heirs of Lord Baltimore
and the heirs of William Penn, for the reason that the southern
boundary of Penn's colony was supposed to be marked by it.
The weight of authority seems to place its location on the west
side of the Susquehanna River, in York County, Pennsylvania,
opposite Washington Borough.
32 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Iroquois, the mortal enemies of the Susquehannas, at-
tacked them at one of their principal towns, in either York or
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1663, sending down the Sus-
quehanna River, in April of that year, an expedition of eight
hundred Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. On their arrival,
they found the town defended on one side by the river and on the
other by tree trunks; it was fianked by two bastions, constructed
after the European method, and had also several pieces of artillery.
The Iroquois decided not to make an assault, but to attempt to
outwit the Susquehannas by a ruse. Twenty-five Iroquois were
admitted into the fort, but these were seized, placed on high
scafTolds, and burned to death in sight of their comrades. The
humiliated Iroquois now returned to their home in New York.
After this defeat of the Iroquois, the war was carried on by
small parties, and now and then a Susquehanna was captured
and carried to the villages of the Iroquois, and tortured to death.
In 1669, the Susquehannas defeated the Cayugas, and offered
peace; but their ambassador was put to death, and the war went
on. At this time, the Susquehannas had a great chief named
Hochitqgete, or Barefoot; and the medicine men of the Iroquois
assured the warriors of the confederacy that, if they would make
another attack on the Susquehannas, their efforts would be re-
warded by the capture of Barefoot and his execution at the stake.
So, in the summer of 1672, a band of forty Cayugas descended
the Susquehanna in canoes, and twenty Senecas marched over-
land to attack the enemy in the fields; but a band of sixty Sus-
quehanna boys, none over sixteen, routed the Senecas, killing one
and capturing another. The band of youthful warriors then
pressed on against the Cayugas, and defeated them, killing eight
and wounding fifteen or sixteen more, but losing half of their own
gallant band. At this time, it is said, the Susquehannas were
so reduced by war and pestilence that their fighting force con-
sisted of only three hundred warriors.
Finally, in 1675, according to the Jesuit Relation and Colden
in his "History of the Five Nations", the Susquehannas fell be-
fore the arms of the Iroquois; but the details of the defeat are
sadly lacking. It seems that the Iroquois, about this time, had
driven them down upon the tribes of the South who were then
allies of the English, and that this involved them in war with
Maryland and Virginia. Finding themselves surrounded by
enemies on all sides, a portion of the Susquehannas left the land
of their forefathers and the beautiful river bearing their name.
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 33
and took up their abode in the western part of Maryland, near
the Piscataways.
In the summer of 1675, a white man was murdered by some
Indians, most probably Senecas, on the Virginia side of the
Potomac; whereupon, a party of Virginia militia killed fourteen
of the Susquehannocks and Doeg Indians in retaliation. Shortly
afterwards several other whites were murdered on both sides of
the Potomac. The colony of Virginia then organized several
companies, led by Colonel John Washington, great-grandfather
of George Washington, to co-operate with a Maryland force of
two hundred and fifty troops, led by Major Thomas Truman.
The Susquehannocks claimed that they were entirely innocent of
any of these murders and sent four of their chiefs as an embassy
to Major Truman, who were knocked on the head by his soldiers.
This so enraged the Susquehannocks that a long border warfare
ensued which was kept up until they became lost to history.
Another portion of the Susquehannocks remained near their
old home at Conestoga, Lancaster County, where they were later
joined by a third portion which had been taken by the Iroquois to
the Oneida country in New York, and there retained until they
lost their language, when they were permitted to join their
brethren at Conestoga. Here William Penn and his son, William,
visited the Conestogas during his last stay in his province in 1701.
Here, also, the Conestogas lived until the descendants of this
remnant of a once powerful tribe were killed in December, 1763,
by a band of Scotch-Irish settlers from Donegal and Paxtang, —
the last melancholy chapter in the history of the Susquehannas,
or Conestogas. Conestoga, for generations the central seat of
this tribe in the lower Susquehanna region, was about four miles
southwest of Millersville, Lancaster County. A monument
marks the site of this historic Indian town. It was erected in
1924 by the Lancaster County Historical Society and the Penn-
sylvania Historical Commission.
The Delawares or Lenape
At the dawn of the historic period of Pennsylvania, we find
the basin of the Delaware River inhabited by an Indian tribe
called the Delawares, or Lenape. The English called them Dela-
wares from the fact that, upon their arrival in this region, they
found the council-fires of this tribe on the banks of the Delaware
River. The French called them Loups, "wolves", a term probably
34 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
first applied to the Mohicans, a kindred tribe, on the Hudson
River in New York. However, in their own language, they were
called Lenape, or Lenni-Lenape, meaning "real men", or "original
men."
The Lenape belonged to the great Algonquin family — by far
the greatest Indian family in North America, measured by the
extent of territory occupied. This family surrounded on all sides
the Iroquoian family, of which we shall hereafter speak, and
extended from Labrador westward through Canada to the Rocky
Mountains and southward to South Carolina. It also extended
westward through the Mississippi Valley to the RockyMountains.
The most important tribes of this family were the Mohican,
Massachuset, Miami, Sac and Fox, Ojibwa, Blackfoot, Illinois,
Shawnee, and Lenape; and among the great personages of the
Algonquins were King Philip, Pocahontas, Pontiac, Tecumseh,
and Tamenend, the last of whom made the historic treaty with
William Penn described in Chapter III.
Traditional History of the Lenape
The early traditional history of the Lenape is contained in
their national legend, the Walum Olum. According to this sacred
tribal history, the Lenape, in long ages past, lived in the vast
region west of the Mississippi. For some reason not known, they
left their western home, and, after many years of wandering east-
ward, reached the Namaesi Sipu, or Mississippi, where they fell
in with the Mengwe, or Iroquois, who had likewise emigrated
from the distant West in search of a new home, and had arrived
at this river at a point somewhat higher up. The spies sent for-
ward by the Lenape for the purpose of reconnoitering, had dis-
covered, before the arrival of the main body, that the region east
of the Mississippi was inhabited by a powerful nation called the
Talligewi, or Alligewi, whose domain reached eastward to the
Allegheny Mountains, which together with the beautiful Alle-
gheny River, are named for this ancient race. The Alligewi had
many large towns on the rivers of the Mississippi and Ohio
valleys, and had built innumerable mounds, fortifications and
intrenchments, hundreds of which still remain, and are called the
works of the "Mound Builders". Says Schoolcraft: "The banks
of the Allegheny were, in ancient times, occupied by an important
tribe, now unknown, who preceded the Delawares and Iroquois.
They were called Alleghans (Alligewi) by Colden." It is related
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 35
that the Alligewi were tall and stout, and that there were giants
among them.
When the Lenape arrived at the Mississippi, they sent a mes-
sage to the Alligewi requesting that they be permitted to settle
among them. This request was refused, but the Lenape obtained
permission to pass through the territory of the Alligewi and seek
a settlement farther to the eastward. They accordingly began
to cross the Mississippi; but the Alligewi, seeing that their num-
bers were vastly greater than they had supposed, made a furious
attack upon those who had crossed, and threatened the whole
tribe with destruction, if they dared to persist in crossing to the
eastern side of the river.
Angered by the treachery of the Alligewi and not being pre-
pared for conflict, the Lenape consulted together as to whether
they should make a trial of strength, and were convinced that the
enemy were too powerful for them. Then the Mengwe, who had
hitherto been spectators from a distance, offered to join the
Lenape, on condition that, after conquering the Alligewi, they
should be entitled to share in the fruits of the conquest.
Having united their forces, the Lenape and the Mengwe de-
clared war against the Alligewi, and started on their onward
march eastward across the continent, gradually driving out the
Alligewi, who fled down the Mississippi Valley never to return.
This conquest lasted many years, during which the Lenape lost
great numbers of their best warriors, while the Mengwe would
always lag back in the rear leaving them to bear the brunt of
battle. At the end, the conquerors divided the possessions of the
defeated race; the Mengwe taking the country in the vicinity of
the Great Lakes and their tributary streams, and the Lenape tak-
ing the land to the south. There has been much conjecture as to
who the ancient Alligewi were, some historians believing them to
have been the "Mound Builders," but most modern authorities
believe them to have been identical with the Cherokees.
For a long period, possibly many centuries, according to the
Walum Olum, the Mengwe and Lenape resided peacefully in this
country, and increased rapidly in population. Some of their
hunters and warriors crossed the Allegheny Mountains, and, arriv-
ing at the streams flowing eastward, followed them to the Sus-
quehanna River, and this stream to the ocean. Other enterprising
pathfinders penetrated the wilderness to the Delaware River, and
exploring still eastward, arrived at the Hudson. Some of these
36 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
explorers returned to their nation and reported the discoveries
they had made, describing the country as abounding in game and
the streams as having an abundance of water-fowl and fish, with
no enemy to be dreaded.
The Lenape considered these discoveries as fortunate for them,
and believed the newly found region to be the country destined
for them by the Great Spirit as their permanent abode. Con-
sequently they began to migrate thither, settling on the four
great rivers, — the Susquehanna, the Potomac, the Delaware,
and the Hudson. The Walum Olum states, however, that not
all of the Lenape reached the eastern part of the United States,
many of them having remained behind to assist a great body of
their people who had not crossed the Mississippi, but had retreated
into the interior of the country on the other side, on being in-
formed of the treacherous attack of the Alligewi upon those who
had attempted to cross this stream. It is further stated that
another part of the Lenape remained near the eastern bank of
the Mississippi.
According to this traditional history, therefore, the Lenape
nation finally became divided into three separate bodies; the part
that had not crossed the Mississippi; the part that remained near
the eastern bank of the Mississippi ; and the part that settled on
the four great eastern rivers above named.
That branch of the Delawares which settled in the eastern part
of the country divided into three divisions, or clans, — the Munsee,
(later corrupted to Monsey), the Unami, and the Unalachitgo.
These were called the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Turkey clans re-
spectively, from their respective animal types of totems. With
these creatures which they had adopted as their symbols, they
believed themselves connected by a mystic and powerful tie.
The Munsee (Wolf Clan), at the dawn of the historic period,
were living in the mountain country, from about the mouth of the
Lehigh River northward into New York and New Jersey, em-
bracing the territory between the Blue or Kittatinny Mountains
and the sources of the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. A
part of the tribe, also, dwelt on the Susquehanna, and still another
part had a village and peach orchard near Nazareth in North-
ampton County, in the triangle between the Delaware and Lehigh.
However, their chief village was Minisink, in Sussex County,
New Jersey. The Munsee were the most warlike of the Dela-
wares; they took a prominent part in the Indian wars of Colonial
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 37
Pennsylvania. Being defrauded out of their lands by the noto-
rious "Walking Purchase" of 1737, which obliged them to move,
first to the Susquehanna and then to the Ohio, they became the
bitter enemies of the white man, and drenched the frontier settle-
ments with the blood of the pioneers. The Munsee have fre-
quently been considered a separate tribe, inasmuch as they
diflFered greatly from the other clans of the Lenape, and spoke a
different dialect.
The Unami (Turtle Clan), "down river people," at the open-
ing of the historic period dwelt on both sides of the Delaware from
the mouth of the Lehigh to the line dividing the states of Pennsyl-
vania and Delaware. Their chief village was Shackamaxon,
which was probably the capital of the Lenape nation, and it stood
on about the site of Germantown, a suburb of Philadelphia. The
principal chief of the Unami was the "King" of the united Lenape
nation, by immemorial custom presiding at all the councils of
the tribe.
The Unalachtigo (Turkey Clan) "people living near the sea,"
at the opening of the historic period, occupied the land on the
lower reach of the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. Their
villages were on both sides of the river; and their chief village, or
capital of the clan, was Chikoki, on the site of Burlington, New
Jersey.
From these three clans, or tribes, comprising the great body of
the Delawares, have sprung many others, who, for their own
convenience, chose distant parts in which to settle. Among these
were the Mahicans, or Mohicans, who by intermarriage became
a detached body, and crossing the Hudson River, dwelt in eastern
New York and western Connecticut; and the Nanticokes, who
had proceeded to the South, and settled in Maryland and Virginia.
It is to be noted, too, that the Delawares, by reason of priority
of political rank and of occupying the central home territory from
which the kindred tribes had diverged, were assigned special dig-
nity and authority. It is said that forty tribes looked up to them
with respect, and that, in the great councils of the Algonquins,
they took first place as "grandfathers" of the race, while others
were called by them ' 'children , " ' 'grandchildren , ' ' and "nephews. ' '
It is not certain that this precedence of the Delawares had any
importance within the period of white settlement, but it no doubt
had in the far dim past. And it seems true that the Algonquin
tribes refrained from war with one another.
38 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Iroquois Form a Great Confederation
and Subjugate the Lenape
It will be remembered that, when the Lenape, or Delawares,
and the Mengwe, or Iroquois, divided the country of the Alligewi
between them, the Mengwe took the part in the vicinity of the
Great Lakes and their tributary streams, north of the part taken
by the Lenape. The Mengwe later proceeded farther and settled
below the Great Lakes and along the St. Lawrence River, so that
when the Lenape had moved to the eastern part of the United
States, the Mengwe became their northern neighbors. The
Mengwe now became jealous of the growing power of the Lenape,
and finally assumed dominion over them.
To the Moravian Missionary, Rev. John Heckewelder, who
had lived among the Delawares for more than thirty years, they
related how this dominion came about. The great chiefs of the
Delawares stated to Heckewelder that the Mengwe clandestinely
sought to start quarrels between the Lenape and distant tribes,
hoping thus to break the might of the Lenape. Each nation had
a particular mark on its war clubs, different from that of any
other nation. So the Mengwe, having stolen into the Cherokee
country and secretly murdered a Cherokee and left beside the
victim a war club, such as the Lenape used, the Cherokees natur-
ally concluded that the Lenape committed the murder, and fell
suddenly upon them, and a long and bloody war ensued between
the two nations. The treachery of the Mengwe having been at
length discovered, the Lenape resolved upon the extermination of
this deceitful tribe. War was declared against the Mengwe, and
carried on with vigor, when the Mengwe, finding that they were
no match for the powerful Lenape and their kindred tribes, re-
solved upon uniting their clans into a confederacy. Up until this
time, each tribe of the Mengwe had acted independently of the
others, and they had not been inclined to come under any supreme
authority. Accordingly, about the year 1570, the Mengwe formed
the great confederacy of their five kindred tribes, the Mohawks,
the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas, known
as the Five (later Six) Nations.
Thus the Delawares claimed that the Iroquois Confederacy
was formed for the purpose of preventing the extermination of
the Mengwe by the Lenape. Other authorities say that the pur-
pose was to end inter-tribal feud and war among the Mengwe,
themselves; to enable the allied tribes to make mutual offense and
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 39
defense, and to advance their general welfare. Thannawage, it is
claimed, was the aged Mohawk chief who first proposed the
alliance. Other authorities say that Dekanawida, the Iroquois
statesman, prophet and law giver, planned and formed the historic
confederation; and that he was assisted in this work by his
disciple and co-adjutor, Hiawatha, whose name has been im-
mortalized by the poet, Longfellow, in his charming poem. It is
to be noted, however, that, while in "Hiawatha", Longfellow
gave the English language one of its finest poems ; yet, due to his
adopting the error of Schoolcraft in applying to Hiawatha the
myths and legends relating to the Chippewa deity, Manabozho,
this poem does not contain a single fact or fiction relating to the
great chieftain of the Iroquois.
The following chiefs, also, assisted in forming the confederacy:
Toganawita, representing the Onondagas; Togahayon, represent-
ing the Cayugas; and Ganiatario and Satagaruyes, representing
the Senecas. This confederacy is known in history as the Five
Nations, until the Tuscaroras, a tribe having been expelled from
North Carolina and Virginia in 1712 or 1713, and having sought
an asylum among the Iroquois of Pennsylvania and New York,
were formally admitted to the alliance in 1722, after which time
the confederacy is known as the Six Nations. The French gave
the Indians of the confederacy the name of Iroquois, while the
Delawares continued to call them Mengwe, later corrupted to
Mingo. The Mohicans and the Dutch called them Maquas, while
Powhatan called them Massawomekes.
But, to resume the story which the Delawares told Hecke-
welder. They said that, after the forming of the confederacy,
very bloody wars were carried on between the Iroquois and them-
selves in which they were generally successful, and while these
wars were in progress, the French landed in Canada and com-
bined against the Iroquois, inasmuch as the Five Nations were
not willing that these Europeans should establish themselves in
that country. At last the Mengwe, or Iroquois, seeing them-
selves between two fires, and not seeing any prospect of conquer-
ing the Lenape by arms, resorted to a stratagem to secure do-
minion over them.
The plan was to persuade the Lenape to abstain from the use
of arms, and to assume the station of mediators and umpires
among their warlike neighbors. In the language of the Indians,
the Lenape were to be made "women." As explaining the signifi-
cance of this expression, the Delawares said that wars among the
40 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Indians in those days were never brought to an end, but by the
interference of the weaker sex. It was not considered becoming
for a warrior to ask for peace. He must fight to the end. "With
these dispositions, war would never have ceased among Indians,
until the extermination of one or the other party, if the tender and
compassionate sex had not come forward, and by their moving
speeches, persuaded the enraged combatants to bury their
hatchets, and make peace. On these occasions they were very
eloquent . . . They would describe the sorrows of widowed
wives, and, above all, of bereaved mothers. The pangs of child-
birth, they had willingly suffered. They had carefully reared
their sons to manhood. Then how cruel it was to see these
promising youths fall victims to the rage of war, — to see them
slaughtered on the field, or burned at the stake. The thought of
such scenes made them curse their own existence and shudder
at the thought of bearing children." Speeches like these generally
had the desired effect, and the women, by the honorable function
of peace-makers, held a very dignified position. Therefore, it
would be a magnanimous and honorable act for a powerful nation
like the Lenape to assume that station by which they would be
the means of saving the Indian race from extinction.
Such, according to Heckewelder, were the arguments used by
the artful Iroquois to ensnare the Lenape. Unfortunately the
Delawares listened to the voice of their enemies, and consented
to become the "woman nation" among the Indians. With elab-
orate ceremonies, they were installed in their new function.
Eloquent speeches were made, accompanied with belts of wam-
pum. The place of the ceremony of "taking the hatchet out of
the hand of the Lenape" and of placing them in the situation of
"the woman" was at Nordman's Kill, about four miles south of
Albany, New York. The year of the alleged occurrence is un-
known, but it is said to have been somewhere between 1609 and
1620. Both the Delawares and the Mohicans told Heckewelder
that the Dutch were present at this ceremony and had no incon-
siderable part in the intrigue, the Mohicans explaining that it
was fear that caused the Dutch of New York to conspire with the
Mengwe against the Lenape. It appears that, at the place where
the Dutch were then making their settlement, great bodies of
warriors would pass and repass, interrupting their undertakings;
so that they thought it well to have an alliance with the Iroquois.
Furthermore, the Delawares told Heckewelder that, when the
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 41
English took New York from the Dutch, they stepped into the
same alHance with the Iroquois that their predecessors had made.
The Iroquois denied that such an intrigue as related above ever
took place. They alleged, on the other hand, that they had
conquered the Lenape in battle and had thus compelled them to
become "women,"— to submit to the greatest humiliation a
spirited and warlike nation can suffer. Many historians believe
that the Delawares imposed upon the venerable Rev. Hecke-
welder by inventing a cunning tale in explanation of the humilia-
tion under which they were smarting. Also, President William
Henry Harrison, in his "Aborigines of the Ohio Valley", gives the
story of the Delawares little credence. He says that the Dela-
wares were too sagacious a race to fall into such a snare as they
allege the Iroquois laid for them. Rev. Heckewelder, the staunch
friend of the Delawares, calls attention to the fact that, while the
Iroquois claim they conquered the Delawares by force of arms
and not by stratagem, yet the Iroquois have no tradition among
them of the particulars of the conquest.
So much for the story which the Delawares told Heckewelder.
Many authorities state, however, that the time of the subjugation
of the Delawares was much later than the date given Heckewelder.
Some have stated that the Delawares were not made tributaries
of the Iroquois until after the coming of William Penn; but the
celebrated Delaware chief, King Beaver, told Conrad Weiser at
Aughwick on September 4, 1754, that the subjugation took place
before Penn's arrival. It has been contended that, when the
Iroquois finally conquered the Susquehannas, in 1675, the
Delawares were allies of the Susquehannas, and that therefore
the overcoming of the Susquehannas included the subjugation of
the Delawares. At the first extended conference between the
Pennsylvania Authorities and the Indians, of which a record has
been preserved, held at Philadelphia on July 6, 1694, the Dela-
ware chief, Hithquoquean, or Idquoquequoan, advised the
Colonial Authorities that he and his associate chiefs had shortly
before this time received a message from the Onondagas and
Senecas containing the following statement: "You Delaware
Indians do nothing but stay at home and boil your pots, and are
like women ; while we Onondagas and Senecas go ahead and fight
the enemy." We, therefore, conclude that it cannot be stated
with exactness, just when the subjugation of the Delawares took
place; and, inasmuch as there is no record of any conquest after
42 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the time of Penn's arrival, it may be that the subjugation took
place through fear and intimidation rather than by war.
Whatever may be the facts as to how the Iroquois reduced the
Delawares to a state of vassalage — whether by artifice, intimida-
tion, or warfare — the fact remains that about the year 1720, this
powerful northern confederacy assumed active dominion over
them, forbidding them to make war or sales of lands, — a condition
that existed until the time of the French and Indian War. During
the summer of 1755, the Delawares declared that they were no
longer subjects of the Six Nations, and, at Tioga, in the year 1756,
their great chieftain, Teedyuscung, extorted from the chiefs of
the Iroquois an acknowledgment of Delaware independence.
However, from time to time, after 1756, the Iroquois persisted in
claiming the Delawares were their vassals, until shortly before
the treaty of Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, in August, 1795,
when they formally declared the Delaware nation to be no
longer "women," but MEN.
Westward Migration of the Delawares
As early as 1724, Delawares of the Turtle and Turkey clans
began, by permission of the Six Nations, to migrate from the
region near the Forks of the Susquehanna to the valleys of the
Allegheny and Ohio, coming chiefly from the country to the east
and southeast of Shamokin (Sunbury). They proceeded up the
east side of the West Branch of the Susquehanna as far as Lock
Haven, where they crossed this stream, and ascended the valley
of Bald Eagle Creek to a point near where Milesburg, Center
County, now stands. From there, they went in a westerly direc-
tion along Marsh Creek, over or near Indian Grave Hill, near
Snowshoe and Moshanon, Center County, crossing Moshanon
Creek; and from there through Morris, Graham, Bradford, and
Lawrence Townships, Clearfield County, reaching the West
Branch of the Susquehanna again at Chinklacamoose on the
site of the present town of Clearfield, Clearfield County. From
this point, they ascended the West Branch of the Susquehanna
for a few miles; thence up Anderson's Creek, crossing the divide
between this stream and the Mahoning, in Brady Township,
Clearfield County; thence down the Mahoning Valley through
Punxsutawney, Jefferson County, to a point on the Allegheny
River, about ten miles below the mouth of the Mahoning, where
they built their first town in the course of their westward migra-
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 43
tion, which they called Kittanning, — a town famous in the Indian
annals of Pennsylvania. Other Delaware towns were soon
established in the Allegheny Valley and other places in the western
part of the state to which the migration continued until the out-
break of the French and Indian War. The "Walking Purchase"
of 1737 caused the westward migration of the Delawares of the
Wolf clan. Thus it is seen that the Delawares retraced their steps
across Pennsylvania. By the outbreak of the Revolutionary
War, nearly all the Delawares had been pressed westward into
Ohio.
Domain of the Iroquois
When the historic period of Pennsylvania begins, we find the
domain of the Five Nations extending from the borders of Ver-
mont to Lake Erie, and from Lake Ontario to the headwaters of
the Delaware, Susquehanna, and Allegheny. This territory they
called their "long house." The Senecas, who lived on the head-
waters of the Allegheny, and many of whose settlements were
in Pennsylvania, guarded the western door of the house, the
Mohawks, the eastern, and the Cayugas, the southern, or that
which opened on the Susquehanna.
The principal village and capital of these "Romans of Ameri-
ca," as DeWitt Clinton called them, was called Onondaga, later
Onondaga Castle, and was situated from before 1654 to 1681, on
Indian Hill, in the present town of Pompey, near Onondaga Lake,
in central New York. In 1677 it contained 140 cabins. After-
ward it was removed to Butternut Creek, where the castle was
burned in 1696, in the war between the Five Nations and the
French. In 1 720, it was again removed to Onondaga Creek, a few
miles south of Lake Onondaga.
The Smithsonian Institution, in its "Handbook of American
Indians," says the following of the Iroquois: "Around the Great
Council Fire of the League of the Iroquois at Onondaga, with
punctilious observance of the parliamentary proprieties recog-
nized in Indian diplomacy and statescraft, and with a decorum
that would add grace to many legislative assemblies of the white
man, the federal senators of the Iroquois tribes devised plans,
formulated policies, and defined principles of government and
political action, which not only strengthened their state and
promoted their common welfare, but also deeply affected the
contemporary history of the whites in North America. To this
body of half-clad federal chieftains were repeatedly made over-
44 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
tures of peace and friendship by two of the most powerful king-
doms of Europe, whose statesmen often awaited with apprehen-
sion the decisions of this senate of North American Savages." And
Colden in his "History of the Five Nations," says: "The Five
Nations are a poor and, generally called barbarious people; and
yet a bright and noble genius shines through these black clouds.
None of the greatest Roman heroes discovered a greater love to
their country, or a greater contempt of death, than these people
called barbarians have done, when liberty came in competition
. . . They carried their arms as far southward as Carolina, to
the northward of New England, and as far west as the River
Mississippi, over a vast country, which extends twelve hundred
miles in length, and about six hundred miles in breadth; where
they entirely destroyed many nations, of whom there are now no
accounts remaining among the English . , . Their great men,
both Sachems and Captains, are generally poorer than the com-
mon people; for they affect to give away and distribute all the
presents and plunder they get in their treaties or in war, so as to
leave nothing to themselves . . . There is not the least salary or
any sort of profit annexed to any office, to tempt the covetous or
sordid; but, on the contrary, every unworthy action is unavoid-
ably attended with the forfeiture of their commission; for their
authority is only the esteem of the people, and ceases the moment
that esteem is lost."
Says Governor DeWitt Clinton in his discourse on the Iroquois:
"All their proceedings were conducted with great deliberation,
and were distinguished for order, decorum and solemnity. In
eloquence, in dignity, and in all the characteristics of profound
policy, they surpassed an assembly of feudal barons, and were
perhaps not far inferior to the great Amphyctionic Council of
Greece."
So great was the scourge of the Iroquois that, during the clos-
ing decades of the seventeenth century and the first two decades
of the eighteenth century, the region south of Lake Erie on both
sides of the upper Ohio and Allegheny contained practically no
Indian population; and the Iroquois looked upon this vast terri-
tory as their great hunting ground.
(Speaking of the warfare of the Iroquois, DeWitt Clinton said:
"They reduced war to a science, and all their movements were
directed by system and policy. They never attacked a hostile
country until they had sent out spies to explore and designate its
vulnerable points, and when they encamped, they observed the
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 45
greatest circumspection to guard against spies. Whatever supe-
riority of force they might have, they never neglected the use of
stratagem, employing all the crafty wiles of the Carthagenians."
The Iroquois commenced their conquests of all the tribes to the
south and west of them, soon after these "Romans of America"
acquired firearms from the Dutch on the Hudson River. Tribes
that were not utterly destroyed or absorbed by them, were held
in subjugation and ruled by Iroquois deputies or vice-gerents.
The greatest of these vice-gerents was the renowned Shikellamy,
who, in 1727 or 1728, was sent by the Great Council at Onondaga
to rule over the Delawares, Shawnees and other tribes in the
valley of the Susquehanna, taking up his residence first near
Milton and later at Shamokin (Sunbury), Pennsylvania. Two
other vice-gerents sent by the Iroquois to rule over subjugated
tribes in Pennsylvania were Tanacharison, the Half King, and
Scarouady, his successor. The former ruled over the Delawares
and Mohicans of the Ohio Valley, with his residence at Logstown,
on the north bank of the Ohio, about eighteen miles below Pitts-
burgh ; and the latter ruled over the Shawnees of the Ohio Valley,
with his residence also at Logstown. Tanacharison and Scarou-
ady took up their duties as vice-regents in the year 1747. As we
shall see, the Iroquois Confederation played an important part
in the Indian history of Pennsylvania.
The Shawnees
The Shawnees, too, occupied parts of Pennsylvania during
the historic period. The name means "Southerners." They were
a branch of the Algonquin family, and are believed to have lived
in the Ohio Valley in remote ages, and to have built many of the
mounds and earthworks found there. Some have attempted to
identify them with the Eries of the early Jesuits, the Massawo-
mecks of Smith, and the Andaste, but without success. The tra-
ditional history of the Lenape, the Walum Olum, connects them,
the Lenape, and Nanticokes as one people, the separation having
taken place after the Alligewi, (Cherokees) were driven from the
Ohio Valley by the Lenape and the Mengwe (Iroquois) on their
onward march eastward across the continent. Then the Shaw-
nees went south. Their real history begins in 1669-70, when they
were living in two bodies a great distance apart, — one body being
in South Carolina and the other in the Cumberland basin in Ten-
nessee. Between these two bodies were the then friendly Chero-
46 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
kees, who claimed the land vacated by the Shawnees when the
latter subsequently migrated to the North. The Shawnees living
in South Carolina were called Savannahs by the early settlers.
As we shall see, later in this chapter, the Iroquois destroyed the
Eries about 1655 or 1656. Shortly thereafter, these northern
conquerors began a conquest of the Shawnees, which, according
to Charlevoix, they completed in 1672.
On account, probably, of dissatisfaction with the early settlers,
the Shawnees of South Carolina began a general movement to the
north in 1690, and continued it at intervals for thirty years. The
first reference to this tribe to be found in the Provincial records of
Pennsylvania is probably a deposition made before the Provincial
Council, December 19, 1693, by Polycarpus Rose. In this deposi-
tion there is a reference to "strange Indians" called "Shallna-
rooners." These strange Indians appear to have made a tempo-
rary stop in Chester County in migrating possibly from Maryland
to the Forks of the Delaware or to Pequea Creek. Many authori-
ties believe these "strange Indians" mentioned in the affidavit of
Polycarpus Rose to have been Shawnees. This is conjecture.
But, leaving the realm of conjecture and entering the realm
of historical truth, we find that the first Shawnees to enter Penn-
sylvania were a party who settled on the Delaware at Pecho-
quealin near the Water Gap, in the summer of 1694, or shortly
thereafter. These came from the Shawnee villages on the lower
Ohio. Arnold Viele, a Dutch trader, from Albany, New York,
spent the winter of 1692-1693 with the Shawnees on the lower
Ohio, returning in the summer of 1694, and bringing with him a
number of this tribe who settled at Pechoquealin. Pechoquealin
was a regional name whose center seems to have been the mouth
of Shawnee Run in Lower Smithfield Township, Monroe County,
and which included the surrounding territory on both sides of
the Delaware, above the Delaware Water Gap. Viele was
probably the first white man to explore the region between the
valleys of the Susquehanna and the Ohio.
About four years later, or in 1697 or 1698, about seventy
families of Shawnees came from Cecil County, Maryland, and
settled on the Susquehanna River, near the Conestoga Indians,
in Lancaster County. Probably at about the same time others
migrated to the Ohio Valley. At the mouth of Pequea Creek,
Lancaster County, the seventy families come from Maryland,
built their village, also called Pequea. Their chief was Wapatha,
or Opessah. They secured permission from the Colonial Govern-
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 47
ment to reside near the Conestogas, and the latter became security
for their good behavior, under the authority of the Iroquois Con-
federation. By invitation of the Delawares, a party of seven
hundred Shawnees came soon after and settled with the Munsee
Clan on the Delaware River, the main body taking up their abode
at the mouth of the Lehigh, near Easton, while others went as far
south as the mouth of the Schuylkill. Those who had settled on
the Delaware afterwards removed to the Wyoming Valley near
the present town of Plymouth, Luzerne County, on a broad plain
still called Shawnee Flats. This band under Kakowatcheky re-
moved from Pechoquealin to the Wyoming Valley in 1728; and it
is probable that they were joined there by those who had settled
at Pequea, which was abandoned about 1730.
The Shawnees also had a village on the flats at the mouth of
Fishing Creek, near Bloomsburg, and another at Catawissa, —
both being in Columbia County. They had other villages in the
eastern part of the state on the Swatara, Paxtang, Susquehanna,
and Delaware. Several villages were scattered along the west side
of the Susquehanna, between the mouth of Yellow Breeches Creek
and the Conodoguinet, in Cumberland County. Another of their
villages, called Chenastry, was at the mouth of Chillisquaque
Creek on the east side of the West Branch of the Susquehanna,
in Northumberland County.
The Shawnees from Tennessee migrated to the Ohio Valley,
finally collecting along the north bank of the Ohio in Penn-
sylvania as far as the mouth of the Monongahela, about the year
1730. Sauconk and Logstown were villages on the Ohio which
they established possibly as early as that time. The former was
at the mouth of the Beaver, and the latter on the north bank of
the Ohio, about eighteen miles below Pittsburgh.
Another clan of Shawnees, called the Sewickleys, Asswikales,
Shaweygila, and Hathawekela, came from South Carolina prior
to 1730 by way of Old Town, Maryland and Bedford, Pa., and
settled in different parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Their
principal village called Sewickley Town was at the junction of
this creek and the Youghiogheny River, in Westmoreland County.
They were probably the first Shawnees to settle in Western
Pennsylvania.
The Shawnees of the eastern part of Pennsylvania eventually
went to the Ohio and Allegheny Valleys. In the report of the
Albany congress of 1754, it is found that some of the tribe had
moved from the eastern part of the state to the Ohio about thirty
48 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
years previously; and, in 1734, another Shawnee band consisting
of about forty famiUes and described as living on the Allegheny,
refused to return to the Susquehanna at the solicitation of the
Delawares and Iroquois. During their westward migration, they
established villages on the Juniata and Conemaugh. About the
year 1755 or 1756, practically all the Shawnees abandoned the
Susquehanna and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania, and joined
their brethren on the Ohio, where they became allies of the French
in the French and Indian War. By the outbreak of the Rev-
olutionary War, nearly all the Shawnees had been pressed west-
ward into Ohio.
There is something mysterious in the wanderings of the Shaw-
nees. As we have seen, their home, in remote times, was in the
Ohio Valley; then we later hear of them in the South; and still
later they came to Pennsylvania. There is good evidence, how-
ever, tending to show that that body of the Shawnees which
entered Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1697 or 1698, came
originally from as far west as the region of Fort St. Louis, near
the town of Utica, LaSalle County, Illinois, leaving that place in
1683 and being accompanied in their wanderings to Maryland by
Martin Chartier, a French Canadian, who had spent some eight
or nine years among them. At any rate, this band reached Mary-
land near the mouth of the Susquehanna in 1692, and such is the
story they told. They gradually moved up the Susquehanna to
Lancaster County, as we have seen, where Chartier became a
trader at their village of Pequea, on the east side of the Susque-
hanna near the mouth of Pequea Creek, and only a few miles
from Conestoga, which was on the north side of Conestoga Creek.
The Shawnees who settled at Paxtang, on or near the site of
Harrisburg, most likely came from Pequea.* Before 1727, many
of this tribe from Paxtang and Pequea had settled on the west
side of the Susquehanna River at what is now New Cumberland,
near the mouth of Yellow Breeches Creek and as far north as the
mouth of the Conodoquinet. These dwellers on the west side of
the Susquehanna, about the year 1727, crossed the mountains to
the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny. Some, however, had gone
to Big Island (Lock Haven) before going to the Ohio region.
Opessah, the chief of the Shawnees on the lower Susquehanna,
did not remove to the Ohio or Allegheny Valley. He remained at
Pequea until 1711, when he abandoned both his chieftainship and
his tribe, and sought a home among the Delawares of Sassoonan's
clan. It is not clear why he abandoned his people. There is a
♦There were never many Shawnees at Paxtang, their larger settlements in this region being
on the west side of the Susquehanna.
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 49
traditionary account that he left because he became enamoured
of a Delaware squaw, who refused to leave her own people. Later,
in 1722, he removed to what was called Opessah's town on the
Potomac, now Old Town, Maryland.
Neither the Pennsylvania Archives nor the Colonial Records
show the name of the chief of those Shawnees who settled at
Pechoquealin until 1728, when their head man was Kakowatchey.
Some of Kakowatchey's clan removed directly to the Ohio before
1732, but a majority seem to have gone only as far as the Wyom-
ing Valley in Luzerne County, where, as we have seen, they took
up their abode on the west side of the North Branch of the Sus-
quehanna at a place subsequently known as Shawnee Flats, just
below the site of the present town of Plymouth. Their town at
this place was called Skehandowana (Iroquois for "Great Flats"),
and it remained a town of considerable importance until 1743.
Some time after April of that year, Kakowatchey himself, with
a number of his followers removed from Skehandowana and
settled at Logstown on the Ohio.
After Kakowatchey left Wyoming, Paxinosa became chief of
the Shawnees who still remained at that place. He said that he
was born "at Ohio", and possibly he was one of the company cf
Shawnees who accompanied Arnold Viele to the Pechoquealin
territory.
A number of the Shawnees at Chenastry, on the West Branch
of the Susquehanna, near the mouth of Chillisquaque Creek, ^ye^t
to the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny prior to the autumn Cff
1727 to hunt, and no doubt some of them made their permaner.t
homes or took up their abode in this western region, during or
prior to the summer of 1727. - -.
But sorne of the Shawnees went directly from Maryland to the
Ohio and Allegheny, Two chiefs of the Potomac Shawn2&s,
Opaketchwa and Opakeita, by name, came from the Ohio Valley
to Philadelphia in September, 1732, after they had abandoned
their town on the north branch of the Potomac. Governor Gordon
asked them why they had gone "so far back into the woods as
Allegheny," and they replied that "formerly they had lived at
'Patawmack' [Potomac], where their king died; that, having Iqst
him, they knew not what to do; that they then took their wives
and children and went over the mountains (to Allegheny) to
live."
In concluding this sketch of the Shawnees, we state that one
of their reasons for migrating from Eastern Pennsylvania to the
so THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Ohio Valley was to escape the ruinous effects of the rum traffic.
The Colony of Pennsylvania made many attempts to persuade
them to return to their eastern homes, fearing that they would
yield to French influence if they remained in the valleys of the
Ohio and Allegheny. The powerful Iroquois were asked to join
in the attempt to persuade them to return. The Iroquois, at the
Treaty of 1732, promised the Pennsylvania Authorities to use
their influence with the Shawnees, and kept their promise. But
all efforts to persuade them to return nearer the eastern settle-
ments of the Colony were without avail.
The Tuscaroras
Another Indian tribe inhabiting portions of Pennsylvania
within the historic period was the Tuscaroras. They were of the
Iroquoian linguistic group. It will be recalled that this tribe,
after being expelled from North Carolina and Virginia, sought
an asylum with the Five Nations, and was later, in 1722, admitted
formally as an addition to the Iroquois Confederacy, making the
Six Nations. The Tuscaroras had suffered greatly in wars with
the people of North Carolina and Virginia, before they were ex-
pelled in 1712. Their women were debauched by the whites, and
both men and women were kidnapped and sold into slavery.
'Some were brought as far north as Pennsylvania, and sold as
^ slaves.
. '.' "Surveyor-General Lawson, of North Carolina, who, in Septem-
. bar, 1711, was captured and executed by the Tuscaroras, says
"tli'e following of these Indians:
-"They have really been better to us [the people of North Caro-
lina] than we have been to them, as they always freely give us of
their victuals at their quarters, while we let them walk by our
doors hungry, and do not often relieve them. We look upon them
with disdain and scorn, and think them little better than beasts
in. human form; while, with all our religion and education, we
pos'sess more moral deformities and vices than these people do."
' ^'Moreover, the colonists of North Carolina, like the Puritans of
N'ew England, did not recognize in the Indian any right to the
goil r and so the lands of the Tuscaroras were appropriated with-
out any thought of purchase. They had suffered these and similar
wrongs for many years, and, as early as 1710, sent a petition to
the Government of Pennsylvania reciting their wrongs and
stating that they desired to remove to a more just and friendly
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 51
government. Governor Charles Gookin and the Provincial
Council of Pennsylvania dispatched two commissioners to meet
the embassy which brought the petition, at Conestoga, Lancaster
County, on June 8, 1710, where they found not only the Tus-
carora embassy, but Civility and four other Conestoga chiefs,
as well as Opessah, head chief of the Shawnees.
The names of the Tuscarora ambassadors were: Iwaagenst,
Terrutawanaren and Teonnotein. The account of their meeting
with the Pennsylvania commissioners is contained in Pa. Ar-
chives, Vol. 2, pages 511 and 512.
In the presence of the Pennsylvania officials, the Tuscarora
ambassadors delivered their proposals, which were attested by
eight belts of wampum. This petition was a very lucid and
condensed statement of the wrongs suffered by the Tuscaroras
in their southern home.
By the first belt, the aged women and mothers of the tribe be-
sought the friendship of the Christian people and the Indians and
Government of Pennsylvania, so that they might bring wood and
water without danger. By the second, the children, born and
unborn, implored that they might be permitted to play without
danger of slavery. By the third, the young men sought the
privilege of leaving their towns to pursue the game in the forest
for the sustenance of the aged, without fear of death or slavery.
By the fourth, the old men sought the privilege of spending their
declining days in peace. By the fifth, the entire Tuscarora nation
sought a firm and lasting peace with all the blessings attached
thereto. By the sixth, the chiefs and sachems sought the estab-
lishment of lasting peace with the Government and Indians of
Pennsylvania, so that they would be relieved from "those fearful
apprehensions which they have these several years felt." By
the seventh, the Tuscaroras implored a "cessation from murder-
ing and taking them," so that they might not be in terror upon
every rustling of the leaves of the forest by the winds. By the
eighth, the entire Tuscarora tribe, being hitherto strangers to
the colony of Pennsylvania, implored that the sons of "Brother
Onas" might take them by the hand and lead them, so that they
might lift up their heads in the wilderness without fear of slavery
or death.
This petition, it is seen, was couched in the metaphorical lan-
guage of the Indian; but its plain meaning proves it to be a state-
ment of a tribe at bay, who, on account of the large numbers of
their people killed, kidnapped, or sold into slavery by the settlers
52 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of North Carolina, were endeavoring to defend their offspring,
friends, and kindred, and were seeking a more friendly dwelling
place in the North, within the domain of the just government of
Penn, the apostle.
The Provincial Council of Pennsylvania advised the Tusca-
rora ambassadors that, before they could consent to the Tusca-
roras taking up their abode within the bounds of Penn's Province,
they should first be required to produce a certificate from the
colonial authorities of North Carolina as to their good behavior
in that colony. This, of course, the Tuscaroras were unable to do.
Then, the Conestoga chiefs, by the advice of their council,
determined to send the wampum belts, or petition, of the Tusca-
roras to the Five Nations of New York. This was done, and it
was the reception of these belts, setting forth the pitiful message
of the Tuscaroras, that moved the Five Nations to take steps to
shield and protect the Tuscaroras, and eventually receive them,
in 1722, as an additional member of the Iroquois Confederation.
In their migration northward, the Tuscaroras did not all leave
their ancient southern homes at once. Some sought an asylum
among other southern tribes, and lost their identity. However,
the major portion came north, and many of them resided for a
number of years in Pennsylvania, before going to New York, the
seat of the Five Nations. In fact, the Tuscaroras were ninety
years in making their exodus from their North Carolina home to
more friendly dwelling places in the North.
One body of the Tuscaroras, on their way north, tarried in the
Juniata Valley in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, for many years,
giving their name to the Tuscarora Mountain. There is evidence
of their having been there as late as 1755. Another band settled
about two miles west of Tamaqua, in Schuylkill County, where
they planted an orchard and lived for a number of years. Also,
in May, 1766, a band of Tuscaroras halted at the Moravian
mission at Friedenshuetten, on the Susquehanna in Bradford
County, and remained there several weeks. Some remained at
the mission, and these had planted their crops in 1766, at the
mouth of Tuscarora Creek, Wyoming County.
In a word, the residence places of the Tuscaroras in Pennsyl-
vania during their migration to New York, were those localities
where their name has been preserved ever since, such as: Tusca-
rora Mountain dividing Franklin and Perry Counties from Hunt-
ingdon and Juniata; Tuscarora Path Valley (now Path Valley) in
the western part of Franklin County at the eastern base of Tusca-
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 53
rora Mountain ; Tuscarora Creek running through the valley be-
tween Tuscarora and Shade mountains, which valley forms the
greater part of Juniata County; and also the stream called Tusca-
rora Creek running down through the southeastern part of Brad-
ford County and joining the North Branch of the Susquehanna
in the northwestern part of Wyoming County. The Tuscarora
Path marks the route followed by the Tuscaroras during their
migration to New York and of their subsequent journeyings to
and fro between New York and Pennsylvania on the north and
Virginia and North Carolina on the south.
The Conoy, Ganawese or Piscataway
The Conoy, also called the Ganawese and the Piscataway, in-
habited parts of Pennsylvania during the historic period. They
were an Algonquin tribe, closely related to the Delawares, whom
they called "grandfathers," and from whose ancestral stem they
no doubt sprang. Heckewelder, an authority on the history of the
Delawares and kindred tribes, believed them to be identical with
the Kanawha, for whom the chief river of West Virginia is named ;
and it seems that the names, Conoy and Ganawese, are simply
different forms of the name Kanawha, though it is difficult to
explain the application of the same name to the Piscataway tribe
of Maryland, except on the theory that this tribe once lived on
the Kanawha.
As stated formerly, the Conestogas, when defeated by the
Iroquois in 1675, invaded the territory of the Piscataways in
western Maryland. This, it is believed, caused the northward
migration of the Piscataways. At any rate, they shortly there-
after retired slowly up the Potomac, some entering Pennsylvania
about 1698 or 1699, and the rest a few years later. The Iroquois
assigned them lands at Conejoholo, also called Connejaghera
and Dekanoagah, on the east side of the Susquehanna at the
present town of Washington Borough, Lancaster County. Later
they removed higher up the Susquehanna to what was called
Conoy Town, at the mouth of Conoy Creek, in Lancaster County.
Still later they gradually made their way up the Susquehanna,
stopping at Harrisburg, Shamokin (Sunbury), Catawissa, and
Wyoming; and in 1765, were living in southern New York. After
their arrival in Pennsylvania, they were generally called Conoy.
During their residence in Pennsylvania, their villages, especially
those on the lower Susquehanna, were stopping places for war
54 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
parties of the Iroquois on their way to and return from attacks
upon the Catawbas in the South ; and this fact made considerable
trouble for the Colonial Authorities as well as the Conoy.
The Nanticokes
The Nanticokes, also, dwelt within the bounds of Pennsyl-
vania during the historic period. These were an Algonquin tribe,
formerly living on the Nanticoke River on the eastern shore of
Maryland, where Captain John Smith, in 1608, located their prin-
cipal village called Nanticoke. They were of the same parent
stem as the Delawares. The tenth verse of the fifth song of the
Walum Olum, the sacred tribal history of the Lenape, contains
the statement that "the Nanticokes and the Shawnees went to
the Southlands." It is not clear, however, where the separation
of the Nanticokes from the Lenape took place, but Heckewelder
states that they separated from the Lenape after these had
reached the eastern part of the United States, and that the
Nanticokes then went southward in search of hunting and trap-
ping grounds, they being great hunters and trappers.
A short time after the settlement of Maryland, they had diffi-
culties with the settlers of that colony. They were formally de-
clared enemies in 1642, and the strife was not ended until a treaty
entered into in 1678. A renewal of hostilities was threatened in
1687, but happily prevented, and peace was once more reaffirmed.
In 1698, and from that time forward as long as they remained
within the bounds of Lord Baltimore's colony, reservations were
set aside for them. At this early day they began a gradual migra-
tion northward, though a small part remained in Maryland. The
migration to the North covered many years. On their way they
stopped for a time on the Susquehanna as guests of the Conoy;
later at the mouth of the Juniata; and still later, in 1748 the
greater part of this tribe went up the Susquehanna, halting at
various points and finally settling, during the French and Indian
War, under the protection of the Iroquois, at Chenango, Chugnut,
and Owego, on the east branch of the Susquehanna in southern
New York. For a number of years, their principal seat in Penn-
sylvania was on the east bank of the Susquehanna below the
mouth of the Lackawanna, not far from Pittston, Luzerne
County. Other villages of this tribe were on Nanticoke Creek
and at or near the site of the present town of Nanticoke, Luzerne
County.
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 55
As late as 1766 and 1767, bands of Nanticokes passed through
the Moravian mission at Wyalusing (Friedenshuetten), Bradford
County, on their way to what is now the state of New York.
Many marvelous stories were told concerning this tribe. One
was that they were said to have been the inventors of a poisonous
substance by which they could destroy a whole settlement at once.
They were also accused of being skilled in the art of witchcraft,
and, on this account they were greatly feared by the neighboring
tribes. Heckewelder states that he knew Indians who firmly be-
lieved that the Nanticokes had men among them who, if they
wished, could destroy a whole army by merely blowing their
breath toward them.
They had the singular custom of removing the bones of their
dead from place to place during their migrations, and this they
would do even in cases where the dead had not been buried long
enough to be reduced to a skeleton. In cases where the dead had
not been buried long, they would scrape the flesh from the bones,
reinter it, and then take the skeleton with them. Heckewelder re-
lates that between the years 1750 and 1760 he saw several bands
of Nanticokes go through the Moravian town of Bethlehem, Penn-
sylvania, on their migration northward, loaded with the bones of
their relatives and friends. At this time Heckewelder was a boy,
having been born in 1743.
The Tutelo
The Tutelo were a Siouan tribe, related to the Sioux, of Dakota
of the far Northwest. For some time before their entering Penn-
sylvania soon after 1722, they had been living in North Carolina
and Virginia. They were first mentioned by Captain John Smith,
of Virginia, in 1609, as occupying the upper waters of the James
and Rappahannock, and were described by him as being very
barbarous. Their first seat in Pennsylvania was at Shamokin
(Sunbury) where they resided under Iroquois protection. At this
place, the Rev. David Brainerd found them in 1745. Later they
moved up the Susquehanna to Skogari. In 1771, the Tutelo were
settled on the east side of Cayuga inlet about three miles from the
south end of the lake of that name in New York. How this tribe
became so widely separated from the western Sioux still remains
unknown.
The Conoy, the Nanticoke, and the Tutelo were not large
tribes. In 1763, according to Sir William Johnson, the three
tribes numbered about one thousand souls.
56 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
As has been stated, the Shawnees, the Conoy, and the Nanti-
cokes, belonged to the Algonquin parent stem; the Tutelo to the
Siouan; and the Tuscarora to the Iroquoian. These three groups
were widely separated. It is thus seen that, at the time when the
English, the Germans and the Scotch-Irish, and other European
races were coming to Pennsylvania, as widely separated races of
North American Indians were coming from the South to make
their homes in its wilderness and along its streams. Of these in-
coming tribes, the one to figure most prominently in the history
of Pennsylvania was the Shawnee. Following Braddock's defeat,
July 9th, 1755, Pennsylvania suffered the bloodiest Indian in-
vasion in American history, — the invasion of the Shawnees and
Delawares, brought about in part, by the fact that the Shawnees
yielded to French influence. However, as we shall see, the
fraudulent "Walking Purchase" of 1737 and the Purchase of 1754
had much to do with causing these two powerful Indian tribes
to take up arms against Pennsylvania.
The Eries
The Eries, also known as the Erieehronons, were populous
sedentary tribe of Iroquoian stock, which, in the seventeenth cen-
tury, inhabited that part of Pennsylvania extending from Lake
Erie to the Allegheny River, possibly as far south as the Ohio
River, and eastward to the lands of the Susquehannas. They
are also known as the Cat Nation, from the abundance of wild
cats and panthers in their territory. Recorded history gives only
glimpses of them; but it appears that they had many towns and
villages, and that their town, Rique, had, in 1654, between 3,000
and 4,000 combatants, exclusive of women and children. Rique
was located, as nearly as can be determined, at or near where the
city of Erie, Pennsylvania, now stands.
In the Jesuit Relation of 1653, it is stated that the Eries were
forced to proceed farther inland in order to escape their enemies
dwelling west of them. Who these enemies were is not positively
known. Finally, about 1655 or 1656, they were conquered by the
Iroquois. The conquerors entered their palisaded town of Rique,
and there "wrought such carnage among the women and children
that the blood was knee-deep in places." However, this victory
at Rique was dearly bought by the Iroquois, who were compelled
to remain in the country of the Eries two months to care for the
wounded and bury the dead. The Erie power now being broken,
A VIEW OF THE INDIAN TRIBES 57
the people were either destroyed, dispersed, or led into captivity.
Six hundred Eries, who had surrendered at one time, were taken
to the Iroquois country and adopted. There is a tradition that,
some years after the defeat of the Eries, a band of their descend-
ants came from the West, ascended the Allegheny River, and
attacked the Senecas, and were slain to a man.
According to the Jesuit Relation of 1655-56, the cause of the
war between the Iroquois and the Eries was the accidental killing
of a Seneca by one of thirty Erie ambassadors who had gone to
the Seneca capital, Sonontouan, to renew the then existing peace
between these two tribes. The Senecas then put all the Erie
ambassadors to death, except five, and determined to exterminate
the tribe. However, before being utterly defeated at Rique, the
Eries were successful in burning a Seneca town and in defeating a
body of Senecas, which events aroused the Senecas to savage
wrath, causing them to invade the Erie country with eighteen
hundred warriors and to destroy the town of Rique.
The estimated population of the Eries in 1654 was 14,500. Be-
sides Rique, they had another large town, Gentaienton, located,
it seems, in the southern part of Erie County, New York.
The Wenro
The Wenro, a tribe of Iroquoian stock, also known as the
Ahouenrochrhonons, are mentioned in the Jesuit Relation as hav-
ing dwelt some time prior to 1639, "beyond the Erie," or Cat
Nation; and it is probable that their habitat was on the upper
territory of the Allegheny, and, part of it at least, within the
bounds of the State of Pennsylvania. This tribe, too, fell before
the arms of the Iroquois. A notation on Captain John Smith's
map of his explorations, says that they traded with the whites
on the Delaware River.
The Black Minquas
The Wenro seem to have been allied with the Black Minquas
who, according to Herrmann's map of 1670, are placed in the
region west of the Allegheny Mountains, and on the Ohio, or
"Black Minquas River." The Jesuit Relation states that both
the Wenro and the Black Minquas traded with the people on the
upper Delaware, some going by way of the West Branch of the
Susquehanna, down to Sunbury (Shamokin), up to Wyoming,
58 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and then across to the Delaware River, near the Water Gap ; and
others reaching the Delaware by way of the Conemaugh, Juniata,
and Susquehanna. The Black Minquas were so called because
"they carried a black badge on their breast." About all that is
known of the fate of this tribe is the legend on Herrmann's map,
which reads: "A very great river called Black Minquas River —
where formerly those Black Minquas came over the Susque-
hanna, as far as the Delaware to trade; but the Sasquhana and the
Sinnicus Indians went over and destroyed that very great nation."
The Akansea
A Siouan tribe, the Akansea, in remote times, occupied the
upper Ohio Valley, according to many historians, and were
driven out by the Iroquois. This stream was called the "River of
the Akansea," because this tribe lived upon its shores. When or
how long this river valley was their habitat, is not known.
No other rivers in Pennsylvania, or on the continent, have seen
more changes in the races of Indians living in their valleys than
have the Ohio and the Allegheny, — the dwelling place of the
Alligewi; the Delawares, or Lenape, in the course of their migra-
tion eastward; the Akansea; the Shawnees; the Black Minquas;
the Eries ; the Wenro ; the Senecas ; then once more the Shawnees
and Delawares in their march toward the setting sun before the
great tide of white immigration. What battles and conquests,
all untold, took place in the valleys of these historic streams be-
fore the white man set foot upon their shores! Who would not
seek to draw aside the curtain, which, it seems, must forever
hide this unrecorded history from our view?
Having given this survey of the Indian tribes that inhabited
Pennsylvania, we shall devote the next chapter to a brief treat-
ment of the Indian policy of the Swedes on the Delaware and
William Penn.
CHAPTER III
The Swedes and William Penn
Founding of New Sweden
AS early as 1624, Sweden's most famous king, Gustavus
^Adolphus, one of the heroic and admirable characters of all
time, proposed to found a free state in the New World, "where
the laborer should reap the fruits of his toil, where the rights of
conscience should be inviolate," and which should be an asylum
for the persecuted of every nation and every clime. At that time,
the awful Thirty Years War was raging in Europe, and amid its
fire and blood and desolation, the Swedish King had a vision of
such a "Holy Experiment" as William Penn started more than
half a century later. Before he could carry out his plans of
colonization, the noble Gustavus Adolphus laid down his life on
the bloody battle-field of Lutzen, Germany, on November 16th,
1632. According to Bancroft and others, the King, just a few
days before his death, recommended his noble enterprise to the
people of Germany, as he had before to the people of his beloved
Sweden.
Christina, the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, succeeded her
father to the throne of Sweden, and was destined to play a vital
part in the development of the plans of her illustrious parent.
Late in the autumn of 1737, two ships left Sweden carrying a
small band of resolute emigrants purposing to establish a Swedish
colony in ihe New World under the patronage of Queen Christina.
These ships, commanded by Peter Minuit, who had been the
Dutch Company's director at Manhattan from 1626 to 1632,
arrived on the west bank of the Delaware River, in the middle of
March, 1638. Charmed by the beauty of the region, the Swedes
gave the name of Paradisudden (Paradise Point) to a particularly
beautiful spot where they landed temporarily. Passing on up
the river, their ships arrived at the Minquas Kill of the Dutch
(White Clay and Christina Creeks), which enters the Delaware
from the west. The ships then sailed up the Minquas Kill some
60 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
distance, and cast anchor at a place where some Indians had
pitched their wigwams.
Peter Minuit then fired a salute of two guns and went ashore
with some of his men to reconnoiter and establish connection with
the Indians. They also went some distance into the country.
Minuit then returned to his ship. The roar of his cannon had
the desired elTect; several Indian chiefs made their appearance,
and Minuit at once arranged a conference with them for the sale
of land. The leader of these chiefs was Mattahorn. Possibly
Minuit from his acquaintance with the Dutch trade on the Dela-
ware River during his administration at Manhattan, had some
previous knowledge of this chieftain. Minuit and the chiefs had
no difftculty in coming to an agreement. He explained to the
Indians that he wanted ground on which to build a "house," and
other ground on which to plant. For the former he ofTered a
"kettle and other articles," and for the latter, half of the tobacco
raised upon it. On the same, or following day, Mattahorn and
five other chiefs went aboard one of the ships of the Swedes and
sold as much "of the land on all parts and places of the river, up
the river, and on both sides, as Minuit requested."
The merchandise specified in the deeds being given to them,
the chiefs traced their totem marks on the documents, and Peter
Minuit, Mans Kling, and others signed their names below. The
extent of this purchase embraced the territory lying below the
Minquas Kill to Duck Creek, a distance of forty miles and up the
river to the Schuylkill, a distance of twenty-seven miles along the
bank of the Delaware, in both cases stretching an indefinite dis-
tance to the westward. The purchase being concluded, Minuit
with his ofificers and soldiers went ashore. A pole was then erected
with the Coat of Arms of Sweden upon it; "and with the report of
cannon, followed by other solemn ceremonies, the land was called
New Sweden."
To be specific, the lands purchased by the Swedes from the
Indians extended along the west bank of the Delaware from the
mouth of Minquas Creek to a point opposite Trenton, New
Jersey. Near the mouth of Minquas Creek, so named by them
because it was one of the main trails to the land of the Minquas
or Susquehannas, they erected Fort Christina, named in honor
of the Swedish Queen. As stated in Chapter II, the Swedes also
purchased lands from the Susquehanna tribe. It is probable that
a large part of this purchase was a confirmation of the purchase
from the Delawares.
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 61
The first Indians with whom the Swedes dealt in making the
first settlements within the bounds of Pennsylvania, were the
Delawares or Lenape of the Unalachtigo or Turkey Clan. At
that time, the Delawares on the lower reaches of the river of the
same name were called "River Indians," and it seems true that
they were subject to the authority of the Minquas or Susque-
hannas. It has been contended, as pointed out in Chapter II,
that the conquering of the Susquehannas by the Iroquois, in
1675, carried with it the subjugation of the Delawares. Soon
after the founding of their first settlements on Pennsylvania soil,
the Swedes dealt also with the Minquas or Susquehannas, carry-
ing on a vast fur trade with them and thereby incurring the
jealousy and enmity of the Dutch at Manhattan, a fact which led
to the overthrow of New Sweden by the Dutch, in 1655. It is
said that the Swedes exported 30,000 skins during the first year
of their occupancy of Fort Christina, and, as was stated in
Chapter II, Governor-General John Printz, of New Sweden, in
his report for the year 1647, says that, because of the conflict of
his colonists with the Dutch, he had suffered a loss of "8,000 or
9,000 beavers which have passed out of our hands" and which,
but for the Dutch, would have been gotten from "the great
traders, the Minquas." As was stated in Chapter II, the Swedes
assisted the Susquehannas in their struggle against the might of
the Iroquois, furnishing them arms for their warriors after the
manner of European soldiers.
Indian Policy of the Swedes
The principles on which New Sweden was founded and the
benevolent intentions of the Swedes towards the Indians are
thus set forth in the letter granting the privileges to the colonists,
signed by Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, of Sweden, dated January
24th, 1640, and directed to the Commandant and inhabitants of
Fort Christina.
"As regards religion, we are willing to permit that, besides the
Augsburg Confession, [of the Lutheran Church], the exercise of
the pretended reformed religion may be established and observed
in that country, in such manner, however, that those who profess
the one or the other religion live in peace, abstaining from every
useless dispute, from all scandal and all abuse. The patrons of
this colony shall be obliged to support, at all times, as many
ministers and school masters as the number of inhabitants shall
62 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
seem to require, and to choose, moreover, for this purpose, persons
who have at heart the conversion of the pagan inhabitants to Chris-
tianity.''
The policy of the Swedes towards the Indians is more speci-
fically set forth in the "Instructions to Governor John Printz,"
dated at Stockholm, August 15th, 1642, as follows:
"The wild nations, bordering on all sides, the Governor shall
treat with all humanity and respect, and so that no violence or
wrong be done to them by Her Royal Majesty or her subjects
aforesaid; but he shall rather . . . exert himself that the same
wild people may be gradually instructed in the truths and wor-
ship of the Christian religion, and in other ways brought to
civilization and good government, and in this manner properly
guided. Especially shall he seek to gain their confidence, and
impress upon their minds that neither he, the Governor, nor his
people and subordinates are come into these parts to do them any
wrong, or injury, but much more for the purpose of furnishing
them with such things as they may need for the ordinary wants
of life."
These "Instructions" further admonished the Governor that
he "must bear in mind that the wild inhabitants of the country"
are "its rightful lords."
There is no sublimer chapter in American history than the
story of the relations between the Swedes on the Delaware and
the aborigines of Pennsylvania. The Swede treated the Indian
with justice. He recognized that there was a title in the Indian
to the land which he loved with an undying love, the land where
he was born and where his fathers were born for countless genera-
tions. Furthermore, the Swede labored with success in convert-
ing the Indians to the Christian faith. The Swedish Lutheran
clergyman, the Reverend John Campanius, who accompanied
Governor John Printz to New Sweden in 1643, was active as a
missionary among the Delawares and translated Martin Luther's
Catechism into the Delaware tongue, — the first book to be trans-
lated into the language of the North American Indians. The
petition, "Give us this day our daily bread," Campanius trans-
lated, "Give us this day a plentiful supply of venison and corn."
This Lutheran clergyman was the first missionary of the Christian
religion to labor among the Indians of Pennsylvania; and the
Swedish Lutheran church at Tinicum, which he dedicated on
September 4th, 1646, and of which he was pastor, "was the first
regularly dedicated church building within the limits of Penn-
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 63
sylvania." The Rev. Campanius is sometimes referred to as
Campanius Holm. "Holm" indicates that he was from Stock-
holm.
The year 1644 was the only year in which Indian troubles
threatened New Sweden, The cause of this trouble was the
fact that the Dutch at Manhattan adopted a course of "exter-
mination" of the Indians on the lower reaches of the Hudson, and
during the years 1644 and 1645, had killed sixteen hundred of the
natives at Manhattan and in its neighborhood. They slaughtered
all ages and both sexes; and the word of these shocking and un-
pardonable cruelties spread along the Atlantic Ocean, causing the
Indians of the Delaware to feel bitter towards all newcomers.
In the spring of 1644, a Swedish woman and her husband, an
Englishman, were killed not far from the site of Chester, Penn-
sylvania,— the first white blood shed in Pennsylvania by the
Indians. Governor John Printz of the Swedish colony then
assembled his people for the defense of Chester; but the Indian
chiefs of that region came to him disowning the act and desiring
peace. He then made a treaty of peace with them, distributing
presents and restoring friendly relations. During this year there
was a great Indian council held, which has been described by Rev.
John Campanius, over which the Delaware Chief, Mattahorn,
presided and in which the destruction of the Swedes was con-
sidered. Mattahorn is said to have presented the question for
the consideration of the council; but the decision was that the
Swedes should not be molested. The warriors said that the
Swedes should be considered "good friends," and that the Indians
had "no complaint to make of them."
On June 17th, 1654, a great council of the Delawares was held
at Printz Hall, at Tinicum, for the purpose of renewing the
ancient bond of friendship that existed between the Indians and
the Swedes. At this council the Delaware, (some say Minquas
or Susquehanna) chief, Naaman, whose name is preserved in
Naaman's Creek, near the Delaware line, praised the virtues of
the Swedes. Campanius thus describes the occasion:
"The 17th June, 1654, was gathered together at Printz Hall at
Tinicum, ten of the sachemans of the Indian chiefs, and there at
that time was spoken to them in the behalf of the great Queen of
Sweedland for to renew the old league of friendship that was be-
twixt them, and that the Sweeds had bought and purchased land
of them. They complained that the Sweeds they should have
brought in with them much evil, because so many of them since
64 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
are dead and expired. Then there was given unto them consider-
able presents and parted amongst them. When they had received
the presents they went out, and had a conference amongst them a
pretty while, and came in again, and then spoke one of the chiefs,
by name Noaman [Naaman], rebuked the rest, and that they had
spoken evil of the Sweeds and done them harm, and that they
should do so no more, for they were good people. Look, said he,
pointing upon the presents, what they have brought us, and they
desire our friendship, and then he stroked himself three times
down his arm, which was an especial token of friendship. After-
wards he thanked for the presents they had received, which he did
in all their behalfs, and said that there should hereafter be ob-
served and kept a more strict friendship amongst them than there
hath been hitherto. That, as they had been in Governor Printz
his time, one body and one heart, (beating and knocking upon
his breast), they should henceforward be as one head. For a token
waving with both his hands, and made as if he would tye a
strong knot; and then he made this comparison, that as the calli-
bash is of growth round without any crack, also they from hence-
forth hereafter as one body without any separation, and if they
heard or understood that any one would do them or any of theirs
any harm, we should give them timely notice thereof, and like-
wise if they heard any mischief plotting against the Christians,
they would give them notice thereof, if it was at midnight. And
then answer was made unto them, that that would be a true and
lasting friendship, if everyone would consent to it. Then the
great guns were fired, which pleased them exceedingly well, say-
ing,'Pu-hu-hu! mo ki-rick pickon.' That is, 'Hear! now believe!
The great guns are fired.' And then they were treated with wine
and brandy. Then stood up another of the Indians and spoke,
and admonished all in general that they should keep the league
and friendship with the Christians that was made, and in no man-
ner or way violate the same, and do them no manner of injury,
not to their hogs or their cattle, and if any one should be found
guilty thereof, they should be severely punished, others to an
example. They advised that we should settle some Sweeds upon
Passaiunck, where then there lived a power of Indians for to ob-
serve if they did any mischief, they should be confirmed, the
copies of the agreements were then punctually read unto them.
But the originals were at Stockholm, and when their names (were
read) that had signed, they seemed when they heard it rejoiced,
but when anyone's name was read that was dead, they hung their
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 65
heads down and seemed to be sorrowful. And then there was
set upon the floor in the great hall two great kettles, and a great
many other vessels with sappan, that is, mush, made of Indian
corn or Indian wheat, as groweth there in abundance. But the
sachemans they sate by themselves, but the common sort of
Indians they fed heartily, and were satisfied. The above men-
tioned treaty and friendship that then was made betwixt the
Sweeds and the Indians, hath been ever since kept and observed,
and that the Sweeds have not been by them molested."
As stated earlier in this chapter. New Sweden was overthrown
by the Dutch in 1655. However, the Swedes were permitted to
remain on their lands. The Indian's love for the Swede never
abated, and when William Penn came to his Province in 1682, he
used Swedes as his interpreters in getting in touch with the
Indians. Indeed, the just and kindly treatment of the Dela-
wares by the Swedish settlers caused that friendly reception
which these children of the forest William Penn, when, with open
heart and open hand, they welcomed him to the shores of the
Western World.
Dr. William M. Reynolds, in the introduction to his transla-
tion of Acrelius' "History of New Sweden," emphasizes a great
historical truth when he says:
"The Swedes inaugurated the policy of William Penn, for
which he has been deservedly praised, in his purchase of the soil
from the Indians, and his uniformly friendly intercourse with
them."
A Contrast
The Indian policy of the Swedes on the Delaware stands out
in strong contrast with the Indian policy of many other colonies,
especially with the Indian policy of early New England. At this
point, let us raise the curtain and take a view of what was happen-
ing on the shores of New England while the sublime things we
have just related were happening on the shores of the Delaware,
on Pennsylvania soil. The "Pilgrim Fathers" came to New Eng-
land in 1620. They were kindly welcomed and kindly treated by
the Indians. Not long after the landing at Plymouth, the Indian,
Samoset, entered the town, exclaiming, "Welcome, Englishmen!"
He was a member of the Wampanoag tribe, and, in the name of
his nation, invited the Pilgrims to possess the soil. In a few days,
he returned with another of his tribe, Squanto by name, who
66 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
became a benefactor of the infant colony, teaching the white
men many things about fishing and raising corn.
Soon the aborigines of New England were given the white
man's rum, the curse of the Red man. Soon troubles came on
apace between the Indian and the New Englander, caused, in
large measure, by the New Englander's trickery and failure to
recognize in the Indian a title to the land of himself and his
fathers. Soon we see the Puritan antagonizing the Indian and
deliberately planning his utter extinction. Soon we see Captain
Miles Standish disturbing and despoiling the resting places of
the Indian dead, to the horror and rage of the Indians. Soon we
see Standish stabbing the Indian, Pecksuot, to death and Stand-
ish's men killing many of Pecksuot's companions, which caused
the Rev. John Robinson, father of the Plymouth church, to ex-
claim: "It would have been happy if they had converted some
before they killed any."
Time passes, and we see the Puritan hunting the Indian through
the forests and swamps of New England like a wild beast. We
see the Puritan trafficking in Indian women and children, and
selling them into slavery. Many were shipped to the slave
markets of the West Indies. At one time, as many as fifty
Indian women and children were captured for the purpose of
selling them as slaves.
The intolerance of the Puritan found a natural vent in the ex-
tinction of the Indian. The Puritan lauded his treacheries and
inhumanities towards the unsophisticated children of the forest.
Puritan malignity reached a climax in the offering of a reward for
Indian scalps, irrespective of sex or age. And then, there rise up
in history the grim and grisly features of those Puritan clergymen
who gloried in the extinction of the Indian, especially the Mathers.
The New Englanders shot and burned to death six hundred men,
women and children of the Pequot tribe in one day. Concerning
this horrible affair, the "learned and pious Rev. Cotton Mather"
wrote: "Many of them were broiled unto death in the avenging
flames;" while Increase Mather wrote exultingly concerning the
same slaughter of women and children: "It was supposed that
no less than 500 or 600 Pequot souls were brought down to hell
that day." Thus did these "great New England divines and
theologians" glory in the slaughter of the Indians, irrespective of
age or sex. Thus were these clergymen "inspired to prayers of
thankfulness and praise." (For the Puritan's Indian policy, see
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 67
Sylvester's "Indian Wars of New England," Vol. 1, pages 97 to
99, 156 to 162, 169 and 170, 293 and 313.)
Many school books contain pictures of the Puritans going to
church with guns on their shoulders to defend themselves from
the Indians. These pictures tell only a half truth, which is often
as misleading as a downright falsehood. There should be ex-
planatory notes at the bottom of tl^e pictures telling why it was
necessary for the Puritans to carry guns as they went to worship
the Prince of Peace.
New England historians and New England poets have thrown
a glamour around the early history of New England which the
facts do not justify. The Puritan, by his barbarous treatment of
the Indian, has left a stain on the early history of New England
which no New England historian and no New England poet,
however friendly or however gifted, can ever efface.
In addition to its just Indian policy, New Sweden had many
other excellencies that stand out in strong contrast with the early
history of New England. With her, liberty of conscience was a
historical fact, and not a mockery or a myth, as with the "Pilgrim
Fathers" of New England. She laid down the principles of liberty
of conscience and education of the people, as the foundation of
her political structure, before William Penn was born; and she
steadfastly adhered to these principles to the end of her separate
and independent existence, giving them an impetus that con-
tributed very largely to their adoption as the most cherished and
sacred principles in the structure of our American Common-
wealth. No man had his ears cut off, no man had his tongue
bored through, no man was hanged for not adhering to the
Lutheran Church of New Sweden — all this in striking contrast
with the way the "Pilgrim Fathers" of New England persecuted
those who did not accept the Puritan type of religion. The
Lutheran Swedes who landed on the shores of the Delaware and
made the first settlements in Pennsylvania, had far more to do
with molding American history than had the "Pilgrim Fathers"
of New England. "America," says Woodrow Wilson, "did not
come out of New England." Well for us that America did not
take on the stamp of the bigotry and intolerance of the "Pilgrim
Fathers" of New England, but took on the stamp of liberty of
conscience of the Lutheran Swedes of Pennsylvania.
The history of the beginnings in Pennsylvania is as much more
glorious than the history of the beginnings in New England as the
light of the sun is more glorious than the light of a candle. The
68 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Swedes on the Delaware deserve monuments of marble and bronze,
medals of silver and gold; but their best monument is the best
love of the best American hearts, and the truest impression of
their image is in the improved condition of mankind, which came
about as the fruits of the immortal principles to which they
adhered.
The Coming of William Penn
After the conquest of New Sweden, in the autumn of 1655, the
Dutch continued their rule on the Delaware until the autumn of
1664, when English rule began on this stream. Charles II
granted to his brother James, Duke of York, the territory em-
bracing the states of New York and New Jersey, and, by a later
grant, the state of Delaware. The Dutch colony on the Dela-
ware yielded to the Duke of York without bloodshed. On March
4th, 1681, Charles II afhxed his signature to William Penn's
charter for the Province of Pennsylvania. As the great founder
of the Province was on his way to the shores of this Western
World to treat the Red Man with justice and to establish an
asylum for the persecuted of every sect and every creed, the
following letter was written by the "great New England divine
and theologian, " Cotton Mather:
"September ye 15, 1682.
To ye aged and beloved Mr. Jolui Higginson:
There is now at sea a ship called the Welcome, which has on
board an hundred or more of the heretics and malignants called
Quakers, W. Penn, who is the chief scamp, at the head of them.
The general court has accordingly given secret orders to
Master Malachi Huscott of the brig Porpoise to waylay the said
Welcome slyly, as near the Cape of Cod as may be, and make
captive the said Penn and his ungodly crew, so that the Lord may
be glorified and not mocked on the soil of this new country with
the heathen worship of these people. Much spoil can be made
by selling the whole lot to Barbados, where slaves fetch good
prices in rum and sugar, and we shall not only do the Lord great
service by punishing the wicked but we shall make great good
for his Minister and people.
Master Huscott feels hopeful and I will set down the news
when the ship comes back.
Yours in ye bowels of Christ,
COTTON MATHER."
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 69
The Indian Policy of William Penn
William Penn did not set foot upon the soil of his Province
until the 29th day of October, 1682 ; but, after maturing his plans
for the new colony during the summer of 1681, he appointed his
cousin, William Markham, to be his deputy governor. Markham
left England in the spring of 1682, and arrived at New York about
the middle of June of that year. He then proceeded to Upland,
or Chester, Pennsylvania, and, no doubt, presented his creden-
tials to the justices and announced to them and the settlers that
once more a change of government had been decreed.
William Penn decided to follow the advice of the Bishop of
London and the example of the Swedes, and purchase from the
Indians inhabiting his Province whatever lands, within the
bounds of the same, might from time to time, become occupied
by his colonists. The first Indian deed of record was a purchase
of lands in Bucks County, made by Deputy Governor Markham
for William Penn, dated the 15th day of July, 1682. The native
grantors were fourteen Delaware chiefs or "sachemakers," bear-
ing the following names: Idauahon, leanottowe, Idquoquequon,
Sahoppe for himself and Okonikon, Merkekowon, Orecton for
Nannacussey, Shaurwawghon, Swanpisse, Nahoosey, Tomak-
hickon, Westkekitt and Tohawsis.
Markham paid the Indians for this purchase: 350 fathoms of
wampum, 20 fathoms of "stroudwaters," 20 white blankets, 20
guns, 20 coats, 40 shirts, 40 pairs of stockings, 40 hose, 40 axes, 2
barrels of powder, 60 fathoms of "dufihelds," 20 kettles, 200 bars
of lead, 200 knives, 200 small glasses, 12 pairs of shoes, 40 copper
boxes, 40 tobacco tongs, 2 small barrels of pipes; 40 pairs of scis-
sors, 40 combs, 20 pounds of red lead, 100 awls, two handfuls of
fish hooks, two handfuls of needles, 40 pounds of shot, 10 bundles
of beads, 10 small saws, 12 drawing knives, 2 ankers of tobacco,
2 ankers of rum, 2 ankers of cider, 2 ankers of beer, and 300
guilders in money, — a formidable list, indeed, and all very accept-
able to the Indians.
William Penn Purchases Land from Tamanend
On June 23rd, 1683, William Penn, at a meeting with Taman-
end and a number of other Delaware chiefs at Shakamaxon, with-
in the limits of Philadelphia, purchased two dififerent tracts of
land from the Indians. The first deed was from Tamanend, who
70 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
made "his mark" to the same, being a snake coiled. This deed
conveyed all of Tamanend's lands "lying betwixt the Pem-
mapecka [Pennypack] and Nessaminehs [Neshaminy] Creeks,
and all along Nessaminehs Creek." The consideration was "so
many guns, shoes, stockings, looking glasses, blankets, and other
goods as the said William Penn shall please to give."
On the same date, (June 23, 1683), William Penn purchased a
second tract of land from Tamanend, the deed being signed by
Tamanend and Metamequan. It conveyed all the grantors' lands
"lying betwixt and about Pemmapecka and Nessaminehs Creeks,
and all along Nessaminehs Creek." The consideration was "so
much wampum and other goods as he, the said William Penn,
shall be pleased to give unto us." However, there is a receipt
attached to this deed for the following articles : 5 pairs of stock-
ings, 20 bars of lead, 10 tobacco boxes, 6 coats, 2 guns, 8 shirts, 2
kettles, 12 awls, 5 hats, 25 pounds of powder, 1 peck of pipes, 38
yards of "duffields," 16 knives, 100 needles, 10 glasses, 5 caps, 15
combs, 5 hoes, 9 gimlets, 20 fish hooks, 10 tobacco tongs, 10 pairs
of scissors, 7 half-gills, 6 axes, 2 blankets, 4 handfuls of bells, 4
yards of "stroudswaters" and 20 handfuls of wampum.
Also, on the 5th day of July 1697, "King Taminy [Taman-
end], and Weheeland, my Brother and Weheequeckhon alias
Andrew, who is to be king after my death, Yaqueekhon alias
Nicholas, and Quenameckquid alias Charles, my Sons," granted
to William Penn, who was then in England, all the lands "between
the Creek called Pemmapeck [Pennypack] and the Creek called
Neshaminy, in the said province extending in length from the
River Delaware so far as a horse can travel in two summer dayes,
and to carry its breadth according as the several courses of the said
two Creeks will admit, and when the said Creeks do so branch
that the main branches or bodies thereof cannot be discovered,
then the Tract of Land hereby granted, shall stretch forth upon
a direct course on each side and so carry on the full breadth to
the extent of the length thereof." For copies of Tamanend's
deeds of June 23d, 1683 and July 5th, 1697, see Penna. Archives
First Series, Vol. I, pages 62, 64 and 124.
It is to be noted that in the list of articles which Penn gave in
exchange for the various tracts of land purchased from Tamanend
and his associate chiefs, no brandy or other strong liquor appeared
It will be recalled that in Markham's purchase in Bucks County
on the 15th of July, 1682, he gave the contracting sachems, rum,
cider and beer as part of the purchase price. Penn, however.
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 71
was more scrupulous than his deputy governor, doubtless having
realized more strongly than Markham, the injury done the
Indians by liquor. Indeed, in the "Great Law" which Penn drew
up shortly after his arrival, there was a provision for punishing
any person by fine of five pounds who should "presume to sell or
exchange any rum or brandy or any strong liquors at any time
to any Indian, within this province." Later the Indians found
their appetite for strong liquor to be so strong that they agreed,
if the colonists would sell them liquor, to submit to punishment
by the civil magistrates "the same as white persons."
Penn's Treaty with Tamanend
Penn's memorable treaty with Tamanend and other Delaware
chiefs, of the Turtle Clan, under the great elm at Shakamaxon,
within the limits of Philadelphia, is full of romantic interest.
Unarmed, clad in his sombre Quaker garb, he addressed the
Indians assembled there, uttering the following words, which
will be admired throughout the ages: "We meet on the broad
pathway of good faith and good-will ; no advantage shall be taken
on either side, but all shall be openness and love. We are the
same as if one man's body was to be divided into two parts; we
are of one flesh and one blood." The reply of Tamanend, is
equally noble: "We will live in love with William Penn and his
children as long as the creeks and rivers run, and while the sun,
moon, and stars endure."
No authentic record has been preserved of the "Great Treaty,"
made familiar by Benjamin West's painting and Voltaire's allu-
sion to it "as the only treaty never sworn to and never broken;"
and there has been a lack of agreement among historians as to
the time when it took place. Many authorities claim that the
time was in the November days, shortly after Penn arrived in his
Province. "Under the shelter of the forest," says Bancroft, "now
leafless by the frosts of autumn, Penn proclaimed to the men of
the Algonquin race, from both banks of the Delaware, from the
borders of the Schuylkill, and, it may have been, even from the
Susquehanna, the same simple message of peace and love which
George Fox had professed before Cromwell, and Mary Fisher had
borne to the Grand Turk."
Other authorities, in recent times, fix the time of the treaty
as on the 23rd day of June, 1683, when Penn, as has been seen,
purchased the two tracts of land from Tamanend and his associ-
72 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ates; in other words, that the purchase of land and the "Great
Treaty" took place at the same time and at the same place. More-
over, a study of West's painting of the treaty scene shows the
trees to be in full foliage, thus not suggesting a late autumn or
winter day, as contended by Bancroft, but rather a day in the
leafy month of June, Even if we should not grant the purchase
of the two tracts of land from Tamanend and others on the 23rd
of June, 1683, the distinction of being the "Great Treaty," it
was most certainly a treaty of great importance and entitled to a
prominent place in the Indian history of Pennsylvania and the
Nation.
Says Jenkins, in his "Pennsylvania, Colonial and Federal":
"In the years following 1683, far down into the next century, the
Indians preserved the tradition of an agreement of peace made
with Penn, and it was many times recalled in the meetings held
with him and his successors. Some of these allusions are very
definite. In 1715, for example, an important delegation of the
Lenape chiefs came to Philadelphia to visit the Governor. Sas-
soonan — afterward called Allummapees, and for many years the
principal chief of his people — was at the head, and Opessah, a
Shawnee chief, accompanied him. There was 'great ceremony,'
says the Council record, over the 'opening of the calumet.' Rattles
were shaken, and songs were chanted. Then Sassoonan spoke,
offering the calumet to Governor Gookin, who in his speech spoke
of 'that firm Peace that was settled between William Penn, the
founder and chief governor of this country, at his first coming into
it,' to which Sassoonan replied that they had come 'to renew the
former bond of friendship; that William Penn had at his first
coming made a clear and open road all the way to the Indians,
and they desired the same might be kept open and that all ob-
structions might be removed,' etc. In 1720, Governor Keith,
writing to the Iroquois chiefs of New York, said : 'When Govern-
or Penn first settled this country he made it his first care to culti-
vate a strict alliance and friendship with all the Indians, and con-
descended so far as to purchase his lands from them.' And in
March, 1722, the Colonial Authorities, sending a message to the
Senecas, said: 'William Penn made a firm peace and league with
the Indians in these parts near forty years ago, which league has
often been repeated and never broken.' " In fact, the "Great
Treaty" was never broken until the Penn's Creek Massacre of
October 16, 1755.
Unhappily, then, historians are not able to agree in stating the
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 73
exact date of the "Great Treaty" under the historic elm on the
banks of the Delaware, — a treaty that occupies a high and glorious
place in the Indian history and traditions of Pennsylvania and the
Nation. Though the historian labors in vain to establish the
date, the fact of the treaty remains as inspiring to us of the
present day as it was to the historians, painters, and poets of the
past.
On August 16th, 1683, William Penn wrote a long letter to the
Free Society of Traders, in which he describes a council that he
had with the Indians, — possibly the "Great Treaty":
"I have had occasion to be in council with them (the Indians)
upon treaties for land, and to adjust the terms of trade. Their
order is thus: The King sits in the middle of an half moon, and
hath his council, the old and wise, on each hand; behind them or
at a little distance, sit the younger fry in the same figure . . .
When the purchase was agreed, great promises passed between us
of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the Indians and
English must live in love as long as the sun and moon give light;
which done, another made a speech to the Indians in the name of
all the Sachamakers or Kings, first to tell them what was done;
next to charge and command them to love the Christians, and
particularly live in peace with me, and the people under my
Government; that many Governors had been on the River, but
that no Governor had come himself to live and stay here before;
and having now such an one that treated them well, they should
never do him or his any wrong. At every sentence of which they
shouted and said Amen in their way."
The "Great Treaty" was preserved by the head chiefs of the
Turtle Clan of Delawares for generations. Chief Killbuck is said
to have lost the historic document when, on March 24th, 1782,
he fled to Fort Pitt to escape death at the hands of the Scotch-
Irish settlers who attacked him and other friendly Delawares on
Smoky Island, also called Killbuck's Island, in the Ohio River,
near the fort.
Tamanend
The great Delaware chief, Tamanend, (Tammany, etc.) from
whom William Penn and his agents purchased lands and with
whom Penn made the "Great Treaty," was head chief of the
Unami or Turtle Clan of Delawares from before 1683 until 1697
and, perhaps, later. He is referred to in the Colonial Records of
Pennsylvania as "King" of the Delawares, owing to the fact that
74 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the head chief of the Turtle Clan always presided at the councils
of the three clans composing the Delaware nation. Heckewelder
thus describes Tamanend :
"The name of Tamanend is held in the highest veneration by
all the Indians. Of all the chiefs and great men which the Lenape
nation ever had, he stands foremost on the list. But, although
many fabulous stories are circulated about him among the whites,
but little of his real history is known. The misfortunes which
have befallen some of the most beloved and esteemed personages
among the Indians since the Europeans came among them, pre-
vent the survivors from indulging in the pleasure of recalling to
mind the memory of their virtues. No white man who regards
their feeling, will introduce such subjects in conversation with
them. All we know, therefore, of Tamanend is that he was an
ancient Delaware chief who never had an equal. He was, in the
highest degree, endowed with wisdom, virtue, prudence, charity,
affability, meekness, hospitality; in short with every good and
noble qualification that a human being may possess. He was
supposed to have had intercourse with the great and good Spirit;
for he was a stranger to everything that is bad. The fame of
this great man extended even among the whites, who fabricated
numerous legends concerning him, which I never heard, however,
from the mouth of an Indian, and, therefore, believe to be
fabulous. In the Revolutionary War, his enthusiastic admirers
dubbed him a saint and he was established under the name of
Saint Tammany, the Patron Saint of America. His name was
inserted in some calendars and his festival celebrated on the first
day of May in every year."
Heckewelder then describes the celebrations in honor of Saint
Tammany. They were conducted along Indian lines, and in-
cluded the smoking of the calumet and Indian dances in the open
air. "Tammany Societies" in the early part of our history as a
nation, were organized in several American cities.
Tamanend 's last appearance in recorded history was when he,
his brother and sons, conveyed the lands to William Penn on July
5th, 1697. But three years prior thereto, or on July 6th, 1694, he
appeared at a council at Philadelphia, a number of other Delaware
chiefs accompanying the venerable sachem. At this council, he
thus expressed his friendly feelings for the colonists, in a speech
addressed to Lieutenant-Governor Markham: "We and the
Christians of this river [Delaware] have always had a free road-
way to one another, and although sometimes a tree has fallen
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 75
across the road, yet we have still removed it again, and kept the
path clean ; and we design to continue the old friendship that has
been between us and you."
Tamanend died before July, 1701, but the date of his death is
not known. All that is mortal of this great and good chieftain
reposes in the soil of the beautiful valley of the Neshamminy, —
the region which he and his associate chiefs conveyed to "Mi-
quon," or "Brother Onas," as the Indians affectionately called
William Penn. His grave is believed to be in "Tammany Burial
Ground," near Chalfonte, Bucks County.
Penn's Two Sojourns in his Province
William Penn remained in his Province until June 12th, 1684,
on which date he sailed for England. Before leaving, he provided
for the administration of the government of the Province, lodging
the executive power with the Provincial Council. During the
spring or summer of 1683, he had visited the interior of the Pro-
vince, going as far as the Susquehanna and holding many friendly
conferences with the Indians of the interior.
William Penn returned to Pennsylvania in December, 1699,
after an absence of fifteen years ; and he remained in his Province
until the autumn of 1701, when he left finally, arriving in England
about the middle of December of that year. During his second
sojourn in Pennsylvania, he made his home in his commodious
Manor House, at Pennsbury, in Falls Township, Bucks County,
about twenty miles from Philadelphia. The erection of the man-
sion had been started during his absence and was completed by
him after his return. Here he received many visits from different
Indian chiefs, a room in the mansion having been set apart for
Indian conferences.
During Penn's second sojourn in his Province, he endeavored
to obtain additional legislation placing restrictions on the inter-
course with the Indians, in order to protect them from the arts of
the whites and the ravages of the rum trafific. He also endeavored
to have the natives instructed in the doctrines of Christianity. In
order to improve the temporal condition of the natives, he held
frequent conferences at his manor house with various sachems;
and frequently visited them in their forest homes, participating in
their festivals. When they visited him at Pennsbury, it is said
that he joined with them in their sports and games, ate hominy,
venison, and roasted acorns with them, and matched them in
76 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
strength and agility. It is recorded that nineteen Indian treaties
were concluded and conferences held at Pennsbury.
Penn's Treaty with the Susquehannas, Shawnees, Conoys
and Five Nations
After the close of King William's war, the governor of New
York made a treaty of peace with the Five Nations; and at
William Penn's suggestion it was extended to the other English
colonies. On April 23rd, 1701, Penn entered into "Articles of
Agreement," or a treaty at Philadelphia, with the Susquehannas,
Minquas, or Conestogas, the Shawnees, the Ganawese, Conoys, or
Piscataways, the latter then dwelling on the northern bank of the
Potomac, and the Five Nations. In this treaty the Susquehannas
were represented by Connodaghtoh, their "King," and three chiefs
of the same; the Shawnees were represented by Opessah, or
Wopaththa, their "King," and two other chiefs; the Conoys,
Ganawese, or Piscataways, were represented by four of their
chiefs; and the Five Nations were represented by Ahoakassongh,
"brother to the emperor or great king of the Onondagas."
We are now ready to state the provisions of the treaty. After
first reciting the good understanding that had prevailed between
William Penn and his lieutenants, on the one hand, and the vari-
ous Indian nations inhabiting his Province, on the other hand,
since his first arrival in Pennsylvania, and expressing that there
should be forever a hrm and lasting peace between Penn and his
successors and the various Indian chiefs of his Province, the treaty
provided as follows:
First. That the said "kings and chiefs" and the various In-
dians under their authority should, at no time, hurt, injure or de-
fraud any inhabitants of the Colony of Penn ; and that Penn and
his successors should not sufifer any injury to be done the Indians
by any of his colonists.
Second. That the Indians should, at all times, behave them-
selves in a sober manner according to the laws of the Colony where
they lived near or among the Christian Inhabitants thereof; and
that they should have the full and free privileges and immunities
of the laws of the Colony of Penn in the same manner as the
whites, and acknowledge the authority of the crown of England
in the Province.
Third. That none of the Indians should, at any time, aid.
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 77
assist or abet any other nation, whether of Indians or others, that
would at any time not be in amity with the king of England.
Fourth. That, if at any time, the Indians should hear from
evil-minded persons or sowers of sedition any unkind reports of
the English, representing that the English had evil designs against
the Indians, in such case the Indians should send notice thereof to
Penn or his successors, and not give credence to such reports until
fully satisfied concerning the truth of the same. Penn agreed that
he and his successors should at all times act in the same manner
toward the Indians.
Fifth. That the Indians should not suffer any strange nations
of Indians to settle on the farther side of the Susquehanna or
about the Potomac, except those that were already seated there,
nor bring any other Indians into any part of the Province without
the permission of Penn or his successors.
Sixth. Penn, for the purpose of correcting abuses that were
too frequently connected with the fur trade with the Indians,
agreed on the part of himself and his successors, that no one should
be permitted to trade with the Indians without first securing a
license under the Governor's hand and seal; and the Indians
agreed, on their part, not to permit any person whatsoever to buy
or sell, or have any trade with them, without first having a license
so to do.
Seventh. The Indians agreed not to sell or dispose of any of
their skins or furs to any person whatsoever outside of the Pro-
vince; and Penn bound himself and his successors to furnish the
Indians with all kinds of necessary goods for their use, at reason-
able rates.
Eighth. The Conoys, Ganawese, or Piscataways, should have
leave of Penn and his successors to settle on any part of the Poto-
mac River within the bounds of Penn's Province. (At this time,
the vexed question as to the boundary line between Pennsylvania
and Maryland was unsettled.)
Ninth. The Susquehannas, or Conestogas, as a part of these
articles of agreement, absolutely ratified and confirmed the sale of
lands lying near and about the Susquehanna, formerly conveyed
to William Penn, by deed of Governor Dongan of New York, and
later confirmed by the deed of the Conestogas, dated the 13th day
of September, in the year 1700. The Susquehannas also agreed
to be, at all times, ready further to confirm and make good the
said sale, according to the tenor of the same, and that they would
be answerable to Penn and his successors for the good behavior
78 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of the Conoys or Ganawese, and for their performing of their
several agreements which were a part of this treaty.
Tenth. In the last item of the agreement, Penn promised, for
himself and his successors, that they would, at all times, show
themselves true friends and brothers to all of the Indians by assist-
ing them with the best of their "advices, directions and counsel,"
and would, in all things just and reasonable, befriend them; and
the chiefs promised, for themselves and their successors, to behave
themselves according to the tenor of the agreement, and to submit
to the laws of the Province in the same manner as "the English
and other Christians therein do." The agreement was then con-
cluded by the exchange of skins and furs, on the part of the In-
dians, and goods and merchandise, on the part of Penn.
At about the time of making this historic treaty of peace with
the Indians on the Susquehanna, William Penn had journied into
the interior of his Province, and conferred with the Conestogas at
Conestoga, their principal town, in Lancaster County, the Cones-
togas being responsible for the good behavior of the Shawnees in
their vicinity, as was pointed out in Chapter II. Penn wrote to
James Logan, in June, 1701, of his visit to the Conestoga region,
as follows : "We were entertained right nobly at the Indian King's
palace at Conestoga." At that time, Penn intended the founding
of a "great city" in the Conestoga region, on the Susquehanna.
At the time of this treaty, most of the Conoy were living on
the north bank of the Potomac, though some had already entered
Pennsylvania as early as 1698 or 1699, as stated in Chapter II.
Some years after the treaty, or in the summer of 1705, the Dela-
ware chief, Manangy, living on the Schuylkill, interviewed Gov-
ernor John Evans, at Philadelphia, explaining that the Conoy,
"settled in this Province near the head of the Potomac, being now
reduced by sickness to a small number, and desirous to quit their
present habitation where they settled about five years ago with
the Proprietor's consent, the Conestoga Indians then becoming
guarantees of a treaty of friendship, made between them, and
showing a belt of wampum they had sent to the Schuylkill Indians
to engage their friendship and consent that they might settle
amongst them near Tulpehocken, request of the Governor that
they may be permitted to settle in the said place." The Governor
then permitted the Conoy to settle in the valley of the Tulpe-
hocken, Manangy and his band on the Schuylkill guaranteeing
their good behavior.
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 79
The historic Treaty or Articles of Agreement of April 23d, 1701
should have a high and glorious place in the history of Penn-
sylvania. The articles are recorded in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 2,
pages 15 to 18; also in Pa. Archives, Vol. 1, pages 144 to 147. The
treaty was carefully preserved by the Shawnees for many
decades. On November 12th, 1764, when Colonel Henry Bouquet
was holding conferences with Nimwha, Red Hawk, Cornstalk
and other Shawnee chiefs, on the Muskingum, relative to the
part this tribe had taken in Pontiac's War, Red Hawk produced
this historic document and three messages or letters from the
Governor of Pennsylvania of different dates, and said:
"Now, Brother, I beg we, who are warriors, may forget our
disputes, and renew the friendship which appears by these papers
to have subsisted between our fathers."
Indians Bid Farewell to William Penn
Shortly before embarking for England, in the autumn of 1701,
William Penn assembled a large company of the Delawares at his
manor house at Pennsbury to review and confirm the covenants
of peace and good will, which he had formerly made with them.
The meeting was held in the great hall of the manor house. The
sachems assured him that they had never broken a covenant
"made with their hearts and not with their heads." After the
business of the conference had been transacted, Penn made them
many presents of coats and other articles, and then the Indians
retired into the courtyard of the mansion to complete their
ceremonies.
By some authorities it is said that Queen Allaquippa, of the
Senecas, with her husband and infant visited William Penn at
New Castle, Delaware, shortly before he sailed for England the
last time. These authorities say that Queen Allaquippa's infant
was Canachquasy, the great peace apostle among the Delawares
during the early days of the French and Indian War. In this
connection, we point out that, in the minutes of a meeting of the
Provincial Council, August 22nd, 1755, (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6,
pages 588 and 589), Canachquasy is referred to as "the son of
old Allaguipas, whose mother was now alive and living near
Ray's Town"; also that George Croghan wrote from Aughwick,
December 23d, 1754, (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 218), that,
"Alequeapy, ye old quine, is dead and Left several children." It
seems quite likely, therefore, that Canachquasy was the son of
80 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Iroquois chief, Allaguipas, whose name was similar in sound
to that of Queen Allaquippa.
Likewise, Oretyagh, with a number of the sachems of the
Conestogas and Shawnees, came to Philadelphia shortly before
Penn's final departure for England, to take leave of their beloved
"Brother Onas." At this conference, which was held on October
7th, 1701, Penn informed the chiefs that it was likely the last inter-
view that he would ever have with them ; that he had ever loved
and been kind to them and ever would continue so to be, not
through political designs or for a selfish interest, but out of real
affection. He desired them, in his absence to cultivate friendship
with those whom he would leave in authority, so that the bond of
friendship already formed might grow the stronger throughout
the passing years. He also informed them that the Assembly
was at that time enacting a law, according to their desire, to pre-
vent their being abused by the selling of rum among them, with
which Oretyagh, in the name of the rest, expressed great satis-
faction, and desired that the law might speedily and efifectually
be put into execution. Oretyagh said that his people had long
suffered from the ravages of the rum traffic, and that he now
hoped for redress, believing that they would have no reason for
complaint of this matter in the future.
Penn early saw the degradation which the Indians' unquench-
able thirst for strong drink wrought among them, and he did all
in his power to remedy this matter. He said that it made his
heart sick to note the deterioration of character and the degrada-
tion which the strong liquor and vices of the white man wrought
among the Indians during his short stay in the Province.
Finally, at this leavetaking, Penn requested the Indians that,
if any of his colonists should ever transgress the law and agree-
ment, which he and his governor had entered into with them, they
should at once inform the government of his Province, so that
the offenders might be prosecuted. This they promised to observe
faithfully, and that, if any rum were brought among them, they
would not buy it, but send the person who brought it back with it
again. Then, informing the chiefs that he had charged the mem-
bers of his Council that they should, in all respects, be kind and
just to the Indians in every manner as he had been, and making
them presents, he bade them adieu never to meet them again.
Well would it have been for the Colony of Pennsylvania, if
Penn's successors had always emulated his example, and the
example of the Swedes, in dealing with the Indians — if his sue-
THE SWEDES AND WILLIAM PENN 81
cessors had been imbued with his kindly spirit, and had treated
the natives with justice. He died on the 30th of July, 1718, at
Ruscombe, near Tywford, in Buckinghamshire, England, at the
age of seventy-four; and when his great heart was cold and still
in death, the Red Man of the Pennsylvania forests lost his truest
friend. During Penn's life there were no serious troubles between
his colony and the Indian, and no actual warfare, as we shall see,
for some years thereafter; but, less than a generation after this
great apostle of the rights of man was gathered to his fathers, the
Delawares, who had welcomed him so kindly, and the Shawnees,
rose in revolt, after a long series of wrongs, and spread terror,
devastation, and death throughout the Pennsylvania settlements.
Says Dr. George P. Donehoo: "The memory of William Penn
lingered in the wigwams of the Susquehanna and the Ohio until
the last red man of this generation had passed away; and then the
tradition of him was handed down to the generations which fol-
lowed until today, when it still lingers, like a peaceful benediction,
among the Delaware and Shawnee on the sweeping plains of
Oklahoma."
CHAPTER IV
Principal Indian Events From
1701 to 1754
As stated in the preceding chapter, WilHam Penn left his
^/~\Province in the autumn of 1701 never to return. For many
years after his departure, there was much uneasiness among the
Indians of the lower Susquehanna due to the following facts:
(1) The Iroquois regarded the Shawnees as enemies because of
the latter's alliance with the Susquehannas or Conestogas. (2)
The Iroquois made the villages of the Conoys on the lower Sus-
quehanna their stopping places while going to and returning from
the Carolinas in their war against the Catawbas and Cherokees.
(3) The boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland
caused friction between the white traders of the Cones toga region,
and led to open hostility of the people of Maryland to the Sus-
quehannas, Shawnees, Conoys and other Indians of this region.
At a meeting of the Provincial Council, held on May 9, 1704
and reported in Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 2, page 138,
Edward Farmer reported to Governor John Evans that "Carolina
Indians" (most likely Catawbas), to the number of forty, had
recently made a raid into the Conestoga region in revenge for the
capture of one of their number by the Iroquois the year before.
Farmer, who had received his information from Nicole Godin, a
trader at Conestoga, further advised the Governor that the
"Carolina Indians" declared that for many years they had been
attacked by Indians from the northward, "whom they had always
hitherto taken to be those of Canada, but now found who they
were, viz: ye Senecas & those Potomock & Conestogoe, & that
they were Resolved to be Revenged, & to that end three nations
had Joyned & would shortly come up & either destroy or be
destroyed by them." Two weeks later Peter Bezallion, a French
trader in the Conestoga region, reported to the Provincial Council
that he had heard that the Five Nations were coming into the
Province to carry off the Shawnees settled near Conestoga and
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 83
those settled at the mouth of the Lehigh, "they being colonies of
a nation that were their enemies."
Council with Conestogas, Shawnees, and Conoys
On the sixth and seventh of June, 1706, a council was held at
Philadelphia between Governor John Evans and "the chiefs of
the Conestogas, Shawnees, and Ganawese, or Conoys," con-
cerning public affairs relating to these tribes. Indian Harry, of the
Conestogas, was the interpreter. In the minutes of the council,
the Colonial Records do not specifically state that Opessah was
present, but, being the head of the Shawnees at Pequea, there is
no doubt that he attended the council. This council opened with
Secretary James Logan's account of his journey to the Conestogas
and Conoy during the preceding October and the treaty which was
then held with the Conoy at their town (Connejaghera, Cone-
joholo, Dekanoagah) near the site of Washington Borough,
Lancaster County, by the terms of which treaty, the Conoy were
assured that they would be safe in Penn's Province. The Conoy
explained to James Logan, at the time of his visit, that they had
had much trouble with the Virginians, and, considering it not safe
to dwell in their old abode on the Potomac, had come within the
bounds of Pennsylvania, where they hoped to dwell in peace.
At the meeting at Conestoga, in October, 1705, Secretary Logan
reminded the assembled chiefs that "Governor W. Penn, since
first he came into this Countrey, with all those under him, had
always inviolably maintain'd a perfect Friendship with all the
natives of this Countrey, that he found Possess'd of it at his first
arrival" and that "when he was last in the Countrey he visited
those of that place Conestoga, and his son upon his arrival did
the same, in order to cultivate the ancient friendship:" and
complaint was also made that John Hans Steelman was building
a trading house at Conestoga, much to the annoyance of Penn-
sylvania, as Steelman was represented to be a Marylander, and
had no license to trade with the Indians of Penn's Province. The
chiefs informed Logan that they did not encourage Steelman's
activities.
During this council at Philadelphia, Andaggy-Junguagh, chief
of the Conestogas, laid before Governor Evans a very large belt
of wampum, which he said was a pledge of peace formerly
delivered by the Onondagas to the Nanticokes when the Ononda-
gas had subjugated this tribe. He explained that the Nanticokes,
84 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
being lately under some apprehension of danger from the Five
Nations, some of them had, in the spring of 1706, come to the
region of the Conestogas, and had brought this belt with them, as
well as another belt, which, the chief explained, he left at his
village in Lancaster County. He further advised the Governor
that the Five Nations, of whom the Onondagas, as has been seen,
were a member, were presently expected to send deputies to
receive the tribute of the Nanticokes; that he had brought this
belt to Philadelphia in order that the Colonial Authorities might
be able to show it to any of the Five Nations, who might come
to Philadelphia, as evidence to them that peace had been made.
The Provincial Council, after considering the matter, concluded
to keep the belt according to the proposal of the Conestogas; and
the Conestogas promised to retain the other belt at their chief
town, to be shown to the Five Nations if any of their deputies
should come to Conestoga.
The remaining time of the council was taken up by explaining
to the chiefs of these three nations the laws which had been re-
cently enacted regulating the intercourse between the Province
and these Indians. Evans explained to the chiefs that a law had
recently been enacted providing that no person should trade with
them but such as should first have a license from the Governor
under his hand and seal. The chiefs requested the Governor that
only two traders be licensed, but Evans explained that the fewer
the number of traders the more likely it would be that the Indians
would be imposed upon. They then desired of the Governor
that he would not permit the traders to go beyond their towns and
meet the Indians returning from hunting, explaining that it had
been the traders' custom to meet the Indians returning from their
hunt, when they were loaded with furs and peltries, make them
drunk, and get all of the fruits of their hunt before they returned
to their wives and families. The Governor agreed to this proposal
and told the chiefs that their people should have no dealings with
the traders, except at their own villages, and that he would in-
struct the traders not to go any farther into the Susquehanna
region than the principal Indian towns, and to do no trading
whatever, except in those places. Liberal presents were then
given the chiefs, and the council adjourned.
The minutes of this important council are found in the Penn-
sylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 2, pages 244 to 248.
At a meeting of the Provincial Council on the 31st of August,
1706, it was decided that Governor Evans should visit Conestoga
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 85
and the region round about it, for the purpose of further strength-
ening the bond of friendship between the Indians and the Colony.
The Governor accordingly journeyed to this region early in Sep-
tember, where he was well received by the Conestogas, Shawnees
and Conoys; but his visit was the cause of much scandal on ac-
count of his actions while there.
Governor Evans' Journey to the Susquehanna Region
The French, as early as 1707, had their emissaries among the
Conestogas under the guise of traders, miners or colonists in an
effort to draw them away from their allegiance to the English.
Likewise, the colony of Maryland was pushing her pioneers over
the boundary, in an effort to forestall the claims of William Penn
by actual settlement.
In the month of June, 1707, Governor Evans, accompanied by
Colonel John French, William Tonge, and several other Friends,
and four servants, made a journey among the Susquehanna In-
dians, upon receiving a message from the Conestogas that the
Nanticokes, who now had been tributaries of the Five Nations for
twenty-seven years, intended journeying to the Onondagas in
New York. He visited the following places : Pequea, Dekanoagah
Conestoga, and Paxtang, near Harrisburg.
At Pequea, the Governor and his party were received by the
Shawnees with a discharge of firearms, and a conference was held,
on June 30th, with Opessah, in which the chief told the Governor
that he and his people were "happy to live in a country at peace,
and not as in those parts where we formerly lived, for then, upon
returning from hunting, we found our town surprised, and our
women and children taken prisoners by our enemies." While the
Governor was at Pequea, several Shawnees from the South came
to settle there, and were permitted to do so by Opessah, with the
Governor's consent.
At Dekanoagah, the Governor was present at a meeting of the
Shawnees, Conoys, and Nanticokes from seven of the surrounding
towns. After having satisfied himself that the Nanticokes were
a well meaning people, the Governor guaranteed them the pro-
tection of the Colony of Pennsylvania.
The Governor, having received information at Pequea that a
Frenchman, named Nicole, was holding forth among the Indians
at Paxtang, about whom he had received many complaints, and
having advised the chief at Paxtang of his intention to seize this
86 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
French trader, captured Nicole, after much difficulty, and, having
mounted him on a horse with his legs tied, conveyed him through
Tulpehocken and Manatawney, to Philadelphia, and lodged him
in jail.
The report of Governor Evans' trip is recorded in the Penn-
sylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 2, pages 386 to 390.
Troubles Between the Northern and the Southern Indians
Continue — Great Conferences at Conestoga
As was pointed out in Chapter II, the Tuscaroras began their
migration from the Carolinas and Virginia to the territory of the
Five Nations in New York, in 1712 or 1713, and were formally
admitted, in 1722, as a constituent part of the Iroquois Con-
federation. While the Tuscaroras were still living in their
southern home, they were bitter enemies of the Catawbas, and
their hatred did not abate upon their removing to New York.
Almost every summer after 1713, roving bands of the Tuscaroras
and other members of the Five Nations, followed the mountain
valleys through Pennsylvania to the South, on their way to attack
the Catawbas and Cherokees; and many Conestogas joined these
war parties. Some destruction was done by these bands within
the Province of Pennsylvania, but presently the Colonial Au-
thorities adopted the method of having the farmers, whose crops .
were injured, place their bill in the hands of the nearest justice of
the peace, who would, in turn, forward it to the Provincial Coun-
cil; and, at the next conference with the Indians, the Council
would deduct the amount of the bill from the present given to the
Indians at that conference. This method made Pennsylvania
practically free from ravages wrought by these bands. The colony
of Virginia, however, did not fare so well, and both lives and
property were destroyed by these bands of warriors from the
North.
These war parties of the Iroquois frequently made Conestoga
their stopping place on their way to and return from the territory
of the Catawbas and Cherokees, and many a captive Catawba
and Cherokee was tortured to death at Conestoga. Finally a
treaty of peace was made between the Conestogas and Catawbas,
on August 31st, 1715, but this did not put a stop to the expeditions
of the Iroquois against the Southern Indians.
In June, 1717, Governor William Keith received a message
from the Conestoga chief, Civility, and several other chiefs of the
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 87
Conestoga region, desiring him to visit them without delay to
consult about affairs of great importance. The Governor, ac-
cordingly, journeyed to Conestoga, in July, where he met the
chiefs of the Conestogas, Delawares, Shawnees, and Conoys, and
inquired of them the cause of their alarm. He ascertained that
about two months previously a young Delaware, son of a chief,
had been killed on one of the branches of the Potomac by a party
of Virginians accompanied by some Indians. These latter were
no doubt Catawbas, who, at that time, were at peace with
Virginia. At this meeting at Conestoga, Governor Keith brought
to the attention of the Indians that many complaints had been
made by the inhabitants of Virginia concerning the destruction
caused by the war parties of the Iroquois against the Catawbas;
and he reminded them of the fact that, although divided into
different colonies, the English were one people; that to injure or
make war upon one body of them was to make war upon all, and
that the Indians, therefore, must never molest or trouble any of
the English colonists, nor make war upon any Indians who were
in friendship with, or under the protection of, the English.
At this conference, Keith stressed the fact that recently a band
of Senecas had attacked some Catawbas near Fort Christian,
in the colony of Virginia, killing six and capturing a woman; and
he called upon the Indians of the Conestoga region to explain
their connection with this insult to Virginia. The Shawnee chief
told the Governor that six young men of this tribe had accom-
panied the party of Senecas who made the attack upon the Cataw-
bas, but explained that none of the six were present at the time
and place of this conference, "their settlements being much higher
up the Susquehanna River." The chief further stated that the
six Shawnees declared, upon their return, that they had nothing
to do with the attack upon the Catawbas.
Governor Keith closed the conference with the following stipu-
lations, quoted from the minutes of the conference:
"1st. That he expected their strict observance of all former
contracts of friendship made between them and the Govern-
ment of Pennsylvania.
"2dly. That they must never molest or disturb any of the
English Governments, nor make war upon any Indians whatso-
ever who are in friendship with and under the protection of the
English.
"3dly. That, in all cases of suspicion or danger, they must
88 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
advise and consult with this Government before they undertook
or determined any thing.
"4thly. That, if through accident any mischief of any sort
should happen to be done by the Indians to the English, or by the
English to them, then both parties should meet with hearty in-
tention of good will to obtain an acknowledgment of the mistake,
as well as to give or receive reasonable satisfaction.
"5thly. That, upon these terms and conditions, the Governor
did, in the name of their great and good friend, William Penn,
take them and their people under the same protection, and in the
same friendship with this Government, as William Penn himself
had formerly done, or could do now if he was here present.
"And the Governor hereupon did promise, on his part, to
encourage them in peace, and to nourish and support them like a
true friend and brother.
"To all which the several chiefs and their great men presently
assented, it being agreed, that, in testimony thereof, they should
rise up and take the Governor by the hand, which accordingly
they did with all possible marks of friendship in their countenance
and behaviour."
The chiefs taking part in these councils at Conestoga, in July,
1717, represented the Conestogas or Susquehannas, the Dela-
wares, the Shawnees and the Conoys. Peter Bezallion was the
interpreter. For a detailed account of the conferences, the reader
is referred to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 3, pages
19 to 25.
In 1719, great difficulties arose concerning the hunting grounds
of the Northern and the Southern Indians. The Iroquois sent
out many war parties, which stopped at Conestoga on their way
south, and were joined by many of the Conestogas. These raids
into the Shenandoah Valley brought many white settlers of
Virginia and the Carolinas into hostility to the Iroquois; for these
colonies were then on friendly terms with the Catawbas and
Cherokees, against whom the raids were directed. In fact, a
general uprising of the settlers of Virginia and the Carolinas was
imminent. The Iroquois conducted their warfare on the Southern
Indians with great brutality, torturing many captives to death
at Conestoga and villages on the Susquehanna.
On receiving a letter from Civility and other chiefs at Cones-
toga advising that some of their Indians had been killed by the
Southern Indians, Governor Keith sent Colonel John French to
Conestoga, where a council was held on June 28th, 1719, with
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 89
Civility and Queen Canatowa of the Conestogas, "Wightomina,
King of the Delawares, Sevana, King of the Shawnees," who suc-
ceeded Opessah at Pequea, and "Winninchack, King of the Cana-
wages" [Conoys]. In the name of Governor Keith, Colonel
French made the following demands of Civility and the other
chiefs: That they should not receive the war parties of the
Tuscaroras, or any other tribes of the Five Nations, if coming to
their towns on their way to or return from the South; and that
they would have to answer to the Colonial Authorities, if any
prisoner were tortured by them. It appeared, however, that the
warriors of the Five Nations, on their way southward, practically
forced the young men of the Conestogas, Shawnees, and Conoy to
accompany them. As the conquerors of these tribes, the Iroquois
demanded their allegiance and help. The chiefs promised faith-
fully to obey the commands of Governor Keith, but the war went
on.
James Logan, Secretary of the Provincial Council, on June 27,
1720, held a conference at Conestoga with Civility and chiefs of
the Shawnees, Delawares, and Conoy, in an attempt to dissuade
these Indians from making raids into Virginia. Not long before,
ten Iroquois and two Shawnees had been killed by the Southern
Indians about one hundred and sixty miles from Conestoga. At
this conference, Logan learned that the Pequea Shawnees could
not be restrained from assisting the Iroquois, inasmuch as since
the departure of Opessah, no one could control them. True, the
Conestogas were answerable for the behavior of these Shawnees,
but Civility advised Logan that he "had only the name without
any authority, and could do nothing." Moreover, it was difficult
for Logan to impress upon the minds of these Indians the fact
that the English of Virginia and Maryland were not at war with
the English of Pennsylvania. They could not see why the Indians
in friendship with Pennsylvania should not go to war against the
Virginians, just as the Iroquois went to war against the Indians
of Virginia and the Carolinas.
At the close of the conference. Civility told Logan privately
that the Five Nations, especially the Cayugas, were much dis-
satisfied because of the large settlements the English were making
on the Susquehanna, and that the Iroquois claimed a property
right in those lands. As to the Iroquois' claim to a property right
in the Susquehanna lands, Logan told Civility that the Indians
well knew that the Iroquois had long before conveyed those lands
to the Governor of New York, and that William Penn had pru-
% THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
chased this right, as will be pointed out later in this chapter.
Civility acknowledged this fact.
Realizing the awful consequences of a general war between the
Iroquois and their allies, on the one side, and the Southern In-
dians on the other, involving the settlers of the South, Governor
Keith, in the spring of 1721, visited Governor Spotswood of
Virginia with whom he framed an agreement, by the terms of
which the tributary Indians of Virginia would not, in the future,
pass the Potomac nor "the high ridge of mountains extending
along the back of Virginia; provided that the Indians to the north-
ward of the Potomac and to the westward of those mountains"
would observe the same limits.
Governor Keith, accompanied by seventy armed horsemen,
visited Conestoga on July 5th, 1721, where he conferred, at
Civility's lodge, not only with the Conestogas but also with four
deputies of the Five Nations, who had recently arrived there,
telling the spokesman of the Five Nations, Ghesoant, that,
"whereas the English from a very small beginning had now be-
come a great people in the Western World, far exceeding the num-
ber of all the Indians, which increase was the fruit of peace
among themselves, the Indians continued to make war upon one
another and were destroying one another, as if it was their pur-
pose that none of them should be left alive." He called attention
to the suffering that their wars caused to the women and children
at home, and, in various ways, tried to mollify their warlike
passions, but stated that, if they were determined to continue
warfare, they must, in journeying to and from the South, take
another path lying farther to the west, and not pass through the
settled parts of the Province. The result of the conference was
the ratifying by the Conestogas and Five Nations of the agree-
ment arranged by Governor Keith and Governor Spotswood as
to the limits of the hunting grounds of the Virginia and the Penn-
sylvania Indians. Keith closed the conference by giving Ghesoant
a gold coronation medal of George, the First, which he asked him
to take as a token of friendship to the greatest chief of the Five
Nations, Kannygoodk. Thus, happily, the immediate danger of
a general Indian uprising was averted.
This was the most important Indian treaty ever held at Con-
estoga. Its details are recorded in the Pennsylvania Colonial
Records, Vol, 3, pages 121 to 130. Later, troubles came on apace
between the Iroquois and the Southern Indians, but the Iroquois
abandoned the Susquehanna route to the South, taking the
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 91
Warrior's Path, which crossed the Potomac at Old Town (Opes-
sah's Town), and, still later, when white settlers occupied the
valley along Warrior Ridge, a trail farther westward, crossing
the counties of Westmoreland and Fayette.
Sassoonan's Deed of Release
In the autumn of 1718, Sassoonan and several other chiefs of
the Delawares came to Philadelphia, claiming that they had not
been paid for their lands. Then, James Logan, secretary of the
Provincial Council, produced to them, in the presence of the
Council, a number of deeds, and convinced Sassoonan and his
brother chiefs that they were mistaken in their contention. Ac-
cordingly, Sassoonan and six other chiefs executed a release on
the 17th day of September, 1718, by the terms of which they
acknowledged that their ancestors had conveyed to William
Penn, in fee, all the land and had been paid for the same. By the
same instrument these Indians released all the land "between the
Delaware and the Susquehanna from Duck Creek [in Delaware]
to the mountains [the South Mountain] on this side of Lechay
[by the Lehigh River]."
At the time of executing this deed of release, Sassoonan was
living at Paxtang, and adjacent parts; but it is probable that
shortly thereafter he took up his abode at Shamokin (Sunbury),
which became his home for the remainder of his life.
Tawena and Springettsbury Manor
Tawena, a chief of the Conestogas, claims our remembrance on
account of his connection with the survey of Springettsbury
Manor, in June, 1722. At that time, the boundary line between
Pennsylvania and Maryland was still in dispute, and Maryland
settlers were encroaching on territory claimed by Pennsylvania.
In order to secure a right and title to the lands, in Pennsylvania
upon which these settlers had encroached, Governor William
Keith, before he went to attend the Albany treaty, or conference,
of September, 1722, conceived the. idea of obtaining permission
of the Indians along the lower Susquehanna to lay off a large
manor, and accordingly went to Conestoga, where, on June 15th
and 16th of that year, he held a conference with the Conestoga,
Shawnee and Conoy chiefs, telling them of the encroachments of
the Marylanders in what is now York County, and suggesting
92 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the plan to take up a large tract of land on the west side of the
Susquehanna for Springett Penn, grandson of the founder of th*>
Province. Keith spoke at great length and with great earnestness.
He told the Indians that the grandson had the same kind of heart
as his grandfather had, and that he would be glad to give the
Indians a part of the land for their use and occupation. He
further said that the land should be marked with Springett Penn's
name upon the trees, so that the Maryland people would then
keep off, and that such marking would prevent all white persons
from settling near enough the Indians to disturb them.
Owing to the love of these Indians for William Penn, Governor
Keith won his point. They replied through Tawena, agreeing to
give up the land, but requesting that the Governor take up the
matter further with the Cayugas when he would attend the
Albany conference. However, they requested that the land be
surveyed at once. The warrant was made out, and John French,
Francis Worley and James Mitchell surveyed the tract on June
20th and 21st. It was named Springettsbury Manor, and con-
tained 75,520 acres, according to the survey. The boundary
line began opposite the mouth of Conestoga Creek, and ran south-
west ten miles, thence northwest twelve miles to a point north of
the present city of York, thence northeast to the Susquehanna
River, thence along this stream to the place of beginning. The
Marylanders paid no attention to the survey. The Manor was
surveyed again, in 1768.
The warrant and survey were not returned to the land office,
and the entire transaction appears to have been done under the
private seal of Governor Keith. Nor was any actual purchase
made from the Indians, at the conference of June 15th and 16th,
1722. Springett Penn held whatever title he had in trust for the
proprietaries.
The Threatened Uprising of 1728
On May 6, 1728, Governor Gordon advised the Provincial
Council that he had recently received a letter from John Wright,
a trader, at Conestoga, stating that two Conestogas had been
murdered by several of the Shawnees in that neighborhood, and
that the Conestogas seemed to be preparing to declare war on the
Shawnees, in retaliation. The Governor also advised the Council,
at this time, that he had received a petition signed by a great
number of the settlers in the back parts of Lancaster County,
setting forth that they were under great apprehension of being
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 93
attacked by the Indians, and that many families had left their
homes through fear of an Indian uprising. Wright further in-
formed the Governor, in his letter, that the Shawnees had brought
the Shawnee murders as far as Peter Chartier's house, at which
place the party engaged in much drinking, and, through the
connivance of Chartier, the two Shawnee murderers escaped. It
is not surprising that Chartier let the murderers escape, as he him-
self was a half blood Shawnee. He was at that time trading at
Pequea Creek. His action so incensed the Conestogas that they
threatened to destroy all the Shawnees in that region.
Almost at the same time that the murder of the Conestogas
occurred, the settlers along the valley of the Schuylkill became
much alarmed for their safety from another quarter. Kako-
watcheky, who was the head of the Shawnees living at Pecho-
quealin, in what is now lower Smithfield Township, Monroe
County, claimed that he had learned that the Flatheads, or
Catawbas, from North Carolina, had entered Pennsylvania with
the intention of striking the Indians along the Susquehanna; and
he, accordingly, led eleven warriors to ascertain the truth of this
rumor, who, when they came into the neighborhood of the Dur-
ham Iron Works, near Manatawny, in the northern part of Berks
County, their provisions failed, and they forced the settlers to
give them food and drink. The settlers did not know these
Indians, and believing the chief of the band to be a Spanish
Indian, they were in great terror; families fled from their planta-
tions and women and children suffered greatly from exposure,
as the weather was raw and cold. There seems to be little doubt
that Kakowatcheky was leading this band to Paxtang to assist
the Shawnees of that place, who had been threatened by the
Conestogas on account of the above mentioned murder of the
two Conestogas.
A band of about twenty settlers took up arms and approached
the invaders, sending two of their number to treat with the chief,
who, instead of receiving them civilly, brandished his sword, and
commanded his men to fire, which they did, and wounded two of
the settlers. The settlers thereupon returned the fire, upon which
the chief fell, but afterwards got up and ran into the woods, leav-
ing his gun behind him. The identity of this Indian band was not
known until May 20th, when two traders from Pechoquealin,
John Smith and Nicholas Schonhoven, came to Governor Gordon
and delivered to him a message from Kakowatcheky, explaining
the unfortunate affair, sending his regrets, and asking the Gover-
94 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
nor for the return of the gun which he dropped when wounded.
The Governor, then, accompanied by many citizens of Phila-
delphia,went to the troubled district, and personally pleaded with
those settlers who had left their plantations to return. He found
them so excited that they seemed ready to kill Indians of both
sexes, but finally succeeded in pacifying them.
The Governor was about ready to return home when he
received the melancholy news from Samuel Nut that an Indian
man and two women were cruelly murdered, on May 20th, at
Cucussea, then in Chester County, by John and Walter Winters,
without any provocation whatever, and two Indian girls badly
wounded ; upon which a hue was immediately issued in an effort
to apprehend the murderers. It appeared from investigation
that, on the day of this murder, an Indian man, two women, and
two girls, appeared at John Roberts' house, and that their neigh-
bors noticing this, rallied to their defense, shot the man and one
of the women, beat out the brains of the other woman, and
wounded the girls, their excuse being that the Indian had put an
arrow into his bow, and that they, having heard reports that some
settlers had been killed by Indians, believed that the settlers
might lawfully kill any Indian they could find.
The murderers were apprehended and placed in jail at Chester,
for trial. A message was then sent to Sassoonan, Opekasset, and
Manawkyhickon, acquainting them with the unhappy affair and
requesting them to come to Conestoga, where a treaty would be
held with Chief Civility and the other Indians at that place. The
Provincial Council being apprehensive that this barbarous mur-
der would stir up the Indians to take revenge on the settlers, a
commission was appointed to get the inhabitants together and
put them in a state to defend themselves. This commission con-
sisted of John Pawling, Marcus Hulings, and Mordecai Lincoln,
the great-great-grandfather of Abraham Lincoln, whose home
was about ten miles east of the present town of Reading. Hav-
ing sent Kakowatcheky the gun he had dropped, as well as the
tomahawks dropped by his eleven warriors when they fled from
the band of twenty settlers, as related above, together with a
request that he warn the Indians under his authority to be more
careful in the future, the Governor, accompanied by thirty resi-
dents of Philadelphia, met the Indians at a council at Conestoga
on the 26th of May, where he conferred with Civility and other
Conestoga, Shawnee, Conoy, and Delaware chiefs, made them
many presents, and promised to punish the two murderers, if
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 95
found guilty. John and Walter Winters were subsequently tried,
found guilty, and hanged for the murder of the Indian man and
two women.
At this point, the author desires to say that, in no work on
Abraham Lincoln or his ancestry, has he been able to find a
reference to the fact that the Great Emancipator's ancestor,
Mordecai Lincoln, was a man of such ability and prominence as
to be appointed by the Governor and Provincial Council of
Pennsylvania as one of the three members of the important com-
mission whose duty it was to place the Province in a state of
defense during the threatened Indian uprising in 1728, For the
account of Mordecai Lincoln's appointment, the reader is referred
to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 3, page 304.
Sassoonan and the Tulpehocken Lands
At a meeting of the Provincial Council, held on June 5th, 1728
and reported in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 3,
pages 318 to 321, the great Delaware chief, Sassoonan, or Al-
lummapees, then residing at Shamokin (Sunbury), complained
that the Palatines (immigrants from Germany) were settling on
lands in the valley of the Tulpehocken, in Berks and Lebanon
Counties, which, he claimed, had not been purchased from the
Indians. These particular Palatines had first settled in the
Schoharie Valley in New York, where they endured much suf-
fering. When Governor Keith attended the Albany Conference,
the hardships of these Germans were brought to his attention;
whereupon his interest and sympathy were aroused, and he
offered them a home in Pennsylvania. The next year (1723)
some of these Palatines emigrated from New York to the Tulpe-
hocken Valley, but a much greater number, about fifty families,
came in 1727. They descended the Susquehanna to the mouth of
Swatara Creek, in Dauphin County. Ascending this stream and
crossing the divide between the Susquehanna and the Schuylkill,
they entered the fertile and charming valley of the Tulpehocken.
They had scarcely erected their rude cabins and commenced to
plant their little patches of corn in the clearings in the wilderness,
when the Indians of the neighborhood informed them that this
land had never been purchased by the Pennsylvania Govern-
ment. The Indians were much surprised that these settlers
should be permitted to take up their abode on unpurchased land.
96 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"Surely," said they, "if Brother Onas were living, such things
would never happen."
At this conference, Sassoonan said that he could not have be-
lieved that these lands were settled upon, if he had not gone there
and seen the settlements with his own eyes. In the minutes of the
conference, we read: "He (Sassoonan) said he was grown old
and was troubled to see the Christians settle on lands that the
Indians had never been paid for; they had settled on his lands for
which he had never received anything. That he is now an old
man, and must soon die; that his children may wonder to see all
their father's lands gone from them without his receiving any-
thing for them; that the Christians now make their settlements
very near them (the Indians); and they shall have no place of
their own left to live on ; that this may occasion a difference be-
tween their children and us, and he would willingly prevent any
misunderstanding that may happen."
Governor Gordon suggested to Sassoonan that possibly the
lands in dispute had been included in some of the other purchases;
but Sassoonan and his brother chiefs replied that no lands had
ever been sold northwest of the Blue Ridge, then called the
Lehigh Hills. This conference did not succeed in settling the
matter of these settlements in the Tulpehocken Valley. The
matter dragged along until 1732, when Sassoonan, Elalapis,
Ohopamen, Pesqueetamen, Mayemoe, Partridge, and Tepakoas-
set, on behalf of themselves and all other Indians having a right
in the lands, in consideration of 20 brass kettles, 20 fine guns, 50
tomahawks, 60 pairs of scissors, 24 looking glasses, 20 gallons of
rum, and various other articles so acceptable to the Indians, con-
veyed unto John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, pro-
prietors of the Province, all those lands "situate, lying and being
on the River Schuylkill and the branches thereof, between the
mountains called Lechaig (Lehigh) to the south, and the hills or
mountains, called Keekachtanemin, on the north, and between
the branches of the Delaware River on the east, and the waters
falling into the Susquehanna River on the west," — a grant which
embraced the valley of the Tulpehocken. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 1,
pages 344 to 346.)
Sassoonan was head chief of the Turtle Clan of Delawares from
a date prior to June 14th, 1715 until his death in the autumn of
1747. By some very high authorities, it is claimed that he was a
son of Tamanend and, as a little boy, was with his father at the
"Great Treaty" at Shackamaxon. These authorities make
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 07
Sassoonan identical with "Weheequeckhon, alias Andrew," who
as stated in Chapter II, joined with his father, Tamanend, his
two brothers, and his uncle, in conveying to William Penn, on
the fifth day of July, 1697, certain lands between the Pennypack
and Neshaminy Creeks, and whom Tamanend describes in the
deed, as, "my son who is to be king after my death."
At a meeting of the Provincial Council, held in August, 1731,
and reported in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 3, pages
404 to 406, the frequent complaints made by the Indians on ac-
count of the large quantities of rum being carried to them by the
traders, were taken up. The Council's attention was called to the
fact that the pernicious liquor traffic had recently caused a very
unhappy incident in the family of Sassoonan. In a fit of drunken-
ness, he had killed his nephew, (some authorities say his cousin)
Shackatawlin, at their dwelling place at Shamokin, now Sunbury.
Sassoonan's grief over the unhappy incident was so great that it
almost cost him his life. It was at this meeting of the Provincial
Council that the great Shikellamy, who accompanied Sassoonan,
issued an ultimatum to the Colonial Authorities that, if the
liquor traffic among the Indians were not better regulated, friend-
ly relations between Pennsylvania and the powerful Confedera-
tion of the Six Nations would cease.
At Shamokin, on the banks of the beautiful Susquehanna, in
the autumnal days of 1747, the aged Sassoonan, who had done
so much to preserve the friendship that William Penn established
with the Indians, yielded up his soul to the Great Spirit. Great
changes in the relations between the Delawares and the Colony
had taken place during the span of his life, and still greater
changes were destined to come. In life's morning and noontide,
he beheld the Delawares contented and happy in the bond of affec-
tion between them and "Onas;" yet, before the night had come,
his dim eyes saw on the horizon the gathering clouds of the storm
that, in the autumn of 1755, broke with fury upon the land of
his birth.
Efforts to Have the Shawnees Return and
the Treaty of 1732
As has been seen in a former chapter, the abuses of the liquor
traffic among the Shawnees were among the causes which forced a
large number of this tribe to migrate from the Susquehanna to
the Ohio and Allegheny valleys several years prior to 1730, when
98 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
French emissaries, coming from Canada, seized upon this op-
portunity to alienate the Shawnees from the Enghsh interest.
Therefore, Governor Gordon at a council held at Philadelphia on
August 16th, 1731, decided to adopt the suggestion of Secretary
James Logan that a treaty be arranged with the Six Nations "to
renew and maintain the same good-will and friendship for the
Five Nations which the Honorable William Penn always expressed
to them in his lifetime," and to prevail upon the Six Nations to
assist in holding the Shawnees in their allegiance to the English.
Accordingly, at this same conference, it was decided to send
Shikellamy, "a trusty, good man and a great lover of the Eng-
lish" to Onondaga, the capital of the Six Nations, to invite them
to send deputies to Philadelphia to arrange a treaty.
In keeping with Pennsylvania's efforts to retain the friendship
of the Shawnees on the Allegheny, Governor Gordon sent them a
message in December, 1731, reminding them of the benefits they
had received from William Penn and his successors, while they
lived in the eastern part of the Province, to which message
Neucheconneh and other Shawnee chiefs on the Allegheny, re-
plied in their letter to the Governor, of June, 1732, giving the
reasons why they had removed from the Susquehanna.
In the autumn of 1731, a tract of land, called the "Manor of
Conodoguinet" and located on the west side of the Susquehanna
between Conodoguinet and Yellow Breeches Creeks, was set aside
for the Shawnees in an effort to induce those of this tribe who had
gone to the Ohio and Allegheny, to return to the Susquehanna.
Peter Chartier conveyed this information to the Shawnees on the
Ohio, but they still refused to return to the eastern part of the
Province.
Shikellamy returned to Philadelphia from his journey to
Onondaga, on December 10th, 1731, accompanied by a Cayuga
chief named Cehachquely, and Conrad Weiser and John Scull as
interpreters. He reported that the Six Nations were very much
pleased to hear from the Governor of Pennsylvania, but that, as
winter was now coming on and their chiefs were too old to make
such a fatiguing journey in the winter time, they would come to
Philadelphia in the spring to meet the Governor and enter into
a treaty.
On his way to meet the Governor at this time, Shikellamy
stopped at the home of Conrad Weiser, near Womelsdorf, in the
present county of Berks, took him along to Philadelphia and
introduced him to Governor Gordon as "an adopted son of the
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 99
Mohawk Nation;" and as this conference (December 10, 1731,) is
Weiser's first connection with the Indian affairs of Pennsylvania,
it will be well to pause long enough, at this point, to give a short
sketch of the history of this noted man of the frontier, who later
had so much to do with bringing about the ascendency of the
Anglo-Saxon in the Western World.
This sturdy German was born at Afsteadt, in Herrenberg, near
Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1696. At the age of thirteen, he ac-
companied his father to America, and, for several years, assisted
him in making tar and raising hemp on Livingston Manor, New
York. The Weiser family spent the winter of 1713 and 1714 with
several of the Iroquois at Schenectady, New York, where Conrad
doubtless secured his first lessons in the Iroquois tongue. In the
spring of 1714, he accompanied his father to the Schoharie Valley,
where they endured much hardship in company with the other
Palatines in that valley. When he was seventeen years old,
young Weiser went to live with Quagnant, a prominent Iroquois
chief, who, taking a great fancy to Conrad, requested the father
that the young man might dwell with him for a time. He re-
mained with the Iroquois chief for eight months, learning the
Iroquois language and customs thoroughly, and was adopted by
them.
In 1729, Conrad Weiser and his young wife went from New
York to the Tulpehocken Valley, Pennsylvania, where, as has
been related, a number of Palatines from the Schoharie Valley had
settled, in 1727. The young couple built their home about one
mile east of Womelsdorf, Berks County, where Weiser continued
to reside until a few years before his death, when he removed to
Reading. It is said that while on a hunting trip he met the great
Iroquois chief, Shikellamy, the vice-gerent of the Six Nations,
who was well pleased with Weiser on account of his being able to
speak the Iroquois tongue, and they became fast friends.
While visiting his old home near Womelsdorf, he died July
13, 1760, much lamented by the Colony of Pennsylvania as well as
by the Indians. Said a great Iroquois chieftain, commenting on
the death of Weiser: "We are at a loss, and sit in darkness."
If all white men had been as just to the Indians as was this
sturdy German, the history of the advance of civilization in
America undoubtedly would not contain so many bloody chapters.
Conrad Weiser's home is still standing, and in the orchard above
the house, rests all that is mortal of this distinguished frontiers-
man; while beside him are the graves of several Indian chiefs.
100 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Having loved him in life, they wished to repose beside him in
death. A beautiful monument has been erected to his memory
in the "Conrad Weiser Memorial Park," near Womelsdorf, hav-
ing thereon the words which George Washington uttered concern-
ing him, while standing at his grave, in 1793:
"Posterity Will Not Forget His Services."*
The Six Nations, no doubt mistrusting the motives of the
English, failed to send deputies to Philadelphia in the spring of
1732, as they had promised Shikellamy. In the meantime,
traders in the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny reported that the
French were rapidly gaining the friendship of the Shawnees in the
Ohio Valley; that these Indians complained bitterly about the
great quantities of rum brought to them by the English traders ;
and that they would have declared war against the English, on
this account, save for the influence of Peter Chartier. The
Shawnees said, furthermore, that it had been only five years since
the Six Nations themselves had endeavored to persuade the Ohio
Indians to declare war on the English. In view of these facts,
there was much anxiety on the part of the Provincial Council of
Pennsylvania, over the failure of the deputies of the Six Nations
to make their appearance in Philadelphia in the spring of 1732.
Finally, on August 18th, 1732 the deputies of the Six Nations
arrived, consisting of a number of Oneida, Cayuga, and Onondaga
chiefs, among whom was the celebrated Shikellamy. A few days'
time being given the chiefs in which to refresh themselves after
their long and toilsome journey, the famous treaty of August 23rd
to September 2nd, 1732, was entered into between the Six Nations
and the Colony of Pennsylvania.
We have stated that Secretary James Logan suggested this
treaty; but Logan's knowledge of the influence and importance of
the Six Nations and their power over the Shawnees, Delawares
and other tributary tribes, was gotten from Conrad Weiser. Not
until the coming of Weiser did the Colony fully realize the im-
portance of this powerful confederation.
The deputies of the Six Nations, who arrived in Philadelphia
some days before the opening of the conference, as we have seen,
were chiefs of only the Oneida, Cayuga, and Onondaga tribes; but
they claimed that they were authorized to speak for the other
members of the Iroquois Confederation. In the early stages of
the conference, complaints were made, possibly by members of
the Assembly, against the private nature of the council; and
Conrad Weiser, the interpreter, was selected to interview the
* Weiser was the grandfather of the Lutheran clergyman and noted Revolutionary General,
Peter Muhlenberg, about whom the poet, Read, wrote "The Rising of 1776."
ABOVE — Monument to Conrad Weiser, Indian Interpreter of the Colony of Pennsylvania,
in Conrad Weiser Memorial Park, near Womelsdorf, Berks County, Pa.
BELOW^Home of Conrad Weiser, in Conrad Weiser Memorial Park, erected about 1732.
Here the famous clergyman, Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D. D., founder of the Lutheran
Church in America, for whom Muhlenberg College, at Allentown, Pa., is named, wooed and won
Weiser's daughter, Anna.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 101
Iroquois deputies to learn their pleasure in the matter. The chiefs
replied that they were content to continue in secret session, but
were willing to deal in a more public manner, if such was desired.
Thomas Penn, son of the founder of the Colony, having lately
arrived in Philadelphia, spoke for the Province. He called the
attention of the chiefs to the policy which his father had pursued
in dealing with the Indians, and assured them that he came to
the Province with a desire and design to follow in the footsteps
of his parent. He then asked the Iroquois deputies how their
Confederation stood toward the French, their former enemies.
He inquired how the French behaved toward the Six Nations,
and how all the other nations of Indians to the northward or the
westward were affected toward the Iroquois.
The Iroquois deputies replied through their speaker, Heta-
quantagechty, that they had no great faith in the governor of
Canada, or the French, who had deceived them. "The Six
Nations," said they, "are not afraid of the French. They are
always willing to go and hear what they have to propose. Peace
had been made with the French. A tree had been planted big
enough to shelter them both. Under this tree, a hole had been
dug, and the hatchets had been buried therein. Nevertheless, the
chiefs of the Six Nations thought that the French charged too
much for their goods, and, for this reason, they recommended
their people to trade with the English, who would sell cheaper
than the French." The deputies confided to the Governor that,
when representatives of the Six Nations were at Montreal, in
1727, the governor of Canada told them that he intended to make
war upon Corlear (the term applied to the governors of New
York), and that he desired the Six Nations to remain neutral. On
this occasion, one of the chiefs answered, saying: "Onontejo [the
Indian name for the governor of Canada], you are very proud.
You are not wise to make war with Corlear, and to propose
neutrality to us. Corlear is our brother; he came to us when he
was very little and a child. We suckled him at our breasts; we
have nursed him and taken care of him till he is grown up to be a
man. He is our brother and of the same blood. He and we have
but one ear to hear with, one eye to see with, and one mouth to
speak with. We will not forsake him nor see any man make war
upon him without assisting. We shall join him, and, if we fight
with you, we may have our own father, Onontejo, to bury in the
ground. We would not have you force us to this, but be wise and
live in peace."
102 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Iroquois deputies were told, through Conrad Weiser, that
the Shawnees who were settled to the southward, being made un-
easy by their neighbors, had come up to Conestoga about thirty-
five years before, and desired leave of the Conestoga Indians
located at that place, to settle in the neighborhood; that the
Conestogas applied to the Government of Pennsylvania that the
Shawnees might be permitted to settle there, and that they would
become answerable for their good behavior; that William Penn,
shortly after the arrival of the Shawnees, agreed to their settle-
ment, and the Shawnees thereupon came under the protection of
the Pennsylvania Colony; that, from that time, greater numbers
of the Shawnee Indians followed, settling upon the Susquehanna
and the Delaware. The deputies were further told that the
Colony of Pennsylvania had held several treaties with the Shaw-
nets, treating them from their first coming as "our own Indians,"
but that some of their young men, four or five years previously,
being afraid of the Six Nations, had removed to the Allegheny
Valley, and put themselves under the protection of the French,
who had received them as children; that the Colony had sent a
message asking them to return, and to encourage them, had laid
out a large tract of land on the west side of the Susquehanna near
Paxtang, and desired, by all means, that they would return to
that place.
The Iroquois answered that they never had intended to harm
the Shawnees, and that, as they were coming on their way to
Philadelphia, they had spoken with Kakowatcheky, their (the
Shawnees') old chief, then at Wyoming, and told him that he
should not "look to Ohio, but turn his face to us." They had met
Sassoonan, too, the old chief of the Delawares, then at Shamokin,
and told him that the Delawares, too, should not settle in the
Ohio and Allegheny valleys, upon which Sassoonan had sent
messengers to the Delawares lately gone to the Ohio and Alle-
gheny Valleys, requiring them to return. It will be remembered
that, in the times of which we are writing, and for a long period
thereafter, the Allegheny River was considered simply as a con-
tinuation of the Ohio, and was generally called the Ohio.
The deputies were then told that, as they were the chiefs of
all the northern Indians in the Province, and the Shawnees had
been under their protection, they should oblige them to return
nearer the Pennsylvania settlements; whereupon the chiefs asked
if the Six Nations should do this themselves, or join with the
Authorities of Pennsylvania. They were told that it was the de-
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 103
sire of the Pennsylvania Colony that the Six Nations should join
with the Colonial Authorities in efforts to have the Shawnees
return.
The representatives of the Six Nations told the Governor that
they believed that they could bring the Shawnees back, if Penn-
sylvania would prohibit her traders from going to the Allegheny
Valley, explaining that, as long as the Shawnees were supplied at
that place with such goods as they needed, they would be more
unwilling to remove. It was finally agreed that Pennsylvania
would remove such traders, and that the Six Nations would see
that the French traders in the Ohio region were also removed.
The main purpose of this treaty was to secure the aid of the
Six Nations in efforts to bring the Shawnees from the Allegheny
Valley; but it contained other provisions, notably the one obligat-
ing the Six Nations to "forbid all their warriors, who are often too
unruly, to come amongst or near the English settlements, and
especially that they never, on any account, rob, hurt, or molest
any English subjects whatsoever, either to the Southward or else-
where."
The Iroquois delegation having requested that, in their future
dealings with Pennsylvania, Conrad Weiser should continue to be
the interpreter, this request was granted, and the conference came
to an end by the giving of many presents to the deputies, among
which were six japanned and gilt guns, which were to be delivered
one to each chief of the Six Nations. These guns were the gift of
Thomas Penn, which he had brought with him from England for
this purpose.
A full account of the Treaty of 1732, the first treaty to bring
the powerful Confederation of the Six Nations into definite rela-
tions with Pennsylvania, is found in the Pennsylvania Colonial
Records, Vol. 3, pages 435 to 452. The Six Nations were faithful
to their promise, in this treaty, to induce the Shawnees of the
Allegheny Valley to take up their abode in the Valley of the Sus-
quehanna. They used every means short of war, to accomplish
this result, but in vain.
One of the efforts of the Six Nations to induce the Shawnees of
the Ohio and Allegheny valleys to return to the eastern part of
the Province is recorded in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 3, pages 607 to
609. At a meeting of the Provincial Council, September 10th,
1735, Hetaquantagechty, a Seneca chief, and Shikellamy gave
the Council a report concerning a mission the Six Nations had
sent to the Hathawekela or Asswikales Clan of Shawnees, urging
104 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
them to take up their abode near the Susquehanna. Heta-
quantagechty said that a great chief of the Iroquois, named
Sagohandechty, who Hved on the Allegheny went with other
chiefs of the Six Nations in 1 734 to prevail upon the Shawnees to
return. Sagohandechty pressed the Shawnees so closely to return
that they took a great dislike to him, and some months after the
other chiefs had returned, they cruelly murdered him. Heta-
quantagetchty said that this murder had been committed by
the Asswikales, who then fled southward, and as he supposed had
returned "to the place from whence they first came, which is below
Carolina." Hetaquantagechty described them as "one tribe of
those Shawnees who had never behaved themselves as they
ought," The Asswikales were probably the first Shawnees to
settle in Western Pennsylvania within historic times, coming by
way of Old Town, Maryland, to Bedford, and then westward.
Sewickley Creek, in Westmoreland County, Sewickley Town, at
the mouth of that creek, and another placed called Sewickley Old
Town, which some authorities locate on the Allegheny River some
miles below Chartier's Old Town, (Tarentum), were their places
of residence.
The Treaty of 1736
At the instigation of Shikellamy and Conrad Weiser, the
Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania were very anxious to have
the treaty of August, 1732, confirmed by deputies representing all
the members of the Iroquois Confederation, and Conrad Weiser
was directed to employ his influence with Shikellamy to the end
that these two mediators between the Colony of Pennsylvania and
Great Council of the Six Nations might bring about a conference
that would represent every member of that great Confederation.
The summers came and went, and still the promised visit of the
Iroquois was deferred. Finally, at a conference of Delaware and
Conestoga chiefs, among whom were Sassoonan, representing the
Delawares, and Civility, representing the Conestogas, held at
Philadelphia on August 20, 1736, an appeal was made to them to
explain why the Iroquois did not send deputies to Philadelphia,
as they had promised. Sassoonan said that he knew nothing
particularly of the Iroquois; that he had been in expectation to
see them for three years past, but understood that they had been
detained by nations that came to treat with them. He further
stated that he expected that they would be on hand the next
spring. The Provincial Council made a very liberal present to
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 105
the Delawares and Conestogas on the occasion of this conference,
accompanying it with the special request that they make an effort
to ascertain from the Six Nations why they had not sent their
deputies as they promised the preceding year, or at least to send
a message stating the reasons for their delay.
This present to the Delawares had the desired effect, and in
less than six weeks thereafter, Conrad Weiser sent word to the
Provincial Council from his home near Womelsdorf , in the Tulpe-
hocken Valley, that he had received intelligence that one hundred
chiefs, representing all members of the Iroquois Confederation,
had arrived at Shamokin (Sunbury) on their way to Philadelphia.
On the 27th of September, Weiser arrived at Philadelphia, accom-
panied by this delegation of one hundred Iroquois. At this time,
smallpox was raging in Philadelphia, on account of which Weiser
took the Indians to James Logan's mansion at Stenton, a few miles
from the city (now in the Twenty-second Ward, Philadelphia),
and invited the provincial officers and proprietors out to meet
them. The Indians were greatly pleased with Weiser's care for
their health, and the esteem in which they held him increased by
this act of solicitation on his part. The Iroquois had told the
Colonial Authorities at the treaty of 1732 that Weiser and Shikel-
lamy were the proper persons "to go between the Six Nations and
this government." They said that their bodies were to be equally
divided between "the Sons of Onas and the Red Men, half to the
Indian and half to the white man." Weiser, said they, was faith-
ful, honest, good, and true; that he had spoken their words for
them and not his own.
The Iroquois delegation, by far the largest that ever appeared
at Philadelphia at a treaty, was entertained for three nights at
Stenton. The sessions of the different conferences connected
with the making of this treaty lasted until the 25th of October.
They were held in the great meeting house at Fifth and Arch
Streets. The Iroquois deputies reported that, following the sug-
gestion of the Provincial Council at the treaty of 1732, they had
strengthened their confederation by entering into firm leagues of
friendship and alliance with other nations around them, to-wit:
Onichkaryagoes, Sissaghees, Troumurtihagas, Attawantenies,
Twechtwese, and Oachtaumghs. All these tribes, said the depu-
ties, had promised to acknowledge the Iroquois as their elder
brother and to act in concert with them.
The Iroquois deputies made the request that the Pennsylvania
traders be removed from the Ohio and Allegheny country, but the
106 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Provincial Council politely refused this request, arguing that its
Indians there could not live without being supplied with goods,
and that, if the Pennsylvania traders did not supply them with
goods others from Maryland and Virginia would. The Iroquois
also asked that no strong drink be sold at Allegheny by the
traders. This petition was evaded. James Logan, President of
the Council, upon which the administration of the government
devolved since the death of Governor Gordon, on August 5th,
1736, rebuked the Indians for not controlling their appetite for
rum. "All of us here," said he, "and all you see of any credit in
this place, can every day have as much rum of their own to drink as
they please, and yet scarce one of us will take a dram, at least
not one man will, on any account, be drunk, no, not if he were
hired to it with great sums of money."
But the most important part of this treaty was the execution
and delivery of two deeds by the Iroquois to the Proprietaries of
the Province of Pennsylvania — a momentous transaction brought
about by that astute Iroquois statesman, Shikellamy, assisted by
Conrad Weiser.
The first was a deed to all the lands on both sides of the Sus-
quehanna, extending as far east as the heads of the streams run-
ning into the Susquehanna, as far west "as the setting of the sun"
(afterwards interpreted by the Indians to mean as far as the crest
of the Allegheny Mountains), as far south as the mouth of the
Susquehanna, and as far north as the Blue, Kittatinny, or Endless
Mountains.
The following is the interesting history of these Susquehanna
lands :
By deed dated September 10th, 1683, the Conestoga or Sus-
quehanna chief, Kekelappan, conveyed to William Penn "that
half of all my lands betwixt the Susquehanna and Delaware,
which lieth on the Susquehanna side." Then, on October 18th,
1683, the Conestoga chief, Machaloha, who claimed to exercise
authority over the Indians "on the Delaware River, Chesapeake
Bay and up to ye falls of ye Susquehanna River," conveyed to
Penn his right in his lands. Penn thought it advisable to get the
consent of the Five Nations to his possession of these lands, no
doubt knowing that the Five Nations had conquered the Sus-
quehannas. Accordingly he sent agents to confer with the Iro-
quois chiefs in New York, and also wrote acting Governor Brock-
holls of New York, "about some Susquehanna land on ye back of
us, where I intend a colony forthwith." About the time of his
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 107
writing Governor Brockholls, Governor Thomas Dongan dis-
placed Brockholls, Governor Dongan persuaded some of the
Iroquois chiefs to give him a deed for these same lands. This he
did, in order to get the matter in his own hands. Then, in the
late autumn of 1683, he wrote Penn, advising him of the pur-
chase and saying that he and Penn would not "fall out" over the
matter. Thus the matter stood until January 13th, 1696, on
which date Penn got a deed of lease and release from Dongan for
the lands. In order to get indisputable title to these lands, Penn,
on September 13th, 1700, concluded a treaty with Oretyagh and
Andaggy-Junkquagh, chiefs of the Susquehannas or Conestogas,
by the terms of which they ratified Dongan's deed to Penn. This
sale was further confirmed in the "Articles of Agreement" of
April 23d, 1701, between Penn and the Five Nations, Susque-
hannas, Shawnees and Conoys. However, the Iroquois contended
that they had deeded the Susquehanna lands to Dongan simply
in trust and did not release any control over or rights in the same.
At the time of this treaty of 1736, the Colonial Authorities of
Pennsylvania were impressed by Conrad Weiser with the power
and influence of the Six Nations, and, accordingly, did not dis-
pute with their deputies when they claimed indemnity for all the
Susquehanna lands south and east of the Blue Mountains.
The consideration of the deed for these lands, dated October
11th, 1736, was 500 pounds of powder, 600 pounds of lead, 45
guns, 100 blankets, 200 yards of cloth, 100 shirts, 40 hats, 40
pairs of shoes and buckles, 40 pairs of stockings, 100 hatchets,
500 knives, 100 hoes, 100 tobacco tongs, 100 scissors, 500 awls,
120 combs 2000 needles, 1000 flints, 20 looking glasses, 2 pounds
of Vermillion, 100 tin pots, 25 gallons of rum, 200 pounds of
tobacco, 1000 pipes, and 24 dozens of garters. That part of these
goods which represented the consideration for the lands on the
east side of the Susquehanna, was delivered, but that which rep-
resented the consideration for the lands on the west side of the
river, was, at the Indians' desire, retained, and was finally
delivered in 1742.
Shikellamy and twenty-two other chiefs of the Onondagas,
Senecas, Oneidas, Tuscaroras and Cayugas, all the allied tribes
of the great Iroquois Confederation, except the Mohawks, signed
this deed, a copy of which is recorded in the Pennsylvania
Archives, Vol. 1, pages 494 to 498.
The sale of the Susquehanna lands greatly off'ended the
Shawnees. When this tribe came to Pennsylvania, they were
108 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
given permission by the Iroquois to live on these lands. There-
fore, when the Shawnees learned of the treaty of 1736, they sent
one hundred and thirty of their leaders with a belt to the French,
saying; "Our lands have been sold from under our feet; may we
come and live with you?" The French readily consented, and
ofTered to come and meet them with provisions. This informa-
tion came from the Mohawks, who received no share of the ar-
ticles given for the lands. Indeed, this sale of the Susquehanna
lands had much to do with bringing about finally the total
alienation of the Shawnees from the English cause. Conrad
Weiser, the advisor of the Pennsylvania authorities, had a great
love and admiration for the Iroquois, but little or no respect for
the Shawnees, and it was his opinion that the Province would
establish a dangerous precedent, if it were to recognize the claims
of the Shawnees to these lands, inasmuch as they were only so-
journers on the same.
But the sale of the Susquehanna lands involved Maryland and
Virginia, which colonies had never paid the Iroquois for the lands
in their dominions to which the Iroquois claimed title as the
conquerors of the tribes formerly owing them. As we shall see,
this matter was adjusted at the Lancaster Treaty of 1744 by the
purchase of these lands by Maryland and Virginia.
On October 25th, just two weeks after the signing of the deed
of the Susquehanna lands, when most of the influential deputies
of the Iroquois had left Philadelphia, and after those who re-
mained had been drinking heavily, another deed was drawn up
embracing all the Six Nations' claim to lands within Pennsylvania
"beginning eastward on the River Delaware, as far northward as
the ridge or chain of Endless Mountains as they cross ye country
of Pennsylvania, from eastward to the West." This deed estab-
lished a precedent for an Iroquois claim to all the lands owned by
the Delaware Indians, and was the cause, as we shall see, of
greatly embittering the Delawares.
Shikellamy was one of the signers of this deed to the Delaware
lands, which, in addition to conveying the lands of the Dela-
wares, contained the solemn promise that at no time would the
Six Nations sell any lands within the Province of Pennsylvania
to any person or persons, Indians or white men, except to "the
said Wm. Penn's Children." For copy of the deed, see Pennsyl-
vania Archives, Vol. 1, pages 498 and 499.
It is clear that, while William Penn recognized the claim of
the Six Nations to the lands of the Susquehannas or Conestogas,
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 109
yet he never recognized any claim on the part of the Six Nations
to the lands of the Delawares; and, prior to this treaty of 1736, it
cannot be found that the Iroquois themselves ever made any
claim to the lands of the Delawares, although of course, they had
exercised an overlordship over them, "declaring them women and
forbidding them to make war," It is very probable that, at the
time of making the Iroquois deed for the Delaware lands, no one
realized what the outcome of such a deed would be. It was an
indirect way of denying to the Delaware Indians all title to their
lands. The Iroquois had promised that in the future they would
never sell any land within the limits of Pennsylvania to anyone
except Penn's heirs, and, probably, the chief purpose in securing
this deed was to place this promise of the Six Nations perma-
nently in writing.
This action in purchasing the Delaware lands from the Iro-
quois marked a great change in the Indian policy of Pennsylvania
— a change brought about by Shikellamy and Conrad Weiser.
Weiser interpreted the deed to the Iroquois, and they were evi-
dently aware that they had gained a most important point; that,
henceforth, the Colony of Pennsylvania would be a sponsor for
their claims on the Delaware River; and that all the ancient dis-
putes with the Delawares in this matter were settled. Further-
more, by this action, the Colony of Pennsylvania had taken sides
in the age-long quarrel between the Iroquois on the one hand and
the Delawares on the other. William Penn had refused to take
sides in any Indian differences, but his sons were more bent on
personal profit than on public justice and public security.
From the date of this purchase, it was no longer possible for
the Colony of Pennsylvania to treat the Delawares as formerly.
The Six Nations had been recognized as the favorite people and
the Delawares, the affectionate friends of William Penn, as under-
lings. The Delawares had already been offended through the
long delay in purchasing from them the Tulpehocken lands, which
had been settled many years before the Colony got an Indian title
for the same. Now, in purchasing their lands from the Iroquois,
the Colony started that long series of events with the Delawares,
which resulted in the bloodiest invasion in colonial history — an
invasion which drenched Pennsylvania in blood from 1755 to
1764; but at the same time, while thus bringing upon herself a
Delaware and Shawnee war, she escaped a Six Nation war, which
no doubt would have been much more serious in its consequences.
The two deeds gotten from the Iroquois at the Treaty of 1736
110 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
embraced the counties of York, Adams, and Cumberland, that
part of FrankHn, Dauphin, and Lebanon southeast of the Blue or
Kittatinny Mountains, and that part of Berks, Lehigh, and North-
ampton not already possessed.
For a full account of the Treaty of 1736, the reader is referred
to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 4, pages 79 to 95.
During the spring following the treaty of 1736, Conrad Weiser,
at the solicitation of Governor Gooch of Virginia, was sent by the
Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania to the central seat of the
Six Nations at Onondaga, New York, in an effort to arrange a
peace between the Iroquois and the Catawbas, Cherokees and
allied tribes of the South. On this terrible journey through the
deep snows of Pennsylvania and New York, Weiser was accom-
panied by a neighbor, named Stoffel Stump, Shikellamy and an
Onondaga Indian, named Owisgera. The Iroquois agreed to an
armistice of one year. Weiser's account of his mission is found
in Vol. 1 of the Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsyl-
vania, and is one of the most interesting and valuable documents
relating to the early history of the Keystone State.
"The Walking Purchase"
While the Six Nations at the treaty held at Philadelphia in
October, 1736, just described, went on record in declaring that the
Delaware nation had no lands to sell, yet the Colonial Authorities
of Pennsylvania depended for quiet enjoyment upon the old
deeds from the Delawares to William Penn and his heirs, men-
tioned in an earlier chapter. In 1734, Thomas Penn, son of the
founder of the Colony, claimed to have found a copy of a certain
deed from the Delaware chiefs, Mayhkeerickkishsho, Taugh-
houghsey, and Sayhoppy, to his father, dated August 30, 1686,
calling for a dimension "as far as a man can go in a day and a half"
and thence to the Delaware River and down the courses of the
same. The original of this deed, Thomas Penn claimed, had been
lost for many years. The alleged description set forth in the
original deed was as follows :
"All those lands lying and being in the province of Pennsyl-
vania, beginning upon a line formerly laid out from a corner
spruce tree, by the river Delaware, and from thence running along
the ledge or the foot of the mountains west northwest (west south-
west) to a corner white oak marked with the letter P. standing by
the Indian path that leadeth to an Indian town called Playwiskey,
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 111
and from thence extending westward to Neshaminy Creek, from
which said Hne, the said tract or tracts thereby granted doth ex-
tend itself back into the woods, as far as a man can go in one day
and a half, and bounded on the westerly side with the creek called
Neshaminy, or the most westerly branch thereof, and from thence
by a line to the utmost extent of said creek one day and a half's
journey to the aforesaid river Delaware, and thence down the
several courses of the said river to the first mentioned spruce
tree."
The Delaware town, Playwiskey, or Playwickey, was the resi-
dence of the great Delaware chief, Tamanend, or Tammany, and
was located about two and a half miles west of the present town
of Langhorne, Bucks County. A monument now marks its site.
The dimension set forth in the foregoing alleged deed was
never "walked" in the lifetime of William Penn. Thomas Penn
and the other Colonial Authorities were anxious that the lands
described in the alleged deed should be measured without further
delay. Some of the Delawares did not wish the line measured,
but, on August 25, 1737, the more influential chiefs of the Munsee
Clan, among whom were "King Nutimus" and Manawkyhickon,
entered into a treaty with Thomas Penn by the terms of which
they agreed that the land should be measured by a walk according
to the provisions of the deed. This agreement of August 25th was
virtually a deed of release of the lands claimed to have been
granted by the deed of August 30, 1686. We shall now see how
well Thomas Penn and his associates were prepared for the "walk"
and how it was accomplished :
The 19th day of September, 1737, was the day appointed for
the "walk." It was agreed that the starting point should be a
chestnut tree standing a little above the present site of Wrights-
town, Bucks County. Timothy Smith, the sheriff of Bucks Coun-
ty, and Benjamin Eastburn, the surveyor-general, supervised the
so-called walk. The persons employed by the Colonial Authori-
ties to perform the walk, after the Proprietaries had advertised
for the most expert walkers in the Province, were athletes famous
for their abilities as fast walkers; and, as an inducement for their
making this walk a supreme test of their abilities, a compensation
of five pounds in money and 500 acres of land was offered the
one who could go the longest distance in the allotted time. Their
names were Edward Marshall, a native of Bucks County, a noted
chain carrier, hunter and backwoodsman; James Yates, a native
of the same county, a tall and agile man, with much speed of foot;
112 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and Solomon Jennings also a man of remarkable physique. These
men had been hunted out by the Proprietaries' agents as the
fastest backwoodsmen in the Province, and as a preliminary
measure, they had been taken over the ground before, spending
some nine days, during which their route was marked off by
blazing the trees and clearing away the brush.
At sunrise on the day appointed, these three athletes, accom-
panied by a number of Indians and some white persons, some of
whom carried refreshments for them, started from the chestnut
tree above Wrightstown; and, at first, they walked moderately,
but before long they set such a pace that the Indians frequently
called upon them to walk and not run. The remonstrance of the
Indians producing no effect, most of them left in anger and dis-
gust, asserting that they were basely cheated. By previous ar-
rangement, a number of white people were collected about twenty
miles from the starting point, to see the "walkers" pass. Yates
was much in the lead, and was accompanied by several persons
on horseback; next came Jennings, but out of sight; and lastly,
Marshall, proceeding in an apparently careless manner, eating a
biscuit and swinging a hatchet from hand to hand, evidently to
balance the motion of his body. The above mentioned body of
whites bet strongly in favor of Yates. Jennings and two of the
Indians who accompanied him were exhausted before the end of
the first day, and were unable to keep up with the other two.
Jennings never thereafter recovered his health. However, Yates
and Marshall kept on, and, at sunset, had arrived at the north
side of the Blue Mountains.
At sunrise of the next day, Yates and Marshall started again,
but, when crossing a stream at the foot of the mountain, Yates
fell into the water, and Marshall turned back and supported him
until some of the attendants came up, and then continued on his
way alone. Yates was stricken with blindness and lived only
three days. At noon Marshall threw himself full length upon the
ground and grasped a sapling which stood on a spur of the Second
or Broad Mountain, near Mauch Chunk, Carbon County, which
was then declared to mark the distance that a man could travel
on foot in a day and a half — estimated to be about sixty-five
miles from the starting point. Thus, one man out of three covered
this distance, and lived.
In the agreement with Thomas Penn to have the bounds of
the alleged deed made by a walk, the Delawares believed that as
far as a man could go in a day and a half would not extend beyond
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 113
the Lehigh Hills, or about thirty miles from the place of begin-
ning; but the crafty and unprincipled Colonial Authorities had
laid their plans to extend the walk to such a point as to include
the land in the Forks of the Delaware and also farther up that
river, it being their desire to obtain, if possible, the possession of
that desirable tract of land along the Delaware River above the
Blue Mountains, called the "Minisink Lands." Having, as we
have seen, reached a point more than thirty miles farther to the
northwestward than the Delawares had anticipated, the Colonial
Authorities now proceeded to draw a line from the end of the
walk to the Delaware River. The alleged deed did not describe
the course that the line should take from the end of the walk to
the river; but any fair-minded person would assume that it
should follow the shortest distance between these two places.
However, the agent of the Proprietaries, instead of running the
line by the nearest course to the Delaware, ran it northeastward
across the country so as to strike the river near the mouth of the
Lackawaxen, which flows into the Delaware River in the northern
part of Pike County. The extent of this line was sixty-six miles.
The territory as thus measured was in the shape of a great triangle
whose base was the Delaware River and whose apex was the end
of the walk, and included the northern part of Bucks, almost all
of Northampton, and a portion of Pike, Carbon, and Monroe
Counties. This fraudulent measurement thus took in all the
Minisink Lands and many thousand acres more than if the line
had been run by the nearest course from the end of the walk to
the Delaware.
Delawares Driven from Lands of "Walking Purchase"
When the settlers began to move upon the lands covered by
the Walking Purchase of 1737, which they did soon after the
"walk" was made, King Nutimus and several of the other Dela-
ware chiefs who had signed the treaty or deed of release of 1737,
were not willing to quit the lands or to permit the new settlers to
remain in quiet possession. Indeed, they remonstrated freely
and declared their intention to remain in possession, even if they
should have to use force of arms.
In the spring of 1741, a message was sent by the Colonial
Authorities to the Six Nations, requesting them to come down and
force the Delawares of the Munsee Clan to quit these lands. The
Six Nations complied and sent their deputies to Philadelphia,
114 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
where this and other matters were taken up in the treaty of July,
1 742, to be described presently. At this treaty. Governor Thomas
called the attention of Canassatego, the speaker of the Iroquois
delegation, to the fact that a number of the Delaware Indians,
residing on the Minisink lands above the mouth of the Lehigh
River, had refused to surrender peaceful possession of the territory
secured to the Colony by the Walking Purchase. However, the
Governor did not tell Canassatego that, when John and Thomas
Penn were persuading the Delawares to confirm the deeds covered
by the Walking Purchase, they had promised these Indians
that the said papers "would not cause the removal of any Indians
then living on the Minisink Lands." These Delawares had re-
quested that they be permitted to remain on their settlements,
though within the bounds of the Walking Purchase, without being
molested, and their request was granted. Later, on August 24,
1737, just the day before the Delaware chiefs signed the deed, or
treaty, confirming the alleged deed of August 30, 1786, the assur-
ances given the Delawares by John and Thomas Penn were re-
peated and confirmed at a meeting of the Provincial Council at
Philadelphia.
Canassatego, unaware of the assurances given the Delawares,
replied as follows:
"You informed us of the misbehavior of our cousins, the Dela-
wares, with respect to their continuing to claim and refusing to
remove from some land on the River Delaware, notwithstanding
their ancestors had sold it by deed under their hands and seals to
the Proprietors for a valuable consideration, upwards of fifty
years ago, and notwithstanding that they themselves had about
five years ago, after a long and full examination, ratified that
deed of their ancestors, and given a fresh one under their hands
and seals; and then you requested us to remove them, enforcing
your request with a string of wampum. Afterwards you laid on
the table, by Conrad Weiser, our own letters, some of our cousins*
letters, and the several writings to prove the charge against our
cousins, with a draught of the land in dispute. We now tell you
that we have perused all these several papers. We see with our
own eyes that they [the Delawares] have been a very unruly
people, and are altogether in the wrong in their dealings with you.
We have concluded to remove them, and oblige them to go over
the River Delaware, and to quit all claim to any lands on this
side for the future, since they have received pay for them, and it
has gone through their guts long ago. To confirm to you that we
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 115
will see your request executed, we lay down this string of wampum
in return for yours."
Attending the treaty were some Delawares from the Sunbury
region, headed by Sassoonan, and a delegation from the Forks of
the Delaware, headed by Nutimus. As soon as Canassatego
finished the foregoing speech, taking a belt of wampum in his
hand, he turned to the Delawares, and delivered the following
humiliating address:
"COUSINS: — Let this belt of wampum serve to chastise you;
you ought to be taken by the hair of the head and shaked severely
till you recover your senses and become sober; you don't know
what ground you are standing on, or what you are doing. Our
Brother Onas' case is very just and plain, and his intentions to
preserve friendship; on the other hand your cause is bad; your
head far from being upright, you are maliciously bent to break
the chain of friendship with our Brother Onas. We have seen
with our eyes a deed signed by nine of your ancestors above fifty
years ago for this very land, and a release signed not many years
since by some of yourselves and chiefs now living to the number
of fifteen or upwards.
"But how came you to take upon you to sell land at all? We
conquered you ; we made women of you ; you know you are women
and can no more sell land than women. Nor is it fit that you
should have the power of selling land, since you would abuse it.
This land that you claim is gone through your guts. You have
been furnished with clothes and meat and drink by the goods paid
you for it, and now you want it again like children, as you are.
But what makes you sell land in the dark? Did you ever tell us
that you had sold this land? Did we ever receive any part, even
the value of a pipe shank for it?
"You have told us a blind story that you sent a messenger to
inform us of the sale, but he never came amongst us, nor we never
heard anything about it. This is acting in the dark, and very
different from the conduct which our Six Nations observe in their
sales of land. On such occasions, they give public notice and in-
vite all the Indians of their united nations, but we find that you
are none of our blood. You act a dishonest part, not only in this,
but in other matters. Your ears are ever open to slanderous re-
ports about our brethren . . . And for all these reasons we
charge you to remove instantly; we don't give you liberty to
think about it. You are women; take the advice of a wise man,
and remove immediately. You may return to the other side of
116 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Delaware, where you came from, but we don't know whether,
considering how you have demeaned yourselves, you will be per-
mitted to live there, or whether you have not swallowed that land
down your throats, as well as the land on this side. We, therefore,
assign you two places to go,— either to Wyoming or Shamokin.
You may go to either of these places, and then we shall have you
more under our eye, and shall see how you behave. Don't de-
liberate, but remove away, and take this belt of wampum."
Canassatego spoke with the air of a conqueror and one having
authority; and both the manner of the delivery of his speech and
the manner in which it was received by the trembling Delawares,
would indicate that the Six Nations must have been right in their
contention that they gained the ascendency over the Delawares,
not by artifice, as the Delawares told Heckewelder, but by force of
arms, some authorities asserting that, when the Iroquois con-
quered the Susquehannas in 1675, this conquest carried with it
the subjugation of the Delawares, inasmuch as the Susquehannas
were overlords of the Delawares. "When this terrible sentence
was ended," says Watson, "it is said that the unfeeling political
philosopher [Canassatego] walked forward, and, taking strong
hold of the long hair of King Nutimus, of the Delawares, led him
to the door and forcibly sent him out of the room, and stood
there while all the trembling inferiors followed him. He then
walked back to his place like another Cato, and calmly pro-
ceeded to another subject as if nothing happened. The poor fel-
lows [Nutimus and his company], in great and silent grief, went
directly home, collected their families and goods, and, burning
their cabins to signify they were never to return, marched reluc-
tantly to their new homes."
Shortly after the treaty of 1742, the Delawares of the Munsee
Clan left the bounds of the "Walking Purchase" and the beauti-
ful river bearing their name, and began their march toward the
setting sun. The greater part of them, under Nutimus settled on
the site of Wilkes-Barre, opposite Wyoming Town, and at "Niske-
beckon," on the left bank of the North Branch of the Susque-
hanna, not far from the mouth of Nescopeck Creek, in Luzerne
County. The town which they established near the mouth of
Nescopeck Creek was called "Nutimy's Town." Others went to
the region around Sunbury; and others took up their abode on
the Juniata, near Lewistown, Mifflin County. Later all went to
the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny with their wrongs rankling
in their bosoms. Furthermore, these Delawares of the Munsee
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 117
or Wolf Clan went to the valleys of the Allegheny and Ohio at a
critical time, — when the French were coming into the same
valleys, asserting their claim to the region drained by these
beautiful rivers, a claim based on the explorations of La Salle and
the heroic Jesuit Missionaries, those true Knights of the Cross, to
whom any one who correctly writes the early history of the
region between the Mississippi River and the Allegheny Moun-
tains must needs pay a high tribute of esteem. The French
sympathized with the wronged Delawares. It is no wonder, then,
that the Delawares joined the French in the French and Indian
War, and brought upon defenseless Pennsylvania the bloodiest
Indian invasion in American history.
The term "Walking Purchase" is a term of derision. This
fraudulent purchase has been called "the disgrace of the Col-
onies." It was the subject of much discussion between the
Quaker and Proprietary parties as being one of the chief causes
of the alienation of the Delawares and of their taking up arms
against the Colony during the French and Indian War, until the
charge of "fraud" was withdrawn and the Delawares were recon-
ciled through the influence of the Moravian missionary. Christian
Frederick Post, at the treaty at Easton, in the summer of 1758.
Says Dr. George P. Donehoo, in his recent great work, "Pennsyl-
vania— A History" : "It matters little whether the Delaware were
influenced by the Quakers to complain of the 'fraud,' or whether
they themselves felt that they had been cheated, the fact still
remains that the 'Walking Purchase' directly and indirectly, led
to the gravest of consequences, so far as the warlike Munsee Clan
of the Delaware was concerned."
In connection with the removal of the Delawares from the
bounds of the Walking Purchase, is the case of Captain John and
Tatemy, two worthy Delaware chiefs who had always been warm
friends of the white man. In November, 1742, they petitioned
Governor Thomas, setting forth that they had embraced Christi-
anity, and desired to live where they were, near the English. The
Governor sent for them, and they appeared before the Provincial
Council. Captain John did not own any ground, but advised the
Governor, if permitted to live among the English, he would buy
some. Tatemy owned three hundred acres of land, granted him
by the Proprietaries; and he said he simply wanted to spend the
remaining years of his life on his own plantation in peace with all
men. The Governor ordered that Canassatego's speech be read to
these poor Indians, refused their petition, and told them they
118 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
would have to secure the consent of the Six Nations, the con-
querors of the Delawares. Evidently the Six Nations made no
objections, as Tatemy continued to live on his tract near Stocker-
town, Northampton County, until his death, which took place
about 1761. His house was one of the landmarks of the region.
Here he was visited by Count Zinzendorf, in 1742. He attended
many important councils with the Colonial Authorities. As we
shall see later in this volume, his son, William, was mortally
wounded while on his way to attend the Easton conference of
July and August, 1757.
The Shawnee Treaty of 1739
The Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania, realizing that the
Shawnees were rapidly being won over by the French, induced
Kakowatcheky, of Wyoming, Kishacoquillas of the Juniata, and
Neucheconneh and Tamenebuck, of the Allegheny, and other
Shawnee chiefs, whose settlements were scattered from Wyoming
and Great Island (Lock Haven) to the Allegheny, to come to a
conference, or treaty, at Philadelphia on July 27th to August 1st,
1739. At this conference the Conestoga and Shawnee agreement
with William Penn, dated April 23rd, 1701, was brought to the
attention of the chiefs; and they were told that the Colonial
Authorities thought it proper to remind them of this solemn en-
gagement which their ancestors had entered into with Penn, inas-
much as the said Authorities knew that the emissaries of the
French were endeavoring to prevail upon the Shawnees to re-
nounce their agreement with the Colony. In other words, the
Governor and Provincial Council put the plain question of the
Shawnees' loyalty to past agreements with Pennsylvania. The
chiefs desired that their reply be postponed until the following day,
explaining that "it was their custom to speak or transact business
of importance only whilst the sun was rising, and not when it was
declining." In the morning, they showed that all past agree-
ments had been kept by them quite as faithfully as by the white
men. And since Pennsylvania had, about a year previously,
promised to issue an order forbidding the sale of any more rum
among them, they had sent one of their young men to the French,
as an agent to induce them 'for all time, to put a stop to the sale
of rum, brandy, and wine.' " The result of the conference was
that the Shawnees, with the full understanding that the rum
traffic was to be stopped, promised not to join any other nation.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 119
«
and confirmed the old Conestoga and Shawnee agreement or
treaty of April 23rd, 1701. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 4, pages 336 to
347.)
The Treaty of 1742
Reference has been made to the Treaty of 1742 in connection
with Canassatego's ordering the Delawares of the Munsee Clan
from the bounds of the Walking Purchase. For a full account of
this treaty, see the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 4, pages
559 to 586.
This treaty of July, 1742, was called for the purpose of paying
the Iroquois for that part of the land purchased from them by
Pennsylvania at the treaty of 1736 which lay west of the Susque-
hanna River. Shikellamy and the other deputies of the Six
Nations were expected to arrive in Philadelphia in May, 1742,
but it was not until June 30th that the deputies, representing all
tribes of the Confederation, except the Senecas and the Mohawks,
arrived at Philadelphia, empowered to receive the pay for the
lands west of the Susquehanna. The Senecas were not present at
this treaty, because of a great famine among them ; nor were the
Mohawks, because they were not considered to have any claims
upon the Susquehanna lands. The sessions of the treaty began
on July 2nd. The three remaining nations of the Iroquois con-
federacy, early in the conference, received the goods in payment
of that part of the Susquehanna lands lying west of the Susque-
hanna River, comprising the counties of York, Cumberland,
Adams, and most of Franklin.
Soon after the goods in payment of the Susquehanna lands
were divided, the Iroquois deputies expressed their dissatisfaction
with the amount, although admitting that it was as agreed upon.
They said they felt sure that, if the sons of William Penn, who
were then in England, were present, they would agree to giving a
large amount out of pity for the Indians on account of their pov-
erty and wretchedness. Through their chief speaker, Canassatego
an Onondago chieftain, they begged Governor Thomas, inasmuch
as he had the keys to the Proprietors' chest, to open the same and
take out a little more for them. Governor Thomas replied that
the Proprietors had gone to England and taken the keys with
them; whereupon, the Indians, as an additional reason for their
request, called attention to the increasing value of the lands sold,
and also to the fact that the whites were daily settling on Indian
lands that had not been sold. They called attention to the fact
120 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
that, at the last treaty with the Colony, the Iroquois had com-
plained about the whites settling on unsold lands, and that the
Governor, at that time, agreed to remedy this wrong.
Said Canassatego: "Land is everlasting, and the few things
we receive for it are soon worn out and gone; for the future, we
will sell no lands but when Brother Onas [meaning the sons of
William Penn] is in the country, and we will know beforehand the
quality of goods we are to receive. Besides, we are not well used
with respect to the lands still unsold by us. Your people daily
settle on these lands and spoil our hunting. We must insist on
your removing them, as you know they have no right to the north-
ward of the Kittochtinny Hills [Kittatinny, or Blue Mountains].
In particular, we renew our complaints against some people who
are settled at Juniata, a branch of the Susquehanna, and all along
the banks of that river as far as Mahaniay, and desire that they
be forwith made to go off the land, for they do great damage to
our cousins, the Delawares."
Canassatego further called attention to the fact that Maryland
and Virginia had not paid the Iroquois for lands within their
bounds upon which the whites were settling, and that, at the
treaty of 1736, the Governor of Pennsylvania had promised to use
his influence with Maryland and Virginia in their behalf in regard
to this matter. "This affair," said Canassatego, "was recom-
mended to you by our chiefs at our last treaty and you then, at
our earnest desire, promised to write a letter to that person who
has authority over those people, and to procure us an answer. As
we have never heard from you on this head, we want to know what
you have done in it. If you have not done anything, we now re-
new our request, and desire you will inform the person whose
people are seated on our lands that that country [western Mary-
land and Virginia] belongs to us by right of conquest, we having
bought it with our blood, and taken it from our enemies in fair
war." Canassatego threatened that, if Maryland and Virginia
did not pay for these lands, the Iroquois would enforce payment
in their own way.
Governor Thomas replied that he had ordered the magistrates
of Lancaster County to drive off the squatters from the Juniata
lands, and was not aware that any had stayed. The Indians in-
terrupted, and said that the persons who had been sent to remove
the squatters, did not do their duty; that, instead of removing
them from the Juniata lands, they were in league with the squat-
ters, and had made large surveys for themselves. The earnest
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 121
arguments of Canassatego had the desired effect. The Provincial
Council decided to add to the value of the goods a present of three
hundred pounds.
The Governor advised Canassatego that, shortly after the
treaty of 1736, James Logan, President of the Council, had written
the Governor of Maryland about the lands, but received no reply.
Now the Governor promised to intercede with Maryland and Vir-
ginia, and, if possible, to secure payment for the lands of the Iro-
quois upon which the whites of those colonies were settling. He
also renewed his promise to remove the squatters from the
Juniata Valley.
The squatters in the Juniata Valley were Germans. True to
his promise to Canassatego, Governor Thomas had these persons
removed the following year. But the squatters in the Big Cove,
Little Cove, Big Connoloways, Little Connoloways, and the
majority of those in Path Valley and Sherman's Valley were
Scotch-Irish. These dwellers on lands not yet purchased from
the Indians were not removed until May 1750, when Lieutenant-
Governor Morris, after the organization of Cumberland County,
in that year, sent Richard Peters, George Croghan, Conrad
Weiser, James Galbraith and others with the under-sheriff of
Cumberland County, to remove all persons who had settled north
of the Blue or Kittatinny Mountains. Some of the cabins of these
intruders were burned after the families had moved out, so as to
prevent settlements in the future. It is thus that Burnt Cabins,
in the north eastern part of Fulton County, got its name. Among
the settlers removed on this occasion was Simon Girty, the elder,
father of Simon, Jr., Thomas, George and James Girty. A
sketch of the Girtys will appear later in this volume. In 1752,
Governor Hamilton directed Andrew Montour to take up his
residence in what is now Perry County for the purpose of pre-
venting settlements being made on lands not purchased from the
Indians.
The Lancaster Treaty of 1744
Hardly had the Iroquois deputies returned home from the
treaty of 1742 when fresh troubles started between the Confed-
eration of the Six Nations and the Catawbas and Cherokees of
the South. These troubles involved Virginia, as some Iroquois
were killed by Virginia settlers while on their way to attack the
Catawbas. Learning of these matters, the Provincial Council
of Pennsylvania sent Conrad Weiser to Shamokin to interview
122 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shikellamy. Weiser held conferences with this great Iroquois
vice-gerent on February 4th and April 9th, 1743. About this
time, Governor Gooch of Virginia sent word to Governor Thomas
of Pennsylvania that Virginia would accept the latter's mediation
with the Six Nations. The Pennsylvania Authorities then sent
Weiser and Shikellamy to Onondaga to arrange for a time and
place of holding a treaty or conference between the Six Nations
and Virginia. The Great Council at Onondaga accepted the offer
of Governor Thomas of Pennsylvania and Governor Gooch of
Virginia for a conference or treaty at Harris Ferry (Harrisburg)
the next spring. Later, on account of the inconvenience of meet-
ing at Harrisburg, it was decided to hold the treaty at Lancaster,
a small town then sixteen years old.
At Onondaga, the Iroquois chief, Zillawallie, gave the cause of
the war between the Six Nations and the Catawbas. Addressing
Weiser, he said; "We are engaged in a great war with the Cataw-
bas, which will last to the end of the world ; for they molest us,
and speak contemptuously of us, which our warriors will not
bear, and they will soon go to war against them again. It will be
in vain for us to dissaude them from it."
On this mission to Onondaga, Conrad Weiser prevented a war
between Virginia and the Six Nations — a war which would event-
ually have involved the other colonies.
Before describing the Lancaster Treaty, we call attention to
the fact that, scarcely had the treaty of 1742 been concluded,
when the Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania were asked by the
Governor of Maryland for advice and assistance in that Colony's
trouble with the Six Nations. It appeared that, in the early part
of the summer of 1742, some Nanticokes in Maryland were im-
prisoned, and that their friends, the Shawnees and Senecas,
threatened to make trouble unless they were released. Governor
Thomas of Pennsylvania engaged Conrad Weiser to accompany
the Maryland messenger to the region of the Six Nations, as in-
terpreter, for the purpose of inviting the Six Nations to a treaty
to be held at Harris' Ferry (Harrisburg) in the spring of 1743. It
does not appear that the Iroquois did any more than simply
deliberate on this matter; but Maryland's advances at least had
the virtue of opening negotiations at the Great Council of the
Six Nations on the part of that Colony.
On Friday, June 22nd, 1744, the long expected delegation of
the Six Nations arrived at Lancaster for the purpose of entering
into a treaty with Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. The
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 123
delegation consisted of two hundred and forty-two, and was
headed by Canassatego. There were many squaws and children
mounted on horseback. Arriving in front of the Court House, the
leaders of the delegation saluted the commissioners from Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, with a song. This was an
invitation to the whites to renew former treaties and to make
good the one now proposed.
When the Maryland commissioners came to the Lancaster
treaty, they had no intention whatever of recognizing any Iro-
quois claims to lands within the bounds of their province, basing
their position upon the following facts : (1 ) Maryland had bought
from the Minquas, or Susquehannas, in 1652, all their claims on
both sides of the Chesapeake Bay as far north as the mouth of the
Susquehanna River. (2) The Minquas, aided by troops from
Maryland, had, in 1663, defeated eight hundred Senecas and
Cayugas of the Iroquois Confederation.
But the Iroquois never abandoned their war on the Minquas
until they overwhelmingly defeated this tribe in 1675, when they
were reduced by famine and Maryland had withdrawn her al-
liance. Now, in view of their conquest of the Minquas, the Six
Nations claimed a right to the Susquehanna lands to the head of
Chesapeake Bay.
The Maryland commissioners receded from their position.
The release for the Maryland lands was signed, on Monday, July
2nd, at George Sanderson's Inn, instead of at the Court House.
Conrad Weiser signed in behalf of the absent member of the Iro-
quois Confederation, (Mohawk), both with his Indian name of
Tarach-a-wa-gon, and that of Weiser. By his dexterous man-
agement, the lands released were so described as not to give Mary-
land a title to lands claimed by Pennsylvania, the boundary dis-
pute between Maryland and Pennsylvania being at the time still
pending. The release was for all "lands lying two miles above the
upperm^ost forks of Patowmack or Cohongoruton River, near
which Thomas Cresap has his hunting or trading cabin, [at Old
Town fourteen miles east of Cumberland, Maryland,] by a line
north to the bounds of Pennsylvania. But, in case such limits
shall not include every settlement or inhabitant of Maryland, then
such other lines and courses from the said two miles above the
forks to the outermost inhabitants or settlements, as shall include
every settlement and inhabitant in Maryland, and from thence
by a north line to the bounds of Pennsylvania, shall be the limits.
And, further, if any people already have or shall settle beyond the
124 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
lands now described and bounded, they shall enjoy the same free
from any disturbance of us in any manner whatsoever, and we do
and shall accept these people for our Brethren, and as such will
always treat them." Thus was the purchase happily affected.
However, Shikellamy refused to sign the deed of the Maryland
lands, being determined not to recognize that Maryland had any
land claims north of the disputed boundary line between herself
and Pennsylvania.
The Virginia commissioners had their negotiations with the
Iroquois deputies in progress at the same time as Maryland. They
found the Iroquois very determined not to yield any part of their
claim to the Virginia lands. Said Tachanoontia, an Onondaga
chieftain: "We have the right of conquest— a right too dearly
purchased, and which cost us too much blood to give up without
any reason at all." Finally, after much oratory, the Six Nations
released all their land claims in Virginia for a consideration of two
hundred pounds in goods and two hundred pounds in gold, with
a written promise to be given additional remuneration as the
settlements increased to the westward; and the Virginia com-
missioners guaranteed the Indians an open road to the Catawba
country, promising that the people of Virginia would do their part
if the Iroquois would perform theirs. The Iroquois understood
this to mean that the Virginians would feed their war parties, if
they (the Iroquois) would not shoot the farmers' cattle, chickens,
etc., when passing to and from the Catawba country.
"When the treaty was over, the Indians believed that they had
established land claims in Virginia, that the open road was guar-
anteed, that their warriors were to be fed while passing through
the state, and that they had sold land only to the head-waters of
the streams feeding the Ohio River. The Virginians, on the other
hand, believed that they had extinguished all Iroquois land
claims forever within the charter limits of their colony." The
western bounds of the Virginia purchase were set forth as "the
setting sun," leading Virginia to believe that the purchase in-
cluded the Ohio Valley, but the Iroquois afterwards explained
that by "the setting sun" was meant the crest of the Allegheny
Mountains. It was after the treaty that large tracts of land were
granted the Ohio Company; and it was not until the year 1768
that the Six Nations, by the treaty of Fort Stanwix, New York,
relinquished all their rights to the region on the east and south
side of the Ohio, from the Cherokee River, in Tennessee, to
Kittanning, Pennsylvania.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 125
Pennsylvania, the Peacemaker
In the Lancaster Treaty, Pennsylvania was the mediator and
peacemaker, inducing Maryland and Virginia to lay aside their
opposition to Iroquois land claims, and settle in such a manner as
to secure the friendship of the Six Nations. Thus the French
were thwarted, and the English frontier from New England to
the Carolinas was protected. Pennsylvania also confirmed her
former treaties with the Iroquois.
But while Pennsylvania was acting as peacemaker, she had
trouble of her own to adjust with the Iroquois deputies. On
April 9th, 1744, John (Jack) Armstrong, a trader on his way to
the Allegheny, and his two servants, James Smith and Woodward
Arnold, were murdered at Jacks Narrows (named for "Jack"
Armstrong), on the Juniata, in Huntingdon County, by a Dela-
ware Indian named Musemeelin. It appeared that Musemeelin
owed Armstrong some skins, and Armstrong seized a horse and
rifle belonging to the Indian in lieu of the skins. Later Muse-
meelin met Armstrong near the Juniata and paid him all his in-
debtedness except twenty shillings, and demanded his horse, but
Armstrong refused to give the animal up until the entire debt
was paid. Shortly after this, Armstrong and his servants passed
the cabin of Musemeelin on their way to the Allegheny, and
Musemeelin's wife demanded the horse, but by this time Arm-
strong had sold it to James Berry. Musemeelin was away on a
hunting trip at the time his wife made the demand on Armstrong,
and, when he returned, she told him about it. This angered him
and he determined on revenge. Taking two young Indians with
him, Musemeelin went to the camp of Armstrong, shot Smith
who was there alone and Arnold whom they found returning to
camp, and, meeting Armstrong, who was sitting on an old log, he
demanded his horse. Armstrong replied: "He will come by and
by." "I want him now," said Musemeelin. "You shall have
him. Come to the fire and let us smoke and talk together," said
Armstrong. As they proceeded, Musemeelin shot and toma-
hawked him.
The matter was placed by Governor Thomas in the hands of
Shikellamy at Shamokin, who caused the murderers to be appre-
hended, and, after a hearing, ordered two of them to be sent to
the Lancaster jail to await trial. Conrad Weiser was the bearer
of the Governor's message to Shikellamy and Sassoonan. While
126 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shikellamy's sons were conveying the prisoners to Lancaster, the
friends of Musemeelin, who was related to some important Dela-
ware chiefs, induced Shikellamy's sons to allow Musemeelin to
escape. The other Indian was locked in jail.
At the Lancaster treaty, Governor Thomas demanded of the
Iroquois that they command their subjects, the Delawares, to
surrender Musemeelin to the Provincial Authorities, and the In-
dians were invited to Lancaster to witness the trial. The Iro-
quois deputies replied that the Provincial Authorities should not
be too much concerned; that three Indians had been killed at
different times on the Ohio by the whites, and the Iroquois had
never mentioned anything concerning them to the Colony. How-
ever, they stated that they had severely reproved the Delawares,
and would see that the goods which the murderers had stolen from
Armstrong be restored to his relatives, and Musemeelin be re-
turned for trial, but not as a prisoner. Later on August 21st,
1744, Shikellamy brought the two prisoners to the Provincial
Authorities at Philadelphia. Musemeelin was not convicted. He
returned to his wigwam.
No Delawares, the friends of William Penn, were present at
the Lancaster Treaty, the Iroquois having forbidden them to
attend.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Lancaster
Treaty — in many respects the most important Indian Council
ever held in Pennsylvania up to this time. War between England
and France, King George's War, was then raging. At the opening
of this conflict, the question uppermost in the minds, not only of
the Governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, but of
all the colonies, was, "What will be the attitude of the powerful
Six Nations?" The successful settling of the disputed land claims
of the Iroquois in Maryland and Virginia, by this treaty, through
the mediation of Pennsylvania, with Weiser as mentor, had much
to do with making possible the success of Weiser's future negotia-
tions with the Onondaga Council, negotiations that resulted in
the neutrality of the Iroquois during King George's War. Had
not the Iroquois deputies, at the Treaty of Lancaster, promised
to inform the Governor of Pennsylvania as to the movements of
the French? Had this great Confederation sided with the French,
the English colonies would have been swept into the sea.
A full account of the Lancaster Treaty of 1744 is found in the
Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 4, pages 698 to 737.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 121
Peter Chartier Deserts to the French
Peter Chartier was the only son of Martin Chartier, who ac-
companied the Shawnees, under Opessah, to Pequea, Lancaster
County, in 1697 or 1698, and his mother was a Shawnee squaw.
The father was a Frenchman, who had Hved among this band of
Shawnees for many years prior to their entering Pennsylvania,
and accompanied them in their wanderings. He set up a trading
house at Pequea a few years after the Shawnees took up their
abode there. At least, he traded at Pequea as early as 1707.
Some years later, he removed his trading post to Dekanoagah,
which we have seen was located on or near the present site of
Washington Borough, Lancaster County. Here he died in 1718.
Peter Chartier is said to have followed his father's example by
marrying a Shawnee squaw. In 1718, he secured a warrant for
three hundred acres of land "where his father is settled, on Sus-
quehanna river." For some years he traded with the Shawnees
who had left Pequea and settled near the site of Washington
Borough and at Paxtang. Later he traded with those members
of this tribe who had settled on the west side of the Susquehanna,
at the mouth of Shawnee (now Yellow Breeches) Creek, on the
site of the present town of New Cumberland, Cumberland
County. We have already seen how he, in 1728, aided in the
escape of the Shawnees who had murdered the two Conestogas.
Still later, he is said to have removed to the valley of the Conoco-
cheague. About 1730, he commenced trading with the Shawnees
on the Conemaugh, and Kiskiminetas, and a little later, on the
Allegheny.
Chartier's principal seat on the Allegheny was Chartier's,
Town, sometimes called Chartier's Old Town and Neucheconneh's
Town, located near the site of Tarentum, Allegheny County. No
doubt he and the Shawnee chief, Neucheconneh founded Char-
tier's Town, about 1734. Chartier carried on a large trade with
the Shawnees, and was the trusted interpreter in many councils
between the Shawnees and the Colonial Authorities. However,
he yielded to French influence, and, in the summer of 1745, with
about four hundred Shawnees, deserted to the French. He and
his followers went from his seat on the Allegheny, thence down
the Allegheny and Ohio, robbing English traders as they de-
scended the rivers. At Logstown, they made an unsuccessful
attempt to have the aged Shawnee chief, Kakowatcheky, join
128 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
them. They proceeded on down the Ohio to the mouth of the
Scioto, at which place another Shawnee settlement had been
made possibly a decade before, and known for many years after-
wards as the Lower Shawnee Town. From the Lower Shawnee
Town, Chartier and his Shawnees proceeded southward along
the Catawba Trail, and established a town about twelve miles
east of the site of the present town of Winchester, Kentucky.
Their object was to be nearer the French settlements on the Mis-
sissippi.
Some time after Chartier's desertion, many of his followers
returned, among these being Neucheconneh and his band. In
1747, the Council of the Six Nations placed the Oneida chief,
Scarouady, in charge of Shawnee affairs, with his central seat at
Logstown. Shortly thereafter, Neucheconneh, with Kako-
watcheky, applied submissively to Scarouady to intercede for the
returned Shawnees with the Colonial Authorities. Then, at a
meeting on July 21st, 1748, at Lancaster, with the commissioners
appointed by the Colony to hold a conference with the Six Na-
tions, Twightwees and other Indians, the apology of the former
deserters was received. At this meeting, the Shawnee chief,
Tamenebuck, the famous Cornstalk of later years, eloquently
pled that the misled Shawnees be forgiven. Said he: "We pro-
duce to you a certificate of the renewal of our friendship in the
year 1739, by the Proprietor and Governor. Be pleased to sign
it afresh, that it may appear to the world we are now admitted
into your friendship, and all former crimes are buried and entirely
forgotten."
The request of Tamenebuck was rejected. The commission-
ers refused to sign the certificate, and the Shawnees were told that
it was enough for them to know that they were forgiven on condi-
tion of future good behavior, and that when that condition was
performed, it would be time enough for them to apply for such
testimonials. It is not known whether Weiser advised this course
or not, but it is certain that he could have prevented it, and in-
duced the Colonial Authorities to make a valuable peace with the
Shawnees now when they were so submissive and humble. Other
tribes received presents at this Lancaster conference, but the
Shawnees only had their guns mended. They went away in dis-
grace, brooding over such treatment. Arriving at their forest
homes in the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny, they were met
by the sympathizing French, and, in a few short years, became
allies of the French, in the French and Indian War, and spread
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 129
terror, devastation and death throughout the Pennsylvania settle-
ments. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 4, page 757 ; Vol. 5, pages 311 to 315.)
Efforts to make Peace Between the Iroquois
and the Southern Indians
As early as 1744, many Shawnees of the upper part of the Ohio
began to move down this stream to the mouth of the Scioto, and
it was believed that the Catawbas were the instigators of this
action. Fearing that, not only the Catawbas, but the whole
Muskokee Confederation would join the French, Virginia and
Carolina renewed their efforts to bring about a peace between
the Catawbas and Iroquois; and Governor Gooch of Virginia
wrote Governor Thomas of Pennsylvania in November of that
year advising that the Catawbas were willing to make peace and
requesting that Conrad Weiser get in touch with the Six Nations
in the matter.
Accordingly Weiser was sent once more to Onondaga on a
peace mission. On May 19th, 1745, in company with Shikellamy,
Shikellamy's son, Andrew Montour (son of Madam Montour),
Bishop Spangenberg of the Moravian Church and two other
Moravian missionaries, this veteran Indian Agent of the Colony
of Pennsylvania set out from Shamokin for Onondaga, at which
place he arrived on the 6th day of June. Weiser urged the Onon-
daga Council to enter into peace negotiations with the Catawbas
for the sake of the Governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania, if
for no other reason. The Black Prince of the Onondagas, the
speaker of the Iroquois, replied that the Great Council would be
willing to send deputies to Philadelphia to meet the deputies of
the Catawbas, but that they could not be sent until the summer
of 1746.
At this point we call attention to the fact that, at the Albany
Treaty, held in October, 1745, between the Six Nations and New
York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, in an un-
successful attempt to persuade the Iroquois to take up arms
against the French in King George's War, the matter of the Ca-
tawba war again came up, but was not pressed. On that occasion,
Canassatego explained to Thomas Laurence, John Kinsey, and
Isaac Norris, the Commissioners from Pennsylvania, that the
chiefs of the Six Nations were not able to restrain their young
warriors from making raids into the Catawba country until peace
was declared. The Great Council of the Six Nations had all it
130 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
could do, at that time, to preserve neutrality in the struggle be-
tween the French and English, known as King George's War. In
fact the Iroquois and Catawba War went on intermittently until
1769.
Shikellamy and Weiser found the Great Council at Onondaga
very much incensed at the conduct of Peter Chartier, in deserting
to the French and leading a band of Shawnees down the Ohio.
They asked why Pennsylvania did not declare war against him
at once.
The reason why Bishop Spangenberg and the other Moravian
missionaries accompanied Shikellamy and Weiser on this journey,
was that the Moravians at that time had a project on foot to
transfer their mission at Shekomeko, New York, to the Wyoming
Valley, on the North Branch of theSusquehanna,in Pennsylvania;
and this necessitated negotiations with the Great Council at
Onondaga to whose dependencies Wyoming belonged. Count
Zinzindorf had held a conference with the great Iroquois chief-
tain, Canassatego, at Weiser's home near Womelsdorf , in August,
1742, when the Iroquois deputies were returning from the treaty
of 1742, at which conference the Moravians were given permission
by the Iroquois to establish their missions in Pennsylvania. Now
the Onondaga Council replied to the request of Bishop Spangen-
berg that they were glad to renew their contract with Count Zin-
zindorf and the Moravians, and they gave their consent to the
proposed Moravian settlement at Wyoming.
The Moravians founded the town of Bethlehem in December,
1741, which has ever since been the central seat of the Moravian
Church in America. Later, they established a mission at Frieden-
sheutten, near Bethlehem, another called Friedensheutten, (Tents
of peace), the Indian town of Wyalusing, Bradford County,
another at Gnadenhuetten (Tents of grace), near Weissport, in
Carbon County, another at Shamokin, the great Indian capital,
and another at Wyoming, Luzerne County. They also established
missions in the western part of the state. These were at and in
the vicinity of the Munsee Delaware town of Goschgoschunk,
near Tionesta, Forest County, and Friedensstadt (City of peace)
on the Beaver, in Lawrence County. In 1772, the Moravian
missionaries, John Etwein and John Roth, conducted the con-
gregation from Wyalusing to Friedensstadt on the Beaver. The
efforts of the Moravian Church to convert the Delawares and
other Indians of Pennsylvania to the Christian faith is one of the
most delightful chapters in the history of the Commonwealth.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 131
The First Embassy to the Indians of the Ohio
Soon after the first Delawares and Shawnees of Eastern Penn-
sylvania went to the valleys of the Allegheny and Ohio, Penn-
sylvania traders followed them to their new forest homes. The
first mention of both these traders and the region of the Ohio and
Allegheny, in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, is in the
minutes of a conference held at Philadelphia, July 3rd to 5th,
1727, reported in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 3,
pages 271 to 276, between the Provincial Council and a number of
chiefs of the Six Nations, in which the chiefs requested that
"none of the traders be allowed to carry any rum to the remoter
parts where James Le Torte trades, that is Allegheny on the
Branches of Ohio." Even at this early day, French agents and
traders also were among the Delawares and Shawnees of the
Allegheny and Ohio; for, in the minutes of this same conference,
we find a reference to a "fort" (no doubt a trading house), which
the French had erected in the Allegheny Valley. Throughout the
passing years, the Pennsylvania trader and the Frenchman sought
to gain first place in the hearts of the Indians of these valleys.
After the Lancaster Treaty of 1744, the Indian trade of Penn-
sylvania increased in these valleys and spread as far as the shores
of the Great Lakes and the banks of the Wabash, and, at the
same time, the French became more active among the Indians
in this trackless wilderness.
Two Pennsylvanians realized the importance of keeping the
Indians of the western region on friendly terms with the Colony.
One was George Croghan, the "king of traders," who wrote to
Richard Peters of the Provincial Council, on May 26th, 1747, that
"some small presents" should be sent the Indians dwelling in
the region of Lake Erie. The other was Conrad Weiser, who
wrote Richard Peters, on July 20th, 1747, that "a small present
ought to be made to the Indians on Lake Erie to acknowledge
the receipt of theirs. It may be sent by some Honest Trader. I
think George Croghan is fit to perform it. I always took him for
an honest man, and have as yet no Reason to think otherwise of
him." The present to which Weiser refers was a French scalp
and some wampum which the Lake Erie Indians had just sent
by the hand of Croghan for the Governor of Pennsylvania.
Croghan had just returned from a trading journey among them,
and had found them unfriendly to the French. (See Penna.
Archives, Vol. 1, pages 742, 761 and 762.)
132 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Later, in the summer of 1747, it was decided by the Colonial
Authorities to send a handsome present to the Indians of the
Ohio and Lake Erie. George Croghan was selected as the person
to carry the Pennsylvania present to the shores of the Ohio and
while arrangements were being made for the mission, ten chiefs
from Kuskuskies, among whom was Canachquasy, came to Phila-
delphia in November, and gave the Provincial Council authentic
information of the operations of the French in the western region.
They were told by President Palmer that Croghan would bring
the Pennsylvania present the following spring. This information
soon reached the shores of the Ohio.
Accordingly Croghan took the present to the Indians of the
Ohio, in the spring of 1748. At Logstown, on April 28th, he held
council with the chiefs of several tribes, and gave them the present
of powder, lead, vermillion and flints. When he began to dis-
tribute the articles, he found they were not enough to satisfy the
fifteen hundred Indians, and so he added much from his own
trading stores. He told the Indians that, in answer to their
complaints against the whiskey traders, the Governor had issued
a proclamation forbidding the carrying of this liquor into the
Indian country. Finally he told them that Conrad Weiser would
come with a much larger present, on behalf of Pennsylvania,
about the first of August.
Conrad Weiser arrived at Logstown on the evening of August
27th as the head of what is generally called the first embassy ever
sent by the Colony of Pennsylvania to the Indians of the Ohio
and Allegheny, although it would be more nearly correct to say
that Croghan's mission of the preceeding April was the first. The
Indians had been anxiously awaiting his coming. He notes in
his journal that when they saw him, "great joy appeared in their
countenances." Weiser distributed the goods making up the
Pennsylvania present, and held many conferences with the In-
dians during his two weeks stay among them. He visited the
Delaware town of Sawcunk at the mouth of the Beaver and sent
Andrew Montour, who accompanied him, to Kuskuskies to sum-
mon the chiefs of that place to councils at Logstown. Kuskuskies
was a group of villages on the upper Beaver, its centre being at or
near the site of the city of New Castle.
On September 8th, Weiser requested the chiefs with whom he
held the conferences at Logstown to give him "a list of their
fighting men." The chiefs complied with this request, and under
this date he noted in his journal:
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 133
"The following is the number of every Nation given to me by
their several Deputies in Council in so many sticks tied up in a
bundle: The Senecas, 163; Shawonese, 162; Owendaets (Wyan-
dots), 100; Tisagechroanu, 40; Mohawks, 74; Onondagers (Onon-
dagas), 35; Mohickons, 15; Cajukas (Cayugas), 20; Oneidas, 15;
Delawares, 165; in all, 789."
While at Logstown, Weiser made George Croghan's trading
house his headquarters. He raised the British flag over this
famous Indian town. On September 11th, he and Croghan
smashed an eight gallon keg of rum which the trader, Henry
Norland, had brought to the town. Among the noted sachems
with whom he held important conferences were the Oneida chief,
Tanacharison, also called the Half King, and the Oneida chief,
Scarouady, who, upon the death of Tanacharison in the autumn
of 1754, became his successor as "Half King." Tanacharison
promised Weiser that he would keep Pennsylvania posted as to
the movements of the French in the valleys of the Ohio and
"Let us," said he, "keep up true correspondence, and always hear
of one another." His protestation of friendship for the English
was sincere. He remained faithful to the English interest to the
end of his eventful life. Before leaving Logstown, Weiser paid a
visit to the aged and infirm Shawnee chief, Kakowatcheky, and
presented him with a blanket, a coat, stockings and tobacco.
Kakowatcheky had removed from Wyoming to Logstown in 1743
taking many of his tribe with him.
This embassy to the Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas and other
Indians on the Ohio was eminently successful. It left Pennsyl-
vania in possession of the Indian trade from Logstown to the
Mississippi and from the Ohio to the Great Lakes. Moreover,
its success was most gratifying to all the frontier settlers. Not
only Pennsylvania, but Maryland and Virginia were active in
following up the advantage thus gained. A number of Maryland
and Virginia traders pushed into the Ohio region, and presently
the Ohio Company, formed by leading men of Virginia and
Maryland, among whom were George Washington's half-brothers,
Lawrence and Augustine, sought to secure the Forks of the Ohio.
For Weiser's journal of this important mission, the reader is
referred to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 5, pages 348
to 358.
Death of Shikellamy
On the 17th day of December in the eventful year of 1748,
occurred the death of Shikellamy, "Our Enlightener," the most
picturesque and historic Indian character that ever lived in Penn-
134 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
sylvania. As we have seen, his residence was at Sunbury. Con-
rad Weiser, in the later years of the old chief's life, had built him
a substantial house which rested upon pillars for safety, and in
which he always shut himself up when any drunken frolic was
going on in the village. He had been taken ill in Philadelphia,
but so far recovered that he had visited his old friend, Weiser,
at his home near Womelsdorf, in April, 1748, and was able to com-
plete his journey to Shamokin. Upon his return to Shamokin,
he was again taken ill, and in June the Provincial Council was
advised that he was so ill that he might lose his eyesight; but he
recovered sufficiently to make a trip to Bethlehem early in Decem-
ber, On his return from that place, he became so ill that he
reached home only by the assistance of the Moravian missionary,
David Zeisberger. His daughter and Zeisberger were with him
during his last illness and last hours. David Zeisberger and
Henry Frye made the old chief a coffin, and the Indians painted
the body in their gayest colors, bedecked it with his choicest orna-
ments, and placed with it the old chief's weapons according to the
Indian custom. Then, after Christian burial services, conducted
by David Zeisberger, Shikellamy was buried in the Indian bury-
ing ground of his people in the present town of Sunbury.
Shikellamy left to mourn him his three sons and a daughter.
Another son. Unhappy Jake, was killed in the war with the
Catawbas. The three sons who survived were: (1) Taghnegh-
doarus, also known as John Shikellamy, who succeeded his hon-
ored and distinguished father in authority, but never gained the
confidence with which the father was held by both the Indians
and the whites; (2) Taghahjute, or Sayughdowa, better known in
history as Logan, Chief of the Mingoes, having been given the
name of James Logan by Shikellamy, in honor of the distinguished
secretary of the Provincial Council ; (3) John Petty. His daughter
was the widow of Cajadies, known as the "best hunter among all
the Indians," who died in November, 1747. After the death of
Shikellamy, Shamokin (Sunbury) rapidly declined as a center of
Indian afifairs, as his son who succeeded him was not able to
restrain the Indians under his authority.
Among the tributes which have been paid to this great chief-
tain are the following: "He was a truly good man, and a great
lover of the English," said Governor Hamilton, of the Colony of
Pennsylvania. Said Count Zinzindorf, Moravian missionary,
who, like all the prominent leaders of the Moravian Church, had
been kindly received by Shikellamy: "He was truly an excellent
SHIKELLAMY'S MARKER, NEAR HIS GRAVE, AT SUNBURY, PA.
A number of years ago, the great Vice-Gerent's grave was opened, and his
pipe, a British medal and a number of other articles belonging to him were
found therein. His grave is near the bridge leading to Northumberland.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 135
and good man, possessed of many noble qualities of mind, that
would do honor to many white men, laying claims to refinement
and intelligence. He was possessed of great dignity, sobriety and
prudence, and was particularly noted for his extreme kindness to
the inhabitants with whom he came in contact." Also, the Mora-
vian historian, Loskiel, says of him: "Being the first magistrate,
and the head chief of all the Iroquois Indians living on the banks
of the Susquehanna, as far as Onondaga, he thought it incumbent
upon himself to be very circumspect in his dealings with the white
people. He assisted the Missionaries in building, and defended
them against the insults of the drunken Indians; being himself
never addicted to drinking, because, as he expressed it, he never
wished to become a fool."
The dust of this astute Iroquois statesman reposes at Sunbury
on the banks of his long loved Susquehanna; and, as one stands
near his grave and looks at the high and rocky river hill on the
opposite side of the river, he beholds a strange arrangement of the
rocks on the mountainside, resembling the countenance of an
Indian warrior, and known locally as "Shikellamy's Profile."
Thus, his face carved by nature's hand in the imperishable rock,
gazes on the region where "Our Enlightener" had his home for so
many years.
The Purchase of 1749
On July 1, 1749, a number of Seneca, Onondaga, Tutelo, Nan-
ticoke, and Conoy chiefs came to Philadelphia to interview Gov-
ernor Hamilton, with reference to the settlements which the
white people were making "on the other side of the Blue Moun-
tains." This delegation had gone first to Wyoming, the place
appointed for the gathering of the deputies of the various tribes,
had waited there a month for the other deputies, and then decided
to go on to Philadelphia. Governor Hamilton advised the chiefs
that the Province had been doing everything in its power to pre-
vent persons from settling on lands not purchased from the In-
dians. Immediately after the conference the Governor issued a
proclamation, which was distributed throughout the Province,
and posted upon trees in the Juniata and Path valleys, and other
places where settlers had built their homes beyond the Blue
Mountains, ordering all such settlers to remove from these lands
by the first of November. As has already been related in this
chapter, these settlers were removed by Conrad Weiser, George
136 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Croghan, Benjamin Chambers, James Galbraith and others, in
May, 1750, acting under orders of Lieutenant-Governor Morris.
The delegation of chiefs had left Philadelphia but a short time
when Governor Hamilton received word from Conrad Weiser that
the other Indian deputies, who had failed to join the previous
delegation at Wyoming, were at Shamokin (Sunbury) on their
way to Philadelphia. The Governor then sent word to Weiser,
urging him to divert this new delegation from coming to the city.
Weiser did all in his power to carry out the Governor's orders,
but the Indians soon let him see that they were determined to go
on to Philladelphia, at which place they arrived on the 16th of
August, numbering two hundred and eighty, and led by Canassa-
tego, the speaker at the former treaties at Lancaster and Phila-
delphia.
Canassatego was the speaker of the Indian delegation at the
conferences which were then held with the Governor and Provin-
cial Council. When advised of the efforts that Pennsylvania had
made to prevent her people from settling on unpurchased land,
Canassatego excused the Government for this, saying: "White
people are no more obedient to you than our young Indians are
to us." He thus also excused the war parties of young Iroquois
who went against the Catawbas. Canassatego further offered to
remedy the situation by saying that the Iroquois were "willing to
give up the Land on the East side of Susquehannah from the
Blue Hills, or Chambers' Mill to where Thomas McGee [McKee],
the Indian trader, lives, and leave it to you to assign the worth of
them." This great Iroquois statesman complained especially of
the settlements on the branches of the Juniata, saying that these
were the hunting grounds of the Nanticokes and other Indians
under the jurisdiction of the Iroquois. He told the Governor that,
when the Nanticokes had trouble with Maryland, where they
formerly lived, they had been removed by the Six Nations and
placed at the mouth of the Juniata, and that there were three
settlements of the tribe still remaining in Maryland. These latter,
he explained, wished to join their relatives in Pennsylvania, but
that Maryland would not permit them to do so, "where they
make slaves of them and sell their Children for Money." He then
asked the Governor to intercede with the Governor of Maryland
to the end that the Nanticokes in Maryland might be permitted
to join their brethren on the Juniata. Explaining why the pro-
posed treaty with the Catawbas had not taken place, Canas-
satego said that King George's War breaking out had prevented
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 137
them from getting together, "and now we say we neither offer nor
reject Peace." He also let it be known that he did not believe
that the Catawbas were sincere in their offers of peace.
Governor Hamilton then took up with Canassatego the pro-
posed sale of lands, and, after much discussion, the Six Nations'
deputies sold to the Colony of Pennsylvania a vast tract of land
between the Susquehanna and the Delaware, including all or parts
of the present counties of Dauphin, Northumberland, Lebanon,
Schuylkill, Columbia, Carbon, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike and
Wayne. This is known in Pennsylvania history as the "Pur-
chase of 1749," the deed having been signed on the 22nd of
August of that year. Nutimus joined in the deed as chief of the
Delawares at Nutimus' Town, at the mouth of Nescopeck Creek,
Luzerne County. Also, Paxinosa, then residing at Wyoming,
and the leading chief of the Shawnees of Eastern Pennsylvania,
joined in this deed.
Celoron's Expedition
In the summer of 1749, the year following the treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle, which ended King George's War, Marquis de la Galis-
soniere, then Governor-General of New France, sent Captain
Celoron de Bienville with a detachment composed of one captain,
eight subaltern officers, six cadets, one chaplain, twenty soldiers,
one hundred and eighty Canadians and about thirty Indians,
approximately half of whom were Iroquois, down the valleys of
the Allegheny and Ohio to take formal possession of the region
drained by these rivers for Louis XV of France. Coming down
Conewango Creek to the Allegheny, Celoron, on July 29th,
buried a leaden plate on the bank of the river, opposite the mouth
of the Conewango, with an inscription thereon proclaiming that
all the region drained by the "Beautiful River" and tributaries
belonged to the Crown of France forever. This plate was after-
wards stolen by some Indians, and several Cayuga chiefs carried
it to Sir William Johnson at his residence on the Mohawk, on
December 4th, 1750. Then, on January 29th, 1751, Governor
George Clinton of New York sent a copy of the inscription on the
plate to Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania.
As Celoron floated down the beautiful and majestic rivers,
whose forest-lined banks were clothed with the verdure of mid-
summer, he buried other leaden plates, mostly at the mouths of
tributary streams. One of these was buried near the "Indian
God Rock," on the east side of the Allegheny, seven or eight miles
138 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
below Franklin; one at the mouth of the Monongahela; one at
the mouth of the Muskingum, and one at the mouth of the Great
Kanawha. The one at the mouth of the Muskingum was found
in 1798, and the one at the mouth of the Great Kanawha was
found in 1846. The former has been preserved by the American
Antiquarian Society, and the latter by the Virginia Historical
Society. Several others were buried at places which cannot be
definitely ascertained. The last was buried at the mouth of the
Great Miami, where Celoron left the Ohio returning to Canada
by way of Detroit.
On his way down the Allegheny and Ohio, Celoron stopped at
the principal Indian towns and held conferences with the natives,
— at the village of Cut Straw, also called Buccaloons, at the mouth
of Brokenstraw Creek in Warren County; at Venango (Franklin);
at Attique or Attigue (Kittanning); at Chartier's Town, on or
near the site of Tarentum; at Logstown and at other places. At
Venango he found the English trader, John Frazer, who was
driven from that place by the French in the summer of 1753, and
removed to the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela. At
Kittanning, he found that the inhabitants had fled to the woods,
although he had sent Joncaire ahead to that place to request its
chiefs to await his arrival without fear. At Chartier's Town, or
probably at Logstown, he found six English traders with fifty
horses and one hundred and fifty bales of fur. Ordering these
traders to remove, he sent a letter to Governor Hamilton of Penn-
sylvania, telling him to warn his traders "not to return into these
territories" of the French King. This letter was dated August
6th. At or near the site of Pittsburgh, he met Queen Allaquippa
of the Senecas, whom he describes in his journal as "entirely
devoted to the English." At Logstown, which he reached on
August 8th, he ordered the British flag which Conrad Weiser had
placed there the preceeding September, to be torn down and the
French flag to be raised in its place. At his village on the Miami,
Celoron held a conference with Old Britian, or La Demoiselle
(the Young Lady), the great chief of the Miamis, and endeavored
to draw him into a French alliance, but without success. The
Joncaire brothers, Philip and Chabert, who for many years had
been active agents of the French among the Indians of the Ohio
and Allegheny, accompanied this historic expedition, as did
Contrecoeur, who afterwards built Fort Duquesne, and M. de
Villiers, who compelled Washington to surrender at Fort Neces-
sity, July 4th, 1754.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 139
On June 30th, 1749, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania,
received a letter from Governor Clinton, of New York, advising
that he had received information that an army of French was
about to make its way into the valley of the "Belle Riviere."
This was, of course, Celoron's expedition, just described. Gover-
nor Hamilton sent word to George Croghan to go to the Allegheny
to ascertain "whether any French were coming into those parts,
& if any, in what numbers & what appearance they made, that
the Indians might be apprised & put upon their guard." (See
Penna. Col. Rec, Vol. V., page 387.) Croghan arrived at Logs-
town immediately after Celoron had left, and, in councils with
Tanacharison and Scarouady, counteracted the influence of
the Frenchman.
Attention is called to the fact that, before Croghan left Logs-
town Tanacharison and Scarouady gave him three deeds for
large tracts of land, about 200,000 acres in all. A large part of
the city of Pittsburgh and all the towns on the south side of the
Ohio River as far as the mouth of Raccoon Creek, in Beaver
County, are located on two of these tracts. The third tract,
60,000 acres, was located on the Youghiogheny in the region of
the mouth of Big Sewickley Creek, Westmoreland County. These
were the first grants of land by the Indian to the white man in the
valley of the Ohio. Croghan must have dated the deeds back
about a week, as they bear date of August 2nd. Two of these
deeds are recited in the records of the office of the Recorder of
Deeds of Westmoreland County, one in deed book. No. A. page
395, and the other in deed book. No. A, page SIL
The Virginia Treaty at Logstown
Shortly after the forming of the Ohio Company, in 1748, the
King of England granted the company two hundred thousand
acres of land to be taken on the south side of the Allegheny and
Ohio between the Kiskiminetas River and Buffalo Creek and on
the north side of the Ohio between Yellow Creek and Cross
Creek, or in such other part of the region west of the Allegheny
Mountains as the company should think proper. The grant
contained the condition that the company should settle one
hundred families thereon within seven years and erect a fort*. On
the company's compliance with this condition, it was to receive
three hundred thousand acres more, south of the first grant. The
company built a storehouse at Will's Creek (Cumberland, Mary-
*The Ohio Company requested Pennsylvania Germans to settle on these lands. They declined ,
as they desired clergymen of their own language and faith (Lutheran and Reformed) instead of
clergymen of the established church of Virginia (Episcopal). Later hundreds of German fam-
ilies received Pennsylvania titles to lands in this region. (Writings of Washington, by Sparks,
Vol. 2, page 481).
140 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
land), and, in 1751, opened a road towards the Ohio as far as
Turkey Foot, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania claimed that a large
part of the company's grant was within the bounds of Charles
IPs charter to William Penn ; and a dispute between Pennsylvania
and Virginia, with reference to these lands, continued with vary-
ing degrees of intensity until its happy consummation in the
Act of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, passed April 1, 1784.
As we have seen, Pennsylvania was following up the advant-
ages gained by Croghan's and Weiser's embassy to Logstown in
1748. In the meantime the Colony of Virginia had not relin-
quished its claim to the Ohio Valley. In June, 1752, the com-
missioners of Virginia, Joshua Fry, L. Lomax, and James Patton,
held a treaty with the Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingoes of the
Ohio Valley, at Logstown. Christopher Gist, the agent of the
Ohio Company, George Groghan, and Andrew Montour were
present, the latter acting as interpreter. The Great Council of
the Six Nations declined to send deputies to attend the treaty.
Said they: "It is not our custom to meet to treat of affairs in the
woods and weeds. If the Governor of Virginia wants to speak
with us, and deliver us a present from our father [the king], we
will meet him at Albany, where we expect the Governor of New
York will be present."
The object of the treaty was to obtain from the Indians a con-
firmation of the Lancaster Treaty of 1 744, by the terms of which
Virginia claimed that the Iroquois had ceded to her their right to
all lands in the valley of the Ohio. The task of the Virginia com-
missioners was not an easy one for the reason that the Pennsyl-
vania traders had prejudiced the Indians against Virginia. How-
ever, the commissioners secured permission to erect two forts and
to make some settlements. Tanacharison, who was present and
took a prominent part in the negotiations, advised that his broth-
ers of Virginia should build "a strong house" at the mouth of
the Monongahela to resist the designs of the French. A similar
request had been made to the Governor of Pennsylvania by the
chiefs at Logstown when George Crogan was at that place in
May, 1751.
The Virginians, we repeat, laid claim to all the lands of the
Ohio Valley by virtue of the purchase made at the treaty of
Lancaster, in 1744, in which the western limit of the Iroquois
sale was set forth as the "setting sun." Conrad Weiser had
advised the Governor of Pennsylvania that the Six Nations never
contemplated such sale, explaining that by the "setting sun" was
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 141
meant the crest of the Allegheny Mountains, the divide between
streams flowing to the Atlantic Ocean on the East and the Miss-
issippi River on the West. At this Logstown treaty one of the
Iroquois chiefs told the Virginia commissioners that they were
mistaken in their claims. The chiefs agreed with the commis-
sioners not to molest any settlements that might be made on the
southeast side of the Ohio. At the treaty, two old chiefs, through
an interpreter, said to Mr. Gist: "The French claim all on one
side of the river [the Ohio], and the English all on the other side.
Where does the Indian's land lie. " This question Gist found
hard to answer.
During the proceedings of the Virginia treaty, Tanacharison,
as the representative of the Six Nations, bestowed, on June 11th,
the sachemship of the Delawares on Chief Shingas, later called
King Shingas, believed by many authorities to have been a
nephew of the great Sassoonan, since whose death, in the autumn
of 1747, the kingship of the Delawares had been vacant. Also,
Tanacharison's friendship for George Croghan was shown at this
treaty. He spoke of him as "our brother, the Buck, who is ap-
proved by our Council at Onondaga."
As to the kingship of Shingas, we call attention to the fact
that he was not really king of the three Delaware Clans. He
belonged to the Turkey Clan. As pointed out, in Chapter II,
the head chief of the Turtle Clan was regarded as king of the
three Clans of Delawares.
Tanacharison Forbids French to Advance
In the early part of the summer of 1753, the French, coming
from Canada, erected Fort Presqu' Isle, where the city of Erie
now stands, and later in the same year erected Fort Le Boeuf,
where Waterford, Erie County, now stands. But before the
erection of these forts, or on May 7, 1753, a message was sent
down from Venango to George Croghan at his trading house, near
the mouth of Pine Creek, about six miles up the Allegheny from
the mouth of the Monongahela, by the trader, John Frazer, to
the effect that the French were coming with three brass cannon,
amunition and stores. Croghan and his associates were thrown
into consternation. On the following day, two Iroquois runners
from the Great Council House at Onondaga brought similar news;
and on May 12th, a message was received from Governor Hamil-
ton, of Pennsylvania, stating that he had received word from Sir
142 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
William Johnson, of New York, that a large French expedition
was marching towards the Ohio for the purpose of expelling the
English and erecting forts.
The entire party at Croghan's Pine Creek trading house looked
to him as leader. A conference was at once held there with
Tanacharison and Scarouady. After much deliberation, the
sachems decided "that they would receive the French as friends,
or as enemies, depending upon their attitude, but the English
would be safe as long as they themselves were safe." Croghan's
partners, Teafee and Calendar, taking with them the two messen-
gers who had brought Governor Hamilton's warning, returned
to Philadelphia, on May 30th, and reported in person. The fol-
lowing day. Governor Hamilton laid the report of Teafee and
Calendar before the Pennsylvania Assembly, which, on the same
day, made an appropriation of eight hundred pounds for guns and
amunition for the friendly Indians on the Ohio. A large part of
the Assembly's appropriation was to be a present of condolence
to the Twightwees on account of the murder of their king, "Old
Britain," at his village on the Miami, on June 21, 1752, by a
band of Ottawas and Chippewas, led by Charles Langlade, a
Frenchman, of Detroit.
For more than three months. Governor Hamilton held this
money. In the meantime, Tanacharison and Scarouady, on
June 23d, wrote Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, appealing for
help in resisting the French invasion. In September, these chiefs
sent a delegation of one hundred deputies to Winchester, Vir-
ginia, to arrange for aid and supplies at a treaty then and there
held between Virginia, in the interest of the Ohio Company, and
the Six Nations and their tributary tribes in the valley of the
Ohio, — the Delawares, the Shawnees, the Miamis or Twightwees,
and the Wyandots. Scarouady headed the delegation of Indian
deputies.
While attending the Winchester treaty, the Indians heard of
the appropriation which had been voted by the Pennsylvania
Assembly; and thereupon, although no invitation had been re-
ceived by them, they sent a portion of their deputies, under the
leadership of Scarouady, to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to ascertain
whether the report were true. This delegation consisted of a
number of the important chiefs of the Six Nations, Delawares,
Shawnees, Twightwees, or Miamis, and the Owendats, or Wyan-
dots. Governor Hamilton sent Conrad Weiser, Richard Peters,
Isaac Norris, and Benjamin Franklin to Carlisle to meet these
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 143
deputies, October 1st to 4th, 1753. George Croghan was present
to give advice. These commissioners had gone to Carlisle without
presents, and they had Conrad Weiser interview one of the chiefs
to ascertain if it were not possible to go through the forms of
condolence on the promise to pay when the goods should arrive
later. The chief replied that his people could and would not do
any public business while the blood of their tribe remained upon
their garments, and that "nothing would wash it unless the
presents intended to cover the graves of the departed were
actually spread upon the ground before them."
Presently the presents arrived and were distributed.
While the commissioners and Indians were awaiting for the
goods to arrive, Conrad Weiser learned from Scarouady that,
when the Ohio Indians received the messages in May, 1753, ad-
vising them of the threatened French invasion, they at once sent
a warning to the French, who were then at Niagara, forbidding
them to proceed further toward the Ohio Valley. This notice not
deterring the French, the Indians then held a conference at Logs-
town, and sent a second notice to the French when they were
approaching the headwaters of French Creek, as follows:
"Your children on Ohio are alarmed to hear of your coming so
far this way. We at first heard that you came to destroy us.
Our women left off planting, and our warriors prepared for war.
We have since heard that you came to visit us as friends without
design to hurt us, but then we wondered you came with so strong
a body. If you have had any cause of complaint, you might have
spoken to Onas or Corlear [meaning the Governors of Pennsyl-
vania and New York], and not come to disturb us here. We have
a Fire at Logstown, where are the Delawares and Shawnees and
Brother Onas; you might have sent deputies there and said
openly what you came about, if you had thought amiss of the
English being there, and we invite you to do it now before you
proceed any further."
The French replied to this notice, stating that they would not
come to the council fire at Logstown ; that they meant no harm to
the Indians; that they were sent by command of the king of
France, and that they were under orders to build four forts, — one
at Venango, one at the Forks of the Ohio, one at Logstown, and
another on Beaver Creek. The Ohio Indians then held another
conference, and sent a third notice to the French, as follows:
"We forbid you to come any farther. Turn back to the place
from whence you came."
144 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Tanacharison was the bearer of this third notice to the French,
the equivalent of a declaration of war, and very likely, of the
other two. Before the conference at Carlisle ended, it was
learned that Tanacharison had just returned to Logs town from
delivering the third notice; that he had been received in a very
contemptuous manner by the French; and that, upon his return,
had shed tears, and actually warned the English traders not to
pass the Ohio.
For account of the Carlisle Conference of October, 1753, the
reader is referred to the Pennsylvania Colonial Records, Vol. 5,
pages 665 to 686.
Washington's Mission to the French
The necessity for prompt and energetic action for the vindica-
tion of the rights of the English in respect to the valleys of the
Ohio and Allegheny became apparent to Governor Dinwiddle of
Virginia shortly after Celeron's expedition in the summer of 1749.
The French energetically seeking to ingratiate themselves with
the Indians of this region, Governor Dinwiddle, in the summer of
1753, sent Captain William Trent to expostulate with the French
commander on the Ohio for his invasion of this territory. Captain
Trent did not have the qualities necessary for a fit performance
of his duties. He came to the Forks of the Ohio (Pittsburgh), and
then proceeded to the Indian town of Piqua, in Ohio, where
Christopher Gist and George Croghan had been well received
some time before. Discovering that the French flag waved there
and that the aspect of things on the frontier was more threatening
than he had anticipated, Trent abandoned his purpose and re-
turned to Virginia.
Governor Dinwiddle then resolved upon the appointment of
Captain Trent's successor; but it was a difficult task to find a
person of the requisite moral and physical capacity for so respon-
sible and dangerous an enterprise. The position was offered to
several Virginians, by all of whom it was declined, when Din-
widdle received an intimation that it would be accepted by
George Washington, then a youth of twenty-one years. Wash-
ington had recently come into possession of the fine estate of
Mount Vernon, upon the death of his half-brother, Lawrence,
and had, therefore, unusual temptations to avoid such a hazar-
dous untertaking. But Washington's whole constitution was
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 145
heroic. A constant patriot, he did not shrink from any honorable
service, however dangerous, which he could render his country.
He therefore accepted the appointment and, on the very day he
received his commission, October 31st, 1753, he started on his
dangerous journey of more than five hundred miles through the
wilderness to deliver to St. Pierre, commander of the French
forces on the headwaters of the Allegheny, the protest of Gover-
nor Dinwiddie against the encroachments of the French on terri-
tory claimed by the English.
On November 1st, Washington arrived at Fredericksburg,
where he arranged with Jacob Van Braam, a Dutchman, who had
been his old fencing master and who claimed to have a knowledge
of the French language, to be his interpreter. Washington and
Van Braam then proceeded to Alexandria, where they procured
a supply of provisions. Proceeding from that place to Win-
chester, they procured baggage and horses, and from there pro-
ceeded to Wills Creek (Cumberland, Maryland), at which place
they arrived on November 14th.
At Wills Creek, Washington engaged Christopher Gist, as he
says in his journal, "to pilot us out." Gist was a surveyor, and
during the years, 1750 and 1751, had made a journey through the
Ohio Valley, exploring the region as the agent of the Ohio Com-
pany. With only one companion on this journey, Gist proceeded
through the wilderness to the Allegheny River, arriving at the
same at Shannopin's Town, named for the Delaware chief, Shann-
opin, a few miles above the mouth of the Monongahela. Swimming
the Allegheny at this place, he and his companion then pro-
ceeded to what is now the central part of Ohio, thence back to
Virginia through the heart of Kentucky, many years before
Daniel Boone penetrated its wilderness. It is thus seen that
Christopher Gist was well fitted by experience in the wilderness
"to pilot" Washington through the forests to the French forts.
At Wills Creek, Washington hired four servants, Barnaby
Currin and John McGuire, who were Indian traders, and Henry
Stewart and William Jenkins. He and his companions left Wills
Creek on November 15th, and on November 22nd, arrived at the
cabin of John Frazer, an Indian trader, at the mouth of Turtle
Creek. Frazer, as has been seen, had been driven away from
Venango by the French in the summer of 1753. From Frazer's,
Washington and Gist went overland to Shannopin's Town.
From Shannopin's Town, they proceeded to the mouth of the
Monongahela, where they met their baggage which had been
146 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
brought down the Monongahela from Frazer's by the others of
Washington's party.
While at the mouth of the Monongahela, Washington was im-
pressed by the desirability of the place for the erection of a fort.
From this place, he and his companions proceeded to the site of
the present town of McKees Rocks, where he met the Delaware
chief, Shingas, and invited him to accompany them to Logstown,
at which latter place they arrived on November 24th. At Logs-
town, Washington held many conferences with Tanacharison
and Scarouady, concerning the encroachments of the French.
At this famous Indian town, the party was detained until Novem-
ber 30th, on which day they set out for Venango by way of the
Venango Indian Trail, accompanied by Tanacharison, Jeskakake,
White Thunder, the Hunter, or Guyasuta and John Davidson,
Indian interpreter. On December 4th, the entire party arrived
at Venango, which Washington describes in his journal as "an
old Indian town, situated at the mouth of French Creek, and
Ohio, and lies north about sixty miles from Logstown, but more
than seventy miles by the way we were obliged to go."
At Venango, they found the French colors hoisted on the trad-
ing house from which the French had driven the trader, John
Frazer. Washington immediately went to this house and in-
quired where the commander resided. There were three French
officers present, one of whom was Captain Joncaire, who in-
formed him that it would be necessary for him to deliver Gover-
nor Dinwiddle's protest to the commander of Fort Le Boeuf,
situated on the site of the present town of Waterford, Erie
County. The French officers at Venango treated Washington
very courteously and invited him to dine with them which in-
vitation he accepted, and during the course of the meal, the
officers let it be plainly known that the French were determined
to use every means in their power to retain possession of the dis-
puted territory.
At this point we anticipate events somewhat by stating that,
in April, 1754, the French erected Fort Machault at Venango
(Franklin). The English referred to it as "the French fort at
Venango." In 1760, after the close of the French and Indian
War, the English erected Fort Venango near where Fort Machault
had stood.
Washington remained at Venango until December 7th. During
this time, the French officers used every art in their power to
alienate Tanacharison from the English interest. Leaving Ven-
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 147
ango, Washington and his companions proceeded up French
Creek to Custaloga's Town, located about twelve miles above the
mouth of French Creek and near the mouth of Deer Creek in
French Creek Township, Mercer County, and named for the
Delaware chief, Custaloga. From Custaloga's Town, they went
up French Creek to the Indian town of Cussewago, located on
the site of Meadville, Crawford County, and thence to Fort Le-
Boeuf (Waterford), at which place they arrived on December
11th. The journey up French Creek was very difficult, by reason
of rains, mires and swamps. It was impossible to cross the creek,
"either by fording or rafting, the water was so high and rapid."
On December 12th, Washington delivered to St. Pierre, the
commander of Fort Le Boeuf , the protest of Governor Dinwiddie.
This protest demanded that the French depart from the disputed
region. St Pierre's reply was that he would transmit Governor
Dinwiddie's protest to Marquis Duquesne, Governor of Canada,
"to whom," he observed, "it better belongs than to me to set
forth the evidence and reality of the rights of the King, my
master, upon the lands situated along the river Ohio, and to
contest the pretensions of the King of Great Britain thereto."
St. Pierre, like the French officers at Venango, treated Washing-
ton with courtesy, but did all in his power to alienate Tanachari-
son and the other Indians from the English interest. He gave
them liquor and presents. Commenting on the efforts of the
commander and his officers, Washington says in his journal:
"I can not say that ever in my life I suffered so much anxiety as I
did in this affair." Under this terrible strain, Washington re-
mained alert and carefully observed that the fort was garrisoned
by more than one hundred men and officers and that there were
two hundred and twenty canoes in readiness, and many more in
process of being built, for the purpose of conveying the French
forces down the river in the spring.
Having received St. Pierre's reply, Washington and his com-
panions left Fort Le Boeuf on December 16th, and arrived at
Venango on December 22nd, after "a tedious and very fatiguing
passage down the creek." The next day, all of Washington's
party except Tanacharison and White Thunder started from
Venango by the same route which they had followed in the
journey from Logstown to that place. White Thunder was sick
and unable to walk, and so Tanacharison took him down the
Allegheny in a canoe. After Washington and his companions
had journied three days on the way south, the horses became
148 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
weak, feeble and almost unable to travel. Accordingly, on
December 26th, Washington and Gist proceeded ahead on foot,
leaving the rest of the party to follow by easy stages with Van
Bream in charge of the horses and baggage.
Indian Attempts to Kill Washington
On the evening of December 27th, an incident occurred in
Washington's journey back to Virginia that has world wide
publicity. We refer to the attempt of a hostile Indian to kill
him. The exact location of this attempt to kill the future Father
of his Country will remain forever unknown, but the approximate
location is a few miles from Evans City, Butler County. We shall
let Washington relate the incident in his own words as he wrote
them in his journal:
"The day following [December 27th], just after we had passed a
place called Murdering Town (where we intended to quit the
path and steer across the country for Shanapin's Town), we fell
in with a party of French Indians, who had laid in wait for us.
One of them fired at Mr. Gist or me, not fifteen steps off, but
fortunately missed. We took this fellow into custody, and kept
him until about nine o'clock at night, then let him go, and walked
all the remaining part of the night, without making any stop,
that we might get the start so far as to be out of reach of their
pursuit the next day, since we were assured they would follow our
track as soon as it was light. The next day we continued travel-
ling until quite dark, and got to the river [Allegheny] about two
miles above Shahapins."
Christopher Gist, in his journal, describes the attack on Wash-
ington in more detail. He says that he and Washington met this
Indian at Murdering Town, and believed that they had seen him
at Venango. The Indian called Gist by the latter's Indian name
and pretended to be very friendly. After some conversation with
the Indian, Washington and Gist asked him to accompany them
and show them the nearest way to Shannopin's Town. The
Indian seemed very glad to accompany them. He led the way
from Murdering Town, but seemed to take a course too much to
the north-east, which caused both Washington and Gist to mis-
trust him. Finally, when they came to a snow-covered meadow,
the Indian suddenly turned and fired at Washington. He was
immediately seized and disarmed before he could re-load his
rifle. Gist wanted to kill him on the spot, but Washington would
STATUE TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, ON SITE OF
FORT LE BOEUF, WATERFORD, PA.
The statue represents him in the act of delivering the protest of Gov-
ernor Dinwiddle to St. Pierre.
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 149
not permit him to do so. After he was kept in custody until late
in the evening, they let him go. Says Gist: "He was glad to get
away. I followed him and listened until he was fairly out of the
way, and then we set out about half a mile, when we made a fire,
set our compass, and fixed our course, and travelled all night."
For many years, the author felt that a suitable monument
should be erected to mark the approximate spot where the hostile
Indian attempted to take the life of Washington. During the
year 1924, he wrote several articles for the "Butler Eagle,''
Butler, Pennsylvania, in an effort to arouse interest in the work
he had in mind. These appeals through the newspaper brought
results. A committee, consisting of Hon. A. E. Reiber, Captain
James A, McKee, and the author, erected such monument in the
autumn of 1924, and on July 3rd, 1925, it was unveiled with ap-
propriate exercises. The author had the honor of delivering the
historical address on this occasion.
At this point, the author asks that the reader indulge him in
making the statement that he traces his love for the history of
Pennsylvania to the story of the attack on Washington by the
hostile Indian on that December evening of 1753, told him under
the following circumstances: On the farm on which he was
reared in Armstrong County, the ancestral home of his paternal
ancestors since 1795, is a high hill, commanding a majestic sweep
of the horizon in all directions. To the eastward, the blue out-
line of the Chestnut Ridge can be seen, on a clear day, almost
fifty miles away, while to the westward are the undulating hills of
Butler County. One of his earliest recollections is that of his
accompanying his revered mother to this hilltop on summer
evenings and, with her, watching the sun set in floods of gorgeous
and golden beauty behind the western hills. On those occasions
she told him that the western region, where the sun was setting,
was Butler County, and that it was in this county where George
Washington was shot at by a hostile Indian in the dead of winter
and in the depth of the forest. The author shall always cherish
the recollection of those summer evenings, when, as a child in
company with his mother in the grace and beauty of her young
womanhood, he watched those golden sunsets bathe the Butler
County hills in glory, and in his fancy, pictured the region of the
sunset as an enchanted land, inhabited by the ghosts and shadows
of the past and hallowed by the footsteps of Washington.
Students of the life of Washington are familiar with the fact
that, in crossing the Allegheny on his journey back to Virginia,
150 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Washington was almost drowned in its icy waters. He and Gist
were crossing the stream on a raft which they had made. Wash-
ington thrust out his pole to propel the raft, but it was caught
between blocks of ice with such force as to throw him into the
water. Swimming to an island near the Washington Crossing
Bridge in the city of Pittsburgh, Washington almost froze to
death during the terrible night. This incident took place on
December 29th.
On December 30th, Washington and Gist arrived at John
Frazer's cabin, at Turtle Creek. The next day, they paid a visit to
Queen Allaquippa, who was then residing where McKeesport
now stands. Washington presented her with a coat and a bottle
of rum, "which latter," he said, "was thought much the best
present of the two."
On January 2nd, 1754, Washington and Gist arrived at the
latter's plantation near Mount Braddock, Fayette County, where
some Virginia families had settled at least as early as the spring
of 1753, On January 6th, they arrived at Wills Creek. On the
same day, they "met seventeen horses loaded with materials and
stores for a fort at the Forks of the Ohio, and the day after, some
families going out to settle." Washington arrived at Williams-
burg, then the capital of Virginia, on January 16th, and delivered
St. Pierre's reply.
The war between the Iroquois and the Cherokees and Catawbas
was being carried on during the winter of 1753 and 1754, accord-
ing to the following statement in Washington's journal, under
date of December 30th or 31st, 1753:
"We met here [at Frazer's, at the mouth of Turtle Creek, on
the Monongahela] with twenty warriors, who were going to the
southward to war; but coming to a place on the head of the Great
Kanawha, where they found seven people killed and scalped, (all
but one woman with very light hair) they turned about and ran
back for fear the inhabitants should rise and take them as the
authors of the murder. They report that the bodies were lying
about the house, and some of them much torn and eaten by the
hogs. By the marks which were left, they say they were French
Indians of the Ottoway nation, and who did it."
The author has narrated Washington's mission rather fully
on account of its historical importance and for the reason that
Pennsylvanians should know the details of the perils which the
youthful Washington encountered on Pennsylvania soil in his haz-
ardous journey through the wilderness. As a closing statement,
INDIAN EVENTS FROM 1701 TO 1754 151
attention is called to the fact that Washington's journal, which
was widely published in both England and America, reciting his
experiences and giving information of vital import as to the plans
for the French for occupying the valleys of the Ohio and Alle-
gheny, made him an outstanding figure in the Colonies.
Clash of Arms About to Begin
This chapter has been devoted to a narration of the leading
events in the Indian history of Pennsylvania from the departure
of William Penn, in 1701, to the opening of the French and Indian
War, the author's purpose being to prepare the reader for a study
of the events about to be related. In the next chapter, we shall
see the breaking of the storm which had long been gathering
over the waters of the Ohio.
CHAPTER V
Opening of the French and
Indian War
The French Occupy the Forks of the Ohio
IN January, 1754, George Croghan and Andrew Montour were
sent to Logstown by Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania, to
ascertain from Tanacharison and Scarouady a full account of the
activities of the French in the valleys of the Allegheny and Ohio,
the attitude of the Western Indians, and what assistance in the
way of arms and ammunition Virginia had given these Indians.
Croghan and Montour found some French soldiers at Logstown,
and most of the Indians drunk. John Patten, a trader, who ac-
companied Croghan and Montour, was captured by the French,
but Tanacharison caused his release. The Pennsylvania emissaries
remained at Logstown until February 2nd. They found the In-
dians determined to resist the French. A few days before they
left, Tanacharison, Scarouady, and Shingas addressed a speech to
Governor Hamilton in which they said: "We now request that
our brother, the Governor of Virginia, may build a strong house
at the Forks of the Mohongialo [Monongahela], and send some of
our young brethren, the warriors, to live in it. And we expect
our brother of Pennsylvania will build another house somewhere
on the river, where he shall think proper, where whatever assis-
tance he will think proper to send us may be kept for us, as our
enemies are just at hand, and we do not know what day they may
come upon us."
On February 20th, Andrew Montour was closely examined by
Governor Hamilton and the Pennsylvania Assembly as to the
location of Shannopin's Town, Logstown and Venango. Montour
proved that these towns were all within the limits of the Province
of Pennsylvania; but the Assembly decided that the encroach-
ments of the French on the Ohio and Allegheny did not concern
Pennsylvania any more than they did Virginia. In the mean-
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 153
time, Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, commissioned Captain
William Trent to raise a force of one hundred men and proceed to
the Forks of the Ohio to erect a fort at that place. Trent raised
a force of seventy men and at once proceeded to Cumberland,
Maryland; thence along the Nemacolin Indian Trail to Gist's
Plantation (Mount Braddock, Fayette County, Pa.); thence by
the Redstone trail to the mouth of that creek, where he built a
storehouse; thence to the Forks of the Ohio. He arrived at the
Forks of the Ohio on February 17th, and immediately began the
erection of a fort, called Fort Trent. As Washington was return-
ing to Virginia from his mission to St. Pierre, he met part of the
Virginia force, the company consisting of Captain Trent, Lieu-
tenant John Frazer (the former trader at Venango and the mouth
of Turtle Creek) and Edward Ward, ensign.*
After the work of erecting Fort Trent was well started, Captain
Trent returned to Will's Creek (Cumberland, Maryland), leaving
Ensign Edward Ward, a half-brother of George Croghan, in com-
mand. The French on the upper Allegheny were promptly
warned of the arrival of Trent's forces, and with the opening of
spring, marshalled their forces, to the number of about one
thousand, including French-Canadians and Indians of various
tribes, with eighteen cannon, in all a flotilla of about sixty
battaux and three hundred canoes, and descended the Allegheny
from Le Boeuff and Venango. The French forces arrived at the
Forks of the Ohio on the evening of the 16th of April, under com-
mand of Captain Contrecoeur. Planting his artillery, Contre-
coeur sent Chevalier Le Mercier, Captain of the artillery of
Canada, with a summons to Ensign Ward, demanding immediate
surrender. This was the first overt act of war on the part of the
French, in the conflict known as the French and Indian War.
Ward thus found himself surrounded by a force of one thous-
and French and Indians with the fort still uncompleted. Lieu-
tenant Frazer was at his house at Turtle Creek at the time.
The Half King, Tanacharison, was present, and advised En-
sign Ward to reply to the demand of Contrecoeur that he was not
an officer of rank to answer the demand, and to request a delay
until he could send for his superior in command. Contrecoeur,
however, refused to parley; whereupon. Ward, having less than
forty men, and, therefore, being utterly unable to resist the oppos-
ing force, prudently surrendered the half-finished stockade with-
out further hesitation.
Contrecoeur, upon the surrender of Ward, treated him with
*The Ohio Company had intended to erect a fort at the mouth of Chartiers Creek, where
McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, now stands.
154 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the utmost politeness, invited him to sup with him, and wished
him a pleasant journey back to Virginia. The French commander
permitted him to withdraw his men, and take his tools with him;
and on the next morning, he started on his return to Virginia
going up the Monongahela to the mouth of Redstone Creek
(Brownsville, Fayette County), where the Ohio Company had a
stockade, erected by Trent on his way to the Ohio Valley. George
Croghan, about the time Trent began erecting the fort at the
Forks of the Ohio, had contracted with the Ohio Company to
furnish provisions for Trent's forces, valued at five hundred
pounds, from the back parts of Pennsylvania; and half of these
were on their way to the Ohio when Contrecoeur captured the
fort.
The French then took possession of the half-finished fort,
completed it early in June, and named it Fort Dusquesne, in
honor of Marquis DuQuesne, then the Gdvernor-General of
Canada, In the meantime, the French destroyed Croghan's
trading house at Logstown, taking 20,000 pounds of skins and
furs.
Washington's Campaign of 1754
While Captain William Trent was engaged in the work of
erecting a fort at the Forks of the Ohio, in the early part of 1754,
Colonel Joshua Fry, with George Washington second in com-
mand, was raising troops in Virginia to garrison the fort Trent
was building. On April 2nd, Washington, with the rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel, marched from Alexandria, Virginia, with a
detachment of two companies of infantry, commanded by Cap-
tain Peter Hogg and Lieutenant Jacob Van Braam, the latter
being Washington's interpreter on his mission to the French in
the latter part of 1753. About fifteen days later, he was joined
by Captain Stephen with a company of men. On April 20th,
Washington's forces reached Old Town, Maryland and received
information of the surrender of Ensign Ward at the Forks of the
Ohio. On April 22nd, Washington reached Will's Creek, where
he met Ward and learned the details of his surrender. On April
23d, a council of war was held at Will's Creek, at which it was
agreed that it would be impossible to march to the Forks of the
Ohio without reinforcements, but that it would be proper to
advance as far as Redstone Creek, on the Monongahela, about
thirty-seven miles this side of the fort [Fort Duquesne], and there
to raise a fortification, "clearing a road wide enough to pass with
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 155
all our artillery and baggage, and there to await for fresh orders."
At Redstone [Brownsville, Fayette County, Pa.], a storehouse
had been erected, as we have already seen, by Captain William
Trent when on his way to the Forks of the Ohio. Here Washing-
ton's cannon and ammunition could be stored until reinforce-
ments should arrive. From Will's Creek, Washington sent En-
sign Ward to report to Governor Dinwiddie and a runner to
notify Tanacharison, the Half King, of his intention to advance
to Redstone with his force of one hundred and fifty men.
Let us now follow Washington as he advances into Pennsyl-
vania over the Nemacolin Indian Trail, in the first military
campaign of his illustrious career. On April 25th, he sent a de-
tachment of sixty men to open the road towards Redstone, which
detachment was joined by the main body on May 1st. On May
9th, Washington's forces reached the Little Crossings (Grants-
ville.Md.), having crossed over Will's Mountain, Dan's Mountain,
Big Savage Mountain, Little Savage Mountain and Meadow
Mountain. On May 11th, Washington sent out a scouting party
from the Little Crossings, in command of Captain Stephen and
Ensign Peyronie, with instructions to advance along the line of
march as far as Gist's Plantation (Mount Braddock, Fayette
County) in an effort to discover scouting parties of the French.
On May 12th, Washington's forces left the Little Crossings,
fording the Castleman River, and, on the same day, the com-
mander received word that Colonel Fry was at Winchester,
Virginia, with about one hundred and fifty men, and would join
him in a few days; also that Colonel Innis would soon join him
with three hundred and fifty men. On May 16th, two traders,
fleeing from the French, who had been seen near Gist's Plantation,
joined Washington's forces, while, on May 17th, Ensign Ward
returned from Williamsburg, Virginia, with the word that Captain
Mackay, with an Independent Company of one hundred and
fifty men, was on his way to join the forces of the future Father
of his Country.
On May 18th, Washington and his troops reached the Great
Crossings of the Youghiogheny, at Somerfield, Somerset County,
Pennsylvania. Here they were obliged to remain several days
on account of the swollen condition of the river. Washington had
been told by the two traders, above mentioned, that it was not
practicable to open a road to Redstone. Therefore, while at the
Great Crossings, he determined to examine the Youghiogheny to
ascertain whether or not guns and baggage could be transported
156 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
down this stream; and, on May 20th, with four white men and
an Indian, he went down the river in a canoe as far as Ohiopyle
Falls, in Fayette County, and found the stream too rocky and
rapid for navigation. On May 21st, he returned to Turkey Foot
(Confluence, Somerset County), where he seems to have had an
intention of building a fort. From Turkey Foot, Washington
returned to his camp at the Great Crossings, from which place
he led his forces to the Great Meadows, situated along the Na-
tional Pike, a few miles east of the Summit, in Fayette County,
arriving there on the afternoon of May 24th. "I hurried to this
place," says Washington, "as a convenient spot. We have, with
nature's assistance, made a good entrenchment, and by clearing
the bushes out of the meadows, prepared a charming field for an
encounter." Also, on May 24th, two Indian runners came to
Washington from the Ohio, with a message from Tanacharison,
informing him that the French had marched from Fort Duquesne
to meet the Virginians and that Tanacharison would soon join
him with other Indian chiefs from the Ohio region.
Also, on the afternoon of May 24th, a trader came to the Great
Meadows with the information that he had been at Gist's Planta-
tion the evening before, had seen two Frenchmen there, and had
heard that French troops were near Stewart's Crossing, now
Connellsville, Fayette County. The next day, Washington sent
out several scouting parties from the Great Meadows to examine
the woods, the road leading to Gist's Plantation and the sur-
rounding region, in an effort to locate the French force. The
scouts returned the same evening without having located the
French.
Christopher Gist visited Washington's camp at the Great
Meadows early in the morning of May 27th, coming from his
plantation at Mount Braddock, thirteen miles distant, and re-
porting that on May 26th, M. La Force, with fifty French soldiers
had been at his plantation the day before, and that on his way to
Washington's camp, he had seen the tracks of the same party only
five miles from the encampment at the Great Meadows. Tan-
acharison, with a number of his warriors was but six miles from
the Great Meadows, and a little after eight o'clock on the night
of the same day, May 27th, he sent Washington intelligence that
he had seen the tracks of Frenchmen, and had traced them to an
obscure retreat. Washington feared that this might be a strata-
gem of the French for attacking his camp, and so, placing his
ammunition in a place of safety and leaving a strong guard to
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 157
protect it, he set out before ten o'clock with a band of soldiers,
and reached Tanacharison's camp a little before sunrise, march-
ing through a heavy rain, a night of intense darkness and the
obstacles offered by an almost impenetrable forest. In a letter
to Governor Dinwiddle, he says: "We were frequently tumbled
over one another, and often so lost that fifteen or twenty minutes'
search would not find the path again."
Just a word, at this point, as to the number of soldiers Wash-
ington had with him on this night march through the forest.
Most historians have placed the number as forty, but Washing-
ton's notes indicate that he left forty soldiers to guard the camp
at the Great Meadows and took the rest of his force with him.
It will be recalled that his whole force, at that time, consisted
of one hundred and fifty men.
Tanacharison Helps Washington Fight First
Battle of His Career
At early dawn (May 28th), Washington held a council with
Tanacharison at the latter's camp, which was near a spring, now
known as Washington's Spring, about two miles north of the
Summit on the old National Pike, near Uniontown; and it was
agreed at this council to unite in an attack upon the French,
Washington's forces to be on the right and Tanacharison's war-
riors on the left. The French were soon traced to an almost in-
accessible rocky glen in the Allegheny Mountains, about three
miles north of the Summit. The forces of Washington and Tan-
acharison advanced until they came so near as to be discovered
by the French, who instantly ran to their arms. The firing con-
tinued on both sides for about fifteen minutes, when the French
were defeated with the loss of their whole party, ten of whom
(some authorities say twelve), including their commander, M. de
Jumonville, were killed, one wounded, and twenty-one taken
prisoners. Of the prisoners, the two most important were an
officer named Drouillon, and the redoubtable LaForce. The
prisoners were marched to the Great Meadows, and from there
sent over the mountains to Virginia. Of Washington's party,
only one was killed, and two or three were wounded. Tanachari-
son's warriors sustained no loss, as the fire of the French was
aimed exclusively at Washington and his soldiers.
It is said that Washington fired the first shot in this skirmish,
the opening conflict of the French and Indian War. Jumonville
158 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
was buried where he fell, and a tablet marks the spot where his
remains lie. The warriors of Tanacharison and Scarouady
scalped the dead Frenchmen, and sent their scalps and a string of
black wampum to the tribes on the Ohio, with the request that
they take up arms against the French. The scene of this en-
counter, the first battle of Washington's illustrious career and an
event that changed the course of modern history, is almost as wild
and primitive as it was on that fateful morning of the 28th day of
May, 1754.
At a council held at Philadelphia on December 19th, 1754, be-
tween Governor Morris of Pennsylvania, and Scarouady, Jagrea,
a Mowhawk, and Aroas, a Seneca, the said Scarouady gave the
following account of events leading up to the fight with Jumon-
ville and the part that the Indian allies took in the same:
"This belt [holding up a belt of wampum] was sent by the
Governor of Virginia and delivered by Captain Trent. You see
in it the representation of an hatchet. It was an invitation to us
to join with and assist our brethren to repel the French from the
Ohio. At the time it was given, there were but four or five of us,
and we were all that knew any thing about the matter; when we
got it, we put it into a private pocket on the inside of our garment.
It lay next to our breasts.
"As we were on the road going to Council with our brethren, a
company of French, in number thirty-one, overtook us and desired
us to go and council with them ; and when we refused, they pulled
us by the arm and almost stripped the chain of covenant from off
it, but still I would suffer none to go with them. We thought to
have got before them, but they passed us; and when we saw they
endeavored to break the chain of friendship, I pulled this belt out
of my pocket and looked at it and saw there this hatchet, and then
went and told Colonel Washington of these thirty-one French
Men, and we and a few of our brothers fought with them. Ten
were killed, and twenty-one were taken alive whom we delivered
to Colonel Washington, telling him that we had blooded the edge
of his hatchet a little."
John Davidson, the Indian trader, acted as interpreter, at the
above council. He was in the action, and gave Governor Morris
the following account of the same :
"There were but eight Indians, who did most of the execution
that was done. Colonel Washington and the Half King [Tana-
charison] differed much in judgment, and on the Colonel's re-
fusing to take his advice, the English and Indians separated.
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 159
After which the Indians discovered the French in an hollow and
hid themselves, lying on their bellies behind a hill ; afterwards they
discovered Colonel Washington on the opposite side of the hollow
in the gray of the morning, and when the English fired, which
they did in great confusion, the Indians came out of their cover
and closed with the French and killed them with their toma-
hawks, on which the French surrendered."
In writing to his brother, John Augustine, Washington, refer-
ring to the engagement with Jumonville said:
"I have heard the bullets whistle, and believe me, there is
something charming in the sound."
This remark was reported later to George the Second, King of
England, who commented: "He would not say so if he had been
used to hearing many.
Washington Gives Tanacharison an English Name
Two days after the death of Jumonville, Colonel Fry died at
the camp at Will's Creek on his way to join the army, and the
chief command now devolved upon Colonel Washington. Wash-
ington immediately commenced enlarging the intrenchment at
the Great Meadows, and erecting palisades, anticipating an at-
tack from the French. The palisaded fort at the Great Meadows
having been completed, Washington's forces were augmented to
three hundred by the arrival from Will's Creek of the forces which
had been under Colonel Fry. With these was the surgeon of the
regiment. Dr. James Craik, a Scotchman by birth, who was
destined to be a faithful friend of Washington throughout the
remainder of his life, and was present at his bedside, when he
closed his eyes in death within the hallowed walls of his beloved
Mount Vernon.
On the 9th of June, Washington's early instructor. Adjutant
Muse, George Croghan and Andrew Montour, then Provincial
Captain, arrived at the Great Meadows with reinforcements,
powder and ball. Adjutant Muse brought with him a belt of
wampum, and a speech from Governor Dinwiddle to Tanachari-
son, with medals and presents for the Indians under his com-
mand. Says Washington Irving in his classic "Life of Washing-
ton " : ' 'They were distributed with that grand ceremonial so dear
to the Red Man. The chiefs assembled, painted and decorated
in all their savage finery. Washington wore a medal sent to him
by the Governor for such occasions. The wampum and speech
160 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
having been delivered, he advanced, and, with all due solemnity,
decorated the chiefs and the warriors with the medals, which they
were to wear in remembrance of their father, the King of Eng-
land." Among the warriors thus decorated, was Canachquasy,
the son of old Queen Allaquippa, who, with her son, had arrived
at the Great Meadows on June 1st. Upon his decoration
Canachquasy was given the English name of Lord Fairfax. Tana-
charison was given the English name of Dinwiddle on this occa-
sion, and returned the compliment by giving Washington the
Indian name of Connotaucarius.
On the 10th day of June, Washington wrote Governor Dinwid-
dle from the camp at the Great Meadows, concerning the decora-
tion of Canachquasy, as follows:
"Queen Allaquippa desired that her son, who was really a great
warrior, might be taken into Council, as she was declining and
unfit for business; and that he should have an English name given
him. I therefore called the Indians together by the advice of the
Half-King, presented one of the medals, and desired him to wear
it in remembrance of his great father, the King of England ; and
called him by the name of Colonel Fairfax, which he was told
signified 'the First in Council.' This gave him great pleasure."
At the end of the ceremonies of giving English names to Tana-
charison and Canachquasy, Washington read the morning service
of the Episcopal Church. Dr. James Craik, who was present,
said, in a letter home, that the Indians "believed he was making
magic."
Washington Advances to Gist's Plantation
On the 10th of June, there was great agitation in the camp at
the Great Meadows over the report that a party of ninety French-
men were approaching, which report was later found to be in-
correct. On the same day, Captain Mackay of the Royal Army,
in command of an independent company of one hundred riflemen
from South Carolina, arrived at the Great Meadows, increasing
Washington's forces to about four hundred men. The arrival of
these forces encouraged Washington. He now hoped to capture
Fort Duquesne, and selected Mount Braddock as his battle
ground. Leaving one company under Captain Mackay to guard
the fort, Washington pushed on over the Laurel Hill as far as
Christopher Gist's Plantation at Mount Braddock, near Connells-
ville, Fayette County. So difficult was the passage over Laurel
Hill that it took approximately two weeks for Washington's
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 161
forces to reach Gist's plantation from Great Meadows, a distance
of thirteen miles. Washington's Indian allies Tanacharison, Sca-
rouady and others, refused to accompany him as far as Gist's, and
returned to the Great Meadows. The trouble was that Washing-
ton and Tanacharison could not agree as to the method of con-
ducting the campaign. On the 27th of June, Washington had sent
a party of seventy men under Captain Lewis to clear a road from
Gist's to the mouth of the Redstone (Brownsville), and another
party under Captain Poison was, on the same day, sent ahead to
reconnoiter.
While these movements of Washington's forces were taking
place, a force of five hundred French and some Indians, after-
wards augmented to about four hundred, left Fort Duquesne on
the 28th of June to attack Washington, the French being com-
manded by M. DeVilliers, a half-brother of Jumonville, who it is
said, sought the command from Contrecoeur as a special favor
that he might avenge his half-brother's "assassination." This
force went up the Monongahela in large canoes, and on the 30th
of June, reached the mouth of Redstone, and encamped on the
rising ground about half a mile from the stockade, which, it will
be recalled. Captain Trent had erected during the preceding
winter as a storehouse for the Ohio Company. M. DeVilliers
described it as "a sort of fort built of logs, one upon another, well
notched in, about thirty feet long and twenty feet wide."
While at the mouth of the Redstone, M. DeVilliers learned
that Washington's forces were entrenching themselves at Gist's
plantation. He thereupon disencumbered himself of all his heavy
stores, and leaving a sergeant and a few men to guard the boats,
pushed on in the night, cheered by the hope that he was about to
capture the forces of Washington. Arriving at Gist's Plantation
in the early morning of July 2nd, he saw the intrenchments which
Washington had there begun to erect, at once invested them, and
fired a general volley. No response came from the intrenchments ;
for the prey had escaped. However, at Mr. Gist's house, some
Indians with the French captured Elizabeth Williams and three
of James Lowrey's traders, named Andrew McBriar, John Ken-
nedy and Nehemiah Stevens. (Pa. Col. Rec. Vol. 6, pages 142-
143.) M. DeVilliers was then about to retrace his steps, when a
deserter named Barnabas Devan, coming from the Great Mea-
dows, disclosed to him the whereabouts and the half-famished
condition of Washington's forces. Having made a prisoner of the
deserter with a promise to reward or hang him after proving his
162 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
story true or untrue, M. DeVilliers continued the pursuit. While
he is pursuing Washington, we will relate how the latter's forces
escaped capture.
At Gist's Plantation, on June 28th, Washington held a council
of war, upon receipt of intelligence that the French in large num-
bers, accompanied by many Indians, were marching against him.
At this council, it was resolved to send a message to Captain
Mackay, who was then at the Great Meadows, desiring him to
join Washington at once, and also to call in Captain Lewis and
Captain Poison, who, as we have seen, had been sent forward to
cut the road from Gist's to Redstone, and to reconnoiter. Captain
Mackay and his company arrived on the evening of the 28th, and
the foraging parties on the morning of the 29th, when a second
council of war was held, and it was decided to retreat as speedily as
possible. In order to expedite the retreat to the Great Meadows,
Washington impressed the pack-horses of George Croghan, who
had been furnishing flour and ammunition for the Virginians.
Washington Surrenders at Fort Necessity
The troops, with great difificulty, succeeded in retreating to
the Great Meadows. Here they halted on July 1st. The suffer-
ing among Washington's forces was great. For eight days they
had no bread, and had taken little of any other food. It was not
the intention of Washington at first to halt at this place, but his
men had become so fatigued from great labor and hunger that
they could draw the swivels no further. Here, then, it was re-
solved to make a stand. Trees were felled, and a log breastwork
was raised at the fort, in order to strengthen it in the best manner
that the circumstances would permit. Washington now named
the stockade "Fort Necessity" from the circumstances attending
its erection. At this critical juncture, many of Washington's
Indian allies, under Tanacharison, deserted him, being dis-
heartened at the scant preparations of defense against the superior
force, and offended at being subject to military command. On
July 2nd, Washington received information that the French were
at Gist's Plantation.
Early on the morning of July 3rd an alarm was received from
a sentinel, who had been wounded by the enemy, and, at nine
o'clock, word was received that the whole body of the French and
Indian allies amounting, as some authorities say, to nine hundred
men, was only four miles off. Before noon, distant firing was
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 163
heard, and the enemy reached a woods about a third of a mile
from the fort. Washington had drawn his men up on the open
and level ground outside the trenches, and waited for the attack,
which he thought would be as soon as the enemy emerged from
the woods ; and he ordered his troops to reserve their fire until they
should be near enough to do execution. The French did not in-
cline to leave the woods and to attack the fort by assault. Wash-
ington then drew his men back within the trenches, and gave
them orders to fire at their discretion, as suitable opportunities
might present themselves. The enemy remained on the side of
the rising ground next to the fort, and were sheltered by the trees.
They kept up a brisk fire of musketry, but never appeared in
open view. In the meantime, rain was falling in torrents, the
trenches were filled with water, and many of the arms of Wash-
ington's men were out of order. Until eight o'clock at night —
the rain falling without intermission — both parties kept up a
desultory fire, the action having started at about eleven o'clock
in the morning. By that time, the French had killed all the
horses and cattle at the fort.
At eight o'clock at night, the French requested a parley, but
Washington, suspecting this to be a feint to procure the admission
of an officer into the fort to discover his condition, declined. They
repeated their request with the additional request than an officer
might be sent to them, they guaranteeing his safety. Washington
then sent Captain Jacob Van Braam, the only person under his
command who understood the French language, with the excep-
tion of Chevalier de Peyrouny, an Ensign in the Virginia regi-
ment, who was dangerously wounded. Van Braam returned and
brought with him from M. DeVilliers, the French commander,
the proposed articles of capitulation. Villiers was a half-brother
of the ill-fated Jumonville. Owing to the overpowering number
of the enemy, Washington decided to come to terms. After a
notification of the proposed articles, he consented to leave the
fort the next morning, July 4, 1754, but was to leave it with the
honors of war, and with the understanding that he should sur-
render nothing but the artillery.
French Accuse Washington of Having
Assassinated Jumonville
Considerable dissatisfaction was expressed with regard to
several of the articles of capitulation when they were made public.
164 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
One of these was an article, by consenting to which Washington
virtually admitted that Jumonville had been "assassinated" in
the action of May 28th. Another was an article, by consenting
to which, Washington virtually admitted the validity of the
French claim to the Ohio Valley. M. De Villiers, the com-
mandant of the French forces, in his account of the march from
Fort Duquesne and the affair at the Great Meadows said, "We
made the English consent to sign that they had assassinated my
brother in his camp." A copy of the capitulation was subse-
quently laid before the House of Burgesses of Virginia, with ex-
planations. The conduct of Washington and his officers was pro-
perly appreciated, and they received a vote of thanks for their
gallant defense of their country. However, from this vote of
thanks, two officers were excepted — Major Muse, who was
charged with cowardice, and Captain Jacob VanBraam, who was
accused of treachery in purposely misinterpreting the articles of
capitulation. The truth is that Washington had been greatly
deceived by VanBraam, through either ignorance or design. An
officer of his regiment, who was present at the reading and signing
of the articles of capitulation, wrote a letter to a friend, in which
he discusses the true intent and meaning of the articles and of
their bungling translation by VanBraam, as follows:
"When Mr. VanBraam returned with the French proposals, we
were obliged to take the sense of them from his mouth; it rained
so hard that he could not give us a written translation of them;
we could scarcely keep the candle lighted to read them by; and
every officer there is ready to declare that there was no such word
as 'assassination' mentioned. The terms expressed were 'the
death of Jumonville.' If it had been mentioned, we would by all
means have had it altered, as the French, during the course of
the interview, seemed very condescending and desirous to bring
things to a conclusion ; and, upon our insisting, altered the articles
relating to the stores and ammunition, which they wanted to de-
tain; and that of the cannon, which they agreed to have 'de-
stroyed,' instead of 'reserved for their use.'
"Another article, which appears to our disadvantage, is that
whereby we oblige ourselves not to attempt an establishment be-
yond the mountains. This was translated to us, not 'to attempt'
buildings or 'improvements on the lands of his most Christian
Majesty.' This we never intended, as we denied he had any
there, and therefore thought it needless to dispute this point.
"The last article, which relates to the hostages, is quite dif-
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 165
ferent from the translation of it given to us. It is mentioned 'for
the security of the performance of this treaty,' as well as for the
return of the prisoners. There was never such an intention on our
side, or mention of it made on theirs, by our interpreter. Thus, by
the evil intention or negligence of VanBraam, our conduct is
scrutinized by a busy world, fond of criticizing the proceedings of
others, without considering circumstances, or giving just atten-
tion to reasons which might be offered to obviate their censures.
"VanBraam was a Dutchman, and had but an imperfect
knowledge of either the French or English language. How far his
ignorance should be taken as an apology for his blunders, is uncer-
tain. Although he had proved himself a good officer, yet there
were other circumstances, which brought his fidelity in question.
Governor Dinwiddie, in giving an account of this affair to Lord
Albermarle says: 'In the capitulation they made use of the word
'assassination,' but Washington, not understanding French, was
deceived by the interpreter, who was a paltroon, and though an
officer with us, they say he has joined the French."
Also, Washington expressed himself on Van Braam's transla-
tion, as follows:
"That we were willfully or ignorantly deceived by out inter-
preter in regard to the word 'assassination,' I do aver and will to
my dying moment; so will every officer who was present. The in-
terpreter was a Dutchman little acquainted with the English
tongue, and therefore might not advert to the tone and meaning
of the word in English ; but whatever his motives were for so doing,
certain it is he called it the 'death' or the 'loss' of the Sieur Jumon-
ville. So we received and so we understood it until, to our great
surprise and mortification, we found it otherwise in a literal trans-
lation."
Washington Marches Out With Honors of War
On the morning of July 4th, Washington and his forces marched
out of the Fort with the honors of war, taking with them their
regimental colors, but leaving behind a large flag, too cumberous
to be transported. His forces set out for Will's Creek, but had
scarcely left the Great Meadows when they encountered one
hundred Indian allies of the French, who, in defiance of the terms
of capitulation, began plundering the baggage, and committing
other irregularities. Seeing that the French did not or could not
prevent their Indian allies, Washington's men destroyed their
166 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
powder and other stores, including even their private baggage, to
prevent its falling into the hands of the Indians. M. DeVilliers
sent a detachment to take possession of the fort as soon as Wash-
ington's forces defiled therefrom. Washington's regiment left
twelve dead on the ground, and the number left by Captain
Mackay's company is not known. DeVillier said that the number
of dead excited his pity. He reported that the "English have had
70 or 80 men killed or mortally wounded, and many others
slightly," that two French-Canadians were killed and seventy
wounded, and that two Indian allies of the French were wounded.
(Pa. Archives, Sec. Series, Vol. 6, pages 168-170.)
Thus ended the affair at the Great Meadows, Washington's
first and last surrender. On reaching Will's Creek, where his
half-famished troops found ample provisions in the military
magazine, he hastened with Captain Mackay, to Governor Din-
widdle, at Williamsburg, whom they particularly informed of the
events of their expedition. Washington soon thereafter resigned
his commission, and retired to private life at Mount Vernon. His
first act, after relinquishing his command, was to visit his mother,
inquire into the state of her affairs, and look after the welfare of
his younger brother and his sister, Betty. He continued his resi-
dence at Mount Vernon until the following year, when he again
entered the service of Virginia in the army of General Braddock.
DeVilliers' Indian allies were Nipissings and Algonquins from
Canada, and when he advanced from Gist's Plantation towards
Fort Necessity, they were reluctant to accompany him. At this
point, attention is called to the fact that DeVilliers had two rea-
sons, both unknown to Washington, for requesting the cessation
of hostilities, which led to Washington's surrender. One was the
fact that the Indian allies of the French commander intended to
leave him the next day, which would have reduced his force to
five hundred Frenchmen, and the other was that the French were
almost out of ammunition.
Fearing that Washington would be reinforced, the French com-
mander, after destroying Fort Necessity, the cannon and a
quantity of rum, which he did not wish to fall into the hands of
his Indian allies, hastened away from the Great Meadows. On
the morning of the 5th of July, he arrived at Gist's Plantation,
where his forces demolished the stockade whVc\v Washington had
erected. All the houses in the settlement were burned, including
one which had been built in 1753 by William Stewart, where
Connellsville now stands. On July 6th, DeVilliers' forces arrived
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 167
at Redstone (Brownsville), where they burned the storehouse or
Hangard which Captain Trent had erected near that place early
in 1754. On July 7th, they arrived at Fort Duquesne. A little
later they rebuilt Logstown which had been burned by Scarouady
about June 24th.
Washington's surrender might well have filled the English with
gloom, says Dr. George P. Donehoo, in his "Pennsylvania — A
History:"
"When Washington's force marched out of Fort Necessity,
carrying the British flag with them, the flag of France flew over
the continent from the waters of the Potomac and Susquehanna
to the Mississippi. The British dominated the narrow strip along
the Atlantic, and that was all. There was not left a single trading
house or dwelling place of the English west of the blue ridges of
mountains. France had its chain of forts connecting the posses-
sions in Canada with the Ohio Valley, and it was only a question
of time when this chain would be completed to the possessions on
the Mississippi. The prospect for the Anglo-Saxon conquest of
the continent was not a bright one."
Washington's Love for the Great Meadows
To the day of his death, Washington loved the Great Meadows.
While the spot on which Jumonville was slain is the site of the
first skirmish in which the Revolutionary General was engaged,
the Great Meadows is the the site of his first real battle. Here
he erected Fort Necessity. Here he valiantly defended the fort
against overpowering numbers and amid the drenching rain.
Here he occupied a position against which the heaviest fire of the
French and Indians was directed. Here he saw his companions
sink in death. Here he was compelled to surrender, but with
honor. It was the memory of these things that caused the Great
Meadows to have a lasting place in his afi^ections. In 1769, he
acquired a pre-emption right to two hundred and thirty-four
acres of these meadows, including the site of the fort. Later his
title was confirmed by Pennsylvania. He referred to these mea-
dows in his will; he owned them at the time of his death, and they
were sold by his executors. Throughout our country's history to
the last, may the traveler on the National Pike pause amid the
mountains of Fayette County to pay homage to the memory of
Washington on the spot where he, a Virginia youth, received his
baptism of fire and blood.
168 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Captains Van Braam and Stobo
According to the terms of Washington's capitulation, Jacob
Van Braam and Robert Stobo, the engineer of Fort Necessity,
were given up as hostages to the French until the British should
return to Fort Duquesne the French prisoners taken when Jumon-
ville was slain. The Governor of Virginia refused to return the
French prisoners, and Van Braam and Stobo were then taken to
Canada. While a prisoner at Fort Duquesne, Stobo wrote two
letters to the Governor of Virginia, which were entrusted to two
Indians friendly to the British, and safely delivered. The first
letter, written on July 28th, 1754, and sent by the Indian, Moses,
advised the Governor that the French had circulated a rumor
among the Indians at and in the vicinity of Fort Duquesne, that
Scarouady and other Indians friendly to the British had been
killed and their wives and children delivered to the Cherokees and
Catawbas for torture. The second letter, written the following
day, and sent by Delaware George, contained a sketch of Fort
Duquesne. These letters were carefully kept, and delivered to
General Braddock, when he took command of the expedition
against Fort Duquesne the following year. They were found
among his effects on the field of battle, and were sent to Canada.
Stobo, who was then a prisoner at Quebec, was tried, and sen-
tenced to be executed, but made his escape. After the close of
the French and Indian War, Van Braam lived in Wales and Eng-
land until the outbreak of the Revolution, when, much against his
will, it seems, he entered the service of the British against the
Colonies. After the close of the Revolution, Washington received
a long letter from his former fencing master and interpreter,
giving an account of his experiences after the surrender at Fort
Necessity and stating that he was spending his declining days in
France. Here this interesting character disappears from history.
(See Stobo's letters in Vol. 6 of Colonial Records of Pennsylvania,
pages 141 and 161.)
Croghan, Montour and Gist
At this point, it will be well to devote a few paragraphs to three
noted characters whom we have met a number of times thus far
in this history and who assisted Washington in his campaign of
1754, — George Croghan, Andrew Montour and Christopher Gist.
Croghan was born in Ireland and educated in Dublin. He came
to America somewhere between the years 1740 and 1744. He en-
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 169
gaged in the Indian trade and appears to have been first licensed
as an Indian trader in Pennsylvania, in 1744. In 1746, he was
located in Silver Spring Township, in the present county of Cum-
berland, a few miles west of Harris'Ferry, now Harrisburg. Dur-
ing the same year, he was made a counsellor of the Six Nations at
Onondaga, according to his sworn statement; and in March, 1749,
he was appointed by the Governor and Council of Pennsylvania
one of the justices of the peace in Common Pleas for Lancaster
County.
As early as the years 1746 and 1747, he had gone as far as the
southwestern border of Lake Erie in his trading expeditions. In
1748, he had a trading house at Logstown, which was made the
headquarters of Weiser upon his visit to the Indians of that place,
in the month of September, 1748. He had also branch trading
establishments at the principal Indian towns in the valleys of the
Ohio and Allegheny, one being on the northwestern side of the
Allegheny River, at the mouth of Pine Creek, five or six miles
above the forks of the Ohio. From this base of operations and
from Logstown, trading routes "spread out like the sticks of a
fan." One of these routes went up the Allegheny past Venango,
(Franklin), where Croghan had a trading house and competed with
John Frazer, a Pennsylvania trader from Paxtang, who for some
years, had traded at Venango, maintaining both a trading house
and gunsmith shop until he was driven off by the French, as has
already been seen. Croghan's abilities and influence among the
Indians soon attracted the attention of Conrad Weiser, who, in
1747, recommended him to the Pennsylvania Authorities, and, in
this way, he entered the service of the Province.
His part in Washington's campaign consisted in furnishing the
Virginia forces with flour and ammunition. On May 30th, 1754,
he contracted with Governor Dinwiddle, at Winchester, Virginia,
to transport to Redstone ten thousand pounds of flour by means
of packhorses. Much of the powder and lead used by Washing-
ton at Fort Necessity was furnished by Croghan and Captain
William Trent, who was his partner and brother-in-law. How-
ever, Croghan was so much delayed in furnishing flour that, as we
have seen, Washington's forces suffered greatly from hunger in
the latter days of the campaign.
The outbreak of the French and Indian War ruined Croghan's
prosperous trading business. He was brought to the verge of
bankruptcy and threatened with imprisonment for debt. Then
the Pennsylvania Assembly passed an act giving him immunity
170 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
from arrest for ten years, in order that the Province might have
the benefit of his services and influence among the Indians. To
add to his financial troubles, the Irish traders, because most of
them were Roman Catholics, fell under suspicion of acting as
spies for the French, and Croghan was unjustly suspicioned by
many in authority. He was granted a captain's commission to
command the Indian allies during Braddock's campaign, and was
at Braddock's defeat.
Early in 1756, Croghan resigned from the Pennsylvania service
and went to New York, where his distant relative, Sir William
Johnson, chose him deputy Indian agent, and appointed him to
manage the Allegheny and Susquehanna tribes. From this time,
he was engaged for several years in important dealings with the
Western Indians, and had much to do in swaying them to the
British interest and making possible the success of General Forbes,
in 1758. In 1763, he went to England on private business, and
was shipwrecked upon the coast of France. Upon his return to
America in 1765, he was dispatched to Illinois, going by way of
the Ohio River, and was taken prisoner near the mouth of the
Wabash, and carried to the Indian towns upon that river. Here
he not only secured his own release, but conducted negotiations
putting an end to Pontiac's War. He also took part in the Great
Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York), in 1768, and, as a
reward, was given a grant of land in Cherry Valley, New York.
Shortly prior to this, however, he had purchased a tract on the
Allegheny, about four miles above the mouth of the Monongahela,
where he entertained George Washington in 1770. When the
Revolutionary War came on, it seems he embarked in the patriotic
cause, and later was an object of suspicion; and then Penn-
sylvania proclaimed him a public enemy, and his place as Indian
agent was conferred upon Colonel George Morgan. He continued,
however, to reside in Pennsylvania — the scene of his early activ-
ities and the Colony which he rendered such signal service — and
died at Passayunk on August 31, 1782. His funeral was con-
ducted at the Episcopal Church of St. Peter's in Philadelphia,
but the place of his burial remains unknown.
Croghan's Mohawk daughter became the third wife of the
celebrated Mohawk Chief, Joseph Brant.
Andrew Montour, the "Half Indian," whose Indian name was
Sattelihu, was the eldest and most noted of the children of Madam
Montour. He is one of the most picturesque Indian characters
in the early history of Pennsylvania, and accompanied George
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 171
Croghan on many of his missions to the Indians of the Ohio and
Allegheny valleys. Governor Dinwiddie gave him a captain's
commission "to head a select company of friendly Indians, as
scouts for our small army," when Virginia was raising forces for
the occupation of the Forks of the Ohio, early in 1754. Montour,
however, did not organize a company of Indians, as he had been
instructed, but raised a company of traders and woodsmen, who
had been driven from the valley of the Ohio on the approach of
the French. His company consisted of eighteen men, and with
these, he and Croghan joined Washington at the Great Meadows
on the 9th of June. Montour and his forces assisted Washington
in the battle of Fort Necessity, on July 3rd and 4th, where two of
his men, Daniel Lafferty and Henry O'Brien, were taken prisoners
In the spring of 1755, Montour and Croghan, with about fifty
Indian braves, joined Braddock's army at Cumberland ; but after
the army began to advance on Fort Duquesne, many of these
Indian allies deserted or were dismissed by Braddock. However,
Montour continued with the army and took part in its over-
whelming defeat. Throughout the French and Indian War, he
took part as interpreter in many Indian councils with the Penn-
sylvania and New York authorities, and was sent on a number of
important missions. In Pontiac's War, he was also faithful to
the English. He was one of the interpreters at the treaty with
the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix (Rome, N. Y.), in October, 1768,
at which the Penns made their last purchase of lands from the
Indians. During the year 1769, Montour was granted a tract of
three hundred acres, situated on the south side of the Ohio River
opposite Montour's Island, about nine miles below the mouth of
the Monongahela. Soon thereafter this picturesque character dis-
appears from history. A town, a creek, an island, a county, a
mountain range — all in Pennsylvania — are named for him and
his mother.
We have met Christopher Gist a number of times in this
history — as the explorer and surveyor of the Ohio Company, as
Washington's guide on his mission to St. Pierre, and in Washing-
ton's campaign of 1754. At least as early as the spring of 1753,
this noted pathfinder had made a settlement of some Virginia
families in the vicinity of what is now Mount Braddock, Fayette
County. He served faithfully in Braddock's campaign of 1755
and with his sons, Nathaniel and Thomas, was in the terrible de-
feat of the haughty British general on the banks of the Monon-
gahela. After Braddock's defeat, he raised a company of scouts
172 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
in Virginia and Maryland and rendered service on the harried
frontier, being then called Captain Gist. In 1756, he was sent to
the Carolinas to enlist the Cherokee Indians in the British service
in the French and Indian War. In 1757, he became deputy In-
dian agent in the South, a position "for which," said Washington,
"I know of no person so well qualified. He has had extensive
dealings with the Indians, is in great esteem among them, well
acquainted with their manners and customs, indefatigable and
patient." According to most authorities, he died of smallpox in
the summer of 1759, in either South Carolina or Georgia.
This trusted friend of Washington deserves to be remembered
for all time. He was one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon explorers of
the vast region comprising the states of Ohio and Kentucky. Con-
cerning this region he reported to the Ohio Company: "Nothing
is wanted but cultivation to make this a most delightful country."
(For account of Christopher Gist's explorations for the Ohio
Company, the reader is referred to W^illiam M. Darlington's
"Christopher Gist's Journals.")
The Albany Treaty and Purchase of 1754
In order to combine the efforts of the Colonies in resisting the
encroachments of the French, a conference was ordered by the
British Ministry, to be held at Albany, New York, in June and
July, 1754, to which the Six Nations were invited. Governor
Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, unable to be present, commissioned
John Penn and Richard Peters of the Provincial Council, and
Isaac Norris and Benjamin Franklin, of the Assembly, to attend
the conference in his stead. Conrad Weiser also attended the
conference as interpreter in the negotiations with the Six Nations.
At this conference, a plan was proposed for a political union, and
adopted on the very day that Washington surrendered at Fort
Necessity. It was subsequently submitted to the Home Govern-
ment and the Provincial Assemblies. The Home Government
condemned it, according to Franklin, on account of its being too
democratic; and the various Provincial Assemblies objected to it
as containing too much power of the King. Pennsylvania nega-
tived it without discussion.
At this Albany Conference, the title of the Iroquois to the Ohio
Valley was recognized, and the Pennsylvania commissioners
secured from the Iroquois a great addition to the Province, to
which the Indian title was not extinct. The deed, which was
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 173
signed by the chiefs of the Six Nations on July 6, 1754, conveyed
to Pennsylvania all the land extending on the west side of the
Susquehanna River from the Blue Mountains to a mile above the
mouth of Kayarondinhagh (Penn's) Creek; thence northwest by
west to the western boundary of the Province; thence along the
western boundary to the southern boundary; thence along the
southern boundary to the Blue Mountains; and thence along the
Blue Mountains to the place of beginning.
Although the Great Council of the Iroquois declared at the
Albany Treaty that they would not sell their lands in the Wyom-
ing Valley to either Pennsylvania or Connecticut, but would
reserve them as a hunting ground and for the residence of such
Indians as cared to remove from the French and settle there, and
also declared that the Onondaga Council had appointed Shikel-
lamy's son, John, in charge of this territory; yet, before the
Treaty was closed, the Mohawks very irregularly sold the Wyom-
ing lands to Connecticut.
This Albany Treaty, which secured the neutrality of the Six
Nations during the French and Indian War, was the first official
acknowledgment of the independence of the Iroquois Confedera-
tion by delegates from all the Colonies. It was a truly historic
assembly. Even until the present day, the Iroquois Confedera-
tion has been considered an independent Nation by the United
States Government. (For account of the Albany Conference and
Treaty, see Penna. Col. Rec. Vol. 6, pages 57 to 128.)
Tanacharison Complains of Washington
and Protests Albany Purchase
After the defeat of Washington at the Great Meadows, Tana-
charison and Scarouady, with some of their followers, "came down
to the back parts of Virginia," and then with Seneca George and
about three hundred Mingos (Iroquois), retreated to George Crog-
han's trading post at Aughwick, now Shirleysburg, Huntingdon
County. At about the same time, some Shawnees, Delawares,
and an inconsiderable number of renegades of the Seneca tribe of
the Six Nations, joined the French. Tanacharison and Scarouady
after retreating to Aughwick, sent out messages to assemble the
friendly Delawares and Shawnees at that place, and asked the
Colony of Pennsylvania to support their women and children
while the warriors fought on the side of the English, whom they
expected speedily to take decisive steps against the French. In
174 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
response to these messages, great swarms of excited Indians came
to Aughwick, clamoring for food, and were fed at the expense of
the Colony throughout the fall and winter. Here most of them
remained until General Braddock's army arrived at Cumberland
Maryland, in the spring of 1755, when they went to join his army.
Here, also Queen Allaquippa died in December, 1754.
George Croghan was in charge of distributing provisions and
supplies to the friendly Indians, who had assembled at Aughwick
after Washington's surrender at Fort Necessity. The bills which
he was sending the Colonial Authorities for feeding these Indians
having grown rather large, Croghan was suspicioned as not being
reliable, and finally there were hints that he was in league with
the French. The Pennsylvania Assembly then cut down his bills,
and he decided to leave Aughwick. Conrad Weiser was then
directed by the Colonial Authorities to go to Aughwick, and make
a report on Croghan. He reached this place on August 31st, 1754,
being accompanied by Tanacharison from Harris' Ferry, now
Harrisburg.
"On the way," says Weiser, "Tanacharison complained very
much of the behavior of Colonel Washington, (though in a very
moderate way, saying the Colonel was a good-natured man, but
had no experience); that he took upon him to command the In-
dians as his slaves, and would have them every day upon the
Out Scout, and attack the Enemy by themselves, and that he
would by no means take advice from the Indians; that he lay at
one place from one full moon to another, and made no fortifica-
tions at all but that little thing upon the meadow, [Fort Necess-
ity] where he thought the French would come up to him in open
field; that had he taken the Half King's advice and made such
fortifications as the Half King advised him to make, he would
certainly have beat the French off; that the French had acted as
great cowards and the English as fools in that engagement; that
he [the Half King] had carried off his wife and children; so did
other Indians before the battle begun, because Colonel Washing-
ton would never listen to them, but was always driving them on
to fight by his directions."
Weiser found that Croghan was entirely worthy of being
trusted. He also found that the inhabitants of Cumberland
County caused much trouble in selling so much strong liquor
to the Indians assembled at Aughwick. In the conferences which
he held with Tanacharison, Scarouady, King Beaver, and various
other chiefs, he completely won old Tanacharison and his people
OPENING OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 175
back to the English cause after their anger at Washington and the
Virginians. Moreover, at these conferences, Weiser learned that
the Shawnees and Delawares had formed an alliance; that the
French had offered them presents, either to join them or to re-
main neutral, and that to these proposals, the Delawares made
no reply, but at once sent their deputies to Aughwick for the pur-
pose, as Weiser thought, of learning the attitude of the English.
Near the close of the conference, Tanacharison and Scarouady
pressed Weiser to tell them what transpired at the Albany Treaty;
and he then told them all about the purchase of the vast tract
west of the Susquehanna. "They seemed not to be very well
pleased," says Weiser, "because the Six Nations had sold such a
large tract." Weiser then explained that the purchase was made
in order to frustrate land schemes of the Connecticut interests,
and of the French on the Ohio. This appeared to satisfy them,
though they resented not receiving a part of the consideration.
For a time they were content, not knowing that the purchase in-
cluded most of the lands on the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
The Shawnee and Delaware deputies then went back to the Ohio
into danger and temptations, and to learn from the French that
their vast hunting grounds on the West Branch of the Susque-
hanna had been sold to the Province of Pennsylvania at the
Albany Treaty.
No wonder that Tanacharison and Scarouady complained to
Weiser. The Albany purchase was a very powerful factor in
alienating, not only the Delawares, but the other Indians, from
Pennsylvania. The Shawnees and Delawares of the Munsee
Clan (Monseys) in the valleys of the Susquehanna, Juniata,
Allegheny, and Ohio, thus found their lands "sold from under
their feet" which the Six Nations had guaranteed to them, so
they claimed, on their migration to these valleys. It was pro-
vided in the contract of sale of these lands that half of the pur-
chase price should be paid upon delivery of the deed, and the
remainder was not to be paid until the settlers had actually
crossed the Allegheny Mountains, and taken up their abode in
the purchased territory. The Indians declared in July, 1755, that
they would not receive the second installment, but the Mohawk
chief, Hendricks, persuaded them to stand by the deed. After
Braddock was defeated on July 9, 1755, the entire body of dis-
satisfied Indians on the Albany Purchase took bitter vengeance
on Pennsylvania. After three years of bloodshed, outrage and
murder, Conrad Weiser persuaded the Proprietaries of Pennsyl-
176 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
vania to deed back to the Indians that part of the Albany pur-
chase which lay west of the Allegheny Mountains. This was done
at the treaty at Easton, in October, 1758, which treaty will be
discussed in a later chapter.
Death of Tanacharison
After the series of conferences with Conrad Weiser at Augh-
wick, in September, 1754, Tanacharison returned to the trading
house of John Harris, at Harris' Ferry, where he became danger-
ously ill; and a conjuror, or "medicineman," was summoned to
make inquiry into the cause and nature of his malady. The
"medicineman" gave it as his opinion that the French had be-
witched Tanacharison in revenge for the great blow he had struck
them in the affair of Jumonville; for the Indians gave him the
whole credit of that success, Tanacharison having made it clear
that it was he who killed Jumonville, in revenge of the French,
who, as he declared, had killed, boiled, and eaten his father. Fur-
thermore, Tanacharison had sent around the French scalps taken
at that action, as trophies. All the friends of the old chieftain
concurred in the opinion of the "medicineman," and when Tana-
charison died at the house of John Harris, on October 4, 1754,
there was great lamentation among the Indians, mingled with
threats of immediate vengeance. Thus was this noted sachem
gathered to his fathers in the "Happy Hunting Ground," at a
time when his services and influence among the Western Indians
were greatly needed by the English.
CHAPTER VI
General Braddock's Campaign
THE news of Washington's surrender at the Great Meadows
produced a feeling of alarm throughout the Colonies and
also among the members of the King's cabinet. The Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle, which closed King George's War, was still in
force. Officially, at least. Great Britain and France were at
peace. Yet the British Government realized that France meant
to take and retain possession of the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny by force of arms. Great Britain, therefore, began to
make arrangements for sending troops to America to resist the
aggressions of the French. General Edward Braddock was se-
lected as commander-in-chief of these forces.
Braddock sailed for Virginia on December 21st, 1754, with his
stafif and a small part of his troops, leaving the main body to
follow on January 14th, 1755. On February 20th, he arrived in
Virginia. At a council of Governor Shirley of Massachusetts,
Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, Governor Delancy of New York,
Governor Morris of Pennsylvania, Governor Sharpe of Maryland
and Governor Dobbs of North Carolina, held at Alexandria,
Virginia, on April 14th, 1755, the plans of military operations
were definitely formed. Three expeditions were decided upon:
one against Niagara and Frontenac, under General Shirley; one
against Crown Point, under General William Johnson; and one
against Fort Duquesne, under General Braddock. The expedi-
tion against Fort Duquesne was considered the most important,
and is the only one we shall discuss in this history. It was made
up of the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth Royal Regiments of
Foot, commanded by Sir Peter Halket and Colonel Thomas Dun-
bar, of New York Independent Companies of Foot, and of South
Carolina, Maryland and Virginia troops.
The Army Assembles at Cumberland
Without setting forth the details of the forming of Braddock's
expedition, we state that his army assembled at Will's Creek, or
178 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Fort Cumberland, where the city of Cumberland, Maryland now
stands. Braddock joined his forces here early in May. Here
came Colonel George Washington, who was chosen as one of
Braddock's aides-de-camp. Here, also, Braddock received two
hundred wagons and two hundred and fifty horses from York and
Lancaster Counties, Pennsylvania, principally through the efforts
of Benjamin Franklin, who, in the latter part of April, sent hand-
bills throughout the counties of York, Lancaster and Cumberland,
containing the threat of Quartermaster-General Sir John St.
Clair to send an armed force into these counties to seize wagons
and horses for the expedition.
In this connection we state that Braddock told Franklin he
was sure his army would not be detained long at Fort Duquesne
and that, after capturing that place, he would press on to Niagara
and Frontenac without any obstruction being offered. Franklin
then warned him of the danger of being ambushed by Indian allies
of the French. "He smiled at my ignorance," says Franklin in
his Autobiography, "and replied: 'These savages may indeed be
a formidable enemy to your raw American militia, but upon the
King's regular and disciplined troops, sir, it is impossible that
they should make any impression.' "
Braddock planned to advance on Fort Duquesne over the route
followed by Washington's expedition of the preceeding summer,
which, it will be recalled, was originally the Nemacolin Indian
Trail. In order that his army might procure food and other
supplies from the fertile counties of Eastern Pennsylvania, the
Province of Pennsylvania directed Colonel James Burd to cut a
road from McDowell's Mill, in the western part of Franklin
County, to join the Braddock road at or near Turkey Foot, now
Confluence. Braddock was very anxious that the Burd road be
completed before his army would arrive at the Great Crossings
of the Youghiogheny (Somerfield, Somerset County). He issued
orders later that the work of cutting a road from Raystown
(Bedford, Pa.) to Fort Cumberland be left unfinished until
Colonel Burd would finish cutting the road to Turkey Foot, and
he sent one hundred troops from Fort Cumberland under Captain
Hogg to act as a guard for Burd's road-cutters. However, Colonel
Burd had cut his road only to the crest of the Allegheny Moun-
tains by the time of Braddock's defeat.
Most students of Braddock's expedition are of the opinion that
the starting place for Fort Duquesne should have been Phila-
delphia or Carlisle. Probably the starting place would have been
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 179
in Pennsylvania, if the Pennsylvania Assembly had realized the
impending danger of a successful French invasion and occupation
of the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny, and had not spent its
time disputing with Governor Morris. After the Governor had
called the attention of the Assembly to the fact that the French
had invaded a large part of the Province, this body replied, on
January 3d, 1755, that "the French Forts and their other Acquisi-
tions on the Ohio are constantly considered and called in Great
Britain an Invasion upon His Majesty's Territory of Virginia."
Pennsylvania had been requested to enlist men to fill the gaps in
the Forty-fourth and Forty-eighth Regiments. This was not
done. Furthermore, early in January, the Assembly adjourned
until May, without doing anything to put the Province in a state
of defense. Governor Morris then told the Assembly that "all the
fatal Consequences that may attend your leaving the Province
in this defenseless State must lie at your Doors." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 6, pages 227 to 247, especially pages 233, 234, 240 and 247.)
Without going further into the dispute between the Pennsyl-
vania Assembly and Governor Morris, we state that, on account
of this dispute and consequent inaction on the part of Pennsyl-
vania, the British Government realized that any movement of
troops against Fort Duquesne would have to be made from Vir-
ginia and by Virginia's assistance.
Braddock's Indian Allies
Braddock expected to receive many Indian allies, especially
Catawbas and Cherokees of the South, which Governor Din-
widdle had promised. None of these southern warriors came. He
urged George Croghan, Cristopher Gist and Governor Morris, of
Pennsylvania, to persuade Indians of the Ohio and Allegheny to
join his forces. But the Delawares and Shawnees of these valleys,
alienated from the English interest by the fraudulent Walking
Purchase of 1737, the land sales at the Treaty of 1736, and es-
pecially by the Albany Purchase of 1754, were in no frame of mind
to take up arms against the sympathizing French. At best, they
were waiting to see which side would win in the impending con-
test. Finally, in the latter part of May, George Croghan and
Andrew Montour brought from Aughwick (Shirleysburg, Pa.) to
Braddock's camp at Cumberland about fifty warriors, mostly of
the Six Nations. Many of these Indians had been in Washing-
ton's campaign of the preceeding summer, had deserted him be-
180 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
fore the battle at Fort Necessity, and then had been fed at the
expense of Pennsylvania, by Croghan, at Aughwick, throughout
the autumn and winter.
Scarouady, successor to Tanacharison, was the leader of the
Indians brought by Croghan and Montour. Other chiefs were
White Thunder (The Belt), Silver Heels (Aroas), so called, pro-
ably, on account of being fleet of foot, Canachquasy (Captain
New Castle) and Carondowanen (Great Tree). Scarouady ad-
dressed the assembled Indians, and urged them to take up the
English cause with vigor.
Washington Irving's "Life of Washington" contains the follow-
ing interesting paragraphs concerning the assembling of Sca-
rouady and his warriors at Cumberland.
"Notwithstanding his secret contempt for the Indians, Brad-
dock, agreeably to his instructions, treated them with great cere-
mony. A grand council was held in his tent, at Fort Cumberland,
where all his officers attended. The chiefs, and all the warriors,
came painted and decorated for war. They were received with
military honors, the guards resting on their firearms. The general
made tham a speech through his interpreter, expressing the grief
of their father, the great King of England, at the death of the
Half King, Tanacharison, and made them presents to console
them. They in return promised their aid as guides and scouts, and
declared eternal enmity to the French, following the declaration
with the war song, 'making a terrible noise.'
"The general, to regale and astonish them, ordered all the
artillery to be fired, 'the drums and fifes playing and beating the
point of war;' the fete ended by their feasting in their own camp
on a bullock which the general had given them, following up their
repast by dancing the war dance round a fire, to the sound of their
uncouth drums and rattles, 'making night hideous,' by howls and
yellings.
"For a time all went well. The Indians had their separate
camp, where they passed half the night singing, dancing, and
howling. The British were amused by their strange ceremonies,
their savage antics, and savage decorations. The Indians, on the
other hand, loitered by day about the English camp, fiercely
painted and arrayed, gazing with silent admiration at the parade
of the troops, their marchings and evolutions; and delighted with
the horse-races, with which the young officers recreated them-
selves.
"Unluckily the warriors had brought their families with them
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 181
to Will's Creek, and the women were even fonder than the men of
loitering about the British camp. They were not destitute of
attractions; for the young squaws resemble the gypsies, having
seductive forms, small hands and feet, and soft voices. Among
those who visited the camp was one who no doubt passed for an
Indian princess. She was the daughter of the sachem. White
Thunder, and bore the dazzling name of Bright Lightning. The
charms of these wild-wood beauties were soon acknowledged.
'The squaws,' writes Secretary Peters, 'bring in money plenty;
the officers are scandalously fond of them.'
"The jealousy of the warriors was aroused; some of them be-
came furious. To prevent discord, the squaws were forbidden to
come into the British camp. This did not prevent their being
sought elsewhere. It was ultimately found necessary, for the sake
of quiet, to send Bright Lightning, with all the other women and
children, back to Aughwick. White Thunder, and several of the
warriors, accompanied them for their protection.
"As to the Delaware chiefs, they returned to the Ohio, promis-
ing the general they would collect their warriors together, and
meet him on his march. They never kept their word. 'These
people are villians, and always side with the strongest,' says a
shrewd journalist of the expedition,
"Either from disgust thus caused, or from being actually dis-
missed, the warriors began to disappear from the camp. It is
said that Colonel Innes, who was to remain in command at Fort
Cumberland, advised the dismissal of all but a few to serve as
guides; certain it is, before Braddock recommended his march,
none remained to accompany him but Scarouady and eight of his
warriors."
Neither White Thunder nor any of the other Indians who con-
ducted the Indian women back to Aughwick returned to Brad-
dock's army. The faithful eight Iroquois chiefs who remained
with the army and fought in the battle on the banks of the Monon-
gahela, were thanked by Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, at a
meeting of the Provincial Council, held on August 15th, 1755,
in whose minutes their names are given. They were at the meet-
ing. (See Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 524).
"Captain Jack"
At this point attention is called to the fact that many historians
have made the statement that, when Braddock arrived at the
182 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Little Meadows, soon to be mentioned again, "Captain Jack, the
Wild Hunter of the Juniata," offered him the services of himself
and his band of backwoodsmen, which offer was distainfully
refused. But "Captain Jack, the Wild Hunter," was a mythical
character. He never existed, except as the beau ideal of the
period. Many legends concerning this mythical frontiersman,
"with the eye of an eagle and an aim that was unerring, are given
in McKnights "Captain Jack, the Scout."
Many have confused the mythical "Captain Jack" with the
real Captain Patrick Jack, of the Cumberland Valley, who, it is
claimed, at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin, offered Brad-
dock the services of his band of foresters as guides, which offer
the General declined to accept, giving as a reason that he already
had secured guides for his expedition. At least this is the tradi-
tion that has been handed down to the descendants of Captain
Patrick Jack. Many, too, have confused the mythical character
with Andrew Montour, the Half Indian; others with the White
Mingo ; and others with Captain William Patterson, of the Juniata
Valley. (See Frontier Forts of Penna., Sec. Edition, Vol. 2, page
643; also Hanna's "Wilderness Trail," Vol. 2, page 57).
The March from Cumberland to the Fatal Field
On June 7th, Sir Peter Halket's division took up the march
from Cumberland, followed, on June 8th, by Lieutenant-Colonel
Burton's division, and, on June 10th, by Colonel Thomas Dun-
bar's division, accompanied by Braddock and his aides. Colonel
Innes was left in command of Fort Cumberland, with a detach-
ment of Colonial troops.
On June 16th, the army reached the Little Meadows, about
three miles east of Grantsville, Maryland. Here Braddock
decided to divide his army. On the 18th of June, four hun-
dred men were sent forward to cut the road to the Little Cross-
ing, (Grantsville) and, on the following day, Braddock followed
with a detachment of five hundred men, the officers, and the
"two eldest Grenadier Companies," making, in all, somewhat
more than twelve hundred officers and men. The rest of the army
about eight hundred and fifty men and officers, under command,
of Colonel Dunbar, was to follow by slower stages, with the heavy
baggage, heavy artillery and stores and with most of the women
accompanying the army. 1 1 was Washington who advised hasten-
ing forward with the best troops and as little baggage as possible.
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 183
For several days he had been very ill of fever. On account of
this illness, he was left, on June 19th, at the camp at the Little
Crossing, under the care of Dr. Craik, by the positive orders of
Braddock. He traveled with Dunbar's division, until July 3d,
then hastened forward from a point near the Great Meadows,
weak as he was, and joined the main army under Braddock the
day before the battle.
Leaving Colonel Dunbar, we shall follow General Braddock's
army on its march through the wilderness and over the mountains
to the fatal field. On June 19th, his army reached Bear Camp,
which was almost on the Maryland and Pennsylvania line, about
three miles southeast of Addison, Somerset County. During this
day's march, Scarouady and his son, who were marching with the
other Indian allies as an advanced party and were some distance
from the line of march, were surrounded and captured by some
French and Indians. The son escaped and brought the intelli-
gence to the warriors, who hastened to rescue or avenge the aged
chief, but found him tied to a tree. The French had been disposed
to kill him; but the Indians with them declared that they would
abandon the French should they do so, thus showing some tie of
friendship or kindred with Scarouady, who then rejoined Brad-
dock's forces unharmed.
By the 23rd of June, the army reached Squaw Fort, situated a
short distance southeast of Somerfield, Somerset County. On
June 24th, it passed over the Great Crossing of the Youghiogheny
and encamped three or four miles east of the Great Meadows, the
site of Fort Necessity, where Washington surrendered the year
before. On June 25th, it marched over the very spot where
Braddock was buried a fortnight later, and encamped at the
Orchard Camp, where he died on the night of July 13th. Both the
Orchard Camp and the place of Braddock's burial are not far
from the Summit on the National Pike, in Fayette County. On
the morning of this day (June 25th), three men, venturing be-
yond the sentinels, were shot and scalped by Indians. On June
26th, the army encamped at Rock Fort Camp, not far from Wash-
ington's Spring, where, it will be remembered, Tanacharison was
encamped with his warriors when he and Washington set out to
make the attack on Jumonville. On June 27th, the army reached
Gist's Plantation, the present Mount Braddock, in Fayette
County. On June 28th, the army reached Stewart's Crossing on
the Youghiogheny, at Connellsville, Fayette County, where it
encamped on the western side of this stream. The army remained
184 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
in camp all day during the 29th, and crossed to the eastern side of
the Youghiogheny, on the 30th, encamping about a mile from the
river.
At this point, attention is called to the fact that, from Gist's
Plantation to Stewart's Crossing, Braddock's army followed the
course of the Catawba Indian Trail, leading from the domain of
the Senecas and other members of the Iroquois Confederation to
the territory of the Catawbas and Cherokees; also to the fact
that, at his camp on the eastern side of the Youghiogheny, on
June 30th, General Braddock wrote what was very likely the last
letter, official or otherwise, penned by his hand. This was a letter
to Governor Morris, urging that Colonel Burd's road be speedily
completed and advising of attacks upon some settlers near Fort
Cumberland by hostile Indians. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages
475-476).
On July 1st, the army encamped at what is known as the Camp
at the Great Swamp, the location of which was near the old Iron
Bridge, southeast of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, and
near the headwaters of Jacob's and Mount's creeks. On July
2nd, the army encamped at Jacob's Cabin, making a march of
about six miles. This "cabin" belonged to the famous Delaware
chief. Captain Jacobs. On July 3rd, the army passed near Mount
Pleasant, and encamped at the headwaters of Sewickley Creek,
about five miles southeast of Madison, Westmoreland County.
The camp at this place was called Salt Lick Camp. On July 4th,
the army encamped at Thicketty-Run (Sewickley Creek), about
a mile west of Madison. From this camp two Indians were sent
forward as scouts, as was also Christopher Gist. All three re-
turned on the 6th, the Indians bringing the scalp of a French
officer they had killed near Fort Duquesne. Mr. Gist had in-
tended to spy around the fort at night, but was discovered and
pursued by two Indians. He narrowly escaped with his life. On
July 6th, the army reached Camp Monacatoocha, so named in
honor of Scarouady, or Monacatoocha, on account of the follow-
ing sad event:
On the 6th of July, three or four soldiers, loitering in the rear
of Braddock's forces, were killed and scalped by the Indian allies
of the French, and several of the grenadiers set off to take revenge.
These came upon a party of the Indians who held up boughs and
grounded their arms as the sign of amity. Either Braddock's
grenadiers did not perceive this sign, or else misunderstood it.
At any rate, they fired upon the Indians and one of them fell, who
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 185
proved to be the son of Scarouady. The grenadiers brought the
body of the young warrior to camp. Braddock then sent for
Scarouady and the other Indians, and condoled with them on the
lamentable occurrence, making them the customary presents to
wipe away their tears. He also caused the young man to be buried
with the honors of war, and at his request the officers attended the
funeral and fired a volley over the grave. The camp that night,
located about two miles southeast of Irwin, Westmoreland County
was given the name of Camp Monacatoocha, in honor of Sca-
rouady. Says Irving:
"These soldier-like tributes of respect to the deceased and
sympathy with the survivors, soothed the feelings and gratified
the pride of the father, and attached him more firmly to the
service. We are glad to record an anecdote so contrary to the
general contempt for the Indians with which Braddock stands
charged. It speaks well for the real kindness of his heart."
On July 7th, Braddock on advice of Gist and Montour, aban-
doned the Indian trail, in order to avoid the dangerous Narrows
of Turtle Creek; and turning sharply westward, the army followed
the valley of Long Run at or near Stewartsville, and encamped
on the night of July 8th, about two miles from the Monongahela
and an equal distance from the mouth of the Youghiogheny, near
McKeesport, Allegheny County. This was the last camp of the
army before the fatal encounter. Here George Washington, who
had been left at the Little Crossing near Grantsville, Maryland,
on June 19th, on account of illness, rejoined the army on the
evening of July 8th, bringing with him from Dunbar's division a
detachment, sent to guard a pack-horse train carrying provisions
for Braddock's army. It is seen, therefore, that Washington had
not been with Braddock's army during the long march from the
Little Crossing, near Grantsville, Maryland.
After the arrival of Washington's detachment, Braddock's
forces numbered 1,460 officers and men besides women and
camp followers. July 9th dawned bright and clear. Braddock
would reach Fort Duquesne before evening. He felt certain of
victory. Although French and Indians had lurked in the woods,
near his line of march, from the time his army left Cumberland,
yet there had been no ambush.of his forces, owing to the vigilance
of Christopher Gist, Andrew Montour, Scarouady and other
scouts. As has been seen, his Indian scouts had approached near
the fort. They and Gist reported, on July 6th, that there were
186 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
no signs of ambush and no signs of preparations for resistance.
Nor, in fact, was Braddock ambushed on the fatal ninth day of
July, when his army went down to overwhelming and inglorious
defeat at the hands of the French and their Indian allies. It is
true that the French officer, Beaujeu, had planned an ambush,
and picked a place for it on the evening of July 8th. In the mean-
time, Braddock had crossed the Monongahela and started up the
slopes of the field of encounter before the French and Indians ar-
rived at the place which they had selected for ambushing him.
We think it well to point out this fact before we describe the battle
(See the French account of the battle, in Pa. Archives, Sec. Series,
Vol. 6, page 256).
But to return to the early morning of the fatal day. To reach
Fort Duquesne, it was necessary for Braddock's army to cross to
the south side of the Monongahela, march some distance along
the south bank, then return to the north bank by again fording
the stream.
At three o'clock on the morning of July 9th, Colonel Gage was
sent with about four hundred men to secure both fords of the
river and to hold the northern bank of the second ford. At four
o'clock. Sir John St. Clair, with a detachment of two hundred and
fifty men, was sent to make a road for transporting the artillery
and baggage. At eight o'clock, Braddock crossed the first ford
to the south bank of the Monongahela, Here his forces took up
the line of march along the south shore, and, when they had gone
about a mile, Braddock received word from Colonel Gage that he
had carried out the General's orders and posted himself on the
north bank to secure the second ford. Presently the entire army
crossed the second ford, and formed along the north shore, just
below the mouth of Turtle Creek, where the town of Braddock
now stands.
The march along the south shore of the Monongahela was an
imposing spectacle — with arms cleaned the night before, gleaming
in the summer sunshine, with officers and men, clad in their best
uniforms, stepping buoyantly to the inspiring music of the
"Grenadiers' March," which the drums and fifes were beating and
playing, with the flag of England flying in the breeze, Washing-
ton looked upon the scene with deep emotion, and, in after years,
spoke of it as the most beautiful sight he ever beheld. The ford-
ing to the north shore was made with bayonets fixed, drums beat-
ing, fifes playing and colors flying, as before.
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 187
The Battle of the Monongahela
The army is now on the north shore of the Monongahela.
Fort Duquesne is only ten miles away. It is almost two o'clock.
After a halt, General Braddock has arranged the order of march.
First moves the advance, under Colonel Gage, preceeded by the
engineers and six light horsemen. These are followed by Sir
John St. Clair and the working party, with wagons and two
cannon, four flanking parties being thrown out on each side.
General Braddock is soon to follow with the main body, the
artillery and baggage, preceeded and flanked by light horse and
infantry; while the Virginia and other Colonial troops are to
form the rear guard.
The advanced party, under Gage, has proceeded beyond the
first high ground and is just going up the second when one of the
engineers, marking the course of the road, sees French and In-
dians directly in front of him. He gives the alarm, "French and
Indians"! Beaujeu, their leader, is wearing a gay hunting shirt
and silver gorget on his breast, as he leads them on. They are on
the run, indicating that they have just come from Fort Duquesne.
Both sides are equally surprised. Both sides fire upon each other.
Beaujeu is killed at the first fire. Upon his fall, the Indians begin
to waver, terrified at the roar of St. Clair's cannon. The com-
mand of the French and Indians now devolves upon M. Dumas.
With great presence of mind, he rallies the Indians and orders his
officers to lead them to the wings and attack the British on the
flank, while he, with the French soldiers, will maintain a position
in front. His orders are promptly obeyed.
General Braddock hears the quick and heavy firing in front
and the terrible yelling of the Indians. He orders Colonel Burton
to hasten to the assistance of the advanced party, with the van
guard, eight hundred strong. The rest of the army, four hundred
strong, are halted and posted to protect the artillery and baggage.
The General sends an aid-de-camp forward to bring him an ac-
count of the attack. He does not wait for the aid-de-camp's re-
turn, but, finding the turmoil and uproar increasing, he and
Washington move forward, leaving Sir Peter Halket in charge of
the baggage.
In the meantime Gage has ordered his men to fix bayonets and
form in order of battle. They do so in terror, and he now orders
them to scale the hill on the right from which there is the heaviest
188 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
firing, but they will not quit the line of march, dismayed by the
terrible yells of the Indians, who have now extended themselves
along the hill and in the ravines which traverse the field.
The whereabouts of the Indians are known only by their blood-
curdling cries and the puffs of smoke from their rifles. The sol-
diers fire when they see the smoke. The offtcers' orders are not
heeded. The men shoot at random, killing some of their own
flanking parties and of the van guard. In a few minutes most of
the officers and men of the advance are killed or wounded. Gage
himself is wounded. His detachment falls back upon the detach-
ment which followed.
Braddock has now arrived, and is trying to rally the men, but
they heed neither his entreaties nor his threats. They will not
fight when they can not see the enemy. The Virginia troops, how-
ever, accustomed to the Indian mode of fighting, spring into the
forest, take post behind trees and rocks, and, in this manner, pick
off some of the lurking foe. Washington urges Braddock to adopt
the same plan with the regulars, but he persists in forming them
into platoons. Consequently they are cut down without mercy.
Some, indeed, attempt to take to trees, but the General storms
at them and calls them cowards. He even strikes them with the
flat of his sword. In the meantime, the regulars kill many of the
Virginians, firing as they see the puffs of smoke from their rifles
in the forest.
The slaughter of the officers is terrible. The Indians fire from
their coverts at every one on horseback, or who appears to have
command. Colonel Burton, and Sir John St. Clair are wounded.
Sir Peter Halket is shot down at the head of his regiment. Secre-
tary Shirley is shot through the head, falling by the side of Brad-
dock, who still remains in the center of the field in the hope of
retrieving the fortunes of the day. He has seen his trusted officers
shot down all around him. Two of his aides. Captain Robert
Orme and Captain Roger Morris, are wounded. Four horses have
now been shot and killed under Braddock; still he keeps his
ground. At length, as he mounts a fifth horse, a bullet passes
through his right arm and lodges itself in his lungs. He falls
from his horse into the arms of Captain Robert Stewart, of the
Virginia Light Horse. The mortally wounded General asks to be
left amid the dead and dying on the scene of slaughter, but
Captain Stewart and another Virginian officer assisted by Brad-
dock's servant. Bishop, later carry him from the field in his military
scarf.
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 189
Amid the carnage, with the war-whoop of the Indians ringing
in his ears, with the groans of the dying bringing unutterable
sadness to his soul, Washington distinguishes himself by his
courage and presence of mind. His brother aides, Orme and
Morris, having been wounded early in the action, the whole duty
of carrying the orders of the General has devolved on him. He
dashes to every part of the field, and is a conspicuous mark for
the rifles of the Indians. A chief and his warriors single him out,
and, after firing at him many times, the chief orders the warriors
to desist, believing the life of the brave young Virginian is pro-
tected by the Great Spirit. (When Washington, in 1770, in
company with Dr. Craik and William Crawford, made a journey
down the Ohio River to explore lands given the Virginia soldiers,
the Indian chief who fired at him so often in this battle, made a
long journey to meet him.) The men who should have served
Sir Peter Halket's cannon are paralyzed with terror. Washington
springs from his horse, wheels and points a brass field-piece with
his own hands, and directs an effective discharge into the woods.
Two horses are shot under him. Four bullets pass through his
coat. Dr. James Craik, as he attends the wounded, watches him
with great anxiety, as he dashes from place to place in the most
exposed manner. Yet Washington miraculously escapes without
a wound.
The battle lasted until five o'clock. Just before Braddock was
shot, the drums beat a retreat, but, by this time, most of the
survivors, abandoning their arms, had crossed the Monongahela
in headlong flight, at the same ford across which they had come,
in proud array, to the field of death a few hours before. Neither
the French nor the Indians pursued the fugitives. The Indians
remained on the field to scalp and plunder the dead. This saved
the life of many a fugitive. Had the French and Indians followed
the broken fragments of the army, it is likely that none would
have escaped. Later many of the Indians returned home, being
dissatisfied with their share of the spoils.
This was the most crushing defeat ever administered to a
British army on American soil. Throughout that dreadful after-
noon, death, like a hungry Moloch, eager for a royal feast,
stalked by the side of Mars and drank his fill of blood amid the
gloom of the forest. The slaughter of trained soldiers by Indians,
in this battle, has no comparison except the slaughter of General
George A. Custer's troops at the battle of the Little Big Horn, on
June 25th, 1876.
190 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Of the 1460, besides women and other camp followers, who on
that July day crossed the sparkling Monongahela, 456 were
killed and 421 wounded, many of them mortally. Out of 89
commissioned ofificers, 63 were killed or wounded. In no other
battle in history were so many officers slain in proportion to the
number engaged. The Virginians suffered the most. One com-
pany was almost annihilated, and another, besides those killed
and wounded in its ranks, lost all its officers, even to the corporal.
Of the three Virginia companies, Washington said that they "be-
haved like men and died like soldiers" and that "scarce thirty
men were left alive."
The French Account of the Battle
The French account of the battle, among other things, bears
out the contention that Braddock was not ambushed. In this
account, we read:
"That officer (Contrecoeur, commander of Fort Duquesne) em-
ployed the next day (July 8th) in making his arrangements; and
on the ninth detached M. de Beaujeu, seconded by Messers.
Dumas and de Lignery, all three Captains, together with four
Lieutenants, 6 Ensigns, 20 cadets, 100 soldiers, 100 Canadians
and 600 Indians, with orders to lie in ambush at a favorable spot,
which had been reconnoitered the previous evening. The detach-
ment, before it could reach its place of destination, found itself
in the presence of the enemy within three leagues of that fort. M.
de Beaujeu, finding his ambush had failed, decided upon an attack.
This he made with so much vigor as to astonish the enemy, who
were waiting for us in the best possible order; but their artillery,
loaded with grape (a cartouche) having opened fire, our men gave
way in turn. The Indians, also frightened by the report of the
cannon rather than by any damage it could inflict, began to
yield, when M. de Beaujeu was killed. M. Dumas began to en-
courage his detachment."
(See Pa. Archives, Sec. Series, Vol. 6, page 256.)
The French account, just quoted, goes on to state that "the
enemy left more than 1,000 men on the field of battle;" while,
in the "Memoirs des Pouchot," Vol. 1, page 37, the following is
stated :
"There were counted dead on the battle field six hundred men,
on the retreat about four hundred; along a little stream three
hundred. Their total loss was reckoned at twelve hundred and
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 191
seventy . . . The wounded were abandoned, and almost all
perished in the woods."
The official reports of the French show that Contrecoeur,
frightened by the exaggerated statements given him as to the
number of Braddock's forces, had prepared to surrender Fort
Duquesne when the British army should arrive at that place.
Reluctantly did he give assent to any resistance; and when his
officers selected a place of ambush on the evening of June 8th,
it was merely to dispute the passes of the Monongahela and to
annoy and retard the march of Braddock's army.
In this connection we state that there were few, if any, Dela-
wares and Shawnees among the Indian allies of the French at Brad-
dock's defeat. These tribes did not go over to the French to the ex-
tent of taking up arms against the English until after Braddock's
defeat. They were simply waiting to see which side would win.
The Indians with the French at this battle were the Tisagech-
roann, Chippewas, Ottawas and other tribes from the region of
the Great Lakes. Contrary to the statements of many historians,
it may well be doubted that Pontiac commanded the Ottawas at
this battle. (See W. N. Loudermilk's "History of Cumberland,"
page 177.) It has also been stated that the Seneca chief, Corn-
planter, fought on the side of the French in this battle. This, too,
may well be doubted.
The Retreat— Death of Braddock
At the time of the battle. Colonel Dunbar, who followed, as
has been seen, with the heavy artillery and heavy stores, was in
camp at a place since known as "Dunbar's Camp," and located
not far from the spot where Jumonville was killed in Washington's
campaign of 1754. This place is almost fifty miles from the place
of Braddock's defeat. Dunbar has been greatly criticised on
account of the slowness with which he followed Braddock; but
it should be remembered that he had the poorest troops, many
of whom sickened and died on the way; that he had the heaviest
stores, and an insufficient number of horses to transport them;
and that he was almost constantly harrassed by French and In-
dians, as his poor, jaded horses dragged the heavily laden wagons
up the mountain sides in the summer heat. Moreover, the In-
dians got in his rear and cut oflf much of his supplies.
When General Braddock was carried from the field, he was
taken to the other side of the Monongahela, where about one
192 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
hundred men had gathered, among them being Washington, the
aides, Orme and Morris, and Dr. Craik, who here dressed the
General's wound. This place was about a quarter of a mile from
the ford. From here Braddock ordered Washington to go to
Dunbar's camp with orders to send wagons for the wounded,
hospital stores, provisions and other supplies, escorted by two
Grenadier companies. Colonel Burton posted sentries here and
intended to hold the place until he could be reinforced. But
most of the men took to flight within an hour, and then Burton
retreated up and across the stream to the camp ground from which
the army had marched on the morning of that fatal day. Here
Burton and his companions were joined by Colonel Gage and
eighty men whom he had rallied. From this place. Burton and
Gage, uniting their detachments and carrying the wounded
General with them, marched all that night and the next day, and
arrived at Gist's Plantation at ten o'clock at night. Around the
Indian spring at Gist's, on that warm, summer night, the dying
General and the other wounded lay sleepless and hungry, waiting
for surgical aid and food from the camp of Dunbar.
Now, to return to Washington. After receiving the General's
orders to hasten to Dunbar's camp, he with two companions,
rode all through the melancholy, dark and rainy night, and ar-
rived at the camp in the evening of July 10th. But the tidings
of Braddock's defeat had preceded Washington. These were
borne by wagoners, who had mounted their horses when the day
was lost, and fled from the field of battle. Haggard and terrified,
the Indian yell ringing in their ears, these wagoners had ridden
into Dunbar's camp at noon, on July 10th, exclaiming, "All is
lost! Braddock is killed! The troops are cut to pieces!" A
panic then fell upon the camp, which Washington found still
prevailing upon his arrival. The orders which he brought with
him were executed during the night. Early the next morning
(July 11th), he accompanied the convoy of supplies to Gist's
Plantation, eleven miles away. Here he found General Brad-
dock sufi"ering intense agony of body and mind. In this agony
the dying General's thoughts were on the poor soldiers, who were
wandering in the woods to die from their wounds, from ex-
haustion, from starvation, or at the hands of the Indians.
The wounded were attended to at Gist's on the 1 1th. Then the
survivors retreated to Dunbar's camp. Here confusion still
reigned. Orme says in his journal that Dunbar's forces "seemed
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 193
to have forgot all discipline." Dunbar's wagoners were nearly all
Pennsylvanians, and, like those who were with Braddock, had
fled, taking the best horses with them.
All the wagons being needed to carry the wounded, most of
Dunbar's ammunition and other military stores were destroyed
and buried to prevent their falling into the hands of the French.
General Braddock died at the Orchard Camp, west of the
Great Meadows, during the night of July 13th, and was buried in
the middle of the road, the troops, horses and wagons passing
over the grave to obliterate its traces and thus prevent its dese-
cration by the Indians. Some historians say that the time of the
burial was before daylight and that Washington read the burial
service amid the flickering light of torches, after the manner of
the burial of Sir John Moore. However, Veech, in his "Monon-
gahela of Old," says the burial took place after daylight, on the
morning of the 14th.
After the burial of Braddock, the wreck of his former proud
array continued its retreat without molestation. Had the French
known the fear and panic that seized Dunbar's soldiers and that
no reinforcements were coming, they would no doubt have
annihilated the remnants of the British forces.
Hon. William Findley, of Westmoreland County, wrote that
Washington advised him that he intended to erect a monument at
the place where Braddock was buried, but had no opportunity
to do so until after the Revolutionary War; that in 1784, he made
diligent search for the grave, but could not find it. (See Niles'
Register, XIV, page 179.)
Colonel James Burd located the grave in 1759 when on his way
to Redstone, and said that it was "about two miles from Fort
Necessity, and about twenty yards from a little hollow, in which
there was a small stream of water, and over it a bridge." In
1812, some workmen, under the direction of Abraham Stewart,
repairing the road at a point near the place mentioned by Colonel
Burd, unearthed the skeleton and trappings of a British officer.
These were, very probably, General Braddock's bones. Some of
the bones were taken away by relic hunters, but all were later
collected by Mr. Stewart. In 1820, the skeleton was reinterred a
few rods from the original grave. A monument now marks the
spot where these bones repose in the soil of the historic county of
Fayette. Thousands of travelers on the National Pike pause at
"Braddock's Grave" to pay tribute to the memory of the haughty
and unfortunate British General. Peace to his ashes!
194 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Thomas Fossit
Thomas Fossit (Fausset), a soldier in Braddock's army, said by
some to have been enlisted at Shippensburg, maintained to the
end of his long life that he fired the bullet that gave General
Braddock his mortal wound. Fossit claimed that his brother,
Joseph, was killed by Braddock for attempting to seek shelter,
during the battle; whereupon he, in revenge, shot the General.
For a number of years, Fossit conducted a small tavern not far
from Braddock's burial place, where he related his story to the
passing traveler. Some historians, among them Bancroft and
Egle, accept Fossit's story as true; others give it little or no
credence. Perhaps the fairest comment to make is to say that
the truth of the old soldier's statement can be neither proved nor
disproved.
Torture of the Prisoners
James (later Colonel) Smith, a young man eighteen years of
age, was one of the force of three hundred men, under Colonel
James Burd, engaged in cutting the Pennsylvania road from Mc-
Dowell's Mill to Turkey Foot as Braddock was marching on Fort
Duquesne. At a point four or five miles above Bedford, he was
captured, about July 5th, by Indian allies of the French and
carried to Fort Duquesne, where he was a prisoner on the day of
Braddock's defeat. He gives the following description of the
happenings at the fort on that dreadful day:
"Shortly after this, on the 9th day of July, 1755, in the morn-
ing, I heard a great stir in the fort. As I could then walk with a
staff in my hand, I went out of the door, which was just by the
wall of the fort, and stood upon the wall and viewed the Indians
in a huddle before the gate, where were barrels of powder, bullets,
flints, &c., and every one taking what suited; I saw the Indians
also march off in rank entire — likewise the French Canadians, and
some regulars. After viewing the Indians and French in different
positions, I computed them to be about four hundred, and won-
dered that they attempted to go out against Braddock with so
small a party. I was then in high hopes that I would soon see
them fly before the British troops, and that General Braddock
would take the fort and rescue me.
"I remained anxious to know the advent of this day; and, in
the afternoon, I again observed a great noise and commotion in
the fort, and though at that time I could not understand French,
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 195
yet I found that it was the voice of joy and triumph, and feared
that they had received what I called bad news.
"I had observed some of the old country soldiers speak Dutch
[German]; as I spoke Dutch, I went to one of them, and asked
him, what was the news? He told me that a runner had just
arrived, who said that Braddock would certainly be defeated;
that the Indians and French had surrounded him, and were con-
cealed behind trees and in gullies, and kept a constant fire upon
the English, and that they saw the English falling in heaps, and if
they did not take the river, which was the only gap, and make
their escape, there would not be one man left alive before sun-
down. Some time after this, I heard a number of scalp halloos,
and saw a company of Indians and French coming in. I observed
they had a great many bloody scalps, grenadiers' caps, British
canteens, bayonets, &c., with them. They brought the news that
Braddock was defeated. After that, another company came in
which appeared to be about one hundred, and chiefly Indians,
and it seemed to me that almost every one of this company was
carrying scalps; after this, came another company with a number
of wagon horses, and also a great many scalps. Those that were
coming in, and those that had arrived, kept a constant firing of
small arms, and also the great guns in the fort, which were ac-
companied with the most hideous shouts and yells from all
quarters; so that it appeared to me as if the infernal regions had
broke loose.
"About sundown I beheld a small party coming in with about
a dozen prisoners, stripped naked, with their hands tied behind
their backs, and part of their bodies blackened, — these prisoners
they burned to death on the bank of the Allegheny River opposite
the fort. I stood on the fort wall until I beheld them begin to
burn one of these men; they had him tied to a stake, and kept
touching him with fire-brands, red-hot irons, &c., and he scream-
ing in the most doleful manner, — the Indians in the meantime
yelling like infernal spirits. As this scene appeared too shocking
for me to behold, I retired to my lodgings both sore and sorry."
This is the first torture of white prisoners by Indians that we
have seen thus far in this volume. We shall see many others be-
fore the end of the book. In this connection we state that Hon.
Warren K. Moorehead, of the United States Board of Indian
Commissioners, who has made the American Indians a life study,
believes that they learned their cruel treatment of prisoners from
the early Spanish explorers. However this may be, certainly the
196 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Indians never exceeded the Spanish explorers in cruelty. And
the eternal pages of history will say that the American Indians
never inflicted more horrible tortures on prisoners, white or red,
than civilized white men — Christians, both Catholic and Protes-
tant— inflicted on one another, in religious persecutions only a
few centuries ago. It is well to keep this great fact of history in
mind as we read the accounts of Indian tortures.
But to quote a little more from James Smith's account:
"When I came into my lodgings, I saw Russel's Seven Ser-
mons, which they had brought from the field of battle, which a
Frenchman made a present of to me. From the best information
I could receive, there were only seven Indians and four French
killed in this battle, and five hundred British lay dead on the
field, besides what were killed in the river on their retreat. The
morning after the battle, I saw Braddock's artillery brought into
the fort; the same day I also saw several Indians in British
officers' dress, with sash, half moons, laced hats, &c., which the
British then wore."
Smith was a native of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He
remained in captivity among the Indians at Fort Duquesne, Ma-
honing, and Muskingum. He was adopted by his captors. Dur-
ing his captivity among the Indians, he was carried from place to
place, spending most of his time at Mahoning and Muskingum.
In about 1759, he accompanied his Indian relatives to Montreal,
where he managed to secrete himself on board a French ship. He
was again taken prisoner and confined for four months, but was
finally exchanged and reached his home in 1760, to find the sweet-
heart of his boyhood married, and all his friends and relatives
supposing him dead. He became a very prominent man on the
Pennsylvania frontier, and during the Revolution, was a captain
on the Pennsylvania line, being promoted, in 1778, to the rank of
colonel. In 1788, he removed to Kentucky, where he at once
took a prominent part in public affairs, serving in the early Ken-
tucky conventions and in the legislature. He died in Washington
County, Kentucky, in 1812, leaving behind him as a legacy to
historians a very valuable account of his Indian captivity.
A Final View of the Field
Let us take a final view of the field of blood and death by the
limpid waters of the Monongahela. Hundreds of scalped and
mutilated bodies lie amid the ferns, the laurel, the clinging vines,
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 197
and by the mossy logs of these sylvan shades. They He on the
bank of the river; they He on the sides of the ravines; they He by
the rivulets. The ferns, the laurel, the vines, the moss are stained
with blood. The rivulets run red with blood. Far from the scene
of battle, bodies lie — bodies of the wounded who dragged them-
selves deeper into the forest to die, or perished on the flight from
the scene of slaughter. Soon these bodies will be torn asunder by
wild beasts. Soon wolves and bears will devour their flesh and
crunch their bones. Later the voice of lamentation will be heard
in hundreds of homes, far away from the banks of the Monon-
gahela — agonizing cries of fathers, of mothers, of sisters, of
brothers, of wives, of sweethearts of the fallen. For long, sad
years, the mystic cords of memory and affection, stretching from
hundreds of homes in Virginia, in Maryland, and across the sea,
will bind these homes to this Monongahela battle ground — bind
them until these relatives, wives and sweethearts meet the loved
and lost in the land where there are no wars, no partings and no
death.
General Forbes captured Fort Duquesne, on November 25th,
1 758. Three days later he sent a detachment to bury the bones of
the soldiers slain at Braddock's defeat. Among those who went
to the scene of the battle was the then Sir Peter Halket, son of
the Sir Peter Halket who was killed at the battle, as was also one
of his sons. Young Sir Peter Halket had accompanied the High-
landers to America in the hope of finding the bones of his father
and brother. By interrogating some Indians who had fought
against Braddock young Sir Peter Halket found one who stated
that at the massacre he had seen an officer fall near a tree, that a
young subaltern ran to his assistance, was shot when he reached
the spot, and fell across the other's body. On hearing the Indian's
story, Halket had a mournful conviction that the two officers were
his father and brother.
Captain West, a brother of the famous painter, Benjamin West,
piloted by Indians who had been in the battle, led the detachment
which buried the bones of Braddock's soldiers. In Gait's "Life
of Benjamin West," we learn that the Indian who told young
Sir Peter Halket the incident just related, accompanied the latter
and companions to the scene of the battle. They found the
ground covered with skeletons. Some were lying across trunks
of fallen trees. Skulls and bones were scattered on the ground —
a certain indication that the bodies had been torn asunder and
devoured by wild beasts. In a short time, the Indian informant
198 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
uttered a cry, announcing that he had found the tree near which
he had seen the officers fall on the day of battle. Then the
Indian removed the leaves which thickly covered the ground.
Presently two skeletons were found, as the Indian had expected,
lying one across the other. Young Peter Halket then remember-
ing that his father had an artificial tooth, examined the jaw bones
of the skeletons for this mark of identification. In a short time he
exclaimed, "It is my father!" and fell into the arms of his
companions. The two skeletons, covered with a Highland plaid,
were then buried together.
Sargent, one hundred years after Braddock's defeat, published
his "History of Braddock's Expedition." He describes the ap-
pearance of the place of battle as then being a tranquil, rural
landscape of rare charm and beauty, where
''Peaceful smiles the harvest,
And stainless flows the tide.''
Today, one hundred and seventy-four years after the battle,
the town of Braddock has replaced the forest of 1755 and the
rural landscape of 1855. Today the greater part of the battle-
field is covered by the Edgar Thompson Steel Works, where men
face the hot furnaces, instead of the rifle of the Indian— where
men labor amid the clang and roar of machinery, instead of being
shot down with the blood-curdling yells of the Indians ringing in
their ears.
Some of the Survivors
Among the survivors of the Braddock campaign, were men
who lived to take a prominent part in the Revolutionary War.
Colonel Gage who led the advance on the day of battle, was the
General Gage who led the British forces at Bunker Hill. Captain
Horatio Gates, who commanded one of the New York indepen-
dent companies in the Braddock campaign, was the General
Gates to whom Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga. Captain
Hugh Mercer Avho was in the battle on the banks of the Monon-
gahela, was the General Mercer who laid down his life for the
American cause at the battle of Princeton. General Daniel
Morgan, whose famous riflemen from Pennsylvania and Virginia
rendered the American cause such great service during the
Revolutionary War, was a teamster in Braddock's army. For
some real or supposed affront, a haughty British officer caused
him to be whipped on the bare back.
Daniel Boone, the famous Kentucky pioneer, was in Brad-
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 199
dock's fatal expedition. (Hanna's Wilderness Trail, Vol. 2, pages
213 and 214.)
Effects of Braddock's Defeat
The news of Braddock's defeat quickly spread throughout the
settlements of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and later
to the other Colonies, filling the hearts of all, especially the in-
habitants of the frontiers, with dismay. Fear traveled on the
wings of the wind, bringing terror to those who had believed
Braddock's proud army to be invincible but now learned that it
was overwhelmingly defeated.
The terrified Colonel Dunbar, with 1,800 troops, 300 of whom
were sick and wounded, continued his retreat to Fort Cumber-
land, at which place he arrived on July 22nd. About the only
reason he gave for retreating was that that many of his soldiers
had lost their clothes in the battle. It was midsummer. Why he
should attach so much importance to lack of clothes at this time
of year, as a reason for retreating, especially when he had so great
a supply of ammunition and other supplies that he had to destroy
most of the same, is hard to see. Then, on August 2nd, he
marched away to "winter quarters" at Philadelphia, shamefully
leaving Fort Cumberland, the only fort on the frontier, with a
small garrison and four hundred sick and wounded soldiers. On
October 1st, his army, fifteen hundred strong, took up the march
from Philadelphia to New York and Albany. When the news of
Dunbar's cowardly and traitorous action spread throughout the
settlements, the terror in the log cabins on the frontier was
greatly increased.
If, instead of destroying the larger part of his stores and am-
munition and then retreating, Dunbar had rested his troops and
gotten reinforcements from Fort Cumberland, he could no doubt
have captured Fort Duquesne. This is unquestionably what he
should have done. With reinforcements from Fort Cumberland,
he would have had about three times as many troops as had the
French at Fort Duquesne. The French were nearly as badly
frightened as was he. They expected the British army to be
reinforced and then return. Moreover, nearly all of their Indian
allies had returned to their forest homes along the Great Lakes.
Gist, Scarouady, Montour and the other scouts with Dunbar,
could easily have ascertained the situation and number of the
French. Had poor Braddock lived, he would undoubtedly have
done just what we say Dunbar should have done.
200 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
The news of Dunbar's action soon spread among the Delawares
and Shawnees. Hesitating no longer, they went over to the
French and prepared to strike the frontier settlements. The
Delawares threw off the yoke of subserviency to the Six Nations.
In doing this, they declared they were no longer "women" but
MEN with the right to determine their own actions. Soon the
mountains of Pennsylvania were filled with war parties of Dela-
wares and Shawnees, coming from the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny. They rushed down the Braddock road into Maryland,
and killed and scalped settlers almost up to the gates of Fort
Cumberland. A little later, they entered the Pennsylvania settle-
ments by way of the various Indian trails, traders' routes and the
road Colonel Burd had cut to the crest of the Allegheny Moun-
tains.
The bitter fruits of the fraudulent Walking Purchase of 1737
and the Albany Purchase of 1754 are about to be gathered. The
Delawares and Shawnees are about to wreak terrible and bloody
vengeance on defenseless Pennsylvania. In our next chapter, we
shall see the beginning of their work of blood and death.
A Final Word as to General Braddock
General Edward Braddock was born in Perthshire, Scotland,
in 1695. He became Lieutenant-Colonel, in 1745, Brigadier-
General, in 1746, and Major-General, in 1754. He fought val-
iantly at Fontenoy and Culloden.
General Braddock's principal shortcomings were that he paid
too little attention to those who warned him of the dangers of
Indian warfare and that he underestimated the worth of the
Colonial troops. We have already called attention to the fact
that he told Benjamin Franklin that it was impossible for the
Indians to make any impression whatever on the British regulars.
But it must be remembered that it was natural for him to have
an exalted opinion of the efficiency of the mode of warfare in
which he had been schooled since his fifteenth year, at which
early age he entered the British army as an Ensign in the Cold-
stream Guards, a very aristocratic division of the army, the body-
guard of British Royalty. He could hardly be expected suddenly
to adopt a radically different mode of warfare in his sixtieth year.
His Secretary, William Shirley, son of Governor Shirley, of
Massachusetts, wrote Governor Morris, of Pennsylvania, from
Fort Cumberland, almost a month before the army left that
GENERAL BRADDOCK'S CAMPAIGN 201
place for Fort Duquesne: "We have a general most judiciously
chosen for being disqualified for the service he is employed in, in
almost every respect." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 405.) Wash-
ington, too, criticised him "for want of that temper and modera-
tion which should be used by a man of sense" and for being in-
capable of arguing military questions without inordinate warmth
of feeling. (Washington's letter of June 7th, 1755, to William
Fairfax.) Also, the Indian chief, Scarouady, at a meeting of the
Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, on August 22nd, 1755, com-
plained to Governor Morris concerning Braddock: "It is now well
known to you how unhappily we have been defeated by the
French near Monongahela. We must let you know that it was
the pride and ignorance of that great general that came from
England. He is now dead; but he was a bad man when he was
alive; he looked upon us [the Indians who were with Braddock]
as dogs; would never hear anything that was said to him. We
often endeavored to advise him, and to tell him of the danger he
v/as in with his soldiers; but he never appeared pleased with us,
and that was the reason a great many of our warriors left him,
and would not be under his command." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6,
page 589.)
Bitterly criticised in life, reproach did not spare the unfortunate
Braddock in his grave. In both England and America, the
failure of the expedition was attributed to his obstinacy, pedantry
and conceit. But the mistakes of a man who fails are always
magnified. Furthermore, his bitterest critics and defamers were
compelled to admit his bravery. He was as brave as the bravest
of the brave. Nor was he without kindness of heart. Before he
closed his eyes in death, in that Allegheny Mountain camp, he
acknowledged his mistake in not heeding the advice of Washing-
ton to order the British regulars to fight the Indians in the manner
of the Virginia troops. "We shall know better how to deal with
them another time," he said. It is also said that, in the shadows
of the receding world, he bequeathed Washington his favorite
charger and his body servant, Bishop, an evidence of his affection
for the Virginia youth. And we call attention to the fact that
Washington, in mature years, after his military judgement had
been strengthened and broadened amid the mighty throes of
the American Revolution, said the following of his former
General :
"True, he was unfortunate, but his character was much too
severely treated. He was one of the honestest and best men of
202 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the British officers. Even in the manner of fighting he was not
more to blame than others, for of all that were consulted, only
one person [probably, Washington, himself] objected to it. He
was both my General and my physician."
General Braddock and the soldiers who went down to death
in his campaign against Fort Duquesne, did not die in vain.
From the time of his bloody defeat, the frontiersmen of Virginia,
Maryland and the other American Colonies, had no doubt that
they were the equal of the British regulars. Therefore, they did
not fear to take up arms against them later on, in resisting British
tyranny. It is not too much to say, then, that Braddock's defeat
was the first step in the direction of American independence —
that, in the Providence of God, his defeat was one of the links in
the chain of events that led to American independence — that,
out of that travail of blood and death on the banks of the Monon-
gahela, was born the greatest Nation that ever stepped forth
upon the stage of time.
But—
''No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode.''
Let us hope that, after the warfare of life, General Braddock
and those who criticised him so severely, have reached a common
consummation. Let us hope that his soul and theirs found the
golden key that unlocked the palace of a peaceful eternity.
CHAPTER VII
The First Delaware Invasion
IT is the autumn of 1755. By this time, nearly all the Dela-
wares and Shawnees have gone over to the French. They are
about to invade the Pennsylvania settlements with rifle, toma-
hawk and scalping knife. The storm which has been gathering
in the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny, is about to pass over the
Allegheny Mountains and deluge the frontiers with indescribable
horror.
But, before taking up the recital of the massacres of the autumn
of 1755, let us again call attention to the defenseless condition of
the Pennsylvania frontier. When Governor Morris of Penn-
sylvania, learned that Colonel Dunbar was bringing his army to
Philadelphia to go into "winter quarters" in midsummer, leaving
the Pennsylvania frontier exposed and unprotected, he was
astounded, and wrote Governor Shirley of Massachusetts to this
effect. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 513.) Shirley was now com-
mander-in-chiefs, after the death of Braddock. Furthermore,
Governor Morris wrote Dunbar, urging him to keep his army on
the frontiers for the protection of the settlers. Colonel James
Burd urged the same in an interview with Dunbar at Cumber-
land. When Governor Shirley received the information that
Dunbar intended to march to Philadelphia, he wrote that there
never was any thing equal to Braddock's defeat "unless the re-
treat of the 1,500 men and the scheme of going into Winter
Quarters when his Majesty's Service stands so much in need of
the troops." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 548.) Then, on August
6th, Governor Shirley ordered Dunbar to proceed to Albany, New
York, with his troops. Six days later, he ordered him, with the
assistance of troops to be raised in Pennsylvania, to attack Fort
Duquesne and Fort Presu' Isle, and, in case of failure in both
these attempts, then to make such a disposition of his troops as
to protect the frontiers of Pennsylvania, especially in the neigh-
borhood of Shippensburg, Carlisle and McDowell's Mill. In these
orders of August 12th, Shirley told him that, should he, "through
204 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
any unforeseen Accident," find it "absolutely impracticable" to
put them into execution, then he was to carry out the orders of
August 6th, and come to Albany. The orders of August 6th were
the orders Dunbar found "practicable." He led his army from
Philadelphia to New York, as was seen in the preceding chapter.
Furthermore, Governor Morris was not able to raise troops in
Pennsylvania, and wrote Governor Shirley, on August 19th, tell-
ing him that "uncommon pains have been taken by the Quakers
to dissuade the people from taking up arms upon the present
occasion," and explaining that a great majority of the Pennsyl-
vania Assembly were Quakers. Such was the state of affairs in
Pennsylvania when the Delawares and Shawnees, in the autumn
of 1755, began their bloody invasion of the frontier settlements.
(See Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 558 to 563.)
On October 9th, George Croghan wrote from Aughwick to
Charles Swaine at Shippensburg that a friendly Indian, coming
from the Ohio, warned him that one hundred and sixty Indians
were ready to set out for the Pennsylvania settlements. (Pa. Col.
Rec, Vol. 6, page 642.) This Indian gave it as his opinion that
these Indians would attack the Province as soon as they could
persuade the Indians on the Susquehanna to join them. Said
Croghan: "He desires me, as soon as I see the Indians remove
from Susquehanna back to Ohio, to shift my quarters, for he says
that the French will, if possible, lay all the back frontiers in ruins
this Winter." In a postscript to this letter, Croghan asks for
guns and powder, and says that he is building a stockade, which
he expects to complete by the middle of the next week.
Penn's Creek Massacre
On October 16th, 1755, just one week after George Croghan
wrote the foregoing letter, began the terrible massacre of the
German settlers along Penn's Creek, which empties into the Sus-
quehanna near Selinsgrove, Snyder County — the first Indian
outrage in Pennsylvania, after Braddock's defeat, and the first
actual violation, by the Delawares, of the treaty of peace which
William Penn entered into with the great Tamanend shortly
after his arrival in the Province. The massacre extended from a
point near New Berlin, Union County to a point near Selinsgrove,
and lasted for two days, according to the statements of Barbara
Leininger and Marie le Roy (Mary King), two girls captured on
this occasion. The Indians, fourteen in number, and all Dela-
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 205
wares, came from the Allegheny Valley, principally from Kit-
tanning, over the trail used by the Delawares in their first great
exodus from the region of Shamokin to the valleys of the Ohio
and Allegheny, One of the leaders of the Indian band was the
chief, Keckenepaulin, who lived for some time near Jenners' Cross
Roads, in Somerset County, and whose name has been applied
to the Shawnee town at the mouth of the Loyalhanna, possibly
due to the fact that he resided there for a time. Other members
of the band were Joseph Compass, young James Compass, young
Thomas Hickman, Kalasquay, Souchy, Machynego and Katooch-
quay.
The first account of this massacre was given by John Harris
(later founder of Harrisburg), writing from his trading house at
Paxtang (Harrisburg), to Governor Morris, on October 20th:
"I was informed last night by a person that came down our
river that there was a Dutch [German] woman who had made her
escape to George Gabriel's, [near Selinsgrove], and informs that
last Friday Evening on her way home from this Settlement to
Mahanoy [Penn's Creek] where her family lived, she called at a
Neighbor's House and saw two persons laying by the door of said
house murdered and scalped, that there were some Dutch [Ger-
man] familys that lived near left their places immediately, not
thinking it safe to stay any longer. It's the opinion of the people
up the river that the familys on Penn's Creek, being but scattered,
that few in number are killed or carried off, except the above said
woman, the certainty of which will soon be known, as there are
some men gone out to bury the dead." (Pa. Col. Rec. Vol. 6,
page 645.)
In a postscript to the above letter, Harris says that a man has
just arrived with additional information as to the number of
settlers killed and captured along Penn's Creek. He adds that
the Indians at Paxtang, mostly of the Six Nations, urge the Gover-
nor to put the Province in a state of defense. Their chief, Belt
of Wampum, strongly insisted on this. Then Conrad Weiser, on
October 22nd, wrote from Reading to the Governor, stating that
information has been received that six families have been mur-
dered on Penn's Creek, about four miles from its mouth; that
altogether twenty-eight are missing; that the people of those
parts are leaving their plantations in consternation, and that two
of his sons have gone to Penn's Creek to help one of their cousins
and his family escape with their lives.
On the same day (October 20th), the following petition of the
206 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
inhabitants "living near the mouth of Penn's Creek on the West
side of the Susquehanna," signed by seventeen, giving some of
the details of the massacre, was sent the Governor:
"That on or about the sixteen of this instant, October, the
Enemy came down upon the said Creek and killed, scalped and
carried away all the men, women and children, amounting to
25 persons in number, and wounded one man who fortunately
made his escape and brought us the news; whereupon we, the
Subscribers, went out and buried the dead, whom we found most
barbarously murdered and scalped. We found but 13, which
were men and elderly women, and one child of two weeks old, the
rest being young women and children we suppose to be carried
away prisoners; the House (where we suppose they finished their
Murder), we found burnt up, and the man of it, named Jacob
King, a Swissar, lying just by it; he lay on his back barbarously
burnt and two Tomahawks sticking in his forehead; one of the
tomahawks, marked newly with W. D., we have sent to your
Honour. The terror of which has drove away almost all these
back inhabitants except us, the Subscribers, with a few more who
are willing to stay and endeavor to defend the land; but as we
are not able of ourselves to defend it for want of Guns and Ammu-
nition, and but few in number, so that, without assistance we must
fly and leave the Country at the mercy of the Enemy." (Pa. Col.
Rec, Vol. 6, pages 647-648.)
The persons captured during this horrible massacre were:
Barbara Leininger, Rachel (Regina) Leininger, Marie le Roy,
Jacob le Roy, Marian Wheeler, Hanna, wife of Jacob Breylinger,
and two of their children, one of whom died at Kittanning of
starvation, Peter Lick and his two sons, John and William. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 3, page 633.)
Barbara Leininger and Marie le Roy were neighbor girls, aged
about twelve years, living about one half mile apart and near the
present town of New Berlin, Marie le Roy was a daughter of
Jean Jaques le Roy, alias Jacob King, one of the victims of the
massacre. The Indians took these girls and others with them.
When they arrived at Chinklacamoose (Clearfield), Marie's
brother Jacob was left with the Delawares of that place. The
Indians then took the two girls to Punxsutawney, thence to
Kittanning, at which place they arrived in December and re-
mained until after Colonel John Armstrong destroyed this noted
Delaware town, September 8th, 1756. Here they were compelled
to witness the torture of some English prisoners. In their "Nar-
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 207
rative," found in Pa. Ar., Sec. Series Vol. 7, pages 401 to 412, they
describe one of these tortures, that of a woman who had attempted
to escape. It is a shocking recital. After the woman was dead,
"an English soldier, named John , who escaped from prison
at Lancaster, and joined the French, had a piece of flesh cut from
her body, and ate it."
Barbara and Marie were taken to Fort Duquesne soon after
Colonel Armstrong's expedition, where they remained for two
months. They say that the French at the fort tried to persuade
them to leave the Indians captors and stay with them, but that
they "could not abide the French," and felt that they were better
off among the Indians. From Fort Duquesne, they were taken
to Sauconk, at the mouth of the Beaver, where they remained
until the spring of 1757, when they were taken up the Beaver to
Kuskuskies. They were among the Delawares at Kuskuskies
when Christian Frederick Post visited that place, in the autumn
of 1758, on his peace mission to the Western Delawares. They
met him, but the Indians did not permit them to speak with him.
Shortly after General Forbes captured Fort Duquesne, on Novem-
ber 25th, 1758, they were taken to the Muskingum, to which
place the Delawares then fled from Sauconk,, Logstown, Kus-
kuskies, Shenango (located on the Shenango River, just below the
town of Sharon, Mercer County) and other Indian towns in
Western Pennsylvania. From Muskingum, the girls made their
escape, on March 16th, 1759, coming to the newly erected Fort
Pitt, thence by way of Ligonier, Bedford and Carlisle to Phila-
delphia, at which place they arrived on May 6th, being conducted
part of the way from Fort Pitt by soldiers commanded by Captain
Samuel Weiser, son of the famous Indian interpreter of Pennsyl-
vania, Conrad Weiser. After arriving at Philadelphia, they
appeared before the Provincial Council, and gave an account of
their terrible experiences. (See Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 633.)
Later they published their "Narrative," from which we quote the
following about the Penn's Creek massacre:
"Early in the morning of the 16th of October, 1755, while
le Roy's [the father of Marie] hired man went out to fetch the
cows, he heard the Indians shooting six times. Soon after, eight
of them came to the house, and killed Barbara (Marie) le Roy's
father with tomahawks. Her brother defended himself des-
perately for a time, but was at last overpowered. The Indians did
not kill him, but took him prisoner, together with Marie le Roy
and a little girl who was staying with the family. Thereupon
208 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
they plundered the homestead, and set it on fire. Into this fire
they laid the body of the murdered father, feet foremost, until it
was half consumed. The upper half was left lying on the ground,
with the two tomahawks with which they had killed him, sticking
in his head. Then they kindled another fire, not far from the
house. While sitting around it, a neighbor of le Roy, named
Bastian, happened to pass by on horseback. He was immediately
shot down and scalped.
"Two of the Indians now went to the house of Barbara Leinin-
ger, where they found her father, her brother, and her sister,
Regina. Her mother had gone to the mill. They demanded rum,
but there was none in the house. They then called for tobacco,
which was given them. Having filled and smoked a pipe, they
said: 'We are Allegheny Indians, and your enemies. You must
all die!' Thereupon, they shot her father, tomahawked her
brother, who was twenty years of age, took Barbara and her
sister Regina prisoners, and conveyed them into the forest for
about a mile. They were soon joined by the other Indians, with
Marie le Roy and the little girl.
"Not long after, several of the Indians led the prisoners to the
top of a high hill, near the two plantations. Toward evening the
rest of the savages returned with six fresh and bloody scalps,
which they threw at the feet of the poor captives, saying that they
had a good hunt that day.
"The next morning we were taken about two miles further
into the forest, while the most of the Indians again went out to
kill and plunder. Toward evening they returned with nine scalps
and five prisoners.
"On the third day the whole band came together and divided
the spoils. In addition to large quantities of provisions, they had
taken fourteen horses and ten prisoners, namely: One man, one
woman, five girls and three boys. We two girls, as also two of
the horses, fell to the share of an Indian named Galasko. We
traveled with our new master for two days. He was tolerably
kind, and allowed us to ride all the way, while he and the rest of
the Indians walked."
It is significant that the Penn's Creek Massacre took place
almost on the line of the Albany Purchase of July, 1754, which
so offended the Delawares and Shawnees. It is said that the line
would have passed through the land of Jacob King, alias le Roy.
The Penn's Creek settlers had come to this place in 1754.
Also, it is a strange anomaly in the record of Pennsylvania's
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 209
relations with the Indians that the first blow struck by the Indians
against the Province fell upon the German settlers, who had
always treated the Indian kindly. While others went to the
Indian "with a musket in one hand and a bottle of rum in the
other," the German settlers on the border land did not cheat him
or take advantage of him in any way. There is no sublimer
chapter in American history than the account, for instance, of
the efforts of the Moravian Missionaries, Germans, to win the
Indians of Pennsylvania to the Christian faith.
Attack on John Harris
On October 23d, John Harris, Thomas Forster, Captain McKee
and Adam Terence went from Harris' trading house at Paxtang
to Penn's Creek, with a force of between forty and fifty men, to
bury the dead of the massacre of October 16th and 17th. When
they arrived, they found that this had already been done. They
then decided to return immediately to the settlement at Paxtang,
but were urged by John Shikellamy, son of the vice-gerent of the
Six Nations, and the Belt of Wampum, (or the Belt, also called
White Thunder), a Seneca chief, to go to Shamokin (Sunbury),
about five miles farther up the Susquehanna, in order to ascertain
the feelings of the Indians at that place, which they did.
Harris and his companions found many strange Delawares at
Shamokin, all painted black, Andrew Montour being with them
and also painted black. These Delawares had come from the
valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny to advise the Delawares at
Shamokin and other places on the Susquehanna that the Dela-
wares of the Ohio and Allegheny had taken up arms against the
English, and to warn all those of this tribe on the Susquehanna
who would not join them to move away.
Harris and his men spent the night (October 24th) at Shamokin.
In the night time, Adam Terrence overheard Delawares talking
as follows: "What are the English [Harris and his men] come here
for? To kill us, I suppose. Can't we then send off some of our
nimble young men to give our friends notice that will soon be
here." Then, after they had sung a war song, four of them went
off, well armed, in two canoes, one across the Susquehanna and
the other down the river.
At this point, we call attention to the fact that, after the
councils held at Shamokin that night and later, the hostile Dela-
wares gathered at Nescopeck, at the mouth of the creek of the
210 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
same name, in Luzerne County, where later many a bloody ex-
pedition was planned by Shingas, Captain Jacobs, Teedyuscung
and other of their chiefs. Also, at the time of these councils at
Shamokin, the Moravian missionary, Keifer, was residing at that
place, exposed to imminent danger, whereupon the friendly
Shawnee chief, Paxinosa, of Wyoming, sent two of his sons who
rescued the missionary and conducted him safely to the Moravian
mission at Gnadenhuetten.
But to return to Harris and his band. They left Shamokin on
the morning of October 25th. Before leaving they were advised
by Scarouady and Andrew Montour, who were present, not to
follow the western side of the river on their return. However,
disregarding this advice, they marched down the west side of the
river. When they reached the mouth of Penn's Creek, they were
fired upon by Delawares hidden in the bushes. Harris describes
the attack as follows :
"We were attacked by about twenty or thirty Indians, received
their fire, and about fifteen of our men and myself took to the
trees and attacked the villians, killed four of them on the spot,
and lost but three men, retreating about half a mile through the
woods and crossing the Susquehanna, one of which was shot from
off an horse, riding behind myself through the river. My horse
before was wounded, and falling in the river, I was obliged to
quit and swim part of the way. Four or five of our men were
drowned crossing the river." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 654,
655.)
John Harris gave the above account in a letter written to
Governor Morris, on October 28th. He adds:
"The old Belt of Wampum promised me at Shamokin to send
out spies to view the enemy, and upon his hearing of our Skirmish
was in a rage, gathered up 30 Indians immediately and went
in pursuit of the enemy, I am this day informed . . . The Indians
are all assembling themselves at Shamokin to counsel; a large
body of them were there four days ago. I cannot learn their in-
tentions, but it seems Andrew Montour and Scarouady are to
bring down the news from them. There is not a sufficient num-
ber of them to oppose the enemy ; and perhaps they will all join
the enemy against us. There is no dependence on Indians, and
we are in imminent danger.
"I got information from Andrew Montour and others that there
is a body of French with fifteen hundred Indians coming upon us,
— Picks, Ottawas, Orandox, Delawares, Shawnees, and a number
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 211
of the Six Nations, — and are not many days march from this
Province and Virginia, which are appointed to be attacked. At
the same time, some of the Shawnee Indians seem friendly, and
others appear Hke enemies. Montour knew many days ago of
the Indians being on their march against us before he informed;
for which I said as much to him as I thought prudent, considering
the place I was in."
"I just now received information that there was a French
Officer, supposed to be a Captain, with a party of Shawonese,
Delawares, etc., within six miles of the Shamokin two days ago,
and no doubt intends to take possession of it, which will be of
dreadful consequence to us if suffered. The inhabitants are
abandoning their plantations, and we are in a dreadful situation."
Then in a postscript, he says: "The night ensuing our attack
the Indians burnt all George Gabriel's Houses, danced around
them, etc."
The report to the effect that there was a "body of French with
fifteen hundred Indians" on the march from the Ohio to the
Pennsylvania settlements was but one of the rumors that, at that
dreadful time, filled the unprotected frontier with terror.
Massacre on East Side of the Susquehanna
On the same day that the Delawares made the attack on John
Harris, or probably the next day, they crossed the Susquehanna
and killed many settlers from Thomas McKee's to Hunter's Mill.
Conrad Weiser, in a letter, written from his home near Womels-
dorf to James Reed at Reading late in the night of October 26th,
describes this incursion as follows:
"This evening, about an hour ago, I received the news of the
Enemy having crossed the Susquehanna and killed a great many
people from Thomas McKee's down to Hunter's Mill. Mr.
Elders [the Rev. John Elder, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
at Paxtang, later Colonel], the minister of Paxton, wrote this to
another Presbyterian Minister in the neighborhood of Adam Reed
Esq." (Squire Adam Read who lived on Swatara Creek.) (Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 650.)
Learning of this incursion so closely following the Penn's Creek
massacre and the attack on his party, John Harris nevertheless
determined not to flee. On October 29ch, (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6,
page 656), he wrote Edward Shippen, of Lancaster, that he had
that day cut holes in his trading house and "determined to hold
212 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
out to the last extremity." "We expect the Enemy upon us every
day, and the Inhabitants are abandoning their Plantations,"
further wrote Harris, in his letter.
Attention is called to the fact that in this same letter John
Harris urged the erection of a fort at some "convenient place up
the Susquehannah," as a gathering place for friendly Delawares
on this river as well a place for the defense of the Province by its
white inhabitants. In doing this he was in line with the urgent
request of the Belt, the friendly Seneca. There is no doubt that
the lack of such a fort had much to do with the going over to the
French of many Delawares and Shawnees on the Susquehanna,
who otherwise would have remained at peace with Pennsylvania.
The English trade was blotted out by the French, who, after
having gotten complete possession of the Ohio and Allegheny
and the allegiance of the Delawares and Shawnees of their
valleys, were now planning to take possession of the Susquehanna
and erect a fort at Shamokin. The French and their Indian
allies had the supplies the Delawares and Shawnees on the
Susquehanna so sorely need, and being unable to get ammunition
and other supplies from the English, many of the Indians on the
Susquehanna now turned to the French.
Weiser Plans Defense of the Province
The news of the massacres at Penn's Creek and its vicinity
spread fast, and from a letter written from Reading by Conrad
Weiser to Governor Morris on October 30th, (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol.
6, pages 656-659), we find that he immediately alarmed the
settlers of Berks County. The farmers, to the number of more
than two hundred, armed with guns, swords, axes, pitchforks and
whatever they chanced to possess, gathered at Benjamin Spicker's
near Stouchsburg, about six miles from Weiser's home. Weiser
sent privately for Rev. J. N. Kurtz, a Lutheran clergyman, who
resided about a mile from Spicker's, and after an exhortation and
prayer by this clergyman, the farmers were divided into com-
panies of thirty, each under a captain selected by themselves.
Weiser then took up his march towards the Susquehanna in the
early morning of October 28th, having sent fifty men "to Tolheo
in order to possess themselves of the Capes or Narrows of Swaha-
tawro, where we expected the enemy would come through." These
carried a letter from Weiser to William Parsons, who happened to
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 213
be at his plantation. Weiser's force increased rapidly in number
on the way, and at ten o'clock (October 28th), reached Adam
Read's on Swatara Creek, in East Hanover Township, Lebanon
County. Here intelligence was received of the attack on John
Harris and his party who had gone to bury the dead of the Penn's
Creek Massacre. This news dampened the ardor of Weiser's men,
and they concluded that they could afiford more protection to
their families by remaining at home. They accordingly wended
their way back to their homes, hearing a rumor as they were re-
turning, that the Indians had already made their way through
Tolheo Gap and killed a number of people.
William Parsons received the letter sent him by Weiser. In a
letter, found in Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 443, he tells that he met
the advance guard of Weiser's forces, and advised them to make a
breastwork of trees at Swatara Gap. They went as far as the top
of the mountain, fired their guns in the air, and then came back,
firing the whole way to the terror of the inhabitants. Presently
came the news of the murder of a certain Henry Hartman, who
lived over the mountain just beyond Swatara Gap. As Mr.
Parsons and a party were on their way to bury Hartman 's body,
they were told of two more men who had recently been killed and
scalped, and of several others who were missing. It was a terrible
time. The roads were filled with settlers fleeing from their homes.
Confusion reigned supreme. Though the settlers lacked military
experience, they were, at heart, brave and true men. Governor
Morris, on October 31st, answered Weiser's letter of October 30th,
commending his conduct and zeal, and enclosing him a commis-
sion as Colonel that he might have greater authority in those
trying times. A few days later, Weiser accompanied Scarouady,
Andrew Montour and "drunken Zigrea" to Philadelphia, where
Scarouady held the important conferences with Governor Morris,
on November 8th to 14th, described later in this history.
Benjamin Spicker or Spycker, above mentioned, lived in what
is now Jackson Township, Lebanon County, not far from the
Berks County line. Several miles west of Spicker's and a short
distance east of Myerstown, Lebanon County, was the fortified
house of Philip Breitenbach. On several occasions, when there
were Indian alarms, Mr. Breitenbach took a drum and beat it on
a little hill near his house, to collect his neighbors from their labors
into the blockhouse. On one occasion, the Indians pursued them
so close to the blockhouse that one of the inmates shot one of the
red men dead on the spot.
214 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Regina, the German Captive
We close this chapter with the interesting narrative of "Regina,
the German Captive," first quoting it as it appears in "The
Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," and then adding some com-
ments which show that its inclusion in the present chapter is not
inappropriate. The story is as follows:
"The Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg [a son-in-law of Con-
rad Weiser] relates in the 'Hallische Nachrichten,' page 1029, a
touching incident, which has been frequently told, but is so
'apropos' to this record that it should not be omitted. It was of
the widow of John Hartman who called at his house in February,
1765, who had been a member of one of Rev. Kurtz's [a Lutheran
pastor in Berks County] congregations. She and her husband
had emigrated to this country from Reutlingen, Wurtemberg, and
settled on the frontiers of Lebanon County. The Indians fell
upon them in October, 1755, killed her husband, one of the sons,
and carried off two small daughters into captivity, whilst she and
the other son were absent. On her return she found the home in
ashes, and her family either dead or lost to her, whereupon she
fled to the interior settlements at Tulpehocken and remained
there.
"The sequel to this occurrence is exceedingly interesting The
two girls were taken away. It was never known what became of
Barbara, the elder, but Regina, with another little girl two years
old, were given to an old Indian women, who treated them very
harshly. In the absence of her son, who supplied them with food,
she drove the children into the woods to gather herbs and roots
to eat, and, when they failed to get enough, beat them cruelly.
So they lived until Regina was about nineteen years old and the
other girl eleven. Her mother was a good Christian woman, and
had taught her daughters their prayers, together with many texts
from the Scriptures, and their beautiful German hymns, much of
which clung to her memory during all these years of captivity.
"At last, in the providence of God, Colonel Bouquet brought
the Indians under subjection in 1764, [at the end of Pontiac's
War] and obliged them to give up their captives. More than two
hundred of these unfortunate beings were gathered together at
Carlisle, amongst them the two girls, and notices were sent all
over the country for those who had lost friends and relatives, of
that fact. Parents and husbands came, in some instances,
hundreds of miles, in the hope of recovering those they had lost,
THE FIRST DELAWARE INVASION 215
the widow being one of the number. There were many joyful
scenes, but more sad ones. So many changes had taken place,
that in many instances, recognition seemed impossible. This was
the case with the widow. She went up and down the long line,
but, in the young women who stood before her, dressed in Indian
costume, she failed to recognize the little girls she had lost. As
she tood, gazing and weeping, Colonel Bouquet compassionately
suggested that she do something which might recall the past to
her children. She could think of nothing but a hymn which was
formerly a favorite with the little ones:
'AUein, und doch nicht ganz allein.
Bin ich in meiner Einsamkeit.'
[The English translation of the first stanza of this hymn is as
follows :
'Alone, yet not alone am I,
Though in this solitude so drear;
I feel my Saviour always nigh.
He comes the very hour to cheer;
I am with Him, and He with me.
E'en here alone I cannot be.' ]
"She commenced singing, in German, but had barely completed
two lines, when poor Regina rushed from the crowd, began to
sing also and threw her arms around her mother. They both
wept for joy and the Colonel gave the daughter up to her mother.
But the other girl had no parents, they having probably been
murdered. She clung to Regina and begged to be taken home
with her. Poor as was the widow she could not resist the appeal
and the three departed together."
The foregoing account is all based on the original account
written by the Rev. Henry Melchior, Muhlenberg, D.D., in his
"Hallische Nachrichten," with the exception of the family name
of the mother and daughter. Muhlenberg does not give the name
of the family and does not definitely give the location of the
tragedy. In time the belief became quite general among Penn-
sylvania historians that Regina was a daughter of John Hartman,
born June 20th, 1710, and that the scene of the tragedy is at or
near the site of the town of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County.
Captain H. M. M. Richards, a descendant of Muhlenberg, con-
tends in his "The Pennsylvania-German in the French and Indian
War" (Vol. XV of the Publications of the Pennsylvania German
Society), that Regina was none other than Regina Leininger, who,
216 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
as we have seen, was captured at the Penn's Creek massacre of
October 16th, 1755, the very date Muhlenberg gives as the date
of the tragedy described in his account. In addition to the date
of the alleged Hartman tragedy being the same as the date of
the Leininger tragedy, the following points of similarity in the
narrative of Rev. Muhlenberg and the narrative of Marie Le
Roy and Barbara Leininger will be noted: In each tragedy, the
mother was absent, the father was killed, a son was killed and
two daughters, one named Regina and the other Barbara, were
captured.
Furthermore, Muhlenberg says that the father "was already
advanced in years, and too feeble to endure hard labor;" but
John Hartman would have been only forty-five years old at the
time of the tragedy. Also, there is no record of Indian outrages
east of the Susquehanna until after the attack on John Harris
(October, 25th), and none in the neighborhood of Orwigsburg
until at least the middle of November.
We believe that any one who will closely compare the narrative
of Barbara Leininger and Marie le Roy with Muhlenberg's ac-
count will agree with Captain Richards that each narrative
describes the same tragedy — that Regina "Hartman" was Regina
Leininger, and that she became permanently separated from her
sister Barbara at the time of the flight of the Indians and their
captives from Kuskuskies to the Muskingum, after General
Forbes captured Fort Duquesne.
"Regina, the German Captive," and her mother are said to be
buried in Christ Lutheran Cemetery, near Stouchsburg, Berks
County. Whether or not the dust of this daughter of the Penn-
sylvania frontier reposes in this cemetery, and whether her
name was Regina Leininger or Regina Hartman, God knows
where she sleeps and has written her name in his book of ever-
lasting remembrance.
CHAPTER VIII
Invasion of Great and Little Coves
and the Conolloways
ON October 31st, 1755, one hundred Delawares and Shawnees
from the Ohio and Allegheny began an invasion of the Scotch
Irish settlements in the Great or Big Cove and along the Big and
Little Conolloway Creeks in Fulton County and the Little Cove
in Franklin County. This incursion lasted for several days and
virtually blotted out these settlements. Of the ninety-three
settlers in the Great Cove, forty-seven were killed and captured.
No pen can describe the horrors of this bloody incursion. In-
furiated Indians dashed out the brains of little children against
the door-posts of cabins of the settlers in the presence of shrieking
mothers, and, it is said, in some cases, cut off the heads of children
and drank their warm blood. Wives and mothers were tied to
trees, and compelled to witness the torture of their husbands and
children. One woman, over ninety years of age, was found with
her breasts cut ofif and a stake driven through her body. Scores
of houses and barns were burned. Horses and cattle were killed
or driven off. The captured settlers were taken to Kittanning
and other Delaware and Shawnee towns in the valleys of the
Allegheny and Ohio, and later to the Tuscarawas and Muskin-
gum, few of whom ever returned.
The leader of the Indians was Shingas, the "Delaware King,"
a brother of King Beaver or Tamaque, and Pisquetomen and said
by some authorities to have been a nephew of the great Sassoonan,
or Allumapees. This was the first of those incursions which made
the name of Shingas "a terror to the frontier settlements of
Pennsylvania." Heckewelder says of him: "Were his war ex-
ploits all on record, they would form an interesting document,
though a shocking one. Conococheague, Big Cove, Sherman's
Valley and other settlements along the frontier felt his strong
arm sufficiently that he was a bloody warrior, cruel his treat-
218 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ment, relentless his fury. His person was small, but in point of
courage and activity, savage prowess, he was said to have never
been exceeded by any one." Yet Heckewelder further says that,
though Shingas was terrible and vindictive in battle, he was
nevertheless kind to prisoners whose lives he intended to spare.
"One day," he says, "in the summer of 1762, while passing with
him [Shingas] near by where two prisoners of his, boys about
twelve years of age, were amusing themselves with his own boys,
as the chief observed that my attention was arrested by them, he
asked me at what I was looking. Telling him in reply that I was
looking at his prisoners, he said: 'When I first took them, they
were such ; but now they and my children eat their food from the
same bowl, or dish.* Which was equivalent to saying that they
were, in all respects, on an equal footing with his own children, or
alike dear to him." Shingas was at that time living on the
Muskingum.
But let us return to the scenes of blood and death in the Coves
and along the Conolloways. The following letters vividly tell
the story of this incursion :
Benjamin Chambers (later Colonel), writing from his home at
Falling Springs, now Chambersburg, Franklin County, on Nov-
ember 2nd, "to the inhabitants of the lower part of the County of
Cumberland," tells of this bloody incursion as follows:
"If you intend to go to the assistance of your neighbours, you
need wait any longer for the certainty of the news. The Great
Cove is destroyed ; James Campbell left this company last night
and went to the fort at Mr. Steel's meeting house, and there saw
some of the inhabitants of the Great Cove, who gave this account
that, as they came over the hill, they saw their houses in flames.
The messenger says that there is but 100, and that they divided
into two parts. The one part to go against the Cove and the other
against the Conolloways, and that there are no French among
them. They are Delawares and Shawnees. The part that came
against the Cove are under the command of Shingas, the Dela-
ware King; the people of the Cove that came off saw several men
lying dead; they heard the murder shout and the firing of guns,
and saw the Indians going into the houses that they had come out
of before they left sight of the Cove. I have sent express to Marsh
Creek at the same time that I send this, so I expect there will be
a good company from there this day, and as there is but 100 of
the enemy, I think it is in our power (if God permit) to put them
to flight, if you turn out well from your parts. I understand that
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 219
the west settlement is designed to go if they can get any assistance
to repel them." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 675-676.)
Likewise, John Armstrong (later Colonel) wrote Governor
Morris from Carlisle, on November 2nd:
"At four o'clock this afternoon by expresses from Conego-
chego, we are informed that yesterday about 100 Indians were
seen in the Great Cove. Among whom was Shingas, the Delaware
King; that immediately after the discovery, as many as had
notice fled, and looking back from an high hill, they beheld their
houses on fire, heard several guns fired and the last shrieks of
their dying neighbours; 'tis said the enemy divided and one part
moved towards Canallowais. Mr. Hamilton was here with 60
men from York County when the express came, and is to march
early tomorrow to the upper part of the county. We have sent
out expresses everywhere, and intend to collect the forces of this
lower part, expecting the enemy every moment at Sherman's
Valley, if not nearer hand. I'm of opinion that no other means
than a chain of block houses along or near the south side of the
Kittatinny Mountain, from Susquehannah to the temporary line,
can secure the lives and properties even of the old inhabitants of
this county, the new settlement being all fled except Sherman's
Valley, whom (if God do not preserve) we fear will suff'er very
soon." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, page 676.)
The following day (November 3d), Adam Hoops wrote Gover-
nor Morris, from Conococheague, concerning the same incursion,
as follows:
"I am sorry I have to trouble you with this melancholy and
disagreeable news, for on Saturday I received an express from
Peters Township that the inhabitants of the Great Cove were all
murdered or taken captive and their houses and barns all in
flames. Some few fled, upon notice brought them by a certain
Patrick Burns, a captive, that made his escape that very morning
before this sad tragedy was done.
"Upon this information, John Potter, Esq., and self, sent ex-
press through our neighborhood, which induced many of them to
meet with us at John McDowell's Mill, where I with many others
had the unhappy prospect to see the smoke of two houses that
were set on fire by the Indians, viz, Matthew Patton's and Mes-
check James', where their cattle were shot down, the horses
standing bleeding with Indian arrows in them, but the Indians
fled.
"The Rev. Mr. Steel, John Potter, Esq., and several others
220 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
with us, to the number of about an hundred, went in quest of the
Indians, with all the expedition imaginable, but to no success.
These Indians have likewise taken two women captives, belonging
to said township. I very much fear the Path Valley has under-
gone the same fate. George Croghan was at Aughwick, where he
had a small fort and about 35 men, but whether he has been
molested or not we cannot say.
"We, to be sure, are in as bad circumstances as ever any poor
Christians were in, for the cries of the widowers, widows, father-
less and motherless children, with many others, for their relations,
are enough to pierce the hardest of hearts; likewise it's a very sor-
rowful spectacle to see those that escaped with their lives with
not a mouthful to eat, or bed to lie on, or clothes to cover their
nakedness, or keep them warm, but all they had consumed into
ashes.
"These deplorable circumstances cry aloud for your Honour's
most wise consideration, that you would take cognizance of and
grant what shall seem most meet, for it is really very shocking, it
must be, for the husband to see the wife of his bosom, her head
cut off, and the children's blood drank like water by these bloody
and cruel savages as we are informed has been the fate of many.
"Whilst I am writing, I had intelligence by some that fled out
of the Coves that chiefly the upper part of it was killed and taken.
One, Galloway's son, escaped after he saw his grand-mother shot
down and other relations taken prisoners. Likewise, from some
news I have likewise heard, I am apprehensive that George
Croghan is in distress, though just now Mr. Burd, with about 40
men, left my house and we intend to join him tomorrow at
McDowell's Mill, with all the force we can raise, in order to see
what damages are done, and for his relief. As we have no
magazines at present to supply the guards or scouts, the whole
weight of their maintenence lies chiefly upon a few persons."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 462 and 463.)
Also, on November 3d, John Potter, Sheriff of Cumberland
County, wrote Secretary Richard Peters, from Conococheague,
as follows:
"Sir: This comes ye melancholy account of the ruin of the
Great Cove, which is reduced to ashes, and numbers of the in-
habitants murdered and taken captives on Saturday last about
three of the clock in the afternoon. I received intelligence in
conjunction with Mr. Adam Hoopes, and sent immediately and
appointed our neighbors to meet at McDowell's. On Sunday
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 221
morning, I was not there six minutes till we observed, about a
mile and half distant, one Mathew Patton's house and barn in
flames, on which we sat off with about forty men, tho' there was
as least one hundred and sixty there. Our old officers hid them-
selves for (ought as I know) to save their scalps until afternoon
when danger was over; we went to Patton's with a seeming resolu-
tion and courage but found no Indians there, on which we
advanced to a rising ground, where we immediately discovered
another house and barn on fire belonging to Mesach James, about
one mile up the creek from Thomas Bar's; we set off directly for
that place, but they had gone up the creek to another plantation
left by one widow Jordan the day before, but had unhappily
gone back that morning with a young woman, daughter to one
William Clark, for some milk for childer, were both taken captives
but neither house nor barn hurt. I have heard of no more burnt
in that valley yet, which makes me believe they have gone off for
some time, but I much fear they will return before we are prepared
for them, for it was three of the clock in the afternoon before a
recruit came of about sixty men. Then we held council whether
to pursue up the valley all night or return to McDowell's, the
former of which I and Mr. Hoop and some others plead for, but
could not obtain without putting it to votes, which done, we
were out voted by a considerable number, upon which I and my
company was left by them that night and came home, for I will
not guard a man that will not fight when called in so eminent
manner, for there was not six of these men that would consent to
go in pursuit of the Indians.
"I am much afraid that Juniata, Tuscaroro, and Sherman's
Valley hath suffered. There is two-thirds of the inhabitants of
this valley who hath already fled, leaving their plantations, and,
without speedy succor be granted, I am of opinion this county
will be lead dissolute without inhabitant. Last night I had a
family of upwards of an hundred of women and children who fled
for succor. You cannot form no just idea of the distressed and
distracted condition of our inhabitants unless your eyes seen and
your ears heard their crys. I am of opinion it is not in the power
of our representatives to meet in assembly at this time. If our
Assembly will give us any additional supply of arms and am-
munition, the latter of which is most wanted, I could wish it
were put into the hands of such persons as would go out upon
scouts after the Indians rather than for the supply of forts." (Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 673, 674.)
222 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Then, on November 6th, Adam Hoops again wrote Governor
Morris, from Conococheague :
"I have Sent in Closed, Is 2 quaUfications of which is Patrick
Burns, who is the bearer, and a tameyhak which was found
Sticking in the brest of one, David McClellan. The people of
the path valley is all Gethered Unto a small fort, and the last
account, was Safe. The Great Cove and Kennalaways is all
Burned to Ashes, and about 50 persons killed or taken. There is
numbers of the inhabitants of this County have moved their
families. Sum to York County, and Sum to Maryland; Hans
Hamilton, Esq. is now at John McDowell's mill with upwards of
200 men and about 200 from this County, in all about four
hundred men, and tomorrow we entends To go into the Cove
and to the Path Valley, in order To Bring what Cattle and horses
that the Indians hath Left alive; we are informed by a Dolloway
Indian, which lives munghts us, on the same day The Murder
was Committed, he Seen four hundred Indians in the Cove, and
we have Sum Reason to Believe they are about there yet; the
people of Sheer Man's Crick and Juneate is all Cum away and
left there houses, and there is now about 30 miles Of this County
laid waste, and I am afraid there will Be Soon more.
"P. S. I just now have received ye Account of one, George
McSwane, who was taken captive about 14 Days ago, and has
made his Escape, and has brought two Scalps and a Tomahawk
with Him." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 474, 475.)
The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 13th, 1755, gives a
partial list of those killed and captured in the Great Cove, Little
Cove and the Conolloways, as follows: Elizabeth Galloway,
William Fleming's son and one, Hicks, Henry Gilson, Robert
Peer and David McClellan were all killed; while John Martin's
wife and five children, William Galloway's wife and two children,
a certain young woman, Charles Stewart's wife and two children,
David McClellan's wife and two children and William Fleming
and wife were captured.
Other captives, taken in this incursion and later delivered up
by the Delaware chief, King Beaver, at the Lancaster Council of
August, 1762, were Elizabeth McAdam and John Lloyd, from the
Little Cove, and Dorothy Shobrian, from the Big Cove. (Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 8, page 728.) Many of the captives, taken in this
incursion, were delivered up to Colonel Bouquet at the time of
his expedition to the Muskingum, in the autumn of 1764.
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 223
In the Penna. Col. Records, Vol. 6, page 767, is found another
reference to this incursion, as follows:
"October 31st. An Indian Trader and two other men in the
Tuscarora Valley were killed by Indians, and their Houses burnt,
on which most of the Settlers fled and abandoned their Planta-
tions.
(One of these men was the Indian trader, Peter Shaver, for
whom Shaver's Creek, in Huntingdon County, is named. An-
other was John Savage.)
"November 3d. Two women are carried away from Conego-
chege (Conococheague) by the Indians, and the same day the
Canalaways and Little Cove, two other considerable settlements,
were attacked by them, their Houses burnt, and the whole
Settlement deserted."
The Pennsylvania Gazette, February 12th, 1756, gives the
number of people murdered and captured along the Conolloways.
James Seaton, Catherine Stillwell and one of her children were
killed and scalped, while two others of her children, one aged
eight years and the other three, were captured. Richard Still-
well, her husband, was at a neighbors when the tragedy at his
home occurred, and made his escape to a block house in the
neighborhood. The houses of Elias Stillwell, John McKinney
and Richard Malone were burned.
Rev. John Steel
The "fort at Mr. Steel's meeting house," mentioned in Ben-
jamin Chambers' letter of November 2nd, where the survivors of
the Great Cove massacre found refuge, was named in honor of
the Presbyterian minister. Rev. John Steel, and was one of the
first forts erected after Braddock's defeat, being a stockade
around the church, and located about three miles east of Mercers-
burg, Franklin County. It was known as the "Old White
Church," and was subsequently burned by the Indians in one of
their forays. In 1756, Rev. Steel was appointed Captain in a
company in the pay of the Province, and for a time, made his
headquarters at McDowell's Mill, or Fort McDowell, located in
the western part of Franklin County. From this place he de-
tached parties from time to time to scour the woods in search of
hostile Indians. About 1758, he took charge of the Presbyterian
church at Carlisle, where he ended his days. In March and
April, 1768, he and John Allison, Cristopher Lemes and James
224 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Potter were sent by Governor John Penn to warn the settlers in
the vicinity of Redstone (Brownsville) to remove from lands not
purchased from the Indians. Rev. Steel and his men are fre-
quently mentioned in the records of the troublesome times of
which we are writing. On page 553 of Vol. 1 of "The Frontier
Forts of Pennsylvania," we read the following concerning this
preacher and soldier of the Pennsylvania frontier:
"At one time, it is stated. Rev. Steel was in charge of Fort
Allison, located just west of the town, near what afterward be-
came the site of McCaulay's Mill. At this time the congregation
had assembled in a barn . . . During this period, when Mr. Steel
entered the church and took his place back of the rude pulpit,
he hung his hat and rifle behind him, and this was done also by
many of his parishoners. On one occasion, while in the midst of
his discourse, some one stepped into the church quietly, and
called a number of the congregation out, and related the facts of
a murder of a family by the name of Walker by the Indians at
Rankin's Mill. The tragic story was soon whispered from one to
another. As soon as Mr. Steel discovered what had taken place,
he brought the services to a close, took his hat and rifle, and at
the head of the members of his congregation, went in pursuit of
the murderers."
The murder above mentioned, was probably that of William
Walker, in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, on
May 13th, 1757.
Capture of the Martin and Knox Families
Among the outrages committed by Shingas during the above
incursion into Fulton County, was as has been seen, the capture
of the family of John Martin, a settler in the Big Cove. On
Saturday morning, November 1, 1755, Mrs. Martin learned that
Indians were in the neighborhood, and, thereupon, sent her son,
Hugh, aged seventeen, to their neighbor, Captain Stewart, re-
questing him to come and take her family with his to the block-
house, as her husband, John Martin, had gone to Philadelphia for
supplies for the family, and had not returned. When Hugh came
in sight of his home on his way back from Captain Stewart's,
whose house was burned, he saw the Indians capture his mother;
his sister, Mary, aged nineteen; his sister, Martha, aged twelve;
his sister, Janet, aged two; his brother, James aged ten; and his
brother, William, aged eight. Hugh hid where a fallen tree lay
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 225
on the bank of Cove Creek not far from the Martin house, which
the Indians now burned to the ground.
It has been said that there were some Tuscaroras among the
band that captured Mrs. Martin and her children. At least
such is the tradition among her descendants. It may be that
some of this tribe were among the hostile Delawares and Shawnees
in this incursion, as there is evidence that there were a few
Tuscaroras lingering in the Tuscarora or Path Valley as late as
1755, stragglers of the Tuscarora migration to New York. These
may have been influenced by the hostile Delawares and Shawnees.
After the Indians left, Hugh started toward Philadelphia to
meet his father. All that day he found nothing but desolation,
and in the evening, he came to a stable with some hay in it. Here
he lay until morning. During the night something jumped on
him, which proved to be a dog. In the morning he found some
fresh eggs in the stable, which he ate. When he was ready to
leave, a large colt came to the stable. Making a halter of rope,
he mounted the colt and rode on his way. In the afternoon, he
met some men who had gathered to pursue the Indians, among
them being the owner of the colt, who was much surprised to find
it so easily managed, as it was considered unruly. It is not known
when Hugh met his father, but, at any rate, they returned and
rebuilt the house.
Mrs, Martin and her children were taken to the Indian town
of Kittanning. A warrior wished to marry Mary, which made
the squaws jealous and they beat her dreadfully, so much so
that her health rapidly declined, and one morning she was found
on her knees dead in the wigwam. An Indian squaw claimed
little Janet, and tied her to a rope fastened to a post. While she
was thus confined, a French trader named Baubee came to the
child, and she reached out her arms and called him father. He
then took her in his arms, and the Indian woman who claimed her
sold her to the trader for a blanket, who carried her to Quebec
intending to adopt her. Later, Mrs. Martin was bought by the
French, and also taken to Quebec, not knowing her child was
there. Still later, Mrs. Martin bought her own freedom, and one
day she found little Janet on the streets of Quebec. Janet was
well dressed and had all appearances of being well cared for, but
did not recognize the mother. Mrs. Martin followed Janet to
the home of the French family who had her, identified her by
some mark, and the family reluctantly gave up the child to the
mother, who paid them what they had paid the Indians for her.
226 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mrs. Martin then sailed with Janet to Liverpool, England,
from which place she took ship to Philadelphia, and joined her
husband.
The boys, James and William, and the daughter, Martha, were
taken to the Tuscarawas and Muskingum, in the state of Ohio.
After Mrs. Martin and Janet returned to their home in the Big
Cove, Mr. Martin, upon the close of the French and Indian War,
endeavored to recover his child from the Indians. Traveling on
horseback to the Ligonier Valley, he found an encampment of
Indians, and tried to make arrangements with them for the return
of his children, when they claimed to have raised his family and
wanted pay. Being unable to pay them, he said something about
not having employed them to raise his family; thereupon, they
became angry, and he made his escape as fast as he could, being
chased by two Indians on horseback to a point on the Allegheny
Mountain, where the sound of the bells of the Indian horses
ceased.
In the Penna. Archives (Vol. 4, page 100), is a petition of John
Martin, dated August 13th, 1762, presented to Governor James
Hamilton at the Lancaster Council of that month and year, in
which he says:
"I, one of the bereaved of my wife and five children, by savage
war, at the captivity at the Great Cove, after many and long
journeys, lately went to an Indian town, viz.^ Tuskoraways
[Tuscarawas, a Delaware and Wyandot village on the Tuscarawas
River just above the mouth of Big Sandy Creek, in Tuscarawas
County, Ohio] 150 miles beyond Fort Pitt, and entreated in
Colonel Bouquet's and Colonel Croghan's favour, so as to bear
their letters to King Beaver and Captain Shingas, desiring them
to give up one of my daughters to me, while I have yet two sons
and one other daughter, if alive, among them — and after seeing
my daughter with Shingas, he refused to give her up, and after
some expostulating with him, but all in vain, he promised to
deliver her up with the other captives, to your Excellency."
Many captives were delivered by King Beaver at the Lancaster
Council of August, 1762, but the Martin children were not
among them. These Martin children, James, William and
Martha, were finally liberated by Colonel Henry Bouquet when
he made his expedition to the Muskingum and Tuscarawas, in
the late autumn of 1764. He brought them to Pittsburgh. Here
Mr. Martin received them on November 28th, 1764, and then
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 227
returned with them to his home, taking with him another
liberated captive, John McCuUough, who was captured in Frank-
lin County, on July 26th, 1756. (*See John McCullough's" Narra-
tive.") Martha could read when captured, but during her
captivity, she had forgotten this art. William and James, during
their captivity, assisted the squaws in raising vegetables, caring
for the children and old people, and grew up as Indians, in con-
trast to their brother, Hugh, who had escaped capture and be-
came a man of considerable influence on the Pennsylvania
frontier. Before being taken to the Muskingum, Martha,
James, and William spent some time with their Indian captors on
Big Sewickley Creek, in Westmoreland County. The boys be-
came attached to the locality, and after their return, they
patented two tracts of land in that vicinity, and lived there most
of their lives.
Janet Martin, in 1774, married John Jamison. She has many
descendants in Western Pennsylvania, especially in Westmore-
land County, among them being the well-known Robert S.
Jamison family, of Greensburg.
During the same incursion, occurred the capture of the Knox
family, who lived some distance from the Big Cove. On Sunday
morning, November 2nd, 1755, while the family were engaged in
morning worship, they were alarmed by the barking of their dogs.
Then, two men of their acquaintance, who had come to the Knox
home on Saturday evening for the purpose of attending religious
services the next day, went to the door. They were immediately
shot down by the Indians, and the rest of the family taken
prisoners. After the Indians returned to the town from where
they had come, no doubt Kittanning, each warrior who had lost
a brother in the incursion was given a prisoner to kill. As there
were not enough men to go around, little Jane Knox was given to
one of the warriors as his victim. Placing her at the root of a tree,
this savage commenced throwing his tomahawk close to her head,
exclaiming that his brother, who was killed, was a warrior, and
that the other Indians had given him only a squaw to kill. Jane
expected that every moment would be her last. Presently, an
Indian squaw came running and claimed Jane as her child, thus
saving her life. She later returned to the settlements, and be-
came the wife of Hugh Martin, mentioned above.
* While this is McCullough's statement, data in the possession of the descendants of
Janet Martin indicates that the Martin children were delivered by the Shawnees to George
Croghan, at Fort Pitt, early in May, 1765.
228 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Conclusion
In concluding this chapter on the bloody incursion of the Dela-
wares and Shawnees into the Scotch- Irish settlements in Fulton
and Franklin Counties, in the late autumn days of 1755, we call
attention to the fact that some historians have erroneously stated
that the massacres mentioned in Penna, Archives, Vol. 2, page
375, and Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 641 and 642, took place on
Pennsylvania soil, the former in the Great Cove and on the
Conolloways, in Fulton County, and the latter in the vicinity of
Patterson's Fort, in Juniata County. The former took place in
the vicinity of Cumberland, Maryland, shortly after General
Braddock's army left that place on its March against Fort
Duquesne. The latter took place, October 2nd, 1755, on Patter-
son's Creek, Maryland, a few miles from its mouth. The error
on page 600 of Vol. 1 of "The Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania"
in stating that this massacre of October 2nd took place near
Patterson's Fort, in Juniata County, no doubt is due to confusing
Patterson's Creek, in Maryland, with Patterson's Fort, in Juniata
County, Pennsylvania. As stated in Chapter VII, the Penn's
Creek massacre of October 16th, 1755, was the first massacre
committed by the Indians on Pennsylvania soil following Brad-
dock's defeat.
We also, at this point, call attention to the fact that Scotch-
Irish settlers entered Franklin County prior to 1730. In this
year, Benjamin and Joseph Chambers located at Falling Springs,
now Chambersburg, coming from the east side of the Susquehanna
above Harrisburg, and erecting a log house, a saw mill and grist
mill at Falling Springs. After Braddock's defeat, Benjamin
(Colonel) Chambers erected a large stone house at Falling Springs
for the security of his family and neighbors. It was surrounded
by water from the spring, the roof was of lead to prevent its being
set on fire by the Indians, and it was also stockaded. The
stockade also included the mill near the house. This fort was
known as Chambers' Fort.
About 1740, many Scotch Irish settlers, mostly from Mary-
land entered the Great Cove and the valleys of the Conol-
loways.
As was pointed out in Chapter IV, in connection with the
account of the Treaty of 1742, the Iroquois complained at this
treaty, through their spokesman, Canassatego, that Pennsyl-
vania was permitting squatters to remain on lands not purchased
INVASION OF THE COVES AND CONOLLOWAYS 229
irom the Six Nations — in the Juniata Valley, in the Great and
Little Coves, in the valleys of Big and Little Conolloways, in the
valley of Aughwick Creek, in Path Valley and Sherman's Valley.
But Pennsylvania made no really energetic effort to remove
these settlers until May, 1750, when, as was also pointed out in
Chapter IV, they were removed by Richard Peters, George Cro-
ghan, Conrad Weiser, James Galbraith and others by authority
of Lieutenant-Governor Morris. Many of their cabins were
burned on this occasion. But the restless spirit of these settlers
impelled them to return to their desolated homes, and with them
came others willing to risk the wrath of the Indians. Then came
the Albany Purchase of July 6th, 1754, by which the Iroquois
conveyed these lands to Pennsylvania — a purchase which mor-
tally offended the Delawares and Shawnees, who claimed that
the Six Nations, their conquerors, had guaranteed these lands to
them upon their migration from the Susquehanna. "Our lands
are sold from under our feet," said they. Later came Brad-
dock's defeat, which gave the Delawares and Shawnees an op-
portunity to wreak awful vengenance upon the Scotch-Irish
settlers within the bounds of the Albany Purchase.
CHAPTER IX
Massacres of November and
December, 1755
THIS chapter will be devoted principally to massacres east
of the Susquehanna in November and December, 1755, but,
before narrating their details, we shall devote a few paragraphs
to events that preceded them.
On November 3d, 1755, Governor Morris received John Arm-
strong's letter, quoted in Chapter VHI, advising him of the mur-
der of the settlers in the Great Cove. He immediately called
the attention of the Assembly to the acts of the hostile Indians
and the terror throughout the frontier, and asked that something
be done to put the Province in a state of defense. The Assembly
replied, on November 5th, that it "requires great Care and Judge-
ment in conducting our Indian Affairs at this critical Juncture,"
and requested the Governor to inform the House "if he knew of
any injury which the Delawares and Shawnees had received to
alienate their affections, and whether he knew the part taken by
the Six Nations in relation to this incursion."
Robert Strettell, Joseph Turner, and Thomas Cadwalader,
were appointed a committee to inspect all "minutes of Council
and other books and papers" relating to Pennsylvania's trans-
actions with the Delawares and Shawnees from the beginning of
the Colony. The committee made an elaborate report, which
was approved and sent to the House on November 22nd, setting
forth the findings of the committee that "the conduct of the
Proprietaries and this Government has been always uniformly
just, fair, and generous towards these Indians."
In the meantime, the Governor had informed the inhabitants
of the frontier counties from whom he received petitions for arms
and ammunition that, if they would organize themselves into com-
panies, he would give commissions to fit persons as officers. As
a result of his offer, companies were raised and officers commis-
sioned. Then, on November 8th, the Governor sent a message
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 231
to the Assembly in which he said: "You have now been sitting
six days, and instead of strengthening my Hands and providing
for the safety and defense of the people and Province in this
Time of imminent danger. You have sent me a message wherein
you talk of retaining the Affections of the Indians now em-
ployed in laying waste the Country and butchering the Inhabi-
tants, and of inquiring what injustice they have received, and
into the Causes of their falling from their alliance with us and
taking part with the French." In the same message, he informed
the Assembly that the Provincial Council had advised him to
visit the frontiers in order to superintend the work of organizing
the settlers for defense; that he had waited to see what the As-
sembly would do before his setting out, but now realizing that the
Assembly would do nothing, he proposed to start on his journey
at once. However, Conrad Weiser, Scarouady, Andrew Montour
and "drunken Zigrea," a Mohawk, arrived at Philadelphia that
very day (November 8th) for the councils presently to be men-
tioned, which caused the Governor to postpone his trip until
early in 1756. The cause of the lack of action to put the Province
in a state of defense at this terrible time was the endless discus-
sion, to be mentioned later in this chapter, between the Governor
and the Assembly as to whether the proprietary estates should
be taxed in raising money for defense. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6,
pages 676 to 681.)
Scarouady Threatens to Go to the French
While the terrible things related in Chapter VIII were hap-
pening, Scarouady was exerting his utmost influence on behalf of
the English. On November 1st, he and Andrew Montour came
from Shamokin to Harris' Ferry, where he delivered a message
to John Harris, who forwarded it to the Governor, advising,
among other things, that "about twelve days ago the Delawares
sent for Andrew Montour to go to Big Island [Lock Haven], on
which he [Scarouady] and Montour with three more Indians went
up immediately, and found there about six of the Delawares and
four Shawnees, who informed them that they had received a
hatchet from the French, on purpose to kill what game they could
meet with, and to be used against the English if they proved
saucy."
At this time (November 1st), Scarouady and Montour both
told John Harris that a fort should immediately be erected at
232 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Shamokin. "They said that our own Neglect had brought all
this upon us; That the Delawares being asked why they took up
the Hatchet, said the English had for some time called them
Frenchmen, and yet fell upon no measures to defend themselves,
whereupon they thought it not safe to stick by Us, and would now
publicly declare themselves Frenchmen. That Scarouady En-
quiring from George Croghan was answered by Mr. Buchannan
he was fortified at Aughwick, whereupon the Indian desired Mr.
Buchannan to give him speedy notice to remove, or he would
certainly be killed. They say Carlisle is Severly threatened, and
Adviseth that the Women and Children be removed." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 2, page 452.)
On November 8th, Scarouady and Montour, accompanied by
Conrad Weiser, appeared before the Provincial Council, and,
gave additional details of their trip to Big Island. Scarouady
said that two Delawares from the Ohio appeared at the meeting
at Big Island and spoke as follows: "We the Delawares of Ohio,
do proclaim war against the English. We have been their friends
many years, but now have taken up the hatchet against them,
and will never make it up with them whilst there is an English
man alive.
"When Washington was defeated, we, the Delawares, were
blamed as the cause of it. We will now kill. We will not be
blamed without a cause. We make up three parties of Delawares.
One party will go against Carlisle; one down the Susquehanna;
and . . . another party will go against Tulpehocken to Conrad
Weiser. And we shall be followed by a thousand French and
Indians, Ottawas, Twigh twees, Shawnees, and Delawares."
It will be noted that the Delawares gave their being blamed
for Washington's defeat at the Great Meadows, in the summer of
1754, as the cause of their having taken up arms against Penn-
sylvania. Later they told the Shawnee chief, Paxinosa, of
Wyoming, that the cause of their hostility was the Walking Pur-
chase of 1737 and the Albany Purchase of 1754; and the great
Delaware chief, Teedyuscung, stoutly insisted that it was these
wrongs upon the Delawares that caused these friends of William
Penn to take up arms against the Colony he founded.
On the afternoon of the same day, November 8th, Scarouady
again appeared before the Governor, his Council, and the Provin-
cial Assembly, and told them of the journey which he had recently
made in the interest of the English, up the North Branch of the
Susquehanna "as far as the Nanticokes live." He stated that he
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 233
had told the Nanticokes and other Indians on the Susquehanna
that the defeat of General Braddock had brought about a great
turn of affairs; that it was a great blow, but that the English had
strength enough to recover from it. He further said that there
were three hundred friendly Indians on the Susquehanna. (Dela-
wares and Nanticokes) "who were all hearty in the English in-
terest." For these he desired the Colony's assistance with arms
and ammunition. He insisted that they should be given the
hatchet and that a fort should be built for the protection of their
old men, women, and children. They had told him, he said, that
whichever party, the French or English, would seek their assis-
tance first, would be first assisted; and that he "should go to
Philadelphia and apply immediately to the Government and ob-
tain explicit answer from them whether they would fight or no."
These Indians "waited with impatience to know the success of
his application."
Then the old chief threw down his belts of wampum upon the
table before the members of the Assembly and said: "I must
deal plainly with you, and tell you if you will not fight with us,
we will go somewhere else. We never can nor ever will put up the
affront. If we cannot be safe where we are, we will go somewhere
else for protection and take care of ourselves. We have no more
to say, but will first receive your answer to this, and as the times
are too dangerous to admit of our staying long here, we therefore
entreat you will use all the dispatch possible that we may not be
detained." It is possible that Scarouady meant that he and his
followers would go to one of the other colonies, but he was under-
stood as meaning that, unless the Pennsylvania Authorities acted
promptly, he and his followers would go over to the French.
Governor Morris then said to the Provincial Assembly: "You
have heard what the Indians have said. Without your aid, I can
not make a proper answer to what they now propose and expect
of us." The Assembly replied that, as Captain General, the
Governor had full authority to raise men, and that "the Bill now
in his hands granting Sixty Thousand Pounds will enable him to
pay the expenses." This was a bill just passed by the Assembly,
granting this sum for the defense of the Colony, to be raised by a
tax on estates. The Governor opposed the bill on the ground that
the Proprietary estates should not be taxed. He then explained
to Scarouady how his controversy with the Assembly stood, and
that he did not know what to do. Scarouady was amazed and
said that Pennsylvania's failure to comply with his (Scarouady's)
234 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
request in behalf of his three hundred friendly Indians would
mean their going over to the French. However, he still offered
his own services and counseled the Governor not to be cast down,
but to keep cool.
After long consultations between Scarouady and Conrad
Weiser, it was determined that Scarouady could render an im-
portant service to the Colony by visiting the Six Nations and Sir
William Johnson, and, after gaining what intelligence he could on
his way to New York, as to the actions of the Indians on the Sus-
quehanna, by laying before the Great Confederation such intelli-
gence as well as the recent conduct of the Delawares.
Scarouady's decided stand had a good effect on the Governor
and Council. On November 14th, the old chief and Andrew
Montour were sent by the Governor on a mission to the Six
Nations. They were instructed to convey the condolence of Penn-
sylvania to the Six Nations on the death of several of their
warriors who had joined General Shirley and General Johnson
and had fallen in battle with the French, and to advise the Six
Nations how the Delawares had, in a most cruel manner, fallen
upon and murdered so many of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania.
In a word, Scarouady was to give the Six Nations a complete
account of the terrible invasion of the Delawares and Shawnees
and to ascertain whether or not this invasion was made with the
knowledge, consent, or order of the Six Nations, and whether the
Six Nations would chastise the Delawares. (For account of
above conferences between Scarouady and the Governor, see Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 682 to 689.)
Swatara and Tulpehocken Massacres
While Conrad Weiser, Scarouady and Andrew Montour were
holding their final councils with Governor Morris, on November
14th, the hostile Delawares, possibly accompanied by some
Shawnees, entered Berks County, the home of Weiser, and com-
mitted terrible atrocities upon the German settlers. On this day,
as six settlers were on their way to Dietrick Six's plantation, near
what is now the village of Millersburg, they were hred upon by a
party of Indians. Hurrying toward a watch-house, about half a
mile distant, they were ambushed before reaching the same, and
three of them killed and scalped. A settler named Ury, however,
succeeded in shooting one of the Indians through the heart, and
his body was dragged off by the other savages. The Indians then
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 235
divided into two parties. The one party, lying in ambush near
the watch-house, waylaid some settlers who were fleeing toward
that place, and killed three of them.
The next night some savages crept up to the home of Thomas
Bower, on Swatara Creek, and pushing their guns through a win-
dow of the house, killed a cobbler who was repairing a shoe. They
set fire to the house before being driven off. The Bower family,
having sought refuge through the night at the home of a neighbor,
named Daniel Snyder, and returning to their home in the morn-
ing, saw four savages running away and having with them the
scalps of three children, two of whom were still alive. They also
found the dead body of a woman with a two week's old child
under her body, but unharmed.
Such, in brief, is the account of the atrocities committed in
Berks County during the absence of Weiser at Philadelphia. It
is interesting to read his report of the same, written to Governor
Morris on November 19th, after arriving at his home in Heidel-
berg Township, as follows :
"On my return from Philadelphia, I met in the township of
Amity, in Berks County, the first news of our cruel enemy having
invaded the Country this Side of the Blue Mountains, to witt,
Bethel and Tulpenhacon [Tulpehocken]. I left the papers as they
were in the messengers Hands, and hastened to Reading, where
the alarm and confusion was very great. I was obliged to stay
that Night and part of the next Day, to witt, the 17th of this
Instant, and sat out for Heidelberg, where I arrived that Evening.
Soon after, my sons Philip and Frederick arrived from the Persuit
of the Indians, and gave me the following Relation, to witt, that
on Saturday last about 4 of the Clock, in the Afternoon, as some
men from Tulpenhacon were going to Dietrich Six's Place under
the Hill on Shamokin Road to be on the watch appointed there,
they were fired upon by the Indians but none hurt nor killed,
(Our people were but Six in number, the rest being behind.) Upon
which our people ran towards the Watch-house which was about
one-half mile off, and the Indians persued them, and killed and
scalped several of them. A bold, Stout Indian came up with one
Christopher Ury, who turned about and shot the Indian right
through his Breast. The Indian dropped down dead, but was
dragged out of the way by his own Companions. (He was found
next day and scalped by our People.)
' 'The Indians devided themselves into two Parties. Some came
this way to meet the Rest that was going to the Watch, and killed
236 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
some of them, so that six of our men were killed that Day, and a
few wounded.
"The Night following the Enemy attacked the House of Thos.
Bower, on Swatara Creek. They came to the House in the Dark
night, and one of them put his Fire-arm through the window and
shot a Shoemaker (that was at work) dead upon the spot. The
People being extremely Surprised at this Sudden attack, defended
themselves by firing out of the windows at the Indians. The
Fire alarmed a neighbor who came with two or three more men ;
they fired by the way and made a great noise, scared the Indians
away from Bower's House, after they had set fire to it, but by
Thomas Bower's Deligence and Conduct was timely put out
again. So Thos. Bower, with his Family, went off that night to
his neighbour, Daniel Schneider, who came to his assistance.
"By 8 of ye Clock, Parties came up from Tulpenhacon and
Heidelberg. The first Party saw four Indians running off. They
had some Prisoners whom they scalped immediately, three
children lay scalped yet alive, one died since, the other two are
likely to do well. Another Party found a woman just expired,
with a male Child on her side, both killed and scalped. The
woman lay upon her Face, my son Frederick turned her about to
see who she might have been and to his Companion's Surprize
they found a Babe of about 14 Days old under her, rapped up in
a little Cushion, his nose quite flat, which was set right by
Frederick, and life was yet in it, and recovered again. Our people
came up with two parties of Indians that Day, but they hardly
got sight of them, the Indians Ran off Immediately. Either our
party did not care to fight them if they could avoid it, or (which
is most likely) the Indians were too alarmed first by the loud
noise of our People coming, because no order was observed. Upon
the whole, there is about 15 killed of our People, Including men,
women and children, and the Enemy not beat but scared off.
Several Houses and Barns are Burned; I have not true account
how many. We are in a Dismal Situation, Some of this murder
has been committed in Tulpenhacon Township. The People left
their Plantation to within 6 or 7 miles from my house [located
near the present town of Wolmesdorf] against another attack,
"Guns and Ammunition is very much wanted here, my Sons
have been obliged to part with most of that, that was sent up
for the use of the Indians. I pray your Honour will be pleased,
if it lies in your Power, to send us up a quantity upon any Con-
dition. I must stand my Ground or my neighbours will all go
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 237
away, and leave their Habitations to be destroyed by the Enemy
or our own People.
"P. S. I am creditably informed just now that one Wolf, a
Single man, killed an Indian the same Time when Ury killed the
other but the Body is not found yet. The Poor Young Man since
died of his wound through his Belly." (Pa. Archives Vol. 2,
pages 503, 504.)
The following is a partial list of the slain :
A man named Beslinger, Sebastian Brosius, the wife and eight-
year-old child of a settler named Cola, Rudolph Candel, John
Leinberger, Casper Spring, a child of Jacob Wolf and a young man
also named Wolf.
Following the murders, the Rev. J. N. Kurtz conducted funeral
services for seven of the victims of the Indians' wrath who were
buried from his church, Christ Lutheran, near Stouchsburg, at
one time. The opening hymn at these solemn services was
Martin Luther's famous "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott" (A
Mighty Fortress is Our God). Rev. Kurtz was pastor of the
Lutheran congregation at Tulpehocken to which Conrad Weiser
and many of his neighbors belonged.
At various other times during the French and Indian War, the
soil of Berks County was stained with the blood of the German
settlers. It is claimed that, during this conflict, almost one
hundred and fifty inhabitants of Bethel and Tulpehocken Town-
ships were slain, and more than thirty carried into captivity,
most of whom never returned.
Weiser and Scarouady in Danger from Settlers
Conrad Weiser, as has been seen, returned home from Philadel-
phia on November 17th, accompanied by Scarouady and Andrew
Montour on their way to the Six Nations. He found the Berks
County settlers in a state of great excitement, on account of the
Indian outrages. The settlers of Berks County knew that he had
frequently accompanied delegations of friendly Indians to Phila-
delphia. To many of the settlers whose homes and barns were
destroyed and whose dear ones were murdered or carried into
captivity, all Indians looked alike. Consequently, many of the
settlers were now suspicious of Weiser, and believed that he was
protecting Indians who did not deserve it. Consequently, also,
he had now great difficulty in conducting Scarouady and Montour
towards the Susquehanna. Said he, in another letter to Governor
238 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Morris on November 19th : "I made all the haste with the Indians
[Scarouady and Montour] I could, and gave them a letter to
Thomas McKee, to furnish them with necessaries for their
journey. Scarouady had no creature to ride on. I gave him one.
Before I could get done with the Indians, three or four men came
from Benjamin Spikers to warn the Indians not to go that way
for the people were so enraged against all the Indians and would
kill them without distinction. I went with them. So did the
gentlemen before named. When we came near Benjamin Spikers,
I saw about 400 or 500 men, and there was loud noise. I rode
before, and in riding along the road and armed men on both sides
of the road, I heard some say: 'Why must we be killed by the
Indians, and not kill them. Why are our hands so tied. ' I got
the Indians into the house with much ado, where I treated them
with a small dram, and so parted in love and friendship. Captain
Diefenback undertook to conduct them, with five of our men, to
the Susquehanna." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 504 to 506.)
Continuing the above letter, Weiser says:
"After this, a sort of a counsel of war was held by the ofificers
present, the before named, and other Freeholders.
"It was agreed that 150 men should be raised immediately to
serve as out scouts, and as Guards at Certain Places under the
Kittitany Hills for 40 days. That those so raised to have 2 Shill-
ings a Day and 2 Pounds of Bread, 2 Pounds of Beafif and a jill of
rum, and Powder and lead. Arms they must find themselves.
"This Scheme was signed by a good many Freeholders, and
read to the people. They cried out that so much for an Indian
scalp would they have, be they friends or enemies, from the Gov-
ernor. I told them I had no such power from the Governor nor
Assembly. They began some to curse the Governor; some the As-
sembly; called me a traitor of the country, who held with the In-
dians, and must have known this murder beforehand. I sat in
the house by a lowe window; some of my friends came to pull me
away from it, telling me some of the people threatened to shoot
me.
"I offered to go out to the people and either pasefy them or
make the King's Proclamation. But those in the house with me
would not let me go out. The cry was. The Land was betrayed
and sold. The common people from Lancaster [now Lebanon
County] were the worst. The wages they said was a Trifle and
some Body pocketed the Rest, and they would resent it. Some
Body had put it in their head that I had it in my power to give
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 239
them as much as I pleased. I was in danger of being shot to
death.
"In the meantime, a great smoke arose under Tulpenhacon
Mountain, with the news following that the Indians had com-
mitted a murder on Mill Creek (a false alarm) and set fire to a
barn; most of the people ran, and those that had horses rode off
without any order or regulation. I then took my horse and went
home, where I intend to stay and defend my own house as long as
I can. The people of Tulpenhacon all fled; till about 6 or 7 miles
from me some few remains. Another such attack will lay all the
country waste on the west side of Schuylkill,"
In a subsequent chapter will be found Scarouady's report of
his mission to the Six Nations. In the meantime, the Indians,
entering the passes of the Blue Mountains, committed many
murders and devastations in Berks, Lebanon, Northampton and
Carbon Counties. Independent companies were hastily organized
which later were incorporated into the Provincial Regiment.
Captain Thomas McKee ranged the territory along the Susque-
hanna; Colonel Conrad Weiser, Captain Adam Read, of Swatara
Creek and Captain Peter Heydrick, of Swatara Gap, ranged the
territory between the Susquehanna and Schuylkill Rivers; the two
Captains Wetterholt ranged the district along the Lehigh; and
Captains Wayne, Hays, Jenning, McLaughlin and Van Etten
ranged the territory between the Lehigh and Delaware. Never-
theless, the Indians crept stealthily upon the settlers, murdered
them in cold blood, often in the dead hours of the night, and then
disappeared before the alarm could be spread to the citizen
soldiers.
The Kobel Atrocity
On November 24th, 1755, Governor Morris received a letter
from Conrad Weiser in which he describes the attack on the
Kobel family, one of the atrocities committed by the Indians in
the invasion of Berks County, described in this chapter. The
letter, found in Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 511 and 512, is as
follows :
"I cannot forbear to acquaint your Honor of a certain Cir-
cumstance of the late unhappy Affair: One Kobel,
with his wife and eight children, the eldest about fourteen Years
and the youngest fourteen Days, was flying before the Enemy, he
carrying one, and his wife and a Boy another of the Children,
240 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
when they were fired upon by two Indians very nigh, but hit only
the Man upon his Breast, though not Dangerously. They, the
Indians, then came with their Tomahawks, knocked the woman
down, but not dead. They intended to kill the Man, but his Gun
(though out of order so that he could not fire) kept them off.
The Woman recovered so farr, and seated herself upon a Stump,
with her Babe in her Arms, and gave it Suck, and the Indians
driving the children together, and spoke to them in High Dutch,
'Be still; we won't hurt you.' Then they struck a Hatchet into
the woman's Head, and she fell upon her Face with her Babe
under her, and the Indian trod on her neck and tore off the scalp.
The children then run; four of them were scalped, among which
was a Girl of Eleven Years of Age, who related the whole Story;
of the Scalped, two are alive and like to do well. The Rest of the
Children ran into the Bushes and the Indians after them, but
our People coming near to them, and hallowed and made noise;
the Indians Ran, and the Rest of the Children were saved. They
ran within a Yard by a Woman that lay behind an Old Log, with
two Children; there was about Seven or Eight of the Enemy."
Other Atrocities of 1755
Other atrocities, committed in the autumn of 1755, were the
following:
Two brothers, named Ney, were ambushed by Indians, in the
Tulpehocken region, while gathering a load of fire wood for
winter. The one brother, Michael, was killed and scalped. The
other brother was tomahawked and left for dead, but afterwards
regained consciousness and made his way back home. Some
neighbors then went in pursuit of the Indians. They found the
body of Michael, but the Indians had fled.
As the Indian depredations spread eastward from Swatara
Gap, they reached the vicinity of the present town of Pine Grove.
Schuylkill County. Here George Everhart and his entire family
except his little daughter, Margaret, were killed. The little
girl was taken captive. She was released by Colonel Bouquet,
when he made his expedition to the Muskingum, in the autumn
of 1764, and returned to her friends. (H. M. M. Richards'
"Pennsylvania Germans in the French and Indian War," pages
79 to 81.)
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 241
Moravians Massacred
Scarouady was hardly started on his journey to the Six Nations
when the tomahawk and scalping knife of the Delawares became
stained anew with the blood of the settlers of Eastern Pennsyl-
vania. On November 24th, the Moravian missionaries at Gnaden-
huetten. Carbon County, were cruelly murdered by a band of
twelve warriors of the Munsee Clan of Delawares, led by Jachebus,
chief of the Assinnissink, a Munsee town in Steuben County,
New York. The bodies of the dead were placed in a grave. A
monument marks the spot where the dust of these victims of
savage cruelty reposes, a short distance from Lehighton, and bears
the following inscription :
"To the memory of Gottlieb and Joanna Anders, with their
child, Christiana; Martin and Susanna Nitschman; Anna Cath-
erine Senseman; John Gattermeyer; George Fabricius, clerk;
George Schweigert; John Frederick Lesly; and Martin Presser;
who lived here at Gnadenhuetten unto the Lord, and lost their
lives in a surprise from Indian warriors, November 24, 1755.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
Bishop Loskiel's "History of the Moravian Mission" thus
dej^cribes the massacre of the Moravians at Gnadenhuetten:
"The family were at supper; and on the report of a gun, several
ran together to open the house-door; the Indians instantly fired
and killed Martin Nitschman. His wife and some others were
wounded, but fled with the rest to the garret, and barricaded the
door. Two escaped by leaping out of a back window. The
savages pursued those who had taken refuge in the garret, but
finding the door too well secured, they set fire to the house, which
was soon in flames. A boy and a woman leaped from the burning
roof, and escaped almost miraculously. Br. Fabricius then leaped
off the roof, but he was perceived by the Indians, and wounded
with two balls; they dispatched him with their hatchets, and
took his scalp. The rest were all burnt alive, except Br. Sense-
man, who got out at the back door. The house being consumed,
the murderers set fire to the barns and stables, by which all the
corn, hay and cattle were destroyed."
The light of the burning buildings was seen at Bethlehem,
although nearly thirty miles distant and with the ridge of the
Blue Mountains between.
On the day of the massacre, the Moravian missionary, David
242 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Zeisberger, had been sent from Bethlehem to Gnadenhuetten,
bearing a letter relative to the convoy of some friendly Indians
at Wyoming who wished to visit the Governor. He had reached
the Lehigh River and was just ready to cross to the other side,
before it became quite dark, when he heard gun-shots, which he
supposed to be those of militia patroling the woods. Suddenly
a piteous cry floated on the evening air, but Zeisberger did not
hear it, as his horse was now wading the river and the splashing
water and the crack of the stones under his horse's hoofs prevented
his hearing anything else. Nor did he see the flames, as the thick
underbrush of the river bank and the bluff beyond concealed
their light from him. Having reached the west shore, he paused
a moment and took in the awful situation, just as young Joseph
Sturgis, who had escaped with a slight wound on his face, rushed
down to the river. Turning his horse, he crossed back to the
east side of the stream, where he found some Moravian Indians
in great terror. Gathering what particulars he could, he rode
through the night to Bethlehem, arriving there at three o'clock
in the morning and telling Bishop Spangenberg of the Moravian
Church the terrible story, (See Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages
736, 737.)
For some time prior to the massacre of the Moravian mission-
aries, these good people had been suspected of being in sympathy
with the French and their Indian allies — an altogether unjust
suspicion. Just prior to the outbreak of the war, unfriendly
Indians made frequent visits to the Delawares who had been
converted to the Christian religion by the Moravians, and made
efforts to win them to their cause. Some of the Christianized
Delawares yielded to the persuasion of the unfriendly Indians,
and, in time, were recognized among the marauders. Then the
cry went up that the Moravian missionaries were training the
Indians for the French service. Furthermore, the fact that the
missionaries spoke German, a language foreign to that of their
English and Scotch-Irish neighbors, tended to put them under
suspicion. But now that these missionaries fell victims to the
wrath of the Indians in league with the French, the eyes of their
traducers were opened. Even before the corpses of the murdered
Moravians were buried, it is said, many people came to the scene
of the massacre and shed tears of penitence.
In closing the account of this terrible atrocity, we call attention
to the fact that Susanna Nitschman, long believed to have been
killed at the time of the massacre of the other missionaries, was.
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 243
according to De Schweinitz's "Life of David Zeisberger," carried
to Tioga, where she was compelled to share the wigwam with a
brutal Indian and where, having lapsed into profound melancholy,
death came to her relief after a half year of captivity.
Attack on the Hoeth and Brodhead Families
On December 10th and 11th, 1755, occurred the attack on the
Hoeth and Brodhead families. The Frederick Hoeth family
lived on Poco-Poco Creek, afterwards known as Hoeth's Creek,
and now generally known as Big Creek, a tributary to the Lehigh
above Weissport. The Indians attacked the house on the evening
of the 10th, killing and capturing all the family except a son and
a smith, who made their escape. This son, John Michael Hoeth,
or Hute as he is called in the Pennsylvania Colonial Records,
made a deposition before William Parsons at Easton, on Decem-
ber 12th, as follows:
"The 12th Day of December, 1755, Personally appeared before
me, William Parsons, one of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace
for the County of Northampton, Michael Hute, aged about 21
Years, who being duly sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty
God did depose and declare that last Wednesday, about 6 of the
Clock, Afternoon, a Company of Indians, about 5 in number,
attacked the House of Frederick Hoeth, about 12 miles East-
ward from Gnadenhutten, on Pocho-Pocho Creek. That the
family being at Supper, the Indians shot into the House and
wounded a woman ; at the next shot they killed Frederick Hoeth
himself, and shot several times more, whereupon all ran out of
the house that could. The Indians immediately set fire to the
House, Mill and Stables. Hoeth's wife ran into the Bakehouse,
which was also set on fire. The poor woman ran out thro' the
Flames, and being very much burnt she ran into the water and
there dyed. The Indians cut her belly open, and used her other-
wise inhumanely. They killed and Scalped a Daughter, and he
[Hute] thinks that three other Children who were of the Family
were burnt. Three of Hoeth's Daughters are missing with an-
other Woman, who are supposed to be carried off. In the action
one Indian was killed and another wounded." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 6, pages 758, 759.)
Attention is called to the fact that Barbara Leininger and
Marie le Roy, in their Narrative, recorded in Pa. Archives, Sec.
Series, Vol. 7, pages 401 to 412, state that, at the time of their
244 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
escape from the Indians, March 16th, 1759, three sisters "from
the Blue Mountains, Mary, CaroUne and Catherine Hoeth," were
still in captivity among the Indians, but do not state whether at
Sauconk, Kuskuskies or Muskingum.
The Hoeth tragedy occurred in the vicinity of where Fort
Norris, about a mile southeast of Kresgeville, Monroe County,
was afterwards built. Other families in the vicinity of the Hoeths
— the Hartmans, the Culvers and the McMichaels — were at-
tacked by daylight the next morning. Many of their members
were killed and captured, and their buildings were burned.
Terror spread throughout the region upon the report that there
were two hundred Indians ravaging that part of the frontier.
Families fled to the Moravian stockades at Nazareth, North-
ampton County, and the infants of that place were taken to
Bethlehem for greater security. Among the fugitives who took
refuge among the Moravians at Nazareth were a poor German,
his wife and child, the latter only several days old. It was late
at night when he received word of the tragedy at Hoeth 's. Taking
his wife and child on his back, he fled for his life.
On the morning of December 1 1th, the Indians who committed
the atrocities at Hoeth's and in the vicinity, made an assault on
Brodhead's house, near the mouth of Brodhead Creek, not far
from where Stroudsburg, Monroe County, now stands. The
barracks and barn at Brodhead's were set on fire. Refugees
hastening to Easton heard firing and crying at Brodhead's
throughout the day. However, the Indians met such a deter-
mined resistance by the Brodhead family that they were finally
obliged to retire. All the members of this family were noted for
their bravery. Among the sons was the famous Colonel (later
General) Brodhead of the Revolutionary War, who no doubt
aided in the defense of his father's home. For account of the
outrages at Hoeth's and Brodhead's, the reader is referred to
Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 756 to 760.
Massacres Continue
The Indians continued their murders and depredations in
Monroe, Carbon and Northampton Counties throughout the
month of December and into the following January, as we shall
see in the next chapter. The following quotation from Pa. Col.
Rec, Vol. 6, page 767, briefly describes, under date of December
29th, their atrocities and devastation in this region in December:
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 245
"During all this month [December, 1755] the Indians have been
burning and destroying all before them in the County of North-
ampton, and have already burned fifty houses here, murdered
above one hundred persons, and are still continuing their Ravages,
Murders and Devastations, and have actually overrun and laid
waste a great part of that County, even as far as within twenty
miles of Easton, its chief Town. And a large Body of Indians,
under the Direction of French Officers, have fixed their head
Quarters within the Borders of that County for the better security
of their Prisoners and Plunder . . . All the settlements between
Shamokin and Hunter's Mill for a space of 50 Miles along the
River Susquehanna were deserted."
Continuing, the same account describes the horrors on the
Pennsylvania frontier at the time of which we are writing, as
follows :
"Such schocking descriptions are given by those who have
escaped of the horrid Cruelties and Indecencies committed by
these merciless Savages on the Bodies of the unhappy wretches
who fell into their Barbarous hands, especially the Women,
without regard to Sex or Age, as far exceeds those related of the
most abandoned Pirates; which has occasioned a general Conster-
nation and has struck so great a Pannick and Damp upon the
Spirits of the people that hitherto they have not been able to
make any considerable resistance or stand against the Indians."
One of the atrocities, committed in the Minisink region, in
December, 1755, was that described in the affidavit of Daniel
McMullen, found in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 282 and 283.
A party of five Delawares captured McMullen and a woman, and
at the same time, killed eight men in the neighborhood. Mc-
Mullen and the woman were taken to Tioga, where McMullen
was sold to a Mohawk, who treated him very kindly, and after-
wards sold him to the daughter of French Margaret, who was
the daughter of Madam Montour. Later French Margaret's
daughter went to see Colonel Johnson in order to ransom the
woman who was taken when McMullen was captured. While
French Margaret's daughter was absent on this journey, Mc-
Mullen made his escape, and he and Thomas Moffit, another
captive belonging to French Margaret's daughter, made their
way down the Susquehanna to Fort Augusta, in September, 1756.
In December, 1755, Nicholas Weiss was killed, near Fenners-
ville, Monroe County, and his family captured and taken to
Canada (Egle's "History of Pennsylvania," page 948.)
246 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
During November and December, 1755, as stated in a former
chapter, the Shawnee and Delaware town of Nescopeck at the
site of the present town of Nescopeck, in Luzerne County, was
the rallying point for the Indians who were devastating the
settlements and murdering the inhabitants. Many bloody ex-
peditions were sent out from this place until the building of Fort
Augusta, at Shamokin (Sunbury), in the summer and autumn of
1756, drove the hostile Indians away from Nescopeck. They
then went up the North Branch of the Susquehanna to the Dela-
ware town of Assarughney, located about two miles north of the
mouth of the Lackawanna, near the present town of Ransom, in
Luzerne County. At the time of the assembling of the hostile
Indians at Nescopeck, John Shikellamy, son of the great vice-
gerent of the Six Nations, moved away from that place to
Wyoming, near Plymouth, Luzerne County, where the friendly
Shawnee chief, Paxinosa, lived.
About the middle of December, some settlers at Paxtang
"took an enemy Indian on the other side of the Narrows above
Samuel Hunter's and brought him down to Carson's, where they
examining him, the Indian begged for his Life and promised to
tell all what he knew tomorrow morning, but (shocking to me)
they shot him in the midst of them, scalped him and threw his
Body into the River. The Old Belt told me that, as a child of
Onontio [the French], he deserved to be killed, but that he would
have been glad if they had delivered him up to the Governor in
order to be examined stricter and better." Thus wrote Conrad
Weiser to Governor Morris, on December 22nd.
Capture of Peter Williamson
Loudon's "Indian Narratives" contains an account of the
capture and subsequent experiences of Peter Williamson, who,
according to Loudon, was living near the "Forks of the Dela-
ware" in the terrible autumn of 1755. He was alone at midnight,
when the Indians came upon him, his wife being away visiting
relatives at the time. They made him prisoner, burned his
house, barn, cattle and 200 bushels of grain. Taking him with
them, they fell upon the Jacob Snyder family "at the Blue Hills
near the Susquehanna," killing the parents and their five chil-
dren, burning the house, and capturing the hired man, whom
they tortured to death after going some distance. The band
then lay hid near the Susquehanna for several days. They then
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 247
attacked the home of an old man, named John Adams, burning
the home and killing Mrs. Adams and her four small children
before the eyes of the horrified father. Taking Mr. Adams with
them, they went to the "Great Swamp," where they remained
eight or nine days, inflicting many cruelties on Mr. Adams in the
meantime. While at the "Great Swamp," twenty-five Indians
arrived one night from the Conococheague, with twenty scalps
and three prisoners. This second band had murdered John
Lewis, his wife and three small children, also Jacob Miller, his
wife and six children. The prisoners from the Conococheague
were tortured to death at the "Great Swamp." Peter Williamson
was then taken to the Indian town of Alamingo, where he re-
mained two or three months until the snow was gone. In the
spring, one hundred and fifty Indians left Alamingo, taking
Williamson with them, to attack the settlements along the base
of the Blue Mountains and along the Conococheague. Arriving
near the settlements, the Indians separated into small bands.
Williamson and ten Indians were left behind at a certain place to
await the return of the rest who went to kill and scalp the settlers.
Before the marauders returned, Williamson made his escape
from his ten Indian companions. For some time he hid in a
hollow log, and then made his way through the forest and over
the mountains to the home of his father-in-law, in Chester County
to receive the sad news that his wife had died two months before
his return.
Murder of William McMullin and James Watson
In Loudon's "Indian Narratives" is found the account of the
murder of William McMullin and his brother-in-law, James
Watson. This murder most likely occurred in November, 1755.
These men went from a block house between the Conodoguinet
Creek, in Cumberland County, and the Blue Mountains to their
home to look after things there. While in the barn, they were
attacked by Indians. They then started to flee to the block
house, and, as they were running through a buckwheat field,
other Indians hidden there, attacked them, and fatally wounded
McMullin, who crawled into a thicket, where he died and his
body was afterwards found. During this attack, Watson shot
four or five Indians in a running fight. Finally, while going up a
hill, he was shot, then tomahawked and scalped. When found,
his hands were full of an Indian's hair.
248 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Samuel Bell
In Loudon's "Indian Narratives" is also found the account of
the experiences of Samuel Bell, who, in the late autumn of 1755,
with his brother, James, left their home on Stony Ridge, five
miles below Carlisle, Cumberland County, to go into Sherman's
Valley, Perry County, to hunt deer. The brothers agreed to
meet at Croghan's (now Sterret's) Gap, in the Blue Mountains,
but for some reason they failed to meet. Samuel spent the night
in a deserted cabin on Sherman's Creek, belonging to a Mr.
Patton. In the morning he had not gone far before he saw three
Indians, who saw him at same time and each party fired at the
other. Samuel wounded one of the Indians and several bullets
passed through his own clothes. Each side took to trees. Samuel
took his tomahawk and stuck it into the tree, so that he might be
prepared if the Indians advanced. The tree was hit with several
bullets. After some time, the two Indians carried the wounded
one over the fence, and one ran one direction and the other an-
other, trying to get on both sides of the tree where Bell was.
Bell shot one of them dead and the other took the dead Indian
on his back with a leg over each shoulder. Bell ran after him and
fired a bullet through the dead Indian's body into the body of the
one who was carrying him. The Indian dropped the dead com-
panion and ran off. Bell then ran away, and found the first
Indian dead, and later the bodies of the three were found.
Hugh McSwane
Loudon also relates the account of the experiences of Hugh
McSwine (McSwane), who was captured by a band of Delawares,
led by the noted Delaware chief, Captain Jacobs, during one of
the incursions into the counties of Fulton, Franklin and Cumber-
land, in the autumn of 1755. McSwine was away from home at
the time when the Indians came into his neighborhood. He
followed them, and the place of his capture was at Tussey's
Narrows. There was with the Indians a man named Jackson,
who had joined them. Captain Jacobs left McSwine and another
prisoner under care of Jackson and another Indian, while the rest
went against other settlers. The Indian and Jackson, with two
prisoners, travelled all night, and then they entered a deserted
cabin and sent McSwine to cut rails to make a fire. McSwine took
his ax and killed the Indian and then tried to kill Jackson. They
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 249
had a desperate struggle. Both were v^ery strong. McSwine's
strength began to fail and he kept calling on the other white man
to assist, but he stood trembling. Finally McSwine got hold of
one of the guns and killed Jackson and scalped both him and the
Indian. The next evening McSwine arrived at Fort Cumberland
with Captain Jacobs' gun and horse, which had been left with
him. George Washington sent McSwine to Winchester where he
got paid for horse, gun, and scalps, and was made a lieutenant.
About this time the Cherokees came to help Pennsylvania.
They pursued a band of Indians to the west side of Sidling Hill
where they started back. Among the Cherokees was Hugh
McSwine. On their way back they fell in with another party of
Indians and had a battle with them. McSwine was parted from
the rest. He was pursued by three Indians. He turned and shot
one, and ran some distance and turned and shot another. Then
the third Indian turned back. The Cherokees soon after brought
14 scalps and two prisoners, one of whom was a squaw who had
been twelve times at war.
About the same time some Cherokees and white men scouted
in neighborhood of Fort Duquesne. Coming back the white men
were not able to keep up with the Indians and arrived home in
very distressing condition. Hugh McSwine later was killed by
the Indians, near Ligonier.
Such is Loudon's account. It may be that Hugh McSwane
was the same person mentioned by Adam Hoops in a letter written
from Conococheague to Governor Morris, on November 6th:
"I just now have received ye account of one George McSwane,
who was taken Captive about 14 Days ago, and has made his
escape, and has brought two Scalps and a Tomahawk with Him."
Assistance of Cherokees and Catawbas
Loudon, as has been seen, mentions the fact that the Cherokees
of the South helped the English to resist the bloody incursions of
the Delawares and Shawnees. In the latter part of 1755, Gover-
nor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, succeeded in persuading the Chero-
kees to declare war against the Shawnees. They then sent one
hundred and thirty of their warriors to protect the frontiers of
Virginia, and later sent many to assist Pennsylvania, especially
into the Cumberland Valley. The Cherokees occupied a very
dangerous position on the Pennsylvania frontier, especially
among the Scotch-Irish settlers of the Cumberland Valley, who,
250 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
on account of the terrible atrocities committed upon them, were
ready to shoot and scalp any Indian on sight. Colonel John
Armstrong, in a letter written to Governor Denny, from Carlisle,
on May 5th, 1757, and recorded in Pa. Col, Rec, Vol, 7, pages
503-505, mentions a case in point. The Catawbas also sent many
of their warriors to assist Pennsylvania, as will be seen later in
this history. While these Southern tribes were assisting the
English, the French were busy in efforts to persuade them to
join the Delawares and Shawnees in their incursions into the
English settlements.
Tom Quick
Frederick A, Godcharles, in his "Daily Stories of Pennsyl-
vania," gives an interesting account of the experiences of Tom
Quick, "the Indian killer," who is said to have declared on his
death bed, in 1795, that he had killed ninety-nine Indians, and
begged that an old Indian, who lived near, might be brought to
him in order that he might kill this old red man and thus bring
his record to an even hundred. Early in the French and Indian
War, no doubt in the autumn of 1755, Tom Quick's father, also
named Tom, was killed by the Delawares, in Pike County, in the
presence of the son and his brother-in-law. Young Tom was
wounded at the same time, and almost frantic with rage and
grief, he swore that he would never make peace with the Indians
as long as one remained on the banks of the Delaware, Some
years later, he met an Indian, named Muskwink, at Decker's
Tavern, on the Neversink, Muskwink, on this occasion, claimed
that it was he who scalped the elder Quick. Tom followed him
from the tavern about a mile, and then shot him dead. Some
time later, he espied an Indian family in a canoe on Butler's Rift.
Concealing himself in the tall grass, he shot the Indian warrior,
and then tomahawked his squaw and three children. He sank
the bodies, and destroyed the canoe. Upon being asked later
why he killed the children, he replied: "Nits make lice," On
another oc^i-asion, several Indians came to him while he was
splitting rails, and told him to go along with them. Quick asked
them to help him to split open the last log, and as they put their
fingers in the crack to help pull the log apart, Tom knocked out
the wedge, and thus caught them all. He then killed them. On
another occasion, he killed an Indian, while hunting with him,
by shooting him in the back. At another time he killed an In-
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 251
dian, while hunting with him, by pushing him off the high rocks
into the ravine below.
Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania," says that Tom Quick
made a vow early in life to kill one hundred Indians; that he
took seriously ill before he had slain the hundred, and prayed
earnestly for life and health to carry out his "project;" that he
eventually recovered, and succeeded in bringing the number to
one hundred; whereupon he laid aside his rifle, and died soon
thereafter. He is buried on the banks of the Delaware, between
the towns of Milford and Shohola, Pike County.
Governor and Assembly Dispute as Settlers Die
Indeed, from the Penn's Creek massacre until well into the
year of 1756, terror reigned throughout the Pennsylvania settle-
ments. It is a sad fact, already referred to in this chapter, that,
while the Delawares and Shawnees were thus burning and
scalping on the frontier, the Assembly and Governor, instead of
putting the Province in a state of defense, spent their time in
disputes as to whether or not the Proprietary estates should be
taxed to raise money to defend the settlers against the hostile
Indians. Noted men on the frontier, such as Rev. John Elder,
pastor of the Presbyterian church at Paxtang, raised their voice
in protest against such action on the part of the Colonial Author-
ities. William Plumstead, Mayor of Philadelphia, and the
Aldermen and Common Council of that city remonstrated in the
most forceful language. The smoke of burning farm houses
darkened the heavens; the soil of the forest farms of the German
and Scotch-Irish settlers was drenched with their blood; the
tomahawk of the savage dashed out the brains of the aged and
the infant; hundreds were carried into captivity, many of whom
were tortured to death by fire at Kittanning and other Indian
towns in the valleys of the Allegheny and the Ohio to which they
were taken — all of these dreadful things were taking place as the
disputes between the Governor and the Assembly continued.
Says Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania:" "The cold in-
difference of the Assembly at such a crisis awoke the deepest in-
dignation throughout the Province. Public meetings were held
in various parts of Lancaster and in the frontier counties, at
which it was resolved that they would repair to Philadelphia and
compel the Provincial authorities to pass proper laws to defend
the country and oppose the enemy. In addition, the dead bodies
252 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of some of the murdered and mangled were sent to that city and
hauled about the streets, with placards announcing that these
were the victims of the Quaker policy of non-resistance. A large
and threatening mob surrounded the house of Assembly, placed
the dead bodies in the doorway, and demanded immediate relief
for the people of the frontiers. Such indeed were the desperate
measures resorted to for self defense."
Some of these dead bodies were those of the victims of the raids
of Shingas in October and November, described in Chapter VIII.
Finally, on November 26th, the very day that the news reached
Philadelphia of the slaughter of the Moravian missionaries at
Gnadenhuetten, "An Act For Granting 60,000 pounds to the
King's Use" was passed, after the Proprietaries had made a grant
of 5,000 pounds in lieu of the tax on the Proprietary estates,
Pennsylvania Begins Erection of Chain of Forts
Pennsylvania then began erecting a chain of forts and block-
houses to guard the frontier. These forts extended along the
Kittatinny or Blue Mountains from the Delaware River to the
Maryland line, and the cost of erection was eighty-five thousand
pounds. They guarded the important mountain passes, were gar-
risoned by from twenty-five to seventy-five men in pay of the
Province, and stood almost equi-distant, so as to be a haven of
refuge for the settlers when they fled from their farms to escape
the tomahawk and scalping knife. The Moravians at Bethlehem
cheerfully fortified their town and took up arms in self-defense.
Benjamin Franklin and James Hamilton were directed to go to
the Forks of the Delaware and raise troops in order to carry the
plan into execution. On December 29th, 1755, they arrived at
Easton, and appointed William Parsons major of the troops to be
raised in the county of Northampton. In the meantime. Captain
Hays had been ordered to New Gnadenhuetten, the scene of the
massacre of the Moravian missionaries on November 24th, with
his militia from the Irish settlement in the county. The attack
on these militia on New Year's Day, 1756, will be described in
Chapter X. Finally, the Assembly requested Franklin's ap-
pearance, and, responding to this call, he turned his command
over to Colonel William Clapham.
This chain of forts began with Fort Dupui, erected on the
property of the Hugenot settler, Samuel Dupui, in the present
town of Shawnee, on the Delaware River, in Monroe County.
MASSACRES OF NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1755 253
Next came Fort Hamilton, on the site of the present town of
Stroudsburg, in Monroe County. Fort Penn was also erected in
the eastern part of this town. These three forts were in the heart
of the territory of the Munsee Clan of Delawares. Next was Fort
Norris, about a mile southeast of Kresgeville, Monroe County;
and fifteen miles west was Fort Allen where Weissport, Carbon
County now stands. Then came Fort Franklin near Snydersville
Schuylkill County; and nineteen miles west was, Fort Lebanon,
also known as Fort William, not far from the present town of
Auburn, in Schuylkill County. Then came Fort Henry at Die-
trick Six's, near Millersburg, Berks County. This post is some-
times called "Busse's Fort" from its commanding olilicer, also the
"Fort at Dietrick Six's." Fort Lebanon and Fort Henry were
twenty-two miles apart, and midway between them was the small
post, Fort Northkill, near Strausstown, Berks County. Next
came Fort Swatara, located in the vicinity of Swatara Gap, or
Tolihaio Gap, Lebanon County; then Fort Manada at Manada
Gap, Dauphin County; then Fort Hunter, on the east bank of
the Susquehanna River at the mouth of Fishing Creek, six miles
north of Harrisburg; then Fort Halifax at the mouth of Arm-
strong Creek, half a mile above the present town of Halifax, on
the east bank of the Susquehanna, in Dauphin County; then
Fort Augusta at Sunbury, Northumberland County. While there
were numerous block-houses, these posts were the principal forts
east of the Susquehanna.
Crossing the Susquehanna, we find Fort Patterson in the
Tuscarora Valley at Mexico, Juniata County; Fort Granville,
near Lewistown, Mifflin County; Fort Shirley, at Shirleysburg,
Huntingdon County; Fort Lyttleton at Sugar Cabins, in the
northeastern part of Fulton County; Fort McDowell, where Mc-
Dowell's Mill, Franklin County, now stands; Fort Loudon,
about a mile distant from the town of Loudon, Franklin County;
Fort Morris at Shippensburg, Cumberland County; and Fort
Lowther, at Carlisle, Cumberland County. Like the forts east
of the Susquehanna, these forts were supplemented with block-
houses in the vicinity. The erection of the entire chain of forts
was completed in 1756.
To garrison these forts and intervening posts and for patroling
the neighborhood of each, a body of troops, called the "Pennsyl-
vania Regiment," was organized, of which the Governor was, ex-
ofificio, commander-in-chief. It was divided into three battalions.
The First Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Conrad
254 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Weiser, consisting of ten companies and five hundred men,
guarded the territory along the Blue or Kittatinny Mountains from
the Susquehanna to the Delaware. The Second Battalion, com-
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Armstrong, consisting of
eight companies and four hundred men, guarded the district
west of the Susquehanna, The Third Battalion, commanded by
Colonel William Clapham, consisting of eight companies and
four hundred men, guarded the region at and around Fort
Augusta. Because of its location, it was called the "Augusta
Regiment." Major James Burd was also in command of this
regiment for a time. The troops not only garrisoned the regular
forts, but were also located at stockaded mills and farm houses,
from three to twenty at a place, at the disposition of the captains
of the companies.
A final word as to the distinction between the various places
of defense and refuge. Reference is made in all chronicles deal-
ing with the border wars in Pennsylvania to "forts," "block-
houses" and "stations." Frequently the term "fort" is applied
as well to "block-houses" and "stations." A "fort," especially
the forts erected by the Colony of Pennsylvania, was a strong
place of defense and refuge, stockaded and embracing cabins
for the accommodation of the garrison and of families who sought
refuge there. A "station" was a parallelogram of cabins, so
united by palisades as to present a continued wall on the outer
side. A "block-house" was a strong, square, two-storied struc-
ture, having the upper story projecting over the lower about two
feet, so that the inmates could shoot from above upon the
Indians attempting to fire the building, to burst open the door
or to climb its walls. Many stations and block-houses were
erected by the harrassed settlers at their own expense and by
their own labors.
CHAPTER X
Massacres Early In 1756
GOVERNOR MORRIS spent the greater part of January,
1756, in visiting the frontiers for the purpose of seeing to
the erection of forts and block houses. He was at Reading on
January 5, and attended the Carhsle council of January 13th to
17th, to be described in Chapter XL Taking leave, very largely,
of the Governor, the Provincial Council and the Assembly for a
time, we shall devote the present chapter to the narration of
Indian atrocities in the early part of 1756.
Massacre of Soldiers at Gnadenhuetten
After the massacre of the Moravian missionaries at Gnaden-
huetten, now Weissport, Carbon County, on the evening of
November 24th, 1755, the surviving missionaries and the Chris-
tianized Delawares of that place hastened to Bethlehem, leaving
their effects and harvest behind. As stated in Chapter IX, the
hostile Indians spread devastation and death throughout that
region in the closing weeks of 1755, and a thorough and systematic
plan of defense was formulated. Benjamin Franklin and James
Hamilton, being selected to execute this plan, went to Easton,
and, on December 29th, after their arrival, appointed William
Parsons Major of the troops to be raised in Northampton County.
In the meantime. Captain Hayes had been ordered to lead his
company of troops from the Irish Settlement in Northampton
County to Gnadenhuetten to guard the mills of the Moravians,
which were filled with grain and had escaped the torch of the
Indians, to keep the property of the Christian Delawares from
being destroyed, and to protect the few settlers who still remained
in the neighborhood. Hayes stationed his troops in the forsaken
village and erected a temporary stockade.
Then, on January 1st, 1756, a number of the soldiers, due to
their lack of experience, fell victims to an Indian stratagem. While
amusing themselves by skating on the Lehigh River, not far from
256 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the stockade, they saw two Indians farther up the stream, and,
thinking to kill or capture them, gave chase while the Indians
ran further up the river. These two Indians were decoys, who
skillfully drew the soldiers into an ambush. After the soldiers
had pursued them for some distance, a large party of Indians
rushed out behind the troops, cut off their retreat, fell upon them
with great fury, and quickly dispatched them. Some of the
soldiers, remaining in the stockade, terrorized and horrified by
the murder of their companions, deserted, while the others,
despairing of defending the place, fled, leaving the mills, the
stockade and the houses of the Christian Indians to be burned to
ashes by the hostile Indians.
Massacres in Monroe County
Also, on January 1st, 1756, the Delaware chief, Teedyuscung
led a band of about thirty Indians into lower Smithfield Town-
ship, Monroe County, destroying the plantation of Henry Hess,
killing Nicholas Colman and a laborer named Gotlieb, and captur-
ing Peter Hess and young Henry Hess, son of Peter Hess and
nephew of Henry Hess, the owner of the plantation. This attack
took place about nine o'clock in the morning. Teedyuscung's
band then went over the Blue Mountains and overtook five In-
dians with two prisoners, Leonard and William Weeser, and a
little later killed Peter Hess in the presence of his son.
In a few days the Indians over-ran the country from Fort
Allen as far as Nazareth, burning plantations, and killing and
scalping settlers. During this same month, the Delawares entered
Moore Township, Northampton County, burning the buildings of
Christian Miller, Henry Shopp, Henry Diehl, Peter Doll, Nicholas
Scholl, and Nicholas Heil, and killing one of Heil's children and
John Bauman. The body of Bauman was found two weeks later,
and buried in the Moravian cemetery at Nazareth.
Young Henry Hess, one of the captives in this incursion, was
delivered up by the Indians at the Easton Conference of Novem-
ber, 1756, at which conference he made an affidavit, recorded in
Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 56, from which the following state-
ments are taken:
That, on January 1st, 1756, he was at the plantation of his
uncle, Henry Hess, in Lower Smithfield Township, and that his
father, Peter Hess, Nicholas Coleman and one, Gotlieb, a
laborer, were also there; that, about nine o'clock in the morning,
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 257
they were surprised by a party of twenty-five Indians, let by
Teedyuscung, some of whom were then attending the Easton
Conference, namely, Peter Harrison, Samuel Evans, Christian,
and Tom Evans; that the Indian band killed Nicholas Coleman
and Gotlieb, took him and his father prisoners, set fire to the
stable, and then hunted up the horses and took three of them;
that the Indians then went over the second range of the Blue
Mountains, and overtook five other Indians with two prisoners,
Leonard and William Weeser; that a little later, they killed and
scalped his father, Peter Hess, in his presence; that the two bands,
now being united, stopped in the evening, kindled a fire, tied him
and the two Weesers to a tree with ropes, in which manner they
remained all night, although the night was extremely cold, the
coldest night of the year; that the next day he and the other
prisoners were taken to Wyoming, which they found deserted,
its Indian population having fled to the Delaware village of
Tunkhannock, the site of the present town of the same name, in
Wyoming County; that their captors then took them to Tunk-
hannock, where they found about one hundred and fifty Indians;
that after the severe weather abated, all the Indians left Tunk-
hannock, taking the prisoners with them, and went to Tioga, near
the present town of Athens, Bradford County; that, during his
stay with the Indians, small parties of five or six warriors, oc-
casionally went to war, and returned with scalps and captives,
which they said they had taken at Allemangle, in the northern
part of Berks County, and in the Minisink region; and that he
frequently heard his captors say that "all the country of Penn-
sylvania did belong to them, and the Governors were always
buying their lands from them but did not pay them for it."
Leonard Weeser, one of the captives taken in this incursion,
was also delivered up at the Easton Conference of November,
1756, at which conference he made the following affidavit, giving
the date of the beginning of the incursion as December 31st, 1 755 :
"This examinant says that on the 31st of Dec'r last, he was at
his father's House beyond the Mountains, in Smithfield Town-
ship, Northampton County, w'th his Father, his Bro'r William
and Hans Adam Hess; that Thirty Indians from Wyomink sur-
rounded them as they were at Work, killed his Father and Hans
Adam Hess and took this Examinant and his Brother William,
aged 17, Prisoners. The next day the same Indians went to
Peter Hess's, Father of the s'd Hans Adam Hess; they killed two
young men, one Nicholas Burman, ye others name he knew not,
258 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and took Peter Hess and his elder son, Henry Hess, and went off
ye next morning at the great Swamp, distant about 30 miles from
Weeser's Plantation; they killed Peter Hess, sticking him with
their knives, as this Examinant was told by ye Indians, for he
was not present. Before they went off, they burned the Houses
and a Barrack of Wheat, killed all ye Cattle and Horses and Sheep
and destroyed all they could. Thro' ye Swamp they went directly
to Wyomink, where they stayed only two days and then went up
the river to Diahogo [Tioga], where they stayed till the Planting
Time, and from thence they went to little Passeeca, an Indian
Town up the Cayuge Branch, and there they stayed till they
brought him [Leonard Weeser] down. Among the Indians who
made this attack and took him Prisoner, were Teedyuscung, alias
Gideon, alias Honest John, and three of his Sons, Amos and
Jacob, ye other's name he knew not. Jacobus and his Son,
Samuel Evans and Thomas Evans were present; Daniel was
present, one Yacomb, a Delaware who used to live in his Father's
Neighborhood. They said that all the country was theirs and
they were never paid for it, and this they frequently gave as a
reason for their conduct. The King's [Teedyuscung] Son, Amos,
took him, this Examinant, and immediately gave him over to his
Father . . . This Examinant saw at Diahogo a Boy of Henry
Christmans, who lived near Fort Norris, and one Daniel William's
Wife and five children, Ben Feed's wife and three children; a
woman, ye wife of a Smith, who lived with Frederick Head, and
three children; a woman taken at Cushictunk, a boy of Hunt's
who lived in Jersey, near Canlin's Kiln and a Negro man; a boy
taken about four miles from Head's, called Nicholas Kainsein,
all of which were prisoners with the Indians at Diahogo and
Passeeca, and were taken by the Delaware Indians; that Teedy-
uscung did not go against the English after this Examinant was
taken, Tho' his Sons did." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 45.)
It will be noted that, in the above affidavit, Leonard Weeser
says that the Indians said "that all the country was theirs and
they were never paid for it, and this they frequently gave as a
reason for their conduct." The murders that these Delawares
committed were within the bounds of the "Walking Purchase."
In a subsequent chapter, we shall find the able Delaware chief,
Teedyuscung, of the Turtle Clan, boldly telling Governor Denny
at the Easton Conference of November, 1756, that the injustice
done the Delawares in this fraudulent land purchase was the
principal reason why they took up arms against the Province.
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 259
Not only the atrocities we are now describing, but those at Hoeth's
and Brodheads, described in Chapter IX, were committed within
the bounds of the "Walking Purchase." It was natural that the
Delawares of the Munsee Clan headed for their own locality in
striking their blows against the Province.
The massacres of the first week in January filled the Province
with alarm and confusion. Governor Morris was discouraged, as
is shown in his letter written from Reading, on January 5th, to
the Provincial Council, recorded in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages
771 and 772:
"The Commissioners [Benjamin Franklin and James Hamilton]
have done everything that was proper in the County of North-
ampton, but the People are not satisfied, nor, by what I can learn
from the Commissioner, would they be unless every Man's House
was protected by a Fort and a Company of Soldiers, and them-
selves paid for staying at home and doing nothing. There are in
that County at this time three hundred Men in Pay of the Gov-
ernment, and yet from Disposition of the Inhabitants, the want
of Conduct in the Officers and of Courage and Discipline in the
Men, I am fearful that the whole Country will fall into the
Enemy's Hands.
"Yesterday and the day before I received the melancholy
News of the Destruction of the Town of Gnadenhuetten, and of
the greatest part of the Guard of forty Men placed there in order
to erect a Fort. The particulars you will see by the inclosed
Papers, so far as they are yet come to hand, but I am in hourly
Expectation of further Intelligence by two Men that I dispatched
for that Purpose upon the first News of the Afifair, whose long
stay makes me apprehend some mischief has befallen them.
"Last night an Express brought me an acco't that seven Farm
Houses between Gnadenhuetten and Nazareth were on the First
Instant burnt, about the time that Gnadenhuetten was, and some
of the People destroyed, and the accounts are this date confirmed.
"Upon this fresh alarm it is proposed that one of the Com-
missioners return to Bethlehem and Easton, and there give fresh
Directions to the Troops and post them in the best Manner for
the Protection of the remaining Inhabitants."
The commissioner, selected to "return to Bethlehem and
Easton, and there give fresh direction to the troops," was Ben-
jamin Franklin. This energetic and capable man at once went to
Bethlehem from which place he wrote Governor Morris, on
January 14th, telling him of the progress already made in raising
260 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
additional troops and bringing order out of chaos. He then went
to Gnadenhuetten, and superintended the erection of Fort Allen
at that place, the site of which is now occupied by the "Fort
Allen Hotel," at Weissport. He tells in his "Autobiography"
some of the details of erecting Fort Allen, as follows:
"Our first work was to bury more effectually the dead we found
there, who had been half interred by the country people; the next
morning our fort was planned and marked out, the circumference
measuring four hundred fifty-five feet, which would require as
many palisades to be made, one with another of a foot diameter
each. Each pine made three palisades of eighteen feet long,
pointed at one end. When they were set up, our carpenters made
a platform of boards all round within, about six feet high, for the
men to stand on when to fire through the loop holes. We had one
swivel gun, which we mounted on one of the angles, and fired it as
soon as fixed, to let the Indians know, if any were within hearing,
that we had such pieces; and thus our fort (if that name may be
given to so miserable a stockade) was finished in a week, though
it rained so hard every other day that the men could not well
work."
Franklin's letter to Governor Morris of January 25th, and his
official report of January 26th, give the details of the erecting of
Fort Allen. These are found in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 15
and 16. He named the fort in honor of Judge William Allen,
father of James Allen, who laid out Allentown in 1762, and was
Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania. Franklin, early
in 1756, also superintended the erection of Fort Franklin, in the
southeastern part of Schuylkill County, Fort Hamilton, where
the town of Stroudsburg, Monroe County, now stands. Fort
Hyndshaw, in Monroe County, about one mile from the Dela-
ware River and near the Pike County line, and Fort Norris, near
Kresgeville, Monroe County. Forts Hamilton and Hyndshaw
stood in the very heart of the Minisink region, occupied by the
Munsee or Wolf Clan of Delawares until their expulsion following
the fraudulent "Walking Purchase" of 1737.
In his official report, above mentioned, Franklin said that he
had 522 men under his command, divided into companies whose
heads were officers Trump, Aston, Wayne, Foulk, Trexler,
Wetterholt, Orndt, Craig, Martin, Van Etten, Hays, McLaughlin
and Parsons.
This bloody incursion caused the settlers to flee in terror from
their forest farms, and seek safety within the more thickly settled
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 261
parts of the Province. As pointed out in Chapter IX, hundreds
fled to the Moravian settlement at Nazareth, where, in Decemebr,
1755, sentry boxes had been erected near the principal buildings,
and stockades near by, at Gnadenthal (Vale of Grace), Friedens-
thal (Vale of Peace), Christian's Spring and the Rose Inn. On
January 29th, 1756, according to the annals of the Moravians,
there were 253 fugitives at Nazareth, 52 at Gnadenthal, 48 at
Christian's Spring, 21 at the Rose Inn and 75 at Friedensthal.
Of these fugitives, 226 were children.
Other forts, stockades and block houses, not already mentioned,
erected at about the time the stockades at Nazareth were erected,
and a little later, were: Breitenbach's Block House, near Myers-
town, Lebanon County; Brown's Fort, in East Hanover Town-
ship, Dauphin County; Davis' Block House, in the south-western
part of Franklin County; Doll's Block House, in Moore Town-
ship, Northampton County; Fort Everett, near where the town
of Lynnport, Lehigh County, now stands; Harper's Block House,
in East Hanover Township, Lebanon County; Hess' Block House,
in Union Township, Lebanon County; the Fort or Block House at
Lehigh Gap, on the north side of the Blue Mountains, in Carbon
County, and, a little later, the stockade at Trucker's (Kern's)
mill, three or four miles south of Lehigh Gap and in Lehigh
County; Fort McCord, in Hamilton Township, Franklin County;
Bingham's Fort, in Tuscarora Township, Juniata County; Mc-
Kee's Fort, on the east shore of the Susquehanna, in the southern
part of Northumberland County; Ralston's Fort, in the Irish
Settlement in Northampton County, about five miles northwest
of Bethlehem; Read's Block House, the stockaded residence of
Adam Read, on Swatara Creek, in East Hanover Township,
Lebanon County; Robinson's or Robeson's Fort, a stockaded
mill, in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County; Robinson's
Fort, or Block House, in Sherman's Valley, Perry County;
Dietrich Snyder's Stockade, erected around his residence, in Berks
County, on the road leading from the vicinity of Fort Northkill,
near Strausstown, over the Blue Mountains to Pottsville, Schuyl-
kill County; Benjamin Spycker's (Spiker) Stockade, around his
residence in Jackson Township, Lebanon County, not far from
the Berks County line and not far from Stouchsburg, Berks
County, at which fortified house the German farmers, under
Conrad Weiser, rendezvoused, in the latter part of October, 1755,
as described in Chapter VII; Ulrich's Fort, near Annville,
Lebanon County, being a mural dungeon or vault built into the
262 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
hillside, with an air hole walled out and closed by a large stone on
which was the inscription, "So oft die Dier den Ankel went. An
deinen Tod, O Mensch, gedenk" (As oft as this door on its hinge
doth swing. To thee, O Man, thought of death may it bring);
Wind Gap Fort, near Wind Gap, Northampton County; and
Zeller's Block House, near Newmanstown, in the south-eastern
part of Lebanon County.
Teedyuscung
We shall meet Teedyuscung again in the course of this history,
not as a bloody warrior, but as an advocate of peace between the
Eastern Delawares and the Province; but, inasmuch as he was
the leader of the incursion of January 1st, just described, we
deem it appropriate to give a short sketch, at this point, of his
life up to the time of which we are writing. He was the son of
the Delaware chief, John Harris, of the Turtle Clan, and was born
at Trenton, New Jersey, about 1705. The early part of his life
is clouded in obscurity; but, when he was about fifty years of age,
he was chosen chief of the Delawares on the Susquehanna, and
from that time until his tragic death on April 16th, 1763, he was
one of the chief figures in the Indian history of Pennsylvania.
He came under the influence of the Moravian missionaries, and
was baptized by them as Brother Gideon. Honest John was also
a name applied to him by the Moravians and others. Later he
became an apostate, and endeavored to induce the Christian
Delawares of Gnadenhuetten to remove to Wyoming, actually
succeeding in gaining a party of seventy of the converts, who left
Gnadenhuetten, April 24th, 1754, and took up their abode at
Wyoming.
In April, 1755, he attended a conference with the Provincial
Authorities at Philadelphia, assuring them of his friendship for
the English. At that time, he was living at Wyoming. His
friendship for the English and Pennsylvania did not continue long
after the conference of April, 1755. When the Delawares and
Shawnees took up arms against Pennsylvania following Brad-
dock's defeat, Teedyuscung, at Nescopeck with Shingas and
other leaders of the hostile Indians, planned many a bloody ex-
pedition against the frontiers of Eastern Pennsylvania.
In March, 1756, he and the Delawares under him left the town
of Wyoming and removed to Tioga (now Athens, Bradford
County), followed at about the same time by the Shawnees from
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 263
their town where Plymouth, Luzerne County, now stands, under
the leadership of Paxinosa. After the death of Shikellamy, in
1748, some of the Shamokin Delawares had settled at Tioga, and
upon Teedyuscung's removal to that place, they and the Dela-
wares of the Munsee Clan chose him "King of the Delawares."
He was at that time busily engaged in forming an alliance be-
tween the three clans of Delawares and the Shawnees, Nanticokes,
and Mohicans of northeastern Pennsylvania.
Massacre Near Schupp's Mill
On January 15th, some refugees at Bethlehem went out into
the country to look after their farms and cattle, among them being
Christian Boemper. The party and some friendly Indians who
escorted them, were ambushed by hostile Delawares near Schupps
Mill, and all were killed except one named Adam Hold, who was
so severely wounded that it was necessary later to amputate his
arm. Those killed were Christian Boemper, Felty Hold, Michael
Hold, Laurence Knuckel, and four privates of Captain Trump's
Company then stationed at Fort Hamilton (Stroudsburg).
At about the same time, a German, named Muhlhisen while
breaking flax on the farm of Philip Bossert, in Lower Smithfield
Township, Monroe County, was fatally wounded by an unseen
Indian. One of Bossert's sons, hearing the report of the Indian's
rifle, ran out of the house and was killed. Then old Philip Bos-
sert, the owner of the farm, appeared on the scene, wounded one
of the Indians, and was himself wounded badly. Neighbors then
arrived upon the scene, and the Indians retreated. ("Frontier
Forts of Penna.," Vol. 1, pages 200-201.)
Massacres in Juniata and Perry Counties
On January 27th, a band of Delawares from the Susquehanna,
attacked the home of Hugh Mitchelltree, near Thompsontown,
Juniata County, killing Mrs. Mitchelltree and a young man,
named Edward Nicholas, Mr. Mitchelltree being then absent at
Carlisle. The same band then went up the Juniata River.
William Wilcox at that time lived on the opposite side of the
river, whose wife and eldest son had come over the river on some
business. The Indians came while they were there and killed old
Edward Nicholas and his wife and took Joseph Nicholas, Thomas
Nicholas, Catherine Nicholas, John Wilcox and Mrs. James Arm-
264 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
strong and two children prisoners. An Indian named James
Cotties and an Indian boy went to Sherman's Creek, Perry
County, and killed William Sheridan and his family, 13 in num-
ber. They then went down the creek to where three old persons
lived, two men and a woman by the name of French whom they
killed. Cotties afterward boasted that the boy took more scalps
than the whole party.
The above is the account of this massacre, found in Loudon's
"Indian Narratives." In Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 566, is found
the following letter of Governor Morris, dated February 3d,
relative to this massacre:
"I have just received the melancholy intelligence from Cum-
berland County that a fresh party of Indians are again fallen
upon ye settlements, on Juniata, and have carry'd off several of
ye people there to ye number of 15 or upwards."
Also, on page 568 of the same volume of the Pennsylvania
Archives, is found the letter of Rev. Thomas Barton, dated
February 6th, referring to this massacre, as follows:
"Within three miles of Patterson's Fort was found Adam
Nicholson and his wife, dead and scalped; his two sons and a
Daughter are carried off, Hugh Mitchelltree and a son of said
Nicholson, dead and scalped, with many children, in all about 17.
The same Day, one Sherridan, a Quaker, his wife, three children
and a Servant were kill'd and scalped, together with one, Wm.
Hamilton and his Wife, his Daughter and one, French, within
ten miles of Carlisle, a little beyond Stephen's Gap.
"It is dismal. Sir, to see the Distress of the People; women and
Children screaming and lamenting, men's hearts failing them for
Fear under all the Anguish of Despair. The Inhabitants over the
Hills are entirely fleeing, so that in two or three Days the North
Mountain will be the Frontier. Industry droops, and all Sorts
of Work seem at an End. In short. Sir, it appears as if this Part
of the Country breath'd its last. I remember you dreaded this
blow would be struck in February; and now we know that our
Danger hastens with the Encrease of the Moon, and we expect
nothing but Death and Ruin every night."
Mrs. James Armstrong later escaped, and waded across the
Susquehanna to Fort Augusta, June 26th, 1757, where her
husband was then a soldier. On April 12th, 1759, the Iroquois
delivered up one of the children, Elizabeth Armstrong, at
Canajoharie, New York. She had been given to them by the
Delawares, and was then only four years old.
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 265
Loudon relates of the Indian, James Cotties, that in the
autumn of 1757, he went to Fort Hunter, and killed a young man,
named William Martin, while gathering chestnuts; also, that
after the French and Indian War, he came to Fort Hunter and
boasted what a good friend he had been to the white people dur-
ing the war, whereupon a friendly Delaware, named Hambus,
accused him of having killed young Martin, and the two Indians
began to fight. A little later in the day, Cotties got drunk and
fell asleep near the fort, whereupon Hambus slipped up and
killed him with his tomahawk.
During the incursion of January 27th, occurred the murder of
the Woolcomber family, Quakers, on Sherman's Creek, Perry
County, thus described in Loudon's "Indian Narratives," as if it
took place in the latter part of 1755:
"The next I remember of was in 1755, the Woolcombers family
on Shearman's Creek; the whole of the inhabitants of the valley
was gathered at Robinson's, but Woolcomber would not leave
home, he said it was the Irish [Scotch-Irish] who were killing one
another; these peaceable people, the Indians would not hurt any
person. Being at home and at dinner, the Indians came in, and
the Quaker asked them to come and eat dinner; an Indian an-
nounced that he did not come to eat, but for scalps; the son, a
boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age when he heard the Indian
say so, repaired to a back door, and as he went out he looked back,
and saw the Indian strike the tomahawk into his father's head.
The boy then ran over the creek, which was near the house, and
heard the screams of his mother, sisters and brother. The boy
came to our Fort [Robinson] and gave us the alarm; about forty
went to where the murder was done and buried the dead."
A few days after the massacre of January 27th, some Indians,
probably members of this same band, had a skirmish with
thirteen soldiers from Croghan's Fort, at Aughwick, within a
short distance of the fort. One of the soldiers was wounded, and
two of the Indians were killed, on this occasion. (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 2, page 571.)
Two months later, or on March 29th, 1756, the Indians again
came to the neighborhood where the murders of January 27th
were committed. They attacked Patterson's Fort, and, accord-
ing to a letter written by Captain Patterson to his wife, they
carried ofT Hugh Mitchelltree, about five o'clock in the evening,
while foddering his cattle within sight of the fort. Evidently,
then, Rev. Thomas Barton was mistaken in his letter, quoted
266 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
above, in saying that Hugh Mitchelltree was killed in the massa-
cre of January 27th. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 613.)
On March 24th, Captain William Patterson with a scouting
party had an encounter with a party of Delawares on Middle
Creek, in what is now Snyder County, killing and scalping one
and routing the rest. On his return to his fort, he reported that
the country from the forks of the Susquehanna (Sunbury) to
the Juniata was "swarming with Indians, looking for scalps and
plunder, and burning all the houses and destroying all the grain
which the fugitive settlers had left in the region." ("Frontier
Forts of Penna.," Vol. 1, pages 594-595.)
Patterson's Fort near which some of the murders of January
27th, were committed, was the fortified residence of Captain
James Patterson, situated where the town of Mexico, Juniata
County, now stands. The residence was fortified before the close
of 1755. Captain James Patterson was the father of Captain
William Patterson. The son lived opposite Mexico, and had a
fortified residence, also called Fort Patterson, but it seems that
the son's fort was not erected until the time of Pontiac's War.
There has been much confusion as to these two forts. By in-
structions given by Benjamin Franklin to George Croghan, on
December 17th, 1755, the latter was to "fix on proper places for
erecting three stockades, one back of Patterson's." This stockade
"back of Patterson's" was to be called Pomfret Castle, and was
to be erected on Mahantango Creek, near Richfield, Juniata
County, but within the limits of Snyder County. Many his-
torians doubt whether Pomfret Castle was ever erected. Gov-
ernor Morris wrote on January 29th, 1756, saying it was erected.
Then, hearing of the massacre of January 27th, he wrote to
Captain Burd, on February 3d, reprimanding him and Captain
Patterson for being remiss in not having erected the fort that was
"order'd to be built at Matchitongo." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2,
pages 556 and 566.)
Capture of John and Richard Coxe and John Craig
On February 11th, 1756, occurred the capture of John Coxe, his
brother Richard, and John Craig, thus described in the "Frontier
Forts of Pennsylvania":
"At a council, held at Philadelphia, Tuesday, September 6th,
1756, the statement of John Coxe, a son of the widow Coxe, was
made, the substance of which is: He, his brother Richard, and
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 267
John Craig were taken in the beginning of February of that year
by nine Delaware Indians from a plantation two miles from Mc-
Dowell's mill, [Franklin County], which was between the east and
west branches of the Conococheague Creek, about 20 miles west
of the present site of Shippensburg, in what is now Cumberland
County, and brought to Kittanning on the Ohio. On his way
hither he met Shingas with a party of 30 men, and afterward
Capt. Jacobs and 15 men, whose design was to destroy the settle-
ments on Conococheague. When he arrived at Kittanning, he
saw here about 100 fighting men of the Delaware tribe, with their
families, and about 50 English prisoners, consisting of men,
women and children. During his stay here, Shingas' and Jacobs'
parties returned, the one with nine scalps and ten prisoners, the
other with several scalps and five prisoners. Another company
of 18 came from Diahogo with 17 scalps on a pole, which they took
to Fort Duquesne to obtain their reward. The warriors held a
council, which, with their war dances, continued a week, when
Capt. Jacobs left with 48 men, intending as Coxe was told, to fall
upon the inhabitants at Paxtang. He heard the Indians fre-
quently say that they intended to kill all the white folks, except a
few, with whom they would afterwards make peace. They made
an example of Paul Broadley, who, with their usual cruelty, they
beat for half an hour with clubs and tomahawks, and then,
having fastened him to a post, cropped his ears close to his head,
and chopped off his fingers, calling all the prisoners to witness
the horrible scene."
Additional details of the incursion which the Coxe boys and
John Craig were captured are given in Egle's "History of Penn-
sylvania," as follows:
"In February, 1756, a party of Indians made marauding in-
cursions into Peters Township. They were discovered on Sunday
evening, by one Alexander, near the house of Thomas Barr. He
was pursued by the savages, but escaped and alarmed the fort at
McDowell's mill. Early on Monday morning a party of fourteen
men of Captain Croghan's company, who were at the mill, and
about twelve other young men, set off to watch the motion of the
Indians. Near Barr's house they fell in with fifty, and sent back
for a reinforcement from the fort. The young lads proceeded by
a circuit to take the enemy in the rear, whilst the soldiers did
attack them in front. But the impetuosity of the soldiers defeated
their plan. Scarce had they got within gunshot, they fired upon
the Indians, who were standing around the fire, and killed several
268 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of them at the first discharge. The Indians returned fire, killed
one of the soldiers, and compelled the rest to retreat. The party
of young men, hearing the report of firearms, hastened up, finding
the Indians on the ground which the soldiers had occupied, fired
upon the Indians with effect; but concluding the soldiers had fled,
or were slain, they also retreated. One of their number, Barr's
son, was wounded, would have fallen by the tomahawk of an
Indian, had not the savage been killed by a shot from Armstrong,
who saw him running upon the lad. Soon after soldiers and young
men being joined by a reinforcement from the mill, again sought
the enemy, who, eluding the pursuit, crossed the creek near
William Clark's, and attempted to surprise the fort; but their
design was discovered by two Dutch lads, coming from foddering
their master's cattle. One of the lads was killed, but the other
reached the fort, which was immediately surrounded by the In-
dians, who, from a thicket, fired many shots at the men in the
garrison, who appeared above the wall, and returned the fire as
often as they obtained sight of the enemy. At this time, two men
crossing to the mill, fell into the middle of the assailants, but
made their escape to the fort, though fired at three times. The
party at Barr's house now came up, and drove the Indians through
the thicket. In their retreat they met five men from Mr. Hoop's,
riding to the mill; they killed one of these and wounded another
severely. The sergeant at the fort having lost two of his men,
declined to follow the enemy until his commander, Mr. Crawford,
who was at Hoop's, should return, and the snow falling thick, the
Indians had time to burn Mr. Barr's house, and in it consumed
their dead. On the morning of the 2nd of March, Mr. Crawford,
with fifty men, went in quest of the enemy, but was unsuccessful
in his search."
John Coxe further said in his statement, which is found in Pa.
Col. Rec. Vol. 7, pages 242 and 243, that in March following his
capture, he was taken by three Indians to Tioga, where he found
about fifty warriors of the Delawares and Mohicans, and about
twenty German captives; that, while he was there, the Indians
frequently went out in parties of twelve to murder the settlers
and as often returned with scalps but no prisoners; that, on the
9th of August, he left Tioga with his Indian master, Makomsey,
and came down the Susquehanna to the Indian town of Gnahay,
whose location is unknown, to get some corn; and that he here
made his escape, on August 14th, and arrived at Fort Augusta
(Sunbury) that evening.
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 269
The following letter, written by Captain William Trent, at
Carlisle, on Sunday evening, February 15th, 1756, and sent to
Richard Peters, fixes the date of the capture of the Coxe boys and
John Craig, and shows how Shingas and Captain Jacobs were
keeping the settlers in a state of terror :
"Wednesday evening two lads were taken or killed at the
Widow Cox's, just under Parnell's Knob, and a lad who went
from McDowell's Mill to see what fire it was never returned, the
horse coming back with the Reins over his Neck; they burnt the
House and shot down the Cattle. Just now came News that a
Party of Indian Warriors were come out against the Inhabitants
from some of the Susquehanna Towns, and yesterday some people
who were over in Sherman's Valley, discovered fresh Tracks; all
the People have left their Houses betwixt this and the Mountain,
some coming to town [Carlisle] and others gathering into little
Forts; they are moving their Effects from Shippensburg, every
one thinks of flying; unless the Government fall upon some
Method, and that immediately, of securing the Frontiers, there
will not be one Inhabitant in this Valley one Month longer." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 2, page 575.)
Murder of Frederick Reichelsdorfer's Daughters
"The Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" contains the following
account of one of the saddest tragedies of the terrible winter of
which we are writing, the date of the atrocity being February
14th, 1756:
"The Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D. D., in the Hall-
ische Nachrichten, tells the soul-stirring story of Frederick Reich-
elsdorfer, whose two grown daughters had attended a course of
instruction, under him, in the Catechism, and been solemnly ad-
mitted by confirmation to the communion of the Ev. Lutheran
Church, in New Hanover, Montgomery County.
"This man afterwards went with his family some distance into
the interior, to a tract of land which he had purchased in Albany
Township, Berks County. When the war with the Indians broke
out, he removed his family to his former residence, and occasion-
ally returned to his farm, to attend to his grain and cattle. On
one occasion he went, accompanied by his two daughters, to
spend a few days there, and bring away some wheat. On Friday
evening, after the wagon had been loaded, and everything was
ready for their return on the morrow, his daughters complained
270 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
that they felt anxious and dejected, and were impressed with the
idea that they were soon to die. They requested their father to
unite with them in singing the famiHar German funeral hymn,
'Wer weiss wie nahe meine Ende. '
[Who knows how near my end may be. ]
after which they commended themselves to God in prayer, and
retired to rest.
"The light of the succeeding morn beamed upon them, and all
was yet well. Whilst the daughters were attending to the dairy,
cheered with the joyful hope of soon greeting their friends, and
being out of danger, the father went to the field for the horses, to
prepare for their departure home. As he was passing through the
field, he suddenly saw two Indians, armed with rifles, tomahawks
and scalping knives, making towards him at full speed. The sight
so terrified him that he lost all self command, and stood motion-
less and silent. When they were about twenty yards from him,
he suddenly and with all his strength, exclaimed 'Lord Jesus,
living and dying, I am thine!' Scarcely had the Indians heard
the words 'Lord Jesus' (which they probably knew as the white
man's name of the Great Spirit), when they stopped short, and
uttered a hideous yell.
"The man ran with almost supernatural strength into the
dense forest, and by taking a serpentine course, the Indians lost
sight of him, and relinquished the pursuit. He hastened to an
adjoining farm, where two German families resided, for assistance,
but on approaching near it, he heard the dying groans of the
families, who were falling beneath the murderous tomahawks of
some other Indians.
[One of these families was the family of Jacob Gerhart. One
man, two women and six children were murdered. Two children
hid under the bed, one of which was burned to death, and the
other escaped and ran a mile for help. ("Frontier Forts of Penn-
sylvania," Vol. 1, pages 152 and 153.) ]
"Having providentially not been observed by them, he has-
tened back to learn the fate of his daughters. But, alas! on ar-
riving within sight, he found his home and barn enveloped with
flames. Finding that the Indians had possession here too, he
hastened to another adjoining farm for help. Returning, armed
with several men, he found the house reduced to ashes and the
Indians gone. His eldest daughter had been almost entirely burnt
up, a few remains only of her body being found. And, awful to
relate, the younger daughter though the scalp had been cut from
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 271
her head, and her body horribly mangled from head to foot with
the tomahawk, was yet living. 'The poor worm,' says Muhlen-
berg, 'was able to state all the circumstances of the dreadful
scene.' After having done so she requested her father to stoop
down to her that she might give him a parting kiss, and then go
to her dear Saviour; and after she had impressed her dying lips
upon his cheek, she yielded her spirit into the hands of that
Redeemer, who, though His judgments are often unsearchable,
and His ways past finding out, has nevertheless said, ' I am the
resurrection and the life; if any man believe in me, though he die
yet shall he live.' "
Attack on Andrew Lycans and John Rewalt
On March 7th, Andrew Lycans and John Rewalt, settlers in
the Wiconisco, or Lykens Valley in Dauphin County, went out
early in the morning to feed their cattle when they were fired upon
by Indians. Hastening into the house, they prepared to defend
themselves. The Indians concealed themselves behind a pig-pen
some distance from the dwelling. Lycans' son, John, John Re-
walt, and Ludwig Shutt, a neighbor, upon creeping out of the
house, in an effort to discover the whereabouts of the Indians,
were fired upon and each one wounded, Shutt very dangerously.
At this point Andrew Lycans discovered an Indian named Joshua
James and two white men running away from their hiding place
near the pig-pen. The elder Lycans then fired, killing the Indian ;
and he and his party then sought safety in flight, but were closely
pursued by at least twenty of the Indians. John Lycans and
John Rewalt, although badly wounded, made their escape with
the aid of a negro servant, leaving Andrew Lycans, Ludwig Shutt,
and a boy to engage the Indians. The Indians then rushed upon
these and, as one of their number, named Bill Davis, was in the
act of striking the boy with his tomahawk, he was shot dead by
Shutt, while Andrew Lycans killed another and wounded a third.
Andrew Lycans also recognized two others of the band, namely,
Tom Hickman and Tom Hays, members of the Delaware tribe.
The Indians then momentarily ceased their pursuit, and Lycans,
Shutt, and the boy, weak from the loss of blood, sat down on a
log to rest, believing that they were no longer in imminent danger.
Later, Lycans managed to lead his party to a place of conceal-
ment and then over the mountain into Hanover Township, where
they were given assistance by settlers. Andrew Lycans, however,
272 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
died from his wounds and terrible exposure. His name has been
given to the charming valley of the Wiconisco. (Penna. Gazette,
March 18th, 1756.)
Attack on Zeislof and Kluck Families
On March 24th, some settlers with ten wagons went to Albany,
Berks County, for the purpose of bringing a family with their
effects to a point near Reading. As they were returning, they
were fired upon by a number of Indians on both sides of the road.
The wagoners, leaving the wagons, ran into the woods, and the
horses, frightened at the terrible yelling of the Indians, ran off.
The Indians on this occasion, killed George Zeislof and his wife, a
boy aged twenty, another aged twelve, and a girl aged fourteen.
Another girl of the party was shot through the neck and mouth,
and scalped, but made her escape.
On the same day the Indians burned the home of Peter Kluck,
about fourteen miles from Reading, and killed the entire family.
While the Kluck home was burning, the Indians assaulted the
house of a settler named Lindenman nearby, in which there were
two men and a woman, all of whom ran upstairs, where the
woman was killed by a bullet which penetrated the roof. The
men then ran out of the house. Lindenman was shot through the
neck. In spite of his wound, Lindenman succeeded in shooting
one of the Indians.
At about the same time a boy named John Schoep, who lived
in this neighborhood, was captured and taken seven miles beyond
the Blue Mountains where, according to the statement of Schoep,
the Indians kindled a fire, tied him to a tree, took off his shoes,
and put moccasins on his feet. They then prepared themselves
some mush, but gave him none. After supper they took young
Schoep and another boy between them, and proceeded over the
second mountain. During the second night of his captivity, when
the Indians were asleep, young Schoep made his escape, and re-
turned home.
During the raid in which the above outrages occurred, the In-
dians killed the wife of Baltser Neytong, and captured his son
aged eight. And in November, the Indians entered this region,
and carried off the wife and three children of Adam Burns, the
youngest child being only four weeks old. They also killed a man
named Stonebrook, and captured a girl in this raid. ("Frontier
Forts of Penna.," Vol. 1, pages 153 to 155.)
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 273
Shingas Burns McCord's Fort
On April 1st, 1756, Shingas attacked and burned Fort McCord,
a private fort, erected in the autumn of 1755, and located several
miles north-east of Fort Loudon, Franklin County, and not far
from the Yankee Gap in the Kittatinny Mountains, west of
Chambersburg. All the inmates of the fort, twenty-seven in
number, were either killed or captured. After the destruction of
the fort, Shingas' band was pursued by three bodies of settlers
and soldiers. One body, commanded by Captain Alexander
Culbertson, overtook the Indians on Sideling Hill. Here a fierce
battle was fought for two hours, but Shingas being reinforced,
the white men were defeated with great loss, twenty-one killed
and seventeen wounded.
Among the killed were: Captain Alexander Culbertson, John
Reynolds, William Kerr, James Blair, John Leason, William
Denny, Francis Scott, William Boyd, Jacob Painter, Jacob Jones,
Robert Kerr and William Chambers. Among the wounded were
Francis Campbell, Abraham Jones, William Reynolds, John
Barnet, Benjamin Blyth, John McDonald and Isaac Miller.
The Indians, according to the statement of one of their number
who was captured, lost seventeen killed and twenty-one wounded
in this engagement.
Another body, commanded by Ensign Jamison, from Fort
Granville, went in pursuit of the same band of Indians, and was
also defeated. Among the killed were: Daniel McCoy, James
Robinson, James Pierce, John Blair, Henry Jones, John McCarty
and John Kelly. Among the wounded were: Ensign Jamison,
James Robinson (There were two James Robinsons in Ensign
Jamison's party), William Hunter, Matthias Ganshorn, William
Swails and James Louder, the last of whom later died of his
wounds.
Captain Hance Hamilton, in a letter written to Captain Potter,
dated Fort Lyttleton, April 4th, and recorded in Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, page 77, says the following concerning the terrible events
of which we are writing:
"These come to inform you of the melancholy news of what
occurred between the Indians, that have taken many captives
from McCord's Fort and a party of men under the command of
Captain Alexander Culbertson and nineteen of our men, the whole
amounting to about fifty, with the captives, and had a sore en-
gagement, many of both parties killed and many wounded, the
274 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
number unknown. Those wounded want a surgeon, and those
killed require your assistance as soon as possible, to bury them.
We have sent an express to Fort Shirley for Doctor Mercer, sup-
posing Doctor Jamison is killed or mortally wounded in the ex-
pedition. He being not returned, therefore, desire you will send
an express, immediately, for Doctor Prentice to Carlisle; we
imagining Doctor Mercer cannot leave the fort under the cir-
cumstances the fort is under. Our Indian, Isaac, has brought in
Captain Jacobs' scalp."
The scalp brought in by the friendly Indian, Isaac, was not
that of Captain Jacobs. This chief was not killed until the
destruction of Kittanning, by Colonel John Armstrong and his
Scotch-Irish troops from the Cumberland Valley, September 8th,
1756.
Likewise, Robert Robinson thus describes the attack on Mc-
Cord's Fort and the pursuit of the savages:
"In the year 1756 a party of Indians came out of the Conoco-
cheague to a garrison named McCord's Fort, where they killed
some and took a number prisoners. They then took their course
near to Fort Lyttleton. Captain Hamilton being stationed there
with a company, hearing of their route at McCord's Fort, marched
with his company of men, having an Indian with him who was
under pay. The Indians had McCord's wife with them; they cut
off Mr. James Blair's head and threw it into Mrs. McCord's lap,
saying that it was her husband's head; but she knew it to be
Blair's."
Mrs. McCord was taken to Kittanning, where she was rescued
when Colonel John Armstrong's forces destroyed this noted
stronghold of the Delawares.
The terrible disaster of Fort McCord and vicinity caused the
greatest consternation among the harried settlers of the Cumber-
land Valley. Block houses and farms were abandoned, and
refugees came streaming into Carlisle.
A monument now marks the site of Fort McCord, having there-
on a list of the killed and wounded — members of the leading
pioneer families of the present counties of Cumberland, Frank-
lin and Fulton.
Conclusion
This chapter brings us up to the time of Pennsylvania's decla-
ration of war against the Delawares and Shawnees. It is a story
of outrage, devastation and murder. But many of the horrors
MASSACRES EARLY IN 1756 275
on the Pennsylvania frontier during the early part of 1756 will
remain forever unrecorded. The statement of the French that,
from Braddock's defeat until the middle of March, 1756, more
than seven hundred people in Pennsylvania, Virginia and North
Carolina were killed and captured by the Delawares and Shaw-
nees, gives one an idea of the appalling tragedies in the cabin
homes of the pioneers.
CHAPTER XI
Carlisle Council — War Declared
ON January 13th to January 17th, 1756, an important In-
dian council was held at Carlisle between Governor Morris,
James Hamilton, Richard Peters, William Logan, Joseph Fox,
Conrad Weiser and George Croghan, on the one hand, and the
following Indians, on the other hand: The Belt of Wampum,
Aroas (Silver Heels), Jagrea (Zigera, Sata Karoyis), Canachquasy
(Kos Showweyha, Captain New Castle), Seneca George, Isaac,
and several chiefs of the Conestogas. The council had particular
reference to affairs on the Ohio.
George Croghan reported, at this council, that, in the latter
part of 1755, at the request of Governor Morris, he had sent
Delaware Jo, a friendly Indian, to the Ohio to gain what informa-
tion he could about the attitude and actions of the Delawares and
Shawnees of that place. Delaware Jo returned to Croghan's
fortified trading house, often called Croghan's Fort, at Aughwick,
now Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County, on January 8th, 1756. On
his journey to the Ohio, he visited Kittanning and Logstown.
He reported that, at Kittanning, then the residence of Shingas
and Captain Jacobs, he found one hundred and forty warriors,
mostly Delawares and Shawnees, and about one hundred English
prisoners, captured on the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania;
that, at Kittanning, he met the Delaware chief, King Beaver, or
Tamaque, a brother of Shingas and Pisquetomen, and that King
Beaver told him that the French had often offered the Delawares
and Shawnees the "French Hatchet," but they had refused it
until April or May, 1755, when some Iroquois, Adirondack and
Caughnawage warriors, stopping at Fort Duquesne, on their
way to attack the Catawbas and Cherokees, were prevailed upon
by the French to offer the "French Hatchet" to the Delawares
and Shawnees, who then and there accepted the hatchet, and
went with the other Indians into Virginia. King Beaver further
told Delaware Jo that neither he nor the other chiefs of the Dela-
wares and Shawnees approved the action of the members of their
CARLISLE COUNCIL— WAR DECLARED 277
tribes who had accepted the "French Hatchet," that they were
sorry for this action, and wished to "make Matters up with the
EngUsh."
At Logstown, Delaware Jo found about one hundred Indians
and thirty EngUsh prisoners. These prisoners had been captured
on the frontiers of Virginia. The French had tried to buy the
prisoners, but the Indians refused to sell them until they should
hear from the Six Nations. Delaware Jo further reported that
there were some warriors of the Six Nations living with the Dela-
wares and Shawnees on the Allegheny and Ohio, and that they
often went with them in their incursions into the settlements.
When at Logstown, this friendly Delaware intended to go to
Fort Duquesne to see what the French were doing, but found he
could not cross the river for the driving of the ice. He was in-
formed, however, that the number of the French did not exceed
four hundred. From Logstown, he returned to Kittanning, and
there learned that ten Delawares had recently left for the Sus-
quehanna, "as he supposed to persuade those Indians to strike
the English, who might perhaps be concerned in the Mischief
lately done in the County of Northampton" — atrocities described
in Chapter X. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6, pages 781, 782.)
James Hamilton reported, at this council, that, in November,
1755, he had sent Aroas, or Silver Heels, to the Indian towns on
the Susquehanna to gain information, whereupon Aroas was
called in and gave the following account of his journey:
"That he found no Indians at Shamokin, and therefore pro-
ceeded higher up Sasquehanna, as far as to Nescopecka, where he
saw one hundred and forty Indians, all Warriors; that they were
dancing the war dance; expressed great bitterness against the
English, and were preparing for an expedition against them, and
he thought would go to the Eastward. He did not stay with
them, finding them in this disposition, but went to the House of
an uncle of his, at a little distance from Nescopecka, between
that and Wyoming, who told him the Delawares and Shawnees
on the Ohio were persuaded by the French to strike the English,
and had put the Hatchet into the Hands of the Susquehannah
Indians, a great many of whom had taken it greedily, and there
was no persuading them to the Contrary, and that they would
do abundance of mischief to the People of Pennsylvania, against
whom they were preparing to go to War." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 6,
page 783.)
The Belt of Wampum, at this council, made a long speech in
278 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
which he reviewed the events that had taken place on the Ohio
and Allegheny from the time the French had first occupied this
region until the Delawares and Shawnees took up arms against
Pennsylvania. Being the official keeper of the wampum belts,
this chief was well qualified to review these events. Among other
things, he said that, after Tanacharison had delivered his third
notice to the French to withdraw from the valleys of the Al-
legheny and Ohio, it was learned that "the French had prevailed
upon the Shawonese, who were a Nation in alliance with the Six
Nations, and living by their Sufferance upon a part of their
Country, and upon the Delawares, who were a tribe conquered
by and entirely dependent upon them, to enter into a separate
and private Treaty with them, by which they, the Shawonese
and Delawares, had agreed not only to permit the French to
take Possession of the Country upon the Ohio, as far as they
would, but to assist them against the English, if their Aid should
be found necessary in the Contest, which the taking Possession of
that Country should occasion. That, in consequence of this
secret Treaty, and upon the Persuasions of the French, who have
acquired a considerable Influence over these Two Tribes, they
had fallen upon the English and done the mischief already com-
plained of without any just Reason or Cause." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 6, pages 3 and 4.)
There are several significant things in the above statement of
the Belt of Wampum. One is that the Delawares and Shawnees
were endeavoring to break away from the overlordship of the Six
Nations, their conquerors, and to make treaties for themselves.
Another is, as Dr. George P. Donehoo points out in his "Penn-
sylvania— A History," that "the attempts of the Quaker element
in the Assembly to justify the action of these hostile tribes, from
the standpoint of the Six Nations, was without any real founda-
tion." This is evident from the great historical fact that those
Iroquois on the Ohio and Allegheny who went with the Shawnees
and Delawares on their incursions into the settlements were not
genuine members of the great Iroquois or Six Nation Confedera-
tion, but a mixture of Iroquoian stock on the outskirts of the
habitat of the Senecas. In other words, these Indians who
joined the Delawares and Shawnees, were a mongrel population
of the Ohio and Allegheny valleys, known as the Mingoes; they
were not true representatives of the Confederation of the Six
Nations, and were beyond the jurisdiction of the historic Con-
federation.
CARLISLE COUNCIL— WAR DECLARED 279
George Croghan said, at this Carlisle council, that he believed
the Delawares and Shawnees were acting in their hostile manner
with the approval of the Six Nations; but he should have con-
sidered that the Mingoes were a rabble element beyond the
jurisdiction of the Six Nations, and that the true representatives
of the great Iroquois Confederation on the Ohio, such as Tanacha-
rison, Scarouady, The Belt of Wampum, Captain New Castle
and Seneca George, never wavered in their friendship for the
English and always disapproved of the hostile actions of the
Mingoes. They even succeeded in keeping many of the Dela-
wares and Shawnees friendly to the English.
Scarouady Returns From His Mission to the Six Nations
We shall now learn from Scarouady the real attitude of the
Six Nations. As stated in Chapter IX, Governor Morris, in the
middle of November, 1755, sent Scarouady and Andrew Montour
on a mission to the Six Nations — a mission in which they were
instructed to give the real authorities of the Six Nations a com-
plete account of the bloody invasion of the Delawares and Shaw-
nees and to ascertain whether or not this invasion was made with
the knowledge, consent or order of the Six Nations, also to
ascertain whether the Six Nations would chastise the Delawares
and Shawnees for their hostile action.
Scarouady and Montour returned to Philadelphia from this
mission on March 21, 1756, and on the 27th of that month, they
appeared before the Provincial Council, and made a report of
their journey. They had gone by way of Tulpehocken and
Thomas McKee's trading post to Shamokin; and from there
through Laugpaughpitton's Town and Nescopeck to Wyoming
(Plymouth, Luzerne County). At Wyoming they found a large
number of Delawares, some Shawnees, Mohicans, and members
of the Six Nations. They next came to Asserughney, a Delaware
Town, twelve miles above Wyoming, near the junction of the
Susquehanna and Lackawanna. Their next stop was at Chink-
annig (Tunkhannock), twenty miles farther up the Susquehanna,
where they found the great Delaware chief, Teeduscung, with
some Delawares and Nanticokes. Their next stop was at Diahogo
(Tioga), a town composed of Mohicans and Delawares of the
Munsee Clan, located where Athens, Bradford County, now
stands, at which place they found ninety warriors. About twenty-
five miles beyond, they came to the deserted town of Owegy.
280 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Leaving this place they arrived at Chugnut, about twenty miles
distant. About five miles above Chugnut, was the town of
Otseningo, where they found thirty cabins and about sixty war-
riors of the Nanticokes, Conoys, and Onondagas. Fourteen miles
beyond this place they came to Oneoquagque, where they sent a
message to the Governor of Pennsylvania, written by Rev.
Gideon Hawley. From there they proceeded to Teyonnoderre
and Teyoneandakt, and next to Caniyeke, the Lower Mohawk
Town, located about two miles from Fort Johnson, and about
forty miles from Albany, New York. At Fort Johnson, they held
a conference in February, 1756, with Sir William Johnson and the
chiefs of the Six Nations, who expressed great resentment over
the action of the hostile Delawares.
This was a very dangerous journey for Scarouady and Mon-
tour. While they were at Wyoming, their lives were threatened
by a party of eighty Delaware warriors, who came soon after their
arrival. While Scarouady was consulting with the oldest chief in
the evening, the rest cried out of doors: "Let us kill the rogue;
we will hear of no mediator, much less of a master; hold your ton-
gue, and be gone, or you shall live no longer. We will do what we
please." Said Scarouady: "All the way from Wyoming to
Diahogo, a day never passed without meeting some warriors, six,
eight, or ten in a party ; and twenty under command at Cut Finger
Pete, going after the eighty warriors which we saw at Wyoming.
. . . All the way we met parties of Delawares going to join the
eighty warriors there."
Scarouady reported that, at Wyoming he and Montour found
John Shikellamy, son of the great vice-gerent of the Six Nations,
with the hostile Delawares. They took him aside, and upbraided
him severely for his ingratitude to Pennsylvania, "which had ever
been extremely kind to his father when alive." Then John
Shikellamy explained that he was with the enemies of the Colony,
because he could not help it, as they had threatened to kill him
if he did not join them.
Scarouady again appeared before the Provincial Council on
April 3d and gave additional details of his journey. Said he:
"You desired us in your instructions to inquire the particular rea-
sons assigned by the Delawares and Shawnees for their acting in
the manner they do against this Province. I have done it and all
I could get from the Indians is that they heard them say their
brethren, the English, had accused them very falsely of joining
with the French after Colonel Washington's defeat, and if they
CARLISLE COUNCIL— WAR DECLARED 281
would charge them when they were innocent, they could do no
more if they were guilty; this turned them against their brethren
and now indeed the English have good reason for any charge they
may make against them, for they are heartily their enemies."
As to the attitude of the Six Nations, Scarouady reported:
"The Six Nations in their reply expressed great resentment of
the Delawares; they threatened to shake them by the head, saying
they were drunk and out of their senses and would not consider
the consequences of their ill behavior and assured them that, if
they did not perform what they had promised they should be
severely chastized." At this meeting of the Provincial Council
and at others held early in April, Scarouady expressed himself as
favoring a declaration of war by Pennsylvania against the Dela-
wares, and ventured the opinion that the Six Nations would
approve of such action. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 64 to 72.)
Pennsylvania Declares War Against Delawares and
Shawnees, and Offers Rewards for Scalps
Not only Scarouady, but many other prominent men, including
James Hamilton, strongly urged that Pennsylvania should de-
clare war against the Delawares and Shawnees, and offer bounties
for their scalps. As a result of the foregoing conferences with
Scarouady, Governor Morris, on April 8th, 1756, delivered an
address to this great sachem and Andrew Montour, which had
been approved by the Provincial Council, in which he said:
"I therefore, by this Belt, declare War against the Delawares
and all such as act in conjunction with them. I offer you the
Hatchet, and expect your hearty Concurrence with us in this
just and Necessary War. I not only invite you, but desire you
will send this Belt to all your Friends everywhere, as well on the
Susquehannah, as to the Six Nations and to their Allies, and
engage them to join us heartily against these false and perfidous
Enemies. I promise you and them Protection and Assistance,
when you shall stand in need of it against your Enemies.
"For the Encouragement of you, and all who will join you in
the Destruction of our Enemies, I propose to give the following
Bounties or Rewards, Vist: for every Male Indian Prisoner
above Twelve Years Old that shall be delivered at any of the
Government's Forts, or Towns, One Hundred and Fifty Dollars.
"For every Female Prisoner, or Male Prisoner of Twelve years
old, one hundred and thirty Dollars.
282 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"For the Scalp of every male Indian of above Twelve Years
old, one hundred and thirty dollars.
"For the scalp of every Indian Woman, Fifty Dollars.
"To our own People, I shall observe our own forms; to you I
give the Hatchet according to yours.
"Agreeable to your repeated Request, I am now going to Build
a Fort at Shamokin. Forces are raising for that Purpose, and
everything will soon be in Readiness." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7,
pages 75 and 76.)
Having used the Indian forms in declaring war, the Governor
now made good his promise to Scarouady to "observe our own
forms to our own people." The formal declaration of war and
the bounty offered for prisoners and scalps was signed by the
Commissioners, James Hamilton, Joseph Fox, Evan Morgan,
John Mififlin and John Hughes. Then, against the protests of
Samuel Powell and others, on behalf of the Quakers, the procla-
mation of war against the Delawares and Shawnees, was "pub-
lished at the Court House, on April 14th, in the presence of the
Provincial Council, Supreme Judges, Magistrates, Officers and a
large Concourse of People." The language of that part of the
formal declaration, relating to the bounties ofTered for Indian
scalps, is as follows:
"For every male Indian enemy above twelve years old, who
shall be taken prisoner and delivered at any fort, garrisoned by
the troops in pay of this Province, or at any of the county towns
to the keepers of the common jail there, the sum of 150 Spanish
dollars or pieces of eight; for the scalp of every male enemy above
the age of twelve years, produced to evidence of their being killed
the sum of 130 pieces of eight; for every female Indian taken
prisoner and brought in as aforesaid, and for every male Indian
prisoner under the age of twelve years, taken and brought in as
aforesaid, 130 pieces of eight; for the scalp of every Indian wo-
man, produced as evidence of their being killed, the sum of fifty
pieces of eight, and for every English subject that has been killed
and carried from this Province into captivity that shall be recov-
ered and brought in and delivered at the City of Philadelphia, to
the Governor of this Province, the sum of 130 pieces of eight, but
nothing for their scalps; and that there shall be paid to every
officer or soldier as are or shall be in the pay of the Province who
shall redeem and deliver any English subject carried into captivity
as aforesaid, or shall take, bring in and produce any enemy pris-
oner, or scalp as aforesaid, one-half of the said several and respec-
CARLISLE COUNCIL— WAR DECLARED 283
tive premiums and bounties." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages
88 and 89.)
The Scalp Act had the effect of causing hundreds of brave
warriors of the Delawares and Shawnees who were up to that time
undecided, to take up arms against the Colony. "A mighty
shout arose which shook the very mountains, and all the Delawares
and Shawnees, except a few old sachems, danced the war dance."
James Logan, a prominent Quaker member of the Provincial
Council, and former Secretary of the same, opposed the declara-
tion of war, though he was a strict advocate of defensive warfare.
Conrad Weiser was in favor of the declaration of war, but strongly
opposed to offering rewards for sdalps. He said that the Colony
might offer rewards for Indian prisoners, but that a bounty for
scalps would certainly tend to aggravate existing affairs. He
argued that anyone could bring in these scalps, and there was no
means of distinguishing the scalps of friendly Indians. "Indeed,"
says Walton, "this was the core of the whole difficulty. Scalps of
friendly Indians were taken, and the peace negotiations with the
Eastern Indians frustrated."
Sir William Johnson was displeased with Pennsylvania's
declaration of war and offering of bounties for scalps, at a time
when a great council was about to be held at Onondaga. The
opposition of the Quakers to these measures was due largely to
the fact that they believed the Delawares had been unjustly
treated by the Province, after the Six Nations came into such
prominence in Pennsylvania's relations with the Indians. The
Quakers called attention to the fraudulent "Walking Purchase,"
by which the Delawares had been compelled by the Iroquois to
surrender possession of their ancestral possessions, and to the
Purchase of July, 1754, by which the Iroquois sold the land of
the Delawares and Shawnees "from under their feet." The land
sales drove the Delawares from one place to another. Wherever
they went, the land on which they erected their wigwams was
sold by their Iroquois conquerors without their being consulted
or having any say whatever in the matter. Therefore, it is no
wonder that the Quakers sympathized with the Delawares, the
affectionate friends of the greatest of the Quakers, William Penn,
the Founder of the Province.
Great Britain did not declare war against France until May
17th, 1756, an act which was not known in Pennsylvania until
about two months later. The declaration was published at
Easton, July 30th, and a little later in Philadelphia.
CHAPTER XII
Atrocities in the Summer and
Autumn of 1756
THE erection of frontier forts, the organization of military
companies, and the scalp bounties did not prevent the Dela-
wares and Shawnees from making bloody raids into the settle-
ments. Crossing the mountains through the various gaps,
the Indians fell upon the settlements along the Conococheague,
in Franklin County, along Tuscarora Creek, in Juniata County,
also upon various settlements in the counties of Perry, Dauphin,
Cumberland, Lebanon, Schuylkill, Carbon, Berks, Lehigh, North-
ampton and Monroe.
The failure of the "Scalp Act" to bring the desired results is
seen in a letter sent to Governor Morris, on June 14th, 1756, by
the Commissioners, Benjamin Franklin, John Mifflin, Joseph Fox,
Evan Morgan and John Hughes, in which they say that they are
disappointed in the number of persons volunteering to "go out
on the Scalping." They then add:
"We think, however, that the Indians ought to be persued and
Hunted ; and as the back Inhabitants begin now to request Guards
to protect them in getting in their Harvest, we submit it to the
Governor's Consideration whether the best means of affording
them the Protection will not be to order out parties from the Forts
to range on the West side of Susquehannah, quite to the Ohio
and the Neighbourhood of Fort Duquesne, to Annoy the Enemy,
take Prisoners, and obtain Intelligence, which may be of great
use," etc. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 153.)
The harvest of the summer of 1756 was, according to Joseph
Armstrong and Adam Hoops, the most bountiful in the "Memory
of Man." Yet, on account of the tomahawk, rifle, scalping knife
and torch of the Delawares and Shawnees, the settlers fled from
their farms, leaving their abundant crops of grain and corn stand-
ing in the fields. Every time an attempt was made to harvest the
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 285
crops, it was necessary to guard the farmers by Provincial troops.
Even then, many troops and farmers were killed and captured
by the lurking foe.
In June, 1756, a Mr. Dean, who lived about a mile east of
Shippensburg, Cumberland County, was found murdered in his
cabin, his skull having been cleft with a tomahawk; and it was
supposed that the deed was committed by some Indians who had
been seen in the neighborhood the day before. On the 6th of this
month, a short distance from where Burd's Run crosses the road
leading from Shippensburg to Middle Spring Church, a band of
Indians killed John McKean and John Agnew, and captured
Hugh Black, William Carson, Andrew Brown, James Ellis and
Alex McBride. A party of settlers from Shippensburg pursued
the Indians through McAllister's Gap into Path Valley. On the
morning of the third day of the pursuit, they met all the prisoners
except James Ellis, on their way home, after having made their
escape. Ellis was never heard from again. The pursuers returned
with the men who had escaped. A few days before the murder of
Mr. Dean, John Wasson was murdered and his body frightfully
mangled, in Peters Township, Franklin County.
On June 8th, a band of Indians crept up on Felix Wuench as
he was ploughing on his farm near Swatara Gap, and shot him
through the breast. The poor man cried lamentably and started
to run, defending himself with a whip; but the Indians overtook
him, tomahawked and scalped him. His wife, hearing his cries
and the report of the guns, ran out of the house, but was captured
with one of her own and two of her sister's children. A servant
boy who saw this atrocity ran to a neighbor named George Miess,
who, though he had a crippled leg, ran directly after the Indians
and made such a noise as to scare them off.
On June 24th, Indians attacked the home of Lawrence Dieppel,
in Bethel Township, Berks County, carrying off two of the chil-
dren, one of whom they later killed and scalped. (Penna. Gazette,
June 17th, 1756; Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 164.)
On June 26, in the same neighborhood in which the above
atrocities were committed, a band of Indians surprised and
scalped Franz Albert and Jacob Handschue, also two boys,
Frederick Weiser and John George Miess, who were plowing in
the field of a settler named Fischer. (See "Frontier Forts," Vol.
I, page 65.)
286 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Burning of Bingham's Fort
On June 11th or 12th, 1756, Bingham's Fort, the stockaded
home of Samuel Bingham, or Bigham, in Tuscarora Township,
Juniata County, was attacked and burned by a band of Indians
led by the Delaware chief. King Beaver. All the occupants of
the fort were either killed or captured. On the day of the attack,
John Gray and Francis Innis were returning from Carlisle, where
they had gone for salt. As they were descending the Tuscarora
Mountain, in a narrow defile, Gray's horse taking fright at a bear
which crossed the road, became unmanageable and threw him off.
Innis, anxious to see his wife and family, went on, but Gray was
detained for nearly two hours in catching his horse and righting
his pack. In the meantime, Innis pressed on rapidly toward the
fort. What happened to him, we shall presently see. John
Gray's detention saved him from death or capture. He arrived
at the fort just in time to see the last of its timbers consumed.
With a heart full of anguish, he examined the charred remains of
the bodies inside the fort, in an efifort to ascertain whether any
were those of his family. It subsequently was found that his
wife, Hannah, and his only daughter, Jane, three years of age,
were among the captured.
The Pennsylvania Gaze//e, June 24th, 1756, gave the following
list of persons killed and captured on this occasion :
"The following is a list of persons killed and missing at Bing-
ham's Fort, namely: George Woods, Nathaniel Bingham, Robert
Taylor, his wife and two children, Francis Innis, his wife and three
children, John McDonnell, Hannah Gray and one child, missing.
Some of these are supposed to be burnt in the fort, as a number of
bones were found there. Susan Giles was found dead and scalped
in the neighborhood of the fort. Robert Cochran and Thomas
McKinney found dead and scalped. Alexander McAllister and
his wife, James Adams, Jane Cochran and two children missed.
McAllister's house was burned and a number of cattle and horses
driven off. The enemy was supposed to be numerous, as they did
eat and carry off a great deal of beef they had killed."
All the prisoners taken at Bingham's Fort were marched to
Kittanning and from there to Fort Duquesne, where they were
parceled out and adopted by the Indians. George Woods, one of
these prisoners, was given to an Indian named John Hutson, who
removed him to his own wigwam. Woods later purchased his
ransom, and returned to the settlements. He was a surveyor,
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AU lUMN OF 1756 287
and followed this vocation in the counties of Juniata, Bedford
and Allegheny. When Pittsburgh was laid out, in 1784, he
assisted in this work, and one of its principal streets. Wood Street,
is named for him.
Hannah Gray and her daughter, Jane, were carried to Canada.
Later in the summer of 1756, her husband, John Gray, joined
Colonel John Armstrong's expedition against Kittanning, in the
hope of either recovering his wife and daughter or gaining some
intelligence of their whereabouts. He returned disappointed,
and a few years thereafter died. After about four years of cap-
tivity, Mrs. Gray, by the assistance of some traders, made her
escape, and reached her home in safety, but unhappily, was
compelled to leave her daughter with the Indians. The little
girl never returned. At the close of Pontiac's War, many children,
captured by the Indians during this and the French and Indian
War, were delivered up to Colonel Bouquet, and brought to
Carlisle and Philadelphia to be recognized and claimed by their
relatives and friends. Mrs. Gray, at Philadelphia, searched in
vain among these returned captives for her daughter, and then
took one of them, a girl of about her daughter's age. The taking
of this child in the place of her own daughter brought on a famous
law suit over the title of the farm her husband had devised to her
and the daughter in case they returned from captivity. This law
suit is known as "Frederick et al. versus Gray. It finally reached
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and is reported in the Reports
of this tribunal, in No. 10 Sergeant and Rawle, pages 182 to 188.
Francis Innis and his wife were sold to the French and taken to
Canada in December, 1756, after the wife had been severely in-
jured in running the gauntlet. While the Indians were taking the
family to Montreal, they put the youngest of the children, who
was sickly, under the ice of one of the rivers. While in Montreal,
another child, James, was born. Mr. and Mrs. Innis were re-
leased by the French, and returned to their home. Their sur-
viving children remained among the Indians until the autumn of
1764, when they were delivered up to Colonel Bouquet, and soon
returned to their parents. (Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 1,
pages 586 to 591 ; Day's Historical Collections," pages 383 to 385.)
Capture of John McCullough
On July 26th the Indians entered the valley of the Conoco-
cheague, in Franklin County, killing Joseph Martin, and taking
288 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
captive two brothers, John and James McCullough. James Mc-
Cullough, the father of these boys, had only a few years before
removed from Delaware into what is now Montgomery Town-
ship, Franklin County. At the time of this Indian incursion, the
McCullough family were residing temporarily in a cabin three
miles from their home, and the parents and their daughter, Mary,
on the day of the capture, went home to pull flax. A neighbor,
named John Allen, who had business at Fort Loudon, accom-
panied them to their home, and promised to return that way in
the evening, and accompany them back to their cabin. However,
he did not keep his promise, and returned by a circuitous route.
When he reached the McCullough cabin on his return, he told
John and James to hide, that Indians were near and that he sup-
posed they had killed Mr. and Mrs. McCullough, John was but
eight years old, and James but five at the time. They alarmed
their neighbors, but none would volunteer to go to the Mc-
Cullough home to warn Mr. and Mrs. McCullough, being too
much interested in making preparations to hurry to the fort a
mile distant for safety.
Then the boys determined to warn their parents themselves.
Leaving their little sister, Elizabeth, aged two, asleep in bed, they
proceeded to a point where they could see the McCullough home,
and began to shout. When they had reached a point about sixty
yards from the house, five Indians and a Frenchman, who had
been secreted in the thicket, rushed upon them and took them
captive. The parents were not captured, inasmuch as the father,
hearing the boys shout, had left his work and thus the Indians
missed him, and they failed to notice the mother and Mary at
work in the field.
John and James were taken to Fort Duquesne. From this
place James was carried to Canada, and all trace of him became
lost. John was taken to Kittanning, Kuskuskies, Shenango,
Mahoning and the Muskingum, was adopted by the Delawares,
and remained among them for nine years until liberated by
Colonel Bouquet in the autumn of 1764. At one time his father
came to Venango (Franklin) to recover him, and at another time
to Mahoning, for the same purpose, but the boy had been so long
among the Indians that he preferred the Indian life to returning
with his father, and succeeded in eluding him. After his liberation
by Colonel Bouquet, he returned to the community from which
he had been taken nine years before, and lived there nearly sixty
years. He wrote a most interesting account of his captivity,
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 289
which sheds much Hght on the manners and customs of the Dela-
wares at that time.
Other Outrages In Perry, Franklin and
and Cumberland Counties
During the same month (July), Hugh Robinson was captured
and his mother killed at Robinson's Fort, in Perry County. Hugh,
after being carried to the western part of the state, made his es-
cape. Also, during this same month a number of Indians ap-
peared near Fort Robinson, killed the daughter of Robert Miller,
the wife of James Wilson, and a Mrs. Gibson, and captured Hugh
Gibson and Betty Henry.
Robert Robinson, in his Narrative, says that nearly all the
occupants of the fort were out in the harvest fields reaping their
grain, when the Indians waylaid the place. The reapers, forty
in number, returned to the fort, and the Indians then fled. While
one of the Indians was scalping the wife of James Wilson, Robert
Robinson shot and wounded him. The captives were taken to
Kittanning.
Hugh Gibson was 14 years old at the time of his capture. He
was adopted by an Indian, named Busqueetam, who was lame
from a knife wound, received when skinning a deer. Gibson had
to build a lodge for the Indian. At one time the lodge fell down
on the Indian and injured him. He then called for his knife and
ordered Gibson and some Indians to carry him into another hut.
While they were carrying the Indian, Gibson saw him hunt for
the knife and Gibson's Indian mother concealed it. When they
put the Indian to bed, the Indian mother ordered Gibson to con-
ceal himself, and he afterwards heard the Indian reprove his wife
for hiding the knife. The old Indian soon forgot his anger and
treated Gibson well thereafter.
Sometime later all the prisoners were collected to see the torture
of a woman prisoner. She had fled to the white men at the time
Colonel Armstrong burned Kittanning. They stripped her naked,
bound her to a post and applied hot irons to her, while the skin
stuck to the irons at every touch. Thus was she tortured to
death.
Also, in July, 1756, a band of Indians attacked the plantation
of Robert Baskins, who lived near Baskinsville railroad station.
They murdered Mr. Baskins, burned his house, and captured his
wife and children. Part of the same band captured Hugh Carroll
290 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and his family. The Indians, committing these outrages, were
Delawares, who had come down the Juniata into Perry County
after having appeared near Fort Granville, July 22nd, and
challenged the garrison to fight — a challenge which was declined
on account of the weakness of the garrison.
About the same time, according to Egle's "History of Penn-
sylvania," a band of Indians murdered a family of seven persons,
on Sherman's Creek, Perry County, and then passed over the
Kittatinny or Blue Mountains at Sterrett's Gap, wounding a man
and capturing a Mrs. Boyle, her two sons and a daughter, living
on Conodoguinet Creek, Cumberland County. These are
probably the same atrocities mentioned by Colonel John Arm-
strong in a letter written from Carlisle to Governor Morris, on
July 23d, 1756, and recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 719,
in which he says:
"Being just got home, I am unable to furnish your Honor with
the Occurrences of these two days past, in which time the Indians
have begun to take advantage of the Harvest Season. Seven
people on this side of the Kittatinney Hills being Kill'd and miss-
ing within this county, and two on the South Side of the Tem-
porary line."
About this time, occurred the Williamson and Nicholson trag-
edies in Mifflin Township, Cumberland County, though neither
the date nor the details of the same can be definitely set forth.
It seems that eight or nine members of the Williamson family, all
except Mrs. Williamson and her babe, were victims of the toma-
hawk, rifle and scalping knife of the Indians. Mr. Nicholson was
shot at the door of his cabin, but his wife and brother within, suc-
ceeded in keeping the Indians at bay until morning, when they
left the neighborhood. Tradition says that the mother and
brother each mounted a horse, the former carrying two children
and the latter his slain brother, and rode to Shippensburg, where
they buried the murdered man. (See "History of Cumberland
and Adams Counties," Werner, Beers and Co., Chicago, 1886,
pages 308, 309.)
Probably during the summer of 1756, though Loudon gives the
date as April 2nd, 1757, William McKinney, who had sought
shelter with his family at Fort Chambers, where Chambersburg,
Franklin County, now stands, ventured out of the fort, accom-
panied by his son, for the purpose of visiting his dwelling and
plantation. They were surprised by the Indians, and both were
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 291
killed and scalped. Their bodies were brought to the fort and
buried. (Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 1, page 532.)
Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania," mentions another
tragedy which, he says happened in Franklin County, in the
summer of 1756, as follows:
"William Mitchell, an inhabitant of Conococheague, had col-
lected a number of reapers to cut down his grain; having gone
out to the field, the reapers all laid down their guns at the fence,
and set in to reap. The Indians suffered them to reap on for
some time, till they got out in the open field. They secured their
guns, killed and captured every one."
James Young's letter, written at Carlisle on July 22nd, 1756,
and recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 716 and 717, describes
other atrocities, committed in Franklin and Cumberland counties
during the terrible summer of which we are writing:
"On the 20th Inst., in the morning, a party of Indians Surpriz'd
two of Captain Steel's [Rev. John Steel] men on this side McDow-
ell's mill; they killed and scalped one; the other they carried off;
the Reapers made their escape; also, one of the soldiers from Mc-
Dowell's Mill that went with two Women to the Spring for some
water is missing; the women got off safe to the fort, and almost
at the same time, a man and a women were scalped a few miles
on the other side of the mill. And yesterday morning, Eight
Indians came to the house of Jacob Peeble, near the great Spring
and McCluker's Gap, about ten miles from this place, on this
side the mountain; they killed an Old Woman and carried off
two children, and an old man is missing; they pursued a boy who
was on horse back a long way, but he escaped ; there were some
people Reaping at a small distance from the house, but knew
nothing of what was doing at home, for the Indians did not fire
a Gun ... A party went from this town to bury the dead, and
are returned again; they inform me that the Country People are
all leaving their houses to come down, as there is great reason to
fear many more Indians will soon be among them."
On August 28th, according to Loudon, Betty Ramsey, her son
and cropper were killed, and her daughter was taken captive,
probably in Franklin County. This same authority relates that
on one occasion, probably in 1756, a band of Indians came into
the valley of the Conococheague, and killed and scalped many
persons, whereupon a large party of settlers pursued them, over-
taking them on Sideling Hill, and compelling them to flee leaving
their guns behind.
292 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
At the time of these murders, incursions were being made into
that part of Maryland lying south of Franklin County, Pennsyl-
vania. On August 27th, occurred the terrible massacre on Salis-
bury plain, near the mouth of the Conococheague, in which
thirty-nine persons were killed. An attack was made on a
funeral party, in which fifteen were killed and many wounded.
The same day six men went from Israel Baker's on a scout. Of
these, four were killed, one was captured, and another, though
wounded, escaped. The same day, also, some soldiers going from
Shirley's Fort, were killed and captured. On the following day
Captain Emmett and a party of scouts were attacked while cross-
ing the South Mountain. Three of them were killed and two
wounded.
Massacre Near McDowell's Mill
Early in November, 1756, the beautiful valley of the Conoco-
cheague, in Franklin County, was again devastated and many of
its inhabitants were killed by the hostile Indians. Robert
Callender, writing from Carlisle, on November 4th, thus in-
formed Governor Denny of these atrocities:
"This Day I received Advice from Fort McDowell that, on
Monday or Tuesday last, one Samuel Perry, and his two Sons
went from the Fort to their Plantation, and not returning at the
Time they proposed, the Commanding Ofificer there sent a Cor-
poral and fourteen Men to know the Cause of their Stay, who not
finding them at the Plantation, they marched back towards the
Fort, and on their Return found the said Perry killed and scalped,
and covered over with Leaves; immediately after a Party of
Indians, in Number about thirty, appeared and attacked the
Soldiers, who returned the Fire, and fought for Sometime until
four of our People fell ; the rest then made off, and six of them got
into the fort, but what became of the rest is not yet known; there
are also two families cut off, but cannot tell the Number of
People. It is likewise reported that the Enemy in their Retreat
burnt a Quantity of Grain and sundry Houses in the Coves."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 29.)
Four days later. Colonel John Armstrong wrote Governor
Denny, from Carlisle, giving the list of the killed and missing in
this bloody raid, as follows:
"Soldiers Kill'd — James and William McDonald, Bartholomew
McCafferty, Anthony McQuoid.
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 293
"Of the Inhabitants Kill'd— John Culbertson, Samuel Perry,
Hugh Kerrel, John Woods, with his Wife and Mother-in-law,
Elizabeth Archer, Wife to J no. Archer.
"Soldiers Missing — James McCorkem, William Cornwall.
"Of the Inhabitants Missing — Four Children belonging to
John Archer, Samuel Neely, a Boy, James McQuoid, a Child."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 40 and 41.)
Attack on the Boyer Family
Sometime during the summer of 1756, though authorities differ
as to the exact date, occurred the attack on the Boyer family,
who lived in the vicinity of Fort Lehigh, at Lehigh Gap. The
"Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" thus describes this event:
"His [Boyer's] place was about IJ^ miles east of the Fort, on
land now owned by Josiah Arner, James Ziegenfuss and George
Kunkle. With the other farmers he had gathered his family into
the blockhouse for protection. One day, however, with his son
Frederick, then thirteen years old, and the other children, he
went home to attend to the crops. Mr. Boyer was ploughing and
Fred was hoeing, whilst the rest of the children were in the house
or playing near by. Without any warning they were surprised
by the appearance of Indians. Mr. Boyer, seeing them, called to
Fred to run, and himself endeavored to reach the house. Finding
he could not do so, he ran towards the creek, and was shot through
the head as he reached the farther side. Fred, who had escaped to
the wheat field, was captured and brought back. The Indians,
having scalped the father in his presence, took the horses from the
plough, his sisters and himself, and started for Stone Hill, in the
rear of the house. There they were joined by another party of
Indians and marched northward to Canada. On the march the
sisters were separated from their brother and never afterwards
heard from. Frederick was a prisoner with the French and In-
dians in Canada for five years, and was then sent to Philadelphia.
Of Mrs. Boyer, who remained in the blockhouse, nothing further
is known. After reaching Philadelphia, Frederick made his way
to Lehigh Gap, and took possession of the farm. Shortly after he
married a daughter of Conrad Mehrkem, with whom he had four
sons and four daughters. He died October 31, 1832, aged 89
years."
294 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Murder at the Bloody Spring
During July, Samuel Miles and Lieutenant Atlee were am-
bushed by three Indians near a spring about half a mile from Fort
Augusta, at Sunbury. A soldier who had come to the spring for a
drink, was killed. Miles and Atlee made their escape. A rescuing
party came out from the fort, and found the soldier scalped, with
his blood trickling into the spring, giving its waters a crimson
hue. The spring was ever afterwards called the Bloody Spring.
(Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 1, page 362.)
Captain Jacobs Captures Fort Granville
On August 1st, 1756, the Delaware chief. Captain Jacobs, at the
head of a band of his tribe from Kittanning, accompanied by
some French soldiers, captured and burned Fort Granville, on
the Juniata, near Lewistown, Mifflin County. We quote the fol-
lowing account of this event from the "Frontier Forts of Penn-
sylvania":
"The attack upon Fort Granville was made in harvest time of
the year 1756. The Fort at this time was commanded by Lieut.
Armstrong, a brother of Colonel Armstrong, who destroyed Kit-
tanning. The Indians, who had been lurking about this fort for
some time, and knowing that Armstrong's men were few in num-
ber, sixty of them appeared, July 22nd, before the fort, and chal-
lenged the garrison to a fight; but this was declined by the com-
mander in consequence of the weakness of his force. The Indians
fired at and wounded one man, who had been a short way from it,
yet he got in safe; after which they divided themselves into small
parties, one of which attacked the plantation of one Baskins, near
the Juniata, whom they murdered, burnt his house and carried off
his wife and children. Another made Hugh Carroll and his
family prisoners.
"On the 30th of July, 1756, Capt. Edward Ward, the com-
mandant of Granville, marched from the fort with a detachment
of men from the garrison, destined for Tuscarora Valley, where
they were needed as guard to the settlers while they were engaged
in harvesting their grain. The party under Capt. Ward embraced
the greater part of the defenders of the fort, under command of
Lieut. Edward Armstrong. Soon after the departure of Capt.
Ward's detachment, the fort was surrounded by the hostile force
of French and Indians, who immediately made an attack, which
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 295
they continued in their skulking, Indian manner through the
afternoon and following night, but without being able to inflict
much damage on the whites. Finally, after many hours had been
spent in their unsuccessful attacks, the Indians availed themselves
of the protection afforded by a deep ravine, up which they passed
from the river bank to within twelve or fifteen yards of the fort,
and from that secure position, succeeded in setting fire to the logs
and burning out a large hole, through which they fired on the
defenders, killing the commanding officer, Lieut. Armstrong, and
one private soldier and wounding three others.
"They then demanded the surrender of the fort and garrison,
promising to spare their lives if the demand was acceded to.
Upon this, a man named John Turner, previously a resident in the
Buffalo valley, opened the gates and the besiegers at once entered
and took possession, capturing as prisoners twenty-two men,
three women and a number of children. The fort was burned by
the chief, Jacobs, by order of the French officer in command, and
the savages then departed, driving before them their prisoners,
heavily burdened with the plunder taken from the fort and the
settlers' houses, which they had robbed and burned. On their
arrival at the Indian rendezvous at Kittanning, all the prisoners
were cruelly treated, and Turner, the man who had opened the
gate at the fort to the savages, suffered the cruel death by burning
at the stake, enduring the most horrible torment that could be
inflicted upon him for a period of three hours, during which
time red hot gun barrels were forced through parts of his body,
his scalp torn from his head and burning splinters were stuck in
his flesh, until at last an Indian boy was held up for the purpose
who sunk a hatchet in the brain of the victim and so released him
from this cruel torture."
Colonel John Armstrong, brother of Lieutenant Edward Arm-
strong who was killed at the destruction of Fort Granville, wrote
Governor Morris, from Carlisle, on August 20th, giving additional
details of this event. Lieutenant Armstrong behaved with great-
est bravery to the last, "despising all the Terrors and Threats of
the Enemy, whereby they Often urged him to Surrender. Tho'
he had been near two Days without Water, but a little Ammuni-
tion left, the Fort on Fire, and the Enemy situate within twelve
or fourteen Yards of the Fort, he was as far from Yielding as
when at first attacked. A French Man in our Service, fearful of
being burned up, asked leave of the Lieutenant to treat with his
Country Men in the French Language. The Lieutenant answered,
296 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
'The First word of French you speak in this Engagement, I'll
blow your brains out,' telling his Men to hold out bravely for
the flame was falling and he would soon have it extinguished, but
soon after received the fatal Ball. The French Officers refused
the Soldiers the Liberty of interring his Corps, though it was to
be done in an instant, where they raised the Clay to quench the
Fire."
The above information came to Colonel Armstrong from Peter
Walker, one of the captives taken at Fort Granville and later
escaping. Walker had been informed by an interpreter for the
French, named McDowell, that the Indians "designed very soon
to attack Fort Shirley with four hundred men," and that "Cap-
tain Jacobs said he could take any Fort that would Catch Fire,
and would make Peace with the English when they had learned
him to make Gunpowder." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 231 to
233.)
For many years, the friendly Shawnee chief, Kishacoquillas,
lived at the mouth of the creek of this name, a few miles from
Fort Granville. He died in the summer of 1754. He was a firm
friend of Arthur Buchanan, who lived near Fort Granville.
Some of the followers of Kishacoquillas are said to have warned
Buchanan and his sons of the expected attack on the fort, en-
abling them and their families to escape to Carlisle.
The destruction of Fort Granville exposed the whole western
frontier to Indian incursions. Settlers fled in terror from the
Juniata Valley, Sherman's Valley, the Tuscarora Valley, and the
valleys of the Conococheague and Conodoguinet. Rev. Thomas
Barton, writing from Carlisle, on August 22nd, described the
dismal situation on the frontier, as follows:
"I came here this Morning, where all is Confusion. Such a
Panick has seized the Hearts of the People in general, since the
Reduction of Fort Granville, that this County is almost relin-
quished, and Marsh Creek in York [Adams] County is become a
Frontier." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, page 756.)
Captain Jacobs
Captain Jacobs, the destroyer of Fort Granville, was one of the
Delaware chiefs who took up arms against Pennsylvania after
Braddock's defeat. He had at one time resided near Lewistown,
where he sold lands to Colonel Buchanan, who gave him the
name of Captain Jacobs, because of his close resemblance to a
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 297
burly German in Cumberland County. Later he resided at
"Jacob's Cabin," not far from Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland
County. His principal residence was the famous Indian town of
Kittanning, Armstrong County, which, as we have seen in an
earlier chapter, was the first town established by the Delawares
on their migration into the Allegheny Valley with the consent of
the Iroquois Confederation. From this town, he and that other
noted chief, Shingas, led many an expedition against the frontier
settlements. In our next chapter, we shall record the fate that
befell Captain Jacobs at the hands of Colonel John Armstrong.
Murders Near Brown's Fort and Fort Swatara
On August 6th, 1756, a soldier named Jacob Ellis, of Brown's
Fort, located several miles north of Grantville, Dauphin County,
desired to cut some wheat on his farm, a few miles from the fort,
and, accordingly, took with him a squad of ten soldiers as a guard.
At about ten o'clock, a band of Indians crept up on the reapers,
shot the corporal dead, and wounded another of the soldiers.
After this attack, a soldier named Brown was missing, and the
next morning his body was found near the harvest field. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 2, pages 738, 740.)
On October 12th, 1756, a band of Shawnees entered the neigh-
borhood near where the murders of August 6th were committed.
Adam Read, writing from his stockaded residence, on Swatara
Creek, in East Hanover Township, Lebanon County, thus de-
scribes the murder of Noah Frederick, by this hostile band :
"Last Tuesday, the 12th of this Instant, ten Indians came on
Noah Frederick plowing in his Field, killed and Scalped him, and
carried away three of his Children that was with him, the eldest
but Nine Years old, plundered his House, and carried away
every thing that suited their purpose, such as Cloaths, Bread,
Butter, a Saddle and good Riffle Gun, it being but two short miles
from Captain Smith's Fort [Fort Swatara, in Union Township,
Lebanon County], at Swatawro Gap, and a little better than two
from my House." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 303.)
Noah Frederick's wife and small daughter were at the barn,
where the mother was threshing the seed wheat, when the Indians
made their appearance. They saw the murderers in time to make
their escape. The captured children, one of whom was named
Thomas, after a few days of captivity, were separated. They
never met again. Thomas was carried to the Muskingum, where
298 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
he grew up with the Indians and was given the name, Kee-saw-
so-so. He was one of the prisoners deUvered up by the Shawnees
at the close of Pontiac's War, most Hkely at Fort Pitt, on May
9th, 1765. He then went to Philadelphia, where he learned the
shoemaker trade. Several years later, he went to the neighbor-
hood where he had been captured. Here he was so fortunate as
to find his mother, who identified him by a certain scar on his
neck. He left numerous descendants, among whom is C. W.
Frederick, of Rochester, N. Y., who furnished the author with
some of the material used in this paragraph.
The above letter of Adam Read describes other atrocities in
the same neighborhood in which Noah Frederick was killed :
"Yesterday Morning, two miles from Smith's Fort, at Swataro,
in Bethel Township, as Jacob Fornwall was going from the House
of Jacob Meyler to his own, he was fired upon by two Indians
and wounded, but escaped with his life, and a little after, in the
said Township, as Frederick Henley and Peter Stample was
carrying away their Goods in Waggons, was met by a parcel of
Indians and all killed, five lying Dead in one place and one man
at a little distance, but what more is done is not come to my Hand
as yet, but that the Indians was continuing their Murders. The
Frontiers is employed in nothing but carrying ofT their Effects, so
that some Miles is now waist."
Loudon, in his "Indian Narratives," mentions the following
events, which he says took place in Dauphin County, probably in
1756. He does not give the exact location of the first, but its
scene was probably near Fort Manada, a stockade erected in the
autumn of 1755, near the east bank of Manada Creek, in East
Hanover Township, a few miles north-west of Grantville. Here
is Loudon's account:
"At another time they [the Indians] attacked a man in Dauphin
County who was endeavoring to move off in a wagon with some
others. Those in the wagon fled to a fort. The men in the fort
came to see what was happening and met a woman running
toward them crying. They then came to where the wagon stood
and behind it found the owner, a German, tomahawked and
scalped but still breathing. The next day twelve men were sent
to inform the soldiers at the next fort about eight miles distance,
but were fired upon from ambush and all but two were killed.
These two were wounded but made their escape.
"Mrs. Boggs in the same neighborhood while riding to a
neighbors house was fired upon and her horse killed and she, with
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 299
a young child, taken prisoner. The child was badly treated and
after three days, they murdered it.
"Four men living in one house, in Paxton, erected a stockade
around it. A Captain and his company, being overtaken at
night, stopped to pass the night. They went in but had neglected
to fasten the gate. A party of Indians entered the gate and closed
it, and then called upon those in the house to open the door. The
Indians likely did not know that there were soldiers in the house.
The Captain opened the door, keeping some of his men in reserve.
When the Indians entered, they were fired upon and began to
retreat. The soldiers in reserve then pursued them, and, since
they had closed the gate of the stockade, they could not get out,
and were slain to a man."
Expedition Against Great Island and
Other Indian Strongholds
During the summer of 1756, Fort Augusta was built and
garrisoned, at Sunbury. At this fort, on October 18th of this
year, Colonel William Clapham, the commander, was informed
by Ogagradarisha, a Six Nations scout, that, as the result of a
treaty recently held by the commander of Fort Duquesne with
the Chippewas, Tawas, Twightwees (Miamis), Notowas, Dela-
wares and Shawnees, a large body of French and one thousand
Indians "were getting ready for an Expedition against this place,
and are determined to take your Fort" (Augusta). (Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, pages 299 to 302.) Colonel Clapham immediately got
ready for any attack that might be made on Fort Augusta.
Scouting parties were sent out in an endeavor to locate the French
and Indian forces. It seems that the invaders did march from
Fort Duquesne, but, probably because they learned through their
scouts that Fort Augusta and other frontier forts had received
information as to their advance, their large force was divided into
smaller bodies, which made incursions into the frontier settle-
ments.
Colonel Clapham directed Captain John Hambright, of Lan-
caster, to lead a company of thirty-eight men against the Indian
towns of Chincklacamoose (Clearfield, Clearfield County), Great
Island (Lock Haven, Clinton County) and other places on the
West Branch of the Susquehanna. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages
41 and 42). There is no doubt that Captain Hambright carried
out his instructions, but, unhappily, no records giving the details
300 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of his expedition are to be found. In this connection, we state
that Colonel Clapham was one of the most conspicuous figures on
the frontier. In the early spring of 1763, he removed with his
family to Sewickley Creek, where the town of West Newton,
Westmoreland County, now stands. Here he and his entire
family were cruelly murdered on the afternoon of May 28, 1763, by
The Wolf, Kekuscung, and two other Indians, one of whom was
called Butler.
Massacres Near Forts Henry, Lebanon,
Northkill and Everett
On October 19, 1756, Conrad Weiser wrote Governor Denny
that the Indians had again entered Berks County, killing and
scalping two married women and a boy fourteen years old,
wounding two children about four years of age, and capturing
two more, near Fort Henry. One of the wounded children, he
said, was scalped and likely to die, while the other had two cuts
on her forehead, inflicted by an Indian when making an unsuc-
cessful attempt to scalp her. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 302.)
Captain Jacob Morgan, writing to Governor Denny from Fort
Lebanon, on November 4th, 1756, describes the following
murders which were committed by the Indians, near the fort on
the preceding day:
"Yesterday morning, at break of day, one of the neighbors
discovered a fire at a distance from him. He went to the top of
another mountain to take a better observation, and make a full
discovery of the fire, and supposed it to be about seven miles off,
at the house of John Finsher [Fincher]. He came and informed
me of it. I immediately detached a party of ten men (we being
but 22 men in the fort) to the place where they saw the fire at
the said Finsher's house, it being nigh Schuylkill; and the men,
anxious to see the enem_y if there, ran through the water and
bushes to the fire, where, to their disappointment, they saw none
of them, but the house, barn and other out-houses all in flames,
together with a considerable quantity of corn. They saw a great
many tracks, and followed them, and came to the house of Philip
Culmore, thinking to send from thence to alarm the other in-
habitants to be on their guard, but instead of that, found the said
Culmore's wife and daughter and son-in-law all just killed and
scalped. There is likewise missing out of the same house Martin
Fell's wife and child about one year old and another boy about
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 301
seven years of age. The said Martin Fell was killed. It was done
just when the scouts came there, and they seeing the scouts, ran
off. The scouts divided into two parties. One came to some
other houses nigh at hand, and the other to the fort, it being
within half a mile of the fort [Fort Lebanon], to inform me. I
immediately went out with the scouts again, and left in the fort
no more than six men, but could not make any discovery, but
brought all the families to the fort, where now, I believe, we are
upward of sixty women and children that are fled here for refuge.
"And at twelve o'clock at night, I received an express from
Lieutenant Humphreys, commander at Fort Northkill, who in-
formed me that the same day, about eleven o'clock in the fore-
noon, about half a mile from his fort, as he was returning from his
scout, came upon a body of Indians to the number of twenty at
the house of Nicholas Long, where they had killed two old men
and taken another captive, and doubtless would have killed all
the family, there being nine children in the house. The Lieu-
tenant's party, though seven in number, fired upon the Indians,
and thought they killed two . . . The Lieutenant had one man
shot through the right arm and right side, but hopes not mortal,
and he had four shots through his own clothes." (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 3, pages 28, 30, 31 and 36.)
James Read, Esq., writing Governor Denny from Reading, on
November 7th, gives an account of the murders near Fort Leb-
anon, stating that the sister and mother of Mrs. Martin Fell were
scalped, the young woman not being dead when the scouts
arrived, "but insensible, and stuck in the throat as butcher's
kill a pig." The poor woman soon died.
Fort Lebanon was not far from the town of Auburn, Schuylkill
County; Fort Northkill was in upper Tulpehocken Township,
Berks County, eleven miles from Fort Lebanon; and Fort Henry
was near Millersburg, Berks County.
Near Adam Harper's fortified residence, at a place now known
as "Harper's Tavern" in East Hanover Township, Lebanon
County, hostile Indians, in October, 1756, killed five or six settlers.
They scalped a woman, a sister of Major Leidig, who neverthe-
less lived for many years thereafter. One of the families murdered
in this raid was that of Andrew Berryhill. On October 22nd,
John Craig and his wife were killed, and a boy was captured. The
next day a German settler was killed and scalped.
Timothy Horsfield, writing Governor Denny from Bethlehem,
on November 30th, 1756, which letter is reported in Pa. Archives,
302 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Vol. 3, page 77, says that, on the evening on November 28th, a
band of Indians came to the home of a settler named Schlosser,
most likely in Lynn Township, Lehigh County, killing a man
named Stonebrook and capturing a child. At first two children
were captured, but some of the men at the house fired upon the
Indians, wounding one, whereupon one of the children, a girl,
made her escape.
At the same time he informed the Governor of the attempt by
some settlers to kill one of the Christian (Moravian) Delawares,
near Bethlehem. In the terror and excitement on the frontier,
the settlers sometimes made no distinction between hostile In-
dians and friendly Indians.
Some events that took place in Lebanon County, probably in
Union Township, during the French and Indian War, and likely
in 1756, were the following:
Philip Mauer was shot dead by Indians while reaping oats.
A Mr. Noacre or Noecker was shot dead while plowing, Mathias
Boeshore fled from Indians to the house of Martin Hess. Just
as he got inside the house, he leveled his rifle at one of his pursuers,
and was in the act of pulling the trigger, when a bullet from the
rifle of one of the Indians struck that part of Boeshore's weapon,
to which the flint was attached, and glancing, wounded him in the
left side. On one occasion Indians entered the neighborhood in
great numbers, when nearly all the settlers were in their houses.
Peter Heydrich gave immediate notice to all the people to resort
to a blockhouse in the neighborhood, probably that of Martin
Hess. In the meantime, taking a fife and drum from the block-
house, he went into the woods or thicket nearby. Now beating
the drum, then blowing the fife, then again giving the word of
command in a loud and distinct voice, as if to a large force, he
managed to keep the Indians away, and collect his neighbors
safely. (Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 1, pages 58 and 59.)
The Prowess of Mrs. Zellers
On page 63 of Vol. I, of the "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania,"
is the following account of the attack on the fortified home of
Heinrich Zellers, near Newmanstown, Lebanon County, some
time during the French and Indian War, probably in 1756:
"It is related of the original Mrs. Zellers that she superintended
the construction of the house, whilst her husband was out on an
expedition against the Indians, and that her laborers were colored
ATROCITIES IN THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1756 303
slaves. It is said, also, of this same Christine Zellers that one
day, whilst alone in the fort, she saw three prowling savages
approaching and heading for the small hole in the cellar shown on
the picture attached. She quickly descended the cellar steps
and stationed herself at this window with an uplifted axe. Pres-
ently the head of the first Indian protruded through the hole,
when she quickly brought down the weapon with an effective
blow. Dragging the body in, she disguised her voice and in
Indian language, beckoned his companions to follow, which they
did and were all dispatched in like manner."
As stated formerly, in this history, hundreds of the atrocities
of the French and Indian War, in Pennsylvania, will remain for-
ever unrecorded. However, the present chapter, like several that
have preceded it, gives one an idea of the horrors of the crimson
tide that flowed down from the mountains into the Pennsylvania
settlements during the first two years of this tragic period.
CHAPTER XIII
Destruction of Kittanning
September 8th, 1756
As stated, in Chapter XII, the destruction of Fort Granville
_/~\ left the frontiers of the counties of Juniata, Perry, Fulton,
Franklin and Cumberland exposed to the bloody incursions of
the Delawares and Shawnees of the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, especially the Delawares of Kittanning. In Chapter
XII, also, as well as in chapters preceding it, we saw the horrors
of the incursions which these Indians made into the counties
above named — families murdered at midnight and their cabin
homes burned to ashes; parents and children captured and, in
many cases, separated forever; captives tortured to death at
Kittanning and other Indian towns; relief parties burying the
mutilated bodies of the dead amid the shades of the forest; the
pale and tear-stained faces of women, with babes in their arms,
and the anxious faces of men, fleeing in terror to the more thickly
settled parts of the Province with the war-whoop of the Indian
ringing in their ears.
In the letter written by Colonel John Armstrong, at Carlisle,
on August 20th, quoted in part, in Chapter XII, he calls attention
to the unprotected state of the Cumberland and Franklin County
frontier, as follows:
"Lyttleton, Shippensburg, and Carlisle (the last two not
finished), are the only Forts now built that will, in my Opinion,
be Serviceable to the public. McDowell's or thereabouts is a
necessary Post, but the present Fort not defencible. The Duties
of the Harvest has not admitted me to finish Carlisle Fort with
the Soldiers; it shou'd be done, and a Barrack erected within the
Fort, otherwise the Soldiers cannot be so well governed, and may
be absent or without the Gates at a time of the greatest necessity."
On the very day Colonel Armstrong's letter was written.
Governor Morris was superseded by Governor William Denny —
a change of governors at a most critical time — but, before Gover-
nor Denny's arrival, Governor Morris, in response to the cries
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 305
for help from the frontier, especially from Cumberland County,
had arranged with Colonel Armstrong for an expedition against
the Indian town of Kittanning. Colonel Armstrong had urged
Governor Morris to give him permission to make this expedition,
and Benjamin Franklin had earnestly advocated this plan of
attacking this Indian stronghold from which Shingas, Captain
Jacobs and King Beaver liad led so many incursions into the
Pennsylvania settlements.
Colonel Armstrong's small army consisted of about three
hundred men, Scotch-Irish from the Cumberland Valley, divided
into seven companies whose captains were himself, Hance Hamil-
ton, Dr. Hugh Mercer, Edward Ward, Joseph Armstrong, John
Potter and Rev. John Steel. Armstrong marched from Fort
Shirley (Shirleysburg, Huntingdon County), on August 30th, and
arrived at the "Beaver Dams," near Hollidaysburg, on Septem-
ber 3d, where his forces joined the advance party. Leaving this
place on September 4th and following the Kittanning Indian
Trail, his army arrived at a point within fifty miles of Kittanning
two days later. From this point Armstrong sent out scouts to
reconnoitre the famous Delaware town and get information as to
the number of the Indians there. The day following, the scouts
returned and reported that the road was clear of the enemy, but
it appeared later that they had not been near enough the town to
learn its exact situation or the best way to approach the same.
Armstrong then continued his march. At about ten o'clock on
the night of September 7th, one of his guides reported that he had
discovered a fire by the road, a short distance ahead and within
six miles of Kittanning, with three or four Indians seated around
the fire. Deeming it not prudent to attack this party, Lieutenant
Hogg and thirteen men were left to watch them, with orders to
attack them at break of day. The main body then, making a
circuit, stole silently through the night to the Allegheny, reaching
it just before the setting of the moon, about three o'clock in the
morning, and at a point about one hundred perches below the
town. They learned the position of the town by the beating of a
drum and the whooping of the warriors at a dance.
Colonel Armstrong's Account of the Battle
We shall now let Colonel Armstrong describe the battle, quot-
ing from his report, written at Fort Littleton, on September 14th,
1756, and sent to Governor Denny:
306 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"It then, after ascertaining the location of the town, became
us to make the best use of the remaining Moon Light, but ere we
were aware, an Indian whistled in a very singular manner, about
thirty perches from our front in the foot of a Corn Field; upon
which we immediately sat down, and after passing Silence to the
rear, I asked one Baker, a Soldier, who was our best assistant,
whether that was not a Signal to the Warriors of our Approach.
He answered no, and said it was the manner of a Young Fellow's
calling a Squaw after he had done his Dance, who accordingly
kindled a Fire, cleaned his Gun and shot it off before he went to
Sleep. All this time we were obliged to lie quiet and hush, till
the Moon was fairly set. Immediately after, a Number of Fires
appeared in different places in the Corn Field, by which Baker
said the Indians lay, the night being warm, and that these fires
would immediately be out, as they were designed to disperse the
Gnats.
"By this time it was break of Day, and the Men, having
marched thirty Miles, were most asleep; the line being long, the
Companies of the Rear were not yet brought over the last
precipice. For these, some proper Hands were immediately dis-
patched, and the weary Soldiers, being roused to their Feet, a
proper Number under sundry Officers were ordered to take the
End of the Hill, at which we then lay, and march along the top
of the said Hill at least one hundred perches, and so much further,
it then being day light, as would carry them opposite the upper
part or at least the body of the Town. For the lower part thereof
and the Corn Field, presuming the Warriors were there, I kept
rather the larger Number of the Men, promising to postpone the
Attack in that part for eighteen or twenty Minutes, until the
Detachment along the Hill should have time to advance to the
place assigned them, in doing of which they were a little un-
fortunate. The Time being elapsed, the Attack was begun in the
Corn Field, and the Men, with all Expedition possible, dispatched
thro' the several parts thereof; a party being also dispatched to
the Houses, which were then discovered by the light of the Day.
Captain Jacobs immediately gave the War-Whoop, and with
sundry other Indians, as the English Prisoners afterwards told,
cried the White Men were at last come, they would then have
Scalps enough, but at the same time ordered their Squaws and
Children to flee to the Woods.
"Our Men with great Eagerness passed thro' and fired in the
Corn Field, where they had several Returns from the Enemy, as
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 307
they also had from the opposite side of the River. Presently after,
a brisk fire began among the Houses, which, from the House of
Captain Jacobs, was returned with a great deal of Resolution ; to
which place I immediately repaired, and found that from the
Advantage of the House and the Port Holes, sundry of our People
were wounded, and some killed; and finding that returning the
Fire upon the House was ineffectual, ordered the contiguous
houses to be set on fire; which was performed by sundry of the
Officers and Soldiers with a great deal of Activity, the Indians
always firing whenever an object presented itself, and seldom
missed of wounding or killing some of our People; From which
House, in moving about to give the necessary orders and direc-
tions, I received a wound from a large Musket Ball in the Shoul-
der. Sundry persons during the action were ordered to tell the
Indians to surrender themselves prisoners; but one of the Indians,
in particular, answered and said he was a Man and would not be
a Prisoner, upon which he was told in Indian he would be burnt.
To this he answered he did not care for he would kill four or five
before he died, and had we not desisted from exposing ourselves,
they would have killed a great many more, they having a number
of loaded Guns by them.
"As the fire began to approach and the Smoak grew thick, one
of the Indian Fellows, to show his manhood, began to sing. A
Squaw, in the same House, and at the same time, was heard to
cry and make Noise, but for so doing was severely rebuked by the
Men; but by and by the Fire being too hot for them, two Indian
Fellows and a Squaw sprung out and made for the Corn Field,
who were immediately shot down by our People then surrounding
the House. It was thought Captain Jacobs tumbled himself out
at a Garret or Cock Loft Window, at which he was shot, our
Prisoners offering to be qualified to the powder horn and pouch
there taken off him, which, they say, he had lately got from a
French Officer in exchange for Lieutenant Armstrong's Boots,
which he carried from Fort Granville, where the Lieutenant was
killed. The same Prisoners say they are perfectly assured of his
Scalp, as no other Indians there wore their Hair in the same
Manner. They also say they knew his Squaw's Scalp by a par-
ticular bob; and also knew the Scalp of a young Indian called the
King's Son.
"Before this time, Captain Hugh Mercer, who early in the
Action was wounded in the Arm, had been taken to the top of a
Hill above the Town, to whom a number of Men and some of
308 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Officers were gathered, from whence they had discovered
some Indians cross the River and take the Hill with an intent, as
they thought, to surround us and cut off our retreat, from whom
I had sundry pressing Messages to leave the Houses and retreat
to the Hill or we should all be cut off; but to this could by no
means consent until all the Houses were set on fire. Tho' our
spreading upon the Hills appeared very necessary, yet did it pre-
vent our Researches of the Corn Field and River side, by which
means sundry Scalps were left behind, and doubtless some Squaws
Children and English Prisoners that otherwise might have been
got. During the burning of the Houses, which were near thirty
in number, we were agreeably entertained with a quick succes-
sion of charged Guns gradually firing off as reached by the Fire,
but much more so with the vast explosion of sundry Bags and
large Cags of Gunpowder, wherewith almost every House
abounded; the Prisoners afterwards informing that the Indians
had frequently said they had a sufficient stock of ammunition for
ten Years War with the English.
"With the roof of Captain Jacobs' House, when the powder
blew up, was thrown the Leg and Thigh of an Indian with a
Child three or four years old, such a height that they appeared as
nothing and fell in the adjacent Corn Field. There was also a
great Quantity of Goods burnt, which the Indians had received
in a present but ten days before, from the French. By this time
I had proceeded to the Hill to have my wound tyed up and the
Blood stopped, where the Prisoners, which in the Morning had
come to our People, informed me that that very day two Battoas
of French Men, with a large party of Delaware and French In-
dians, were to join Captain Jacobs at the Kittanning, and to set
out early the next Morning to take Fort Shirley, or as they called
it, George Croghan's Fort, and that twenty-four Warriors who
had lately come to the Town, were set out before them the Even-
ing before, for what purpose they did not know, whether to pre-
pare Meat, to spy the Fort, or to make an attack on some of our
back inhabitants. Soon after, upon a little Reflection, we were
convinced these Warriors were all at the Fire we had discovered
the Night before, and began to doubt the fate of Lieutenant Hogg
and his Party, from the Intelligence of the Prisoners.
"Our Provisions being scaffolded some thirty miles back, except
what were in the Men's Haversacks, which we left with the
Horses and Blankets with Lieutanant Hogg and his Party, and
a number of wounded People then on hand, by the advice of the
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 309
Officers it was thought imprudent then to wait for the cutting
down the Corn Field (which was before designed), but im-
mediately to collect our Wounded and force our march back in
the best manner we could, which we did by collecting a few In-
dian horses to carry off our wounded. From the apprehension
of being waylaid (especially by some of the Woodsmen), it was
difficult to keep the men together, our march for sundry miles
not exceeding two miles an hour, which apprehensions were
heightened by the attempts of a few Indians who for some time
after the march fired upon each wing and immediately ran off,
from whom we received no other Damage but one of our men's
being wounded thro' both Legs. Captain Mercer, being wounded,
was induced, as we have reason to believe, by some of his Men, to
leave the main Body with his ensign, John Scott, and ten or
twelve men, they being heard to tell him they were in great
Danger, and that they could take him into the Road a nigh Way,
is probably lost, there being yet no Account of him; the most of
the Men come in detachment was sent back to bring him in, but
could not find him, and upon the return of the detachment, it
was generally reported he was seen with the above number of
Men taking a different Road.
"Upon our return to the place where the Indian Fire had been
discovered the Night before, we met with a Sergeant of Captain
Mercer's Company and two or three other of his Men who had
deserted us that Morning, immediately after the action at Kittan-
ning. These men, on running away, had met with Lieutenant
Hogg, who lay wounded in two different parts of his Body by the
Road side. He there told them of the fatal mistake of the Pilot,
who had assured us there were but three Indians, at the most, at
this Fire place, but when he came to attack them that Morning
according to orders, he found a number considerably superior to
his, and believes they killed and mortally wounded three of them
the first fire, after which a warm engagement began, and con-
tinued for above an Hour, when three of his best men were
killed and himself twice wounded; the residue fleeing off, he was
obliged to squat in a thicket, where he might have laid securely
until the main Body had come up, if this cowardly Sergeant and
others that fled with him had not taken him away; they had
marched but a short Space when four Indians appeared, upon
which these deserters began to flee. The Lieutenant then, not-
withstanding his wounds, as a brave Soldier, urging and com-
manding them to stand and fight, which they all refused. The
310 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Indians pursued, killing one Man and wounding the Lieutenant a
third time through the Belly, of which he died in a few Hours;
but he, having some time before been put on Horse back, rode
some miles from the place of action. But this last attack of the
Indians upon Lieutanant Hogg and the deserters was, by the
before mentioned Sergeant, represented to us in quite a different
light, he telling us that there were a far larger number of the
Indians there than appeared to them, and that he and the Men
with him had fought five Rounds; that he had there seen the
Lieutenant and sundry others killed and scalped, and had also
discovered a number of Indians throwing themselves before us,
and insinuated a great deal of such Stuff, as threw us into much
Confusion, so that the Officers had a great deal to do to keep the
Men together, but could not prevail with them to collect what
Horses and other Baggage that the Indians had left after their
Conquest of Lieutenant Hogg and the Party under his command
in the Morning, except a few of the Horses, which some of the
bravest of the Men were prevailed on to collect; so that, from the
mistake of the Pilot, who spied the Indians at the Fire, and the
cowardice of the said Sergeant and other Deserters, we have sus-
tained a considerable loss of our Horses and Baggage.
"It is impossible to ascertain the exact number of the Enemy
killed in the Action, as some were destroyed by Fire and others
in different parts of the Corn Field, but, upon a moderate Com-
putation, it is generally believed there cannot be less than thirty
or Forty killed and mortally wounded, as much Blood was found
in sundry parts of the Corn Field, and Indians seen in several
places crawl into the Weeds on their Hands and Feet, whom the
Soldiers, in pursuit of others, then overlooked, expecting to find
and scalp them afterwards; and also several killed and wounded
in crossing the River. On beginning our March back, we had
about a dozen of Scalps and eleven English Prisoners, but now
find that four or five of the Scalps are missing, part of which
were lost on the Road and part in possession of those Men who,
with Captain Mercer, separated from the main Body, with whom
also went four of the Prisoners, the other seven being now at this
place [Fort Littleton], where we arrived on Sunday Night, not
being ever separated or attacked thro' our whole March by the
Enemy, tho' we expected it every Day. Upon the whole, had our
Pilots understood the true situation of the town and the paths
leading to it, so as to have posted us at a convenient place, where
the disposition of the Men and the Duty assigned to them could
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 311
have been performed with greater Advantage, we had, by divine
Assistance, destroyed a much greater Number of the Enemy,
recovered more Prisoners, and sustained less damage than what
we at present have; but tho' the Advantage gained over these,
our Common Enemy, is far from being satisfactory to us, must
we not despise the smallest degrees of Success that God has
pleased to give, especially at a time of such general Calamity,
when the attempts of our Enemys have been so prevalent and
successful." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 257 to 263.)
Such is the account of the destruction of Kittanning, written
by the leader of the heroic men who inflicted this telling blow
upon the Indians. Hitherto the English had not attacked the
Indians in their towns, which led the leaders of the bloody incur-
sions to fancy that the settlers would not venture to follow them
into their western strongholds. But now the Western Delawares
dreaded that, when absent on incursions into the settlements,
their wigwams might be burned to ashes by the outraged frontiers-
men. From now on, they feared Colonel Armstrong and his
Scotch-Irish troops. Most of the Indians, therefore, left Kit-
tanning, refusing to settle east of Fort Duquesne, and determined
to place this fort between them and the English. They went to
Logstown, located on the north bank of the Ohio, just below the
site of the present town of Ambridge, Beaver County; to Sau-
conk, located at or near the mouth of the Beaver, and known also
as Shingas' Old Town and King Beaver's Town ; to Kuskuskies,
a group of villages whose centre was at or near the present city
of New Castle; to Shenango, located on the river of this name,
a short distance below the present town of Sharon, Mercer
County, and to other towns in the western region. However,
Kittanning was not deserted, though it ceased to be a gathering
place for the hostile Delawares during the French and Indian
War. As we saw in Chapter XII and as we shall see in subsequent
chapters, the destruction of Kittanning did not put an end to
the Indian raids. But it did have a great moral effect. It struck
fear into the hearts of the Indians, and it caused the forntiersmen
to have confidence in their ability to meet the Indians on their
own ground and defeat them.
"The corporation of Philadelphia, on occasion of this victory,
on the 5th of January following, addressed a complimentary letter
to Colonel Armstrong, thanking him and his ofhcers for their
gallant conduct, and presented him with a piece of plate. A medal
was also struck, having for device an officer followed by two sol-
312 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
diers, the officer pointing to a soldier shooting from behind a tree,
and an Indian prostrate before him; in the background Indian
houses in flames. Legend: Kittanning, destroyed by Colonel
Armstrong, September the 8th, 1756. Reverse device: The Arms
of the corporation. Legend : The gift of the corporation of Phila-
delphia."— Egle's "History of Pennsylvania."
The report of the explosion of the magazine at Kittanning was
heard at Fort Duquesne, upon which some French and Indians
set off from that place to Captain Jacobs' stronghold, but did
not reach the town until the next day. They found among the
ruins the blackened bodies of the fallen chieftain, his wife and his
son. Robert Robinson says in his Narrative that a boy named
Crawford, then a captive among the Delawares, told him that he
accompanied the French and Indians on this occasion. He also
says that, after Armstrong's forces had returned to the east side
of the Allegheny Mountains, one of his soldiers, named Samuel
Chambers, disregarding the advice of the Colonel, went back to
the "Clear Fields," in Clearfield Township, Cambria County, to
get his coat and three horses; that, at the top of the mountain,
he was fired upon by Indians, and then fled towards the Great
Island; and that the Indians pursued him, and, on the third day,
killed him on French Margaret's Island, as they later told Cap-
tain Patterson.
Many blankets of Armstrong's soldiers were afterwards found
on the ground where Lieutenant Hogg and his party were de-
feated. Hence this place has ever since been called "Blanket
Hill." It is in Kittanning Township, Armstrong County.
List of the Slain — The English Prisoners
Colonel Armstrong's report of the destruction of Kittanning is
also found in Pa. Archives, Vol. 2, pages 767 to 775, with a list of
the killed, wounded and missing, as well as a list of the English
prisoners recovered. This list is as follows:
"Lieutenant-Colonel John Armstrong's Company — killed;
Thomas Power and John McCormick. Wounded: Lieutenant-
Colonel John Armstrong, James Carruthers, James Strickland
and Thomas Foster.
Captain Hance Hamilton's Company — Killed: John Kelley.
Captain Hugh Mercer's Company — Killed : John Baker, John
McCartney, Patrick Mullen, Cornelius McGinnis, Theophilus
Thompson, Dennis Kilpatrick and Bryan Carrigan. Wounded:
Marker at the Site of the Delaware Indian Town of Kittanning. near the bridge across the Allegheny
River, at Kittanning, Pa.
In the foreground Chief Strong Wolf, of the Ojibway Tribe, and Hon. James W. King, President
of the Armstrong County Historical Society.
From a photograph taken on the occasion of the dedication of the Marker, September 8th, 1926,
the One Hundred and Seventieth Anniversary of the Destruction of Kittanning by Colonel John
Armstrong.
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 313
Richard Fitzgibbins. Missing: John Taylor, John — , Francis
PhilHps, Robert Morrow, Thomas Burk and PhiUp Pendergrass.
Captain Joseph Armstrong's Company — Killed: Lieutenant
James Hogg, James Anderson, Holdcraft Stringer, Edward
Obrians, James Higgins and John Lasson. Wounded: William
Findley, Robert Robinson, John Ferrol, Thos. Camplin and
Charles O'Neal. Missing: John Lewis, William Hunter, William
Baker, George Appleby, Anthony Grissy and Thos. Swan.
Captain Edward Ward's Company — Killed: William Welch.
Wounded: Ephriam Bratten. Missing: Patrick Myers, Lawr-
ence Donnahow and Samuel Chambers.
Captain John Potter's Company — Wounded: Ensign James
Potter and Andrew Douglass.
Captain John Steel's Company — Missing: Terrence Canna-
berry."
The English prisoners recovered from the Indians at the de-
struction of Kittanning were:
Ann McCord, wife of John McCord, and Martha Thorn, a
child seven years of age, both captured at Fort McCord, on April
1st, 1756; Barbara Hicks, captured at ConoUoways; Catherine
Smith, a German child captured near Shamokin; Margaret Hood,
captured near the mouth of the Conococheague, Maryland;
Thomas Girty, captured at Fort Granville; Sarah Kelly, captured
near Winchester, Virginia; a woman, a boy, and two little girls,
who were with Captain Mercer and Ensign Scott, and had not
reached Fort Littleton when Colonel Armstrong made his report.
Barbara Leininger and Marie Le Roy, who, it will be recalled,
were captured at the Penn's Creek massacre of October 16th,
1755, were prisoners among the Indians at Kittanning at the time
when Colonel Armstrong destroyed the town. However, they
were on the other (west) side of the river at the time the attack
began, and were then taken ten miles back into the interior, in
order that they might not have a chance to escape. After Arm-
strong's forces had withdrawn, Barbara and Marie were brought
back to the ruins of the town. Here they witnessed the torture
of a woman who had attempted to escape with Armstrong's
troops, but was recaptured. An English renegade ate a piece of
the woman's flesh.
After describing the torture of the woman, Barbara and Marie,
in their Narrative, relate the following:
"Three days later an Englishman was brought in, who had like-
wise attempted to escape with Col. Armstrong, and he was burned
314 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
alive in the same village. His torments, however, continued only
about three hours; but his screams were frightful to listen to. It
rained that day very hard, so that the Indians could not keep
up the fire. Hence they began to discharge gunpowder at his
body. At last, amidst his worst pains, when the poor man called
for a drink of water, they brought melted lead, and poured it
down his throat. This draught at once helped him out of the
hands of the barbarians, for he died on the instant."
Relatives of Captain Jacobs, who were also killed at the de-
struction of Kittanning, are mentioned in a letter written at
Carlisle, on December 22nd, 1756, by Adam Stephen: "A son of
Captain Jacobs is kill'd and a Cousin of his about seven foot high,
call'd young Jacob, at the Destroying of the Kittanning." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 3, page 83.) Probably another relative was the
Delaware Chief, called Captain Jacobs, who attended the con-
ference held at Fort Pitt in April and May, 1768. (Pa. Col.
Rec. Vol. 9, page 543.)
A Retrospect
The author was born and reared within ten miles of Kittanning.
Often he has stood on the river hill above the site of the former
Indian town, and contemplated its history. On these occasions,
the past rose before him, as a dream. He could see the Dela-
wares, in the course of their westward migration, as early as 1724,
floating down the beautiful Allegheny, in their canoes, from the
mouth of the Mahoning, and erecting their wigwams on the wide
flats, naming the town "Kittanning," that is Kit, "great";
hanna, "a stream"; ing, "at, or at the place of" — "at the great
river." He could see Jonas Davenport, James Le Tort and other
traders, a few years later, visit the place and barter with the
Indians, giving them rum, powder, lead, guns, knives and blankets
in exchange for skins and furs. He could see French emisaries
holding councils with the Indians here, as early as 1727, and for
many years thereafter. He could see Celoron visit the town, in
the summer of 1749. He could see the clouds of war gathering
over the valley for many years, and finally breaking in a storm of
fury, in the autumn of 1755. He could see Shingas, King Beaver
and Captain Jacobs holding their councils of war here, far into
the night, and inflaming the wild passions of the warriors as the
council fire lit up their savage features, and as their shouts echoed
from hill to hill. He could see bands of warriors go forth from the
town on bloody incursions into the settlements of Pennsylvania,
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 315
Mar\'land and Virginia, and return with sorrowing, sad-faced
captives and the bloody scalps of the slain. He could see hun-
dreds of these captives tortured to death — burned to death, tied
to the black post in the village. He could see their bodies pierced
with red-hot gun barrels and their bloody scalps torn from their
heads. He could hear their agonizing cries and see the fiendish
looks of their tormentors. He could see Colonel John Armstrong's
forces wend their way silently over the forest-covered mountains,
and, in the early hours of that September morning, visit retribu-
tion and vengeance on Captain Jacobs and his warriors. He could
see the village sink in flames, and hear the death chants of the
warriors, as they perished in the fire. He could see the Indian
women and children fleeing in terror to the forest, as their hus-
bands, fathers and brothers were shot down or burned to death,
by the frontiersmen, or dragged themselves into the forest to die
of their wounds. He could see many of the survivors return, and
erect their wigwams amid the ashes of their former homes. He
could see hundreds of warriors assemble here, to march against
Colonel Bouquet, in the summer of 1763. He could see the Eighth
Pennsylvania Regiment assemble here in the latter days of 1776.
He could see Fort Armstrong erected, a short distance below the
village, in the summer of 1779, and Colonel Daniel Brodhead's
army march past the place, in the same summer, on its way to
attack the Senecas and Munsees. He could see the Indians once
more assemble here, to march against Hannastown, in the summer
of 1782. He could see the Indian finally depart from this ancient
seat, and float in his canoe down the "Ohio" of the Senecas, the
"La Belle Riviere" of the French and "The Beautiful River" of
the English — terms that mean the same — to the "Land of the
Lost Ones." He could see the pioneers, with their rifles and axes,
entering the valley and erecting their cabin homes. He could
see the Kittanning of the white man rise where the Kittanning of
the Indian had stood for so many years, in the valley of the
beautiful and historic Allegheny. As he stood on the river hill
and gazed into the valley below, the past rose before him, as a
dream, and these things passed before him, as a panorama.
Captain Hugh Mercer
As was seen earlier in this chapter, Captain Hugh Mercer was
wounded in the engagement at Kittanning. Unhappily he was
persuaded by some of his men to leave the main party. These
316 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
men were old traders, and they proposed to conduct Captain
Mercer by a nearer route to the settlements than the Kittanning
Indian Trail, by which the army of Colonel Armstrong had come
to the famous Indian town. Presently Mercer's party fell in
with the Indians with whom Lieutenant Hogg had the engage-
ment in the morning, and some of the Captain's companions were
killed. Mercer made his escape with two others. In a short time,
he and these two halted in order to adjust the bandage on his arm.
At this moment an Indian was seen approaching, whereupon
Mercer's two companions, sprang upon the horse from which he
had just alighted, and hurried away, abandoning him. He hastily
concealed himself behind a log overgrown with weeds. The
Indian approached to within a few feet of where he lay, when,
seeing the other two hurrying away on horseback, he uttered the
war-whoop, and ran after them.
The wounded captain soon crawled from his place of con-
cealment, and descended into a plum-tree bottom, where he re-
freshed himself with the fruit and remained until night. Then he
began his terrible journey over the mountains to the settlements,
a journey which consumed an entire month, and during which he
became so ravenously hungry that he killed and ate a rattle-snake
raw. Reaching the west side of the Allegheny Mountain, he
discovered a person whom he supposed to be an Indian. Both
took to trees, and remained in this position a long time. At
length Captain Mercer concluded to go forward and meet his
enemy; but when he came near, he found the other to be one of
his own men. The two then proceeded on over the mountain, so
weak that they could scarcely walk. Near Frankstown, the
soldier sank down with the expectation never more to rise. Cap-
tain Mercer then struggled about seven miles further, when he,
too, lay down on the leaves, abandoning all hope of reaching the
settlements. At this time, a band of Cherokees in the British
service, coming from Fort Littleton on a scouting expedition,
found the exhausted captain, and a little later, the soldier, and
carried them safely to the fort on a bier of their own making. The
Cherokees had taken fourteen scalps on this scouting expedition.
We shall meet Captain Mercer several places in this history.
He became one of Washington's able generals in the Revolu-
tionary War, and laid down his life on the bloody battlefield of
Princeton that liberty might live. Mercersburg and Mercer
County are named for him.
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 317
The Girtys
As stated earlier in this chapter, Thomas Girty, who was
captured at Fort Granville, was one of the English prisoners re-
covered by Colonel Armstrong at the destruction of Kittanning.
The family to which he belonged figured prominently in the
Indian history of Pennsylvania, not as defenders of the Province
but as allies of the hostile Indians.
Reference was made, in a former chapter, to the fact that
Simon Girty, Sr., an Irish trader, was one of the squatters whom
the Provincial Authorities compelled to remove, in 1750, from
lands not yet purchased from the Indians, north of the Blue or
Kittatinny Mountains. He was an Indian trader, and had settled
on Sherman's Creek, in Perry County, about 1740. Here his
son, Simon, who figured notoriously in the annals of border life,
was born, January 16th, 1744. After the elder Girty was com-
pelled to remove from Sherman's Creek, he settled on the east
side of the Susquehanna River, near where the town of Halifax
now stands. Here he was killed in a drunken brawl, it is said, by
his wife's paramour, John Turner. Here his widow married John
Turner, and soon thereafter they removed to the Buffalo Valley,
Union County. About 1755, the family, consisting of Mr. and
Mrs. Turner, their infant son, John Turner, Jr., and the four sons
of Simon Girty, Sr. — Simon, James, George and Thomas — re-
moved to the vicinity of Fort Granville. The whole family was
captured at the destruction of the fort, by Captain Jacobs. John
Turner, it will be recalled, was the person who opened the gates
of the fort to the enemy, and was later tortured to death at
Kittanning, in the presence of his wife, his son, John Turner, Jr.,
and the four sons of Simon Girty, the elder, all the family having
been taken to Kittanning by their captors.*
Thomas Girty was the only member of the family liberated by
Colonel John Armstrong, when his forces destroyed Kittanning.
Mrs. Turner and her son, John, then a child less than three years
of age, were taken to Fort Duquesne, where the child was baptized
on August 18th, 1756, by the Reverend Baron, chaplain of the
Roman Catholic chapel at the post. This John Turner was
liberated by Colonel Bouquet in the autumn of 1764, and then
joined his mother at Fort Pitt, to which place she seems to have
made her escape. During the Revolutionary War, he fought on
the American side, although his half-brothers, Simon, George and
♦Theodore Roosevelt, in his "Winning of the West," erroneously says that Simon Girty,
Sr., was tortured to death at Kittanning.
318 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
James Girty, early espoused the British cause. He died in Pitts-
burgh at an advanced age.
Simon, the most notorious of the Girty brothers, was adopted
by the Senecas, and given the name of Katepacomen. He soon
became in dress, language and habits a thorough Indian, and
lived among the Indians continuously until Colonel Henry Bou-
quet led his army to the Muskingum in the autumn of 1764 and
liberated over two hundred white captives. Among these was
Simon Girty. Brought back to Fort Pitt, he took up his residence
on a little run, emptying into the Allegheny from the west a few
miles above Fort Pitt, and since known as Girty's Run. In Lord
Dunmore's war of 1774, he, in company with Simon Kenton,
served as a scout. He subsequently acted as an Indian agent, and
became well acquainted with Colonel William Crawford, at whose
cabin on the Youghiogheny, where Connellsville now stands, he
was a frequent and welcome guest. On the outbreak of the Rev-
olution, he was commissioned an officer of militia at Fort Pitt,
but on March 28, 1778, deserted to the British, in company with
Alexander McKee and Matthew Elliott.
The atrocities committed by Simon Girty after he deserted to
the British fill many pages of border annals. His name became a
terror in the frontier cabin, causing the mother's cheek to blanch
and the children to tremble with fear. He fully earned the name
given him by Heckewelder — the "White Savage." His brutality
reached its climax when he viewed with apparent satisfaction
the burning of his former friend, Colonel William Crawford, at
the stake, in the summer of 1782, as will be related in a subse-
quent chapter. On one occassion he committed a hostile act
against the Americans shortly after the Revolutionary War was
proclaimed at an end. This was the capture of a lad, named
John Burkhart, at the mouth of Nine Mile Run, near Pittsburgh,
in May, 1783, by a war party of Indians led by him. The guns
of Fort Pitt were firing at the very time of the boy's capture, on
account of the reception of the news that Washington had dis-
charged the American Army on April 19th, and announced that
the long war was over. This fact was made known to Girty by
the boy; yet he was carried to Detroit. However, he was well
treated by Girty, and, in July, was permitted by Colonel De
Peyster, then commandant at Detroit, to return to his friends.
In the defeat of General St. Clair's army in the autumn of
1791, as will be related in a subsequent chapter, the "White
Savage" saw and knew General Richard Butler, who was writhing
According to Butterfield: Simon Girty, Sr. was killed by an Indian named "The Fish", who
was later killed by John Turner; Simon, Jr., bom in 1741, died, Feb. 18, 1818; James, bom in
1743, died at Goshfield, Canada, Apr. IS, 1817; George, born in 1745, died near Ft. Wayne
prior to 1812; Thomas, born in 1739, died in Pittsburgh, Nov. 3, 1820; Simon, Jr., James,
George, Mrs. Turner and her son, John, delivered up at Fort Pitt, in 1759.
DESTRUCTION OF KITTANNING 319
in the agony of his wounds. Girty told an Indian warrior that
General Butler was a high officer, whereupon the Indian buried
his tomahawk in the unfortunate General's skull, scalped him,
took his heart out, and divided it into as many pieces as there
were tribes in the battle in which St. Clair went down to over-
whelming and inglorious defeat.
There is no doubt, however, that Simon Girty was blamed for
many atrocities of v.hich he was innocent, especially atrocities
committed by his brothers George and James. At times, too,
when sober, he was moved by considerations of humanity, as
when he saved his friend, Simon Kenton, from death at the hands
of the Indians, and when he caused Mrs. Thomas Cunningham, of
West Virginia, to be returned to her husband, after her son had
been tomahawked and scalped and her little daughter's brains
dashed out against a tree, in her presence. Such occasional
gleamings of his better nature stand out in strong relief against a
career of outrage, blood and death.
After General Anthony Wayne defeated the western tribes at
the battle of the Fallen Timbers in August, 1794, Simon Girty
removed to Canada, where he settled on a small farm, near
Maiden, on the Detroit River and became the recipient of a
British pension. Here he resided, undisturbed and almost blind,
until the War of 1812. After the capture of the British fleet on
Lake Erie by Commodore Perry, in this war, Girty followed the
British in retreat, and remained away from home until the treaty
of peace was signed. Then he returned to his farm, where he
died in 1815 — the passing of the most notorious renegade of the
Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio borders. Girty's Gap, or
Girty's Notch, on the west side of the Susquehanna, a few miles
below Liverpool, Perry County, is named for him. At this place
the rocks of the precipitous river hill form almost a perfect Indian
head, a wonderful likeness in stone of the primitive American
race.
George Girty was adopted by the Delawares. and became a
terror to the Pennsylvania and Ohio frontiers. As will be seen in
a subsequent chapter, he was among the Indian forces which
ambushed Colonel Lochry's troops in the summer of 1781.
James Girty was one of the messengers sent to the Shawnees,
in the summer of 1778, in an effort to have this tribe join with
the Delawares in an alliance with the Americans, at a treaty at
Fort Pitt, in that year. He did not return from this mission, but
deserted the Americans, was adopted by the Shawnees, and be-
came an infamous and blood-thirsty raider of the Kentucky
320 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
frontier, "not sparing even women and children from horrid
tortures."
Simon, George and James Girty were underHngs of Henry
Hamilton, the British "Hair Buyer General," who was in com-
mand at Detroit during a large part of the Revolutionary War,
and had charge of operations against the western frontier. Hamil-
ton was so named by the Americans on account of his giving his
Indian allies rewards for American scalps, even the scalps of
women and children.
Thomas Girty was the best of the four brothers. He took no
part in raids against the Americans, but served his Country
loyally. For many years he made his home near Fort Pitt, and
was living in Pittsburgh in May, 1782, at which time he joined
with other inhabitants of the town in a petition to General
William Irvine, asking that the General order the soldiers of Fort
Pitt to discontinue their practice of "playing at long bullets" in
the streets, and thus endangering the lives of the children of the
petitioners. This petition was granted.
Some time prior to 1800, Thomas Girty took up a tract of
four hundred acres of land, a few miles south of Prospect, Butler
County. Some authorities say he lived here until his death,
which, they say, occurred prior to 1803, while other authorities
say he died in Pittsburgh, on November 3d, 1820. Whateve
may be the fact as to the time of the death of Thomas Girty, «'
settler, named David Kerr, laid claim to the Girty land, and, oni
evening in 1803, came to the cabin when no one was there excep
Ann Girty, wife of Thomas, and fatally shot her. Kerr had come
for the purpose of ejecting Mrs. Girty. During the argument,
which took place between them, Mrs. Girty struck Kerr in the
face with a clapboard with which she was raking the fire, where-
upon he shot her in the breast with his pistol. She died of the
wound several weeks later. Kerr was never brought to justice
for his crime, on account of the stigma attaching to the Girty
name, and, for the same reason, the body of poor Ann Girty was
refused burial in the Mount Nebo Presbyterian cemetery near
her home. She was laid to rest in the forest, where the author
has often seen her grave. Yet, the Butler County settlers bore
testimony to the fact that the family of Thomas Girty were good
and peaceable neighbors. Thomas Girty, Jr., lived on the Butler
County plantation for some years after his mother's death. On
December 26th, 1807, he sold all his interest in the farm to
Thomas Ferree, for a consideration of one hundred dollars, the
instrument being recorded in the ofiice of the recorder of deeds in
and for Butler County, in deed book A, page 558.
CHAPTER XIV
Eflforts for Peace in 1756
THE declaration of war against the Delawares and Shawnees
was very distasteful to the Quaker members of the Provincial
Assembly. They believed that these tribes would not have taken
up arms against the Province without a reason. Furthermore,
they believed that adequate efforts had not been made towards
reconciliation before war was declared. Without going into
details, we state that, a few days after war was declared, Israel
Pemberton waited upon Governor Morris on behalf of numerous
members of the Society of Friends, and, as a result, Canachquasy,
or Captain New Castle, was sent to the Delawares and Shawnees
of the Susquehanna with overtures of peace, while Scarouady
was sent to the territory of the Six Nations and to Sir William
Johnson to acquaint them with the efforts Pennsylvania was in-
stituting to bring about peace with the Delawares and Shawnees.
(Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 103 to 109.)
Canachquasy spent four days at Wyoming, and then went on
to Tioga, an important town of the Six Nations, Nanticokes, and
Munsee Clan of Delawares, situated on the site of Athens, Brad-
ford County. It was the southern gateway to the country of the
Iroquois, and all the great war paths and hunting trails from the
South and Southwest centered there. He held conferences with
the Indians of this place and the surrounding towns, and made
known to them the Governor's message. These Indians agreed to
lay aside the hatchet and enter into negotiations for peace; but
they cautioned Canachquasy not to charge them with anything
that may have been done by the Delawares of the Ohio and Alle-
gheny Valleys under the influence of the French.
Canachquasy then returned to Philadelphia early in June, and
laid his report before the Governor and Provincial Council. The
Governor and Council, upon hearing the favorable report, drafted
a proclamation for a suspension of hostilities with the enemy
Indians of the Susquehanna Valley for a period of thirty days, and
desired that a conference with them for the purpose of making
322 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
peace, should be held at the earliest possible date. (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, pages 137 to 142).
Canachquasy then left once more for Tioga, bearing the
Governor's message, advising the Susquehanna Indians that the
Colony would agree to a truce of thirty days and that, as one of
the conditions of making peace, the prisoners taken on both sides
should be delivered up. Shortly after he left, messengers were
sent to him by the Governor carrying a few additional instruc-
tions, which were delivered to him at Bethlehem. In the mean-
time. Sir William Johnson, of New York, was holding a peace con-
ference with the Six Nations at Otseningo, at which the assembled
sachems of the Iroquois decided that the Delawares were acting
like drunken men, and sent deputies to order them to become
sober and cease their warfare against the English. This con-
ference was composed of only a portion of the Iroquois, and the
Delawares replied very haughtily saying that they were no longer
women but men. "We are determined," said they, "to cut off all
the English except those that make their escape from us in ships."
After a dangerous journey over the mountains and through the
wilderness, Canachquasy reached Tioga, held conferences with
the great Delaware chieftain, Teedyuscung, and persuaded him
to bury the hatchet, — a most remarkable victory.
First Conference with Teedyuscung
Canachquasy then returned to Philadelphia in the middle of
July, 1756, and laid before the Governor and Provincial Council
the results of his second mission to Tioga.
Immediately upon Canachquasy's return to Philadelphia from
his second mission to Tioga, arrangements were made for a con-
ference with Teedyuscung at Easton, which place Governor
Morris with the Provincial Council, reached on July 24, 1756.
The conference formally opened on July 28th, Conrad Weiser in
the meantime having posted his troops in the vicinity of Easton.
Teedyuscung and the fourteen other chiefs accompanying him
were formally welcomed by Governor Morris. Teedyuscung made
the following reply:
"Last spring you sent me a string [of wampum], and as soon
as I heard the good words you sent, I was glad, and as you told us,
we believed it came from your hearts. So we felt it in our hearts
and received what you said with joy. The first messages you
sent me came in the spring; they touched my heart; they gave me
EFFORTS FOR PEACE, IN 1756 323
abundance of joy. You have kindled a council fire at Easton.
I have been here several days smoking my pipe in patience, wait-
ing to hear your good words. Abundant confusion has of late
years been rife among the Indians, because of their loose ways of
doing business. False leaders have deceived the people. It has
bred quarrels and heart-burnings among my people.
"The Delaware is no longer the slave of the Six Nations. I,
Teedyuscung, have been appointed King over the Five United
Nations [meaning the three Clans of Delawares, the Shawnees
and the Nanticokes], and representative of the Five Iroquois
Nations. What I do here will be approved by all. This is a good
day; whoever will make peace, let him lay hold of this belt, and
the nations around shall see and know it. I desire to conduct
myself according to your words, which I will perform to the ut-
most of my power. I wish the same good that possessed the good
old man, William Penn, who was the friend to the Indian, may
inspire the people of this Province at this time."
In the conferences that followed, the Governor insisted that, as
a condition for peace, Teedyuscung and the Indians under his
command should return all the prisoners that they had captured
since taking up arms against the Colony; and Teedyuscung in-
sisted that his people on the Susquehanna were not responsible
for the actions of the Delawares and Shawnees on the Ohio. But,
inasmuch as only a small delegation of chiefs had accompanied
Teedyuscung to Easton, it was desired that he and Canachquasy
should go back among the Indians, give the "Big Peace Halloo,"
and gather their followers together for a larger peace conference
that would be more representative of the Indians, and to be held
in the near future.
The Governor then gave Teedyuscung a present, informing
him that a part of it "was given by the people called Quakers, who
are descendants of those who first came over to this country with
your old friend, William Penn, as a particular testimony of their
regard and affection for the Indians, and their earnest desire to
promote the good work of peace, in which we are now engaged."
This first peace conference with Teedyuscung, at Easton,
closed on July 31st, 1756, the very day the Delaware chief,
Captain J acobs, attacked Fort Granville. A full account of the
conference is found in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 204 to 220.
After the conference, Teedyuscung and Canachquasy, as stated
above, started to give the "Big Peace Halloo" among the hostile
tribes, but Teedyuscung remained for a time at Fort Allen, where
324 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
he secured liquor and remained intoxicated for a considerable
time. Lieutenant Miller was in charge of the fort at this time,
and Teedyuscung brought sixteen deer skins which he said
he was going to present to the Governor "to make him a pair of
gloves." Lieutenant Miller insisted that one skin was enough to
make the Governor a pair of gloves, and after supplying Teedy-
uscung liberally with rum, he secured from him the entire sixteen
deer skins for only three pounds. The sale was made while the
chief was intoxicated, and afterwards he remained at the fort
demanding more rum, which Miller supplied, Canachquasy in
the meantime having gone away in disgust.
On August 21st, Teedyuscung and his retinue went to Bethle-
hem, where his wife, Elizabeth, and her three children desired to
remain while the "King" went on an expedition to the Minisinks,
for the purpose of putting a stop to some depredations which they
were committing in New Jersey. Returning from this expedition,
he went to Wyoming, where he sent word to Major Parsons at
Easton requesting that his wife and children be sent to join him.
Upon Parson's making known the King's desire, the wife deter-
mined to stay at Bethlehem. He then made frequent visits to
this place, much to the annoyance of the Moravian missionaries.
When the Provincial Authorities learned of the cause of Teedy-
uscung's detention at Fort Allen, Lieutenant Miller was dis-
charged, and Teedyuscung went to Wyoming, thence up the
North Branch of the Susquehanna, persuading the Indians to lay
down their arms, and to send deputies to a second conference to
be held at Easton, in October. However, in the meantime,
Governor William Denny, who succeeded Governor Morris in
August, becoming suspicious of the chief's long delay at Forf
Allen and being influenced, no doubt by the statements of many
Indians on the border that Teedyuscung was not sincere in his
peace professions, that he was a traitor, and that the Easton con-
ference was but a ruse to gain time, sent Canachquasy secretly to
New York to ascertain from the Six Nations whether or not they
had deputized Teedyuscung to represent them in important
treaties. Canachquasy returned, on October 24th, with the re-
port that the Six Nations denied Teedyuscung's authority. Ap-
pearing before the Provincial Council, he gave the following
report :
"I have but in part executed my commission, not having op-
portunity of having done it so fully as I wished. I met with
Canyase, one of the principal counsellors of the Six Nations, a
EFFORTS FOR PEACE, IN 1756 325
Mohawk chief, who has a regard for Pennsylvania ... I related
to this chief very particularly the manner in which Teedyuscung
spoke of himself and his commission and authority from the Six
Nations at the treaty at Easton. I gave him a true notion of all
he said on this head and how often he repeated it to the Governor,
and then asked whether he knew anything of this matter. Canyase
said he did; Teedyuscung did not speak the truth when he told
the Governor he had a regular authority from the Six Nations to
treat with Onas. Canyase then proceeded and said: 'Teedy-
uscung on behalf of the Delawares did apply to me as chief of the
Six Nations. He and I had long discourses together and in these
conversations, I told him that the Delawares were women and
always treated as such by the Six Nations.' " (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, pages 296 to 298.)
Governor Denny endeavored to have Teedyuscung attend a
conference in Philadelphia, in an effort to continue the peace
work begun at the Easton Conference of July of that year. Teedy-
uscung sent the following reply by Conrad Weiser to Governor
Denny's invitation: "Brother, you remember very well that in
time of darkness and danger, I came in here at your invitation.
At Easton, we kindled a small council fire ... If you should
put out this little fire, our enemies will call it only a jack lantern,
kindled on purpose to deceive those who approach it. Brother,
I think it by no means advisable to put out this little fire, but
rather to put more sticks upon it, and I desire that you will come
to it [at Easton] as soon as possible, bringing your old and wise
men along with you, and we shall be very glad to see you here."
Second Conference with Teedyuscung
Upon Teedyuscung's refusal to go to Philadelphia, Governor
Denny decided to meet the chief at Easton, where the second
great conference with him and the Indians under his command
opened on November 8, 1756. "The Governor marched from his
lodgings to the place of conference, guarded by a party of Royal
Americans on the front and on the flanks, and a detachment of
Colonel Conrad Weiser's provincials in subdivisions in the rear,
with colors flying, drums beating, and music playing, which order
was always observed in going to the place of conference." Says
Dr. George P. Donehoo, in his "Pennsylvania — A History":
"Teedyuscung opened the council with a speech and with all
of the usual formalities of an Indian council. This Indian chief,
326 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
called a 'King', was a most gifted orator and talented diplomat.
His one most bitter enemy was his own vice of drunkenness which
led to all of his troubles and to his death. The one marvel about
him was that when he had been on a drunken spree all night and
kept so by his enemies, he would appear the next day with a clear
head, fully fit to deal with all of the complex problems which
arose. His foes among the Indians and among the English kept
him filled with rum in the hope that he could be rendered so
drunk that he could not attend to his business. He would sleep
out all night, under a shed, anywhere, in a drunken stupor, and
appear the next day with a clear head and an eloquent tongue to
'fight for peace, at any price.' In his opening address, in referring
to the tales which had been told about him he says: 'Many idle
reports are spread by foolish and busy people; I agree with you
that on both sides they ought to be no more regarded than the
chirping of birds in the woods.' What great orator today could
express himself more perfectly and beautifully?"
Teedyuscung Charges That Delawares Were
Defrauded Out of Their Lands
Governor Denny in his reply to Teedyuscung's speech, asked
him why the Delawares had gone to war against the English.
Teedyuscung in his reply stated that great injustice had been
done the Delawares in various land purchases. The Governor
then asked him to be specific in his statements and point out what
land sales, in his opinion, had been unjust. Then Teedyuscung
stamped his foot upon the ground and made the following heated
reply :
"I have not far to go for an instance; this very ground that is
under me [striking it with his foot] was my land and inheritance,
and is taken from me by fraud. When I say this ground, I mean
all the land lying between Tohiccon Creek and Wyoming, on the
River Susquehannah. I have not only been served so in this
Government, but the same thing has been done to me as to several
tracts in New Jersey over the River. When I have sold lands
fairly, I look upon them to be really sold. A bargain is a bargain.
Tho' I have sometimes had nothing for the lands I have sold but
broken pipes or such triffles, yet when I have sold them, tho' for
such triffles, I look upon the bargain to be good. Yet I think
that I should not be ill used on this account by those very people
who have had such an advantage in their purchases, nor be called
EFFORTS FOR PEACE, IN 1756 327
a fool for it. Indians are not such fools as to bear this in their
minds."
Governor Denny then asked him if he (Teedyuscung) had
ever been dealt with in such a manner, and the chief replied :
"Yes, I have been served so in this Province; all the land ex-
tending from Tohiccon, over the great mountain, to Wyoming,
has been taken from me by fraud ; for when I agreed to sell the
land to the old Proprietary, by the course of the River, the young
Proprietaries came and got it run by a straight course by the
compass, and by that means took in double the quantity intended
to be sold. ... I did not intend to speak thus, but I have done
it at this time, at your request; not that I desire now you should
purchase these lands, but that you should look into your own
hearts, and consider what is right, and that do."
It is thus seen that Teedyuscung referred directly to the noto-
rious Walking Purchase of 1737. Governor Denny then consulted
Richard Peters and Conrad Weiser about the transactions com-
plained of. Peters said that Teedyuscung's charges should be
considered, inasmuch as they had been made before; but Weiser
advised that none of the Indians attending Teedyuscung at this
second Easton conference had ever owned any of the lands in
question ; that if any were living who had at one time owned the
lands, they had long since removed to the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny. Weiser further told the Governor that the land in
question had been bought by the Proprietaries when John and
Thomas Penn were in the Colony; that a line was soon after run
by Indians and surveyors; and that, when a number of the chiefs
of the Delawares complained about the Walking Purchase after-
wards, the deeds were produced and the names of the grantors
attached to them examined at the council held in Philadelphia, in
1742, at which council, after a long hearing, Canassatego as the
speaker of the Six Nations declared that the deeds were correct,
and ordered the Delawares to remove from the bounds of the
purchase.
The Governor then advised Teedyuscung that the deeds to
which he referred were in Philadelphia; that he would examine
them upon his return to the city, and if any injustice had been
done the Delawares, he would see that they should receive full
satisfaction. Some days later, however, Governor Denny denied
that any injustice had been done the Delawares by the Walking
Purchase, but offered a very handsome present to make satisfac-
tion for the injuries which they complained of. This present
328 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Teedyuscung refused to receive; and the matter was then placed
in charge of an investigating committee.
It was then decided that a general peace should be proclaimed,
provided that the white prisoners were delivered up, and that the
declaration of war and Scalp Act should not apply to any Indians
who would promise to lay down their arms.
Teedyuscung then made the following promise in regard to
the delivery of the captives :
"I will use my utmost endeavors to bring you down your
prisoners. I have to request you that you would give liberty to
all persons and friends to search into these matters; as we are all
children of the Most High, we should endeavor to assist and make
use of one another, and not only so, but from what I have heard,
I believe there is a future state besides this flesh. Now I en-
deavour to act upon both these principles, and will, according to
what I have promised, if the Great Spirit spare my life, come next
spring with as great a force of Indians as I can get to your satis-
faction."
At the close of the conference, Teedyuscung's delegation was
given a present to the value of four hundred pounds, the Governor
advising that the larger part of it was from the Quakers. Teedy-
uscung in his reply urged that the work of peace be continued.
The second peace conference with Teedyuscung, at Easton,
closed on November 17th, 1756. In its minutes, recorded in Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 313 to 338, we read: "Teedyuscung
showed great pleasure in his countenance, and took a kind leave
of the Governor and all present."
Upon the close of the conference, Conrad Weiser, Joseph
Pumpshire and the friendly Delaware chief, Moses Tatemy, ac-
companied Teedyuscung to Bethlehem, and then to Fort Allen,
on his way back to his people. Says Weiser: "Teedyuscung,
quite sober, parted with me with tears in his eyes, recommended
Pumpshire to the Government of Pennsylvania, and desired me
to stand a friend to the Indians, and give good advice, till every
thing that was designed was brought about. Though he is a
drunkard and a very irregular man, yet he is a man that can
think well, and I believe him to be sincere in what he said.'' (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 3, pages 67 and 68.)
About this time, Conrad Weiser had a conversation with
Joseph Pumpshire and the friendly Delaware chief, Moses Tatemy,
in which Tatemy informed him of the full speech Teedyuscung
was to have made, but did not make, through fear of the Six
EFFORTS FOR PEACE, IN 1756 329
Nations' chiefs present at the treaty. The undelivered speech
dealt, in part, with the occupation of the Wyoming Valley by the
Connecticut settlers as being one of the causes of the hostility of
the Indians.
Shortly after the Easton Conference of November, 1756, mur-
ders were committed below the Blue Mountains, which the
Wyoming Delawares disavowed, and when the Governor sent
Mr. Hill with a message to Teedyuscung, he was waylaid on his
journey from Minisink, and murdered, it was claimed, by Iro-
quois. Heckewelder states that the Delawares assured him that
many murders were committed by the Iroquois in order to "pre-
vent the effects of the [Easton] treaty."
Subsequent peace conferences with Teedyuscung, during the
years 1757 and 1758, will be described in later chapters of this
history. The plan was first to work out peace with the Delawares
and Shawnees on the Susquehanna, whose leader Teedyuscung
claimed to be, and then to draw the Delawares and Shawnees of
the Ohio and Allegheny away from the French interest. This
latter was suggested by Teedyuscung and accomplished through
the peace missions of the Moravian missionary. Christian Fred-
erick Post, in the summer and autumn of 1758, as will be seen in
a later chapter.
Obstacles in the Way of Peace
J. S. Walton, in his "Conrad Weiser and the Indian Policy of
Colonial Pennsylvania," thus sets forth the obstacles which con-
fronted Pennsylvania in her efforts to make peace with the hostile
Delawares and Shawnees:
"The prospects of peace were growing more and more embar-
rassing. England, now that war was declared with France, sent
Lord Loudon to America to take charge. Indian affairs were
placed under the control of two men. Sir William Johnson for the
northern, and Mr. Atkins for the southern colonies. Loudon's
policy was to secure as many Indians as possible for allies, and
with them strike the French. To this end Mr. Atkins secured the
alliance of the Cherokee and other southern tribes. These were
immediately added to the armies of Virginia and Western Penn-
sylvania. This act stirred the Northern Indians. The Iroquois
and the Delawares declared that they could never fight on the
same side with the despised Cherokees. This southern alliance
meant northern revolt, and threatened to crush the peace negotia-
tions at Easton. At this critical juncture. Lord Loudon, whose
330 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ignorance of the problem before him was equalled only by his
contempt for provincialism, ordered the Governor of Pennsyl-
vania to have nothing whatever to do with Indian affairs. Sir
William Johnson, only, should control these things. Moreover,
all efforts towards peace were advantages given to the enemy.
Johnson, however was inclined towards peace, but he seriously
complicated affairs in Pennsylvania by appointing George Cro-
ghan his sole deputy in the Province. Croghan and Weiser had
quite different views upon Indian affairs. The Indians were
quick to notice these changes. Jonathan, an old Mohawk chief,
in conversation with Conrad Weiser said: 'Is it true that you are
become a fallen tree, that you must no more engage in Indian
affairs, neither as counsellor nor interpreter? What is the reason?
Weiser replied, 'It is all too true. The King of Great Britain has
appointed Warruychyockon [Sir William Johnson] to be manager
of all Indian affairs that concern treaties of friendship, war, etc.
And that accordingly the Great General (Lord Loudon) that came
over the Great Waters, had in the name of the King ordered the
Government of Pennsylvania to desist from holding treaties with
the Indians, and the Government of Pennsylvania will obey the
King's command, and consequently I, as the Government's ser-
vant, have nothing more to do with Indian affairs.' Jonathan and
his companion replied in concert, 'Ha! Ha!' meaning 'Oh, sad.'
The two Indians then whispered together a few minutes, during
which Weiser politely withdrew into another room. When he
returned Jonathan said, 'Comrade, I hear you have engaged on
another bottom. You are made a captain of warriors and laid
aside council affairs and turned soldier.'
"To this Weiser replied with some spirit, setting forth his
reasons for self-defense, the bloody outrages of the Indians, the
reception of the first peace messengers. 'You know,' said Weiser.
'that their lives were threatened. You know the insolent answer
which came back that caused us to declare war. I was at Easton
working for peace and if I had my wish there would be no war at
all. . . . So, comrade, do not charge me with such a thing as
that.' The Indians thanked Weiser for the explanation and went
away satisfied. But at the same time Weiser was shorn of his
power among the Indians. Making him commander of the Pro-
vincial forces robbed Pennsylvania of her most powerful advocate
at the council fires of the Indians." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages
491 and 492.)
'1 o the above statements of Walton we would add that Croghan
EFFORTS FOR PEACE, IN 1756 331
and Weiser never did agree in the conduct of Indian affairs; that
Croghan, on account of his long trading with the Delawares and
Shawnees, was more of a friend of them than he was of the Six
Nations; that Weiser, on account of his having Hved among the
Six Nations in his youth and having always been in close relations
with their great chiefs, especially Shikellamy, was always on their
side in any disputes with the Delawares and Shawnees; that now,
since the chief Indian character in the peace measures, was Teedy-
uscung, a Delaware, Weiser's influence became less than that of
Croghan; that the hatred of the Delawares, Shawnees and Six
Nations for the Catawbas and Cherokees was too deep-seated to
be wiped out by a few conferences; that these Southern tribes had
been driven out of the Ohio Valley, generations before, by the
Iroquois, Delawares and Shawnees, and ever since that time, not
only the Iroquois, but also the Delawares and Shawnees had
been sending war parties against the Catawbas and Cherokees —
a warfare that the Iroquois said had existed "since the world
began and would last forever;" and that the French took advan-
tage of this age-long feud between the Northern and the Southern
Indians, in telling the Delawares and Shawnees, when the Ohio
Company began to open a road to the Ohio, that it was for the
purpose of making a route over which the Cherokees and Ca-
tawbas could come to enter their former habitat and to kill them —
a statement that the French repeated to the Delawares and Shaw-
nees when Braddock was marching over the mountains against
Fort Duquesne, in the summer of 1755, causing such fear to
remain in the hearts of the Delawares as seriously to hinder
peace negotiations, even the peace mission of Christian Frederick
Post, in the autumn of 1758.
Death of Canachquasy
While attending the first conference with Teedyuscung, at
Easton, Canachquasy had a presentiment of death — a presenti-
ment soon to be fulfilled. Shortly after his appearance before the
Provincial Council, on October 24th, when he gave a report of his
mission to the Six Nations, he contracted small-pox, which was
then raging in Philadelphia, and before the middle of November,
this firm friend of the English, this great peace apostle among the
Indians, was no more. At the closing session of the second con-
ference with Teedyuscung, at Easton, Governor Denny informed
the assembled Indians of the death of Canachquasy and several
332 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
other friendly Indians who had recently died of small-pox, at
Philadelphia. Said the Governor to Teedyuscung and the other
chiefs: "I wipe away your tears; I take the grief from your hearts:
I cover the graves; eternal rest with their spirits." Then Teedy-
uscung addressed the chiefs on this mournful occasion. They
remained silent for some time. Then the oldest of them arose
and pronounced a funeral oration, after which Teedyuscung
again spoke, praising the efforts Canachquasy had made in pro-
moting the good work of peace. Canachquasy's devotion to the
cause of the English commands our great admiration and respect.
He said he would die for the sons of Onas.
CHAPTER XV
Events of the Year 1757
ON January 13th, 1757, Governor William Denny issued a
proclamation suspending hostilities with the Delawares and
Shawnees on the Susquehanna for the period of fifty days. How-
ever, this proclamation did not prevent the soldiers and inhabi-
tants of the Province from defending themselves, or from killing
any Indians committing acts of hostility against any of the forts
or against any of the inhabitants of Pennsylvania. (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, page 300.)
Lancaster Council of May, 1757
At about this time, as stated in a former chapter. Sir William
Johnson, who had been put in charge of Indian affairs in the
colonies, appointed George Croghan as his deputy in charge of
Indian affairs in Pennsylvania. During the first few days of
April, Croghan held a council with a large body of Delawares,
Tuscaroras, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas
and Nanticokes, at Harris' Ferry (Harrisburg). Rev. John Elder,
Captain Thomas McKee, John Harris, Hugh Crawford and
Joseph Armstrong also attended this council. Not being able to
accomplish much at Harris' Ferry, Croghan urged the Indians
to go to Philadelphia to hold a treaty. They declined to do this,
but consented to go to Lancaster, to which place the council fire
was removed on April 7th.
Teedyuscung, did not attend the Lancaster Council, being
still among the Indians, working for peace. It was the desire of
Johnson and Croghan that all friendly Indians should take up
the hatchet in the English cause; but Teedyuscung opposed this,
and contended that the friendly Indians should be asked no more
than to remain neutral. While the delegation of chiefs was wait-
ing near Lancaster for Teedyuscung, Governor Denny received
orders from Lord Loudon not to take part in Indian treaties, and
to forbid the Quakers from attending such treaties or contributing
334 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
thereto in any manner. The Governor then decHned to take part
in the Lancaster treaty.
Says Walton: "Letters and petitions now poured in upon the
Governor. WilHam Masters and Joseph Galaway, of Lancaster,
voiced the sentiment of that vicinity in a letter urging the Gover-
nor to come to Lancaster immediately, and use every possible
means to ascertain the truth or falsity of Teedyuscung's charges.
'The Indians now present have plainly intimated that they are
acquainted with the true cause of our Indian war.' The Friendly
Society for the Promotion of Peace Among the Indians asked
permission of the Governor to examine the minutes of the Pro-
vincial Council and the Proprietaries' deeds, in order to 'assist
the Proprietaries in proving their innocence of Teedyuscung's
charges.' The Governor positively refused to show them any
papers. The Commissioners in charge of Indian affairs were also
refused the same request. The Governor then lost his temper and
charged the Quakers of Pennsylvania with meddling in affairs
which did not concern them. The Assembly then sent a message
to the Governor, denying that the people of the Province ever
interfered with his majesty's prerogative of making peace and
war . . . 'Their known duty and loyalty to his majesty, not-
withstanding the pains taken to misrepresent their actions, for-
bids such an attempt. It is now clear by the inquiries made by
your Honor, that the cause of the present Indian incursions in
this Province, and the dreadful calamities many of the inhabitants
have suffered, have arisen in a great measure from the exorbitant
and unreasonable purchases made or supposed to have been made
of the Indians, that the natives complain that there is not a
country left to hunt or subsist in.'
Governor Denny was compelled by pressure of the people to
go to the Lancaster conference. He arrived there on May 11th.
At this time, the Cherokees, who were serving in the army at
Fort Loudon and Fort Cumberland, were particularly opposed to
any peace with the Delawares. While the conferences were in
progress at Lancaster, some Indian outrages occurred on the
Swatara, so exasperating the people that they brought the
mutilated body of a woman, whom the Indians had scalped, and
left it on the court house steps, at Lancaster, as the silent witness,
as they said, of the fruits of an Indian peace. All these matters,
together with the absence of the great Teedyuscung, made it
impossible to accomplish anything definite at Lancaster. George
Croghan was anxious that the Western Indians be taken into a
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 335
treaty of peace at Lancaster, and this question was therefore
postponed on account of the absence of Teedyuscung.
While Teedyuscung did not attend the Lancaster treaty, he
sent a message complaining bitterly of the Moravians at Bethle-
hem, as follows:
"Brothers, there is one thing that gives us a great deal of con-
cern, which is our flesh and blood that live among you at Bethle-
hem and in the Jersies, being kept as if they were prisoners. We
formally applied to the minister at Bethlehem [probably meaning
Bishop Spangenberg] to let our people come back at times and
hunt, which is the chief industry we follow to maintain our
families; but that minister has not listened to what we said to him,
and it is very hard that our people have not the liberty of coming
back to the woods where game is plenty, and to see their friends.
They have complained to us that they cannot hunt where they
are. If they go to the woods and cut down a tree, they are abused
for it, notwithstanding that very land we look upon to be our own ;
and we hope, brothers, that you will consider this matter and let
our people come back into the woods, and visit their friends, and
pass and repass, as brothers ought to do."
The Moravian missionaries resented this message of Teedy-
uscung, claiming that he well knew the sentiments of the Indian
converts at Bethlehem, and that they were there of their own free
will. The Colonial Government, however, paid no attention to
the message.
The matter of the fraudulent land sales came up at this confer-
ence at Lancaster. One of the chiefs of the Six Nations, Little
Abraham, a Mohawk, spoke as follows concerning the frauds
upon the Delawares:
"They lived among you, brothers, but upon some difference
between you and them, we [the Six Nations] thought proper to
remove them, giving them lands to plant and hunt on at Wyo-
ming and Juniata on Susquehanna. But you, covetous of land,
made plantations there and spoiled their hunting grounds. They
then complained to us, and we looked over those lands and
found the complaints to be true . . . The French became ac-
quainted with all the causes of complaint that the Delawares had
against you ; and as your people were daily increasing their settle-
ments, by this means you drove them [the Delawares] back into
the arms of the French, and they took the advantage of spiriting
them up against you by telling them: 'Children, you see, and we
have often told you, how the English, your brethren, did serve;
336 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
they plant all the country, and drive you back; so that in a little
time you will have no land. It is not so with us. Though we
built trading houses on your land, we do not plant it. We have
our provisions from over the great waters.' "
The Six Nations' chiefs at this conference then advised that
part of the lands of the Delawares be given back to them and
promised to make both the Delawares and Shawnees return the
captives. They further urged that another invitation be sent to
Teedyuscung to come and bring some Senecas with him, in order
that the land question might be fully settled. Governor Denny
followed the suggestion of the chiefs of the Six Nations made at
the Lancaster conference, and accordingly arranged for the third
council or treaty at Easton, where the complaints of the Dela-
wares might be more fully heard. This treaty we shall discuss
later in this chapter.
Little Abraham also gave information as to the things that
took place at the Indian council at Otseningo (Chenango), when
the Delawares threw off the yoke of the Six Nations, and said:
"We are men, and are determined not to be ruled any longer by
you as Women; and we are determined to cut off all the English,
except those that make their Escape from us in Ships."
While the Indians were encamped at Lancaster, Scarouady left
with some Mohawk warriors to reconnoitre the wilderness in the
vicinity of Fort Augusta and the region towards the Ohio. The
old chief asked permission from Croghan to make this expedition,
saying that he was apprehensive that the French and their
Indian allies would make an attempt against this fort.
Some of the messengers, sent by Croghan to the Ohio, returned
to Lancaster on May 9th. They had gone to Venango, Kuskus-
kies and other towns in the western part of the Province. They
reported that the most of the Delawares who formerly lived at
Kittanning, were living at Kuskuskies; that, at Venango, they
were well received by the Delaware chief, Custaloga, at which
place they found but fifteen Frenchmen at the French fort (Fort
Machault); that the Delawares at Venango advised them that
they would be very glad to enter into peace negotiations, but
must first consult the Senecas; that the messengers then went to
a town some miles from Venango where they consulted with the
Seneca chief, Garistagee, who then and there advised the Venango
Delawares not to accept Croghan's overtures, giving, as a reason,
that the messengers had not brought "proper belts for this occa-
sion," but further saying that, if Croghan would send "a proper
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 337
belt with men wrought in it for the several tribes he wants to
meet with, made of old council wampum, which is the custom of
the Six Nations, I will go down with you and see him." The
returned scouts and messengers further reported that they were
sure the French intended to make an attack of importance
against the English, but that they could not tell where this
attack would take place. Then they gave the following infor-
mation as to the activities of the Cherokees and Catawbas in
behalf of the English :
"The Ohio Indians are much afraid of the Southern Indians,
having been struck three times by them this spring — twice near
Fort Duquesne and once at the Logs Town."
The Lancaster Council closed on May 22nd. During its ses-
sions, many of the Indians contracted small-pox, and some of
them died. For account of this council, the reader is referred to
Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 510 to SSL
In the spring of 17S7, a number of Cherokees and Catawbas
came to Pennsylvania to assist the English. They were brought
by Captain Paris, a trader among them. Reference has been
made in a former chapter, to the fact that the presence of the
Cherokees and Catawbas among the forces of the English
hindered peace negotiations with the Delawares and Shawnees,
their age-long enemies. From the time when the Ohio Company
began to open a road to the Ohio, the French never ceased to tell
the Delawares and Shawnees that the English were planning to
cause the Catawbas and Cherokees to destroy these tribes. In
17S6, the French were especially active in spreading this propa-
ganda among the Delawares and Shawnees. John A. Long, who
was captured near Cumberland, Maryland, in April of that year,
and carried to the Indian town of Buccaloons, or Buckaloon, at
the mouth of Brokenstraw Creek, Warren County, reported to
Governor Dinwiddle, after his return to Fort Cumberland, in
September (17S6), that the Iroquois of Buckaloons had heard a
report that the English had joined with the Cherokees and
Catawbas. (Pa. Col. Rec. Vol. 7, page 289.) Furthermore,
Croghan was distasteful to these southern tribes. (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, page 5S7.) All these things, added to the fact that Cro-
ghan and Weiser differed in their ideas as to the manner of con-
ducting Indian affairs, threw many obstacles in the way of
attaining peace with the Delawares and Shawnees.
The Cherokees and Catawbas acted principally as scouts. They
were familiar with the Indian trails of Western Pennsylvania,
338 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
from the long warfare they had carried on against the Iroquois,
Shawnees and Delawares. Their principal base of operations in
Pennsylvania were Forts Loudon and Littleton. On May 20th,
1757, a scouting party of five soldiers and fifteen Cherokees went
out from Fort Cumberland, led by Lieutenant Baker. They went
almost to the walls of Fort Duquesne, and had an engagement
with some French and Indians within two miles of the fort, in
which a number of scalps were taken and a French officer was
captured. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 603.)
Third Conference with Teedyuscung at Easton
The third council with Teedyuscung at Easton opened on
July 21, 1757, and continued until August 7th. The friendly
Shawnee chief, Paxinosa, was also present. There were almost
endless discussions about Teedyuscung's having a secretary of
his own, deeds, frauds, and other matters which had come before
Indian councils for many years prior to this council. Finally,
John Pumpshire was selected by Teedyuscung as his interpreter,
and Charles Thomson, master of the Quaker school in Philadel-
phia, as his clerk. Thomson, in writing of this affair to Samuel
Rhodes, says:
"I need not mention the importance of the business we are
come about. The welfare of the Province and the lives of thou-
sands depend upon it. That an affair of such weight should be
transacted with soberness, all will allow; how, then, must it
shock you to hear that pains seem to have been taken to make the
King [Teedyuscung] drunk every night since the business began.
The first two or three days were spent in deliberating whether the
King should be allowed the privilege of a clerk. When he was
resolute in asserting his right and would enter into no business
without having a secretary of his own, they at last gave it up,
and seem to have fallen on another scheme which is to unfit him
to say anything worthy of being inscribed (?) by his secretary.
On Saturday, under pretense of rejoicing for the victory gained
by the King of Prussia and the arrival of the fleet, a bonfire was
ordered to be made and liquor given to the Indians to induce them
to dance. For fear they should get sober on Sunday and be fit
next day to enter on business, under pretense that the Mohawks
had requested it, another bonfire was ordered to be made, and
more liquor given them. On Monday night the King was made
drunk by Conrad Weiser, on Tuesday by G. Croghan; last night
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 339
he was very drunk at Vernon's, and Vernon lays the blame on
Comin and G. Croghan. He did not go to sleep last night. This
morning he lay down under a shed about the break of day and
slept a few hours. He is to speak this afternoon. He is to be
sure in a fine capacity to do business. But thus we go on. I
leave you to make reflections. I for my part wish myself at
home."
Teedyuscung Renews Charge of Fraud
Teedyuscung entered this third Easton council with his mind
made up not to reiterate the charge of fraud concerning the Walk-
ing Purchase, doubtless fearing the Six Nations. His advisors
told him that he could afford to wait until peace was fully estab-
ished, before asserting the Delaware rights to lands drained by
the Delaware River. However, Governor Denny was determined
to make the great chief deny that any fraud had been practiced
upon the Delawares in land purchases. When pressed for the
cause of the alienation of the Delawares, Teedyuscung unequi-
vocally asserted that it was the land purchases. Said he:
"The complaint I made last fall I yet continue. I think some
lands have been bought by the Proprietors or his agents from
Indians who had not a right to sell ... I think, also, when some
lands have been sold to the Proprietors by Indians who had a
right to sell to a certain place, whether that purchase was to be
measured by miles or hours walk, that the Proprietors have con-
trary to agreement or bargain, taken in more lands than they
ought to have done, and lands that belonged to others. I there-
fore now desire that you will produce the writings and deeds by
which you hold the land, and let them be read in public, and ex-
amined, that it may be fully known from what Indians you have
bought the lands you hold; and how far your purchases extend;
that copies of the whole may be laid before King George, and
published to all the Provinces under his Government. What is
fairly bought and paid for I make no further demand about. But
if any lands have been bought of Indians to whom these lands
did not belong, and who had no right to sell them, I expect a
satisfaction for those lands; and if the Proprietors have taken in
more lands than they bought of true owners, I expect likewise to
be paid for that."
Teedyuscung Requests Benefits of Civilization
Said Teedyuscung, further, at this conference: "We [the Dela-
wares] intend to settle at Wyoming, and we want to have certain
340 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
boundaries fixed between you and us, and a certain tract of land
fixed which it shall not be lawful for us or our children ever to sell,
nor for you or any of your children ever to buy . . . To build
different houses from what we have done before, such as may last
not only for a little time, but for our children after us; we desire
you will assist us in making our settlements, and send us persons
to instruct us in building houses and making such necessaries as
shall be needed, and that persons be sent to instruct us in the
Christian religion, and to instruct our children in reading and
writing, and that a fair trade be established between us, and such
persons appointed to conduct and manage these affairs as shall be
agreeable to us."
Walton's Account of the Council
The remaining matters taken up at this great conference are
thus succinctly set forth by J. S. Walton, in his "Conrad Weiser
and the Indian Policy of Pennsylvania":
"Teedyuscung then asked that the territory of Wyoming be
reserved to the Indians forever. That it might be surveyed and
a deed given to the Indians, that they might have something to
show when it became necessary to drive the white men away.
After these charges [concerning fraudulent land purchases] were
again made the Governor called Croghan and Weiser together to
know what was the best thing to do. Each of these men with his
large share of experience in Indian affairs agreed in the opinion
that some outside influence had induced Teedyuscung to revive
these charges. They also united in the opinion that the Indians
merely wanted a glimpse of the old deeds, and would be satisfied
with a cursory examination of the signatures.
"Upon these assertions the Governor and Council were induced
to grant Teedyuscung's request and to show him the deeds of
1736 and 1737 from the Delawares, and of 1749 from the Iroquois.
When the Governor applied to Mr. Peters for the papers and
deeds they were again refused. Peters declared that he held them
as a sacred trust from the Proprietors and would neither surrender
them nor permit himself to be placed under oath and give testi-
mony. These two things could only be done, he insisted, in the
presence of Sir William Johnson, before whom as a final abritrator,
the Proprietors desired that these charges should be laid. James
Logan immediately opposed Richard Peters. He insisted that all
deeds relating to lands which the Indians claimed were fraudu-
lently purchased, should be shown. To refuse this would be un-
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 341
just to the Indians and dangerous to the cause of peace. Logan
explained that the Proprietary instructions should not be too
literally construed and obeyed. The Indians were opposed to
having their case settled before Sir William Johnson. After an
animated discussion in council it was reluctantly agreed that the
deeds should be shown. The Council only consented to this after
Conrad Weiser had assured them that Teedyuscung did not insist
upon seeing all the deeds, but only those pertaining to the back
lands. R. Peters again protested, but was overruled. The deeds
were laid on the table August 3, 1757.
"Charles Thomson, at Teedyuscung's request, copied these
deeds. The chief said he would have preferred to have seen the
deeds of confirmation given to Governor Keith in 1718, but the
great work of peace was superior to the land dispute, and if the
Proprietors would make satsfaction for the lands which had been
fradulently secured, he would return the English prisoners held
captive among the Indians. The peace belt was then grasped by
the Governor and Teedyuscung, and the two years' struggle for
peace was crowned with victory. After much feasting and danc-
ing, drinking and burning of bonfires the treaty closed.
"Teedyuscung promised to fight for the English on condition
that his men should not be commanded by white captains. The
Governor and his party returned to Philadelphia, deeply worried
over the publicity of the Indian charges of fraud which had occur-
red at the Easton conference. Peace to the Proprietors was dearly
purchased, if the people of the Province were confirmed in their
belief that the Indian outrages had been caused by fraud in land
purchases."
For a full account of the third conference or treaty with Teedy-
uscung at Easton — a treaty of peace between Pennsylvania and
the Delawares and Shawnees of the Susquehanna, leaving the
Delawares and Shawnees of the Ohio and Allegheny yet to be
won over from the French — the reader is referred to Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 7, pages 649 to 714.
The council ended on Sunday, August 7th. Governor Denny
then returned to Philadelphia realizing that two things were im-
perative. One was to disprove Teedyuscung's charge of fraud, in
order to remove from the Proprietaries of the Colony the respon-
sibility for the hostility of the Delawares and Shawnees; the other
was to make peace with the Indians of the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, in order that the expedition of General Forbes, then
planned, might be a success. The Governor was very apprehen-
342 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
sive that, on account of the allegiance of the Western Indians with
the French, the proposed expedition of General Forbes would
meet with the same fate as the expedition of the ill-fated Brad-
dock in the summer of 1755. Besides, unless the hostile Indians
of the Ohio and Allegheny could be persuaded to sever their
allegiance with the French, there was little chance of ending the
barbarous raids which they were making on the frontier settle-
ments. How these Western Indians were induced by the Mor-
avian missionary. Christian Frederick Post, to sever their allegi-
ance with the French, will be told in a subsequent chapter.
Chief Tatemy and his Son, William
Mention has been made, in a former chapter, that the Delaware
chief, Tatemy, or Titami, after petitioning the Colonial Autho-
rities, in November, 1742, and evidently obtaining the consent of
the Iroquois, was permitted to reside on his tract of land, near
Stockertown, Northampton County, after the other Delawares
of the Munsee Clan had removed from the bounds of the Walking
Purchase. This chief, who had been baptized by the missionary.
Rev. David Brainerd, on July 21st, 1746, and given the name of
Moses Fonday Tatemy, was closely associated with Teedy-
uscung in the attempt to win back the Delawares to friendly
relations with the Province, and acted as interpreter at the various
councils at Easton. He was also sent on important missions with
Isaac Still and others, and interpreted at several conferences at
Philadelphia. He died about 1761. A town in Northampton
County perpetuates the name of this noted chief.
When Teedyuscung and his party of more than 200 Indians
were on their way to the Easton Council of July and August,
1757, Tatemy's son, William, who had strayed from the main
body, was mortally wounded by a fifteen year old Irish boy. This
wanton act threatened to break up the peace negotiations, and it
was feared that the Delawares, angered by the outrage, would
take revenge. Teedyuscung demanded, at the council, that, if
young Tatemy should die, the Irish boy who shot him, should be
tried and punished, according to law, before a deputation of In-
dians. Governor Denny replied, expressing his sorrow to the
father, and promised that the boy should be punished. Young
Tatemy was taken to the house of a farmer, named John Jones,
near Bethlehem, where he was attended by Dr. John Matthew
Otto. However, in spite of all that medical skill could do for
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 343
him, the unfortunate Indian, after suffering for more than a
month, died on August 1st. The gentle Moravian missionaries
soothed his dying hours with their kind ministrations. At
Bethlehem, in the presence of more than 200 Indians, Rev.
Jacob Rogers conducting the funeral services, the friendly young
Delaware, with marble face upturned to the glorious summer sky,
was laid away from sight until the heavens be no more.
We shall now narrate the principal atrocities, committed by
the Delawares and Shawnees in 1757.
Atrocities in Monroe County
On March 25th, the Delawares made an incursion into Monroe
County, killing Sergeant Leonard Den within two miles of Fort
Dupui. This was followed by another on April 20th, spreading
terror, devastation and death in this region. On this day, Andreas
(Casper) Gundryman was killed within sight of Fort Hamilton,
while bringing fire wood to his father's house, near the fort.
Michael Roup, an inhabitant of Smithfield Township, Monroe
County, made the following affidavit before William Parsons, at
Easton, on April 24th, describing some of the murders committed
during this incursion :
"That, on Friday morning last, John Lefever, passing the
houses of Philip Bozart and this deponent [Roup] informed them
that the Indians had murdered Casper Gundryman last Wednes-
day evening, whereupon this deponent went immediately to the
house of Philip Bozart to consult what was best to be done, their
houses being about half a mile apart. That they concluded it
best for the neighbours to collect themselves together, as many
as they could, in some one house. That he immediately re-
turned home and loaded his wagon as fast as he could with his
most valuable effects, which he carried to Bozart's house. That
as soon as he unloaded his wagon, he drove to his son-in-law,
Peter Soan's house, about two miles, and loaded as much of his
effects as the time and hurry would admit, and took them also
to Bozart's, where nine families were retired. That a great num-
ber of the inhabitants also retired to the houses of Conrad Bitten-
bender and John McDowell. That Bozart's house is seven miles
from Fort Hamilton and twelve miles from Fort Norris. That
yesterday morning, about nine o'clock, the said Peter Soan and
Christian Klein with his daughter about thirteen years of age
went from Bozart's house to the house of the said Klein and thence
344 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
to Soan's house to look after their cattle and bring off more
effects. That about half an hour after these three persons had
gone from Bozart's house, a certain George Hartleib, who also
fled with his family to Bozart's and who had been at his own
house about a mile from Soan's to look after creatures and to
bring away what he could, returned to Bozart's and reported
that he had heard three guns fired very quickly one after another
towards Soan's place, which made them all conclude that the
above three persons were killed by the Indians. That the little
company was afraid to venture to go and see what happened that
day, as they had many women and children to take care of, who,
if they had left, might have fallen an easy prey to the enemy.
That this morning, nine men of the neighbourhood armed them-
selves as well as they could, and went towards Peter Soan's
house, in order to discover what was become of the above three
persons. That when they came within three hundred yards of
the house, they found the bodies of the said Soan and Klein about
twenty feet from each other, killed and scalped, but did not find
Klein's daughter. Soan was killed by a bullet which entered the
upper part of his back and came out at his breast. Klein was
killed with their tomahawks. The nine men immediately re-
turned to Bozart's and reported as above. That this deponent
was not one of the nine, but that he remained at Bozart's with
the women and children. That the rest of the people desired this
deponent to come to Easton and acquaint the Justice with what
had happened. That the nine men did not think it safe to bury
the dead." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 492 to 494.)
On June 20th, 1757, George Ebert, who was captured in this
same incursion, made an affidavit at Easton, in which he said
that Conrad Bittenbender, Jacob Roth, and John Nolf were
killed and Peter Sheaffer was captured in this incursion, adding
that "they [the Indians] immediately set off; that on the evening
of the second day they fell in with another Company of about
Twenty-four Indians, who had Abraham Miller, with his Mother,
and Adam Snell's Daughter, Prisoners; that on their way on this
Side of Diahogo they saw Klein's Daughter, who had been taken
Prisoner about a week before this deponent was taken; that a
Day's Journey beyond Diahogo, they came to some French In-
dian Cabbins, where they saw another Prisoner, a girl about
Eight or nine Years old, who told this deponent that her name
was Catherine Yager, that her father was a Lock Smith and lived
at Allemangle, and that she had been a Prisoner ever since
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 345
Christmas." Ebert also stated in his affidavit that the Indians
killed Abraham Miller's mother when she became unable to
travel further, on account of weakness, likewise Snell's daughter,
"who had received a Wound in her Leg by a Fall when they first
took her Prisoner." At the "French Indian Cabbins," both
George Ebert, the deponent, and Abraham Miller made their
escape. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, pages 620 and 621.)
Shortly after the capture of George Ebert and the murder of
Bittenbender, Roth and Nolf, the Indians killed a certain Mrs.
Marshall near the same place. On June 23l1, of this year (1757),
a large body of Indians attacked and burned the home of Broad-
head in sight of Fort Hamilton, killing and scalping a man named
John Tidd. During the same month, also, Peter Geisinger was
shot and scalped while plowing in his field between Fort Henry
and Fort Northkill, and Adam Drum was killed in AUemangle.
Murder of John Spitler and Barnabas Tolon
On May 16th, John Spitler while fixing up a pair of bars on
his farm a few miles from Stumpton, was shot and his body cruelly
mangled. His body was buried in the graveyard at Hebron, near
Lebanon. The following account of his murder and burial is
contained in the records of the Hebron church:
"1757, May den 16, wurde Johannes Spitler, Jr. ohnweit von
seinem Hause, an der Schwatara von moerderischen Indianern
ueberfallen und ermordert. Er war im acht unddreisigsten Jahr
seines Alters, und verwichenes Jahr im April, an der Schwatara
aufgenommen. Seine uebelzugerichtette Leiche wurde den 17ten
May hieher gebracht, und bei einer grossen Menge Leute begleitet
auf unsern hiesigen Gottesacker beerdigt."
The following is the translation of the record:
"On the 16th of May, 1757, John Spitler, Jr. was fallen upon
and murdered by savage Indians not far from his house on the
Swatara. He was in the thirty-eighth year of his age, and had
taken up his residence on the Swatara in April of the preceding
year. His badly mangled body was brought here on the 17th of
May, accompanied by a large concourse of people, and buried in
the graveyard of this place."
The Lancaster Council, described earlier in this chapter, was in
session at the time of these atrocities. In its minutes, under date
of May 18th, we read: "This day four persons that were killed
346 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
on the frontiers, in the settlement of Swatara, were brought to
this town." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 7, page 538.)
On May 22nd, Barnabus Tolon was killed and scalped in Han-
over Township, Lebanon County. "We are," says the editor of
the Pennsylvania Gazette, "well informed that 123 persons have
been murdered and carried off from that part of Lancaster
[Lebanon] County by Indians since the war commenced, and that
lately three have been scalped and are yet living."
Other atrocities were committed in this neighborhood during
the summer of 1757, thus referred to in the "Frontier Forts of
Pennsylvania":
"A correspondent from this township Hanover of the Pennsyl-
vania Gazette, says in its issue of May, 1757, that the house of
Isaac Snevely was set on fire and entirely consumed, with eighteen
horses and cows, and that, on May 17th, five men and a woman
were killed and scalped about thirty miles from Lancaster. In
another letter, dated August 11th, it is stated that, on Monday
the 8th, George Mauerer was killed and scalped whilst cutting
oats in George Scheffer's field."
Massacre on Quitapahilla Creek
"Londonderry Township (Lebanon County) being more
towards the interior, was not so much exposed to the depredations
of the savages as those on the northern frontiers. Nevertheless, in
the more sparsely settled parts they committed various murders.
June 19, 1757, nineteen persons were killed in a mill on the Quita-
pahilla Creek, and on the 9th of September, 1757, one boy and a
girl were taken from Donegal Township, a few miles south of
Derry. About the same time, one Danner and his son Christian,
a lad of twelve years, had gone into the Conewago hills to cut
down trees; after felling one, and while the father was cutting a
log, he was shot and scalped by an Indian, and Christian, the son,
taken captive into Canada, where he remained until the close of
the war when he made his escape. Another young lad, named
Steger, was surprised by three Indians and taken captive whilst
cutting hoop-poles, but, fortunately, after remaining with the
Indians some months made his escape." — (Frontier Forts of
Pennsylvania.)
Murder of Adam Trump
On June 22nd occurred the murder of Adam Trump, in Albany
Township, Berks County, thus referred to in a letter of James
Read, from Reading, on June 25th:
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 347
"Last night Jacob Levan, Esq., of Maxatawney, came to see
me and showed me a letter of the 22d inst. from Lieutenant Engel,
dated in Allemangel, by which he advised Mr. Levan of the mur-
der of one Adam Trump in Allemangel, by Indians, that evening,
and that they had taken Trump's wife and his son, a lad nineteen
years old, prisoners; but the woman escaped, though upon her
flying, she was so closely pursued by one of the Indians, (of which
there were seven) that he threw his tomahawk at her, and cut her
badly in the neck, but 'tis hoped not dangerously. This murder
happened in as great a thunderstorm as has happened for twenty
years past; which extended itself over a great part of this and
Northampton Counties. * * * *
"I had almost forgot to mention (but I am so hurried just
now, 'tis no wonder), that the Indians after scalping Adam Trump
left a knife, and a halbert, or a spear, fixed to a pole of four feet,
in his body."
Other Atrocities East of the Susquehanna
About the middle of May, 1757, a boy was killed and scalped,
and another who had small-pox was dangerously wounded, about
one half mile from Fort Northkill. The Indians did not scalp the
wounded boy for fear of infection. Four persons were killed and
four captured near this fort, about October 1st, 1757.
On June 22nd, 1757, as already narrated, Peter Geisinger was
killed and scalped by Indians in the vicinity of Fort Northkill.
On the following day, a girl about fifteen years old, a daughter of
Balser Smith, was captured by two Indians, near the same
neighborhood. On June 29th, in the vicinity of this fort,
Frederick Myers and his wife were killed and scalped. Three of
Myers' children, a boy aged ten years, a girl aged eight years,
and a boy aged six years were captured, while another child, aged
one and one half years, was scalped, but was alive when some
scouts from Fort Northkill found it late that afternoon. It was
lying in a ditch crying, with the water just up to its mouth.
("Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," Vol. 1, pages 108 and 110.)
The Pennsylvania Gaze/Ze of July, 1757, contains a letter written
from Heidelberg, Berks County, on July 9th, as follows:
"Yesterday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, between Val-
entine Herchelroar's and Tobias Bickell's, four Indians killed two
children. They, at the same time, scalped a young woman of
about sixteen; but, with proper care, she is likely to live and do
well.
348 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"A woman was terribly cut with a tomahawk, but not scalped.
Her life is despaired of. Three children were carried off prisoners.
One Christian Schrenk's wife being among the rest, bravely
defended herself and children for a while, wrestling the gun out of
the Indian's hands, who assaulted her, also his tomahawk, and
threw them away, and afterwards was obliged to save her own
life. Two of her children were taken captive in the meantime.
In this house were also twenty women and children who had fled
from their own habitations to take shelter. The men belonging
to them were about one half mile off, picking cherries. They came
as quickly as possible, and went in pursuit of the Indians, but to
no purpose. The Indians had concealed themselves."
Lieutenant Jacob Wetterhold, in a letter written from Lynn
Township, Lehigh County, to Major William Parsons at Easton,
on July 9th, 1757, describes an atrocity which took place that
day in Lynn Township. This letter, recorded in Penna. Archives,
Vol. 3, page 211, is quoted verbatim, except as to spelling:
"These are to acquaint you of a murder happened this day at
the house of Adam Clauce, in said Township of Lynn, where three
or four neighbors was cutting said man's corn; as they was eating
their dinner, they were fell upon by a party of savages, Indians,
and five of the whites took to their heels, two men, two women and
one girl, and got safe out of their hands. Was killed and scalped,
Martin Yager and his wife, and John Croushores, wife and one
child, and the wife of Abraham Secies, and one child of one Adam
Clouce, and the wife of John Croushore, and the wife of Abram
Secies was scalped and is yet alive, but badly wounded, one shot
through the side and the other in the thigh, and two children
killed belonging to said Croushore, and one to said Secies, and
one belonging to Philip Antone not scalped, and this was done at
least three miles within the outside settlers and four miles from
John Everett's, and Philip Antone's wife was one that took her
Tilit [?], and came home and acquainted her husband, and he
came and acquainted me, and I immediately went to the place
with seven men, besides myself, and saw the murder, but the
Indians was gone, and I directly pursued them about four miles
and came up with them in the thick groves where we met with
nine Indians, and one sprung behind a tree, and took sight at me,
and I run direct at him, and another one flashed at me, and then
both took to their heels, and I shot one through the body, as he
fell on his face, but I loaded and after another that was leading a
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 349
mare, and in the meantime he got up and ran away, and I fired
one the other, and, I think, shot him."
Lieutenant Wetterhold's letter is not very clear as to the num-
ber killed by the Indians on this occasion. However, Conrad
Weiser, writing Governor Denny, from Easton, on July 15th,
mentions this atrocity, and says that ten were killed. (Penna.
Archives, Vol. 3, page 218.)
Loudon says that, on August 27th, "one, Beatty, was killed in
Paxton." On Sunday, August 21st, according to the Pennsylvania
Gazette of September 1st, 1757, Indians burned the house and
barn of Peter Semelcke, within two miles of Fort Lebanon, and
carried off three of his children, Mr. Semelcke, his wife and one
child being away from home at the time. About the same time
Peter Wampler's four children were carried off from Lebanon
Township, Lebanon County, as they were going to the meadow
for a load of hay. About the same time, also, some settlers in
Berne Township, Berks County, were murdered. On September
27th, four persons were killed and four captured near Fort North-
kill. The Pennsylvania Gazette of October 27th says that, on
October 17th, Alexander Watt and John McKennet were killed
and scalped as they were cutting corn, near Fort Hunter, and
that some soldiers of the Augusta Regiment, coming down from
Fort Halifax, met the murderers and had a skirmish with them.
On November 25th, Thomas Robinson and a son of Thomas Bell
were killed, in the Swatara region. In August, John Winkelbach's
two sons and Joseph Fischbach were fired upon while bringing
in their cows at sunrise, in Lebanon County. Both Winkelbach
boys were killed, and Fischbach was badly wounded. About the
same time, Leonard Long's son was killed and scalped while
plowing in his father's field, and Isaac Williams' wife was killed,
both these murders taking place in Lebanon County.
The Mackey Atrocity
During one of the incursions into Dauphin County, in the
summer of 1757, Elizabeth Dickey, her child, and the wife of
Samuel Young were captured. On the same day a Mr, Barnett
and a Mr. Mackey were at work on the former's farm near
Manada Creek, when news reached them that their families were
murdered in the block house nearby. They at once started for the
scene of horror, but had not gone far until they were ambushed by
a party of Indians who killed Mackey and severely wounded
350 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Barnett who, nevertheless, was able to escape, owing to the swift-
ness of his horse. He concealed himself until the Indians left the
neighborhood the next day, when he learned that his family was
safe with the exception of his son, William, aged nine, whom the
Indians had captured, together with Mackey's son about the same
age. The Indians proceeded westward with the two little boys.
Upon learning that one of the boys was the son of Mackey, whom
they had just killed, they forced him to stretch his father's scalp.
For a time, the little Mackey boy carried his father's scalp, which
he would often stroke with his little hand, and say, "My father's
pretty hair."
Mr. Barnett at length recovered from his wound. In the hope
of recovering his son, he accompanied George Croghan to Fort
Pitt, and attended the council which Croghan, Colonel Hugh
Mercer, Captain William Trent, and Captain Thomas McKee
held with the Shawnees, Delawares, and other Indians at that
place on July 5th, 1759. One day during his stay at the fort, he
wished to get a drink of water from Grant's Spring, above the fort,
so named from the defeat of Major James Grant at that place in
the preceding September. He had proceeded only a short dis-
tance, when something told him to turn back. At the same instant,
he heard the report of a rifle, and looking towards the spring, saw
the smoke of the rifle and an Indian scalping a soldier, who had
gone to the spring for a drink.
Mr. Barnett returned home without recovering his son, but
Croghan promised to use every endeavor to obtain the child. At
length the boy was brought to Fort Pitt, but so great was his in-
clination to return to the Indians that it was necessary to guard
him closely until there would be an opportunity to send him to
his father. On one occasion, he jumped into a canoe, and was
half way across the Allegheny River before he was observed.
Quick pursuit followed; but he reached the other side and hid in
the bushes, where it took a search of several hours to find him.
Soon thereafter, he was sent to Carlisle, where the father received
him with tears of joy, and took him home to the arms of the
mother. During his captivity, the Indians frequently broke the
ice on rivers and creeks, and dipped him in "to make him hardy."
This treatment impaired his constitution. He sank into the
grave in early manhood, leaving a wife and daughter. Shortly
thereafter, the mother died. Then Mr. Barnett, the elder, re-
moved to Allegheny County, where he died at the great age of
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 351
eighty-two years. His dust reposes in the church yard of Leb-
anon, Mifflin Township, Allegheny County.
But, to return to the Mackey boy. The Indians gave this
child to the French, and at the close of the French and Indian
War, he passed into the hands of the English, was taken to Eng-
land, and later, became a soldier in the British army, and was
sent to America during the Revolutionary War. He procured a
furlough, and sought out his widowed mother, who had mourned
him as dead. As he stood before her in the strength of robust
manhood, she was unable to see in him any trace of her long lost
boy. "If you are my son," said she, "you have a mark upon your
knee that I will know." He then exposed his knee to her view;
whereupon she threw her arms around his neck in unrestrained
joy. He never returned to the British army, but remained with
his mother to the end of her days, often meeting William Barnett,
and recounting with him their experiences while captives among
the Indians.
Atrocities in Cumberland and Franklin Counties
Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania," in the chapter on
Cumberland County, relates the following atrocities that were
perpetrated by the Indians, in this county, during the summer of
1757:
"In the spring and summer of 1757, the Indians invaded East
Pennsboro. On May 13th, 1757, William Walker and another
man were killed near McCormick's Fort, at Conodoguinet. In
July of the same year, four persons were killed near Tobias
Hendricks' . . . Companies of rangers scoured, in the summer of
1757, the country between the Conodoguinet Creek and the Blue
Mountain, from the Susquehanna westward as far as Shippens-
burg, to route the savages who usually lurked in small parties,
stealing through the woods and over fields to surprise laborers,
to attack men, women and children in the 'light of day and dead
of night,' murdered all indiscriminately whom they had sur-
prised, fired houses and barns, abducted women and children.
On July 18, 1757, six men were killed or taken away near Ship-
pensburg, while reaping in John Cesney's field. The savages
murdered John Kirkpatrick, Dennis Oneidan; captured John
Cesney, three of his grandsons, and one of John Kirkpatrick's
children. The day following, not far from Shippensburg, in
Joseph Stevenson's harvest field, the savages butchered inhu-
352 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
manely Joseph Mitchell, James Mitchell, William Mitchell, John
Finlay, Robert Stevenson, Andrew Enslow, John Wiley, Allen
Henderson and William Gibson, carrying off Jane McCammon,
Mary Minor, Janet Harper and a son of John Finlay. July 27,
Mr, McKisson was wounded, and his son taken from the South
Mountain. A letter, dated Carlisle, September 5, 1757, says
three persons were killed by the Indians, six miles from Carlisle,
and two persons about two miles from Silver's old place."
The list of those murdered in John Cesney's field is also given
on page 219 of Vol. 3, of the Penna. Archives, where it is stated
that the tragedy took place about seven miles from Shippensburg,
and that, "these people refused to join with their neighbors who
had a guard appointed them, because they couldn't have their
fields reaped the first."
Says Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania," in the chapter on
Franklin County:
"The following are the names of persons killed and taken cap-
tive on the Conococheague : on the 23d of April, 1757, John Mar-
tin and William Blair were killed, and Patrick McClelland
wounded, who died of his wounds, near Maxwell's Fort; May 12th
John Martin and Andrew Paul, both old men, were captured;
June 24th, Alexander Miller was killed and two of his daughters,
from Conococheague; July 27th, Mr. McKisson was wounded,
and his two sons were captured, at the South Mountain; August
15th, William Manson and his son were killed near Cross' Fort;
September 26th, Robert Rush and John McCracken, with others,
were killed and taken captive, near Chambersburg." It will be
noted that Dr. Egle mentions Mr. McKisson in both the chapter
on Cumberland County and the chapter on Franklin County.
Loudon, in his "Indian Narratives," gives a list of atrocities
that took place in 1757, the list being compiled by John McCul-
lough whose captivity we have narrated in a former chapter.
The list includes many already narrated in this chapter, as well
as the following:
"March 29th, the Indians took one person from the South
Mountain. May 16th, eleven persons killed at Paxton, by the
Indians. June 6th, two men killed and five taken, near Shippens-
burg. June 9th, four men killed in Sherman's Valley, June 17th,
one man killed at Cuthbertson's Fort; four men shot at the Indian
while scalping the man. June 24th, Alexander Miller killed and
two of his daughters taken from Conococheague, and Gerhart
Pendergras' daughters killed at Fort Littleton. (See Pa. Col.
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 353
Rec, Vol. 7, page 632.) July 2nd, one woman and four children
taken from Trent's Gap; same day one, Springson, killed, near
Logan's Mill, Conococheague. July 9th, Trooper Wilson's son
killed at Antietam Creek. July 10th, ten soldiers killed at
Clapham's Fort. August 19th, one man killed, near Harris
Ferry. September 2nd, one man killed near Digger's Gap, and
one Indian killed. August 19th, fourteen people killed and taken
from Mr. Cinky's congregation. On July 8th, two boys were
taken from Cross' Fort in Conococheague."
One or more of the above murders probably took place within
the limits of the state of Maryland.
The Eckerlin Tragedy
A few years prior to the French and Indian War, the three
Eckerlin (Eckerling) brothers, Samuel, Israel and Gabriel, who
were Pennsylvania-German mystics, settled near the mouth of a
stream flowing into the Monongahela in the southeastern part
of Green County, since known as Dunkard Creek from the fact
that the Eckerlin brothers and their associates who formed the
settlement, were German Baptists, or Dunkards. They had
come from Ephrata, in Lancaster County. For several years the
brothers lived in their new home in the western wilderness, in the
midst of the Delaware Indians, and at peace with the world.
Understanding the French language, they soon learned that the
French were coming into the Ohio Valley and making prepara-
tions to assert their claim with force of arms; but the brothers
gave no thought to the preparations for war on the part of the
French, inasmuch as they (the brothers) felt that they were safe,
being much beloved by the Indians. Samuel had a knowledge of
medicine and surgery, and often ministered to his Indian neigh-
bors in times of illness. On account of this, he was known as
"Doctor Eckerlin." As the Indian troubles increased, the
friendly Delawares advised them to remove to a safer position
on the Cheat River, as their settlement near the mouth of
Dunkard Creek was directly on the line of the old Catawba War
Trail. Accordingly the brothers removed to a place since called
Dunker's Bottom, near the mouth of the Cheat River, a few miles
from their first settlement.
Late in August, 1757, Samuel started on one of his trading
trips to Winchester, Virginia, after the harvest had been gathered.
Upon his return, he was stopped at Port Pleasant, on the South
354 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Branch, where he was accused of being a spy and in confederacy
with the Indians. In vain he protested his innocence, and it was
not until he appealed to the Governor that he was allowed to
start on his homeward journey, accompanied by a squad of
soldiers, who were ordered to follow him to his home on the
Cheat River.
When Samuel and the soldiers were within a day's march of the
Dunker settlement, a party of Indians led by a French priest,
attacked the other brothers and their companions. Israel, who
had absolute faith in divine protection, would neither defend
himself nor attempt to escape, and he, Gabriel and a servant
named Schilling were captured. The other members of the
household were killed and scalped, and the cabins were pilfered
and burned. The two brothers and Schilling were taken to Fort
Duquesne, where the Indians scalped Gabriel. Schilling was
kept by the Indians as their slave, while Gabriel and Israel were
later taken to Montreal, and thence to Quebec. What eventu-
ally became of the two brothers, is not definitely known. One
report says they were carried to France, where they died as
prisoners, while another report says they died at sea.
It was not until seven years after their capture that definite
rumors reached Ephrata as to the fate of the brothers. Samuel,
who, upon his return to the settlement on the Cheat River, found
the ashes of the cabins, the half-decaying bodies of the Dunkers,
and the hoops on which their scalps had been dried, once wrote a
letter of inquiry to Benjamin Franklin, who was then in France.
This letter is among the Franklin correspondence now in the pos-
session of the American Philosophical Society.
George Croghan, in the journal of his journey to Logstown, in
the spring of 1751, says, under date of May 25th, that "a Dunkar
from the Colony of Virginia came to the Logs Town, and re-
quested Liberty of the Six Nation Chiefs to make [a settlement]
on the River Yough-yo-gaine, a branch of Ohio." This Dunkar
(Dunker) was doubtless Samuel Eckerlin. For the details of the
Eckerlin tragedy, the reader is referred to Dr. Julius F. Sachse's
"German Sectarians of Pennsylvania," also to Captain H. M. M.
Richards* "Pennsylvania-Germans in the French and Indian
War," Vol. XV of the Publications of the Pennsylvania-German
Society,
Conclusion
The year 1757 was one full of horrors on the Pennsylvania
frontier, yet it witnessed the bringing about of peace between the
EVENTS OF THE YEAR 1757 355
Province and the Eastern Delawares and Shawnees. It also
witnessed the recalling of Lord Loudon as commander-in-chief of
the British forces in America and the appointment of Major-
General James Abercrombie in his place. This change in supreme
commanders was made by William Pitt soon after he assumed the
office of Prime Minister of Great Britain; and, on December
30th, he wrote Governor Denny, giving him notice of the appoint-
ment of General Abercrombie. This letter Governor Denny
received on March 7th, 1758.
In 1757, also, upon a report that French and Indians from
the Ohio were on their way over the Indian trail along the West
Branch of the Susquehanna to attack Fort Augusta, Colonel
Burd sent a detachment under the command of Captain Patterson
to scout as far as the town of Chlnklacamoose (Clearfield). The
detachment soon returned, having met with no Indians. Captain
Patterson's men found Chlnklacamoose burned and unoccupied.
(Pa. Archives, Sec. Ser., Vol. 2, page 777).
During 1757, only fragmentary news was received from time
to time from Indian scouts and captured hostile Indians as to
the strength of the garrison at Fort Duquesne. One of these
reports placed the strength of the garrison as only two hundred,
during the first months of the year. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page
147.) Another placed it as high as six hundred, in the month of
June, Captain Lignery being the Commander. Other reports,
coming from the Ohio and Allegheny during this year, were to
the effect that many Shawnees in these valleys were moving to
the mouth of the Scioto and that many Delawares were moving
up the Allegheny towards the Seneca habitat: also that the
Western Delawares would be willing to make peace with the
English if the latter would send a sufficiently strong expedition
to capture Fort Duquesne. The year, 1758, saw both these
things accomplished.
CHAPTER XVI
Post's Peace Missions — Grand
Council at Easton
(1758)
MAJOR-General James Abercrombie having been ap-
pointed commander-in-chief of all the British forces in
America, three expeditions were planned for the year 1758. (1)
Generals Amherst and Wolf were to join with Admiral Boscawen's
fleet for the recapture of Louisburg. (2) General Abercrombie,
with Lord Howe as real leader, was to move against Ticonderoga
and Crown Point. (3) Brigadier-General John Forbes was placed
in command of an expedition against Fort Duquesne. We shall
not discuss the first two expeditions in this history, but shall
treat the expedition of General Forbes in the following chapter.
In the meantime, while Forbes' forces were assembling and later
marching over the mountains against Fort Duquesne, other im-
portant events were taking place, which claim our attention in
the present chapter.
Post's Missions to Teedyuscung
Teedyuscung came to Philadelphia on March 13th, 1758, and
advised Governor Denny and the Provincial Council that, in
compliance with his promise at the third Easton conference of
July and August, 1757, he had given the "Big Peace Halloo," and
had secured the alliance of eight nations of the Western Indians,
who had taken hold of the peace belt, in addition of the ten for
whom he had spoken at the Easton treaty. Among these eight
nations were the Ottawas, Twightwees and Chippewas. The
calumet which these new allies sent to Teedyuscung was smoked
by Teedyuscung, the Governor, and members of the Provincial
Council and Assembly during the councils which followed Teedy-
uscung's arrival.
During the conferences that attended the above visit of Teedy-
uscung to the Governor and Provincial Council, the old chief
urged that the Provincial Authorities should not neglect the op-
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 357
portunity to do everything possible to strengthen the alHance
with the eight western nations who had agreed to his peace pro-
posal. He urged that a messenger should be sent to his friends
on the Ohio, warning them to sever their allegiance with the
French. He said: "I have received every encouragement from
the Indian nations. Now, brother, press on with all your might
in promoting the good work we are engaged in. Let us beg the
God that made us to bless our endeavours, and I am sure if you
assert yourselves, God will grant a blessing, and we shall live."
Governor Denny then, on March 24th, instructed Teedyuscung
to see that the peace belt and calumet pipe were carried to the
Western Indians, especially the Delawares and Shawnees on the
Ohio. Teedyuscung then appointed five Indians, led by his son,
Hans Jacob, to carry the peace message to the Ohio.
At this time, the Cherokees were coming to join the expedition
of General Forbes against Fort Duquesne, much to the displeasure
of the friendly Delawares and Shawnees; and Teedyuscung, dur-
ing the above conferences, requested that a messenger be sent to
stop these Southern Indians from coming further. (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 8, pages 29 to 56.) The friendly Shawnee chief, Paxinosa,
of Wyoming, was especially wrought up over the presence of the
Cherokees at Carlisle, Fort Littleton and other places, and
threatened to leave Wyoming and join the French on the Ohio.
Finally, on account of his fear of the Cherokees and Catawbas, he
left for the Ohio early in May, saying he was going back to "Ohio
where he was born."
Fearing that the peace efforts would be frustrated by the
actions of the wise and able Paxinosa, the Governor and General
Forbes decided to send the Moravian missionary, Christian
Frederick Post, on a mission to Wyoming to explain the situation
concerning the Cherokees, and to request the Indians on the
Susquehanna to call all friendly Indians east of the mountains
while the General advanced against Fort Duquesne. Post and
Charles Thompson left Philadelphia on June 7th, and arrived at
Bethlehem on the following day, having engaged the friendly
Delaware chief, Moses Tatemy, and the Moravian Delaware,
Isaac Still, on the way, to accompany them to Wyoming. At
Bethlehem, they engaged three other friendly Indians to accom-
pany them. From that place they went to the Nescopeck Moun-
tains, about fifteen miles from Wyoming, where they met a party
of nine Indians on their way to Bethlehem, who warned them not
to go to Wyoming, as the woods were full of strange Indians. It
358 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
was then decided to go back to the east side of the mountain, and
to send two messengers forward to invite Teedyuscung to meet
them. The next day Teedyuscung came from his residence at
Wyoming. Post complained to him that the path to Wyoming
was closed, and that it was his (Teedyuscung's) business to keep
it open. The Delaware "King" replied that the road had been
closed by the Six Nations, explaining that a war party of about
two hundred Senecas had recently passed through several towns
on the Susquehanna to attack some Virginians who had treach-
erously killed a party of Senecas three years previously, as they
were going against the Catawbas.
Post gained much valuable information from Teedyuscung as
to the situation among the Indians on the Ohio. The old chief
told him that his son, Hans Jacob, one of the five messengers he
had sent to carry the peace message to the Ohio, had killed a
French soldier a short distance from Fort Duquesne; that the
commander of this fort then called the Senecas of the Ohio to-
gether, and told them the Catawbas had killed the soldier, where-
upon the Senecas told the commander that the Delawares com-
mitted this deed; and that a heated argument then took place
between the commander and the Senecas, in which the leader of
the Senecas told the commander that "the English are coming
up, and as soon as they strike you on the one side, I will strike
you on the other." Many other reports from the Ohio were made
to Post by Teedyuscung tending to show that the time was ripe
for authoritative peace overtures to be made by Pennsylvania
to the Indian allies of the French on the Ohio. Post and Thomp-
son then returned to Philadelphia, on June 16th, and delivered
the report of their journey. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 412
to 422.)
On June 20th, a peace message and accompanying belts from
the Cherokees to the Eastern Delawares were delivered to Gover-
nor Denny. This message, coming from two of the principal
chiefs of the Cherokees, assured the friendly Delawares that the
Cherokees had no intention of harming the friendly Delawares or
any other Indians in alliance with the English. It also contained
the request that the Eastern Delawares should cause all friendly
members of their tribe on the Ohio to come east of the mountains,
so as not to be in danger of being harmed by the Cherokees in
attacking the Indian allies of the French. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol.
8, pages 135, 136.)
Governor Denny deemed the peace message from the Cherokees
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 359
so important that he decided to send the same at once to Teedy-
uscung at Wyoming. Post was the messenger selected for this
purpose, who set out for Wyoming over the same course that he
had recently traveled, at which place he arrived on June 27th,
and delivered the message to Teedyuscung. At Wyoming, Post
met a number of chiefs from the Allegheny, to whom he explained
all about the peace measures that were under way. An old
sachem from the Allegheny, named Katuaikund, upon hearing
the good news, "lifting up his hands to heaven wished that God
would have mercy upon them, and would help them to bring
them and the English together again, and to establish an ever-
lasting ground foundation for peace among them. He wished
further that God would move the Governor and the people's
hearts toward them in love, peace, and union. . . He said further
that it would be well if the Governor sent somebody with them
at their return home, for it would be of great consequence to them
who lived above Allegheny to hear from the Governor's mind
from their own mouths." At Wyoming, Post learned that the
garrison at Fort Duquesne consisted of about eleven hundred
French, almost starved, who would have abandoned the fort,
had not the Mohawks sent them assistance, and that the com-
mander had recently said that, "if the English come too strong
upon me, I will leave." Two of the messengers who had come
from the Allegheny with news concerning the situation of the
French, were Keekyuscung and Pisquetomen, the latter a brother
of Shingas and King Beaver. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 8, pages 142
to 145.)
Post's First Mission to the Western Delawares
Post then returned to Fort Allen (Weissport) on June 30th
accompanied by fifty Indians. After the Governor heard his
report and had talked with Pisquetomen and Keekyuscung, it
was decided to send these two Indians to the Ohio, in order to
gain information as to the situation among the Indians there, and
to advise them of the peace measures. Post was requested to
accompany these messengers, and he agreed to do so, if Charles
Thomson were permitted to go with him. The Governor replied
that "he might take any other person." Post then left Philadel-
phia on July 15th, reaching Bethlehem on the 17th, at which
place he made preparations for his journey to the Ohio. On the
19th he reached Fort Allen (Weissport), where Teedyuscung tried
to dissuade him from going on his dangerous mission. Post says:
360 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"He [Teedyuscung] was afraid I should never return, that the
Indians would kill me." Post replied to Teedyuscung that he
was obliged to go, even if he should lose his life. On the 22nd,
when Post again prepared to set out, Teedyuscung again protested
saying that he was afraid that the Indians would kill Post, or
that the French would capture him. Post then made the final
reply to Teedyuscung that he would go on this peace mission to
the Ohio, even if he died in the undertaking, and that, if, un-
happily, he should die before completing the mission, he hoped
that his death would be the means of saving many hundreds of
lives. Without further delay, he therefore set forth on his first
mission to the Ohio, accompanied by Pisquetomen, Keekyus-
cung and Shamokin Daniel.
Before narrating Post's mission to the Western Delawares, we
call attention, at this point, to the fact that no more suitable
person could have been found in all the colonies for carrying the
peace proposal to these Indians than the gentle and honest
Moravian missionary. Weiser's influence was waning. He was
an Iroquois at heart; Teedyuscung disliked him; he was a
Colonel in the armed forces of the Province. Most of the Dela-
wares and Shawnees disliked him. For these reasons, he was not
the proper person to send on this important mission. Nor would
George Croghan have been the proper person, at the time of
which we are writing. He was a trader, bent on personal gain.
But Post was not a military man. He had no selfish interest, and
the Delawares knew this. Born in Germany, he came to America
and labored as a Moravian missionary among the Delawares,
being located for some time at Wyoming. He knew Shingas,
King Beaver and all the important Delaware chiefs. The Dela-
wares loved and trusted him. For years he had lived among them
in all the intimacy of friends and companions. His first wife,
Rachel, was a Delaware convert, whom he married in 1743, and
who died at Bethlehem in 1747. In 1749, he chose as his second
wife, Agnes, a dusky Daughter of the Delawares, who was bap-
tized by Bishop Cammerhof on March 5th of that year and who
died at Bethlehem in 1751. So that, in dealing with Post, the
Delawares looked upon him as one of their own flesh and blood.
We shall now follow Post on his journey to the Western Dela-
wares. He arrived at Fort Augusta at Sunbury, on July 25th,
having passed many devastated and deserted plantations on the
way. From this point, he followed the trail the Delawares used
in their first migration from the region of Sunbury to the Alle-
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 361
gheny, mentioned in Chapter II, as far as a point near the town
of Punxsutawney in the southern part of Jefferson County. Here
the trail branched, one branch leading in a north-western direc-
tion across Jefferson, Clarion and Venango Counties to Venango
(Franklin), at which place he arrived on August 7th. The next
morning, while hunting his horses, he passed within ten yards of
Fort Machault. He then set out for Kuskuskies, but proceeded
too far to the southward, and on the 10th, his party met a
renegade English trader and an Indian, who told them they were
then within twenty miles of Fort Duquesne. Thus having lost
their way, they spent almost two days in trying to find the right
trail to Kuskuskies. Reaching an Indian town on Conoqueness-
ing Creek, about fifteen miles from Kuskuskies, Post sent
Pisquetomen on ahead to let the chiefs know that he was coming
with a message from the Governor and people of Pennsylvania
and the King of England. Shortly after Pisquetomen left. Post
met some Shawnees, who formerly lived at Wyoming. They
recognized him and treated him very kindly.
Arriving at Kuskuskies that same day (August 12th), Post
was kindly welcomed by King Beaver, and ten other chiefs
saluted him. They had long conversations with Post around the
council fire until midnight. Post was now among the leaders of
the bloody raids into the Pennsylvania settlements — King
Beaver, Keckenepaulin and Shingas, the last of whom was the
terror of the frontier, for whose head Governor Denny, in 1756,
set a price of two hundred pounds. Other chiefs with whom Post
held councils at Kuskuskies until August 20th, were Delaware
George, who was his former disciple at the Moravian mission,
and Killbuck. He made known to all the chiefs the peace be-
tween Pennsylvania and the Eastern Delawares brought about
at the treaty with Teedyuscung at Easton. After one of the
councils, lasting far into the night, Delaware George was unable
to sleep, so affected was he by the peace message of his former
teacher and mentor. A French Captain and fifteen soldiers came
to Kuskuskies to build houses for the Indians, and they used
every art to get possession of Post, but to no avail. Even the
bloody Shingas loved the gentle Moravian, and protected him.
On August 20th, Post, accompanied by twenty-five horsemen
and fifteen footmen, went to Sauconk at the mouth of the Beaver.
Here he was not well received, being surrounded by Indians with
drawn knives. Finally recognizing a few and talking with them,
their manner suddenly changed. Post went from here' to Logs-
362 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
town, at which place he arrived on the evening of August 23d.
Here he met many English captives, and was permitted to shake
hands with them — a thing he was not permitted to do at Kus-
kuskies where he saw Marie le Roy and Barbara Leininger, as
well as other English captives. Leaving Logstown on August
25th, Post's party arrived on the right bank of the Allegheny,
just opposite Fort Duquesne, in the afternoon. Here King
Beaver introduced him to the Indians who came over from the
fort. All were glad to see him except "an Old deaf Onondaga
Indian who rose up and signified his displeasure." He apologized,
however, the next day, when some Delaware and Shawnee friends
of Post gave him a roll of tobacco.
Post's situation was now most critical. French officers de-
manded that he be taken to the fort, but his Indian friends would
"not suffer him to be blinded and carried into the Fort." The
next day, the Indians told him the French had offered a reward
for his scalp and that he should "not stir from the Fire." "Ac-
cordingly," he says in his journal, "I stuck constantly as close
to the fire as if I had been charm'd there." The Indian to whom
the French offered a reward for Post's scalp was Shamokin Daniel,
one of his own party, and from this time on, Post had much
trouble with this Delaware, to whom the French had given a
string of wampum "to leave me there."
Here, on August 26th, on the bank of the Allegheny, under the
guns of Fort Duquesne, in»the presence of French officers, who,
with paper and pen, took down every word he spoke, and in the
presence of three hundred Indians — Delawares, Shawnees,
Mingoes and Ottawas, — this heroic Knight of the Cross,
Christian Frederick Post, delivered the peace message of the
Governor of Pennsylvania and the King of England to the as-
sembled warriors, and pleaded that they accept the message and
withdraw from their allegiance with the French. After he ended
his plea for peace, the French held a council with their most
devoted Indian allies, at Fort Duquesne, and urged that, inas-
much as the Delawares accompanying Post were wavering in their
allegiance and inclining to the English interest, they should all
be killed, to which proposal the Ottawas objected and prevented
its being carried into execution.
Realizing that it was too dangerous for Post to remain longer
so near Fort Duquesne, a party of his Indian friends left with
him for Sauconk before daylight, on August 27th, by a different
trail than the one over which they had come. They passed
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 363
through three Shawnee towns on the way, at all of which Post
was well received, and arrived at Sauconk in the evening, where
he was also gladly welcomed. In the Shawnee towns. Post saw
many Indians he became acquainted with at Wyoming.
On August 28th, Post and a party of twenty set out from
Sauconk for Kuskuskies. One of the party was Shingas. "On
the road," says Post, "Shingas addressed himself to me, and
asked if I did not think that, if he came to the English, they would
hang him, as they had offered a great reward for his head. He
spoke in a very soft and easy manner. I told him that was a
great while ago ; it was all forgotten and wiped clean away ; that
the English would receive him very kindly." At this point
Shamokin Daniel interrupted, and told Shingas not to believe
Post; that the English had hired hundreds of Cherokees to kill
the Delawares; and that both he (Daniel) and Post had seen an
Indian woman lying dead in the road, murdered by the Cherokees.
"D — n you," said Daniel, "why do not you (the English) and the
French fight on the sea? You come here only to cheat the poor
Indians, and take their land from them." That night Post and
his party arrived at Kuskuskies.
Post remained at Kuskuskies until September 7th, holding
many councils with Shingas, King Beaver, Pisquetomen, Dela-
ware George and other leaders of the Western Delawares. In
these councils, Shingas told him that the English and French
were fighting for lands that belonged to neither, but to the In-
dians, and that this fighting was taking place "in the Land that
God has given us." Said this Delaware chief, in a speech as
patriotic as ever fell from the lips of Daniel Webster:
"The English intend to destroy us, and take our lands, but the
land is ours, and not theirs . . . It is you that have begun the
war . . . We love you more than you love us; for, when we take
any prisoners from you, we treat them as our own children. We
are poor, and we cloathe them as well as we can, though you see
our children are as naked as at the first. By this you may see that
our hearts are better than yours. . . Why do not you and the
French fight in the old country, and on the sea? Why do you
come to fight on our land? . . . You want to take the land
from us by force, and settle it. The white people think we have
no brains in our heads."
Shingas and his associate chiefs "had brains in their heads."
They saw through the schemes and plans of both the English and
the French. Like all races, primitive and civilized, the Indians
364 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
had their faults — faults that were increased by the white man's
rum and vices — but no close student of Indian history will say
that they did not have an intelligence far beyond that of other
primitive races. Furthermore, no citizen of old Rome loved his
country more than these children of the American forests loved
the mountains, the valleys, the streams, the hunting grounds, for
which they were fighting and dying — the beautiful and loved
region which Shingas described as "the Land that God has given
us."
From what Post told them and from what was promised in
various conferences to be discussed in a subsequent chapter, the
Western Delawares and Shawnees believed that, as soon as the
English would succeed in driving the French from the Ohio and
Allegheny valleys, they (the English) would withdraw east of the
Allegheny Mountains and leave the western lands to the Indian.
It was this understanding that caused Shingas, King Beaver,
Delaware George and the other chiefs with whom Post held his
conferences, to accept the peace message of which he was the
bearer.
On September 3d, Post was given a peace belt of eight rows of
wampum. It was delivered by King Beaver, Delaware George,
Pisquetomen, John Hickman, Killbuck, Keckenepaulin and eight
other chiefs, representing the three clans of the Delawares.
On September 4th, two hundred French and Indians came to
Kuskuskies on their way to Fort Duquesne. They stayed all
night. During the middle of the night. King Beaver's daughter
died, "on which," says Post, "a great many guns were fired in
the town."
Just before Post left, September 7th, King Beaver and Shingas,
referring to the fact that Governor Denny and Teedyuscung had
entrusted Post to their brother, Pisquetomen, addressed their
brother as follows:
"Brother, you told us that the Governor of Philadelphia and
Teedyuscung took this man out of their bosoms, and put him into
your bosom, that you should bring him here; and you have
brought him here to us; and now we give him into your bosom, to
bring him to the same place again, before the Governor; but do
not let him quite loose; we shall rejoice when we shall see him here
again."
Post and his companions then hastened on their way over the
mountains to Eastern Pennsylvania, bearing the peace belt of
the Western Delawares. During the night of September 13th, at
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 365
a point near Punxsutawney, rustling was heard in the bushes
near their camp, whereupon Post's Indian companions kept
watch, one after another, all the rest of the night. "In the
morning," says Post, "I asked them what made them afraid.
They said I knew nothing ; the French had set a great price on my
head; and they knew there was gone out a great scout to lie in
wait for me."
Arriving at the Great Island (Lock Haven), on September 19th,
Post met a war party of twenty Delawares and Mingoes, return-
ing from the settlements with five prisoners and one scalp. Post
informed them where he had been and what he had accomplished,
whereupon the warriors said that, if they had known this, they
would not have gone to war.
Post arrived at Fort Augusta on September 22nd. At Harris'
Ferry, he sent Pisquetomen and Thomas Hickman, a friendly
Delaware, on to Philadelphia to deliver the peace belt and message
of the Western Delawares, while he went on to see General Forbes,
who was then at Raystown (Bedford) with the main part of his
army. (Thomas Hickman was brutally murdered by a white
man, in the Tuscarora Valley, in 1761.) Pisquetomen and
Thomas Hickman went to the "Grand Council," which convened
at Easton, on October 8th, described later in this chapter, where
the former delivered the peace belt and message, and where
Governor Denny prepared a reply to the same, and directed
Pisquetomen and Hickman to carry this reply back to the Western
Delawares. Then, on October 22nd, just as Pisquetomen and
Hickman were leaving, Post arrived at the Council with the news
from General Forbes that twelve hundred French and two
hundred Indians had attacked his advance guard at Loyal-
hanning (Ligonier), on October 12th. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 8,
pages 187, 188, 212.)
For Post's journal of his mission, see Pa. Archives, Vol. 3,
pages 520 to 544.
Post's Second Mission to the Western Delawares
Governor Denny's message in reply to the message and peace
belts brought by Post from the Western Delawares, contained
assurance of pardon for past hostile acts of these Indians and their
allies, upon their agreeing to withdraw from the French allegiance.
It also contained a request that the chiefs of the Western Dela-
wares come to Philadelphia for a conference with the Colonial
Authorities.
366 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
As stated above, Pisquetomen and Thomas Hickman were
ready to start from Easton with the Governor's message when
Post arrived at the Grand Council at that place, on October 22nd.
These messengers were to be accompanied by Togennontawly, a
Cayuga chief, the youngest son of Shikellamy, Captain John
Bull, William Hays and the Delaware, Isaac Still, the last being
a Moravian convert — the first two being appointed by the Six
Nations' chiefs and the rest by the Governor.
On October 25th, Post received orders from Governor Denny,
at Easton, to go once more to Kuskuskies, carrying the Gover-
nor's reply. He left Easton that day, going to Bethlehem, where
he prepared for his journey. On the 27th, he arrived at Reading,
where he met Captain John Bull, William Hays and the above
named Indians, who were to accompany him. At the house of
Conrad Weiser, at Reading, he read the Governor's letter of
instructions in which he was requested to go on this journey by
the same route that the army of General Forbes was following,
instead of the route he had followed on his first mission. Pisque-
tomen and the other Indians were at first unwilling to travel by
the route followed by Forbes' army, as it led through the Scotch-
Irish settlements in Cumberland and Franklin Counties, where
so many atrocities had been committed since the beginning of
the war. The Indians feared they might be harmed by the in-
habitants of these counties, but finally gave their consent to
travel by this route. The party arrived at Carlisle on the even-
ing of October 29th, where the Indians spent the night in a house
just outside Fort Lowther. The next day, the party arrived at
Shippensburg, where all spent the night in Fort Morris.
While Post and his companions were passing Chambers' Fort,
now Chambersburg, on October 31st, some Scotch-Irish settlers,
recognizing the Indians, "exclaimed against them in a rash man-
ner." Post had some difficulty in getting his Indian companions
through this neighborhood, but reached Fort Littleton the next
day, where he and his party remained until November 3d, when
they set out for Raystown (Bedford), arriving there that night
and remaining there until November 6th. On November 7th,
they arrived at Loyalhanning (Ligonier), where they were
received by General Forbes, who gave them a message and a
belt of wampum for the Western Delawares.
On November 9th, Post and his party left Loyalhanning, es-
corted by one hundred troops under Captain John Haselet, and
went to a fortified place ten miles west, still known as Breast-
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 367
work Hill, in Unity Township, Westmoreland County, where
they spent the night. The next day, after travelling about five
miles. Captain Haselet and his company proceeded towards the
Ohio by the old trading path, while Post and his party, accom-
panied by Lieutenant Hays and fourteen troops, went down the
Loyalhanna to the Shawnee and Delaware town, called Keckene-
paulin's Town, then deserted, located at the mouth of the Loyal-
hanna and just opposite the town of Saltsburg; thence to Kis-
kemeneco, or Kiskiminetas Town, also then deserted, located on
the south bank of the Kiskiminetas River, about seven miles
from its mouth, where they encamped the night of November
11th. Here Captain Hays and his party of fourteen men left
Post's party. We shall learn the fate of Captain Hays presently.
Leaving Kiskiminetas Town, Post arrived at the Allegheny River
on the afternoon of November 12th, at that part of Chartier's
Old Town on the east side of the river, the principal part of the
town being on the west side. Here he spent the night in this
deserted Shawnee town. "The wolves and owls made a great
noise in the night," he said. Crossing the Allegheny the next
day, Post and his party proceeded through the northern end of
Allegheny County, the south-central part of Butler County, and
into Lawrence County, to Kuskuskies, consisting, at that time,
of four villages whose center was at or near the site of the present
city of New Castle.
Post arrived at Kuskuskies on November 16th, where he found
only two men, the rest of the warriors being away in the service
of the French. On November 17th, Post held a conference with
Delaware George, to whom he delivered the wampum and mes-
sage sent by General Forbes. That evening the Delaware chief,
Kechenepaulin, returned to Kuskuskies, and brought the sad
news that his party of Indians had attacked the party of Lieu-
tenant Hays, about twelve miles from Fort Duquesne, killing
the Lieutenant and four of his soldiers and capturing five others,
one of whom, Henry Osten, then at Sauconk, was to be burned
at the stake. The Indians attacking Lieutenant Hays and his
party, had first attacked the scouting parties of Colonel George
Washington and Colonel Hugh Mercer, near Ligonier, on Nov-
ember 12th, and had been repulsed. An account of this skirmish
will be given in the following chapter. Post at once sent an Indian
to Sauconk with the message that the prisoner, Henry Osten, was
one of the party guarding him on his mission of peace, where-
368 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
upon the prisoner was not burned, but was sent to Kuskuskies,
on November 20th, where he ran the gauntlet.
Post says, in his journal, under date of November 17th, that
the warriors gave the following explanation as to how the attack
on Captain Hays' party took place: That the Indians were on
their way to see General Forbes and hold a conference with him,
when some French with them "made a division among them;"
that the Delaware chief, Kekeuscung, told the others that he
would go on and meet the General, if the others would follow
him; "but the others would not agree to it; and the French per-
suaded them to fall upon the English at Loyalhanning; they
accordingly did, and as they were driven back, they fell in with
that party that guided us, which they did not know. They
seemed sorry for it."
The next three days filled the heart of Post with dread. The
warriors who had been repulsed at Loyalhanning had returned,
"possessed with a murdering spirit." They had a French captain
with them, who endeavored to get possession of Post. Post and
his companions were warned not to go from the house. Finally
in conferences with the French captain, in which he endeavored
to get the support of the Indians, they refused to accept his
wampum belt, whereupon he "looked pale as death."
On November 22nd, Kittiuskund (Kekeuscung) returned to
Kuskuskies with the information that General Forbes was only
fifteen miles from Fort Duquesne, and that the French had taken
the roofs off the buildings near the fort and placed them around
it, so as to be able quickly to set the place on fire rather then let
it fall into the hands of the English. On this day, also, some of
the Indians told Post that Shamokin Daniel, who accompanied
him on his former mission, "had fairly sold me to the French ; and
the French had been much displeased that the Indians brought
me away."
Under date of November 24th, Post wrote in his journal : "We
hanged out the English flag in spite of the French; on which our
prisoners folded their hands, in hopes that their redemption was
nigh; looking up to God, which melted my heart in tears, and
prayers to God, to hear their prayers, and change the times, and
the situation, which our prisoners are in, and under which they
groan."
That day King Beaver returned to Kuskuskies and saluted the
heroic peace messenger in a very friendly manner.
Shingas returned on November 25th,, whereupon Post called
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 369
the chiefs and warriors together, told them of the Grand Council
at Easton, delivered the peace belt and strings of wampum, and
read the letter of General Forbes. Says Post: "The messages
pleased and gave satisfaction to all the hearers except the French
captain. He shook his head with bitter grief, and often changed
his countenance." On that very day, as we shall see in the follow-
ing chapter, the English flag was raised above the smouldering
ruins of Fort Duquesne.
On November 28th, all the chiefs and warriors at Kuskuskies
met in council to frame an answer to the letter of General Forbes
and the peace belt and message from Governor Denny. Their
deliberations lasted long into the night and the greater part of
the next day. The matter that disturbed the chiefs was fear that
the English would not withdraw east of the Allegheny Mountains
after having driven the French from the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny. Kittiuskund, one of the principal chiefs, secretly told
Post this day :
"That all the nations had jointly agreed to defend their hunting
place at Allegheny, and suffer nobody to settle there; and as
these Indians are very much inclined to the English interest, so
he begged us very much to tell the Governor, General, and all
other people not to settle there. And if the English would draw
back over the mountain, they would get all the other nations into
their interest; but if they staid and settled there, all nations
would be against them; and he was afraid it would be a great
war, and never come to peace again."
As we have already pointed out and as we shall see further on
in this chapter and a subsequent chapter, the reason why the
Delawares and their allies, the Shawnees, accepted the peace
messages of Governor Denny, carried over the mountains to them
by the heroic Moravian missionary, was their belief and under-
standing that the English would withdraw from the valleys of
the Ohio and Allegheny after they had driven the French from
this region. We shall also see, in a subsequent chapter, that the
failure of the English to keep their many promises to withdraw
from this region after the expulsion of the French therefrom, was
the prime cause of Pontiac's War — mis-named "Pontiac's Con-
spiracy."
On November 29th, Post and his party went to Sauconk, ac-
companied by twenty Indians, arriving there in the evening.
■Here- they met George Croghan and Andrew Montour, who had
come to' that place from the ruins of Fort Duquesne. The next
370 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
day Post read the messages of the Governor and General Forbes,
this time in the presence of Croghan and Mountour, as well as
Shingas, King Beaver and the other Delaware chiefs. Confer-
ences were held here on December 1, at which the Delawares
asked Post to come and live among them and to preach to them.
On December 2nd, Post, his party, and many chiefs of the Dela-
wares, left Sauconk, and travelled to within eight miles of the
ruins of Fort Duquesne, which he now calls Pittsburgh, doubtless
having been advised by Croghan of the new name given the place
by General Forbes. On their way they passed through several
deserted Shawnee towns as well as Logstown. He specifically
describes Logstown as follows: "On the east end is a great piece
of low land, where the old Logstown used to stand. In the new
Logstown the French have built about thirty houses for the
Indians. They have a large corn-field on the south side, where
the corn stands ungathered."
On December 3d, Post's party reached the Allegheny, opposite
Pittsburgh, but were unable to cross the river, being obliged to
remain "on that island where I had kept council with the In-
dians, in the month of August last." This was Killbuck's or
Smoky Island. While Post says in the journal of his first mission
to the Ohio that the councils of August 26th, were held on the
west bank of the Allegheny, it would seem from the above quoted
statement in the journal of his second mission that these councils
were held on Smoky Island.
Post and his party finally got across the Allegheny on December
4th. Arriving at the ruins of Fort Duquesne, Post learned from
Mr. Hays that Colonel Henry Bouquet, whom Forbes had left
in command, was much displeased with the answer that Shingas,
King Beaver and the other Delaware chiefs had made to the
letter of General Forbes — an answer in which they insisted that
the English withdraw east of the Allegheny Mountains. Bouquet
desired that the chiefs change their answer, but they declined to
do so. That afternoon the Delaware chiefs held a council, in
which King Beaver said : "We likewise join, and accept the peace
offered to us; and we have already answered your messenger
what we have to say to the General, that he should go back over
the mountains; we have nothing to say to the contrary."
The events now being narrated have such an important bearing
on more serious events to follow, when the warriors of Pontiac,
Guyasuta and Custaloga rose in savage wrath to drive the English
into the sea, that we shall let Post tell in his own words what
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 371
happened after King Beaver made the statement, above quoted :
"Neither Mr. Croghan nor Andrew Montour would tell
Colonel Bouquet the Indians' answer. Then Mr. Croghan,
Colonel [John] Armstrong and Colonel Bouquet went into a tent
by themselves, and I went upon my business. What they have
further agreed to I do not know; but when they had done, I
called King Beaver, Shingasand Kekeuscung, and said: 'Brethren,
if you have any alteration to make, in answer to the General,
concerning leaving this place, you will be pleased to let me know.'
They said they would alter nothing. 'We have told them three
times to leave the place, and go back; but they insist upon stay-
ing here; if, therefore, they will be destroyed by the French and
Indians, we cannot help them."
Colonel Bouquet set out for Loyalhanning that day (December
5th.) Under date of December 6th, Post wrote the following in
his journal:
"Mr. Croghan told me that the Indians had spoke, upon the
same string that I had, to Colonel Bouquet, and altered their
mind; and had agreed and desired that 200 men should stay at
the fort. I refused to make any alteration in the answer to the
General, till I myself did hear it of the Indians; at which Mr.
Croghan grew very angry. I told him I had already spoke with
the Indians; he said it was a d — d lie; and desired Mr. Hays to
enquire of the Indians, and take down in writing what they said.
Accordingly, he called them, and asked them if they had altered
their speech or spoke to Colonel Bouquet on that string they gave
me. Shingas and the other counsellor said they had spoken
nothing to Colonel Bouquet on the string they gave me, but what
was agreed between the Indians at Kushkushking [Kuskuskies.]
They said Mr. Croghan and Henry [Andrew] Montour had not
spoke and acted honestly and uprightly; they bid us not to alter
the least, and said: 'We have told them three times to go back;
but they will not go, insisting upon staying here. Now you will
let the Governor, General, and all the people know that our
desire is that they should go back, till the other nations have
joined in the peace, and then they may come and build a trading
house.' Then they repeated what they had said on the 5th
instant."
Post left Pittsburgh on December 6th. He arrived at Loyal-
hanning on December the 8th. He remained here until December
27th, having given General Forbes a report of his mission, in the
meantime. On December 14th, he had a long talk with the Gen-
372 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
eral, at Loyalhanning. General Forbes also set out from Loyal-
hanning on December 27th, Post accompanying him as far as
Carlisle, at which place they arrived on January 7th, 1759. Post
set out on foot from Carlisle, on January 8th, and arrived at
Lancaster, on January 10th.
Thus ends the account of the historic missions of Christian
Frederick Post to the Western Indians — missions whose impor-
tance it would indeed be difficult to overestimate. If Shingas
and his associate chiefs had not welcomed the peace message of
the gentle Moravian missionary, who can tell how different would
have been the result? Would the Anglo-Saxon today have the
ascendancy in the Western World? Would America be speaking
English today? Logstown and Sauconk were filled with war-
riors, and in the villages in the valleys of the Tuscarawas and
Muskingum were hundreds of others. One word from Shingas or
King Beaver, and they would have arisen in savage wrath. But
that word was not spoken, because Post, whom they loved and in
whom they had confidence, held them silent and kept them from
assisting the French, as the army of General Forbes marched over
the mountains and through the wilderness to dislodge the French
from the beautiful and fertile valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny,
and to end the French and Indian War in Pennsylvania. Let us
pay due tribute to the memory of Christian Frederick Post. Let
us admire his sublime courage. At Pittsburgh, the "Gateway to
the West," and at New Castle, there should be monuments pro-
claiming to future generations the deeds and worth of this honest,
courageous and noble character of the early days of Pennsylvania.
He was born in 1710, and died at German town, on April 29th,
1785. His dust reposes in the "Lower Graveyard" at German-
town.
Post's journal of his second mission to the Western Delawares
is published in several historical works, among them being,
Thwaites' "Early Western Travels," Vol. 1, pages 234 to 291.
George Croghan's journal of November and December, 1758,
found in Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 560 to 565, is erroneously
attributed to Post.
Kuskuskies
Kuskuskies, or Kuskuski, where Post held the momentous
treaty with King Beaver, Shingas and their associate chiefs, was,
at that time, a group of four Delaware towns whose center was,
as has already been stated, at or near the site of the present city
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 373
of New Castle, Lawrence County. In the journal of his first
mission to this place, Post describes the Indian settlement as
follows: "Cuskusking is divided into four towns, each at a dis-
tance from the others, and the whole consists of about ninety
Houses and two hundred able Warriors."
Delawares of the Wolf and Turkey Clans took up their abode
here at least as early as 1742, possibly soon after the founding of
the Delaware town of Kittanning. Prior to the coming of the
Delawares, however, the Senecas had a village, called Kuskuski,
at the junction of the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers and another
of the same name on the Shenango at the mouth of Neshannock
Creek, both within the limits of the present city of New Castle.
Kuskuskies was a regional term, applied by the Delawares,
not only to the four towns mentioned by Post, but to the territory
for many miles along the Beaver, the Mahoning, the Shenango
and the Neshannock, as General William Irvine pointed out in
the report of his exploration of the Donation and Depreciation
Lands in Western Pennsylvania, in 1785.
For a comprehensive sketch of Kuskuskies, see Dr. George P.
Donehoo's "Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania,"
pages 85 to 87.
The Grand Council at Easton
While Christian Frederick Post was on his first mission to the
Ohio Indians, Teedyuscung was persuading the Six Nations to
send deputies to a fourth grand peace conference at Easton. His
purpose was to draw all the Indians into an alliance with the
English, and to secure a general and lasting peace. As a pre-
liminary, he had induced the Minisink Indians and a number of
Senecas to go to Philadelphia in August and hold a conference
with the Governor.
The Grand Council at Easton, known as the Fourth Easton
Council, opened on Sunday, October 8, 1758, with more than five
hundred Indians in attendance, representing all the tribes of the
Six Nations, the Delawares, Conoys, Tuteloes, and Nanticokes.
Governor Denny, members of the Provincial Council and Assem-
bly, Governor Bernard, of New Jersey, Commissioners for Indian
affairs in New Jersey, Conrad Weiser, George Croghan, and a
number of Quakers from Philadelphia, made up the attendance
of the whites. Those who acted as interpreters were Conrad
Weiser, Isaac Still, Moses Tatemy and Andrew Montour.
Three great land disputes came before this council. The first
374 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
was the Albany purchase of 1754, which, as we have already seen,
caused the Delawares of the West Branch of the Susquehanna and
the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny to go over to the French.
To the credit of Conrad Weiser, it must be said that he had all
along insisted that this was not a just purchase; that the Indians
were deceived, and that the running of the lines had been greatly
misrepresented. Furthermore, the Six Nations had declared to
Sir William Johnson in 1755, that they would never consent to
this sale, pointing out that the West Branch of the Susquehanna
was held by them simply in trust as a hunting ground for their
cousins, the Delawares. The matter was adjusted at this treaty
by Governor Denny, on behalf of the Proprietaries, telling the Six
Nations that Conrad Weiser and Richard Peters would deed back
to them all of the Albany Purchase west of the summits of the
Allegheny Mountains, if the Six Nations would confirm the
residue of the purchase. This they agreed to, and the mutual
releases were executed October 24th.
The second land dispute taken up at the Grand Council was
the complaint of the Munsee Clan of Delawares (Munseys) that
their lands in New Jersey had never been purchased. Governor
Bernard, of New Jersey, when asked by the Munseys what he
should pay for the New Jersey land, offered them eight hundred
dollars, saying that it was a very extraordinary offer. The
Munseys then asked the Iroquois deputies for their opinion as to
the price. The Iroquois replied that the offer was fair and
honorable; that if it were their own case, they would cheerfully
accept it; but, as there were a great many of the Munseys to share
in the purchase money, they would recommend that the Governor
add two hundred dollars more. To this Governor Bernard agreed,
and so this second great land dispute was settled.
The third land dispute to come before the Grand Council was
the old complaints made by Teedyuscung concerning the Walking
Purchase. The Six Nations had not met with the Delawares at
any public treaty with Pennsylvania since the treaty of 1742, in
which Canassatego, as the spokesman of the Six Nations, ordered
the Delawares to remove from the bounds of the Walking Pur-
chase. Three questions called for an answer at the Grand Coun-
cil: (1) Was the Walking Purchase just? (2) Had the Six
Nations any right to sell lands on the Delaware? (3) Were the
Delawares subject to the Iroquois, or were they independent?
Before taking up the matter of the Walking Purchase, the
Iroquois deputies concluded that the first thing to do was to
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 375
humble Teedyuscung, and break down his influence and standing.
The great Delaware had entered this council more humbly than
he did the councils of 1756 and 1757, realizing that his bitter
enemy, Nickas, a Mohawk chief, was in attendance. George
Croghan's Mohawk wife was a daughter of Nickas, according to
Charles Thompson and others.
Nickas began the attack on Teedyuscung, designed to break
down his influence. Pointing to Teedyuscung, he spoke with
great vigor and bitterness. Conrad Weiser was ordered to in-
terpret Nickas' speech, but declined, and desired that Andrew
Montour should do it. Weiser clearly saw that the interpretation
of his speech would cause great discord, and he planned to have
the interpretation postponed until the anger of the Iroquois had
time to cool. He therefore advised that the speech be interpreted
at a private conference, which was arranged to take place the next
morning, October 14th. The next morning came; but there was
no conference. Weiser had succeeded in causing more delay to
avert the threatening storm. However, on the morning of the
15th, Nickas, at a private conference, said: "Who made Teedy-
uscung chief of the nations? If he be such a great man, we desire
to know who made him so? Perhaps you have, and if this be the
case, tell us so. It may be the French have made him so. We
want to inquire and know where his greatness arose."
Nickas was followed by Tagashata, chief of the Senecas, who
said: "We do not know who made Teedyuscung this great man
over ten nations, and I want to know who made him so." Then
Assarandonquas, chief of the Onondagas, said: "I never heard
before now that Teedyuscung was such a great man, and much less
can I tell who made him so. No such thing was ever said in our
towns." Then Thomas King, in behalf of the Oneidas, Cayugas,
Tuscaroras, Nanticokes, and Conoys, said: "I now tell you we,
none of us, know who has made Teedyuscung such a great man.
Perhaps the French have, or perhaps you have, or some among
you, as you have different governments and are different people.
We for our parts entirely disown that he has any authority over
us, and we desire to know from whence he derives his authority."
The following day, October 16th, after Conrad Weiser had
time to advise Governor Denny and Governor Bernard as to the
proper reply to make to these speeches of the Iroquois deputies,
Governor Denny advised them that he had never made Teedyus-
cung a great chief. He further told the deputies that, at the for-
mer Easton conferences, Teedyuscung had spoken of the Iroquois
376 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
as his uncles and superiors; and Governor Bernard also denied
making Teedyuscung a great chief, or king. Thus, the skillful
guidance of Conrad Weiser, in delaying the outburst of Iroquois
anger and in framing the proper speeches for the Governors,
smoothed matters over, and prevented the cause of peace from
suffering a serious setback.
After the apologies of Governor Denny and Governor Ber-
nard, Teedyuscung arose to speak on his land claims. Said he:
"I did let you know formerly what my grievance was. I told
you that from Tohiccon, as far as the Delawares owned, the Pro-
prietaries had wronged me. Then you and I agreed that it should
be laid before the King of England, and likewise you told me you
would let me know as soon as ever he saw it. You would lay the
matter before the King, for you said he was our Father, that he
might see what was our differences; for as you and I could not
decide it, let him do it. Now let us not alter what you and I have
agreed. Now, let me know if King George has decided the matter
between you and me. I don't pretend to mention any of my
uncles' [Iroquois'] lands. I only mention what we, the Delawares,
own, as far as the heads of Delaware. All the lands lying on the
waters that fall into the Susquehanna belong to our uncles."
He then took another belt and turned to address the Iroquois,
but these proud sachems had, during his speech to Governors
Denny and Bernard, noiselessly left the room. Teedyuscung
then declined to speak further. The next day, October 17th, the
Indians spent in private conferences. On October 18th, after
Governor Denny had had a private interview with the Six Nations
Teedyuscung came to his headquarters, stating that the Dela-
wares did not claim the land high up on the Delaware, as those
belonged to their uncles, the Iroquois, but that the land which he
did specifically complain about, was included in the Walking Pur-
chase. Governor Denny avoided giving Teedyuscung a direct
reply until he would lay the land dispute before the Six Nations'
deputies.
He then explained to the deputies that Pennsylvania had
bought land from them which the Delawares claimed, advising
that this was a matter which should be settled among themselves.
The Six Nations replied that they did not understand the Gover-
nor. They said that he had left matters in the dark; that they
did not know what lands he meant; that if he meant the lands on
the other side of the Blue Mountains, he knew that the Proprie-
taries had a deed for .them (.the Purchase of 1749), which ought to
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 377
be produced and shown to them ; that their deeds had their marks,
and when they should see them, they would know their marks
again. Conrad Weiser then brought the deed. The Iroquois
examined it and said : "The land was ours and we can justify it."
Teedyuscung said no more at the Easton conference concern-
ing the Walking Purchase, but he charged the Six Nations with
selling his land at Wyoming to the Connecticut interests at the
Albany treaty of 1754. In fact, one of the conditions upon which
he was willing to make peace was that he and his Delawares be
settled at Wyoming, and that a deed be given to them for these
lands. Addressing the Iroquois deputies, he said:
"Uncles, you may remember that you placed us at Wyoming
and Shamokin, places where Indians have lived before. Now, I
hear since that you have sold that land to our brethren, the
English, [meaning the Connecticut commissioners]. Let the
matter now be cleared up in the presence of our brothers, the
English. I sit here as a bird on a bough. I look about and do not
know where to go. Let me therefore come down upon the
ground and make that my own by a good deed, and I shall then
have a home forever; for if you, my uncles, or I, die, our brethren,
the English, will say they bought it from you, and so wrong my
posterity out of it."
The Oneida chief, Thomas King, promised to lay Teedyus-
cung's request for the Wyoming lands before the great council of
the Six Nations.
It is well to explain, at this point, that Connecticut's claim to
the Wyoming Valley had another basis than the irregular pur-
chase made by the Connecticut interests from the Mohawks at
the Albany Treaty of 1754. The Wyoming lands were included
in the grant of Charles I, of England, to the Plymouth Company,
which, in 1631, conveyed them to Connecticut. Then this latter
grant was confirmed by Royal Patent from Charles II, in 1662.
By a confusing error, Charles II, in making the grant of what is
now the State of Pennsylvania, to William Penn, in 1681, in-
cluded the Wyoming lands in the same. This error caused a
bitter controversy between Pennsylvania and Connecticut over
the Wyoming lands for about a century.
The Grand Council ended on October 26th. Peace was
secured, and through the efforts of Post, the Ohio Indians had
been drawn away from the French. For a full account of the
Grand Council at Easton, see Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 8, pages 175
to 223.
378 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
While Governor Denny, Teedyuscung and Christian Frederick
Post were working for peace and General Forbes was preparing
to advance against Fort Duquesne, Indian outrages were com-
mitted, which we shall now narrate.
Mary Jemison, White Woman of Genessee
On April 5th, 1758, a band of Indians and Frenchmen from the
Ohio attacked the home of Thomas Jemison, near the confluence
of Sharp's Run and Conewago Creek in Adams County. On the
morning of that day, Jemison's daughter, Mary, aged about
fifteen, had returned from an errand to a neighbor's, and a man*
took her horse to go to his house after a bag of grain. Her father
was busy with chores about the house, her mother was getting
breakfast, her two elder brothers were at the barn, while the
smaller children of the family and a neighbor woman, f were in the
house. Suddenly they were alarmed by the discharge of a number
of guns. Opening the door they found the man and the horse
lying dead. The Indians then captured Mr. Jemison, his wife, his
children, Robert, Matthew, Betsy, and Mary, together with the
neighbor woman and her three children, the two brothers in the
barn making their escape. The attacking party consisted of six
Indians and four Frenchmen. They set out with their prisoners
in single file, using a whip when anyone lagged behind. At the
end of the second day's march, Mary was separated from her
parents. During the night her parents and all the other prisoners,
except Mary and a neighbor boy, were cruelly put to death, and
their bodies left in the swamps to be devoured by wild beasts. As
an Indian took Mary and this little boy by the hand, to lead them
from the rest of the prisoners, her mother exclaimed, "Don't cry,
Mary — don't cry, my child. God will bless you! Farewell — fare-
well!" These were the last words she ever heard fall from the lips
of her mother. During the next day's march, the unhappy girl
had to watch the Indians scrape and dry the scalps of her parents,
brothers, sisters, and neighbors. Her mother had an abundance
of beautiful, red hair, and she could easily distinguish her scalp
from the others, — a sight which remained with her to the end of
her days. The neighbor boy was given to the French, and Mary
given to two Shawnee squaws, and carried to the Shawnee towns
on the Scioto. Here these squaws adopted her, replacing a
brother who had been killed during the French and Indian War.
Mary was given the name of Deh-ge-wanus by the squaws, who
♦Robert Buck. tMrs. William Mann.
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 379
had lost a beloved brother who had fallen on the field of the slain ;
and according to Seaver, in his "Life of Mary Jemison," the name
means, "a handsome girl," while, according to other authorities,
it means "two falling voices" or "two females letting words fall."
On the occasion of giving her the Indian name, the squaws,
crying bitterly and shedding an abundance of tears, recited the
virtues of their brother, ending with the following chant:
"Oh, helpless and wretched, our brother has gone. Well we
remember his deeds. The deer he could take on the chase. The
panther shrunk back at the sight of his strength. His enemies
fell at his feet. He was brave and courageous in war. As the
fawn, he was harmless; his friendship was ardent; his temper was
gentle; his pity was great. Though he fell on the field of the
slain, with glory he fell, and his spirit went up to the land of his
fathers in war. Then why do we mourn? With transports of
joy, they received him, and fed him, and clothed him, and wel-
comed him there. Oh, friends, he is happy; then dry up your
tears. His spirit has seen our distress, and sent us a helper whom
with pleasure we greet. Deh-ge-wanus has come: then let us
receive her with joy. She is handsome and pleasant. Oh! she
is our sister, and gladly we welcome her here. In the place of our
brother she stands in our tribe. With care, we will guard her
from trouble; and may she be happy till her spirit shall leave us."
In the autumn of 1759, she was taken to Fort Pitt, when the
Shawnees and other western tribes went to that place to make
peace with the English. She accompanied them with a light
heart, as she believed she would soon be restored to her brothers
who had made their escape when she was captured. The English
at Fort Pitt asked her a number of questions concerning herself,
which so alarmed her adopted Indian sisters that they hastily
took her down the Ohio in a canoe. Afterwards she learned that
some settlers had come to the fort to take her away, but could
not find her.
She married two Indian chiefs of renown. The first was a
Delaware named Sheninjee, of whom she spoke as "noble, large
in stature, elegant in appearance, generous in conduct, courageous
in war, a friend of peace, and a great lover of justice." To this
husband she bore two children. The first died soon after birth,
but the second, who was born in the fourth year of her captivity,
she named in memory of her father, Thomas Jemison. Her first
husband died while they were enroute with her child to her new
home in the Genesee Valley in New York. Several years after
380 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the death of her first husband, she married Hiokatoo, also known
as Gardow, by whom she had four daughters and two sons. This
second husband was a cruel and vindictive warrior. He was a
Seneca, and as early as 1731, was appointed a runner to collect
an Iroquois army to go against the Cherokees and Catawbas of
the South. The Iroquois army, after a fatiguing march, met its
enemies in what was then called "the low, dark and bloody lands,"
near Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee. In a two
days' battle in which the Southern Indians lost twelve hundred
warriors, the Iroquois were successful. At Braddock's defeat, he
is said to have captured two white prisoners whom he burned to
death in a fire of his own kindling. He took part in almost every
engagement in the French and Indian War. As will be seen he
commanded the Senecas at the capture of Fort Freeland, July
28th, 1779. Seaver, in his "Life of Mary Jemison," says that it
was this chief who painted Doctor John Knight on the occasion
of Colonel William Crawford's defeat and torture, in June, 1782.
Altogether, according to Seaver, Hiokatoo was in seventeen
campaigns. He ended his days in November, 1811, at the great
age of more than one hundred years.
Two great sorrows came into Mary Jemison's life. The first
was when her son, John killed his brother, Thomas, her comforter
and namesake of her father. The second was when this same
John a few years later killed his other brother, Jesse. Her grief
became somewhat assuaged when John was murdered later in a
drunken quarrel with two Indians.
Mary Jemison continued to live in the Gardeau Flats, New
York, and upon the death of her second husband, she became
possessed of a large tract of valuable land. She was naturalized
April 19, 1817, and received a clear title to her land. In 1823,
she sold a major portion of her holdings, reserving a tract two
miles long and one mile wide.
This remarkable lady who preserved the sensibilities of a white
woman amidst the surroundings of barbaric life, died September
19, 1833, at the age of ninety-one years, and was buried, with
Christian rites, in the cemetery of the Seneca Mission on the
Buffalo Creek Reservation, in New York. On March 17, 1874,
her body was removed to the Indian Council House Grounds at
Letchworth Park, where a beautiful bronze statue marks the
grave of "The White Woman of the Genesee."
We close this sketch with the following appropriate quotation
STATUE OF MARY JEMISON
"The White Woman of the Genessee," erected near
the Jesuit Mission in Buchanan Valley, Adams County,
Pennsylvania.
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 381
from page 421 of the twenty-second edition of Seaver's "Life of
Mary Jemison":
"From all history and tradition, it would appear that neither
seduction, prostitution, nor rape, was known in the calendar of
crimes of this rude, savage race, until the females were contami-
nated by the embrace of civilized men. And it is a remarkable
fact that, among the great number of women and girls who have
been taken prisoners by the Indians during the last two centuries,
although they have often been tomahawked and scalped, their
bodies ripped open while alive, and otherwise barbarously
tortured, not a single instance is on record, or has ever found
currency in the great stock of gossip and story which civilized
society is so prone to circulate, that a female prisoner has ever
been ill-treated, abused, or her modesty insulted, by an Indian,
with reference to her sex."
Capture of the Family of Richard Bard (Baird)
On the morning of April 13th, 1758, the family of Richard
Bard (Baird) was captured by a band of nineteen Delawares from
the Ohio. The family resided near a place since known as Mar-
shall's Mills, in Adams County. On their way to the Bard home,
the Indians captured Samuel Hunter and Daniel McManiny,
who were working in a field near the home; also a boy named
William White, who was coming to a mill near Bard's home.
In the Bard home, at the time of the attack, were Richard
Bard; his wife Katherine; his infant son, John; Frederick Ferrick,
his servant, about fourteen years old; Hannah McBride, eleven
years old; and Lieutenant Thomas Potter, a brother of General
James Potter. One of the Indians attacked Lieutenant Potter
with a cutlass, but he succeeded in wresting it from the savage.
Mr. Bard seized a pistol and snapped it at the breast of one of the
Indians, but it failed to fire. As there was no ammunition in the
home, the occupants of the house, fearing a slaughter or being
burned alive, surrendered, as the Indians promised no harm would
be done to them. The savages then went into the field nearby,
where they captured Samuel Hunter, Daniel McManiny, and a
boy named William White, who was coming to a mill near the
Bard home.
The Indians then secured the prisoners, plundered the house,
and burned the mill. At a point about seventy rods from the
home, contrary to their promises, they killed Lieutenant Potter,
382 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and having proceeded over the mountain for several miles, one of
them sunk the spear of his tomahawk into the breast of the child,
and scalped it. When they had proceeded with their prisoners
past the fort into Path Valley, they encamped for the night. The
next day they discovered a party of settlers in pursuit. They then
hastened the pace of their prisoners under threat of tomahawking
them. Reaching the top of Tuscarora Mountain, the party sat
down to rest, and one of the Indians, without giving any warning
whatever, buried his tomahawk in the head of Samuel Hunter, and
scalped him. They then passed over Sidling Hill and the Alle-
gheny Mountains by Blair's Gap, and encamped beyond Stony
Creek. Here they painted Bard's head red on one side, indicating
that a council had been held ; that an equal number were for kill-
ing him and for saving his life, and that his fate would be deter-
mined in the next council.
Bard then determined to attempt his escape and, while assist-
ing his wife in plucking a turkey, he told her of his intentions.
Some of the Indians were asleep, and one was amusing the others
by parading around in Mrs. Bard's gown. As this Indian was
thus furnishing amusement for the others. Bard was sent to the
spring for water, and made his escape. After having made an un-
successful search for Bard, the party proceeded to Fort Duquesne
and then to Kuskuskies, where Mrs. Bard, the two boys and the
girl were compelled to run the gauntlet, and were beaten in a most
inhuman manner. Here also Daniel McManiny was put to death
by being tied to a post, scalped alive, and pierced through the
body with a red-hotgun barrel.
Mrs. Bard was separated from the other prisoners, led from
one Indian town to another, and finally adopted by two warriors,
to take the place of a deceased sister. Finally she was taken to
the headwaters of the Susquehanna, and during the journey,
suffered greatly from fatigue and illness. She lay for two months,
a blanket her only covering and boiled corn her only food. She
remained in captivity two years and five months.
Mr. Bard, after having made his escape and after a terrible
journey of nine days, during which his only food was a few buds
and four snakes, finally reached Fort Littleton, Fulton County.
After this, he wandered from place to place throughout the
frontier, seeking information concerning his wife. After having
made several perilous journeys to Fort Duquesne for the same
purpose, and in which he narrowly escaped capture on several
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 383
occasions, he finally learned that she was at Fort Augusta (Sun-
bury), where he redeemed her.
During Mrs. Bard's captivity, she was kindly treated by the
warriors who had adopted her. Before the Bards left Fort
Augusta, Mr. Bard requested one of his wife's adopted brothers to
visit them at their home. This he did some time afterwards, when
the Bards were living about ten miles from Chambersburg, re-
maining at the Bard home for some time ; but finally he went one
day to McCormack's Tavern, where he became intoxicated and got
into a quarrel with a rough frontier character by the name of
Newgen, who stabbed him dangerously in the neck. Newgen fled
from the vicinity in order to escape the wrath of Bard's neighbors. ,
The wounded Indian, however, recovered after being tenderly
nursed by his adopted sister, Mrs. Bard. He then returned to his
people, who put him to death on the pretext of having, as they
claimed, joined the white people.
For account of the capture and escape of Richard Bard, see
his affidavit in Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 396 and 397.
Other Atrocities in 1758
Other atrocities than the attacks on the Jemison and Bard
families, were committed in Eastern Pennsylvania in the month
of April, 1758. A man, named Lebenguth, and his wife were
killed in the Tulpehocken Valley. Also, at Northkill, Nicholas
Geiger's wife and two children and Michael Ditzelar's wife were
killed.
On May 21st, 1758, Joseph Gallady was killed by Indians, and
his wife and one child were taken captive, in Franklin County.
On June 18th, Adam Read wrote from his home on the Swatara to
Edward Shippen that, as Leonard Long was riding along the road
about a mile from Read's house, he was killed and scalped. Read
and some other men found the body lying in the road bleeding,
but could not track the murderers. The son of Jacob Snabele
was murdered not far from Fort Henry, on June 19th. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 3, page 426.)
On the morning of June 19th, 1758, occurred the attack on the
home of John Frantz, about six miles from Fort Henry, Berks
County. Captain Christian Busse, in a letter written on the day
of the event to Conrad Weiser, and recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol.
3, page 425, says that Mrs. Frantz and three children were cap-
tured. It seems, however, that before Mrs. Frantz was taken
384 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
far, she was killed by her captors. The "Frontier Forts of Penn-
sylvania," following closely an account of the tragedy appearing
in the Pennsylvania GazeZ/g of June, 1758, contains the following
in regard to this atrocity:
"At the time this murder was committed, Mr. Frantz was out
at work. His neighbors, having heard the firing of guns by the
Indians, immediately repaired to the house of Frantz. On their
way they apprised him of the report. When they arrived at the
house, they found Mrs. Frantz dead (having been killed by the
Indians because she was rather infirm and sickly, and so unable
to travel), and all the children gone. They then pursued the
Indians some distance, but all in vain. The children were taken
and kept captives for several years.
"A few years after this horrible affair, all of them, except one,
the youngest, were exchanged. The oldest of them, a lad of
twelve or thirteen years of age, at the time when captured,
related the tragical scent of his mother being tomahawked and
shamefully treated. Him they compelled to carry the youngest.
"The anxious father, having received two of his children as
from the dead, still sighed for the one that was lost. Whenever
he heard of children being exchanged, he mounted his horse to
see whether, among the captured, was not his dear little one. On
one occasion he paid a man forty pounds to restore his child, who
had reported that he knew where it was. To another he paid a
hundred dollars, and himself went to Canada in search of the lost
one — but, to his sorrow, never could trace his child. A parent
can realize his feelings — they cannot be described."
The Mohawks, being inclined to side with the French, formed
a large party, in June, 1758, to attack the Minisink settlement in
Monroe County. Teedyuscung endeavored to dissuade them,
but was not entirely successful. Two men were killed and
scalped and another wounded in the vicinity of Fort Hamilton.
Also a fort, located at the upper end of the Minisink region, was
captured. Samuel Dupui, in a letter written from Smithfield on
the night of June 15th, says that this band of Indians consisted
of about forty in number, and that the men of "that Garrison
were Farmers, and were out on their plantations when the Indians
fired on them and killed them, whereupon the Indians marched
up to the Fort, and took all the women and children captive."
Also, in August, 1758, a party of Mohawks and a French Captain
reached Tioga with the intention of making war on the English.
The friendly Delawares at that place persuaded some of the
POST'S PEACE MISSIONS— GRAND COUNCIL 385
Mohawks to turn back, but ten of them and the French Captain
proceeded apparently in the direction of the Minisink region,
whereupon Teedyuscung sent word to Governor Denny of this
fact, and messengers were sent to warn the Minisink settlers.
In his message, which was delivered on August 9th, by the friendly
Delawares, Zacheus and Jonathan, Teedyuscung said: "I con-
sider the English our Brethren, and we have but one Ear, one
Mouth, one Eye; you may be sure I shall apprize them of every
motion of the Enemy." (Penna. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 424 and
509.)
In fact, from the time Canachquasy persuaded him to "bury
the hatchet," Teedyuscung worked steadfastly for peace, and in-
sisted from time to time that a strong fort be built at Wyoming.
However, he was unable to remain neutral, and he petitioned
the Governor for reward on scalps, believing that if the white
man could enjoy the profits of such a bounty, there was no reason
why the Indians friendly to the Province should not come in for
their share. He even sent friendly Indians to protect the fron-
tiers. When Will Sock, a Conestoga, had been over the country
carrying a French flag, and had murdered Chagrea and a German
in Lancaster County, Teedyuscung took away the flag, sent it to
Philadelphia, and gave him an English flag. In the meantime,
also, he kept urging the Provincial authorities to build houses for
the friendly Indians at Wyoming, in accordance with Pennsyl-
vania's promise at the Easton conference of 1757 to enact a law
which would settle the Wyoming lands upon him and his people
forever.
Death of Scarouady
We are now ready to describe General Forbes' march against
and capture of Fort Duquesne; but before doing so, we call atten-
tion to the fact that the summer of 1758 marked the passing of
the wise and able Scarouady. The date of his death is not known,
but it was prior to August 26th, 1758, on which day several
Mohawks came to Philadelphia from the territory of the Six
Nations, bringing with them Scarouady 's wife and all her children.
She presented Governor Denny with "her husband's calumet
pipe, and desired that he and the Indians might smoke it together;
she intended to have gone into the Cherokee country, but had
altered her mind, and would stay here with her children." Prob-
ably the old chief lost his life in one of Johnson's expeditions
in New York.
386
THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
It is with sincere regret that we take leave of Scarouady, an
admirable character, a forceful orator, the leading speaker at
many important conferences, the wise counselor, the strong enemy
of the French, the firm friend of the English. Far past the prime
of life when he first appears upon the scene, his aged shoulders
bore a mighty burden to the end of his eventful career.
CHAPTER XVII
General Forbes' Expedition
Against Fort Duquesne
(1758)
As stated at the beginning of Chapter XVI, when the power-
2\ ful hand of William Pitt took hold of the helm of the
British Ship of State, three expeditions were planned for gaining
possession of the territory claimed by the French, in America,
one of these expeditions being against Fort Duquesne. On the
same day on which General Abercrombie was appointed to suc-
ceed Lord Loudon, as commander-in-chief of the British forces
in America, Brigadier-General John Forbes was appointed com-
mander of the Southern District, including Pennsylvania, Virginia
Maryland and the Carolinas. A large volume could be written
on General Forbes' expedition against Fort Duquesne, but, in
the limits of this history, it is possible to give only the main facts.
In the first place, let us take a view of the forces making up
the army of General Forbes. Probably as accurate a list of these
forces as has ever been given is the following from Lowdermilk's
"History of Cumberland":
Field Co.
Name of Corps Officers Officers Total
Division of 1st Battalion of Royal Americans. . . 1 12 363
Highland, or 62d Regiment 3 37 998 Ij 267
Division of 62d Regiment 3 12 269 J '
1st Virginia Regiment 3 32 782
2nd Virginia Regiment 3 35 702
3rd North Carolina Companies 1 10 141
4th Maryland Companies 1 15 270
1st Battalion Pennsylvania 3 41 755 1
2nd Battalion Pennsylvania 3 40 666^2,192
3rd Battalion Pennsylvania 3 46 771 J
Three Lower Counties (Delaware) 3 46 263
Total 5,980
Detachments on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and the road of communication :
Major Captains Subalterns Total
From the Pennsylvania Regiments 1 10 17 563
From North Carolina Regiments . . 1 3 61 624
j 1,484
388 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
As indicated in the list of Forbes' forces, part of his army was
composed of "Royal Americans." This was the name given to
a force to consist of four battalions of one thousand men each —
a force neither strictly British nor strictly Colonial, the men
being recruited in the Colonies and the officers being comissioned
by the King of England. The men were composed largely of
Pennsylvania-Germans and other non-English speaking inhabi-
tants of the Colonies. The law creating this force provided that
fifty of the commissioned officers might be chosen from among
Protestant foreign officers of ability and experience.
At this point, it will be well to state a few facts about the most
noted officer of the Royal Americans, Colonel Henry Bouquet,
commander of the first battalion. He was born at Rolle, in the
Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, about 1719. Having had much
experience in the regiment of Constance and in the service of the
King of Sardinia, in whose wars he distinguished himself, he, in
1748, entered the Swiss Guards as Lieutenant-Colonel. When
war broke out between England and France, in 1754, he entered
the service of the British, and was sent to America, where he
became the most distinguished and successful soldier of foreign
birth, in Indian warfare. In the latter part of 1757, he was in
South Carolina with four companies of Royal Americans, and
on February 14th, 1758, was ordered to New York by General
Forbes, at which place he landed on April 15th, with four com-
panies of his Royal Americans and some Virginia troops. He
then came to Philadelphia, and at once took an active part in
the preparations for the advance against Fort Duquesne. In
fact, he led the advance, and, on account of the physical weakness
of General Forbes, who became seriously ill upon his arrival at
Philadelphia, in April, most of the work of carrying out his plans
of campaign devolved upon Colonel Bouquet. Not only was
Colonel Bouquet an able and energetic soldier, but he was a
scholar, as well, speaking and writing good French, German and
English. In fact, he wrote better English than most British
officers of his time. He was fond of the society of men of science.
At the close of the Pontiac and Guyasuta War, he was made
Brigadier-General and commandant in the Southern Colonies of
British America, leaving New York for Pensacola, on April
10th, 1765. His new honors were not long enjoyed, as he died
of yellow fever at Pensacola, in the summer of 1765, "lamented
by his friends and regretted universally." He sleeps in an un-
known grave in the summer land of our country.
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 389
For this expedition, Pennsylvania equipped twenty-seven
hundred troops, but some of the companies were assigned to
garrisoning Fort Augusta and other posts. The three Pennsyl-
vania battalions, called a regiment, set forth in the above list,
had, as their general officers Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph
Shippen; Commissary of the Musters and Paymaster, James
Young; Surgeon, Dr. Bond; Chaplain, Rev. Thomas Barton;
Wagon Master, Robert Irwin; and Deputy Wagon Master,
Mordecai Thompson.
The first battalion was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
John Armstrong, of Kittanning expedition fame. Under him were
Lieutenant-Colonel Hance Hamilton; Major Jacob Orndt, who
was assigned to garrison duty; Surgeon Blain; Chaplain, Rev.
Charles Beatty; Adjutant, John Philip de Hass; and Quarter-
master, Thomas Smallman. Among the Captains in this batta-
lion were: Samuel Allen, James Potter, Jacob Snaidor, George
Armstrong, Edward Ward, Robert Callender, John Nicholas
Wetterhold, William Lyon, Patrick Davis, Charles Garraway,
William Armstrong, Richard Walter, John McKnight and David
Hunter.
The second battalion was commanded by Colonel James Burd.
Under him were Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Lloyd; Major
David Jamison; Surgeon, John Morgan; Chaplain, Rev. John
Steel; Adjutant, Jacob Kern; Quartermaster Asher Clayton;
and Commissary Peter Bard. Among the Captains of the
second battalion were: Christian Busse, Joseph Scott, Samuel
J. Atlee, William Patterson, William Reynolds, Levi Trump,
Jacob Morgan, Samuel Weiser (son of Conrad Weiser), Alexander
McKee, John Byers, John Haslett, John Singleton and Robert
Eastburn.
The third battalion was commanded by Colonel Hugh Mercer.
Under him were Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Work; Major
George Armstrong; Surgeon, Robert Bines; Chaplain, Rev.
Andrew Bay; Adjutant, James Ewing; Quartermaster, Thomas
Hutchins; and Sergeant-Major Samuel Culbertson. Among the
captains of the third battalion were: Robert Boyd, John Black-
wood, James Sharp, Adam Read, Samuel Nelson, John Mont-
gomery, George Aston, Charles McClung, Robert McPherson,
Paul Jackson, John Bull, William Biles, Archibald McGrew,
Thomas Hamilton, Ludowick Stone, John Clark, John Allison,
Job Rush ton, Thomas Smith, Alexander Graydon, James
Hyndshaw, William Biles and Thomas Armour.
390 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
The list of the officers of these three Pennsylvania Battalions
is found in Pa. Archives, Fifth Series, Vol. 1, pages 178 to 185.
The Southern troops were commanded by Colonel George
Washington, Colonel Byrd, Colonel Stephens, Major Lewis and
others. They assembled, first at Winchester, Virginia, and then
at Cumberland, Maryland.
Like Braddock, General Forbes had Indian allies — Cherokees
and Catawbas. Like Braddock, also, nearly all of his Indian
allies left him before he came near Fort Duquesne. Edmund
Atkins, who, as was seen in a former chapter, was superintendent
of Indian affairs for the southern provinces, being a member of
the Council in South Carolina, had succeeded in procuring the
Cherokees and Catawbas. As Forbes was advancing towards
Fort Duquesne, many of these Indians went to the Ohio above
and below the fort, in order to "annoy the enemy, get intelligence,
and bring away prisoners." By the middle of May there were
more than seven hundred of these Southern Indians in Forbes'
service. However, it was necessary to give them presents almost
constantly to keep them scouting. Six thousand pounds were
spent to keep them out scouting. They gradually left the
service, sighing for their southern homes. When July came,
they had all gone home except about two hundred. By the first
of September, all were gone home except about eighty; and, on
October 27th, General Forbes wrote from "Camp at Top of
Alleganey Mountains": "The Cherokee and other Southern
Indians who came last winter and so early in the Spring to join
us, after having by every Art they were Masters off, gott every-
thing they could expect from us, left us without any remorse
when they found they were not likely to get any more presents
for retaining them, so that I have now left with me above fifty,
and am now on my march to the Ohio, as the season will not
admitt of one Moment's delay."
The Route Followed by General Forbes
Having taken this brief view of the forces, white and red,
making up General Forbes' expedition, we shall now take a view
of the route over which his army advanced against Fort Du-
quesne. On March 28th, 1758, the General wrote Governor
William Denny from New York, giving directions for raising
troops in Pennsylvania, and also saying: "I propose assembling
the Regular Troops and those of Pennsylvania, at Conegochie
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 391
[Conococheague — the mouth of the creek of this name at Will-
iamsport, Maryland], about the 20th of April." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 8, pages 59, 60.) In making the mouth of the Conococheague
the rendezvous and base of supplies for the Pennsylvania forces,
he did so at the suggestion of Sir John St. Clair, his Quarter-
master-General, who had held this same position in Braddock's
army, and no doubt expected that Forbes would advance against
Fort Duquesne over the same road that Braddock used, making,
like Braddock, Fort Cumberland the starting point.
Washington and the other \'irginians took it for granted that
the Braddock road would be followed by Forbes. However,
before the campaign was far advanced. Colonel Bouquet, who,
as we have seen, led the advance, hoped to find a better way
over the mountains than the Braddock road, and General Forbes
shared this hope. Bouquet carefully studied the reports of his
scouts and became strongly of the opinion that the route to be
followed should start at Fort Loudon, thence to Raystown (Bed-
ford), thence to Loyalhanna (Ligonier), thence to Fort Duquesne;
that Fort Loudon should be the real starting point of the expedi-
tion and base of supplies, and that the assembling place of the
southern troops should be Bedford, where a stockade (Fort Bed-
ford) had been erected by Colonel John Armstrong in 1756. The
Pennsylvania officers agreed with Colonel Bouquet. Conferences
were held between Bouquet and the Pennsylvania officers, on
the one hand, and Washington and the Virginia officers, on the
other. An animated controversy soon arose, and continued for
many weeks. At one time during the controversy, it was pro-
posed that Washington lead the southern troops over the Brad-
dock road from Fort Cumberland and join the main army on the
Monongahela, just before the attack on Fort Duquesne. This
proposal was rejected after General Forbes received reports from
Colonel Bouquet which set forth the investigations his scouts
had made of both routes. From first to last Washington was in
favor of the Braddock road. He wrote to Major Peter Halket,
one of Forbes' aides:
"I am just returned from a conference held with Colonel
Bouquet. I find him fixed — I think I may say unalterably fixed
— to lead you a new way to the Ohio through a road every inch
of which is to be cut at this advanced season, when we have
scarcely time left to tread the beaten track universally confessed
to be the best passage through the mountains. If Colonel
Bouquet succeeds in this point with the General, all is lost! all is
392 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
lost, indeed! our enterprise is ruined! and we shall be stopped at
the Laurel Hill this winter; but not to gather laurels, except the
kind which cover the mountains."
In pressing the claims of the Braddock road, Washington and
the other Virginians pointed out that it was nineteen miles
shorter than the proposed new road and that it would not re-
quire so much work and expense as cutting the new road, over-
looking, seemingly, the fact that it was then grown up with
sprouts and brush.
Virginia had made the first settlements (the Ohio Company's)
in the valley of the Ohio ; she had constructed the first road to the
Ohio, the Nemacolon Indian trail, which the Ohio Company
cleared and widened; she claimed the valley of the Ohio, which
Pennsylvania also claimed. Therefore it is fair to assume that
Virginia feared her claim to the Ohio Valley would be endangered
if a new road, leading directly from the settled parts of Pennsyl-
vania to the Ohio Valley, were opened. Such road would afiford
easy access to the Ohio Valley for the Pennsylvania traders.
The Pennsylvania officers, in urging the claims of the proposed
new road, pointed out that it would afford direct communication
to the fertile farms of Eastern Pennsylvania, from which food
and other supplies for the army could be obtained. They also
called attention to the fact that, when Braddock was marching
against Fort Duquesne, work was in progress of cutting a road
from McDowell's Mill, in Franklin County, to join the Braddock
road at Turkey Foot (Confluence), by which supplies, so sorely
needed by Braddock's army, could be brought from Eastern Penn-
sylvania,— a road which Colonel James Burd had completed as
far as the summit of the Allegheny Mountains, when Braddock's
defeat put an end to its construction.
At length the recommendation of Colonel Bouquet and the
Pennsylvania officers was adopted by General Forbes, and as we
shall presently see. Bouquet began the work of cutting the new
road. The course followed by Forbes' army followed very closely
the course of the old Indian trail which ran through Bedford to
the "Forks of the Ohio," — a trail that had been used very much
by the Shawnees and Delawares in their migration from the
valley of the Susquehanna to the valleys of the Ohio and Alle-
gheny. Christopher Gist had followed this trail from Bedford
to the Ohio, in 1750, when exploring for the Ohio Company. The
Lincoln Highway follows its general course over the mountains
to Pittsburgh today.
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 393
The starting point of the "Forbes Road" was Fort Loudon.
Part of its course from this place to Bedford was over the road
Colonel Burd had cut from McDowell's Mill to the crest of the
Allegheny Mountain, in 1755. It (the "Forbes Road") ran from
Fort Loudon to Fort Littleton ; thence to Sideling Hill ; thence to
the crossing of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata; thence
through Everett to Bedford; thence to Wolfsburg and Schells-
burg; thence through Edmund's Swamp; thence near Stoystown,
Quemahoning and Jenner; thence over the Laurel Hills to
Ligonier; thence over the Chestnut Ridge to Youngstown; thence
past old Unity Church to Hannastown; thence across the head-
waters of Brush Creek to Murraysville, not, however, passing
through the battlefield of Bushy Run, as some historians have
stated, but turning to the northwest about four miles east of
the battlefield; thence (from Murraysville) to Shannopin's Town,
now within the limits of Pittsburgh, on the east bank of the
Allegheny, about two miles from its mouth.
The present "Forbes Street," in Pittsburgh, does not mark the
course General Forbes followed. After reaching Shannopin's
Town, located between the present Penn Avenue and the Alle-
gheny River at about Thirtieth Street, the army advanced along
the bank of this river, and not the Monongahela, to the French
fort.
For an accurate account of the course of the "Forbes Road,"
especially its course through the city of Pittsburgh to Fort
Duquesne, the reader is referred to Dr. George P. Donehoo's
"Pennsylvania— A History," Vol. 2, pages 823, 824, 831 and 832.
The March Over the Mountains
Colonel Bouquet arrived at Bedford early in July, where he
enlarged and strengthened the stockade already erected there,
in 1756, (Fort Bedford), and constructed entrenchments and
palisades. By the first of August, a large part of Bouquet's
forces was at work cutting the new road through the mountain
forests towards Ligonier. His total forces at that time were about
seventeen hundred men. By the sixteenth of August, Bouquet's
forces, woodcutters and troops, consisted of thirty-nine hundred
men, including two Virginia companies; and fourteen hundred
were employed at that time in cutting the new road towards
Ligonier, which place they reached about September 1st. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 3, page 510.) The best information as to the time
394 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
when Bouquet himself reached Ligonier is his letter of September
17th, in which he says: "The day on which I arrived at the camp,
which was the 7th [of September], it was reported to me that we
were surrounded by parties of Indians, several soldiers having
been scalped or made prisoners." (Frontier Forts of Pennsyl-
vania, Vol. 2, pages 254-255.) By that time, all his force had
reached that place. Here, on the banks of the Loyalhanna,
Bouquet erected Fort Ligonier. He also erected the fortificai on
known as Breastwork Hill, on Nine Mile Run, in what is now
Unity Township, Westmoreland County, about ten miles west of
Ligonier.
The work of cutting, hewing and blasting the road over the
main range of the Allegheny Mountains and, particularly, the
parallel range of the Laurel Hills to the westward, was prodigious.
In many places, the road was cut in the rock on the sides of steep
declivities. As far as the eye could reach, the vast and primeval
forest covered the mountain ranges and the valleys between.
Forbes described the mountain region through which the road
was cut as an "immense uninhabited wilderness, overgrown every-
where with trees and brushwood, so that nowhere can one see
twenty yards." At the summit of the Allegheny Mountains, not
far from the Wilderness Club House, one can see today the most
perfectly preserved of the breastworks which Colonel Bouquet
erected while cutting this wilderness and mountain road. The
earthen embankments can be plainly traced. It was known as
McLean's Redoubt.
Washington arrived at Bedford on September 16th, Lieutenant
Colonel Stephen, with six companies of Virginia troops, having
reached that place previously.
General Forbes arrived in Philadelphia in April, 1758. At the
head of the British regulars, he marched from Philadelphia about
the last of June to effect a union with the other troops at Bed-
ford. Reaching Carlisle, he was detained for some time on ac-
count of his severe illness. In fact, on account of bodily weakness,
he was carried in a hurdle between two horses all the way from
Carlisle to Fort Duquesne and back to Philadelphia. He reached
Bedford about the middle of September, where he met the
southern troops under Washington. Forbes' rear division left
Bedford on October 23d (Penna. Col. Rec, Vol. 8, pages 224-
225); he and his advance troops reached Ligonier about Novem-
ber 1st; but his entire army did not arrive there until about a
week later. Christian Frederick Post, an account of whose
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 395
peace missions to the Western Delawares was given in Chapter
XVI, says in his journal that he passed Forbes' artillery on Laurel
Hill, on November 7th.
Grant's Defeat
The most disasterous event connected with General Forbes'
advance against Fort Duquesne was the defeat of Major James
Grant, of the Highlanders, where the Allegheny Court House now
stands, in the city of Pittsburgh, on September 14th, 1758.
Major Grant, with a force of thirty-seven officers and eight hun-
dred and five privates, was sent from Ligonier by Bouquet to
reconnoiter the fort and adjacent country. Grant had begged
Bouquet for permission to make this expedition. Grant's in-
structions were not to approach too near the fort and not to
attack it. The wilderness between Ligonier and Fort Duquesne
was filled with Indians constantly watching the movements of
Grant's little army; yet he succeeded in coming within sight of
the fort without being discovered. Late at night he drew up his
troops on the brow of the fatal hill in the city of Pittsburgh, which
still bears his name.
Not having met with either French or Indians on the march,
and believing from the stillness of the enemy's quarters that the
forces in the fort were small. Grant at once determined to make
an attack. Accordingly, two officers and fifty men were directed
to approach the fort and fall upon the French and Indians that
might be outside. They saw none and were not challenged by the
sentinels; and as they returned, they set fire to a large storehouse,
but the fire was extinguished. At the break of day, September
14th, Grant sent Major Andrew Lewis with two hundred regulars
and Virginia volunteers to take a position about a half mile back,
and lie in ambush where they had left their baggage. Four
hundred men were posted along the hill facing the fort, while
Captain McDonald's company, with drums beating and bagpipes
playing, marched toward the fort in order to draw out the garri-
son. The music of the drums and bagpipes aroused the garrison
from their slumber, and both the French and Indians sallied out
in great numbers, the latter probably led by Guyasuta.
The British officers marshalled their men according to European
tactics. Major Lewis, at the beginning of the attack, left Cap-
tain Bullitt, with fifty Virginians, to guard the baggage, and
hastened with the main part of his men to the scene of action.
Lewis engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with an Indian warrior.
396 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
whom he killed, ^but^was compelled to surrender to a French
officer.
The French and Indians separated into three divisions. The
first two were sent under the cover of the banks of the Mononga-
hela and Allegheny to surround the main body of Grant's troops,
while the third was delayed awhile to give the others time, and
then lined up before the fort as if exhibiting the whole strength of
the garrison. This plan worked admirably. Captain McDonald
was obliged to fall back on the main body, and at the same time,
Grant found himself flanked by the detachments on both sides.
A desperate struggle ensued. The Highlanders, exposed to the
enemy's fire without cover, fell in great numbers. The provin-
cials, concealing themselves among the trees, made a good defense
for a while, but not being supported and being overpowered by
numbers, were compelled to fall back. The result was that
Grant's forces were overwhelmingly and ingloriously defeated.
Many of his brave troops were driven into the Allegheny River
and drowned. The total loss was two hundred and seventy
killed, forty-two wounded, and a number taken prisoners. Among
the latter were Major Grant, Major Lewis and about nineteen
other officers. The French account says that five officers and one
hundred men were captured and that the French loss was only
eight killed and eight wounded.
Captain Bullitt rallied some of the fugitives, and, dispatching
some of the most valuable baggage with the best horse, made a
barricade of the wagons, behind which he posted his men. After
having finished the plunder of the battlefield, the Indians
hastened in pursuit of the fugitives. They attacked Bullitt's men,
who opened a destructive fire upon them from behind the baggage
wagons. This checked them for a time, but they soon came with
greater numbers. Then Bullitt and his men held out the signal
of surrender, and advanced as if to lay down their arms. When
within eight yards of the Indians, Bullitt's men suddenly leveled
their rifles, poured in a destructive fire, and charged with the
bayonet. The Indians then fled in order to get reinforcements.
Bullitt took advantage of this check to collect some of the
wounded and fugitives, with whom he hastened back to the camp
at Ligonier. The Highlanders and the Virginians were those who
fought the best and suffered the most in this bloody engagement.
Six officers and sixty-two privates of the Virginia forces lay dead
on the field. The road back to Ligonier was strewn with the dead.
A boy twelve years of age, who had been two years a prisoner
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 397
among the French and Indians, made his escape from Fort
Duquesne, on November 2nd, then succeeded in reaching Forbes'
army, and gave the information that five of the prisoners taken
at Grant's defeat had been burned to death by the Indians on the
parade ground at Fort Duquesne and that several others were
tomahawked. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, page 428.) One of the
Highlanders, after witnessing the burning of several of his com-
panions, planned a stratagem to avoid his being tortured by fire.
He told one of the Indians that he could make a concoction of
the juices of herbs that, when applied to any part of the body,
would render that part invulnerable. He begged for permission
to prove the truth of his statement. Permission was granted.
Then, gathering some leaves and roots of plants, he squeezed
out their juices, smeared his neck with the same, lay down with
his neck across a log, and asked a warrior to attempt to cut off
his head with an axe. The warrior swung the axe with all his
might, and the Highlander's head was severed from his body.
Seeing the trick that had been played upon them, the Indians
praised the cunning of the soldier.
Grant's expedition was a monstrous blunder. General Forbes,
with the main body of the army was as far in the rear as Bedford,
and neither he nor Colonel Bouquet had any definite knowledge of
the strength of the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne. In
view of these facts, it seems strange, indeed, that Colonel Bouquet
permitted Grant to advance into a death trap. Grant himself
showed utter lack of judgment in playing the bagpipes and beat-
ing the drums at daylight, which had only the effect of telling the
enemy of his advance. Neither the French nor the Indians knew
of Grant's presence until the music broke the stillness of the
autumn morning. How Grant's conduct impressed the Indians
was expressed by one of the Delaware chiefs, Tecaughretango, in
a conversation with James Smith, at that time a captive among
them. This chief told Smith that the Indians believed that
Grant "had made too free with spiritous liquors during the night,
and had become intoxicated about daylight."
For account of Major Grant's defeat, see "Frontier Forts of
Pennsylvania," Vol. 2, pages 80 to 90, also 197, 198 and 262 to
264.
Attack on the Camp on the Loyalhanna
After Major Grant's defeat, many of the Delawares, Shawnees
and Mingoes in alliance with the French left Fort Duquesne, and
398 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
returned to their villages, laden with the spoils of the battlefield.
It was the custom of the Indians to return home after a battle,
whether successful or not. Furthermore, owing to the success of
the first peace mission of Christian Frederick Post to the Western
Delawares, they and their allies were becoming dissatisfied with
the French.
Colonel James Smith, then a prisoner among the Delawares
and adopted by them, says in his Narrative that, after Grant's
defeat, the Indians held a council, and were divided in their
opinions, some saying that Forbes would now retreat, and others
saying that he would come on. Many of the Delawares then,
according to Smith, went back to their villages, not wishing to be
absent from their squaws and children at this season of the year.
The French were thus practically deserted by the Indians. Yet,
emboldened by the crushing defeat of Grant, Captain De Ligneris,
then commandant of Fort Duquesne, sent about one thousand
French and two hundred Indians to attack Colonel Bouquet's
camp at Ligonier, hoping to compel Bouquet to retreat, as did
Dunbar after the defeat of General Braddock. This force of
French and Indians attacked Bouquet's camp on October 12th.
The following letter, written at Ligonier, on October 14th,
probably by Colonel James Burd, and found in Pa. Archives, Vol.
12, page 392, thus describes this attack:
"We were attacked by 1200 French and 200 Indians, com-
manded by M. de Vetri, on Thursday, 12th current, at 11 o'clock,
A. M., with great fury until 3 P. M., when I had the great pleas-
ure of seeing victory attend the British arms. The enemy at-
tempted in the night to attack us a second time; but in return for
their most melodious music, we gave them a number of shells,
which soon made them retreat. Our loss on this occasion is only
62 men and 5 officers, killed, wounded and missing. The French
were employed all night in carrying off their dead and wounded,
and, I believe, carried off some of our dead in mistake."
On the day of the attack, Colonel James Burd was in command
of the fort and camp at Ligonier, and Colonel Bouquet was back
at Stony Creek, near Stoystown, with seven hundred men and a
detachment of artillery. After the first repulse of the French
and Indians, Colonel Burd wrote Colonel Bouquet an account of
the engagement. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, page 392; Frontier
Forts of Penna., Vol. 2, pages 199 to 204, also page 264.)
As stated earlier in this chapter, General Forbes arrived at
Ligonier about November 1st, although it was about a week later
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 399
that all his troops had assembled at that place. On account of
his illness, he was not able to keep up with the army, although it
pushed on by slow stages and very wisely established fortified
magazines as it went. The General's purpose was to assemble
all his army at the camp at Ligonier preparatory to making the
final advance
Washington's Engagement Near Ligonier
On November 12th, Colonel George Washington was out with
a scouting party which attacked a number of French and Indians
about three miles from the camp at Ligonier, killing one and
taking three prisoners — an Indian man, a squaw, and an English-
man, named Johnson, who had been captured by the Indians
several years before, in Lancaster County. Colonel Hugh Mer-
cer, hearing the firing, was sent with a party of Virginians to the
assistance of Washington. Mercer's men approached in the dusk
of the evening, and, seeing Washington's party, with the three
Indians, about a fire from which they had driven the enemy,
mistook them for the enemy. Washington's party also mistook
Mercer's men for the enemy. Both parties fired on each other,
killing a lieutenant and thirteen or fourteen privates.
Such is the account of the unfortunate event, as given in the
Pennsylvania Gazette, November 30th, 1758. However, Wash-
ington, in his account of the engagement, says that, when it was
learned at Ligonier that the French and Indians were within two
miles of the camp, a party commanded by Colonel Mercer, of
the Virginia Line, was sent to dislodge them; that soon hot firing
was heard which seemed to approach the camp, making General
Forbes believe that Mercer's party was yielding ground; and that
Washington, with permission of the General, then called for
volunteers, and marched at their head to sustain Colonel Mercer.
Washington, led on by the firing until he came within less than
half a mile, and it then ceasing, sent scouts to investigate and to
communicate his approach to Colonel Mercer. In the meantime
he cautiously advanced, and the intelligence of his coming was
not fully disseminated among Colonel Mercer's men. Night was
now settling down the forests of Westmoreland. Taking Wash-
ington's men for the enemy, who had retreated, and thinking
that they (the enemy) were now approaching in another direction,
Colonel Mercer's men commenced a heavy fire upon Washington's
relief party, which, in turn, drew the fire of Washington's men in
400 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
spite of the exertions of the officers in Washington's party, one
of whom and several privates were killed and many wounded.
In order that the terrible mistake might not result in more deaths,
Washington rushed between the two parties, knocking up
their presented muskets with his sword. Being thus between
two fires, he was never in more imminent danger of death. (Fron-
tier Forts of Penna., Vol. 2, pages 206 to 208 and authorities
there referred to.)
As stated in Chapter XVI, the Indians who had been attacked
and routed in this engagement, came upon the party of Lieutenant
William Hays, who escorted Christian Frederick Post as far as
Kiskiminetas Town, killing the Lieutenant and four of his men,
and capturing five others.
Washington's skirmish, on November 12th, was the last clash
of arms between the French and Indians on the one side and the
British on the other, in the Ohio Valley during the French and
Indian War. It will be remembered that Washington was a
leading figure in the opening conflict in this war, the attack on
Jumonville, May 28th, 1754.
Fort Duquesne Falls
Upon General Forbes' arrival at Bouquet's camp on the Loyal-
hanna, he decided to go into winter quarters there, as the season
was advanced. At this time, the French at Fort Duquesne were
in a desperate situation. Practically deserted by their Indian
allies, who, as an additional reason for returning to their villages,
were in genuine fear of the Virginia troops, the French suffered
the loss of the Louisiana and Illinois militia, who left Fort
Duquesne in November. Worse still, the supplies intended for
Fort Duquesne, had been destroyed by Colonel Bradstreet at
Fort Frontenac. For this reason De Ligneris, the commandant
at Fort Duquesne, was compelled through fear of starvation to
dismiss the greater part of his force. All these things, however,
were unknown to General Forbes at the time he intended to go
into winter quarters on the Loyalhanna. (Frontier Forts of Pa.,
Vol. 2, pages 91 to 94 and authorities there referred to.)
The Englishman, Johnson, captured on November 12th, gave
General Forbes the following information relative to the situation
of the French at Fort Duquesne:
"That the Canadians who had been with Mons. Vetri at Loyal-
Hanriing [the attack of October 12th J were, all gone home; that
Two views of the monument located on the Butler-Evans City Road, at a point ten miles south of
Butler and two miles north of Evans City, Butler County, Pa., marking the approximate spot where
Major George Washington narrowly escaped death when he was fired upon by a hostile Indian, less
than fifteen steps distant, on the evening of December 27th, 1753, as he and Christopher Gist were
on their way back to Virginia from Washington's historic mission to Fort Le Boeuf (Waterford. Pa.),
This monument was erected during the summer of 1924, and was dedicated, July 3d, 1925.
For account of Washington's Mission, see pages 144 to 149. The account of the Indian's attempt
to kill him is found on pages 148 and 149.
-Photographs by H. E. Ripper, Evans City, Pa.
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 401
the Ohio Indians had also returned to their several towns; that
the attempt made by Vetri at Loyal Hanning was only to make
us apprehend their strength at Fort Duquesne to be very great,
whereas they were very weak there . . . and our army would
certainly succeed." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, page 393.)
This information caused General Forbes to decide not to go
into winter quarters on the Loyalhanna but to press on against
Fort Duquesne at once. Accordingly, on November 13th, Colo-
nel John Armstrong, who was next in command to Colonel
Bouquet, was ordered to advance with one thousand men.
Washington was then already in the advance with about fifteen
hundred men, building a road towards the French fort, and had
erected one or more redoubts near Hannastown. On November
17th, General Forbes left Loyalhanning with forty- three hundred
effective men, without wagons or heavy baggage, leaving a garri-
son at Fort Ligonier. On this same day, Washington had
advanced as far as Bushy Run, and, on the 18th, Colonel Arm-
strong had reached a point within seventeen miles of Fort
Duquesne. On the 24th, the entire army was within twelve
miles of the fort, being encamped a few miles west of Turtle
Creek. While here, a report was brought by Indian scouts that
the fort was on fire, and Captain Haslet was sent with a detach-
ment to endeavor to extinguish the fire. At midnight, Forbes'
pickets "heard a dull and heavy sound booming over the western
woods." The magazine at the fort had blown up.
The entire army advanced early the next morning, November
25th, and took possession of the smouldering ruins of Fort
Duquesne, the coveted goal of the British for more than four
long and bloody years. The same day Delaware messengers
arrived at Kuskuskies, with the joyful news to Christian Fred-
erick Post that "the English had the field, and that the French
had demolished and burnt the place entirely, and went off; that
the commander is gone with two hundred men to Venango, and
the rest gone down the river in battoes, to the lower Shawnee
town; they were seen yesterday passing by Sawcung [Sauconk]."
It was a Pennsylvanian, Colonel John Armstrong, who raised
the British flag over the smoking embers this great stronghold of
the French in the valley of the Ohio. French dominion in this
valley was forever at an end. The joy in the British army was
unbounded. By order of General Forbes, November 26th was
observed by the army as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God
402 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
for the success of the British arms, and the day following a grand
celebration was held.
Says Bancroft: "As the banners of England floated over the
waters, the place, at the suggestion of Forbes, was with one voice
called Pittsburgh. It is the most enduring monument to William
Pitt. America raised to his name statues that have been wrong-
fully broken, and granite piles of which not one stone remains
upon another; but, long as the Monongahela and the Allegheny
shall flow to form the Ohio, long as the English tongue shall be
the language of freedom in the boundless valley which their
waters traverse, his name shall stand inscribed on the gateway of
the West."
Forbes' troops found many of the dead of Grant's defeat
within a quarter of a mile of the fort. They also found a number
of stakes driven into the ground on which were stuck the heads
and kilts of the Highlanders, killed on that fateful September
morning. Detachments then buried Grant's dead and the bones
of those who were slain at Braddock's defeat over three years
before. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, pages 428 to 431; Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 8, pages 231 to 234.)
As stated in Chapter XVI, General Forbes left Pittsburgh on
December 3d, and went to Fort Ligonier, where he remained, on
account of illness, until December 27th. He reached Carlisle, on
January 7th, 1759, and from there went on to Philadelphia, where
he was welcomed with great enthusiasm and joy. Here this great
Scotchman of iron will died on March 11th, and was buried in
the chancel of Christ Church.
Colonel Bouquet, next in command to General Forbes, re-
mained at Pittsburgh until December 5th, when he left for Fort
Ligonier, as was also seen in Chapter XVI. Colonel Hugh
Mercer, with two hundred men, was then left in command at
Pittsburgh, and immediately commenced erecting palisades and
temporary quarters. By January 8th, 1759, his force was in-
creased to two hundred and eighty men.
Thus began the occupation of the Ohio and Allegheny by the
English. General Forbes was succeeded by General John Stanwix
on March 15th, 1759, who soon arranged to erect a permanent
fortification near the site of the former Fort Duquesne — Fort Pitt.
Stanwix arrived at Pittsburgh, in August, 1759, and, on Septem-
ber 3d, the work of erecting Fort Pitt was commenced. By
December 8th, the work was well advanced, and a garrison was
being formed of 300 Provincials, one half of whom were Penn-
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 403
sylvanians and the other half Virginians, and 400 of the first
battaUon of Royal Americans. General Stanwix remained at
Fort Pitt until March 21st, 1760, but the fort was not finally
completed until the summer of 1761, under Colonel Bouquet,
although it was occupied early in 1760.
The French had not more than four or five hundred troops at
Fort Duquesne at the time when they set fire to the works and
fled. On abandoning the fort one part of the French garrison
went down the Ohio to the Illinois country, one hundred went by
land to Fort Presqu' Isle, and two hundred went up the Allegheny
to Fort Machault (Venango), while the Indians scattered to their
various towns on the Ohio, Beaver and Muskingum. Fort
Machault was strengthened, and it was proposed to remain there
and defend the place if attacked. In the summer of 1759, great
apprehension was felt at the temporary Fort Pitt that the French
would descend the Allegheny from Fort Machault, and capture
the place. George Croghan wrote Governor Denny from Fort
Pitt on July 15th, and Colonel Hugh Mercer wrote the Governor
from the same place on July 17th, both stating that two Indian
spies whom Croghan had sent to Venango to ascertain the truth
of the rumor that the French and Indians were gathering at that
place to descend upon Fort Pitt, had returned and reported that
seven hundred French and upwards of one thousand Indians had
assembled at Venango before the middle of July, and were ready
to descend the Allegheny on the 13th, when messengers arrived,
advising that the British were marching on Niagara, which in-
telligence caused the French to abandon the project against
Fort Pitt, and hasten to the relief of Niagara. Both before and
after the French abandoned Venango, bands of Indians, led by
French Canadians, went from that place and other Indian towns
on the Allegheny, and attacked convoys on the road to Fort Pitt.
In Colonel Mercer's letter, written at Fort Pitt on July 17th, he
tells Governor Denny of a recent attack on Fort Ligonier by a
band of Indians from Venango. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, pages 671
and 674.)
General Robert Monckton succeeded General Stanwix at Fort
Pitt, on June 29th, 1760. He immediately gave orders for the
march of a large detachment to Presqu' Isle to take possession of
the upper French posts and those along the frontier to Detroit
and Mackinaw. This detachment consisted of four companies
of the Royal Americans, under Colonel Bouquet, Captain Mc-
Neil's company of the Virginia Regiment, and Colonel Hugh
404 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mercer's five companies of the Pennsylvania Regiment, the
Captains being Biddle, Anderson, Clapham, Atlee and Miles.
During the autumn of 1759, Fort Redstone, also called Fort
Burd, was erected at Redstone (Brownsville), by Colonel James
Burd. During the summer of 1760, the English took possession
of the sites of Fort Le Boeuf (Waterford) and Fort Presqu' Isle
(Erie), and erected Fort Venango, almost on the site of the
former Fort Machault, at Franklin.
Return of the White Captives
In the meantime, George Croghan, Deputy Indian Agent of
Sir William Johnson, was receiving many white captives, de-
livered to him at Fort Pitt by the Delawares and Shawnees.
From June, 1759 to October, 1761, he secured the release of
three hundred and thirty-eight captives, at Fort Pitt.
Early in February, 1762, Governor James Hamilton received
a letter from Shingas and King Beaver, then living on the Tus-
carawas, through their faithful friend. Christian Frederick Post,
advising the Governor that they desired to hold a treaty with
him the following spring.
The Colonial Authorities had made many efforts after Post's
mission to the Western Indians in 1758, to induce Shingas and
King Beaver to come to Philadelphia for a conference. Shingas
had declined to come, fearing that the English would retaliate
upon him for the terrible atrocities that he had committed upon
the frontier settlements during the French and Indian War. Now,
however, that peace was secure and the Indian raids upon the
border had stopped, Shingas wanted to meet the Governor in con-
ference.
In March, the Governor sent a reply to Shingas and Beaver
through Post, inviting these two chiefs to come to Lancaster to
hold a conference at that place, inasmuch as smallpox was raging
in Philadelphia. Post was appointed as the guide and escort,
not only for the two chiefs and their delegation of Indians, but
also for the captives which were to be returned by the Indians
from the villages on the Muskingum and Tuscarawas, as well as
the villages on the Beaver and Ohio. King Beaver and other
chiefs of the Western Delawares had already returned seventy-
four captives to Fort Pitt. Post immediately went to the villages
of Shingas and King Beaver on the Tuscarawas, and began prep-
arations for the return of the remaining captives. Among them
GENERAL FORBES' EXPEDITION 405
were : Philip Studebaker, captured in the Conococheague settle-
ment, Mary Stroudman, captured in the same settlement; Eliza-
beth McAdam, John Lloyd and Eleanor Lancestoctes, captured
in the Little Cove; and Dorothy Shobrian, captured in the Big
Cove. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 8, page 728.) Post was beset with
many troubles. He had difficulty in getting Shingas and Beaver
to return with him and also in keeping the captives from running
away and returning to the Indian villages. He arrived at Lan-
caster on August 8th, with Shingas, King Beaver and the captives.
Dr. George P. Donehoo, in his "Pennsylvania — A History" thus
comments upon the reluctance of the white captives to return to
the settlements:
"One of the most remarkable facts in the relation of the Eng-
lish with the Indians during this entire period is that these cap-
tives, whose parents or husbands or wives had been most cruelly
killed and scalped by Indians, had to be guarded and oftentimes
fettered in order to keep them from running back to the captivity
from which they had been released. One explanation of this most
peculiar condition has been attempted by some writers, who have
dealt with the topic, saying that the captives were men and
women of the lower sort, and had not been accustomed to any-
thing different from that which had been their condition in the
villages of their Indian masters. But this is an absolutely false
statement. Some of them had been taken from the best class of
frontier families. The great majority of them, as shown by their
names, belonged to the hardy, religious Scotch-Irish families
along the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, which furnished
the leading men and women of the Colonial period. The only
explanation is to be found in the statements made by the captives
and by the Indians, that these adopted relations were treated
with the utmost kindness and respect by their captors."
However, many captives, taken during the French and Indian
War, were not released until Colonel Henry Bouquet made his
expedition to the Muskingum and Tuscarawas in the late autumn
of 1764. Others, those held by the Shawnees, were not delivered
until the spring of 1765. These matters will be discussed in a
subsequent chapter. However, at this point, we call attention
to the fact that many prisoners never returned to the settlements,
preferring to spend the remainder of their lives with the Indians.
406 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Conclusion
General Forbes' victorious expedition closed the French and
Indian War, in Pennsylvania. But the irresistible pressure on
the lands the Delawares and Shawnees were occupying west of
the Allegheny Mountains went on, notwithstanding the deeding
back of these lands to the Indians at the Grand Council at Easton,
in October, 1758. Numerous treaties and councils were held
with the Delawares and Shawnees, at Fort Pitt, Philadelphia,
and Lancaster during several years following the capture of Fort
Duquesne — treaties in which the English promised these tribes
that they would withdraw east of the Allegheny Mountains, and
not invade the hunting grounds and homes of the Indians —
promises which the English had no intention of keeping. The
awful consequences that followed the breaking of these promises
will be seen in our next chapter.
CHAPTER XVIII
Pontiac's War
IT is the spring of 1763. The reign of peace between Pennsyl-
vania and the Indians, which began with the capture of Fort
Duquesne and was temporarily threatened by the murder of
the friendly Delaware, Doctor John, his wife and two children,
near Carlisle, in February, 1760, is about to be broken. The
Delawares, the Shawnees, the Senecas, the Mingoes, the Mohi-
cans, the Miamis, the Ottawas and the Wyandots are about to
crimson the soil of Pennsylvania with the blood of the settlers
in the Indian uprising known as Pontiac's War or the Pontiac
and Guyasuta War, often mis-called "Pontiac's Conspiracy."
Broken Treaties
The causes of Pontiac's War, as set forth in all histories, dealing
with the subject, so far as the author has been able to find, except
Dr. George P. Donehoo's "Pennsylvania — A History," are about
as follows: That, when the English entered the region between
the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River, upon the ex-
pulsion of the French therefrom, the Indians of this region soon
found that their new masters had a very different attitude
towards them than had the French; that the English were less
sociable and did less fraternizing with the Indians than did the
French; that the English wanted to make settlements, whereas
the French were content with trading; that the English were less
lavish in presents than were the French, and gave the Indians
less for their skins and furs than did the French; and that the
English let them have guns, ammunition and blankets with such
a sparing hand that the Indians suffered greatly from the parsi-
mony of the English. For these reasons, say these histories, the
proud-spirited western tribes, exasperated at the patronizing air
of the English, and with their indignation encouraged by the few
Frenchmen still among them, rose in savage wrath, under the
leadership of Pontiac, in an effort to drive the hated English into
408 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the sea. Truly, these are causes of Pontiac's War; but the
principal cause is not found among them.
The purpose of this history being to tell the truth, whether it
hurts or not, let us now consider the principal cause of Pontiac's
War:
1. When the French invaded the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, in 1753, Tanacharison, the deputy of the Six Nations,
ordered them to depart from these lands as the territory of the
Six Nations. This warning, which was given three times, as
was the custom of the Iroquois before declaring war, was pointed
out in Chapter IV.
2. The Six Nations then made an alliance with the English to
assist in driving the French from the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, with the understanding that, upon the expulsion of
the French, the English would withdraw from this region; and
Tanacharison, Scarouady, Canachquasy, Seneca George, The
Belt of Wampum, and other chiefs of the Six Nations, relying on
the promises and agreements of the English, faithfully served
the English interest, as has been seen in former chapters.
3. From the beginning of the French invasion, in 1753, to the
treaty of peace between England and France, in February, 1763,
the Six Nations and their tenants in the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, the Delawares and Shawnees, never for an instant
wavered in their demand that both the English and the French
remain east of the Allegheny Mountains.
4. The title of the Six Nations to the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny was clearly acknowledged by the terms of many
treaties, especially that of Albany, in July 1754, as stated by
Governor Hamilton of Pennsylvania to the Colonial Assembly,
on August 7th, 1754, as follows:
"You will clearly perceive that the Lands on the River Ohio
do yet belong to the Indians of the Six Nations." (Col. Rec,
Vol. 6, page 135.)
5. Nor in any treaty after the Albany treaty of July, 1754, did
the English Crown and the English Colonies in America deny that
the Six Nations were the owners of the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny and the Shawnees and Delawares tenants thereof by
permission of the Six Nations. On the contrary, these facts were
acknowledged.
6. On November 27th, 1758, when Christian Frederick Post,
after peace had been made with the Delawares and Shawnees at
the council at Easton in October of that year, and just a few days
PONTIAC'S WAR 409
after the fall of Fort Duquesne, was conferring with King Beaver
and other chiefs at Kuskuskies, the matter of the occupation of
the Ohio came up, and King Beaver, in no uncertain terms, let
Post know that the Delawares and other tribes of the western
region expected the English to keep their word and withdraw
their military forces from the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny
after the expulsion of the French from the region west of the
Allegheny Mountains. The promise of the English to withdraw
east of the Alleghenies was the condition upon which the peace
message of Post was accepted. This was set forth in Chapter
XVI.
7. When Post, a few days later, reported to Colonel Henry
Bouquet, at the ruins of Fort Duquesne, these statements of
King Beaver, Bouquet was much displeased, and insisted that
Post endeavor to get King Beaver and his associate chiefs to
change their minds about the withdrawal of the English forces.
Post then asked King Beaver, Shingas and Ketiuskund whether
they had any alteration to make in their statement. These
three chiefs, representing the Delawares and Six Nations in the
valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny, replied that they "would alter
nothing." Said they:
"We have told them three times to leave the place; but they
insist upon remaining here; if, therefore, they will be destroyed by
the French and the Indians, we cannot help them." (See Post's
journal of his second journey to the Ohio, under dates of Decem-
ber 3d, to 7th, 1758.) This was also set forth in Chapter XVI.
Also, on December 4th and 5th, 1758, Colonel Henry Bouquet,
in a council held at this place with the chiefs of the Delawares,
told King Beaver and his associates that the British did "not
come to take possession of your hunting Country in a hostile
manner." (See Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 572.)
8. On January 3d, 1759, Colonel Hugh Mercer, commandant
at Fort Pitt, held a council at that place with nine chiefs of the
Six Nations, Shawnees and Delawares, in which the chiefs asked
whether the English proposed to keep their promise and with-
draw from the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny after the ex-
pulsion of the French, to which Colonel Mercer replied:
"Our great Man's words are true; as soon as the French are
gone, he will make a Treaty with all the Indians and then go
home, but the French are still here." (Col. Rec, Vol. 8, page
296.)
9. On February 9, 1759, a council was held at Philadelphia
410 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
between General Forbes and some Indian chiefs who had come
from the Indian town of Buccaloons, on the Allegheny at the
mouth of Brokenstraw Creek, in Warren County. These chiefs
had first come to Pittsburgh to see the General, but finding that
he had gone to Philadelphia, came to the latter place to see him.
These Indians were very anxious to learn whether the English
intended to keep their word and withdraw from the Ohio and
Allegheny. General Forbes, too ill to speak with them personally,
sent them his reply by Lieutenant James Grant, as follows:
"The General [Forbes] knows that the French have told the
Indians that the English intend to cheat them out of their lands
on the Ohio, but this, he assures you, is false. The English have
no intention to make settlements in your Hunting Country be-
yond the Allegheny Hills, unless they shall be desired for your
conveniency to erect some store houses in order to establish and
carry on a trade, which they are ready to do on fair and just
terms." (Col. Rec, Vol. 8, page 269.)
10. On July 5th to 9th, 1759, at the great council at Fort Pitt
between Captain William Trent, Captain Thomas McKee and
George Croghan, then Deputy Indian Agent, representing the
English, and Guyasuta, King Beaver, Shingas, Captain Pipe,
Delaware George, Killbuck and other chiefs of the Six Nations,
Delawares, Shawnees and Wyandots, Croghan solemnly promised
the chiefs as follows:
"And I assure you, as soon as the Enemy is drove out of your
Country, which I expect you will be assisting in, that the General
will depart your Country after securing our trade with you and
our Brethren to the Westward. In confirmation of what I have
said I give you this Belt." (Col. Rec, Vol. 8, page 389.)
11. On August 12th, 1760, General Monckton held a council at
Fort Pitt with King Beaver, Delaware George, Teedyuscung and
many other chiefs of the Delawares, Shawnees, Six Nations,
Ottawas, Wyandots and other tribes of the region between the
Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River, in which he
solemnly assured the assembled chiefs as follows:
"I do assure all the Indian Nations that his Majesty has not
sent me to deprive any of you of your lands and property."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 745.)
12. In August, 1762, a treaty was held at Lancaster, in which
Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, paid Teedyuscung two
hundred Spanish dollars and goods of the value of two hundred
pounds to withdraw his charge of fraud with reference to the
PONTIAC'S WAR 411
Walking Purchase of 1737. This very important treaty was
attended by five hundred and fifty-seven Indians from nearly
all the tribes associated with the English. During the session of
August 27th, Kinderuntie, the war chief of the Senecas, denied
the request of Governor Hamilton to erect storehouses on the
West Branch of the Susquehanna by reminding him, much to the
Governor's embarrassment, as follows:
"You may remember you told me, when you was going to
Pittsburgh, you would build a fort against the French, and you
told me you wanted none of our Lands; our Cousins [the Dela-
wares] know this, and that you promised to go away as soon as
you drove the French away, and yet you stay there, and build
Houses, and make it stronger and stronger every day; for this
reason we entirely deny your request." (Col. Rec, Vol. 8, pages
766, 767.)
13. Preliminaries of peace between England and France were
signed, November 3d, 1762. Then at the Treaty of Paris, Feb-
ruary 10, 1763, the French surrendered to the English all posses-
sions to which they laid claim, in North America, except the
territory around New Orleans. For several years prior to the
signing of this treaty, the English had been marching into the
lands on the Ohio, at Niagara, at Detroit and at other places,
taking formal possession without purchase from the Indian
occupants of the region and without their consent, and erecting
stronger forts than the French had surrendered. English settlers
pushed over the Allegheny Mountains from Eastern Pennsylvania
and from Virginia, and laid out for themselves plantations in the
valley of the Ohio, some of them even with permission from the
military authorities, though the lands were not open to lawful
settlement. All these things the English did, in violation of their
ten years of promising to the contrary and against the Indians'
most solemn protestations.
But the Indians lived up to their agreements. Hear George
Croghan, a thoroughly qualified and competent witness, testify-
ing against his own interest and therefore much more entitled
to be believed than if he were testifying for his own interest:
"It may be thought and said by some that the Indians are a
faithless and ungrateful set of Barbarians, and will not stand by
any agreements they make with us; but it is well known that they
never claimed any right to a Tract of Country, after they had sold
it with the consent of their Council, and received any considera-
412 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
tion, tho' never so trifling." (Pa. Archives, Second Series, Vol.
6, page 620.)
Such is the story of British perfidy and dishonor. The British
forgot their promises and treaties as soon as they made them.
But the Indian never forgot a promise, a treaty, a kindness or,
an injury. The strongest love of his heart was the love for the
lands he considered his own, as the gift of the Great Spirit; and
the fiercest passion of his heart was love of revenge. Now that the
Indians' loved home and hunting grounds were invaded in
violation of solemn promises and formal treaties, it is no wonder
that the storm which had been brewing for ten years, broke with
fury in the summer of 1763 — it is no wonder that the warriors of
Pontiac, Guyasuta and Custaloga rose in savage wrath in an
effort to drive the English into the sea, and that the Pennsylvania
valleys ran red with the blood of the pioneers. Pontiac's uprising
was, therefore, not a "conspiracy," but a war brought about by
the English breaking their promises and treaties with the Indians
— a war in which the Indians attempted to drive out and destroy
the perfidious invader of their homes and hunting grounds.
(See Dr. George P. Donehoo's "Pennsylvania — A History," Vol.
2, pages 864 to 870 and 882.)
Pontiac, Guyasuta and Custaloga
At this point it will be well to record a few facts about Pontiac
and two of his assistants, in Pennsylvania — Guyasuta and Custa-
loga. Pontiac, the great chief of the Ottawas, was born on the
Maumee River, in Ohio, about 1720. It seems that his father
was an Ottawa chief and his mother a member of the Chippewa
tribe. He is said, by some authorities, to have led the Ottawas
at Braddock's defeat; but this may well be doubted. (Louder-
milk's "History of Cumberland," page 177.) His first prominent
appearance in recorded history was his meeting with Major
Robert Rogers, in 1760, where Cleveland, Ohio now stands, as
the latter was on his way to take possession of Detroit on behalf
of the British. Pontiac objected to Major Rogers against further
invasion of the territory ; but when he learned that the French had
been defeated in Canada, he reluctantly consented to the occupa-
tion of Detroit by the British.
In forming the great confederation of the Delawares, Shawnees
and all the important members of the Algonquian tribes and one
tribe of the Six Nations — the Senecas — in an effort to drive the
PONTIAC'S WAR 413
English Into the sea, Pontiac passed from tribe to tribe, winning
them by his magnetic eloquence. To others he sent messengers,
late in 1762 and early in 1763, bearing a red-stained tomahawk
and a wampum belt. At a grand council which he attended, near
Detroit, on April 27th, 1763, his plans took definite form. In
arranging the time of the attack which was to be made on all the
English forts in the latter part of May, 1763, a bundle of sticks
was given each tribe at the grand council, each bundle containing
as many rods as there were days until the general attack should
be made. One rod was to be withdrawn every morning, and when
a single one remained, the outbreak was to begin. Some author-
ities say that a Delaware squaw, prompted by her love for the
whites and hoping to disarrange the whole plan, extracted several
rods from the bundle given her tribe.
The Senecas, as stated above, were the only tribe of the Six
Nations that joined in Pontiac's uprising. However, so great
was the indignation of the other members of the great Iroquois
Confederation against the English for the breaking of solemn
promises and formal treaties that it required the utmost exertions
of Sir William Johnson to keep them, too, from taking up arms
against the English. The Senecas were more directly affected by
the action of the English than were the other Iroquois tribes, as
a large part of the Seneca habitat was, at that time, in the valleys
of the Allegheny and Ohio. (Parkman, Chapter 7.)
So effective was the carrying out of Pontiac's plans — plans
that were bold in their conception and masterful in their execu-
tion— that every English post of importance fell into the hands of
his allied forces, except Detroit, Fort Pitt and Niagara, the last
being but feebly attacked. Being unsuccessful in his first attempt
to drive the English into the sea, he made an attempt to incite
the tribes along the Mississippi to join in another effort. Not
succeeding in this attempt, he made peace, at Detroit, August
17th, 1765. In 1769, this Napoleon of the wilderness attended a
carousal at Cahokia, Illinois, just across the Mississippi from
St. Louis, at which he was killed by one of his own race. Says
Parkman: "Thus basely perished the champion of a ruined race.
The murdered chief lay on the spot where he had fallen, until
St. Ange, mindful of former friendship, sent to claim the body,
and buried it with warlike honors, near his fort of St. Louis.
Neither mound nor tablet marked the burial place of Pontiac.
For a mausoleum, a city has risen above the forest hero ; and the
414 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
race whom he hated with such burning rancor, trample with un-
ceasing footsteps over his forgotten grave."
Guyasuta (Kiasutha) has generally been called a Seneca chief;
but he was probably of the mongrel Iroquois known as the
Mingoes, who inhabited the Allegheny Valley and the region to
the westward. We have already met him, in this history, as one
of the chiefs who accompanied George Washington from Logs-
town to Fort Le Boeuf, in November, 1753; also, at Grant's
defeat, on September 14th, 1758. We shall meet him many more
times in this history. He died in the closing years of the eight-
eenth century, on the estate of General James O'Hara, near
Sharpsburg, on the banks of his long-loved Allegheny. General
O'Hara buried the old chieftain's body in the Indian mound on
the estate. Guyasuta Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad,
near Sharpsburg, bears his name. (See the author's "Indian
Chiefs of Pennsylvania," page 408.)
Custaloga (Kustaloga) was a chief of the Munsee or Wolf Clan
of Delawares. He was living at Venango when John Frazer, the
English trader, was driven from that place by the French, in the
summer of 1753. His principal seat was Custaloga's Town,
located about twelve miles above the mouth of French Creek and
near the mouth of Deer Creek, in French Creek Township,
Mercer County. He also ruled over the Delawares at Cussewago,
or Cassewago, on the site of the present town of Meadville, the
county seat of Crawford County. His successor was Captain
Pipe, or Hopocan, of the Wolf Clan.
Shingas and King Beaver also assisted Pontiac in the great
uprising, although, at its beginning, they were not in full sym-
pathy with the great Ottawa's plans. As has already been seen
in this chapter, they warned the English that war would result
if the latter would not withdraw from the Ohio and Allegheny
valleys.
Capture of Fort Presqu' Isle (Erie)
After the French were driven from the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny, the English not only strengthened Forts Bedford and
Ligonier, erected Fort Pitt and posts at Stony Creek and Bushy
Run, but also erected forts on or near the sites of Forts Presqu'
Isle, LeBoeuf and Machault, the last of which they called Fort
Venango. Colonel Bouquet, in the summer of 1760, with four
hundred Royal Americans and one hundred Virginians, rebuilt
Forts Presqu' Isle and LeBoeuf, and sent Colonel Stewart to build
PONTIAC'S WAR 41S
Fort Venango. Garrisons were kept at all these forts and posts
from the time of their erection, it being Colonel Bouquet's work
to attend to their defense, to keep the line of communication open
to Carlisle, to complete opening the road from Ligonier to Fort
Pitt and to reopen and repair the Braddock road.
Pontiac's War breaking out, Fort Presqu' Isle was one of the
Pennsylvania posts captured by the Indians, the date being June
22nd, 1763. Ensign John Christie was in command with a
garrison of twenty-seven soldiers of the Royal Americans, and the
attacking force consisted of about two hundred Indians. After
defending the place for two days. Ensign Christie surrendered, and
all of the garrison not killed were taken to Detroit, except Benja-
min Gray, a soldier who, upon hearing the piercing screams of a
Sergeant's wife, the only woman in the garrison, as the Indians
began their work of plunder, escaped and arrived at Fort Pitt
on June 26th with the erroneous report that the entire garrison
had been massacred. We shall let Ensign Christie tell, in his own
words, the details of the capture of Fort Presqu' Isle, in a letter
written from Detroit, on July 10th, now among the Bouquet
papers in the British Museum, in which letter, it will be noted,
he gives the date of the attack as June 20th:
"On the 20th June at day break I was surrounded at my Post
at Presqu' Isle by about two hundred Indians; a quarter of an
hour after, they began to Fire on the Block House and continued
all that day very smartly. Likewise Fire arrows were thrown into
the Roof of the Block House and Bastians. I received my greatest
hurt from the Two Hills, the one ascending from the Lake, the
other from the bottom, they having made holes in the night to
secure themselves. Notwithstanding two or three did their en-
deavor to get in, the French were killed, which made them cease
firing for some hours, at which time they was employed in digging
passes through the earth in order to get at the bottom of the
house.
"21st. They commenced fireing as hot as ever and also with
Fire Arrows which set the house a second time on fire, the same
day the barrells of water I had provided was spent in extinguish-
ing said Fires and found it impossible to get at a well which was
sunk on the Parade, therefore was obliged to sink one in the house
by hard labour. Whilst we were digging to get at the well, we
were again set on fire, but got it extinguished by throwing some
shingles from the roof. At the same time they had approached
as far as the Commanding Officers room on the parade, they set
416 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
it on fire and communicated it to the rushes round the Fort. We
continued our fireing till midnight when one of them who spoke
French informed me it was in vain to pretend to hold out, for
they could now set fire to the house when they pleased if I would
not surrender; we may expect no quarters, finding they had made
their approaches aforesaid. That they could set me on fire above
and below. My men being fatigued to the greatest extremity and
not being able to extinguish such fireing and resist their numbers,
I asked them in English if there was amongst them which under-
stood that language. An Englishman then called up to me that
if I ceased my fireing, he would speak with me; he told me they
were of the Urin Nation that had been compelled to take up arms
by the Ottawas against Detroit, that there was part of other
Nations with him, that they only wanted the house and that they
would have now soon, that I might have liberty to go with my
Garrison where I pleased. I desired them to leave off their
fireing and I would give them an answer in the morning early.
After considering my situation and of the impossibility of holding
out any longer, I sent out two soldiers as if to treat with them that
they may find out their disposition and how they had made their
approaches, and to give me a signal if they found what I imagined
to be true, finding that if it be so and the vessel Hovering Between
the points all the while I was engaged could give me no assistance.
I came out with my people. They then took us prisoners; myself
and four soldiers and a woman was brought to the Wiandotte
Town; the rest of my garrison was taken by the other Nations.
I was delivered up to Detroit with one soldier and a woman, the
other two they killed at their town; the night I arrived there I
was delivered up to Fort Detroit the 9th instant." (See Mary C.
Darlington's "History of Colonel Henry Bouquet," pages 176
to 178; also. Frontier Forts of Pa., Vol. 2, pages 547 to 551.)
Destruction of Forts LeBoeuf and Venango
On June 18th, Fort LeBoeuf (Waterford, Erie County), com-
manded by Ensign Price, with a garrison of Royal Americans,
Pennsylvania-Germans, as their names indicate, was destroyed
by a large body of Indians. Parkman thus describes this event:
"The panic-stricken soldier [Gray, who had escaped from
Presqu' Isle, and then made his way to Fort Pitt] in his flight from
Presqu' Isle, had passed the spots where lately had stood the
little Forts of LeBoeuf and Venango. Both were burnt level with
PONTIAC'S WAR 417
the ground, and he surmised that the whole of their wretched
garrisons had fallen victims. The disaster had proven less fatal
than his fears led him to suspect; for, on the same day on which
he arrived, Ensign Price, the officer commanding at Le Boeuf,
was seen approaching along the banks of the Allegheny, followed
by seven haggard and half-famished soldiers. On the evening of
the eighteenth, a great multitude of Indians had surrounded his
post, the available defences of which, at that time, consisted of
only one blockhouse. Showering bullets and fire-arrows against
it, they soon set it in flames, and at midnight, in spite of every
effort, the whole upper part of the building was in a light blaze.
The assailants now gathered in a half circle before the entrance,
eagerly expecting the moment when the inmates, stifled amid
flame and smoke, should rush out upon certain death. But Price
and his followers, with the energy of desperation, hewed an open-
ing through the massive timbers which formed the back wall of
the blockhouse, and escaped unperceived into the dark woods
behind. For some time, they continued to hear the reports of
the Indian guns, as these painted demons were still leaping and
yelling in front of the blazing building, firing into the loopholes,
and exulting in the thought that their enemies were suffering the
agonies of death within. The fugitives pressed on through the
whole of the next day, until, at one o'clock, [at night] they came
to the spot where Fort Venango had stood. Nothing remained
of it but piles of glowing embers, among which lay the half-con-
sumed bodies of the hapless garrison. They continued their
journey; but six of the party soon gave out, and were left behind
in the woods, while the remainder [Ensign Price and seven
soldiers] were half dead with fear, hunger and exhaustion, before
their eyes were gladdened by the friendly walls of Fort Pitt."
To Parkman's account we add that, after Ensign Price and his
garrison made their escape from Fort LeBoeuf and were on their
way through the forest to Venango, under the direction of a
soldier, named John Dortinger, who thought he knew the way,
they became bewildered in the night-wrapped wilderness, and,
after wandering until morning, found themselves back within
two miles of the place from which they had started; also, that
the party became separated before they reached Venango, and
that of those left behind, all but two eventually made their
appearance. (Frontier Forts of Pa., Vol. 2, pages 576 and 577.)
At about the same time as the destruction of Fort LeBoeuf, a
418 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
band of Indians burned Fort Venango (Franklin), garrisoned by
a small force under Lieutenant Gordon. Says Parkman:
"Not a man remained alive to tell the fate of Venango; and it
was not until some time after that an Indian, who was present
at its destruction, described the scene to Sir William Johnson. A
large body of Senecas gained entrance under the pretence of
friendship, then closed the gates, fell upon the garrison, and
butchered them all except the commanding officer, Leiutenant
Gordon, whom they tortured over a slow fire for several successive
nights, till he expired. This done, they burnt the place to the
ground, and departed."
Lieutenant Gordon had been compelled to write a statement
of the many grievances of the Indians.
Attack on Fort Pitt
The destruction of forts Presqu' Isle, LeBoeuf and Venango cut
off all communication northward from Fort Pitt and the Ohio.
Around the fort clustered, at the time of which we are writing,
the village of Pittsburgh, remote in the western wilderness, com-
posed mostly of traders and their families. The first information
as to the size of the town is the census of the same, made by
Colonel James Burd, on June 21st, 1760:
Number of houses 146
Number of Unfinished houses 19
Number of Hutts 36
201
Number of Men 88
Number of Women 29
Number of Male Children 14
Number of Female Children 18
149
N. B. — The above houses Exclusive of those in the Fort;
in the Fort five long barracks and a long casimitt." (Pa.
Archives, Second Series, Vol. 7, page 422.)
In the spring of 1763, Fort Pitt was garrisoned by a force of
three hundred and thirty soldiers, traders and backwoodsmen,
commanded by Captain Simeon Ecuyer, of the Royal Americans,
a brave and energetic officer of the same nationality and blood
PONTIAC'S WAR 419
as Colonel Bouquet. He had received warnings of danger early
in May, writing to Colonel Bouquet, then at Philadelphia, on the
4th of that month: "Major Gladwin writes me that I am sur-
rounded by rascals. He complains a great deal of the Delawares
andShawnees."
Later, on the evening of May 27th, a party of Indians camped
on the shore of the Allegheny opposite the fort. In the morning
they came to the fort with a great quantity of furs, which they
sold to the traders, demanding, in exchange, bullets, hatchets and
gunpowder. Their conduct excited suspicion. On the same day
(May 28th) Colonel William Clapham, his wife, his three children
and another woman were killed at their home on George Cro-
ghan's tract near West Newton by The Wolf, Kekuscung and
three other Indians, one of whom was named Butler. The women
were treated with shocking indecency. Three men who were
working near the Clapham home escaped, and brought the news
to Captain Ecuyer. It would seem that others were killed in this
same raid, as Colonel James Burd entered in his journal, on June
5th, that, "John Harris gave me an account of Colonel Clapham
and twelve men being killed near Pittsburgh and two Royal
Americans at the saw-mill." These soldiers, killed near the saw-
mill, were shot down within a mile of Fort Pitt. Captain Ecuyer
at once sent an express to Venango to warn the little garrison
there, but the messenger returned in a short time, having been
shot at twice and severely wounded. At the same time, Ecuyer
sent the three men who informed him of the Clapham murder to
the assistance of Andrew Byerly at his plantation at Bushy Run,
having been advised that the Indians had "told Byerly to leave
his place in four days, or he and his family would be murdered."*
These murders gave Captain Ecuyer great concern. He wrote to
Colonel Bouquet: "I am Uneasy for the little Posts — as for this,
I will answer for it."
On May 30th, Captain Ecuyer moved the inhabitants of the
town into the fort, and leveled the cabins and houses outside the
rampart to the ground. There were one hundred women and
more than that many children. A little later Captain Ecuyer
wrote Colonel Bouquet: "We are so crowded in the fort that I
fear disease; for, in spite of every care, I cannot keep the place
as clean as I should like. Besides, the smallpox is among us; and
I have therefore caused a hospital to be built under the draw-
♦Andrew Byerly was a German who settled in the valley of Brush Creek, in the western
part of Westmoreland County, in 1759,
420 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
bridge, out of range of musket shot." Such was the terrible situa-
tion at Fort Pitt in the opening days of the Pontiac and Guyasuta
War — a situation soon to become worse.
On June 1st, the trader, Thomas Calhoun, arrived at Fort
Pitt from the Tuscarawas with the information that King Beaver,
Shingas, Wingenund and several other Delaware chiefs had come
to his trading house on the Tuscarawas at 11 o'clock on the night
of May 27th, told him of the murder of a number of English
traders, and warned him to leave at once. Said these Delaware
chiefs to Calhoun : "Out of regard to you, and the friendship that
formerly subsisted between our grandfathers and the English, we
request you may think of nothing you have here, but make the
best of your way to some place of safety, as we would not desire
to see you killed in our Town. Be careful to avoid the road and
every place where Indians resort." These chiefs then sent three
Indians to conduct Calhoun and his men to Fort Pitt. On May
29th, as they were crossing Beaver Creek, Calhoun's party was
fired upon by hostile Indians, killing all except Calhoun and two
others. He reported to Captain Ecuyer that, when the firing
began, the Indian guides immediately disappeared, leading him
to believe that they had purposely led him into an ambush.
There were fourteen men in Calhoun's party. Upon their leaving
Tuscarawas, or King Beaver's Town, they were not permitted
to take their arms with them, Shingas and King Beaver telling
them that the three Indian guides would conduct them safely.
The desultory outrages, with which the war began, in the
vicinity of Fort Pitt, kept the garrison in a state of restless alarm.
Indians fired at the sentinels both by day and by night. Of eight
messengers, sent from the fort in an effort to warn Fort Venango,
four were killed, two were wounded, and two returned unhurt.
At length, on the afternoon of June 22nd, a party of Delawares
drove off the horses and cattle which were grazing in the cleared
field near the fort, and then opened a general fire on the garrison,
killing two men. The garrison replied with a discharge of howit-
zers, the bursting of whose shells disconcerted the Indians for a
time. Throughout the night they fired at the fort at intervals.
At nine o'clock the following morning, several of the chiefs, ap-
proached the fort for a parley. Turtle Heart, and, possibly,
Shingas being among them. Turtle Heart was the speaker,
and, addressing the garrison, told them that six nations of Indians
were on their way to destroy Fort Pitt, after having already
destroyed all other English posts, and that, if the garrison, women
PONTIAC'S WAR 421
and children would withdraw and go to the English settlements,
they should be spared. Captain Ecuyer was equal to the occasion
replying that an army of six thousand soldiers was on the march
to Fort Pitt and another of three thousand on the march against
the Ottawas and Ojibways of the Great Lakes. This politic
invention had an excellent effect upon the Indians, and the next
day most of them withdrew.
Several weeks elapsed without a determined attack. Then, on
July 26th, Shingas, Turtle Heart and a few others approached,
one of them displaying a flag which, some months before, he had
received as a present from Captain Ecuyer. On the strength of
this token they were admitted to the fort. Shingas was the
speaker, addressing Captain Ecuyer thus:
"We wish to hold fast the chain of friendship — that ancient
chain which our forefathers held with their brethren, the English.
You have let your end of the chain fall to the ground, but ours is
still fast within our hands. Why do you complain that our young
men have fired at your soldiers, and killed your cattle and horses?
You yourselves are the cause of this. You marched your armies
into our country, and built forts here, though we told you, again
again, that we wished you to remove. My brothers, this land is
ours, and not yours."
Captain Ecuyer, in his reply, urged the very shallow pretense
that the English had erected the forts west of the Alleghenies for
the purpose of supplying the Indians with clothes and ammuni-
tion! He absolutely refused to leave the place. He said to
Shingas:
"I have warriors, provisions and ammunition to defend it
[Fort Pitt] three years against all the Indians in the woods; and
we shall never abandon it as long as a white man lives in America
. . . This is our home ... I tell you that, if any of you appear
again about this fort, I will throw bombshells, which will burst
and blow you to atoms, and fire cannon among you, loaded with
a whole bag full of bullets."
Thus ended the conference between Shingas and Captain
Ecuyer, and the chiefs departed with much displeasure. Shingas
had repeated the position and point of view of the Delawares and
Shawnees; and Captain Ecuyer's reply had at least the virtue of
some frankness. The English never intended to keep the promises
they had formally and solemnly made to Shingas, King Beaver
and other great chiefs of the Ohio and Allegheny valleys, to with-
draw east of the Allegheny Mountains upon the expulsion of the
422 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
French from these valleys. Shingas, King Beaver, Turtle Heart
and other leaders of the Delawares, Shawnees and other tribes
of the Ohio Valley demanded that the English live up to their
promises — promises which were the conditions upon which these
Indians agreed to withdraw from the French in the latter days
of the French and Indian War. In the words of King Solomon,
"let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:" — in Pontiac's
uprising, the Delawares and Shawnees took up arms against the
English to enforce the treaty of peace to which these Indians had
agreed and which the English had broken.
Thus far this sketch of the happenings at Fort Pitt, during the
early days of the Pontiac and Guyasuta War, has been based
almost entirely on the journal of Captain Ecuyer. We shall now
let Parkman tell what happened after Shingas, Turtle Heart and
their associate chiefs withdrew from their conference with Cap-
tain Ecuyer:
"Disappointed of gaining a bloodless possession of the fort, the
Indians now, for the first time, began a general attack. On the
night succeeding the conference, they approached in great multi-
tudes, under cover of the darkness and completely surrounded it;
many of them crawling beneath the banks of the two rivers, which
ran close to the rampart, and, with incredible perseverance, dig-
ging, with their knives, holes in which they were completely
sheltered from the fire of the fort. On one side, the whole bank
was lined with these burrows, from each of which a bullet or an
arrow was shot out whenever a soldier chanced to expose his head.
At daybreak, a general fire was opened from every side, and
continued without intermission until night, and through several
succeeding days. Meanwhile, the women and children were
pent up in the crowded barracks, terror-stricken at the horrible
din of the assailants, and watching the fire-arrows as they came
sailing over the parapet, and lodging against the roofs and sides
of the buildings. In every instance, the fire they kindled was ex-
tinguished. One of the garrison was killed, and seven wounded.
Among the latter was Captain Ecuyer, who, freely exposing him-
self, received an arrow in the leg. At length, an event hereafter
to be described put an end to the attack, and drew off the as-
sailants from the neighborhood of the fort, to the unspeakable
relief of the harassed soldiers, exhausted as they were by several
days of unintermitted vigilance."
The event, mentioned by Parkman, as "hereafter to be de-
scribed "was the battle of Bushy Run, August 5th and 6th, 1763.
PONTIAC'S WAR 423
On August 1st, the Indians gave up the siege of Fort Pitt, and
then marched, most likely under the leadership of Guyasuta, to
attack Colonel Bouquet, who was then advancing to the relief of
Fort Pitt, and to meet his little army in the bloody and historic
battle of Bushy Run. On August 2nd, Captain Ecuyer wrote
Colonel Bouquet, describing the siege of Fort Pitt. Among other
things, he said in this letter:
"They were well under cover, and so were we. They did us no
harm; nobody killed, seven wounded, and I myself slightly.
Their attack lasted five days and five nights. We are certain of
having killed and wounded twenty of them, without reckoning
those we could not see. I left nobody fire until he had marked
his man; and not an Indian could show his nose without being
pricked with a bullet, for we have some good marksmen here
. . . Our men are doing admirably, regulars and the rest. All
they ask is to go out and fight. I am fortunate to have the honor
of commanding such brave men. I only wish the Indians had
ventured an assault. They would have remembered it to the
thousandth generation! . . . They threw fire arrows to burn our
works, but they could not reach the buildings, nor even the
ramparts. Only two arrows came into the fort, one of which had
the insolence to make free with my left leg." (See account of
siege of Fort Pitt, in Frontier Forts of Pa., Vol. 2, pages 113
to 120.)
Attempt to Inoculate Indians with Smallpox
With the first news of hostilities against Fort Pitt and the other
posts west of the Allegheny Mountains, Colonel Bouquet, then
at Philadelphia, was ordered to assemble as large an army as
possible and cross the Alleghenies with a convoy of provisions
and ammunition for the western forts. He reached Carlisle,
about July 1st. We shall describe his march over the mountains
in Chapter XIX, as before stated. At this point, however, we
call attention to a suggestion made to him while he was assemb-
ling his army — a suggestion made by General Sir Jefi"rey Amherst,
then commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, having
been appointed to succeed General Abercrombie, in the autumn
of 1758. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 3, page 518; Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 8,
page 236.)
Evidently learning that smallpox had broken out at Fort Pitt,
Amherst wrote Colonel Bouquet :
"I wish to hear of no prisoners, should any of the villians be
424 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
met with in arms . . . Could it not be contrived to send the small-
pox among those disaffected tribes of Indians?" To this Bouquet
replied: "I will try to inoculate them with some blankets, and
take care not to get the disease myself. As it is a pity to expose
good men against them, I wish we could use the Spanish method,
to hunt them with English dogs who would, I think, effectually
extirpate or remove that vermin." Then Amherst replied : "You
will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets,
as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate
this exorable race."
Parkman calls attention to the fact that, while there is no
direct evidence that Bouquet carried into effect the shameful
plan of infecting the Indians with small-pox, yet a few months
after Amhert's suggestion, this disease made havoc among the
tribes of the Ohio. But, on June 24th, Captain Ecuyer, the
commandant at Fort Pitt, after narrating the fact that he and
Alexander McKee held the parley mentioned earlier in this
chapter, with Turtle Heart and another Delaware chief who had
come to the fort for the purpose of terrifying the garrison by
reports of great numbers of Indians marching against the place,
noted the following in his journal: "Out of our regard to them
[Turtle Heart and his companion], we gave them two blankets
and a handkerchief out of the Small-pox Hospital. I hope it will
have the desired effect." (Frontier Forts of Pa., Vol. 2, pages
275 and 276; also Journal of Captain Simeon Ecuyer.)
Attack on Fort Ligonier
Pontiac and Guyasuta's warriors well knew the destruction of
Fort Pitt would not crown their efforts with success unless Fort
Ligonier, also were destroyed. This post, commanded by
Lieutenant Archibald Blane (Blain), of the Royal Americans,
with a small garrison, contained some stores and munitions which
would be of much use to the Indians. Could they succeed in
capturing both Fort Pitt and Ligonier, their march into the
settlements east of the Allegheny Mountains would be compara-
tively easy. Therefore, early in June, they appeared at Fort
Ligonier. In the meantime, the posts at Redstone and Bushy
Run were abandoned for lack of soldiers to defend them. The
few settlers in the vicinity of Fort Ligonier hastened to that place,
abandoning their plantations. Among them, was the family of
Andrew Byerly, who lived near Bushy Run and Brush Creek,
PONTIAC'S WAR 425
also not far from Harrison City, Westmoreland County, whose
flight to Fort Ligonier is thus described in Cort's "Henry Bou-
quet:"
"As Ecuyer states, Byerly had received warning; but his
family was in no condition to be moved. Mrs. Byerly had just
been confined and the departure was delayed as long as possible,
indeed until certain death was imminent, if the flight should be
any longer postponed. Byerly had gone with a small party [per-
haps Clapham's men refered to above] to bury some persons who
had been killed at some distance from his station. A friendly
Indian who had often received a bowl of milk and bread from Mrs.
Byerly came to the house after dark, and informed the family
that they would all be killed, if they did not make their escape
before daylight. Mrs. Byerly got up from her sick couch and
wrote the tidings on the door of the house for the information of
her husband when he should return. A horse was saddled on
which the mother with her tender babe three days old in her arms,
was placed, and a child not two years old was fastened behind
her.
"Michael Byerly was a good sized lad, but Jacob was only
three years old and had a painful stone bruise on one of his feet.
With the aid of his older brother who held him by the hand and
sometimes carried him on his back, the little fellow, however,
managed to make good time through the wilderness to Fort
Ligonier, about thirty miles distant. But although he reached his
ninety-ninth year, he never forgot that race for life in his child-
hood, nor did he feel like giving quarter to hostile Indians, one of
whom he killed on an island in the Allegheny in a fight under
Lieutenant Hardin in 1779, although the savage begged for
quarter.
"Milk cows were highly prized by frontier families in those
days, and the Byerly family made a desperate effort to coax and
drive their small herd along to Fort Ligonier. But the howling
savages got so close that they were obliged to leave the cattle in
the woods to be destroyed by the Indians. Byerly in some way
eluded the Indians and joined his family in the retreat. They
barely escaped with their lives. The first night they spent in the
stockade, and in the morning the bullets of the pursurers struck
the gates as the family pressed into the fort."
The following extracts of letters written from Fort Ligonier by
Lieutenant Blane to Colonel Bouquet describe the attacks on
this fort. On June 4th, he wrote; .
426 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"Thursday last my garrison was attacked by a body of Indians
about five in the morning; but as they only fired upon us from the
skirts of the woods, I contented myself with giving them three
cheers, without spending a single shot upon them. But as they
still continued their popping upon the side next the town, I sent
the sergeant of the Royal Americans, with a proper detachment,
to fire the houses, which effectually disappointed them in their
plans." On the 17th, he wrote: "I hope soon to see yourself, and
live in daily hopes of a reinforcement . . . Sunday last, a man
straggling out was killed by the Indians, and Monday night
three of them got under an out-house, but were discovered. The
darkness secured them in their retreat ... I believe the com-
munication between Fort Pitt and this is entirely cut off, having
heard nothing from them since the thirtieth of May, though two
expresses have gone from Bedford by this post." Also, on the
28th, he wrote: "On the twenty-first, the Indians made a second
attempt in a very serious manner, for near two hours, but with
like success as the first. They began with attempting to cut off
the retreat of a small party of fifteen men, who, from their im-
patience to come at four Indians who showed themselves, in a
great measure forced me to let them out. In the evening, I think
above a hundred lay in ambush by the side of the creek, about
four hundred yards from the fort; and just as the party were
returning pretty near where they lay, rushed out, when they
undoubtedly would have succeeded, had it not been for a deep
morass which intervened. Immediately after, they began their
attack; and I dare say they fired upwards of one thousand shot.
Nobody received any damage. So far, my good fortune in
dangers still attends me."
This fort in the wilderness of Westmoreland County suc-
ceeded in holding out until Colonel Henry Bouquet came with
his little army of relief, on August 2nd. By some means, Lieu-
tenant Blane had gotten word through to Captain Wendell
Ourry (Uhrig), commander of Fort Bedford, of the destruction
of Forts Presqu' Isle, LeBoeuf and Venango. This must have
been about the latter part of June, as Colonel Bouquet, on July
3d, wrote the news to General Amherst. Bouquet had received
the news of the fall of these three forts from Captain Ourry, who
had received it from Lieutenant Blane. Knowing the straits in
which Lieutenant Blane and his garrison were, and fearing that
they would not be able to resist the attacks of the Indians,
Captain Ourry sent a relief party from Fort Bedford, consisting
PONTIAC'S WAR 427
of twenty woodsmen, all fine marksmen, who arrived at Fort
Ligonier in safety, about July 1st. About the same time. Colonel
Bouquet sent a relief party from Carlisle to this fort, consisting
of thirty Highlanders, with keen-eyed backwoodsmen to lead
them over the mountain trails instead of the Forbes Road. They
made their way through the Indian-infested wilderness, using
every precaution, traveling mostly by night, and came in sight
of the fort without being discovered. The fort was beset by In-
dians at the time of the arrival of the Highlanders and their
guides. The relief party was fired upon, but succeeded in entering
the fort without the loss of a man.
For account of the attacks on Fort Ligonier, see "Frontier
Forts of Penna.," Vol. 2, pages 216 to 218.
During the spring of 1763, before hostilities broke out. Lieu-
tenant Blane was visited, at Fort Ligonier, by several parties
of friendly Delawares, among whom was a young brave, named
Maiden Foot. When Maiden Foot was at the fort on one of
these occasions, a settler named Means, with his wife and little
daughter, Mary, aged eleven years, was there also. The Means
home was about a mile south of the fort. Maiden Foot seemed
much pleased with little Mary. On leaving the fort, he gave the
little girl a string of beads. He seemed sad and thoughtful at
the time.
In the latter part of May or early in June, after the Pontiac
and Guyasuta War had started, Mrs. Means and Mary started
for the fort on hearing a rumor that the Indians had become
hostile. On their way to the fort, they were captured by two
Indians, who took them into the woods and tied them to saplings.
Soon they heard the report of rifles, which was the first Indian
assault on the fort. Later in the afternoon. Maiden Foot ap-
peared before Mrs. Means and her daughter, no doubt being the
Indian selected to scalp them. He recognized them, cut the
bands which bound them to the tree, and conducted them by a
roundabout way to their home, where Mr. Means met them.
Maiden Foot then told the family to flee to the mountains, and
pointed to a ravine in which they could hide until after the Indian
band left the neighborhood. On leaving them Maiden Foot took
the little girl's handkerchief, on which was worked in black silken
thread her name "Mary Means."
Some years afterwards the Means family moved to a point
near Cincinnati, Ohio, where the parents died ; and the girl having
grown to womanhood, married an officer named Kearney, who
428 THE INDIAN WARS OR PENNSYLVANIA
commanded a company under Wayne at the battle of the Fallen
Timbers, August 20, 1794. After this battle, Kearney and some
companions found an elderly Indian sitting on a log on the battle-
field and waving a white handkerchief. On their approaching
him, the Indian said that he had been a warrior all his life; that
he had fought at Ligonier, at Bushy Run, the Wabash against St.
Clair, and at the recent battle against Wayne. He then explained
that he had enough of war, and desired henceforth to live in peace
with all mankind. Searching in his pouch he brought forth the
handkerchief of Mary Means. Officer Kearney had often heard
his wife tell the story of Maiden Foot. He took the old Indian
home with him. Mrs. Kearney and the Indian immediately
recognized each other, although thirty-one years had elapsed
since they parted near Fort Ligonier. Maiden Foot now ex-
plained that shortly before he met Mary Means, he had lost a
sister about her age and size, and that the giving of the string of
beads to her was in effect the adopting of her as his sister. He
was taken into the Kearney family, according to Boucher's
"History of Westmoreland County," and upon his death four
years later, was buried in a graveyard at Cincinnati, where a
tablet was erected at his grave bearing the following inscription :
"In memory of Maiden Foot, an Indian Chief of the
Eighteenth Century, who died a Civilian and a Christian."
Fort Bedford Besieged
The warriors of Pontiac and Guyasuta began a siege of Fort
Bedford at about the same time as the attack on Fort Ligonier.
Hearing of the approach of the Indian hordes, the small posts
at Stony Creek and Juniata Crossing were abandoned and their
defenders were sent to strengthen the small garrison of Fort
Bedford, commanded, as we have already seen, by Captain
Wendell Ourry (Uhrig) of the Royal Americans. At this time
Fort Bedford was the principal depot for military supplies be-
between Carlisle and Fort Pitt. We have already seen how
Captain Ourry sent twenty men from his fort to the assistance of
Lieutenant Blane at Fort Ligonier, some time in June. Many
families lived in the mountain valleys in the vicinity of Fort
Bedford. They fled in terror to the fort, many, however, being
overtaken and killed by the merciless Indians, It is said in "The
Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" that forty of these families were
PONTIAC'S WAR 429
murdered or carried Into captivity during the terrible time of
which we are writing.
The following extracts from letters written at Fort Bedford
show the alarming condition of that post at the time when
Colonel Bouquet was preparing to advance over the mountains:
On June 3d, Captain Ourry wrote to Colonel Bouquet: "No
less than ninety-three families are now here for refuge, and more
hourly are arriving. I expect ten more before night." On
June 7th, he wrote Colonel Bouquet: "My greatest difficulty is
to keep my militia from straggling by twos and threes to their
dear plantations, thereby exposing themselves to be scalped, and
weakening my garrison by such numbers absenting themselves
... I long to see my Indian scouts come in with intelligence;
but I long more to hear the Grenadier's March, and see some
more red coats." Ten days later Captain Ourry wrote Bouquet
that, no attack having been made, the fugitives had gradually
returned to their plantations, reducing his whole force to "twelve
Royal Americans to guard the fort and seven Indian prisoners."
Then the very next day he wrote: "This moment I return from
the parade. Some scalps taken up Dunning's Creek yesterday,
and today some families murdered and houses burnt, have
destroyed me of my militia . . . Two or three other families are
missing, and the houses are seen in flames. The people are all
flocking in again." Two days later he wrote Bouquet that, while
the countrymen were at drill on the parade, Indians attempted
to seize two little girls close to the fort, but were driven off by a
volley from the garrison. He adds that this greatly increased
the panic of the fugitives and that it was with difficulty that he
could restrain them from murdering the Indian prisoners.
The following letter was written at Fort Bedford on June 30th:
"This morning a party of the enemy attacked fifteen persons
who were mowing in Mr. Croghan's field, within a mile of the
garrison; and news is brought in of two men being killed. — Eight
o'clock. Two men are brought in, alive, tomahawked and scalped
more than half the head over — Our parade just now presents a
scene of blood and savage cruelty; three men, two of which are
in the bloom of life, the other an old man, lying scalped (two of
them still alive) lying thereon; Anything feigned in the most
fabulous Romance, cannot parallel the horrid Sight now before
me; the Gashes the poor People bear are most terrifying. — Ten
o'clock. They are just expired — One of them, after being toma-
hawked and scalped, ran a little way, and got on a Loft in Mr.
430 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Croghan's House, where he lay until found by a party of the
Garrison." (Pennsylvania Gazette No. 1802.)
Such was the dreadful situation at Fort Bedford, when, on
July 3d, Captain Ourry sent a messenger to Colonel Bouquet
at Carlisle, with the news of the fall of Forts Presqu' Isle, Le-
Bouef and Venango. This mounted messenger reached Carlisle
the same day, as will presently appear. Happily the fort held
out until the arrival of Colonel Bouquet.
Invasion of Juniata, Tuscarora, Sherman and
Cumberland Valleys
The storm which broke in the valleys of the Ohio and Allegheny
and the region to the westward, swept over the Allegheny Moun-
tains eastward past Fort Ligonier and Fort Bedford into the
valleys beyond. No tongue can tell, no pen can describe its
horrors. From the beautiful and fertile valleys, rose the smoke
of burning settlements. Many mutilated bodies of slain settlers
were torn and devoured by hogs and wild beasts. Hundreds of
families fled in terror to Shippensburg, Carlisle, the extreme
eastern settlements and to Philadelphia. The following quota-
tions from standard authorities give but an incomplete picture
of this reign of terror, desolation and death :
Says Egle, in his "History of Pennsylvania," in the chapter
on Juniata County:
"On Sunday Morning, July 10, 1763, 'Shamokin Daniel, with
eighteen Indians, having come to view the roads and see what
troops were marching up, and finding none, proceeded to Juniata
to kill and scalp. At the house of William White, adjoining
Patterson's at Mexico, up the river, there were four men and a
boy. White, on going to the door to see what the noise meant,
was shot dead. Seeing the Indians trying to set fire to the house,
the rest tried to get out at the door, but the first one that stepped
out was shot down. After which, attempting to escape by a
window, another was shot through the head and the lad, John
Riddle, wounded in the arm. The remaining man, William
Riddle, broke through the roof, frightened the Indian guard, and
escaped. The house, with the dead bodies, was burned. The lad,
who had escaped by the window and hid in a rye-field, was dis-
covered and captured. A man named McMahen, unsuspectingly
coming there, was shot in the shoulder, but escaped. The lad,
John Riddle, was recovered some years after near Lake Erie,
PONTIAC'S WAR 431
having become so infatuated with Indian Hfe that his father had
great difficulty in getting him home.
"The same party of Indians passed from White's, a mile and a
half across the river, to the house of Robert Campbell at the
mouth of Licking Creek. Six men were in the house, and they
were at dinner. The Indians rushed in at the door, and fired on
them, wounding some, and tomahawking one of the men. George
Dodds sprang into the back room, took down a rifle and shot an
Indian through the body just as he was in the act of presenting
his piece at Dodds. The Indian let his gun drop and staggered
out, and was carried off by three others. There being an opening
in the loft, Dodds and two others sprang up there and broke
through the roof by the chimney. They saw Stephen Jeffries
running slowly, being wounded in the breast, and followed by an
Indian, by whom he was killed. The first one that emerged from
the loft was fired at and drew back; the second was shot dead ; and
of the six, Dodds only escaped, and carried the news to Sherman's
Valley.
"The Indians then passed up the valley to now Nourse's farm,
near Spruce Hill, where they killed William Anderson in the dusk
of the evening. The old man was seated at the table with the
open Bible in his hand, supposed to be about to worship, when he
was shot. His son and an adopted daughter were tomahawked
and scalped. His daughter, Mary, was the mother of William
Patton, a Revolutionary soldier. William and James Christy
and William Graham, living above Anderson's, hearing the firing
of guns, were alarmed and fled, reaching Sherman's Valley at mid-
night. The reports spread terror among the settlers. In order to
save John Collins' and James Scott's families, who lived farther
up the valley, twelve men went over on Monday morning at
Bingham's Path. When they came to Collins', they found the
Indians had been there, broken a wheel, emptied a bed, taken
flour and made water-gruel. Thirteen bark spoons were counted.
They tracked them down to Scott's, where they had killed some
fowls. Passing down to Graham's, they found the house burned
down to the joists. Here they seemed to have been joined by
another band, making now about twenty-five. They had killed
four hogs, and had eaten at leisure, fearing no molestation. The
Indians having crossed the mountain, the white men, also, went
over by the Run Gap; both paths met at Nicholson's, where the
Indians lay in wait and killed five and wounded one of the party
of twelve. About half of these men were settlers on the Juniata.
432 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Their leader, Robert Robinson, wrote a brief narrative of these
events."
In Chapter XII, the destruction of Bingham's Fort, in Tus-
carora Township, Juniata County, was described. Ralph Sterrett
an Indian trader, rebuilt the small fort, about 1760. "The
Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania" relates the following experiences
of Sterrett and the settlers in the neighborhood of this fort, at
the time of which we are writing :
"It is related of Ralph Sterrett, while sitting outside of the
second fort [the re-built Fort Bingham], a wayworn Indian came
along who was hungry, thirsty and fatigued. Sterrett called the
savage in, gave him bread, meat, rum and tobacco. This cir-
cumstance had passed out of Sterrett's mind until one night, in
the spring of 1763, when the Indians were again becoming hostile.
The inmates of Fort Bingham became alarmed by some noise at
the gate. It being moonlight, Sterrett looked out and saw it was
an Indian. This created alarm and some of the impetuous ones
were for shooting him down as a spy. Sterrett cooly demanded
of the Indian his business. The Indian, in a few words, stated the
hospitality extended to him at some time previous, and that he
came to warn them of impending danger. He stated that the
Indians were as plenty as pigeons in the woods and that even
then they had entered the valley, and before another moon,
would be at Fort Bingham with a determination to burn and
scalp all the whites within their reach. The alarm was suddenly
given, and in consequence of the weakness of the fort, they
determined to abandon it. Nearly all the settlers in the valley
were in it; but the statement of the Indian as to their number
completely overawed them, so that they set to work to pack their
horses with their most valuable effects, and long before day, they
were on their way to Cumberland County. The Indians, how-
ever, came the next night, and after reconnoitering for a time,
approached the fort and found to their astonishment that it had
been vacated; but to show the settlers that they had been there,
they burnt it down, and on a cleared piece of ground in front of
the fort, they laid across the path a war club painted red, the
infallible symbol of revenge and pillage, which means to the
savage the destruction of life and property when on the war path.
"We thus see that the pioneer, Sterrett, in his innocent act of
generosity to the lone Indian, when he furnished him with the
commonplace hospitalities of the rude border life,- subsequently
PONTIAC'S WAR 433
resolved itself into the most powerful means of saving the lives
of over eighty persons."
"Egle's History of Pennsylvania," in the chapter on Perry
County, describes further the suffering of the settlers in the
Juniata Valley in the terrible incursion of July, 1763, as follows:
"From 1761 to 1763 there was comparative quiet and security
from the incursions of the Indians. In the latter year, how-
ever, the country was over run by the savages. From Robert
Robinson's narrative, we glean the particulars of an engage-
ment between twelve settlers and twenty-five Indians in the
harvest time of that year. William Robinson was shot in the
abdomen with buckshot. John Elliott, a boy of seventeen,
[Parkman calls him Charles Eliot] fired his gun and then ran,
loading his gun as best he could by pouring powder into it at
random and then pushing in a ball with his finger, while he was
pursued by an Indian with uplifted tomahawk; and when he
was within a short distance of him, Elliott suddenly turned round
and shot the Indian in the breast, who gave a cry of pain, and
turning, fled. Elliott had gone but a short distance, when he
came to William Robinson, who was weltering in his own blood
upon the ground, and evidently in the agonies of death. He
begged Elliott to carry him off, so that the Indians would not
find and scalp him; but Elliott, being a mere boy, found it
utterly impossible to do so, much less lift him from the ground.
Finding the willing efforts of his young friend fruitless to save
him from the savages, Robinson said: 'Take my gun, and if
ever in war or peace, you have an opportunity to shoot an Indian
with it, do so for my sake.' Thomas Robinson stood behind a
tree, firing and loading as rapidly as possible, until the last white
man had fled; he had just fired his third shot when his position
was revealed to the Indians. In his hurried attempt to load again,
he exposed his right arm, which received the balls from the guns
of three Indians who had fired at the same time. He then fled up
a hill with his gun grasped in his left hand, until he came to a
large log, which he attempted to leap over by placing his left
hand on it; but just as he was stooping to make the leap, a bullet
passed through his side. He fell across the log. The Indians
coming up, beat him on the head with the butts of their guns until
he was mutilated in the most horrible manner possible. John
Graham and David Miller were found dead near each other, not
far from the place of attack. Graham's head was resting upon
his hands, while the blood streamed through his fingers. Charles
434 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Elliott and Edward McConnell succeeded in escaping from the
Indians and reached Buffalo Creek; but they were so closely
pursued that, when they had crossed the creek and were scram-
bling up the bank, they were shot and fell back into the water,
where their dead bodies were found. This little band of twelve
consisted of three brothers Robinson, — William, Robert and
Thomas; two brothers Elliott, — John and Charles; two brothers
Christy, — William and James; John Graham, David Miller,
Edward McConnell, William McAllister and John Nicholson.
"After this engagement the Indians proceeded very leisurely to
Alexander Logan's, feeling their security, no doubt, on account
of the inhabitants having fled to the lower part of Sherman's
Valley. A party of forty men, well armed and disciplined,
started for Tuscarora Valley to bury the dead; but when they
came to Buffalo Creek and saw them, having previously heard
the reports of the settlers, which doubtless increased the number
of the Indians, the captain thought it prudent to return. In the
meantime, the six men who escaped in the engagement at
Nicholson's [the engagement related in the preceding paragraph],
went to Carlisle and reported what they saw and experienced,
whereupon a party of fifty volunteered to go in quest of the
savages. They were commanded by High Sheriff Dunning and
William Lyon. From the best information that could be had of
the Indians, it was judged that they would visit Logan's to
plunder and kill the cattle. The men were ambushed and in
readiness when the Indians appeared, but owing to the eagerness
in commencing the attack by some of the party, but four or five
Indians were either killed or mortally wounded, until they made
their escape into the thick woods, whither pursuit was deemed
too perilous. Previous to this engagement, Alexander Logan and
his son John, Charles Coyle, William Hamilton and Bartholomew
Davis, hearing of the advance of Sheriff Dunning's party, followed
the Indians to George McCord's where they found and attacked
them in the barn; but the attack was such a precipitate affair
that none of the savages were killed or wounded, while the entire
attacking party, excepting Bartholomew Davis, paid the penalty
with their lives. Davis escaped and joined Sheriff Dunning's
party, and was engaged with them at Logan's.
[William Hamilton was not killed outright in this engagement.
He was shot through the body, but succeeded in getting over a
fence and concealing himself in the brush. Indians followed his
trail of blood until a few yards of where he lay with his dog by
PONTIAC'S WAR 435
his side. The dog seemed to understand the situation, lying
perfectly still and making not the slightest noise. After the
Indians left, Hamilton made his way slowly to his house, about a
mile distant, where his wound was dressed and he was given some
liquor. He was then taken to Carlisle, where he died a few days
later.]
"In the engagement at Logan's, there was but one white man
wounded. The soldiers brought with them what cattle they could
collect, but great numbers were killed, and many of the horses
were taken away by the Indians. The Indians set fire to the
houses and barns, destroyed the growing corn and burnt the
grain in the stacks, so that the whole valley seemed to be one
general blaze of conflagration as far as they went, Carlisle was
the only barrier between the frontier settlements and the merci-
less savages, and it was so crowded that every stable and shelter
in the town was filled to its utmost capacity, and on either side
of the Susquehanna, the woods were the only shelter of many
other refugee families, who had fled thither with their cattle and
whatever of their effects could be hastily collected and carried
with them. To relieve these sufferers, the Episcopal [Christ's
and St. Peter's] churches of Philadelphia collected an amount of
money equal to $2,942.89 in the currency of the present time,
which was expended in supplying flour, rice and medicine for the
immediate relief of the sufferers. To enable those who chose to
return to their homes, two chests of arms, half a barrel of powder,
four hundred pounds of swan shot, and one thousand flints were
purchased. These were to be sold at greatly reduced prices to
such persons as would use them for their own defense. Induced
by an offer which placed protection in their own hands, the
settlers returned to their former homes."
A few weeks before the beginning of these outrages, George
Croghan arrived at Carlisle from Fort Pitt. He did much to
instill courage into the hearts of the fleeing settlers. Also, without
authorization, and at his own expense, he raised a garrison of
twenty-five men for Fort Littleton. For this he was later reim-
bursed by Pennsylvania. He also took charge of and led a convoy
which supplied Fort Bedford with powder and lead.
The following extracts from letters, written from Carlisle, in
July, 1763, and published in the Pennsylvania GazeWe, shed addi-
tional light on the bloody incursion, just described:
"Carlisle, July 13th, 1763. Last night Colonel Armstrong re-
turned. He left the party who pursued further, and found several
436 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
dead, whom they buried in the best manner they could, and are
now all returned in. From what appears, the Indians are
traveling from one place to another along the valley, burning
the farms and destroying all the people they meet with. This
day gives an account of six more being killed in the valley, so
that since last Sunday morning to this day, twelve o'clock, we
have a pretty authentic account of the number of slain being
twenty-five, and four or five wounded. The Colonel [John
Armstrong], Mr. Wilson and Mr. Aldricks are now on the parade
endeavoring to raise another party to go out and succor the
sheriff [Dunning] and his party, consisting of fifty men, which
marched yesterday, and I hope they will be able to send off im-
mediately twenty good men."
The editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette published the following,
on July 28th, 1763:
"Our advices from Carlisle are as follows, viz. That the party
under the sheriff, Mr. Dunning, mentioned in our last, fell in with
the enemy at the house of one, Alexander Logan, in Shearman's
Valley, supposed to be about fifteen or upward, who had murdered
the said Logan, his son and another man, about two miles from
said house, and mortally wounded a fourth, who is since dead;
and that, at the time of their being discovered, they were rifling
the house and shooting down the cattle, and, it is thought, about
to return home with the spoil they got. That our men, on seeing
them, immediately spread themselves from right to left with a
design to surround them, and engaged the savages with great
courage, but from their eagerness rather too soon, as some of the
party had not got up when the skirmish began ; that the enemy
returned our first fire very briskly, but our people, regardless of
that, rushed upon them, when they fled and were pursued a con-
siderable way till thickets secured their escape, four or five of
them, it was thought, being mortally wounded; that our parties
had brought in with them what cattle they could collect, but that
great numbers were killed by the Indians, and many of the horses
that were in the valleys carried off; that, on the 21st, in the morn-
ing, news was brought of three Indians being seen about 10
o'clock in morning; one, Pummeroy, and his wife, and the wife of
one, Johnson, were surprised in a house between Shippensburg
and the North Mountain, and left there for dead; but that one of
the women, when found, showing some signs of life, was brought
to Shippensburg, where she lived some hours in a most miserable
condition, being scalped, one of her arms broken and her skull
PONTIAC'S WAR 437
fractured with the stroke of a tomahawk; and that since the 10th
inst., there was an account of fifty-four persons being killed by
the enemy.
"That the Indians had set fire to houses, barns, corn, wheat,
rye and hay — in short to everything combustible — so that the
whole country seemed to be in one general blaze ; that the miseries
and distress of the poor people were really shocking to humanity,
and beyond the power of language to describe; that Carlisle was
becoming the barrier, not a single inhabitant being beyond it;
that every stable and hovel in the town was crowded with miser-
able refugees, who were reduced to a state of beggary and despair,
their harvests, cattle and houses destroyed, and from a plentiful,
independent people, they were become real objects of charity and
commiseration; that it was most dismal to see the streets filled
with people in whose countenances might be discovered a mixture
of grief, madness and despair; and to hear now and then the sighs
and groans of men, the disconsolate lamentations of women, and
the screams of children, who had lost their nearest and dearest
relations; that on both sides of the Susquehanna, for some miles,
the woods were filled with poor families and their cattle, who
made fires and lived like savages, exposed to the inclemencies of
the weather."
A letter, dated at Carlisle, July 30th, 1763, was also printed in
the Pennsylvania GazeZ/g, as follows: "On the 25th, a considerable
number of the inhabitants of Shearman's Valley went over, with
a party of soldiers to guard them, to attempt saving as much of
their grain as might be standing, and it is hoped a considerable
quantity will yet be preserved. A party of volunteers, between
twenty-five and thirty, went to the farther side of the valley, next
to the Tuscarora Mountain, to see what appearance there might
be of the Indians, as it was thought they would most probably be
there, if anywhere in the settlement — to search for and bury the
dead at Buffalo Creek, and to assist the inhabitants that lived
along or near the foot of the mountain in bringing oiT what they
could, which services they accordingly performed, burying the
remains of three persons, but saw no marks of Indians having
lately been there, excepting one track, supposed to be about two
or three days old, near the narrows of Buffalo Creek Hill, and
heard some hallooing and firing of a gun at another place. A
number of the inhabitants of Tuscarora Valley go over the
mountain tomorrow, with a party of soldiers, to endeavor to save
part of the crops. Five Indians were seen last Sunday, about
438 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
sixteen or seventeen miles from Carlisle, up the valley toward the
North Mountain, and two the day before yesterday, about five
or six miles from Shippensburg, who fired at a young man, but
missed him."
Carlisle and Shippensburg were filled with men, women and
children who had fled from their homes to escape the tomahawk,
rifle and scalping knife of the Indian invaders. At Shippensburg,
on July 25th, there were 1,384 refugees, of whom 301 were men,
345 were women and 738 were children — husbands bewailing their
murdered wives, wives bewailing their murdered husbands,
parents bewailing their murdered children, children bewailing
their murdered parents. Parkman, in picturing with a master
hand the scenes at Carlisle at this time, says the following:
"In wretched encampments were men, women and children,
bereft at one stroke of friends, of home, and the means of sup-
porting life. Some stood aghast and bewildered at the sudden and
fatal blow; others were sunk in the apathy of despair; others were
weeping and moaning with irrepressible anguish. With not a
few, the craven passion of fear drowned all other emotion, and
day and night they were haunted with visions of the bloody knife
and the reeking scalp; while in others, every faculty was ab-
sorbed by the burning thirst for vengeance, and mortal hatred
against the whole Indian race."
Parkman could truthfully have added that the awful conditions
which he has described as no one else has succeeded in describing
them, were the bitter fruits of broken promises and broken
treaties.
CHAPTER XIX
Pontiac's War
(Continued)
Battle of Bushy Run
FROM early in 1760 until about December 1st, 1762, Colonel
Henry Bouquet's headquarters were at Fort Pitt. Early
in December he arrived at Philadelphia, leaving Captain Ecuyer
in command at Fort Pitt. Bouquet was still in Philadelphia, with
a remnant of his Royal Americans when Pontiac's forces entered
the valleys of the Allegheny and Ohio in the spring of 1763.
Receiving alarming reports from Captain Ecuyer, Bouquet im-
mediately sent them to the commander-in-chief. General Jeffrey
Amherst, then at New York, and asked for reinforcements.
Amherst then sent him two companies of the Forty-second
("Black Watch" Highlanders) and Seventy-seventh (Mont-
gomery's Highlanders) Regiments, consisting of two hundred and
fourteen officers and men, and directed him, if he thought it
necessary, to proceed to Fort Pitt. The incompetent commander-
in-chief, who suggested to Bouquet the enlisting of small-pox
under the banner of England, did not realize the seriousness of
the situation. Like General Braddock, he underestimated the
Indian as a warrior. He wrote Bouquet: "The post of Fort Pitt,
or any of the others commanded by officers can certainly never
be in danger from such a wretched enemy."
But Colonel Bouquet, with superior discernment, realized the
seriousness of the situation. It was fortunate for the British
colonies in America that, in Colonel Bouquet, there was a com-
mander who made up for the deficiencies of the commander-in-
chief. Bouquet wished to abandon small posts like Fort Venango
and Fort LeBoeuf, and then concentrate at Fort Presqu' Isle
and Fort Pitt; but Amherst would not give his consent to this
plan, which, if it had been carried out promptly, would no doubt
have saved many lives. The Colonel had only a remnant of his
Royal Americans at this time, the rest being engaged in garrison-
440 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ing the frontier posts. Upon more alarming reports from Colonel
Bouquet, General Amherst ordered the two remaining companies
of the Forty-second and Seventy-seventh Regiments, consisting
of one hundred and thirty-three officers and men, to join him, the
march to begin June 23d, under Major Campbell of the Forty-
second Regiment. Two days later Amherst wrote Bouquet:
"All the troops from hence that could be collected are sent you;
so that should the whole race of Indians take up arms against
us, I can do no more."
Colonel Bouquet hastened to Carlisle, arriving there, as stated
in Chapter XVIII, about the 1st of July. His little army con-
sisted of the Highlanders, above named, several companies of his
Royal Americans, a detachment of Rangers from Lancaster and
Cumberland Counties and about thirty experienced woodsmen.
The woodsmen did not join him, however, until he arrived at
Bedford. In all, his force was only about five hundred men.
The Highlanders of the Seventy-seventh Regiment had just
returned from the West Indies, where they had suffered greatly
on account of the unhealthful climate, and were fit only for
garrison duty. Bouquet's most effective troops were the handful
of Royal Americans and the Highlanders of the Forty-second
Regiment.
When he arrived at Carlisle, Colonel Bouquet found that
nothing had been done to carry out the orders to prepare a con-
voy of flour and other provisions for the western forts. Terror
and consternation reigned supreme. Fort Lowther and every
house, barn and hovel in the town were crowded with refugees.
Settlers from the mountain valleys were streaming into the town
with hearts full of anguish. The excitement and terror were in-
creased on July 3d, when Captain Ourry's messenger arrived at
Bouquet's camp with the news, "Presqu' Isle, LeBoeuf and
Venango are taken, and the Indians will be here soon." Bouquet
was anxious to get away. Not an hour was to be lost. Yet he
was delayed for eighteen days for want of wagons and other
supplies, "which the very people who were in terror of the In-
dians, refused to furnish him." The starving refugees, gathering
around the tents of the humane commander, solicited relief, and
were fed by him. Thus, instead of getting help at Carlisle,
Bouquet had to give help. In the meantime, anxious for the
safety of Fort Ligonier, Bouquet sent to its relief the thirty
Highlanders mentioned in Chapter XVIII. In the meantime,
also, recourse was had to settlements, farther to the eastward for
UPPER — View ot the ravine through which Colonel Bouquet made the successful swinging
movement of his troops at the battle of Bushy Run. At the head of the ravine was the spring
from which Andrew Byerly (Bauerle) carried water for Bouquet's wounded and dying. (Pages
443 and 446.)
LOWER — -View of the Brush Creek Lutheran and Reformed Church, a few miles from the
battle field of Bushy Run, erected 1816 to 1820 and standing in the heart of the Brush Creek
settlement founded by Andrew Byerly (Bauerle) in 1759. .Among the frontier tragedies taking
place in this German settlement were: The massacre of Feb. 26, 1769, (Page 486); the Henry
(Heinrich) atrocity of June, 1779, (Pages 574, 575); the massacre at Philip Klingensmith's
(Klingenschmidl's). July 2, 1781, (Page 634); and the attack on Walthour's Blockhouse, .\pril,
1782, (Page 657) In 1781 or 1782 the Indians burned the log school house of the Brush Creek
congregation, wliich stood in the old cemetery a short distance from the present church. In
the spring of 1774, the Brush Creek and Herold's (Harrold's) settlers erected Fort .-Mien about
three miles west of Greensburg.
PONTIAC'S WAR 441
wagons, pack horses and other supplies. Then Bouquet was
ready to start with his Httle army on the march of two hundred
miles over the mountains and through the forests. As his force
moved out of Carlisle, sixty of the Highlanders were so weak and
sick from West Indian exposure that they were unable to walk
and had to be carried in wagons. As the inhabitants looked upon
these sick and emaciated veterans, their hearts were filled with
the gloomiest forebodings. "In truth," says Parkman, "the ad-
venture would have seemed desperate to any but the manliest
heart. In front lay a vast wilderness, terrible alike from its own
stern features and the ferocious enemy who haunted its recesses.
Among these forests lay the bones of Braddock and the hundreds
who fell with him. The number of slain on that bloody day ex-
ceeded the whole force of Bouquet, while the strength of the
assailants was far inferior to that of the swarms who now infested
these woods."
Passing many scattered cabins in the Cumberland Valley,
deserted by their owners or burned by the Indians, the heroic
little army came to Shippensburg, crowded with almost fourteen
hundred terrified and starving refugees. Thence passing Fort
Loudon on the declivities of Cove Mountain, the army came to
Fort Littleton and the post at Juniata Crossing, the latter two
abandoned by their garrisons. From Juniata Crossing, the army
marched to Fort Bedford, arriving at this place on July 25th, to
the infinite relief of Captain Ourry, the garrison and the settlers
who had fled from their mountain homes to this fort for refuge.
Here Bouquet remained for three days in order to rest the men
and horses. Here, also, the thirty woodsmen joined his forces.
While at this fort, Bouquet heard the detailed account of the
scourge of blood and fire and death which swept through the
mountain valleys in its vicinity. Captain Ourry told him that
no news had reached him from the forts to the westward for
several weeks. Every messenger had been killed. All com-
munication was cut off. The last news from Fort Pitt was that
the place was surrounded by the enemy.
On July 28th, Bouquet's force left Fort Bedford, following
the Forbes Road, and started through the mountain wilderness
towards Fort Ligonier, fifty miles away. Scouts and rangers
were sent far ahead and far on the flanks; woodsmen led the
advance, and protected the rear; the wagons and the drove of
cattle were in the center of the column, many of the wagons
carrying Highlanders too sick to walk. Through the summer
442 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
heat, the tired army toiled on over the Allegheny Mountain,
then over the Laurel Hill Mountain into the Ligonier Valley,
arriving at Fort Ligonier on August 2nd. The Indians fled from
the fort upon the approach of the army. Lieutenant Blane, the
commander of the post, could give Colonel Bouquet no informa-
tion whatever as to the situation at Fort Pitt, fifty miles to the
westward, as he had been besieged for weeks, and the messengers
sent from Captain Ecuyer had not been able to get through.
Bouquet decided to leave all his wagons, which were the
heaviest part of his convoy, and nearly all the cattle at Fort
Ligonier, press forward rapidly, taking with him three hundred
and fifty pack horses and a few cattle, the pack horses carrying
the flour. The march was resumed on August 4th, and that night
the army encamped a few miles west of Fort Ligonier, expecting
to march rapidly the next day as far as the deserted block house
of Andrew Byerly, called Byerly's Station, at Bushy Run, a
short distance from the present Harrison City, Westmoreland
County. Byerly, it will be remembered, had fled with his family
to Fort Ligonier, about June 1st. He joined Bouquet's forces at
Fort Ligonier, and now, at the head of eighteen Royal Americans,
led the advance. Byerly's Station was not on the Forbes Road,
but on the Indian Trail, which led through the narrows of Turtle
Creek to Fort Pitt. As stated in Chapter XVII, the Forbes Road
cut off to the northwest a few miles east of Bushy Run, near the
present Detar's School House, and, therefore, the battle about to
be described did not take place on the Forbes Road. It was
Colonel Bouquet's intention to reach Bushy Run on the afternoon
of August 5th, rest there until nightfall, and then pass through the
narrows of Turtle Creek in the darkness, when, he hoped, the
dangerous defiles would not be guarded by the Indians.
At an early hour on the morning of August 5th, the march was
resumed over the hills and through the dense forests in the heat
of midsummer. At a little after twelve o'clock, the army had
marched seventeen miles, and Bouquet's guides assured him the
proposed camping place at Bushy Run was only about half a
mile away. The tired soldiers now quickened their pace in
anticipation of an afternoon's rest before entering the dangerous
defiles of Turtle Creek. Suddenly the sharp report of rifles was
heard in the front, sending a thrill along the entire ranks. The
fire quickened, and blood-curdling war whoops of hundreds of
Indians rang through the forest shades. The terrible battle of
Bushy Run now was on — the most bitterly contested battle
PONTIAC'S WAR 443
between the Indian and the white man on the American Conti-
nent. The two foremost companies were sent forward to support
the advance. The fire grew more rapid and furious, plainly in-
dicating the presence of a large body of Indians. The convoy was
halted, and a general charge made with fixed bayonets. The
assailants were driven from the heights in front. Soon, however,
they attacked Bouquet's flanks and rear, and it was instantly
necessary to fall back to protect the rear and convoy.
Finally Colonel Bouquet was forced to take position on a hill
to the right of the road. Here the troops formed a circle around
the terrified horses, and formed a barricade of flour sacks to pro-
tect the wounded and the convoy. Time after time, the assail-
ants rushed up with frightful yells, and endeavored to break
through the barricade. They were repulsed each time by the
troops expanding the circle and charging into the forest. No
sooner were the Indians driven from one point, however, until
they appeared at another with their fury unabated. Protected
by the trees and brush of the forest which fringed the hilltop, they
suffered little; but Bouquet's gallant troops suffered severely.
Thus the battle went on during the remainder of the day until
night settled down over the forest. The little army had by this
time lost sixty in killed and wounded. It was impossible for
Colonel Bouquet to change his ground in the presence of so power-
ful an enemy. Fearing a night attack, he posted his sentinels,
and the men lay down on their arms, but not to sleep. The
summer night was oppressively warm, and Bouquet's soldiers,
especially the wounded, suffered great agonies of thirst. Andrew
Byerly, at imminent risk of his life, stole silently through the
lines to a spring on the hillside, and carried water in his hat for
the wounded and dying. No pen can describe the anguish of
Bouquet's soldiers during that terrible night, surrounded in the
wilderness by a powerful and blood-thirsty enemy waiting for
the dawn, and with visions of the horrors of Braddock's defeat
ever present in their minds. The camp was in darkness, and
throughout the night an occasional wild whoop from the gloom
of the forest told with what eagerness the assailants waited for
the vengeance of the coming day. The mind of the heroic Colonel
Bouquet was filled with gloomy forebodings, as the following
letter which he wrote to General Amherst that night, describing
the events of the day, plainly indicates:
444 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"Camp at Edge Hill,
26 Miles From Fort Pitt, 5th Aug., 1763.
"I intended to have halted to-day at Bushy run, (a mile beyond
this camp), and after having refreshed the men and horses, to
have marched in the night over Turtle Creek, a very dangerous
defile of several miles, commanded by high and rugged hills; but
at one o'clock this afternoon, after a march of seventeen miles,
the savages suddenly attacked our advance guard, which was
immediately supported by the two Light Infantry companies of
the 42d regiment, who drove the enemy from their ambuscade
and pursued them a good way. The savages returned to the
attack, and the fire being obstinate on our front and extending
along our flanks, we made a general charge, with the whole line to
dislodge the savages from the heighths, in which attempt we suc-
ceeded, without by it obtaining any decisive advantage, for as
soon as they were driven from one post, they appeared on another,
till, by continued reinforcements, they were at last able to sur-
round us and attacked the convoy left in our rear; this obliged
us to march back to protect it. The action then became general,
and though we were attacked on every side, and the savages
exerted themselves with uncommon resolution, they were con-
stantly repulsed with loss; we also suffered considerably. Capt.
Lieut. Graham and Lieut. James Mcintosh of the 42d, are
killed, and Capt. Graham wounded. Of the Royal American
Regt., Lieut. Dow, who acted as A. D. Q. M. G., is shot through
the body. Of the 77th, Lieut. Donald Campbell and Mr. Peebles,
a volunteer, are wounded. Our loss in men, including rangers
and drivers, exceeds sixty killed and wounded.
"The action has lasted from one o'clock till night, and we expect
to begin at daybreak.
"Whatever our fate may be, I thought it necessary to give your
Excellency this early information, that you may at all events take
such measures as you think proper with the Provinces, for their
own safety, and the effectual relief of Fort Pitt, as in case of
another engagement, I fear insurmountable difficulties in pro-
tecting and transporting our provisions, being already so much
weakened by the losses of this day in men and horses, besides the
additional necessity of carrying the wounded, whose situation is
truly deplorable.
"I cannot sufficiently acknowledge the assistance I have
received from Major Campbell during this long action, nor ex-
press my admiration of the cool and steady behavior of the
PONTIAC'S WAR 445
troops, who did not fire a shot without orders, and drove the
enemy from their posts with fixed bayonets. The conduct of
the officers is much above my praises."
When the first streaks of dawn floated over the verdant,
forest-covered hills of Westmoreland, the terrible yells of the
Indians once more resounded through the forest around Bouquet's
camp. Presently the assailants opened a fire on Bouquet's men
from every side, leveling their rifles with deadly aim under cover
of the trees and bushes. As on the previous day, they tried to
break through the barricade around the troops and convoy.
Again and again they were driven back by the troops expanding
the circle and pursuing them, with fixed bayonets, into the forest.
Many of the horses, maddened by the terrible din, broke away
and dashed into the forest. The Indians were becoming more
and more confident of victory; while Bouquet's troops, wearied
by the march and battle of the preceding day and their sleepless
night, and almost maddened by thirst, were weakening under the
terrible strain, but still maintained an unbroken ring around the
wounded and the convoy. It was now about ten o'clock. Many
of Bouquet's best m«>n had fallen since the renewal of the battle
at dawn, without his having been able to inflict any telling injury
on the enemy. Happily, the alert mind of the commander then
conceived a plan to bring a large part of the assailants together
and deliver them a telling blow. This masterly stratagem and its
effect are clearly described in the following letter which the
Colonel wrote General Amherst that same day, after the Indians
had been defeated and his forces had encamped at Bushy Run :
"Camp at Bushy Run, 6th Aug., 1763
"Sir: I had the honor to inform your Excellency in my letter
of yesterday of our first engagement with the savages.
"We took the post last night on the hill where our convoy
halted, where the front was attacked, (a commodious piece of
ground and just spacious enough for our purpose). There we en-
circled the whole and covered our wounded with flour bags.
"In the morning the savages surrounded our camp, at the dis-
tance of 500 yards, and by shouting and yelping, quite round that
extensive circumference, thought to have terrified us with their
numbers. They attacked us early, and under favor of incessant
fire, made several bold efforts to penetrate our camp, and though
they failed in the attempt, our situation was not the less per-
plexing, having experienced that brisk attacks had little effect
upon an enemy, who always gave way when pressed, and appeared
446 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
again immediately. Our troops were, besides, extremely fatigued
with the long march and as long action of the preceding day, and
distressed to the last degree, by a total want of water, much more
intolerable than the enemy's fire.
"Tied to our convoy, we could not lose sight of it without ex-
posing it and our wounded to fall a prey to the savages, who
pressed upon us, on every side, and to move it was impracticable,
having lost many horses, and most of the drivers, stupefied by
fear, hid themselves in the bushes, or were incapable of hearing
or obeying orders. The savages growing every moment more
audacious, it was thought proper still to increase their confidence
by that means, if possible, to entice them to come close upon us,
or to stand their ground when attacked. With this view, two
companies of Light Infantry were ordered within the circle, and
the troops on their right and left opened their files and filled up
the space, that it might seem they were intended to cover the
retreat. The Third Light Infantry company and the Grenadiers
of the 42d, were ordered to support the two first companies.
This manoeuvre succeeded to our wish, for the few troops who
took possession of the ground lately occupied by the two Light
Infantry companies being brought in nearer to the centre of the
circle, the barbarians mistaking these motions for a retreat,
hurried headlong on, and advancing upon us, with the most
daring intrepidity, galled us excessively with their heavy fire;
but at the very moment that they felt certain of success, and
thought themselves masters of the camp, Major Campbell, at
the head of the first companies, sallied out from a part of the hill
they could not observe, and fell upon their right flank. They
resolutely returned the fire, but could not stand the irresistable
shock of our men, who, rushing in among them, killed many of
them and put the rest to flight. The orders sent to the other two
companies were delivered so timely by Captain Bassett, and exe-
cuted with such celerity and spirit, that the routed savages who
happened that moment to run before their front, received the
full fire when uncovered by the trees. The four companies did
not give them time to load a second time, or even to look behind,
but pursued them until they totally dispersed. The left of the
savages, which had not been attacked, were kept in awe by the
remains of our troops, posted on the brow of the hill for that
purpose; nor durst they attempt to support or assist their right,
but being witness to their defeat, followed their example and fled.
Our brave men distained so much as to touch the dead body of a
PONTIAC'S WAR 447
vanquished enemy that scarce a scalp was taken except by the
rangers and pack-horse drivers.
"The woods being now cleared and the pursuit over, the four
companies took possession of a hill in our front, and as soon as
litters could be made for the wounded, and the flour and every-
thing destroyed, which, for want of horses, could not be carried,
we marched without molestation to this camp. After the severe
correction we had given the savages a few hours before, it was
natural to suppose we should enjoy some rest, but we had hardly
fixed our camp, when they fired upon us again. This was very
provoking; however, the Light Infantry dispersed them before
they could receive orders for that purpose. I hope we shall be
no more disturbed, for, if we have another action, we shall hardly
be able to carry our wounded.
"The behavior of the troops on this occasion speaks for itself
so strongly, that for me to attempt their eulogium would but
detract from their merit."
Colonel Bouquet made the following report of the killed,
wounded and missing in the battle:
"Forty-second, or Royal Highlanders — One Captain, one
lieutenant, one sergeant, one corporal, twenty-five privates,
killed; one captain, one lieutenant, two sergeants, three corporals,
one drummer, twenty-seven privates, wounded.
Sixtieth, or Royal Americans — One corporal, six privates,
killed; one lieutenant, four privates, wounded.
Seventy-seventh, or Montgomery's Highlanders — One drum-
mer, five privates, killed; one lieutenant, one volunteer, three
sergeants, seven privates, wounded.
Volunteers, rangers and pack-horse men — One lieutenant,
seven privates, killed; eight privates, wounded; five privates,
missing.
Names of Officers
Forty-second regiment — Captain-lieutenant John Graham,
Lieutenant Mcintosh and Lieutenant Joseph Randal, of the
rangers, killed.
Forty-second regiment — Captain John Graham and Lieu-
tenant Duncan Campbell, wounded.
Sixtieth regiment — Lieutenant James Dow, wounded.
Seventy-seventh regiment — Lieutenant Donald Campbell and
Volunteer Mr. Peebles, wounded.
Total — fifty killed, sixty wounded, five missing."
448 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
See "Frontier Forts of Penna.," Vol. 2 pages 530 to 534, for
Colonel Bouquet's letters and list of the killed, wounded and
missing.
After burying the dead on the hilltop near which the advance
guard was first attacked and after making litters for the wounded,
the army moved, late in the afternoon, less than a mile, to Bushy
Run. Much of the flour and other supplies had to be destroyed,
as the killing of many horses and the flight of others made it im-
possible to carry these supplies further. After resting at the camp
at Bushy Run during the night of August 6th, the army pro-
ceeded slowly to Fort Pitt, reaching that place on August 10th,
to the great joy of the garrison and the people who had fled to
the fort for refuge. As stated in Chapter XVIII, Fort Pitt had
been surrounded by the Indians for two months, until they left
on August 1st to attack the troops of Colonel Bouquet.
On August 5th, according to the journal of one of the soldiers
at Fort Pitt, "three expresses came in from Colonel Bouquet
whom they left with the troops at Ligonier. These expresses
report that they heard at Small's plantation at Turtle Creek,
about 18 miles from here, a great deal of cheering, shooting, bells
and some Indians. We imagine they are gathering to attack the
Colonel, and at nine o'clock two expresses were despatched to
meet the Colonel." On August 6th and 7th, the same journal
contains the entry: "Nothing extraordinary, but the troops are
not arriving according to expectation, which makes fear that they
have been attacked on the march." There is no entry in this
journal for August 8th, but the following for August 9th : "Every-
thing quiet, no word of the troops." These entries give one a
conception of the anxiety at Fort Pitt due to lack of information
as to the situation of Bouquet's troops. Then, on August 10th,
there is this entry: "At break of day, in the morning. Miller who
was sent by express the 5th with two others came in from Colonel
Bouquet, whom he left at Nine Mile Run. He brings an account
that the Indians engaged our troops for two days; that our people
beat them off. About ten o'clock a detachment under the com-
mand of Captain Phillips was marched to meet the troops and
returned about two o'clock, having joined the Colonel at Bullets
Hill."
Colonel Bouquet received the congratulation of the whole
country and a formal letter of thanks from the King of England
for the brilliant success of his campaign and the saving of Fort
Pitt. The defeat he administered to the Indians at the battle of
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/ Cife/^Acr/ens
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Plan of the Battle of Bushy Run, near Harrison City, Westmore-
moreland County, Pa., where Colonel Henry Bouquet, on August 5th
and 6th, 1763, defeated the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots, Miamis,
Mohicans, Mingoes and Ottawas in the most bitterly contested battle
between the Indians and the white men on the American Continent.
PONTIAC'S WAR 449
Bushy Run was the first victory over the warriors of Pontiac
and Guyasuta that the British arms had won in the southern
district, composed of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the
Carolinas.
The site of the battle of Bushy Run is less than a mile east of
Harrison City, in the western part of Westmoreland County. The
site has been purchased by the Bouquet Memorial Association,
as a memorial park.
The leader of the Indians at the battle of Bushy Run — a force
at least equal to that of Bouquet — was likely Guyasuta. If he
was not their leader, it is possible that Shingas or Custaloga was.
They were composed of Delawares, Shawnees, Mingoes, Mohicans
Wyandots, Miamis or Twightwees, and Ottawas. They left fifty
of their number dead in the forest, among whom were many
prominent chiefs, some of whom had derisively taunted Bouquet's
troops in broken English during the battle.* At least sixty of the
Indians were wounded, many of them mortally.
The Delawares and Shawnees, after this battle, smarting under
their first real defeat, left their villages on the Allegheny, the
Ohio and the Beaver, and retreated to the Muskingum and
Tuscarawas. From these western villages, they continued to
make raids into the Pennsylvania settlements, from time to time,
until Colonel Bouquet led his expedition into their western
stronghold in the autumn of 1764, described in Chapter XXI.
Says Parkman, commenting on the effects of the battle of Bushy
Run.
"In many an Indian village, the women cut away their hair,
gashed their limbs with knives, and uttered their dismal howlings
of lamentation for the fallen. Yet though surprised and dis-
pirited, the rage of the Indians was too deep to be quenched, even
by so signal a reverse, and their outrages upon the frontier were
resumed with unabated ferocity. Fort Pitt, however, was
effectually relieved, while the moral effect of the victory enabled
the frontier settlers to encounter the enemy with a spirit which
would have been wanting, had Bouquet sustained a defeat."
♦According to Rev. Cyrus Cort's "Henry Bouquet," among the slain chiefs was the Dela-
ware Kekuscung, or Keekyuscung, who, it will be recalled, was one of the Indians who ac-
companied Christian Frederic Post on his first mission to the Ohio and was also one of the band
that murdered Colonel William Clapham. Standing behind a large tree, on the terrible night
of August 5th and 6th, he bellowed vulgar threats against Bouquet's troops in broken English.
CHAPTER XX
Pontiac's War
(Continued)
Expeditions up the West Branch
IN the latter part of August, 1763, a party of one hundred and
ten volunteers, mostly from Lancaster County, proceeded up
the West Branch of the Susquehanna to attack the Delaware
towns. Colonel John Armstrong, writing from Carlisle to
Colonel Bouquet, on August 26th, advising him of this ex-
pedition, gave the additional information that "the number of
inhabitants killed within this country eastward of the Allegheny
hills were Forty-eight or forty-nine, as far as I have been able to
learn." On the same day on which this letter was written, the
volunteers encountered a force of Indians at Muncy Creek Hill,
Lycoming County. A hot skirmish followed in which several of
the volunteers were killed and four wounded; while the Indians
suffered as severely, and carried away their wounded.
Captains Patterson, Sharp, Bedford, Laughlin, and Crawford,
with seventy-six of their comrades arrived at Fort Augusta the
next day, and other stragglers came in that night and the follow-
ing day. These soldiers reported the details of the battle at
Muncy Creek Hill and also that, after the battle, a party of
twelve Indians returning to Great Island from a mission to
Bethlehem, were attacked by them on a hill north of the present
town of Northumberland, and, they believed, all were killed.
Prior to this expedition, Andrew Montour had been sent from
Fort Augusta to ascertain the number of Indians at the various
towns on the West Branch, especially at the Great Island, re-
turning on August 7th, bringing news to Colonel Burd of the
attacks on Fort Pitt and Fort Ligonier. When the band of
volunteers, above mentioned, arrived at Fort Augusta on their
way up the West Branch, they were apprehensive that Andrew
Montour had gone to the Great Island to inform the Indians there
of their coming. However, just after the expedition crossed the
PONTIAC'S WAR 451
North Branch and had started up the West Branch, they saw
Montour coming down the latter stream in a canoe, with a hog
and some corn, which he had brought from his plantation, near
the mouth of Chillisquaque Creek. The volunteers then asked
him his advice whether they should proceed to the Great Island
or not. He replied that the Indians there were bad, and that the
white people could use them as they pleased. The volunteers
then went to Montour's plantation, and the next morning crossed
to Muncy Creek Hill, where the battle, above mentioned, took
place that day.
Loudon, in his "Indian Narratives," thus describes the event
of August 27th — the killing of the Indians near Northumberland,
who were returning from the Moravian town of Bethlehem:
"They [the volunteers] travelled this path [the path leading
from the Great Island to the North Branch] till daylight, when
they saw smoke, and went about ten or twelve rods more and saw
some Indians sitting around a fire. The Indians saw them and
raised their guns. The white men raised their guns also, but the
Indians cried and shouted, 'Don't shoot, brothers, don't shoot.'
The white men then went up to them and asked where they had
been. They said they had been at the Moravian town buying
goods. The white men told them they had had a battle in the
evening before with some of their people. They said it was im-
possible as there were no Indians at the Great Island but a few
old men and boys. The white men told them that they knew
better and that some of the Great Island Indians had gone to
Tuscarora and Shearman's Valley to kill the white people and
that the whites had been waylaid at Buffalo Creek by them and
had five killed and one wounded; that James Patterson's shot
pouch and powder horn had been found near the place, and he
was a Great Island Indian. The Indians began to tremble and
leaving the meal they were preparing went with the white men.
After they had travelled a short distance, the white men asked
George Allen what they should do with the Indian prisoners, and
he replied that they should take them to the fort and deliver them
to the commander. Some of the whites were not in favor of this,
for they feared that the officers at the fort would let the Indians go
or send them to Philadelphia, where they would be well used by
the Quakers. When they came to the top of a hill, the Indians
wanted to eat some food, and told the white men where they
could find it among their baggage. The whites found it and gave
it to them, As soon as the Indians had eaten their meal, there
452 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
were six of the white men who were willing to shoot them, and as
the Indians were walking on ahead, the six whites fired at them
and the three fell. But one of them, named George Allen after
the same George Allen who was commander of the white force,
was shot only in the arm. He fell with the wounded arm held
above his body and the blood covered his body. He was scalped,
but after he was scalped, jumped up and ran off and made his
escape. He afterwards said that, when running down the hill,
he fell asleep, then got up and tried to run again, but the loose
skin on his forehead hung down over his eyes so he could not see.
He then took his leggings off and bound up his head, and when
he came to a spring, he took cold moss and laid it on the top of
his head to protect the wound, and then went to the Great
Island, where he recovered. He threatened to take revenge on
George Allen and also James Gallagher but never did."
At the time of Colonel Bouquet's expedition for the relief of
Fort Pitt, the Delawares, Shawnees, and other tribes composing
Pontiac and Guyasuta's confederation, planned to attack the
interior settlements of Pennsylvania as far as Tulpehocken, their
main object being to capture Fort Augusta, at Sunbury. Reports
reaching Carlisle, Paxtang, and other places that Fort Augusta
would be attacked by a great force of Indians, Colonel John Arm-
strong, with about three hundred volunteers mostly from Cumber-
land and Bedford Counties marched from Fort Shirley, on
September 30th, 1763, to destroy the Indian town at Great Island,
[Lock Haven.]
Arriving at the Great Island, Armstrong found that the Indian
settlement there had been abandoned a few days before. He
then pressed on to the Delaware village called Myonaghquia,
located where the town of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, now
stands. His troops advanced so suddenly upon this Indian
village that the Indians were scarcely able to escape, leaving
their food, hot upon their bark tables, which was prepared for
dinner. Armstrong's men destroyed a great quantity of grain
and other provisions at the Great Island and Jersey Shore; but
the details of his expedition are lacking. Among his officers
were Captains Hamilton, Patterson, Laughlin, Sharp, Smith
and Crawford. (See Egle's "History of Pennsylvania," page 102.)
James (Colonel) Smith, whose captivity among the Indians
has been mentioned earlier in this history, raised a small body of
riflemen, in the vicinity of Shippensburg and in the valleys to
PONTIAC'S WAR 453
the westward, in the summer of 1763. They assumed the dress
of Indian warriors, scoured the woods in front of the settlements,
and fought several skirmishes with the invading Delawares and
Shawnees.
Massacres in Berks County
In September, 1763, murders were committed by the Dela-
wares, in Berks County, thus described in the "Frontier Forts of
Pennsylvania":
"During the same month [September 8th, 1763], eight well
armed Indians came to the house of John Fincher, a Quaker,
residing north of the Blue Mountains, in Berks County, about
twenty-four miles from Reading, and within three quarters of a
mile of a party of six men of Captain Kern's company of rangers,
commanded by Ensign Scheffer. At the approach of the Indians,
John Fincher, his wife, two sons and daughter immediately went
to the door and asked them to enter in and eat, expressing the
hope that they came as friends, and entreated them to spare their
lives. To this entreaty the Indians turned a deaf ear. Both
parents and two sons were deliberately murdered, their bodies
being found on the spot. The daughter was missing after the
departure of the Indians, and it was supposed from the cries
heard by the neighbors that she also was slain.
"A young lad who lived with Fincher, made his escape, and
notified Ensign Scheffer, who instantly went in pursuit of these
cold-blooded assassins. He pursued them to the house of one.
Miller, where he found four children murdered, the Indians
having carried two others with them. Miller and his wife, being
at work in the field, saved their lives by flight. Mr. Miller himself
was pursued near one mile by an Indian who fired at him twice in
hot pursuit. Ensign Scheffer and his squad continued after the
savages, overtook them, and fired upon them. The Indians re-
turned the fire, and a sharp but short conflict ensued, when the
enemy fled, leaving behind them Miller's two children and part
of the plunder they had taken.
"These barbarous Indians had scalped all the persons they had
murdered, except an infant, about two weeks old, whose head
they had dashed against the wall, to which the brains and clotted
blood adhered as a silent witness of their cruelty.
"The consequence of this massacre was the desertion of all the
settlements beyond the Blue Mountains. (See also Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 9, pages 43 and 44.)
454 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"A few days after these atrocious murders, the house of Frantz
Hubler, in Berne Township, eighteen miles from Reading, was
attacked by surprise. Hubler was wounded, his wife and three
of his children were carried off, and three other of his children
scalped alive. Two of whom died shortly afterwards.
"On September 10th, 1763, five Indians entered the house of
Philip Martloff, in Berks County, at the base of the Blue Moun-
tains, murdered and scalped his wife, two sons and two daughters,
burnt the house and barn, the stacks of hay and grain, and
destroyed everything of any value. Martloff was absent from
home, and one daughter escaped at the time of the murder by
running and secreting herself in a thicket. The father and
daughter were left in abject misery."
On September 9th, however, a few rangers who had encamped
in the northern part of Berks County were apprised of the ap-
proach of hostile Delawares by their scouts. The Indians, think-
ing to take the rangers by surprise, rushed forward with savage
yells; but the rangers, springing to their feet, shot three of them,
and the rest made their escape into the woods. (Egle's "History
of Pennsylvania," page 109.)
Attacks on Friendly Indians
Atrocities, committed by the Delawares in the summer of 1763
as far into the settled parts of the Province as the neighborhood
of Reading and Bethlehem, caused many of the settlers and
Provincial troops to believe that the Moravian Delawares were
secretly giving assistance to the members of this tribe at war
against the whites. This belief led to many wrongs committed
against the Moravian Indians by the settlers and troops, who
robbed them, and, in some instances killed them. Loskiel, in his
"History of the Missions of the Indians in America," relates the
following:
"In August, 1763, Zachary and his wife [Moravian Delawares],
who had left the congregation in Wechquetank — on Poca-poca
[Head's] Creek, north of the Blue Mountain, settled by the
Moravian Indians — (where they had belonged, but left some
time previous), came on a visit [to Bethlehem], and did all in their
power to disquiet the minds of the brethren respecting the in-
tentions of the white people. A woman, called Zippora, was
persuaded to follow them. On their return, they stayed at the
Buchkabuchka (this is the name the Munseys have for the
PONTIAC'S WAR 455
Lehigh Water Gap — it means 'Mountains butting opposite each
other') over night, where Captain Wetterhold [Nicholas] lay with
a company of soldiers, and went unconcerned to sleep in a hay-
loft. But in the night they were surprised by the soldiers.
Zippora was thrown upon the threshing floor and killed ; Zachary
escaped out of the house, but was pursued, and with his wife and
little child, put to the sword, although the mother begged for
their lives upon her knees."
After the murder of Zachary, his wife and child, and Zippora,
Captain Wetterhold's soldiers, believing that four of Zachary's
brothers, living at the Moravian mission at Wechquetank, in
what is now Polk Township, Monroe County, would endeavor to
avenge his death, prohibited the Moravian Indians to hunt, and
threatened to kill the first they should meet in the forest. Then,
about October 12th, a party of rangers marched against the
Moravian Indians at Wechquetank, intending to surprise them
by night; but their plans were frustrated by a violent rain storm
in the evening, which wet their powder. The Moravian mission-
ary, Bernard Adam Grube, then led these Christianized Dela-
wares to the Moravian mission at Nazareth. Just before they
started, ten musket shots were heard near the settlement, which
alarmed the Indians. Missionary Grube then exhorted the
Indians to have faith in God for a safe deliverance. "Very true,"
said Peter, a Moravian Delaware; "only don't you stand before
me, but go behind; for I will be shot first."
Murders, about to be described, were presently committed in
the vicinity of the Moravian missions by the hostile Delawares
and Shawnees of the upper Susquehanna, causing the settlers to
have increased hatred for all Indians, friendly or unfriendly.
Then in November, Governor John Penn, who in that month
succeeded Governor Hamilton, caused the Moravian Delawares
from Wechquetank and Nain to be taken to Philadelphia for
protection. The aged, the sick and the children were carried in
wagons, while the others walked. Curses were hurled at them by
settlers on the way. They were accompanied by the missionaries
Grube, Schmick, Zeisberger, and Rothe. When they arrived at
German town, the darkness and a rain storm prevented the in-
habitants from making a contemplated attack on them. They
arrived at the barracks in Philadelphia, on November 11th, in
which, by order of the Government, they were to be lodged; but
the soldiers refused them admittance, and they were compelled to
stand in the street for five hours, receiving silently the hoarse
456 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
curses of a violent mob, which threatened to kill them on the
spot. These Indian refugees were then conducted, principally by
some Quakers, to Province Island. They remained at Philadel-
phia until the end of the war. Fifty-six of them, however, died
of fevers and small-pox in their place of refuge. (See Loskiel's
work, above quoted, pages 150 to 162.)
Among the troops under the command of Captain Jacob
Wetterhold, stationed at Fort Allen during the summer and
autumn of 1763, was Lieutenant Jonathan Dodge, "a most
precious scoundrel," who committed many atrocious acts against
his fellow soldiers, and particularly against friendly Indians. One
of the wrongs he committed against the Indians, is thus described
in a letter which he wrote to Timothy Horsfield, on August 4th,
1763: "Yesterday there were four Indians came to Ensign
Kern's ... I took four rifles and fourteen deer skins from them,
weighed them, and there were thirty-one pounds." After these
Indians had left. Dodge continues: "I took twenty men and
pursued them; then I ordered my men to fire, upon which I
fired a volley on them; could find none dead or alive." These
were friendly Indians, who were on their way from Shamokin
(Sunbury) to the Moravian mission at Bethlehem.
In the "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," we read of another
attack made by Dodge upon friendly Indians:
"Jacob Warner, a soldier in Nicholas Wetterholt's company
made the following statement September 9th: 'That he and
Dodge were searching for a lost gun, when, about two miles above
Fort Allen, they saw three Indians painted black. Dodge fired
upon them and killed one; Warner also fired upon them, and
thinks he wounded another; but two escaped; the Indians had not
fired at them. The Indian was scalped, and, on the 24th, Dodge
sent Warner with the scalp to a person in Philadelphia, who gave
him eight dollars for it. These were also friendly Indians."
Atrocities in Northampton and Lehigh Counties
Determined to avenge themselves on account of the atrocious
acts of Dodge, a band of Delawares, led by Captain Bull, a son of
Teedyuscung attacked Captain Jacob Wetterhold on October 8th,
as thus described in Egle's "History of Pennsylvania":
"Before daybreak in the morning of the 8th of October, some
Delawares attacked the house of John Stenton, in Allen Township
[Northampton County], on the main road from Bethlehem to
PONTIAC'S WAR 457
Fort Allen, eight miles northwest from the former place, where
Captain Jacob Wetterhold, of the Province service, with a squad
of men, was lodging for the night. Meeting with Jane, the wife
of James Horner, who was on her way to a neighbors for coals to
light her morning fire, the Indians, fearing lest she should betray
them or raise an alarm, dispatched her with their tomahawks.
[The dust of Mrs. Horner reposes in the graveyard of the Allen
Township Presbyterian Church.] Thereupon they surrounded
Stenton's house. No sooner had Captain Wetterhold's servant
stepped out of the house (he had been sent to saddle the captain's
horse) than he was shot down. The report of the Indian's piece
brought his master to the door, who, on opening it, received a
mortal wound. Sergeant Lawrence McGuire, in his attempt to
draw him in, was also dangerously wounded and fell, whereupon
the lieutenant advanced. He was confronted by an Indian, who,
leaping upon the bodies of the fallen men, presented a pistol,
which the lieutenant thrust aside as it was being discharged, thus
escaping with his life, and succeeding also in repelling the savage.
The Indians now took a position at a window, and there shot
Stenton as he was in the act of rising from bed. Rushing from the
house, the wounded man ran for a mile, and dropped down a
corpse. His wife and two children had meanwhile secreted them-
selves in the cellar, where they were fired upon three times, but
without being struck. Captain Wetterhold, despite his sufferings,
dragged himself to a window, through which he shot one of the
savages while in the act of applying a torch to the house. Here-
upon, taking up the dead body of their comrade, the besiegers
withdrew. Having on their retreat plundered the house of James
Allen, they attacked Andrew Hazlitt's, where they shot and
scalped a man, shot Hazlitt after a brave defence, and then toma-
hawked his fugitive wife and two children in a barbarous manner.
Finally they set fire to his house, and then to that of Philip
Kratzer, and crossing the Lehigh above Siegfried's bridge, passed
into Whitehall Township.
"In this maraud twenty-three persons were killed, and many
dangerously wounded. The settlers were thrown into the utmost
distress, fleeing from their plantations with hardly a sufficiency of
clothes to cover themselves, and coming into the town of North-
ampton (now AUentown), where, we read, there were but four
guns at the time, 'and three of them unfit for use, with the enemy
four miles from the place.' At the same time, Yost's mill, about
458 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
eleven miles from Bethlehem, was destroyed, and all the people
at the place, excepting a young man, cut off.
"This was the last invasion of the present Northampton
County by a savage foe. Old Northampton, and especially that
part of it which was erected into Monroe, by act of Legislature,
in April, 1836, suffered subsequently, at intervals, from the
Indians as late as 1765."
The Pennsylvania Gazette contained the following letter, giving
an account of other outrages committed by the Indians, in the
same incursion in which they killed Captain Wetterhold, written
from Bethlehem on October 9th, 1763:
"Early this morning came Nicholas Marks, of Whitehall
Township, [Lehigh County] and brought the following account:
That yesterday, as he opened his door, he saw an Indian standing
about two poles from the house, who endeavored to shoot at him;
but Marks, shutting the door immediately, the fellow slipped into
a cellar, close to the house. After this said Marks went out of the
house, with his wife and an apprentice boy, in order to make their
escape, and saw another Indian standing behind a tree, who tried
also to shoot at them, but his gun missed fire. They then saw the
third Indian running through the orchard, upon which they made
the best of their way, about two miles off, to Adam Deshler's
place, where twenty men in arms were assembled, who went first
to the house of John Jacob Mickley, where they found a boy and
girl lying dead and the girl scalped. From there they went to
Hans Schneider's and said Marks' plantations, and found both
houses on fire and a horse tied to the bushes. They also found
said Schneider, his wife and three children dead in the field, the
man and woman scalped; and, on going farther, they found two
others wounded, one of whom was scalped. After this, they re-
turned with the two wounded girls to Adam Deshler's, and saw a
woman, Jacob Alleman's wife, lying dead in the road and scalped.
The number of Indians, they think, was about fifteen or twenty."
On pages 173 and 174 of Vol. 1, of the "Frontier Forts of Penn-
sylvania," are the following additional details of the murder of
John Jacob Mickley's children:
"They, [the Indians] reached the farm of John Jacob Mickley,
where they encountered three of his children, two boys and a girl,
in a field, under a chestnut tree, gathering chestnuts. The
children's ages were: Peter, eleven; Henry, nine; and Barbara,
seven; who, on seeing the Indians, began to run away. The little
girl was overtaken not far from the tree by an Indian, who
PONTIAC'S WAR 459
knocked her down with a tomahawk. Henry had reached the
fence, and while in the act of cHmbing it, an Indian threw a
tomahawk at his back, which, it is supposed, instantly killed him.
Both of these children were scalped. The little girl, in an in-
sensible state, lived until the following morning. Peter, having
reached the woods, hid himself between two large trees which
were standing near together, and, surrounded by brushwood, he
remained quietly concealed there, not daring to move for fear of
being discovered, until he was sure that the Indians had left.
He was, however, not long confined there; for, when he heard the
screams of the Schneider family, he knew that the Indians were
at that place, and that the way was clear. He escaped unhurt,
and ran with all his might by way of Adam Deshler's to his
brother John Mickley, to whom he communicated the melan-
choly intelligence."
Captain Bull, a son of Teedyuscung, was the leader of the
Indians in the incursions just described. Altogether the Indian
band consisted of one hundred and thirty-five Delawares from
the Ohio Valley. Captain Bull had lived with the Delawares of
the Ohio Valley for ten years. As will presently be narrated,
Teedyuscung was murdered on April 16th, 1763. Some author-
ities say that the Senecas and Mohawks told Captain Bull that
the white people murdered his father, thus causing his son to take
up arms against the Province. However, Captain Bull had other
reasons, also, as will presently appear.
First Massacre of Wyoming
At the Albany Treaty of July, 1754, some Mohawk chiefs very
irregularly sold a tract of land in the Wyoming Valley to Lydius,
the agent of the Connecticutt Company, without the knowledge
and consent of the Great Council of the Six Nations. As stated
in Chapter IV, the Iroquois made the solemn and formal promise
at the Treaty of 1736 that they would never sell any lands within
the limits of William Penn's charter to any person or persons
except Penn's heirs. Then, after the council with Teedyuscung
at Easton in the summer of 1757, the Penns, mindful of the fact
that the Great Council of the Six Nations, at the Albany Treaty
of July, 1754, had declared that they would not sell the Wyoming
lands to either Pennsylvania or Connecticutt, but would reserve
them as a hunting ground and place of abode for the Delawares
and such other Indians as would remove from the French, and
460 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
further mindful of the fact that the sale of these lands to the
Connecticutt interests by a few Mohawks at a later period during
the progress of the said Albany Treaty, was fraudulent, offered to
pass a law granting the Wyoming lands to Teedyuscung and his
tribe, as their perpetual home. This promise was not carried out,
although Teedyuscung made many requests for a permanent
grant of these lands, especially at the Grand Council at Easton
in the autumn of 1758. The principal reason for not carrying out
the promise was that the Great Council of the Iroquois had not
yet sold the lands to Pennsylvania. Yet, they were on record as
having promised to reserve them for the Delawares, as above
stated.
In August, 1762, a band of more than one hundred Connecticutt
settlers entered the Wyoming Valley, laying out for themselves
plantations at and near Wilkes-Barre, Plymouth, Kingston and
Hanover. They planted grain, and then returned to Connecticutt.
In May, 1763, they came back to their plantations at Wyoming,
intending to remain permanently. This action greatly displeased
the Delawares at Wyoming.
On October 15th, 1763, while at work in their fields, a band of
one hundred and thirty-five Indians swooped down upon them,
killing about twenty of them, and burning many of their houses.
The survivors fled to the mountains, and later made their way
back to Connecticutt and to Orange County, New York. No pen
can describe their sufferings as they traversed the wilderness.
(Miner's "History of Wyoming," pages 54 to 58.)
Historians do not agree as to what Indians perpetrated this
massacre. Some are of the opinion that it was perpetrated by
Senecas and Mohawks, the same hands that had murdered
Teedyuscung at Wyoming in April, 1763. Others are of the
opinion that it was perpetrated by Captain Bull and his warriors
after committing the murders in Northampton and Lehigh
Counties, described earlier in this chapter, and after long brooding
over the report that the white people had murdered his father,
as well as brooding over the fact that the Wyoming lands, prom-
ised Teedyuscung and his followers by both the Six Nations and
Pennsylvania, were being possessed and settled by the white
people. The weight of authority supports this opinion. The
charge was even made that Pennsylvania soldiers committed the
massacre in order to drive out the Connecticutt people.
Now let us view another scene. Rev. (Colonel) John Elder
wrote Governor Hamilton from Paxtang, on September 30th,
PONTIAC'S WAR 461
1763, stating that a number of volunteers from that part of the
Province who had been in the expedition against the Indians
up the West Branch, were returned and designed to "scout a Httle
way into the enemy's country." "Our troops," said Rev. Elder,
"would gladly join the volunteers, if it's agreeable to your
Honour; and as that favour, they imagine, has been granted to
the troops on the other side of the Susquehanna, they flatter
themselves it will not be refused these two companies. Their
principal view is to destroy the immense quantities of corn left
by the New England men at Wyoming, which, if not consumed,
will be a considerable magazine to the enemy, and enable them,
with more ease, to distress the inhabitants."
When Rev. Elder's letter was written and for two weeks after-
wards, the Connecticutt settlers were still at Wyoming, un-
disturbed by either Indians or white men. Commenting on Rev.
Elder's letter. Miner, in his "History of Wyoming," page 55,
says:
"How the corn of the New England settlers could be spoken of
September '63, as "left," those people being then in undisturbed
possession, I cannot conceive, unless it was a delicate mode of
covering their purpose, by cutting off their means of subsistence,
to expel them."
As early as July 2nd, Governor Hamilton issued orders to
James Burd and Alexander McKee to destroy the "buildings and
improvements" of these settlers. (Pa. Col, Rec, Vol. 9, page 29.)
Governor Hamilton granted Rev. Elder's request. Two com-
panies of Rev. Elder's command left Fort Hunter on October
11th for Wyoming "to intercept the murdering party" that had
committed the outrages in Northampton and Lehigh Counties.
On October 13th, Major Asher Clayton arrived at Fort Augusta,
with eighty soldiers from Lancaster County, on his way to Wy-
oming, and was joined here by Lieutenant Samuel Hunter and
twenty-four troops. The combined forces, under Major Clayton,
left Fort Augusta for Wyoming on October 15th, the very day
of the massacre of the Connecticutt settlers. They arrived there
a day or two after the massacre. What they saw and did can be
seen in the following report of the expedition, written after
Clayton returned to Fort Augusta :
"Our party under Major Clayton has returned from Wyoming,
where we met with no Indians, but found the New Englanders,
who had been killed and scalped a day or two before we got there.
We buried the dead — nine men and a woman — who had been
462 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
most cruelly butchered. The woman was roasted, and had two
hinges in her hands — supposed to be put in red hot — and several
of the men had awls thrust in their eyes, and spears, arrows,
pitchforks, etc., sticking in their bodies. They [Clayton's
troops] burnt what houses the Indians had left, and destroyed a
quantity of Indian corn. The enemy's tracks were up the river
toward Wyalusing."
Thus, whatever may have been their purpose in doing so —
whether to deprive the hostile Indians of places of shelter and
means of sustenance, or to break up the Connecticutt settlement
— Major Clayton's troops completed the devastation that the
Indians had begun. Ever since the appearance of Connecticutt
settlers in the valley of the upper Delaware, (the present Wayne
County), in the summer of 1757, Pennsylvania had been pro-
testing against the intrusion of these people; and at this very
time, October, 1763, was instituting measures to expel the Con-
necticutt settlers from the Wyoming Valley. (Pa. Col. Rec. Vol.
9, pages 59 to 62.) Later actual warfare took place between the
Pennsylvania and the Connecticutt interests over the Wyoming
lands — the "Pennamite Wars."
Other Murders in November, 1763
In November, 1763, a block-house, near the mouth of Caulkins
Creek, in Damascus Township, Wayne County, was attacked by
Indians from Wyoming. One man was killed and another
wounded before they could reach the block-house. The house
was successfully defended by a settler named Witters, assisted
by the women and children, the Indians being kept at bay until
aid reached them from Minisink.
On November 15th, 1763, three men were murdered by hostile
Indians, about twenty-two miles from Reading, on the north side
of the Blue Mountains, in the forks of the Schuylkill. They were
returning to a plantation, which they had some time before
deserted on account of Indian alarms. Captain Kern pursued
the murderers for two days, but a heavy snow prevented his over-
taking them with his troops. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, page 141.)
On November 21st, Colonel John Armstrong wrote Governor
Penn from Carlisle, informing him that, "on the 1st, Inst., we
have had, in a place in this county called the Great Cove, five
persons Kill'd and Six missing — whether taken prisoners or Kill'd
is not known — two of the dead were soldiers; the enemy was
PONTIAC'S WAR 463
followed by a party as far as Sideling Hill, where they had killed
a Childe not able to travel, which they had taken from the Cove."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, page 138.)
Massacre of the Gonestogas
There is no more revolting chapter in the history of Pennsyl-
vania than that which narrates the two massacres of the peaceable
Conestoga Indians by the Scotch-Irish settlers, called "The
Paxton Boys," from the neighborhood of Paxtang Presbyterian
Church, near Harrisburg.* Edward Shippen, in a letter to
Governor John Penn, dated at Lancaster, on December 14th,
1763, and recorded in Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 89, thus de-
scribes the first massacre, at Conestoga, the ancient seat of these
Indians:
"One, Robert Edgar, a hired man to Captain Thomas McKee,
living near the Borough acquainted me today that a Company
of People from the Frontier had killed and scalped most of the
Indians at the Conestoga Town early this morning; he said he
had his information from an Indian boy who made his escape;
Mr. Slough has been to the place and held a Coroner's inquest
on the corpses, being Six in number; Bill Sawk and some other
Indians were gone towards Smith's Iron Works to sell brooms;
but where they are now we can't understand; And the Indians,
John Smith and Peggy, his Wife, and their child, and Young Joe
Hays, were abroad last night too, and lodged at one Peter Swar's,
about two miles from hence; These last came here this afternoon,
whom we acquainted with what happened to their Friends and
Relations, and advised them to put themselves under our pro-
tection, which they readily agreed to; And they are now in Our
Work House by themselves, where they are well provided with
every necessary. Warrants are issued for the apprehending of
the Murderers, said to be upwards of fifty men, well armed and
mounted."
Matthew Smith was the leader of the "Paxton Boys" in this
massacre.
On page 103 of Vol. 9 of the Penna. Colonial Records, is found
the following list of the Indians murdered at Conestoga:
"Sheehays; George; Harry; A son of Sheehays; Sally, an Old
Woman; A Woman."
Almost fifty well-armed professing Christian soldiers murder-
•The historic Paxtang Presbyterian Church was founded probably as early as 1727.
Within the shadow of iU walls reposes the dust of Rev. (Colonel) John Elder and many other
noted men of the frontier.
464 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ing, in cold blood, an old Indian woman, another Indian woman,
three old Indian men and a little Indian boy!
Great excitement was caused in Philadelphia by the murder
of these six friendly Conestogas. Just a short time before,
November 30th, they had sent a letter by Andrew Montour to
Governor Penn, reciting the long friendship that existed be-
tween them and the Province, congratulating him on his arrival,
and asking his favor and protection. The Quakers, especially,
were loud in their denunciation of this atrocity, paying little
attention to the fact that John Harris and Rev. (Colonel) John
Elder, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Paxtang, had fre-
quently appealed to the Colonial Authorities to remove the
Conestogas to a place of safety, owing to the excitement pre-
vailing in the Paxton region on account of the many raids of the
hostile Delawares and Shawnees. Many of the "Paxton Boys"
had been in the expedition of Major Asher Clayton against
Captain Bull's warriors, and, as Rev. Elder wrote on October
25th, had seen "the mangled carcasses of these unhappy people"
(the Connecticutt settlers at Wyoming), which "presented to our
troops a melancholy scene, which had been enacted not above two
days before their arrival." However, the sympathy of the
"Paxton Boys" for the Connecticutt settlers cannot be urged very
strongly as their motive in murdering the Conestogas, inasmuch
as Major Clayton's forces burned the few houses of these settlers
that escaped the torch of Captain Bull's warriors. Pennsylvania,
at that very time, was instituting measures to expel the Con-
necticutt settlers. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, pages 61 and 62.) But
it is admitted that the "Paxton Boys" were in a state of excite-
ment and rage against all Indians, especially after a few of them
claimed to have learned that some of the Indians who had com-
mitted outrages along the Susquehanna, had been traced to
Conestoga. But the truth of this claim was not proved at the
time, and most likely never will be. Even if it had been true, it
was surely no justification for killing women and children. Like-
wise, it must be said to the credit of Rev. John Elder that, when
he learned that a large number of the Paxtang settlers were as-
sembling to ride to Conestoga on their mission of murder, he
sent a messenger to them, bearing his written message, "entreat-
ing them to desist from such an undertaking, representing to
them the unlawfulness and barbarity of such an action, that
it's cruel and unchristian in its nature, and wou'd be fatal in
its consequences to themselves and families." (Rev. Elder's
PONTIAC'S WAR 465
letter to Governor John Penn, written at Paxton, on December
16th, 1763, and recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, pages 148 and
149).
Governor Penn issued a proclamation on December 22nd,
calling upon judges, justices, sheriffs and other civil and military
officers to make diligent search for the perpetrators of this crime,
and to place them in the public jails of the Province. In the
meantime, the remaining Conestogas were placed in the Lan-
caster workhouse for protection. How the "Paxton Boys" reacted
to this proclamation of the Governor is thus set forth in a letter
of Edward Shippen to Governor John Penn, written at Lancaster
on December 27th:
"I am to acquaint your Honor that between two and three of
the clock this afternoon, upwards of a hundred armed men from
the westward rode very fast into town, turned their horses into
Mr. Slough's (an Inn-keeper)yard, and proceeded with the greatest
precipitation to the work house, stove open the door and killed
all the Indians, and took to their horses and rode off. All their
business was done, and they were returning to their horses before
I could get half way down to the work house. The Sheriff and
Coroner, however, got down as soon as the Rioters, but could
not prevail with them to stop their hands; some people say they
heard them declare they would proceed to the Province Island,
and destroy the Indians [Moravian Delawares] there." (Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 100.
Lazarus Stewart led the "Paxton Boys" in the second massacre.
The details of the massacre of these unarmed and defenseless
Conestogas are most shocking and revolting. Protesting their
innocence and their love for the English, they, according to
Benjamin Franklin, prostrated themselves with their children
before their infuriated murderers, and pleaded for their lives;
while the jailer says that they died with the stoicism of their race.
Their appeal was answered by the rifle, hatchet, and scalping
knife. Some had their brains blown out, others their legs chopped
off, and others their hands cut off. Bill Sawk (Sock) and his
wife, Mollie, with their two children, had their heads split open,
and were scalped. The mangled bodies of these Indians, who
had never been at war with the whites and had always been
claimed as friendly Indians, were buried at Lancaster.
Thus perished the last remnant of the once mighty tribe of
Susquehannas. The excitement on the frontier at the time, and
the laxity on the part of the Colonial Assembly in providing for
466 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the defense, may, in a measure, explain why the harrassed
frontiersmen committed such a horrible act; but the historian
searches the records of the time in vain for any justification for
this atrocity, which is a black spot on the pages of the history of
Pennsylvania.
On pages 103 and 104 of Vol. 9 of the Penna. Colonial Records,
is a list of the Conestogas massacred in the Lancaster workhouse,
as follows:
"Captain John, Betty, his wife; Bill Sock, MoUie, his wife;
John Smith, Peggy, his wife; Little John, Captain John's son;
Jacob, a boy; Young Sheehays, a boy; Chrisley, a boy; Little
Peter, a boy; MoUie, a little girl; a little Girl; Peggy, a little
Girl."
Almost one hundred heavily-armed, professing Christian
soldiers butchering, in the most savage and revolting manner,
three old, defenseless, unarmed Indian men, three Indian women,
five little Indian boys and three little Indian girls!
On the day of the massacre at Lancaster, Rev. John Elder
hurriedly wrote Governor Penn:
"The storm, which had been so long gathering, has at length
exploded. Had the Government removed the Indians from Con-
estoga, as was frequently urged without success, this painful
catastrophy might have been avoided. What could I do with
men heated to madness. All that I could do was done. I ex-
postulated, but life and reason were set at defiance, and yet, the
men, in private life, were virtuous and respectable — not cruel,
but mild and merciful . . . The time will arrive when each palli-
ating circumstance will be calmly weighed. This deed, magnified
into the blackest of crimes, shall be considered one of those youth-
ful ebullitions of wrath caused by momentary excitement, to
which human infirmity is subjected." (Egle's "History of
Penna.," pages 113 and 114.)
Parkman thus describes Rev. Elder's attempt to dissuade the
"Paxton Boys" from carrying out their purpose:
"Elder had used all his influence to divert them from their
design; and now, seeing them depart, he mounted his horse, over-
took them, and addressed them with the most earnest remon-
strance. Finding his words unheeded, he drew up his horse across
the narrow road in front, and charged them, on his authority as
their pastor, to return. Upon this, Matthew Smith rode forward,
and, pointing his rifle at the breast of Elder's horse, threatened
to fire unless he drew him aside, and gave room to pass. The
PONTIAC'S WAR 467
clergyman was forced to comply, and the party proceeded."
After the lapse of more than one hundred and sixty-five years,
and after a thorough and impartial examination of all the letters
and documents relating to this crime, the time, predicted by Rev.
Elder, has not arrived, when the horrible act of the "Paxton
Boys" "shall be considered one of those youthful ebullitions of
wrath caused by momentary excitement." The time is still here,
when the following letter of Colonel John Armstrong to Governor
Penn records the impartial verdict of history:
"I have the pleasure to inform your Honor that not one person
of the County of Cumberland, so far as I can learn, has either
been consulted or connected in that inhuman and scandalous
piece of Butchery — and I should be very sorry that ever the
people of this County should attempt avenging their injuries on
the heads of a few innofensive, superannuated savages, whom
nature had already devoted to the dust." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4,
page 152.)
Says Dr. George P. Donehoo, than whom there is no greater
authority on Pennsylvania history, in commenting on the murder
of the Conestogas:
"The reasons used as an excuse for this blotting out of one of
the most historic tribes in America was that the Indians at
Conestoga had been giving refuge to the hostile Indians, who had
been committing many crimes along the Susquehanna. There is
as little evidence for the truth of this statement, as there is for
that made as an excuse for the murder of the Delaware at Gnaden-
hutten, by the same class of frontiersmen, in 1782. The Scotch-
Irish settlers seemed to think that they had a direct commission
from God to blot out 'the heathen who inhabited the land.' No
historic proof has, however, been found for any such assertion to
rest upon. The murder of the Conestoga, no matter how great
the provocation may have been, is one of the blackest pages in
American history." (Donehoo's "Indian Villages and Place
Names in Pennsylvania," page 38.
Not content with the butchery of the last remnant of the
historic Susquehannas, the "Paxton Boys" threatened to march
to Philadelphia and butcher the Moravian Delawares, who, as
has been seen earlier in this chapter, were taken there for pro-
tection. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, pages 100, 105, 108, 109, 111 and
112; Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, page 156; Parkman's "Conspiracy of
Pontiac," Chapter XXV; Loskiel's "History of the Moravian
Missions," Chapter IX.)
468 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Governor Penn, on January 2nd, 1764, issued another procla-
mation similar to that of December 22nd, offering a reward of
two hundred pounds for the apprehension of "any three of the
Ringleaders of the said party." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 107.)
The Colonial Authorities, fearing that the Moravian Indians
would be murdered by the "Paxton Boys," resolved to send them
to the British Army in New York. On January 4th, 1764, they
set out at midnight, accompanied by some of the Moravian
missionaries, and, in a few days, arrived in safety at Amboy, after
suffering much from the winter weather and receiving the curses
of the mobs in the towns through which they passed. They were
just ready to embark on two sloops for New York, when a mes-
senger arrived from the Governor of New York, "with strict
orders that not one Indian should set foot in that territory."
After lying in the barracks at Amboy for some days, they were
brought, under an escort of one hundred and seventy soldiers,
back to Philadelphia, and placed in the barracks at that place.
The soldiers were kind to them, one exclaiming, "Would to God,
all the white people were as good Christians as these Indians!"
Then, early in February, when two hundred of the "Paxton
Boys" had crossed the Schuylkill and advanced as far as German-
town, cannon were planted around the barracks, volunteers were
called into service, alarm bells were rung and the cannon were
fired. Learning these preparations, they wisely proceeded no
further.
While their avowed purpose was to kill the Moravian Indians,
it is but fair to add that the main purpose the "Paxton Boys" had
in mind in marching to Philadelphia was to demand that the
Colonial Assembly give them equal representation with the other
counties of the Province, a very just demand. At that time, the
five interior counties had but ten representatives in the Assembly,
while the three eastern counties, where the Quakers were strong,
had twenty-six. Furthermore, it was the Scotch-Irish and other
inhabitants of the interior counties, and not the Quakers, who
suffered the horrors of Indian invasions, and were the defenders
of the Province. The ably written remonstrance which Matthew
Smith and James Gibson, on behalf of the counties of Lancaster,
York, Cumberland, Berks and Northampton, laid before Gover-
nor Penn and the Assembly, in February, 1764, recites the griev-
ances of the "Paxton Boys" and other inhabitants of these
counties, and is filled with that same spirit which brought forth
PONTIAC'S WAR 469
the Declaration of Independence. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, pages
138 to 142.)
A final word in connection with the crime of the "Paxton
Boys." The morning on which the Conestogas were shot, stabbed
and hacked to death in their cabins in their ancient and historic
town of Conestoga, was cold and murky. Snow lay deep upon
the ground, and it was still snowing. Says Parkman: "As they
[the "Paxton Boys"] urged their horses through the snow drifts,
they were met by one Thomas Wright, who, struck by their
appearance, stopped to converse with them. They freely told
him what they had done, and, upon his expressing surprise and
horror, one of them demanded if he believed in the Bible, and
if the Scripture did not command that the heathen should be
destroyed."
The author has no prejudice against the "Paxton Boys" or
other Scotch-Irish settlers who suffered so terribly at the hands
of the hostile Indians while the Quaker Assembly complacently
viewed their sufferings. The author's ancestors came to Penn-
sylvania as early as 1693, and the blood of the Scotch-Irish as
well as the blood of all other races that came in contact with the
Pennsylvania Indians, flows in his veins. But the author ex-
presses only a historical truth when he says that, while the
Quakers were blindly partial to the Indians, the Scotch-Irish
went to the other extreme— believing themselves in the same
situation as Joshua of old, and viewing the Indians, whom they
called "red vipers," as Cananites who must utterly be destroyed
before the Promised Land could be possessed.
Death of Teedyuscung
This chapter ends the narration of the terrible events of 1763,
one of which was the murder of Teedyuscung. This great leader
of the Eastern Delawares, the last of their great chiefs, was
burned to death on the night of April 16, 1763, as he lay in a
drunken debauch on a couch in his house at Wyoming, which was
set on fire by some of his Indian enemies, either Senecas or
Mohawks. A monument has been erected to this noted chief, in
Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, which represents him, bow and
spear in hand, a plume of eagle feathers on his brow, as stepping
forth on his journey towards the setting sun.
CHAPTER XXI
Pontiac's War
(Continued)
INDIAN raids into the Pennsylvania settlements continued
for the greater part of the year 1764, beginning early in the
year. On February 10th, a band of fifty Indians attacked the
farm of James Russell, near Stroudsburg, Monroe County, burn-
ing his barn, killing one of his sons and carrying off another.
Then, on February 26th, John Russell, a brother of James, was
attacked by three Indians. He took to a tree, and succeeded in
driving them off after one bullet passed through his hat, another
through the sleeve of his coat, and a third wounded him slightly
in the calf of the leg. (Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 1, page 300.)
Early in June, Indians entered Franklin County, committing
many murders and much devastation. On June 6th, Colonel
John Armstrong wrote Governor Penn from Carlisle, as follows:
"I have this moment received a letter from Captain Murray, of
the Royal Highlanders, that yesterday Morning thirteen persons
were killed and several houses burned to the ground, about four
miles south of Fort Loudon. Captain Murray has not mentioned
the number of the enemy, nor who the persons are who are killed.
He sent out a party who already are returned ; a sufficient number
of the inhabitants and Provincials are attempting to make out
the tracks of the enemy, and are yet in pursuit; but at this season
of the year have but a small chance of success . . . The Indians
now appear to bend their force against the Frontier, and by
burning the Houses intend to lay as much of the country waste
as they can. The summer opens with a dismal aspect to us. I
shall be obliged to bring the Troops entirely on this side the
Mountains, and for some time give up those Settlements on the
other side, as we are not able to cover one half of the people."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, pages 175 and 176.)
PONTIAC'S WAR 471
The Infamous David Owens
While the hostile Delawares and Shawnees were making raids
into the Pennsylvania settlements and bringing death and deso-
lation to many a frontier cabin, in the spring of 1764, it remained
for a white man, David Owens, to be guilty of an act of greater
infamy than any murder committed by the most revengeful
Indian warrior. Owens, whose father had been a trader among
the Delawares and Shawnees, was a corporal in Captain Mc-
Clean's company. He deserted, and went to live among the
Delawares and Shawnees, with whose language he was quite
familiar. He married a young Shawnee woman, by whom he
became the father of three children. In the spring of 1764, he
ostensibly went on a hunting trip along the Susquehanna, being
accompanied by his wife, his children, another Indian woman, an
Indian boy, four Shawnee warriors, all relatives of his wife. One
night the party encamped on the banks of the Susquehanna, a
Provincial soldier also being present. In the middle of the night,
Owens arose, and, by the dull light of the camp fire, saw that the
others were asleep. Cautiously awakening the soldier, he told
him to go a short distance from the camp, and lie quiet until he
should call him. The soldier complied. Then Owens cautiously
removed the weapons from the sleeping warriors, and concealed
them in the woods, at the same time reserving two loaded rifles
for himself. Returning to the camp, he cautiously pointed a
rifle at the head of each of two sleeping warriors, pulled the trig-
gers and shot them dead. The remaining two warriors sprang to
their feet, and, believing they were attacked by a large party of
whites, bounded oflf into the woods. Owens then seized a hatchet
and dashed out the brains of his wife, his children, the Indian boy
and the other Indian woman. The fiend then sat among the
bloody corpses of his wife, his children and comrades until dawn,
unmoved by the enormity of his deed and undaunted by the
gloom of the forest.
In the morning he scalped all his victims except the children,
and then took up his way to the settlements with the bloody
scalps, thinking that he had made an acceptable atonement for
his desertion. He brought the scalps to Philadelphia, "for a
reward." It does not appear that he received any monetary
reward for his monstrous act; but his desertion was pardoned, and
he was employed as an interpreter in the expedition of Colonel
Bouquet to the Tuscarawas and Muskingum, then being planned.
472 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
On April 26th, 1764, Governor John Penn wrote Colonel Bouquet:
"Owens takes five scalps with him, which will tell his own story."
On that same day the Governor gave Owens a passport to pro-
ceed to Lancaster and Carlisle with the letter to Colonel Bouquet,
requiring "all persons within this Province to permit the said
Owens to pass unmolested on his way to those places, he behaving
as becometh to all his Majesty's Liege Subjects." (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 4, page 173.) In answer to an inquiry made of Sir William
Johnson in regard to Owens' history, the former wrote Governor
Penn, on June 18th, that "he . . . killed them rather to make
peace with the English than from any dislike either to them or
their principles." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 190.) We shall
meet this monster again in this chapter. Says Parkman: "His
example is one of many in which the worst acts of Indian ferocity
have been thrown into shade by the enormities of white bar-
barians."
Pennsylvania Offers Bounty for Scalps
In the statement of grievances, which Matthew Smith and
James Gibson, on behalf of the inhabitants of the interior counties
laid before Governor Penn and the Assembly, in February, 1764,
they said:
"Sixthly: In the late Indian War, this Province, with others
of His Majesty's Colonies, gave rewards for Indian Scalps, to
encourage the seeking them in their own Country, as the most
likely means of destroying or reducing them to reason; but no
such encouragement has been given in this War, which has
dampened the Spirits of many brave Men, who are willing to
venture their Lives in parties against the Enemy. We, therefore,
pray that public rewards may be proposed for Indian Scalps,
which may be adequate to the Dangers attending Enterprizes of
this nature." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 141.)
In due time, the "prayer of the petitioners" was granted.
Governor Penn, after writing Sir William Johnson for his advice
in the matter and after receiving Johnson's reply that, "I cannot
but approve your gratifying the desire of the people in your Pro-
vince, by a bounty on Scalps, and I heartily wish success to the
design," signed the following proclamation, on July 7th, 1764,
it having been approved by the Council on July 6th, offering
bounties for scalps of Indian enemies, even the scalps of boys and
girls down to the age of ten years:
"For every male Indian enemy above ten years old, who shall
PONTIAC'S WAR 473
be taken prisoner and delivered at any forts garrisoned by the
troops in the pay of this Province, or at any of the county towns,
to the keeper of the common gaols there, the sum of one hundred
and fifty Spanish dollars, or pieces of eight; for every female In-
dian enemy taken prisoner and brought in as aforesaid, and for
every male Indian enemy ten years old, or under, taken prisoner,
and delivered as aforesaid, the sum of one hundred and thirty
pieces of eight.
"For the scalp of every male Indian enemy above the age of ten
years, produced as evidence of their being killed, the sum of one
hundred and thirty-four pieces of eight; and for the scalp of every
female Indian enemy above the age of ten years, produced as
evidence of their being killed, the sum of fifty pieces of eight; and
that there shall be paid to every officer, or officers, soldier, or sol-
diers, as are or shall be in the pay of this Province, who shall take,
bring in, and produce any Indian enemy prisoner, or scalp, as
aforesaid, one half of the said several and respective premiums
and bounties." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, pages 188 to 192.)
As a result of the scalp bounties, "secret expeditions," say the
Pennsylvania Archives, "were set on foot by the inhabitants
which were more effectual than any sort of defensive operations."
Murder of Schoolmaster Brown and His Pupils
One of the most terrible atrocities committed within the
bounds of Pennsylvania by the Delawares during the Pontiac-
Guyasuta War is thus described in "Colonel Henry Bouquet and
His Campaigns," by Cort:
"In 1764, July 26, three miles northwest of Greencastle,
Franklin County, was perpetrated what Parkman, the great his-
torian of Colonial times, pronounces 'an outrage unmatched in
fiend-like atrocity through all the annals of the war.' This was
the massacre of Enoch Brown, a kindhearted exemplary Christian
schoolmaster, and ten scholars, eight boys and two girls. Ruth
Hart and Ruth Hale were the names of the girls. Among the
boys were Eben Taylor, George Dustan and Archie McCullough.
All were knocked down like so many beeves, and scalped by the
merciless savages. Mourning and desolation came to many homes
in the valley, for each of the slaughtered innocents belonged to a
different family. The last named boy, indeed, survived the effects
of the scalping knife, but in somewhat demented condition. The
teacher offered his life and scalp in a spirit of self-sacrificing devo-
474 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
tion, if the savages would only spare the lives of the little ones
under his charge and care. But no! the tender mercies of the
heathen are cruel, and so a perfect holocaust was made to the
Moloch of war by the relentless fiends in human form ... It
is some relief to know that this diabolical deed, whose recital
makes us shudder even at this late date, was disapproved by the
old warriors, when the marauding party of young Indians came
back with their horrid trophies. Neephaughwhese, or Night
Walker, an old chief or half-king, denounced them as a pack of
cowards for killing and scalping so many children . . . Who can
describe the horror of the scene in that lonely log school house,
when one of the settlers chanced to look in at the door to ascertain
the cause of the unusual quietness. In the center lay the faithful
Brown, scalped and lifeless, with a Bible clasped in his hand.
Around the room were strewn the dead and mangled bodies of
seven boys and two girls, while little Archie, stunned, scalped and
bleeding, was creeping around among his dead companions, rub-
bing his hands over their faces and trying to gain some token of
recognition. A few days later the innocent victims of savage
atrocity received a common sepulchre. All were buried in one
large rough box at the border of the ravine, a few rods from the
school house where they had been so ruthlessly slaughtered. Side
by side, with head and feet alternately, the little ones were laid
with their master, just as they were clad at the time of the
massacre."
John McCuUough, a cousin of Archie, had been captured in
the same neighborhood just nine years previously, and was living
among the Delawares at Muskingum when the young warriors
returned with the scalps of the schoolmaster and his pupils. He
was among the prisoners surrendered to Bouquet, and is the
authority for the statement concerning the indignation expressed
by old Night Walker.
During the same incursion in which Schoolmaster Brown and
his pupils were killed, Susan King Cunningham, who lived in the
same neighborhood, was brutally murdered while on her way
through the woods to call on a neighbor. As she did not return
when expected, a search was made, and her body was found near
her home. Not content with murdering and scalping the poor
woman, the fiends, performed a Caesarian operation, and placed
her child on the ground beside her.
Soon after the murder of Mr. Brown and his pupils, a band of
Indians chased two men near McDowell's Mill, and murdered a
PONTIAC'S WAR 475
seventeen year-old daughter of James Dysart, about twelve miles
above Carlisle. She was going home from church services at Big
Spring. The unfortunate girl was scalped and left nude. In the
latter part of August, a band of Indians killed, near Bedford,
Isaac Stimble, an industrious inhabitant of Ligonier, according
to Colonel Bouquet's letter of August 25th.
Isaac Stewart
Loudon gives an account of the capture of Isaac Stewart, which,
he says, took place about fifty miles west of Fort Pitt in 1763 or
1764. He was taken to the Wabash with some other white
prisoners who were tortured to death at that place. Stewart
secured the favor of a squaw who saved him. After several years
of captivity, a Spaniard from Mexico redeemed him and another
captive, a Welshman, named Davy. They wandered to the far
North-west, where they met "white Indians with red hair," whose
language, Davy said, much resembled Welsh, so much so that he
was able to converse with them. They told him that their
ancestors had landed in the eastern part of the country. Davy
remained with them, but Stewart and the Spaniard returned to
the Spanish fort at the mouth of the Mississippi. Stewart later
made his way to Ninety-six, South Carolina.
Bouquet^s Expedition of 1764
In the late autumn of 1763, Sir William Johnson and General
Amherst learned that the Indians composing Pontiac's confedera-
tion were planning attacks on Detroit, Fort Pitt and Fort Augusta
for the early spring of 1764. Two expeditions were then planned
for an invasion of the country west of Fort Pitt, one army under
Colonel John Bradstreet to assemble at Albany and to proceed
along the Lakes as far as Detroit, and another army under
Colonel Bouquet to proceed to Fort Pitt, thence to the Delaware
and Shawnee strongholds on the Muskingum and Tuscarawas.
Following out these plans, General Amherst wrote Governor
Hamilton, on November 5th, calling upon Pennsylvania to raise
one thousand troops, exclusive of commissioned officers. (Pa.
Col. Rec, Vol. 9, pages 63, 74, 75.) In this same month, Gover-
nor John Penn succeeded Governor Hamilton, and General
Thomas Gage succeeded General Amherst as commander-in-
chief. These changes, however, made no change in the plans.
The dissensions in the Pennsylvania government and the un-
476 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
reasonable scruples of the Quakers in the Assembly, prevented
the Province from doing anything worth while towards raising
and equipping troops until late in the spring of 1764.
After defeating the Indians at the battle of Bushy Run, Colonel
Bouquet remained at Fort Pitt until January, 1764, vainly hoping
for sufficient forces to follow up the advantages gained and to
invade the Indian country to the westward. In the meantime,
in order to furnish convoys for provisions and supplies coming
over the mountains to Fort Pitt, it was necessary for him to
organize a provisional militia company from among the traders
and other borderers who had taken refuge at the fort. This
company, commanded by Captain Ecuyer, was sent to Fort
Bedford. It was a very ill-behaved force, and gave Ecuyer much
trouble. Letters from Captain Ecuyer and Captain John Stewart,
written from Fort Bedford and Fort Ligonier, clearly show this.
A letter written by Captain Ecuyer at Fort Bedford, on Novem-
ber 13th, 1763, states that Captain Stewart's rear guard had been
attacked by Indians, and the whole escort had returned to camp
at midnight; that he was obliged to flog two of the militia, one
for trying to shoot the sergeant and the other for trying to shoot
Ecuyer himself. Ecuyer says that he has been twenty-two years
in the service, and has never seen such a troop of thieves and
bandits. Then he adds: "Au nom d'Dieu laissez-moi aller
planter de choux; c'est dans votre pouvoir, monsieur, et j'en
aurai une reconaissance eternelle." (In the name of God let me
go home and plant cabbages. It is in your power to let me go, and
I will be eternally grateful for it.)
Despairing of being able to accomplish anything with these
provisional militia, "scum and mutineers of the first order," and
also despairing of aid from the colonies. Colonel Bouquet obtained
leave to go east and undertake the work of raising enough troops
to invade the region west of Fort Pitt.
In the meantime. Sir William Johnson sent Andrew Montour
with a force of nearly two hundred Tuscaroras, Oneidas, and a few
rangers, against the Delawares on the upper Susquehanna, to
punish them for their hostility against the settlers. On their way
to Kanestio, (a Delaware village in Steuben County, New York,)
they encountered a force of Delawares going against the English
settlements, and captured twenty-nine of them. These prisoners,
among whom was Captain Bull, son of the famous Teedyuscung,
were sent by way of Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York), to Johnson
Hall; and later Captain Bull and thirteen of his associates were
PONTIAC'S WAR 477
sent to New York, and confined in jail. On April 7th, Montour
wrote from Tioga concerning the success of his expedition, stating
that the Delawares had fled before his arrival at Kanestio, but
that, with one hundred and forty warriors, he had destroyed three
large Delaware towns, all the outlying villages, and one hundred
and thirty scattered Delaware houses, together with horses and
cattle. The houses were well built of square logs, with good
chimneys, and many had four fire places.
In the meantime, also. Colonel Bouquet was pushing prepara-
tions for his campaign with his wonted energy and zeal. Finally,
on August 5th, Bouquet's forces — parts of the Forty-second and
Sixtieth Regiments and the Pennsylvania troops — assembled at
Carlisle, Virginia having pleaded inability to raise the troops
required of that colony. On August 10th, the army marched from
Carlisle, and arrived at Fort Loudon, on August 13th. Bouquet
was detained at Fort Loudon for some time. Here he received a
message from Colonel Bradstreet, dated at Presqu' Isle on August
14th, acquainting him with the fact that he (Bradstreet) had con-
cluded a peace with the Delawares and Shawnees, whose chiefs
and also Guyasuta met him at that place. Bouquet, however,
paid no attention to Colonel Bradstreet's unwarranted action,
believing the Delawares and Shawnees were not sincere in their
intentions, since their raids were continuing. Here, also, he ap-
pealed to the Governor of Virginia to raise the quota from that
colony, which was later done, and the Virginia troops arrived at
Fort Pitt late in September. In spite of the strictest discipline,
about two hundred of the Pennsylvania troops deserted by the
time the army reached Fort Loudon, leaving only about seven
hundred of these forces. Later two soldiers were shot for deser-
tion, an example which the commander found absolutely neces-
sary. It would seem that some of the Pennsylvania soldiers
brought dogs with them "to be employed in discovering and
pursuing the savages." At least the Governor and Commissioners
"agreed to allow Three Shillings per month to Every Soldier who
brings a Strong Dog." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, page 180.)
Leaving Fort Loudon, the army marched over the mountains
to Fort Pitt, following the Forbes Road. Near Bedford, a soldier
was captured. Later in the march of the army, a few stragglers
were killed by lurking Indians. The army arrived at Fort Pitt
on September 17th, and soon thereafter a party of Delaware
chiefs appeared on the western bank of the Allegheny, pretending
to be deputies sent by their nation to confer with Bouquet. After
478 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
some hesitation, three of them came to the fort, and, after being
closely questioned, were unable to give a satisfactory account of
their mission. Colonel Bouquet then detained two. Captain
Pipe and Captain John, as hostages, and sent the other back to
his nation with the message that he proposed to pay no attention
to the peace the Delawares and Shawnees had made with Colonel
Bradstreet, but would march his army against their towns. He
also sent word with this chief that, if two messengers which he
proposed to send to Colonel Bradstreet were harmed in either
going or coming, he would put Captain Pipe and Captain John to
death. The liberated chief faithfully performed his mission. On
October 1st, two Six Nation warriors came to Fort Pitt, and en-
deavored to persuade the commander not to march into the
Indian country, owing to the smallness of his force and the
lateness of the season. Believing that these warriors were
actuated by a desire simply to retard the expedition. Bouquet
sent them to inform the Delawares and Shawnees that he pro-
posed to move immediately into their country to chastise them
unless they should speedily agree to whatever conditions of peace
he should impose upon them.
The Virginia troops having arrived and Bouquet now having
an army of about fifteen hundred men, the march was started
from Fort Pitt on October 4th, the Virginia troops leading the
way. The next day, the army passed through Logstown, which
was then deserted. On October 6th, the army crossed the Beaver
River, taking the Indian trail which led to the villages on the Tus-
carawas, crossing the headwaters of Little Beaver and Yellow
creeks. By October 15th, Bouquet had advanced into the very
heart of the Indian country, carrying terror to the bloody raiders
of the Pennsylvania frontier. While his army was encamped on
the Tuscarawas, on October 16th, about midway between King
Beaver's Town and Killbuck's Town, in the present Tuscarawas
County, Ohio, six Indian chiefs came to Bouquet with the
information that all of the chiefs were assembled about eight miles
from his camp and both ready and anxious to enter into negotia-
tions for peace. He answered that he would meet them the next
day in a bower, a short distance from his camp. Accordingly, on
the 17th, he marched with nearly all the regular troops, the
Virginia volunteers and Light Horse, to the place of council, and
stationed the troops in such a manner that they would show them-
selves to the best advantage.
Here, on October 17th and 20th, Bouquet held councils with
PONTIAC'S WAR 479
the chiefs of the Delawares, Shawnees and Mingoes. He made
no attempt to spare their feeUngs, but, on the contrary, boldly
and scathingly charged them with cruelty and perfidy. He re-
fused to take them by the hand or to address them as "brothers,"
but addressed them as "chiefs, captains and warriors." A
brilliant and forceful orator, he painted their cruelties in darkest
colors, telling them that he would destroy their villages if they
did not return the captives and make peace according to his terms.
He had the air of a conqueror, dictating terms of peace. He had
the qualities the chiefs respected in both Indians and white men.
They knew that the commander who had defeated them at Bushy
Run meant every word he said, and thus they were humbled to
the dust. "I have brought with me," he said, "the relations of
those people you have massacred or taken prisoners. They are
impatient to take revenge of the bloody murderers of their friends,
and it is with the greatest difficulty that I can protect you against
their just resentment, by assuring them that no peace shall be
granted you till you have given us proper satisfaction. We sur-
round you on every side. It is consequently in our power to
destroy you."
It gives the historian no pleasure to record the fact that the
powerful speech of Colonel Bouquet charging the Indians with
cruelty and perfidy — one of the bitterest philippics in military
annals — was translated to them by the infamous villian, David
Owens, who had murdered his Indian wife and Indian children
for the purpose of getting into the good graces of the whites.
Shortly after the delivery and translation of Bouquet's address,
he sent Owens to a Shawnee town some miles from the camp, in
order to hasten the delivery of the captives held by this tribe.
Loudon relates that, upon Owens' arrival at the Shawnee town,
the chiefs and warriors held council as to whether they should
put him to death for the murder of his Shawnee wife and children
and the relatives of his wife. Two of his wife's brothers were
present. The murderer saved his life on this occasion by telling
the Shawnees that, if they killed him. Bouquet would kill them.
The chiefs present at the councils with Colonel Bouquet were
King Beaver of the Turkey Clan of Delawares; Custaloga of the
Wolf (Munsee) Clan of Delawares; Turtle Heart, a Delaware;
Guyasuta of either the Mingoes or Senecas; Keissanautchtha of
the Shawnees, and many others. At this time New Comer, or
Nettawatwes, was the head chief or "King" of the Delaware
nation, but he refused to attend the councils, on account of which
480 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Bouquet deposed him. However, the Delawares never accepted
this action.
At the close of the councils, Bouquet took hostages from the
Delawares, Senecas and Shawnees, for the safe delivery of the
captives within twelve days at Wakatomica, a short distance
below the present town of Coshocton, Ohio. On October 22nd,
in order more deeply to impress the Indians, his army took up the
march, thirty-two miles deeper into the Indian country, to a
point near the forks of the Muskingum. The army arrived at
this place on October 25th. It was then decided that the captives
should be delivered at this place instead of at Wakatomica, as it
was more centrally located.
From October 25th until November 9th, messages were sent
to the various villages and captives were brought daily to the
camp of Bouquet to the total number of two hundred and six.
These were classed as follows :
Virginians — Males 32
Females and Children 58
Pennsylvanians — Males 49
Females and Children 67
Total 206
On November 9th, Bouquet, for the faithful performance of
their promises and for the return of the remaining captives,
demanded four hostages from the Delawares in addition to Cap-
tain Pipe and Captain John, whom he took at Fort Pitt, and that
five deputies be sent to treat with Sir William Johnson. The
Delawares agreed to this demand. Then for the first time since
he had marched into the heart of their country, Bouquet took
the chiefs by the hand, "which occasioned great Joy amongst
them." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 226.)
On November 12th and 14th, Bouquet held councils with the
chiefs of the Shawnees. The principal chiefs of this tribe present
were Keissanautchtha, Keightughque, (or Cornstalk, also called
Tamenebuck), Nimwha and Red Hawk. Red Hawk was the
speaker on behalf of the Shawnees. At these councils, he showed
Bouquet the treaty which William Penn entered into with the
Shawnees, on April 23d, 1701, which had been carefully preserved
by the Shawnee chiefs throughout the long years and throughout
their wanderings from the Susquehanna to the Muskingum and
Scioto. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9, page 230.) Bouquet demanded at
PONTIAC'S WAR 481
these councils that the Shawnees deliver six hostages to him to be
kept until the remainder of their captives, about one hundred,
were delivered, as many of them were in distant towns on the
Scioto and could not be brought at this time, owing to the lateness
of the season and to the fact that many of their owners were on a
long trading journey to the French. The Shawnees willingly
delivered the hostages. They faithfully kept their promise. On
May 9th, 1765, ten of their chiefs and about fifty of their warriors,
delivered to George Croghan, Deputy Indian Agent, at Fort
Pitt, the remaining captives, "brightened the chain of friendship,
and gave every assurance of their firm intentions to preserve the
peace inviolable forever."
We call attention to the fact that one of the greatest difficulties
Colonel Bouquet had to deal with was the allaying of the minds
of the Shawnees, Fearing that he intended to destroy their
tribe, they resolved to kill the captives and then flee beyond the
Mississippi. They had already assembled many of the captives
for the purpose of killing them, when a messenger arrived from
the commander stating that he would give them the same terms
of peace as to the Delawares. Thus the wholesale massacre of
the captives was prevented. Soon, however, one of Bouquet's
soldiers was killed some distance from the camp, whereupon the
Shawnees, hearing that they were blamed for this murder, once
more assembled the captives to kill them, when a second messen-
ger arrived from Bouquet with the word that the Shawnees were
not blamed for the murder of the soldier. Thus, again, the lives
oi the captives were saved.
No pen can describe the scenes when the captives were brought
to Bouquet's camp during those October and November days of
1764. Husbands met their captured wives. Long lost children
were restored to their parents. Sisters and brothers met, after
long separation, in many cases since the autumn of 1755. Many,
captured when children, were now unable to understand a word of
their mother tongue. Many had married among the Indians
and had Indian children dear to their hearts. Indian fathers and
mothers had to part with these children, to their great anguish.
Indian mothers filled the solitudes of the forest with their wailings
for the children they were giving up forever. Indian fathers shed
torrents of tears over the surrender of their children, and pitifully
recommended them to the care and protection of the humane
commander. Many of the captives had to be bound when
delivered to Bouquet, to keep them from returning to their Indian
482 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
relatives and friends. As the army marched back to Fort Pitt,
many an Indian wife followed her white husband with weary
footsteps, and many an Indian warrior followed his white wife or
sweetheart over the mountains to Carlisle or into Virginia at the
risk of his life.
The foregoing qualities in the Indians challenge the esteem of
just men. Cruel and unmerciful as they were in war, yet when
they took captives for the purpose of adopting them, they treated
them as their own flesh and blood, instead of enslaving them.
Women and children were treated with a kindness and respect
often found lacking among the whites. From every inquiry that
has ever been made, it appears that no white woman was ever
preserved by the Indians for base motives — that no white woman,
adopted by the Indians, needed to fear the violation of her honor.
Bouquet's army, with the white captives, took up the march for
Fort Pitt on November 18th, and arrived at that place on Novem-
ber 28th. On the way, some of the captives escaped and returned
to the Indians. John McCullough, who, as has been seen in a
former chapter, was a captive among the Delawares from July,
1756, until liberated by Colonel Bouquet, states in his Narrative
that two of these captives thus escaping were Rhoda Boyd and
Elizabeth Studebaker. Many of the captives were re-united with
their relatives at Fort Pitt; others at Carlisle, among whom was
"Regina, the German Captive," as stated in Chapter VII; others
at Philadelphia.
This account of Colonel Bouquet's expedition to the Tus-
carawas and Muskingum has been based almost entirely upon his
letters and minutes found in Pa. Colonial Records, Vol. 9, pages
206 to 233.
Governor John Penn issued a proclamation on December 5th,
1764, in which he told of the submission of the Delawares,
Shawnees and other western tribes, and declared the war with
these Indians at an end. Thus ended the Pontiac and Guyasuta
War, mis-called by many "Pontiac's Conspiracy." It was no
more a "Conspiracy" than was the Revolutionary War. As
pointed out in a former chapter, it was a war between the Indians
and the English, brought about by the failure of the English to
keep their treaties and promises.
Pressure on the Indians' Lands — Purchase of 1768
While Colonel Bouquet's expedition of 1764 ended the Pontiac
and Guyasuta War so far as Pennsylvania was concerned, the
PONTIAC'S WAR 483
pressure on the Indians' land in the valleys of the Ohio and
Allegheny did not end. Settlers, by the hundreds, from Eastern
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia came over the mountains
and laid out plantations for themselves, especially along the
Youghiogheny and Monongahela, against the protests of the Six
Nations, who had never parted with their title to these lands, and
in violation of the proclamation of the King of England, as
follows:
"We do further strictly enjoin and require all persons what-
ever, who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves
upon any Lands within the Countries above described, or upon
any Lands which, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us,
are still reserved to the said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to
remove themselves from such Settlements." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol,
9, pages 83 and 84.)
The frontiersmen paid no attention to this proclamation and
similar proclamations issued by the Governor of Pennsylvania.
They even murdered Indians caught in their settlements. This
action on the part of the frontiersmen caused some chiefs of the
Delawares, Shawnees and Six Nations to tell George Croghan, at
a council at Fort Pitt, on May 22nd, 1766, that the English did
not appear to be disposed to live in peace with the Indians. Said
the chiefs further: "If their Fathers [the English] continue to
Murder their people whenever they caught them in their Settle-
ments, and break their Engagements to them, they can't be ac-
countable for the future conduct of their Warriors, who are
governed only by the persuasion of their chiefs." (Pa. Col. Rec,
Vol. 9, page 322.)
Later the Colonial Authorities sent persons to compel the
settlers to remove. Most of those who then removed, soon re-
turned. Finally a great conference was held at Fort Pitt, April
26th to May 9th, 1768, attended by more than one thousand
Indian chiefs and warriors besides women and children, for the
purpose of adjusting the difficulties due to the settlements made
on the lands of the Indians.
This council was under the direction of George Croghan,
Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, while Governor Penn
appointed John Allen and Joseph Shippen, as commissioners for
Pennsylvania. Among the Indian chiefs who attended the
council were: Guyasuta of the Senecas; the White Mingo (not
the White Mingo murdered by Stump); New Comer, or Nettaw-
atwes, King of the Delawares; Custaloga of the Wolf or Munsee
484 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Clan of Delawares; King Beaver of the Turkey Clan of Dela-
wares; Wingenund, the Delaware wise man; Captain Pipe of the
Wolf Clan of Delawares; White Wolf of the Delawares; White
Eyes of the Turkey Clan of Delawares; Captain Jacobs of the
Delawares, probably a son of the Captain Jacobs slain at the
destruction of Kittanning; Captain John of the Delawares;
Nimwha of the Shawnees; and various others of the Delawares,
Shawnees, Six Nations, Mohicans, and Wyandots. Said one of
the chiefs of the Six Nations, at this council: "It is not without
Grief that we see our Country settled upon by you without our
Knowledge or Consent ... It will be time enough for you to
settle the lands when you have purchased them and the Country
becomes yours." (For the minutes of this council, see Pa. Col.
Rec, Vol. 9, pages 514 to 543.)
This council at Fort Pitt, led directly to the purchase at Fort
Stanwix (Rome, New York), November 5th, 1768, in which the
Six Nations conveyed to the Proprietaries of Pennsylvania all
their land within the boundaries of the Province, extending from
the New York line on the Susquehanna River, past Towanda
and Tyadaghton (Pine) Creeks, up the West Branch of the
Susquehanna, over to Kittanning, thence down the south side of
the Allegheny and the Ohio as far as the mouth of the Tennessee
River. The Delawares and Shawnees did not agree to this sale
by which their hunting grounds on the Ohio were sold.
By this purchase, for a consideration of ten thousand pounds,
the Proprietaries acquired the present counties of Green, Wash-
ington, Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland, Cambria, Susque-
hanna, Sullivan, and Wyoming, and parts of Beaver, Allegheny,
Armstrong, Indiana, Clearfield, Center, Clinton, Lycoming, Brad-
ford, Lackawanna, Wayne, Luzerne, Columbia, Montour, North-
umberland, Union, Pike and Snyder. (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 9,
pages 554 and 555.)
The purchase of 1768 was the last purchase made by the Penns.
Settlers now, in increasing numbers, entered the region between
the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River.
Atrocious Murder of Indians by Frederick Stump
An event that caused great consternation throughout Pennsyl-
vania and great fear of an Indian uprising, and that also hastened
the purchase at Fort Stanwix, was the following:
On Sunday morning, January 10, 1768, six Indians, namely,
PONTIAC'S WAR 485
White Mingo, Cornelius, John Campbell, Jones, and two squaws,
came to Frederick Stump's cabin on Stump's Run, near Middle-
burg, Snyder County, in a drunken condition. Stump and his
servant, John Ironcutter, after endeavoring without success to
persuade them to leave, killed them all, dragging their bodies to
the creek, where they cut a hole in the ice, and pushed them into
the stream. Then fearing that the news of these murders might
be carried to other Indians in the vicinity, Stump went the next
day to their cabin fourteen miles up the creek, where he found a
squaw, two girls, and a child, killed them all and threw their
bodies into the cabin and burned it. One of the bodies which he
had pushed through the hole in the ice on the preceding day,
floated down Middle Creek to the Susquehanna, and then down
this stream, finally lodging against the shore opposite Harrisburg,
just below the location of the present bridge on Market Street of
that city.
Several Indians who had escaped the murderous wrath of
Stump, chased him toward Fort Augusta, at Sunbury. Stump did
not enter this fort, but ran to a house occupied by two women,
whose protection he implored, alleging that he was pursued by
Indians. The women did not believe his story, but he begged very
piteously. They then hid him between two beds. His pursuers
were only a moment behind him. To their questioning, the wo-
men replied that they knew nothing of Stump. Before the In-
dians left the house of the two women, they seized a cat, pulled
out its hair, and tore it to pieces, thus illustrating what they
would have done to Stump, had they found him.
Shortly after the atrocious murder committed by Stump, the
Delaware chief, Newahleeka, residing at the Great Island (Lock
Haven), sent a message to Governor John Penn, advising that the
Delawares and other Indians at the Great Island were much dis-
pleased on account of the fact that five white men had lately been
seen marking trees and surveying land in that region not yet pur-
chased from the Indians. This message was delivered by a Dela-
ware named Billy Champion. Governor Penn then took occasion
to send a message to Newahleeka, advising him that the Province
had offered two hundred pounds as a reward for the capture of
Stump. Said Penn: "Brother, I consider this matter in no other
light than as the act of a wicked, rash man, and I hope you will
also consider it in the same way . . . There are among you and
us some wild, rash, hot-headed people who commit actions of this
sort." Then Shawnee Ben, a chief of the Shawnees at Great
486 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Island, sent word to Captain William Patterson: "As it was the
Evil Spirit who caused Stump to commit this bad action, I blame
none of my brothers, the English, but him."
Stump and Ironcutter were apprehended and lodged in jail at
Carlisle on Saturday evening, March 23rd. Oh the following Fri-
day, a company of settlers from Sherman's Valley, where he had
lived, marched to Carlisle, surrounded the jail, entered it with
drawn pistols, and released the murderers. After their rescue,
they both returned to the neighborhood of their shocking crime,
where they found their presence very disagreeable to the inhabi-
tants. They then left the neighborhood. They were never again
arrested for their crime. Both went to Virginia, where Stump
died at an advanced age.
Attack on Brush Creek Settlers
On February 26th, 1769, Indians made an attack on the Ger-
man settlers on Brush Creek, in the western part of Westmore-
land County.* Eighteen persons were either killed or captured.
(Frontier Forts of Penna., Vol. 2, page 380.) It is likely that
this outrage, whose details are lacking, was committed by
Senecas on their way to attack the Catawbas. At least, in the
summer of 1769, the Moravian missionaries, Zeisberger and
Senseman, came to Fort Pitt from the Moravian mission at
Lawunakhannek, near the mouth of Hickory Creek, Forest
County, and convinced the officers at the fort that certain mur-
ders of settlers east of the Allegheny and Ohio were not committed
by the Delawares, but by roving bands of Senecas on their way
to attack the Indians of the South. The Senecas were displeased
with the fact that settlements were made on the path of their war
trail to the South.
Murder of Young Seneca George
An event that gave the Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania
much concern in the summer of 1769 was the murder of young
Seneca George, son of the elder chief of that name. Both father
and son had always been firm friends of the English. The murder
occurred on the west side of the Susquehanna, a few miles below
Middle Creek. Peter Read, a relative of the family of Conrad
Weiser, was suspected as the murderer, and was lodged in the
Lancaster jail to await trial. In the meantime, the Provincial
♦These Pennsylvania-Germans, after declining to accept Virginia titles to lands west of the
Alleghenies (see page 139), took Pennsylvania titles, coming to Westmoreland County in great
numbers both before and after the Purchase of 1768, and strongly opposing Virginia's claim to
this region. At Herold's (Harrold's,) three miles west of Greensburg, they erected Fort Allen
in 1774, commanded by Colonel Christopher Truby.
PONTIAC'S WAR 487
Council sent a substantial present to the father and other relatives
of the murdered Indian, with a message of condolence.
On August 22nd, Colonel Francis, Rev. Smith, Charles Stewart
and Frederick Weiser, son of Conrad Weiser, held a conference
with the aged Seneca George, at Fort Augusta, relative to the
murder of the friendly Indian. Frederick Weiser gave the old
chief a present and spoke of the long and sincere friendship that
existed between his father and the Six Nations. He assured old
Seneca George that the Weiser family would do nothing to shield
Peter Read. As Weiser 's speech was being delivered, the aged
Indian sat with tears coursing down his cheeks. Then he arose
and said:
"I am glad to see one of the sons of Conrad Weiser, and hear
him mention a little of the old friendship and love that was be-
tween us and our brother, his father. Yes, old Conrad Weiser
was indeed my brother and friend ... I am very glad the tears
have flowed from the eyes of his children, as they have done from
mine, on account of this unhappy aff^air, which has certainly
been a very great grief to me — for he that was lost was a son that
lay near my heart. He was all the child I had. Now I am old.
The loss of him hath almost entirely cut away my heart. But I
am yet pleased my brother Weiser, the son of my old friend, has
taken this method to dry my tears.
Then the aged chief approached Frederick Weiser with a noble
air of forgiveness, and, shaking him by the hand, said with a voice
full of emotion : "I have no ill will to you, Mr. Weiser." He then
did the same with Colonel Francis, Rev. Smith and Charles
Stewart.
In the minutes of this conference we read :
"That manly spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation which
Seneca George showed on this occasion, by his looks, gesture and
whole action, made some of those at the table cry out, as he ran
up holding out his hand to them, 'This is Noble,' for here his
speech stood in need of no interpretation." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol.
9, pages 603 and 618 to 620.)
CHAPTER XXII
Lord Dunmore's War
10RD Dunmore's War, which, in the summer of 1774, spread
^ terror, devastation and death throughout the settlements of
Southwestern Pennsylvania, had a number causes. The principal
causes were: 1. The settling of Virginians upon land claimed by
the Indians. 2. The murder of peaceable Indians at the mouth
of Captina Creek. 3. The murder of the family of Logan, Chief
of the Mingoes,
As was seen in Chapter XXI, the Six Nations, at the Treaty of
Fort Stanwix, in November, 1768, sold all the lands "to which the
Iroquois had claim" on the south side of the Ohio River as far as
the mouth of the Tennessee River. The claim of the Iroquois
was based on "the right of conquest." The Cherokees, who rightly
contended that the Iroquois never conquered them, claimed the
southern part of the lands conveyed by this grant, while the
Shawnees and Delawares did not agree to this sale of their hunting
grounds on the upper Ohio as well as in Kentucky. At the same
time, a tract between the Kanawha and Monongahela was
granted to William Trent in trust for the traders who had claims
for losses in the Pontiac and Guyasuta War.
Without making any attempt to satisfy the claims of the
Shawnees and other tribes who claimed these lands, settlers from
Virginia soon began migrating to this region and asserting full
ownership. In the summer of 1773, agents of John Murray, Earl
of Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, made explorations and surveys
along the southern shore of the lower Ohio and on the Kentucky
River. It will be recalled, also, that Virginia at that time was
still claiming all of the southwestern part of Pennsylvania lying
south of the Ohio. Dunmore was anxious to extend the dominion
of Virginia even beyond the Ohio and enrich himself, with no
thought of purchasing from the Shawnees and Delawares their
claim to any part of the lands conveyed by the grants above
named. As part of his plans land grabbing, he appointed Dr.
John Connolly, a nephew of George Croghan, "Captain Com-
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 489
mandant of the District of West Augusta," of which Pittsburgh
was the county seat. Connolly took possession of Fort Pitt,
which had been abandoned by the King's order, repaired it, and
gave it a new name — "Fort Dunmore." Virginia courts were soon
set up in this part of Pennsylvania.
While Virginia settlers were thus pressing into the lands on the
Ohio and into the present counties of Greene, Fayette, Washing-
ton and Allegheny, a few of them were murdered by the Indians,
and they murdered a few Indians. In the spring of 1773, a young
man, named Sherrard, was killed and scalped by Indians, near
where Florence, Washington County, now stands.* In the same
spring, a friendly Delaware of considerable notoriety, named Bald
Eagle, (not the Delaware chief of that name killed by Captain
Samuel Brady), who had frequently visited the settlements of
Virginians on the upper Monongahela and gone on hunting ex-
peditions with the white men, was wantonly murdered, near New
Geneva, Fayette County. Withers, in his "Chronicles of Border
Warfare," thus describes the murder of this friendly Indian:
"In one of his visits among them he was discovered alone by
Jacob Scott, William Hacker and Eliza Runner who, reckless of
the consequences, murdered him solely to gratify a most wanton
thirst for Indian blood. After the commission of this most out-
rageous enormity, they seated him in the stern of a canoe and with
a piece of journey-cake thrust into his mouth, set him afloat on the
Monongahela. In this situation he was seen descending the river
by several who supposed him to be, as usual, returning from a
friendly hunt with the whites in the friendly settlements, and who
expressed some astonishment that he did not stop to see them.
The canoe floated near to the shore below the mouth of George's
Creek [in southwestern Fayette County, Pennsylvania], and
was observed by Mrs. Province, who had it brought to the bank,
and the friendly but unfortunate old Indian decently buried."
In the spring of 1774, George Rogers Clark, at the head of about
ninety Virginians, was at the mouth of the little Kanawha, in-
tending to go on down the Ohio to survey lands for settlement,
when his party was fired upon by some Shawnees who resented
this intrusion upon lands claimed by them. Several surveyors
were captured, and several of the Shawnees were killed. Clark's
men looked upon this act of the Shawnees as an act of war, and
then decided to attack the Shawnee town on the north side of the
Ohio, near the mouth of the Scioto, destroy its inhabitants, and
push on and make a settlement. With this in view, they sent
♦According to Forrest's "History of Washington County."
490 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
word to Captain Michael Cresap, who was making a settlement
some miles farther up the Ohio, and asked him to be their leader.
Cresap at once came to Clark's party, and persuaded them to give
up the contemplated attack upon the Shawnees. He argued that
there was no certainty of war, as things stood, but that there most
assuredly would be war if they made the contemplated attack.
Under his advice the whole party came to Wheeling, West
Virginia to wait until the matter was settled. From Wheeling
they at once sent a messenger to Dr. John Connolly informing
him of the situation.
Connolly, without having made any efifort to get in touch with
the Shawnee, Delaware and other chiefs on the upper Ohio with
a view to adjusting matters peaceably, sent a letter to Cresap, at
Wheeling, telling him that war was inevitable and asking him to
protect the settlers with scouting parties. On April 26th, upon
the receipt of Connolly's letter, Cresap's band of adventurers and
"land grabbers," precipitately "declared war" against the
Shawnees and other Indians on the Ohio. Says George Rogers
Clark, who was present: "Action was had and war declared in
the most solemn manner; and that same evening (April 26), two
scalps were brought into the camp."
These adventurers, who had thus taken it upon themselves to
"declare war," killed, and scalped, on April 27th, two Indians
who were descending the Ohio in a canoe, accompanied by some
traders. That same evening they attacked a party of peaceable
Indians at their camp at the mouth of Captina Creek, and killed
a number of them.
Murder of Chief Logan's Family
At this time Logan, Chief of the Mingoes, a Cayuga, born at
Auburn, New York, in 1725, was living with his family and
relatives at the mouth of Yellow Creek, on the west side of the
Ohio, about thirty miles above Wheeling. Logan, whose Indian
name was Tah-gah-jute, "his eye lashes stick out," was the second
son of the great Shikellamy, vice-gerent of the Six Nations, and
was given the name "Logan" in honor of James Logan, secretary
of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. Like his famous
father, Logan had always been the firm friend of the English. He
moved from the Juniata Valley to the mouth of the Beaver, about
1770. Upon coming to the Ohio, the Mingoes of this place chose
him as their chief.
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 491
These Indians at the mouth of Yellow Creek had no hostile
intentions. Women and children were among them. Clark had
stopped at their camp only a few weeks before, and knew these
facts. Daniel Greathouse, one of Cresap and Clark's band, was
determined to kill these Indians. On April 28th, he, Cresap and
Clark, with others of the band, started on their way to Yellow
Creek. After they had marched five miles, they halted to con-
sider the project. Cresap objected to carrying out the plans of
murder, and he and Clark then set out on their way to Redstone
(Brownsville). Immediately after their departure, Greathouse
and a party of twenty armed men marched to Baker's Bottom,
opposite the mouth of Yellow Creek, arriving there on the evening
of April 29th.
On the morning of April 30th, Greathouse and several of his
men crossed the river to the Indian camp, and invited the Indians
to come over to Baker's tavern with them, promising them rum.
Logan was away from home at the time, some say on a hunting
trip, while others say at Old Chillicothe, on the west bank of the
Scioto River. The invitation of Greathouse and his companions
was accepted, and the band crossed the river and went to the
tavern, leaving their guns in their tents, as it was to be a friendly
visit. Upon their arrival, they were treated freely to rum and
three of them became greatly intoxicated, the others refusing to
drink, as it was a general custom among the Indians for at least
one of the party to remain sober in order to take care of their
intoxicated companions. The sober Indians, among whom was
Logan's brother, John Petty, were challenged to shoot at a mark.
The Indians shot first, and as soon as they had emptied their guns,
Greathouse's band shot down the three sober Indians in cold
blood. One of the party, a sister of Logan, endeavored to escape
by flight, but was also shot down. She lived long enough to im-
plore the murderers to spare the life of her little babe two months
old, explaining to them that it was one of their kin ; and its life
was spared on that account. The whites then set upon the
drunken Indians with tomahawks and butchered them all. Alto-
gether ten Indians were killed by these white fiends, among whom
were the mother, sister, and brother of Logan.
There has been lack of agreement among historians as to the
exact date of this atrocity, but most authorities say that it was
on the 30th of April; and this date must be correct, as on May
3rd, Valentine Crawford, a brother of Colonel William Crawford,
in writing from his home on Jacob's Creek, near Connellsville,
492 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
says: "On Saturday last, about twelve o'clock, one Greathouse
and about twenty men fell on a party of Indians at the mouth of
Yellow Creek, and killed ten of them. They brought away one
child a prisoner, which is now at my brother, William Craw-
ford's." Also Colonel William Crawford, in a letter written to
George Washington on May 8th, says: "Daniel Greathouse and
some others fell on some Indians at the mouth of Yellow Creek
and killed and scalped ten, and took one child about two months
old, which is at my house. I have taken the child from a woman
that it had been given to."
What eventually became of this Indian babe, nephew of
Logan, and the grandson of the famous Shikellamy, is not known.
Historians agree that it was the son of Colonel John Gibson who,
as we shall presently see, translated Logan's great speech. How-
ever, John Sappington made an affidavit stating that he knew
Gibson well and that "he, Gibson, educated the child and took
care of it as if it had been his own." (Butterfield's Washington-
Irvine Correspondence, page 344.)
Upon his return to Redstone, George Rogers Clark informed
Governor Dunmore of the events that had taken place on the
Ohio, and urged him to warn the settlers on the frontiers. While
the Governor is assembling his army to march to the Ohio, we
shall view some of the results of the murders committed by the
Virginians.
Peace Efforts of Cornstalk and White Eyes
At the time of which we are writing, the noble Shawnee chief.
Cornstalk, was at the head of the Shawnees living on the Scioto,
Fearing that the Virginians would follow up the massacres at the
mouth of Captina Creek and at Baker's Bottom with other cold-
blooded murders, and thus provoke the Shawnees and Mingoes
to the point of taking revenge, Cornstalk, on May 20th, sent a
message to Connolly and George Croghan, stating that he and his
tribe were sorry for what the white people had done just at a time
when the Indians were preparing for their summer hunting, and
that there were white traders among the Shawnees whom he was
sending back to Fort Pitt under the protection of a party of
Shawnees led by his brother. In this letter. Cornstalk implored
Connolly "to stop such foolish people from the like doings for the
future." He added that he had gone to great trouble to restrain
the "foolish people amongst us [the Shawnees] to sit still and do
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 493
no harm . . . and shall continue to do so in the hopes that matters
may be settled."
Thus Cornstalk restrained his warriors from taking revenge,
and, at the same time, implored Connolly to restrain the Vir-
ginians from committing more murders. But Connolly did not
want peace. He wanted war. When Cornstalk's brother and
his Shawnees arrived at Fort Pitt with the traders under their
protection, Connolly ordered out the militia to try to take the
escort of Shawnee warriors. His "hellish plot" was discovered,
however, and the protecting Shawnees were secretly taken across
the river to George Croghan's house, where they were protected
by the traders, who out of gratitude gave them a present for
conducting them to Fort Pitt at the risk of their lives. De-
termined to aggravate the Shawnees and thus bring on a war with
them in furthering the plans of his master, Governor Dunmore,
to drive the Shawnees from their lands which Dunmore and the
rest of the Virginians coveted, Connolly, after the protecting
Shawnees had left Croghan's and were on their way home, sent
two detachments after them, which met them at the mouth of
Beaver Creek and fired upon them, wounding several . . . Arthur
St. Clair, afterwards Major General in the American Revolution,
wrote Governor Penn saying that if an Indian war should break
out, the whites must charge it "entirely to the tyrannical and
unprecedented conduct of Doctor John Connolly." Connolly
wrote St. Clair: "I shall pursue every measure to offend them"
(the Shawnees). (Pa. Arch., Vol. 4, pages 497, 498, 526, 527;
St. Clair Papers, 1, page 301.)
Cornstalk, friend of the English and leader of the Shawnees,
kept working for peace even up to the eve of the battle of Point
Pleasant. He sent a message to Connolly, to the Governor of
Pennsylvania and to the Governor of Virginia entreating them to
put a stop to hostilities and "they would endeavor to do the
same." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, pages 569 and 570.)
General Richard Butler, in his affidavit made before Arthur
St. Clair, on August 23d, 1774, and recorded in Pa. Archives,
Vol. 4, pages 569 and 570, recites the cold-blooded murder of
Chief Logan's family, the murder of the Indians at the mouth of
Captina Creek, the "horrid act in violation of the laws of friend-
ship" in attacking the Shawnees under Cornstalk's brother, the
general base conduct of the unprincipled Connolly, and then adds:
"These facts, I think, was sufficient to bring on a war with a
Christian instead of a Savage People, and I do declare it as my
opinion that the Shawnees did not intend a war this Season, let
494 THE INDIAiSf WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
their future intentions be what they might; and I do likewise
declare that I am afraid, from the proceedings of the Chief of the
White People in this part of the Country, that they will bring on
a general war, as there is so little pains taken to restrain the
common people whose prejudice leads them to greater lengths
than ought to be shown by civilized people."
General Butler's opinion is the impartial verdict of history, as
any fair-minded student of the causes of Lord Dunmore's War
will certainly admit.
The wise and able Delaware chief. White Eyes, earnestly
assisted Cornstalk in efforts to prevent an Indian war. He suc-
ceeded in restraining nearly all the Delawares from taking up arms
against the Virginians in spite of the wanton murders committed
by these land-hungry people, and in spite of the taunts and jeers
of many of his own people, who accused him of seeking to in-
gratiate himself with the murderers and land grabbers. White
Eyes fully understood the wrongs that the Virginians had done
and were doing to the Shawnees, but his purpose was to save the
Shawnees from utter destruction at the hands of the people who
coveted their lands.
How the Virginians cooperated with the peace efforts of White
Eyes, is seen in the following letter, written by Aeneas Mackey,
at Fort Pitt, on July 8th, 1774:
"Captain White Eyes is returned with the strongest assurances
of friendship from the Shawnees, Delawares, Wyandots and
Cherokees, with whom he has been treating on our behalf. Upon
his return, he found his house broke open by the Virginians, and
about thirty pounds worth of his property taken, which was
divided and sold by the robbers at Froman's Fort, on Chartiers
Creek." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, page 540.)
Froman's or Foreman's Fort, as will be seen later, stood within
the limits of the present town of Canonsburg, Washington
County, White Eyes' house was located near the mouth of the
Beaver.
The Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania also understood the
base motives of the Virginians, and consequently did not take up
arms against the Shawnees. Lord Dunmore's War was a war
between the Virginians and the Shawnees — an altogether un-
justifiable war, whose bitter fruits were gathered for many years,
as it had much to do with causing the Shawnees to go over to the
British, in the American Revolution, and massacre hundreds of
settlers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, in Virginia and in Ken-
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 495
tucky, for the British scalp bounties. It aroused the vindictive
spirit of the Shawnees, never broken until General Anthony
Wayne defeated them and other western tribes at the battle of
Fallen Timbers, August 20th, 1794, and compelled them to give
up twenty-five thousand square miles of territory north of the
Ohio.*
Those who wish to study the causes and effects of Dunmore's
War will find very valuable material in Dr. George P. Donehoo's
"Pennsylvania— A History," Vol. 2, pages 938 to 960.
Chief Logan Takes Revenge
When Logan, Chief of the Mingoes, learned of the murder of
his family and friends, he determined to take revenge. From the
friend of the whites and advocate of peace, he was changed to the
terrible foe of the race that was driving the Indian from his home
and hunting grounds. He led a band of warriors against the
traders at Canoe Bottom, on the Hockhocking River, but the
Delaware chief. White Eyes, and the Shawnee chief. Cornstalk,
foiled his attempt to injure the traders. On May 19th, he once
more set out, with a band of eight chosen warriors, later joined by
four more, and went to the neighborhood of Ten Mile and Muddy
creeks, in Greene County, where after waiting and watching for
some days, he and his band killed William Spicer, his wife and six
children, and captured two of the children, William, aged nine,
and Betsey, aged eleven. Betsey was afterwards released, but
William grew to manhood among the Indians. Two days later,
Logan's band killed two men on Dunkard Creek, Greene County.
On June 6th, they killed a man in sight of Fort Redstone. On
June 11th, a company of rangers, led by Captain Francis McClure
and Lieutenant Samuel Kinkade, pursued Logan on Ten Mile
Creek. The two officers, being some distance in advance of the
rest of the band, were ambushed. McClure was killed and
Kinkade badly wounded. A few days later, Logan's band killed
Matthew Gray, near where the town of Waynesburg, now stands.
On June 22nd, he and his band returned to the Indian town of
Wakatomica, on the Muskingum, with many scalps and two
prisoners.
In a few days, Logan started on the war path once more, leading
a party of Mingoes and Shawnees to the Monongahela region,
where he thought the murderers of his family lurked. Nine men
were attacked while working in a cornfield on Dunkard Creek,
•Theodore Roosevelt, in his "Winning of the West," fails to grasp the effects of Lord
Duamore's War.
496 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and six of them were killed. In this raid, on July 12th, his band
came upon William Robinson, Thomas Hellen, and Colman
Brown, pulling flax in the field opposite to Simpson Creek. Brown
was killed on the spot and Robinson and Hellen started to run,
but Logan succeeded in capturing both. Logan made himself
known to Robinson, and told him that he would have to run the
gauntlet, but gave him "such complete instruction and directions
as they traveled together that Robinson ran the gauntlet safely
and reached the stake without harm." The warriors then de-
termined to burn Robinson at the stake; but Logan made three
attempts, the last one successful, to prevent this atrocity. He
loosed the cords which bound the unfortunate man, placed a belt
of wampum around his neck as a mark of adoption, introduced
him to a young warrior, and said: "This is your cousin; you are
to go home with him and he will take care of you." Robinson
afterwards said that so fervent was Logan's impassioned elo-
quence on his behalf, that the saliva foamed at his mouth when
he addressed the assembled warriors. Hellen, after being un-
mercifully beaten while running the gauntlet, was adopted into
an Indian family.
Logan believed that Captain Michael Cresap was the leader of
the outlaws who murdered his family; and three days after
Robinson had been adopted, he dictated to him (Robinson) the
following note to Cresap, dated July 21, 1774, which was written
with suggestive ink made of gun-powder mixed with water:
"To Captain Cresap:
What did you kill my people on Yellow Creek for? The
White People killed my kin at Conestoga a great while ago
and I thought nothing of that; but you killed my kin again
on Yellow Creek and took my cousin prisoner. Then I
thought I must kill too; and I have been three times to war
since; but the Indians are not angry, only myself."
The "cousin" that Logan refers to in the above note was the
child of his sister. It is usual for the Indians to refer to relatives
generally as cousins.
Once more Logan went on the war-path, this time setting out
with a few chosen braves to the Holston and Clinch Rivers in
Southwestern Virginia, where he had been informed Captain
Cresap made his home. He and his warriors reached the neigh-
borhood in the middle of September, where on Reedy Creek, a
branch of the Holston, they killed the whole family of John
Robertson except one young boy, whom they carried off captive.
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 49V
At least all the circumstances point to this murder as having been
committed by Logan, inasmuch as the note which Logan ad-
dressed to Captain Cresap was found tied to a club in the house
of the unfortunate settler, where, on the floor, were found the
dead bodies of the family.
About the middle of October, Logan's party came to Old
Chillicothe, Ohio, where a number of Delawares, who had taken
part in Lord Dunmore's War, were now located among the Shaw-
nees, after having been driven from the Muskingum by the Vir-
ginia troops. The party brought with them five scalps and
Robertson's little boy, as well as two other prisoners.
It is said that Logan's band took thirty scalps and prisoners in
these raids and that he alone took thirteen scalps. His thirst
for revenge was now satisfied. He "sat still," and refused to lead
or accompany any more war parties.
Following the news that Logan had gone on the war-path, most
of the settlers of Greene and Washington Counties fled over the
mountains, abandoning their homes. It is recorded that, on one
day, more than one thousand of the fugitives crossed the Monon-
gahela at three ferries not a mile apart. Practically all the
settlers on Raccoon and Chartiers Creeks joined in the flight.
Few of those that remained would have survived the war if nu-
merous block houses and forts had not been hastily erected in these
counties.
In Greene County, the following places of refuge were erected :
Garard's Fort, about seven miles west of Greensboro; Jackson's
Fort, near Waynesburg; Fort Swan and VanMeter, near Carmi-
chaels; Ryerson's Fort, near the present Ryerson Station.
In Washington County, the following places of refuge were
erected: Allen's Fort, near the line between Smith and Robinson
Townships; Beelor's Fort, at Candor, Robinson Township;
Beeman's Blockhouse (probably erected in 1774), in West Finley
Township; Cherry's Fort, in Mount Pleasant Township; Coxe's
Fort, in Peters Township; Doddridge's Fort (erected in 1773),
three miles west of West Middleton (built by John Doddridge,
father of Rev. (Dr.) Doddridge, author of "Doddridge's Notes");
Frohman's or Foreman's Fort, at Canonsburg; Lindley's Fort
(erected in 1773), the strongest fort in Washington and Greene
Counties, near Prosperity; McFarland's Fort (erected likely as
early as 1772), in Amwell Township; Milliken's Fort (built
probably as early as 1772), in Amwell Township; Norris' Block-
house, in Chartiers Township ;. Reynolds' Blockhouse (probably
498 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
as early as 1774), in Cross Creek Township; Teeter's Fort (prob-
ably as early as 1773), in Independence Township; Vance's Fort,
in Smith Township,*
Battle of Point Pleasant
Governor Dunmore raised an army of about three thousand
troops to check the Indian uprising. General Andrew Lewis
commanded one division and Dunmore the other. Lewis' divi-
sion of eleven hundred troops marched down the Kanawha River
to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where they were attacked on
the morning of October 10th, 1774, by one thousand Shawnees
under the command of Cornstalk. Cornstalk as has been seen
had opposed the entrance of his tribe into war with Virginia, but
the rest of the chiefs overruled him. It is claimed that on the
evening before the battle he made another attempt to bring about
peace, and was again overruled.
The battle raged throughout the entire day, and above its
din could be heard the voice of Cornstalk as he encouraged his
warriors, and shouted, "Be Strong! Be Strong!" He displayed
masterly generalship, so maneuvering the Indians that the Vir-
ginians were forced into a triangle whose sides were the Ohio and
Great Kanawha Rivers, and whose base was the Indian forces.
His tactics won the admiration of General Lewis and his officers.
The original plan of the campaign was that the forces of both
Lord Dunmore and General Lewis should meet at Point Pleasant.
Dunmore had marched over the Braddock Road to Fort Pitt,
then called "Fort Dunmore" by him and other Virginians, with a
force of twelve hundred troops, reaching that place in the latter
part of August. Here his force was divided, seven hundred, under
Dunmore going down the Ohio by boats, and five hundred, under
Major William Crawford, going by land with the cattle. Both
divisions reached Wheeling about September 30th, and then went
to the mouth of the Hockhocking, from which place Dunmore
sent messengers to General Lewis, among whom was Simon
Girty, ordering him to cross the Ohio, proceed towards the
Shawnee towns, and join Dunmore's forces near Chillicothe, in-
stead of Point Pleasant, as originally planned. Before Lewis
could carry out these new orders, he was attacked at Point
Pleasant by Cornstalk and his warriors. In the meantime, in
July, Major Angus McDonald, with a force of four hundred
Virginia troops, marched over the Braddock road to Laurel Hill,
♦In Westmoreland County, Fort Allen was erected near Zion Lutheran Church, about
three miles west of Greensburg; Shields' Fort, near New Alexandria; and Fort Shippen, at
Colonel John Proctor's, in U nity Township.
Lord dunmore's war 499
thence to Redstone, thence to Cat Fish Camp (now Washington ,
Pa., the "camp" being named for the Delaware chief. Cat Fish),
thence to Wheeling, West Virginia, where his force was increased
to seven hundred and where he, with the assistance of Captain
William Crawford, erected Fort Fincastle, later named Fort
Henry in honor of Patrick Henry. Leaving Captain Crawford in
command of Fort Fincastle, McDonald, in the latter part of
July, marched against the Indian town of Wakatomica, near
Dresden, Ohio, with four hundred troops. He destroyed this
town and fought another battle in its vicinity, considerably
weakening the Shawnees,
At nightfall Cornstalk's forces withdrew, crossed the Ohio, and
headed for the Shawnee villages. What his losses were was never
ascertained, but during the battle, the Shawnees were observed to
throw many of their slain into the Ohio. As for the Virginians,
seventy-five of their force lay dead on the field, and one hundred
and forty were wounded. A council of the chiefs was held, and
although Cornstalk was bitterly opposed by many of the chiefs,
he was able to persuade them to seek a peace with the Virginians.
Accordingly, in November, Cornstalk entered into a treaty of
peace with Lord Dunmore, at Chillicothe, Ohio. On this occa-
sion, he made a very impressive speech, boldly charging the whites
as being the cause of the war, and dwelling at length upon the
atrocious murder of the family of Logan, chief of the Mingoes.
It is said that his powerful, clarion voice could be heard distinctly
over the whole camp of twelve acres. Among those present was
Colonel Benjamin Wilson, who speaks thus of Cornstalk's
address :
"When he arose he was in nowise confused or daunted, but
spoke in a distinct and audible voice without stammering or
repetition and with peculiar emphasis. His looks while addressing
Dunmore were truly grand and majestic; yet graceful and attrac-
tive. I have heard the first orators in Virginia, Patrick Henry
and Richard Henry Lee, but never have I heard one whose powers
of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk on that occasion."
By the terms of the treaty of peace, the Shawnees were com-
pelled to recognize the Ohio River as the eastern boundary of the
Indian lands.
Logan's Famous Speech
Logan returned from the Holston raid at the time when Corn
stalk's defeated warriors returned from the terrible battle of
500 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Point Pleasant. The chiefs assembled in council. Both Logan
and Cornstalk argued for peace, and the council decided not to
continue the war. A deputation of chiefs was then sent to Lord
Dunmore to sue for peace. Dunmore agreed to a conference,
whereupon runners were sent to invite all the chiefs to assemble
at Camp Charlotte, the place of the conference.
Logan refused to attend the conference. Then Lord Dun-
more sent Colonel John Gibson, the alleged father of the infant of
Logan's sister, whose life was spared when the rest of Logan's
family was murdered, as a special messenger to invite and bring
the great chieftain to the conference. Logan refused again to
attend the conference, and proposed that he and Colonel Gibson
take a walk into the woods to talk matters over. At length they
sat down on a log under a large elm, still standing on the Pick-
away plains, about six miles south of Circleville, Pickaway
County, Ohio, and known to this day as "Logan's Elm."
Here, with Colonel Gibson as his only auditor, and with tears
rolling down his face, Logan delivered his famous speech, one of
the finest specimens of eloquence in the English language, as fol-
lows:
"I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's
cabin hungry, and I gave him not meat; if ever he came cold or
naked, and I gave him not clothing.
"During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan
remained in his tent, an advocate for peace. Nay, such was my
love for the whites, that those of my own country pointed at me as
they passed, and said, 'Logan is the friend of white men.' I had
even thought to live with you, but for the injuries of one man.
Colonel Cresap the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked,
cut off all the relatives of Logan ; not sparing even my women and
children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any
human creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought
it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For
my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. Yet, do not har-
bor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt
fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there
to mourn for Logan . Not one."
Gibson wrote down the speech, and read it the next day at the
conference at Camp Charlotte. Thomas Jefferson, in his "Notes
on Virginia," published in 1781 and 1782, gave "Logan's La-
ment," as he called it, world-wide publicity. Colonel John Gib-
son, on April 4, 1800, made an affidavit before J. Barker, of Pitts-
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 501
burgh, as to the authorship of the great speech, and the accuracy
of his translation of the same. Logan spoke in Delaware. Says
Heckewelder, "For my part I am convinced that it was delivered
precisely as it was related to us, with only this difference, that it
possessed a force and expression in the Indian language which
it is impossible to transmit to our own."
Thomas Jefferson challenges Cicero, Demosthenes, and both
European and American statesmen to surpass this speech — the
cry of the wrongs of the Indian race that came up from the break-
ing heart of Logan, and made his name immortal. It is at once
bold, lofty, and sublime; and yet it is permeated with a note of
sadness. It has been recited in the schools throughout the
United States for more than a hundred years. It was copied in
England, and has been translated into French, German, and other
modern languages as a specimen of classic oratory. The Ohio
Archaelogical and Historical Society has erected a monument
near "Logan's Elm" bearing the following inscription:
"Under the spreading branches of a magnificent elm
tree nearby is where Logan, a Mingo chief, made his
celebrated speech."
During the last few years of his life, Logan wandered from tribe
to tribe, a broken man, drowning his sorrow in whiskey and rum.
He was killed in a quarrel by his nephew, Tod-kah-dohs, near
Detroit, in 1780. His wife was a Shawnee. He had no children.
Heckewelder states that, in 1779, Logan adopted a white woman
as his sister to take the place of the sister killed by Greathouse
and his band. Standing more than six feet in height, with noble
features, and with the Indian gift of oratory, Logan was a fine
specimen of the American Indian before ruined by the white
man's whiskey.
The following lines were composed for occasion of the dedica-
tion of monument near "Logan's Elm."
"Logan, to thy memory here
White men do this tablet rear;
On its front we grave thy name,
In our hearts shall live thy fame.
While Niagara's thunders roar,
Or Erie's surges lash the shore;
While onward broad Ohio glides
And seaward roll her Indian tides.
So long their memory, who did give
These floods their sounding names shall live.
While time in kindness buries
The gory axe and warrior's bow.
0 justice, faithful to thy trust.
Record the virtues of the just."
502 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Colonel John Gibson
Colonel John Gibson, the alleged father of the child of Logan's
sister, was born at Lancaster, Pa., May 22nd, 1740. He was a
man of classical education. He served under General Forbes,
and after the French and Indian War, became a trader at Fort
Pitt, In 1763, soon after Pontiac's War broke out, he was taken
prisoner by the Indians near the mouth of the Beaver, along with
two companions. One of these companions was soon tortured to
death, and the other met the same fate when the party reached
the Kanawha. Gibson was saved by an aged squaw, who adopted
him in the place of a son who had been killed in battle. Gibson
was among the prisoners surrendered to Colonel Henry Bouquet
in 1764, when he again settled at Pittsburgh and resumed trading
with the Indians. He also served in Lord Dunmore's War, as
has been seen in this chapter. He served throughout the Revolu-
tion, and was a member of the convention which framed the
Constitution of Pennsylvania, in 1790. Subsequently he became
a judge of Allegheny County and a Major-General of militia.
He was secretary of the territory of Indiana until it became a
state, and, at one time, was its acting governor. He died at
Braddock's Field, now Braddock, Pennsylvania, April 10th, 1822,
The "Long Knives"
At the time of which we are writing, and for many years prior
thereto, the Virginians were called the "Long Knives" by the
Shawnees, Delawares and other tribes. Withers, in his "Chron-
icles of Border Warfare," says that the application of this term
came about as follows: That, in the fall of 1758, Thomas Decker
and some others established a settlement on the Monongahela
at the mouth of what is now Decker's Creek; that the following
spring the settlement was broken up by a party of Delawares and
Mingoes, and most of its inhabitants were murdered; that one of
the settlers escaped to Fort Redstone, where Brownsville, Fayette
County, now stands, and gave the melancholy intelligence to the
commander. Captain Audley Paul, who sent a runner with the
information to Captain John Gibson at Fort Pitt; that Captain
Gibson then set out with a party of thirty to intercept and punish
the Indians, and came upon six or seven Mingoes near Steuben-
ville, Ohio, who had been prowling about the river some distance
below Fort Pitt in an effort to commit depredations; that Kis-
LORD DUNMORE'S WAR 503
kepila or Little Eagle, the leader of this band, fired at Captain
Gibson, the ball passing through the latter's hunting shirt and
wounding a soldier just behind him; that Captain Gibson then
sprang forward, and swinging his sword with great force, severed
Little Eagle's head from his body; and that several of Little
Eagle's party, on their return to the Muskingum, told the In-
dians there that Captain Gibson had cut off Little Eagle's head
"with a long knife," in consequence of which the term "Long
Knives" soon became applied to the Virginia militia generally.
However, R. G. Thwaites, in his notes on Withers' "Chronicles
of Border Warfare" (See page 79 of said work), doubts the above
statements, both as to the existence of Little Eagle and as to his
or any other Indian's having been decapitated by Captain Gib-
son, and calls attention to the fact that Colonel James Smith,
then a prisoner among the Indians, says that they assigned as a
reason why they did not oppose the advance of General Forbes
against Fort Duquesne in the autumn of 1758, the fact that "they
could not withstand Ash-a-le-co-a, or the Great Knife, which was
the name they gave the Virginians." Furthermore there was no
Fort Redstone in existence as early as the spring of 1759. As was
seen in a former chapter. Captain Trent erected a stockade at
this place when on his way to the Ohio, early in 1754, but this was
destroyed by the French. Very probably the term "Long
Knives" or "Big Knives" had reference to the long knives carried
by early white hunters or the swords carried by militia officers.
Death of Cornstalk
After making the treaty of peace with Lord Dunmore, Corn-
stalk remained at peace with the whites. During the spring of
1777, when most of the Ohio tribes were going over to the English,
the old chief came to the Moravian missionaries in Ohio, and
warned them that the Shawnees, except those in his own tribe,
were going over to the British ; that he was powerless to prevent
them, and that ammunition was being sent them from Detroit, to
be used against the Americans. On a previous visit to the Mora-
vians with more than one hundred of his warriors, he adopted
missionary Schmick and his wife, making Schmick his brother
and Mrs. Schmick his sister.
Seeing that there was danger of a general Indian uprising,
Cornstalk late in the summer of 1777, taking with him a young
chief named Red Hawk, went to Point Pleasant to warn Captain
504 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Matthew Arbuckle of the threatened uprising. He and Red
Hawk were then arrested and detained as hostages. While thus
held, one afternoon his son, Ellinipisco, came to visit his father.
Unhappily, on that same day two soldiers who were out hunting
on the opposite side of the river, were attacked by two Indians,
who killed and scalped one of them. A company of men brought
the body of the dead soldier to the fort, and then the cry went up :
"Let us go and kill the Indians." The company, under the com-
mand of Captain Hall, went to the house where Cornstalk was
detained. Captain Arbuckle endeavored to restrain them, but
was threatened with death, if he interfered. Cornstalk's son was
blamed with having brought the hostile Indians with him, but this
he strenuously denied. Turning to his son, Cornstalk said : "My
son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we should die together, and
has sent you here to that end. It is His will and let us submit;
it is all for the best." The old chief then arose and with great
dignity advanced to meet the soldiers, receiving seven bullets in
his body, and sinking in death without a groan. Ellinipisco was
then instantly killed, and Red Hawk, who had hidden himself in
the chimney, was dragged out and hacked to pieces.
Thus, one of the bravest and noblest of the Indian race, while
a hostage and on a mission of mercy, was barbarously murdered
by those whom he sought to befriend. His exalted virtues and
his most unhappy fate "plead like angels, trumpet- tongued,
against the deep damnation of his taking of."
It seems that Cornstalk had a presentiment of approaching
death. On the day before he was murdered, he was admitted to
a council held at the fort, where he said : "When I was young and
went to war, I often thought each might be my last adventure,
and I should return no more. I still live. Now I am in the midst
of you, and if you choose, may kill me. I can die but once. It is
alike to me whether now or hereafter."
In 1896, a monument was erected in the Court House yard at
Point Pleasant to the memory of this brave and energetic warrior,
skillful general, and able orator. Here he fought courageously.
Here he died heroically. May his well deserved fame be as en-
during as the granite of his monument — as enduring as the hills
and mountains of the land he loved.
Murder of Joseph Wipey
As we have seen, it was in the spring of 1774 that the family
of Logan was killed. During this same spring, occurred the mur-
Lord dunmore's war 5os
der of another friendly Indian, Joseph Wipey. The exact location
of the murder is hard to determine ; but it seems to have been near
the mouth of Hinckston's Run, which flows southward through
Cambria County, and empties into the Conemaugh at Johns-
town, although some authorities say that the murder occurred in
the southeastern part of Indiana County.
When, after the purchase at Fort Stanwix, in October, 1768,
the Delawares left their towns on the Kittanning Trail, and the
region of the purchase began to be rapidly settled by the white
people, this elderly Delaware remained on the hunting grounds of
his forefathers, and built his cabin by a stream north of the Cone-
maugh. He was an inoffensive, harmless old hunter and fisher,
and had given many evidences of his friendship for the whites.
At peace with all mankind, he was gently gliding down the stream
of life, awaiting his summons to the Happy Hunting Grounds.
John Hinckston and James Cooper wantonly murdered him
some time in May of 1774, while he was fishing from his canoe,
Arthur St. Clair, writing from Ligonier to Governor John Penn,
on May 29th, concerning this murder, says: "It is the most
astonishing thing in the world — the disposition of the common
people of this country. Actuated by the most savage cruelty,
they wantonly perpetrate crimes that are a disgrace to humanity,
and seem, at the same time, to be under a kind of religious en-
thusiasm, whilst they want the daring spirit that usually in-
spires."
Wipey's cabin stood in East Wheatfield Township, and near
the town of Cramer, in the southeastern part of Indiana County.
George Findley, whose apprenticed boy was killed by the Indians
in this township, in September, 1777, was a neighbor of the un-
fortunate Delaware.
The murder of Logan's family had much to do with bringing
on Lord Dunmore's War. And now, St. Clair feared that the
wanton murder of Wipey would bring on a Delaware war that
would devastate the western settlements. He advised Governor
Penn that this atrocity gave him "much trouble and vexation."*
Happily, though, the Delawares did not again take up arms
against the Province until the latter years of the Revolutionary
War.
*0n June 12th, 1774, St. Clair wrote Governor Penn that the part of Westmoreland north
of the Forbes Road was abandoned. About this time, Wendel Ourry, Christopher Truby and
more than fifty other German settlers sent a petition from Fort Allen (Harrold's) to the Gover-
nor asking aid in the threatened Indian uprising. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 4, pages 503 504, 514.)
CHAPTER XXIII
The Revolutionary War
(1775, 1776 and 1777)
EARLY in the Revolutionary War, or, to be specific, in
May, 1776, Sir Guy Johnson, Colonel John Butler and
other British agents held a great council with the chiefs of the
Six Nations, at Fort Niagara, New York, at which the over-
whelming majority of the sachems of the Iroquois Confederation
voted to accept the war hatchet against the Americans. (Ameri.
can Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. 6, page 764; Fifth Series, Vol-
1, page 867.) The League of the Iroquois decided to take no
part in the conflict, but to allow each tribe of the Confederation
to decide for itself. A large part of the Tuscaroras and nearly
all the Oneidas, owing to the influence of Rev. Samuel Kirkland,
remained neutral ; but the other tribes of the historic Confedera-
tion went over to the British, and spread terror, devastation and
death throughout the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania.
Likewise, the Shawnees, the Wyandots, a large part of the
Delawares, and other western tribes, through the influence of the
British at Detroit, took the British side, and raided the frontiers
of Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
The British Scalp Bounties
The British officer, Sir Henry Hamilton, who was in command
at Detroit, was directed, on October 6th, 1776, to enlist the
Indians in the British service, and have them ready for operations
against the western frontier the next spring. Hamilton incited
many Indian incursions against the frontier, and gave the Indians
rewards for scalps. About June 1st, 1777, he began to enlist
and send out war parties against the frontiers of Kentucky,
Virginia, and Pennsylvania. About the end of July of that year,
he reported to his superior commander at Quebec, that he had
sent out fifteen war parties, consisting of 30 white men and 289
Indians, an average of 21 in each band.* These Indians were
*On September 16th, 1778, Hamilton reported to General Haldimand that, since May, 1778,
the Indians under his command captured one hundred and fifteen American prisoners, eighty-
one of whom they killed and then delivered their scalps to him. (Quaife's "Capture of Old
Vincennes," page 174.)
A war poster, used by the Americans during the Revolutionary War, relating to the bounties which
the British paid their Indian allies for American scalps. This was found in 1921, in the attic of the old
Langley Building, which occupied the site of the present George Washington Hotel, Washington,
Pennsylvania.
Across the top of the poster are the words: "A SCENE OX THE FROXTIER, AS PRACTICED
BY THE HUMANE BRITISH AND THEIR WORTHY ALLIES."
The British officer, evidently Colonel Henry Hamilton, "the hair-buyer," is saying to the Indian
who is handing him an American scalp: "Bring me the scalp, and the King, our Master, will reward
you."
On the Indian's rifle is a placard reading: "Reward for 16 Scalps."
Below the picture are the lines:
".Arise, Columbia's sons, and forward press;
Your Country's wrongs call loudly for redress;
The savage Indian with his scalping knife,
Or tomahawk, may seek to take your life.
By bravery awed, they'll in a dreadful fright.
Shrink backward to the woods in flight;
Their British leaders then will quickly shake.
And for those wrongs shall restitution make."
—Courtesy of EARhE R. FORREST,
author of "A History of Washington County, Pennsylvania."
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 507
chiefly Wyandots and Miamis, of Northwestern Ohio, and
Shawnees of Southern Ohio. The Americans held Hamilton in
abhorrence, and nick-named him the "hair-buyer" general. He
continued his dreadful work until his capture by Colonel George
Rogers Clark, at Vincennes, Indiana, February 25th, 1779, who
sent him to Williamsburg, Virginia, as a prisoner where he was
confined in irons.
Said the Virginia Council, June 16th, 1779:
"Governor Hamilton ["the hair-buyer general"] gave standing
rewards for scalps, but offered none for prisoners, which induced
the Indians, after making their captives carry their baggage into
the neighborhood of the fort [Fort Detroit], there to put them to
death."
Heckewelder says, in his "History of the Indian Nations," that
the instructions of Colonel Hamilton and other British officers
at Detroit to their Indian allies, were "to kill all the rebels," and
that a veteran Wyandot chief, having observed to one of these
officers that it was surely not meant that American women and
children should be killed for the scalp bounties, received the
reply: "Kill all; destroy all; nits breed lice.''
The following extract from Leeth's "Narrative," found on
page 7 of Butterfield's "Washington-Irvine Correspondence,"
pictures one of the scenes at Detroit when Colonel Hamilton was
engaged in the work of rewarding the Indians for American scalps :
"When we arrived there on the bank of the Detroit River, we
found Governor Hamilton and several other British officers, who
were standing and sitting around. Immediately the Indians pro-
duced a large quantity of scalps; the cannon fired ; the Indians
raised a shout; and the soldiers waved their hats, with huzzas
and tremendous shrieks, which lasted some time. This ceremony
being ended, the Indians brought forth a parcel of American
prisoners, as a trophy of their victories; among whom were
eighteen women and children, poor creatures, dreadfully mangled
and emaciated, with their clothes tattered and torn to pieces in
such a manner as not to hide their nakedness; their legs bare and
streaming with blood, the effects of being torn with thorns, briers
and brush ... If I had had an opportunity, I should certainly have
killed the Governor, who seemed to take great delight in the ex-
hibition."
England adopted the ferocious and horrible policy of sending
the Indians against the American frontier, in opposition to the
advice of some of her best and ablest statesmen, notably William
508 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Pitt. This great man described this shameful policy as "letting
loose the horrible hell-hounds of savage war." (Butterfield's
Washington-Irvine Correspondence, pages 6 and 7.)
. The British agents in New York were no better than Hamilton.
They sent the Senecas and various other tribes of the Six Nations
in alliance with them, against the frontiers of New York and both
Eastern and Western Pennsylvania. As will be seen in a subse-
quent chapter, they gave their Indian allies ten dollars each for
the two hundred and twenty-seven scalps of principally old men,
women and children, killed at the Wyoming massacre of July
3rd, 1778.
Franklin, in his list of twenty-six British atrocities, gives the
10th and 14th as follows:
"10th. The King of England, giving audience to his Secre-
tary of War, who presents him a schedule entitled 'Account of
Scalps' ; which he receives very graciously.
"14th. The commanding officer at Niagara, sitting in state, a
table before him, his soldiers and savages bring him scalps of the
Wyoming families and presenting them. Money on the table
with which he pays for them."
There is not a darker chapter in the history of modern times —
there is not a darker chapter in the history of the world since
men began to record events, than the account of the butchery of
old men and defenseless women and children, during the Revolu-
tionary War, by Indians instigated by the British and in the
British pay. Children were slaughtered before the eyes of their
agonized parents; wives were slaughtered in the presence of their
husbands; children were compelled to gaze upon the bloody and
mutilated corpses of their parents; the smoke of burning settle-
ments darkened the heavens, and hung as clouds of gloom over
many beautiful valleys; in the cabin homes of the pioneers was
heard the cry of deepest lamentation — an agonizing cry that went
up to God, as the Indian allies of the British carried away the
bloody scalps of loving parents and tender babes, to receive the
British scalp bounty for their ghastly service in the British cause.
The aged father, whose form was bent by a life of toil and hard-
ship on the frontier; the aged mother, whose hair was silvered by
child-birth pain and a life full of care and rich in service; the
widow, lingering by the grave of her buried love; the matron,
devoted and ministering to her children; the young man of talent,
promise, and joyous parental hope; the boy just opening into
adolescence; the maiden in the loveliness of grace, beauty, and
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777. 509
virtue; the child, angel-eyed and silken haired, prattling at its
parent's knee; the tender and helpless babe on its mother's breast
— the merciless Indian dashed out the brains of all these, tore off
their reeking scalps, carried them to British agents, and received
the British scalp bounty for their dreadful work.
In weighing the conduct of an individual, of a group of in-
dividuals, or of a nation, we should take into consideration their
mental endowment, moral standard, social aptitude and the kind
of temptations they meet or that may have been thrust upon
them. And so, in reading the accounts of the Indian atrocities
during the Revolutionary War, we should not lose sight of the
fact that the British gave their Indian allies these scalp bounties
as an inducement, well knowing that Indian warfare meant suf-
fering and death to the innocent and the helpless. The Indian
had no back-ground of centuries of Christian civilization — no
knowledge of the God of Revelation. Who, then, stands with
the greater condemnation before the Judgement Seat of Almighty
God? Is it the untutored Red Man, with passions wild as the
storms of his native mountains? Or, is it the anointed children
of civilization, education and Christianity, who were the in-
stigators of his deeds of blood and death?
Efforts to Secure Friendship of the Indians
In July, 1775, the Second Continental Congress initiated
measures to secure the friendship of the Indians in the conflict
with Great Britain. The frontier was divided into three Indian
departments. The middle department included the tribes west
of Pennsylvania and Virginia; and three members of Congress,
Patrick Henry of Virginia and Benjamin Franklin and James
Wilson of Pennsylvania, were appointed to hold a treaty with the
Indians at Fort Pitt. This treaty was held in the latter part of
October of that year, and was attended by a few of the chiefs of
the Senecas, Delawares, Shawnees and Wyandots. The principal
Indian speakers at the treaty Guyasuta of the Senecas and
Mingoes, and White Eyes of the Delawares. Guyasuta repre-
sented the Mingoes of the Ohio Valley, and, as an Iroquois,
assumed to speak for all the western tribes, thereby arousing the
anger of White Eyes, who thereupon declared the absolute in-
dependence of the Delawares. The council was far from being
harmonious. However, the chiefs declared their intention to
remain neutral; and Guyasuta promised to use his influence at
510 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Great Council of the Iroquois in New York, to obtain a deci-
sion in favor of peace.
The commissioners at this treaty selected John Gibson as
Indian agent for the Ohio tribes. A little later Gibson was suc-
ceeded by Richard Butler. Then, in the spring of 1776, the
Continental Congress took direct charge of Indian affairs, and
chose George Morgan as Indian agent at Fort Pitt. Morgan
arrived at Fort Pitt early in May, and at once began to arrange
for a more satisfactory treaty with the western tribes than the
treaty of October, 1775. He sent agents to the various western
tribes, employing in this service William Wilson, Peter Long,
Simon Girty and Joseph Nicholson.
The mission of William Wilson was the most important. He
proceeded to the tribes in Ohio. Arriving at the Delaware
capital of Coshocton, he was befriended by the Delaware chief.
New Comer. On this occasion. New Comer, believing it unsafe
for Wilson to proceed to the Wyandots at Sandusky, sent Kill-
buck to carry his message to them. Killbuck returned in eleven
days with word from the Wyandot chiefs that they wanted to
see Wilson and hear his message from his own mouth. Wilson
then decided to go to see them, and New Comer directed Killbuck
to accompany him. Scarcely had the journey begun when Kill-
buck became ill, and his place was taken by White Eyes. Pro-
ceeding, Wilson and White Eyes learned that the Wyandot chiefs
had gone to Detroit. Wilson then boldly pressed on to the
neighborhood of the British post, where he and White Eyes met
the Wyandots, Both he and White Eyes addressed them urging
them to attend the treaty. The Wyandot chiefs betrayed Wilson's
presence to the British commander, Henry Hamilton, to whom
Wilson frankly told the object of his mission. Though greatly
angered, Hamilton respected Wilson's character as an ambassa-
dor, and gave him a safe conduct through the Indian country to
Fort Pitt; but scathingly denounced White Eyes, and ordered
him to leave Detroit within twenty-four hours, if he valued his
life.
The Continental Congress, early in January, 1777, received in-
formation, "that certain tribes of Indians living in the back parts
of the country near the waters of the Susquehanna within the
Confederacy and under the protection of the Six Nations, the
friends and allies of the United States," intended coming to
Easton to hold a conference with the Continental and Colonial
Authorities. Thereupon, the Continental Congress appointed a
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777. 511
commission, consisting of George Taylor, George Walton, and
others, to purchase suitable presents and to conduct a treaty with
these Indians; while the Assembly of Pennsylvania named
Colonels Lowry and Cunningham as their commissioners, and the
Council of Safety sent Colonels Dean and Bull. Thomas Paine
was appointed to act as secretary of the commission.
Some of the Indians reached Wilkes-Barre on January 7th,
and announced the coming of the larger delegation, which reached
the same place on January 15th. They then proceeded to Easton,
where the conference was opened on January 27th, in the German
Reformed Church. It is claimed that, before proceeding to busi-
ness, the members of the commission and the Indians shook hands
with one another, and drank to the health of the Continental
Congress and the Six Nations, as the notes of the organ filled the
auditorium. There were seventy men and one hundred women
and children in the Indian delegation; and among the chiefs were
the following: Taasquah, or "King Charles," of the Cayuga;
Tawanah, or "The Big Tree," of the Seneca; Mytakawha, or
"Walking on Foot," and Kaknah, or "Standing by a Tree," of
the Munsee; Amatincka, or "Raising Anything Up" of the Nanti-
coke; Wilakinko, or "King Last Night" of the Conoy, and Thomas
Green, whose wife was a Mohawk, as interpreter.
The conference did not proceed far until it became evident
that the British, through the influence of Colonel John Butler,
then at Niagara, were having great success in turning the Six
Nations against the Americans. The results of this conference
are thus set forth in the report of the treaty, made to the Supreme
Executive Council of Pennsylvania: "The Indians seem to be
inclined to act the wise part with respect to the present dispute.
If they are to be relied upon, they mean to be neuter. We have
already learned their good intentions." But, as has been seen,
the overwhelming majority of the warriors of the Six Nations
took the British side in the Revolutionary War. As has also been
seen, Colonel Henry Hamilton, "the hair-buyer," succeeded in
securing the western tribes in the British interest.
In the meantime, as has been seen, George Croghan, on account
of being suspected of British sympathy, lost his office as Indian
agent, and George Morgan was appointed to this important
office. In the meantime, also. Dr. John Connolly, at Fort Pitt,
became so obnoxious in the British interest that he was seized
by twenty men, in June 1775, under orders of Captain St. Clair,
and carried to Ligonier with the intention of delivering him to
S12 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Continental Government at Philadelphia, The Virginia
settlers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, however, made such a
violent demonstration that St. Clair released Connolly. They
believed that his arrest was a blow at Virginia's territorial claims.
Soon after his release, Connolly fled from Pittsburgh at night,
and made his way to Virginia, where he joined Lord Dunmore on
a man-of-war at Portsmouth. From this refuge he carried on a
correspondence to influence border leaders against the Americans
and to stir up the Ohio tribes against the colonies. *
Capture of Andrew McFarlane
In July, 1776, when it became certain that the Iroquois were
going over to the British, General Washington urged the raising
of regiments on the frontiers. The Continental Congress then
ordered the raising of a regiment of seven companies from West-
moreland and one from Bedford, to erect and garrison forts at
Kittanning, Le Boeuf and Erie, and to protect the Allegheny
Valley from incursions of Tories and Iroquois. This regiment,
under command of Colonel Aenas Mackay, with George Wilson
as Lieutenant-Colonel and Richard Butler as Major, rendez-
voused at Kittanning late in the autumn, built a stockade just
below the present town of that name, and prepared to advance
up the Allegheny to erect the other forts, when a call was received
for the regiment to march across the state and join the army of
General Washington near the Delaware. In spite of a storm of
protest on the western frontier, this regiment, afterwards known
as the Eighth Pennsylvania, began its long and terrible march in
January, 1777, to join Washington's army.
At this time, Andrew McFarlane conducted a trading post a
short distance below the present town of Kittanning. After the
regiment left this place, Captain Samuel Moorehead, of Black
Lick Creek, Indiana County, organized a company of rangers
with Andrew McFarlane as Lieutenant to protect the supplies
which the regiment had left at Kittanning. It seems, however,
that very few of these rangers took post at Kittanning, and that,
at the time of McFarlane's capture, there were only two men
with him at his trading post.
On February 14th, two British subalterns, two Chippewas, and
two Iroquois Indians, sent by the British commandant at Fort
Niagara to descend the Allegheny, arrived on the west side of the
Allegheny opposite McFarlane's trading post at Kittanning, and
♦In April, 1774, Connolly, with a force of about one hundred and eighty armed men, dis-
turbed the meeting of the Pennsylvania Court at Hannastown, arrested the Pennsylvania
judges, Devereux Smith, Andrew McFarlane and Aeneas Mackey, and sent them to Staunton,
Virginia.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 5l3
shouted toward the other shore, calling for a canoe. McFarlane,
thinking that the Indians had come to trade or possibly to bring
some important news, crossed in a boat to the western shore.
Upon stepping from his boat, he was seized by the Indians and
told that he was a prisoner, his capture being witnessed by his
wife "and some men at the settlement." His captors carried him
to Quebec where, through the efforts of his brother, James, then
a lieutenant in the First Pennsylvania Regiment, he was ex-
changed, in the autumn of 1780, and rejoined his wife, Margaret
Lynn Lewis, a sister of General Andrew Lewis, at Staunton,
Virginia. Soon thereafter he opened another trading house on
Chartier's Creek, Allegheny County, where he lived for many
years.
Upon the capture of her husband, Mrs. McFarlane with her
infant in her arms fled through the wilderness to Carnahan's
block house, more than twenty miles distant, and located in Bell
Township, Westmoreland County, about two miles from the
Kiskiminetas River.
Murder of Simpson and Capture of Fergus Moorehead
In March, 1777, Fergus Moorehead, of Indiana County, visited
his brother, Captain Samuel Moorehead, whose rangers were then
located at Kittanning. On March 16th, as he and a soldier, named
Simpson, were on their way back to Indiana County, following
the Kittanning Indian Trail, they were attacked by a band of
Indians, near Blanket Hill, Armstrong County. Simpson was
killed and scalped, and Moorehead was taken prisoner. He was
compelled to run the gauntlet, and was then taken to Quebec,
where he was turned over to the British, who treated him much
worse than did the Indians. After eleven months, he was ex-
changed. On March 18th, Captain Samuel Moorehead found
the dead body of Simpson.
An account of the capture of Fergus Moorehead is given on
both pages 445 and 464 of Vol. 2 of the "Frontier Forts of Penn-
sylvania." That on page 445 is wrong as to the year of the event.
That on page 464 is correct, quoting the letter of Devereux
Smith, written at Hannastown, Westmoreland County, on March
24th, 1777.
Following the capture of Andrew McFarlane and Fergus
Moorehead and the murder of Simpson, the frontier of Western
Pennsylvania suffered terribly from Indian raids.* Besides, the
♦About this time, according to old deeds of record in Allegheny County, Mrs. Peter Keyser
(Kiser), her two small children and one grown son were killed by Indians, on the Monongahela,
a few miles below McKeesport.
514 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
frontiersmen lacked a sufficient supply of powder since early in
1776. The Revolutionary War caused a demand for more powder
than the factories could supply. In order to relieve the desperate
situation in which the western frontiersmen found themselves,
George Gibson and William Linn, with fifteen of the bravest of
"Gibson's Lambs," as Gibson's rangers were called, went from
Fort Pitt to New Orleans, in the summer of 1776, to procure a
supply of powder from the Spaniards; but it did not arrive until
the summer of 1777. A full account of this brave exploit and
valuable service to the American cause is found in Chapter 5 of
Hassler's "Old Westmoreland." George Gibson who was a son
of a Lancaster tavern keeper and had been engaged in the fur
trade with his brother, John Gibson, at Pittsburgh, was the father
of John Bannister Gibson, a famous Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania. William Linn was a Marylander, the
grandfather of William Linn, at one time United States Senator
from Missouri. Both George Gibson and William Linn died at
the hands of the Indians, Gibson being killed at St. Clair's defeat,
November 4th, 1791, and Linn being murdered by Indians, on
March 5, 1781, near his settlement, about ten miles from Louis-
ville, Kentucky.
Indian Massacre Near Standing Stone
On June 19th, 1777, occurred the massacre at what was known
as the Big Spring several miles west of the fort at Standing Stone,
now Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. The Indians destroyed the
plantations in the neighborhood, and the inhabitants fled to the
fort. Felix Donnelly, his son, Francis, Bartholomew Maguire,
and his daughter, Jane, residing near the mouth of Shaver's
Creek, placed their effects upon horses, and with a cow started
for the fort, when the Indians entered the neighborhood. Jane
Maguire proceeded on ahead driving the cow, while her father
and the Donnellys followed in the rear on horseback. When they
had reached a point about opposite the Big Spring, an Indian
fired from ambush and killed the younger Donnelly. His father
who was close beside him, caught him as he was falling from his
horse; whereupon, Maguire rode to his side, and the two held the
dead body of the boy upon the horse. The Indians then rushed
from their hiding places and fired upon the party, one bullet
striking the elder Donnelly and another grazing Maguire's ear.
Donnelly fell to the ground as did the body of his dead son. The
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 SIS
Indians scalped the boy and pursued Jane Maguire, who suc-
ceeded in escaping after she had lost her dress in freeing herself
from an Indian who attempted to capture her. Some men on the
opposite side of Shaver's Creek hearing the firing, rushed to the
scene, and the Indians then retreated into the woods, not knowing
the strength of the party. Maguire and his daughter reached the
fort and alarmed the garrison, which started in pursuit of the
Indians, but failed to overtake them. The dead body of young
Francis Donnelly was then buried at a spot now within the limits
of the town of Huntingdon.
Murders in Westmoreland and Indiana Counties in 1777
Some time in August, 1777, six or seven men were reaping oats
in a field about six miles from Carnahan's Blockhouse, a place of
defense in Bell Township, Westmoreland County. One of the
reapers wounded a deer, and while searching for it in the woods,
discovered an Indian and signs of others. The reapers then
hastily went to John McKibben's house, where several families
had gathered for safety, and where Fort Hand was erected the
following winter. From this place, word was sent to Carnahan's
Blockhouse, advising the occupants to be on the lookout for
Indians. The next day a party went out from McKibben's to
scout, and near the oat field, found the spot where the Indians
had secreted themselves the day before. That same day, the
Indians plundered the houses of James Chambers and several
other settlers in the neighborhood, which had been deserted when
their occupants fled to McKibben's and Carnahan's. Also on
the afternoon of this day, Robert Taylor and David Carnahan
went from Carnahan's to McKibben's to learn what intelligence
they could of Indians being in the neighborhood. They had
almost reached Carnahan's Blockhouse on their return, when they
saw several Indians rushing toward the house. Taylor and
Carnahan exerting all their powers, succeeded in reaching the
blockhouse before the Indians, and then made the door fast.
The Indians proved to be fourteen in number, and there were few
men in the blockhouse, some of its defenders being absent.
Darkness was now settling down over the hills of the harried
county of Westmoreland. John Carnahan, one of the occupants
of the blockhouse, having opened the door and stepped out to
get a shot at one of the Indians, was himself shot and instantly
killed. Having fallen near the door, his body was dragged in,
516 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and the door was again fastened. Firing on both sides was
continued for some time, and then the Indians departed, taking
with them several horses, probably to carry off their wounded.
John Carnahan was buried near the blockhouse. (Frontier Forts
of Pa., Vol. 2, pages 333-335.)
During the harvest time of 1777, the Senecas raided the settle-
ments north of the Kiskiminetas and Conemaugh, in what is now
the southern part of Indiana County, extending their depreda-
tions across these streams into what is now Westmoreland
County. Several persons were killed in the valley of Black Lick
Creek, Indiana County, and others captured. The other Black
Lick Creek settlers fled across the Conemaugh to Fort Wallace,
near Blairsville. Among them was Randall Laughlin. Some of
his horses having escaped from the pasture near Fort Wallace
and returned to his Black Lick farm, he determined to venture
back to his farm for them. Four of his neighbors accompanied
him, Charles Campbell, a major of the militia, John Gibson and
his brother, and a settler named Dixon. They reached Laughlin's
cabin, on September 25th, and while preparing themselves a
meal, were surprised by a band of Indians, probably Wyandots,
led by a Frenchman. Being given the promise that their lives
would be spared, the white men surrendered. They were also
premitted to write a note, telling of their capture, and to tack it
on the door of the cabin. They were then taken through the
wilderness to Detroit, thence to Montreal, thence to Quebec.
Rangers who went in search of the missing men, found the note,
and within the cabin, printed proclamations, from Henry Hamil-
ton, the "hair-buyer" British Colonel, of Detroit, offering re-
wards to all who would desert the American cause. The rangers
also found the scalped bodies of four settlers in the valley of
Black Lick Creek. Colonel Archibald Lochry, in a letter written
to President Thomas Wharton, of the Supreme Executive Coun-
cil, on November 4th, describing this event, adds:
"The Distressed situation of our Countery is such that we have
no Prospect But Desolation and Destruction; the whole country
On the North side of the Rode [the Forbes Road] from the Ale-
gany Mountains to the River [Kiskiminetas and Conemaugh] is
all Keept Close in forts, and can get no subsistance from their
Plantations." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 5, page 74L)
Colonel Lochry, in his letter, just referred to and quoted in
part, says that the place where Campbell, Laughlin and their
companions were captured, was "on the waters of Blackleigs
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 517
Creek," and that the place where the rangers found the mutilated
bodies of the four settlers was near thereto. However, Hassler,
in his "Old Westmoreland," says the scene of both events was in
the valley of Black Lick Creek. Both these creeks are in Indiana
County. Black Lick Creek flows into the Conemaugh a few miles
below Blairsville, and Blacklegs Creek flows into the Kiskimi-
netas, a continuation of the same stream, a few miles below
Saltsburg. The creeks are ten miles or more apart. In a sketch
of Randall Laughlin's life, it is related that the plantation on
which his cabin stood was partly in Black Lick and partly in
Center Townships, Indiana County. The evidence is in favor of
the Black Lick location, and probably the word "Blackleigs" in
Colonel Lochry's letter in the Pennsylvania Archives is a typo-
graphical error. (See "Frontier Forts," Vol. 2, page 349.)
Campbell, Laughlin, the Gibsons and Dixon were exchanged in
the autumn of 1788. Dixon and one of the Gibsons died on ship-
board while on the voyage to Boston, but the others returned to
the Westmoreland frontier. Campbell became a man of great
prominence in this county.
During the incursions into the southern part of what is now
Indiana County, in the summer and autumn of 1777, many of the
settlers of the southeastern part of this county fled across the
Conemaugh to Palmer's Fort in Fairfield Township, Westmore-
land County. Among these was George Findley, whose cabin
stood near the town of Cramer, in East Wheatfield Township,
Indiana County. Accompanied by an apprenticed boy, Mr.
Findley returned to his plantation in September to care for some
live stock. He and the boy were attacked by Indians. The boy
was captured and killed, but Findley, though wounded, made his
escape. As he ran, he looked back and saw the Indians scalping
the boy. Findley returned to Palmer's Fort, and related his
terrible experience. In a few days a band of settlers proceeded
to the scene of the attack. They found the body of the boy, and
buried near the town of Cramer. Findley's plantation was near
the cabin of the Friendly Delaware, Joseph Wipey, who was
killed in the spring of 1774.
Robert Campbell lived with his parents near Pleasant Grove
Church in Cook Township, Westmoreland County. In July,
1777, he and his brothers, William and Thomas, were working in
the harvest field when they were captured by a band of Senecas.
After capturing the boys, the Indians went to the Campbell home,
where they killed and scalped the mother and her infant. Their
518 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
bodies were found the next day. They also captured the girls,
Polly, Isabella, and Sarah. The youngest girl, who had difficulty
in riding a horse upon which the Indians placed her, was killed
about a mile from the home, and her body was found a few days
later. The three boys and two girls were then taken across the
Kiskiminetas below the mouth of the Loyalhanna, and carried to
New York. After four years, the two girls were released, and re-
turned to their father. Robert escaped in 1782, and succeeded in
returning to his home. At the close of the Revolutionary War,
William was exchanged, and also returned home. Thomas never
returned. What became of him is unknown.
During October and November, 1777, when General Edward
Hand, who was then in command of Fort Pitt, was endeavoring to
recruit his army for an invasion of the Indian country, many raids
were made into Westmoreland County, principally by the
Senecas. These raids were no doubt instigated by Guyasuta, and
possibly some of them were led by him. An incursion was made
into the Ligonier Valley about the middle of October, and eleven
men, among whom was Ensign Woods, were killed and scalped
near Palmer's Fort, located in Fairfield Township, midway be-
tween the Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Hill Mountain. A few
days later two children were killed and two scalped within site of
this fort; and three men were killed and a number captured within
a few miles of Ligonier.
On November 1st, Lieutenant Samuel Craig, who lived near
Shield's Fort, located near the town of New Alexandria, West-
moreland County, was riding toward Ligonier for salt, when he
was waylaid and either killed or captured at the western base of
Chestnut Ridge. Rangers found his mare lying dead near the
trail with eight bullets in her body, but no trace of Craig was ever
discovered.
At about the same time a band of Senecas led by a Canadian,
attacked Fort Wallace, about a mile south of Blairsville, but their
leader was killed and they were repulsed. At about the same
time, also. Major James Wilson, hearing the firing of guns at the
cabin of his neighbor, while at work on his farm, got his rifle and
went to investigate. He found the neighbor killed, the head being
severed from his body. Wilson then hurriedly took his wife and
children to Fort Barr, located on a tributary of the Loyalhanna,
about five and one-half miles southeast of Fort Wallace.
On November 2nd, 1777, William Richardson was killed and
scalped about three miles from Fort Ligonier. At the same time,
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 519
two men were killed and a woman captured not far from the place
where Richardson met his death.
The band of Indians perpetrating these outrages, was pursued
by a party of rangers led by the celebrated Colonel James Smith,
Captain John Hinkston, and Robert Barr. Smith and his rangers
overtook the Indians on the east bank of the Allegheny River,
near Kittanning, killed five of them, and returned in triumph to
the settlements with the scalps of these Indians and with the
horses which they had stolen.
Engagement in Blair County
Jones, in his "Juniata Valley," relates that, in the autumn of
1777, Thomas and Michael Coleman and Michael Wallack left
Fetter's Fort, where Duncansville, Blair County, now stands,
in the morning for the purpose of hunting deer. Snow fell during
the day, and while returning in the evening, the three frontiers-
men, came upon Indian tracks in the snow, a mile or two east of
Kittanning Point. They followed the tracks about half a mile,
when they saw, in the blaze of the fire, the dusky forms of In-
dians seated around it. They conjectured that there were about
thirty Indians in the camp. Returning to the fort, they told the
garrison that they had discovered Indians in a camp, but did not
disclose the number of the Indians, fearing that the garrison would
think that the enemy were too numerous to be attacked by the
fort's available force of sixteen men. The sixteen men then loaded
their rifles, and started for the Indians' camp. When they
reached the encampment late at night, they found some ten or
twelve Indians seated around the fire, the night being quite cold.
The rifles of the Indians were leaning against a tree, and Thomas
Coleman conceived the design of approaching the tree and secur-
ing the rifles, but none of his companions would join him in so
dangerous an undertaking. It was then agreed that each white
man should single out an Indian, and all fire at once. Aim was
taken, and at the word given, the frontiersmen fired, and three
or four of the Indians fell. The rest of the Indians sprang up and
seized their rifles. The frontiersmen, not having time to reload
their rifles, ran back to the fort. This encounter created much
alarm, and the people of the neighborhood gathered their families
into the fort. One, or possibly two, of the Hollidays took part in
this night attack upon the Indians.
520 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Outrages on the West Branch of the Susquehanna in 1777
On a Sunday morning, in June 1777, Zephaniah Miller, Abel
Cady, James Armstrong, Isaac Bouser and two women left Antes
Fort, located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna near the
mouth of Antes Creek, Lycoming County, and crossed the river
for the purpose of milking the cows that remained on the opposite
side, their owners having fled to the fort for safety. They found
all the cows except the one with the bell. It did not occur to them
that Indians were about and had purposely kept the bell cow
back some distance from the river, so that Miller and his com-
panions would be obliged to come some distance from the river
for her. Cady, Armstrong and Miller started after this cow, and
were fired upon and wounded. Miller was scalped immediately;
Cady was also scalped and left weltering in his blood, and Arm-
strong, who was shot in the head, ran a short distance, when he
fell.
When the Indians fired on Cady, Armstrong and Miller, Bouser
and the two women ran and secreted themselves in a rye field
near by. The garrison at Fort Antes, hearing the firing, rushed
forth immediately, disregarding the orders of its commander,
Colonel John Henry Antes, who feared the firing might be a
decoy to draw the garrison away from the fort, while the Indians
would assail it from the other side. Crossing the river in canoes,
the garrison found Miller and Cady where they fell. Miller was
dead, but Cady was still alive. He was carried to the river bank,
where he was met by his wife, who was one of the milking party.
On seeing her, he stretched out his hand in recognition, and im-
mediately breathed his last. Armstrong was carried over to the
fort, where he died on Monday night, in great agony. The In-
dians were pursued by the garrison through the limits of the
present town of Jersey Shore, and escaped into the swamp be-
yond. At one point they fired upon their pursuers, and the
whites fired upon them several times, probably doing some
execution, as blood stains were afterwards found where they had
apparently dragged away the killed and wounded of their band.
In the autumn of 1777, occurred the attack on the Benjamin
and Brown families on Loyalsock Creek, Lycoming County. The
Benjamin family lived back of what is now Williamsport, and
two brothers of this family were married to two daughters of
Adam Brown. Hearing that hostile Indians were approaching,
the Benjamin brothers, with their wives and children, took refuge
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 521
at Adam Brown's house, which was soon attacked. During the
attack, one of the Indians was killed by a shot from the rifle of
one of the Benjamin brothers. Unable to dislodge the occupants
of the house, the Indians set fire to the building. The Benjamins
then determined to come forth and trust themselves to the mercies
of the besiegers. The Indians received them at the door, toma-
hawked one of the Benjamin men, scalped him, and shook his
bloody scalp in the face of his terrified wife, who had caught her
child from her husband's arms as he sank in death. William,
Nathan and Ezekiel Benjamin and their little sister were carried
into captivity. The boys returned after the Revolutionary War,
but the sister remained, grew up among the Indians, and married
a chief to whom she had several children. Later William went to
where she was living among her captors, and brought her to
Williamsport, where she remained for a time; but being unhappy
and longing for her Indian companions, William permitted her
to return to her forest home. But to return to Adam Brown. He
refused to leave his burning house, and, with his wife and daughter
was consumed by the flames. They preferred to meet death in
this way, rather than to fall into the hands of the Indians. A man
named Cook and his wife were captured by this same band, and
carried into captivity.
In the winter of 1777, three men left Horn's Fort, in the Eastern
part of Clinton County, and proceeded across the West Branch
of the Susquehanna, when they were fired upon by a party of
Indians near Sugar Run, and one of their number was killed.
The other two then fled, and were pursued across the river on the
ice. One of them named DeWitt fell into an air hole, but caught
hold of the edge of the ice, and in this manner managed to keep
his head above water. The Indians commenced firing at his head,
but by watching the flash of their rifles, he dodged under the
water like a duck and thus escaped being hit. After several shots
were fired the Indians left, thinking him dead. Presently he
crawled from the water on the ice and escaped safely to the fort.
The other man was pursued by an Indian, who gained on him
very rapidly. He had a rifle which he supposed was worthless,
and as the Indian came near to him, he turned and pointed it at
him, thinking to frighten him, but did not pull the trigger. He
repeated this action several times, but at last, when the Indian
was very close, instinctively raised his rifle, pulled the trigger,
and to his astonishment, the gun went off and shot the Indian
dead. He also escaped safely to the fort, whereupon a party
522 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
turned out and pursued the Indians as far as Youngwoman's
Creek. From the marks on the snow, the white men noticed that
the Indians had carried and dragged the body of their dead
companion.
Near the close of 1777, a settler named Saltzman was killed by
the Indians on Sinnemahoning Creek, Cameron County. At
about the same time another settler named Daniel Jones was
killed, possibly by the same band, on a stream near Farrandsville,
Clinton County, his wife making her escape. Another settler in
the neighborhood was killed at the same time.
In December, 1777, hostile Indians appeared on the West
Branch of the Susquehanna, whereupon Colonel Samuel Hunter,
commandant at Fort Augusta, ordered out Colonel Cookson
Long's battalion, all good woodsmen; but, in spite of their vigi-
lance, one of the inhabitants was killed and scalped, on January
1st, about two miles above the Great Island. Eleven Indians
were seen, who were pursued, and two of their number were
killed.
Massacres in Bedford County in 1777
Day's "Historical Collections" contains the following account
of Indian outrages, in the chapter on Bedford County:
"In the year 1777, a family named Tull resided about six miles
west of Bedford, on a hill to which the name of the family was
given. There were ten children, nine daughters and a son; but at
the time referred to, the son was absent, leaving at home his aged
parents and nine sisters. At that time, the Indians were particu-
larly troublesome, and the inhabitants had to abandon their
improvements and take refuge at the fort [Fort Bedford]; but
Tull's family disregarded the danger and remained on their im-
provement. One Williams, who had made a settlement about
three miles west of Tull's, and near where the town of Schellsburg
now stands, had returned to his farm to sow some flax. He had a
son with him, and remained out about a week. The road to his
improvement passed Tull's house. On their return, as they ap-
proached Tull's, they saw a smoke, and coming nearer, discovered
that it arose from the burning ruins of Tull's house. Upon a
nearer approach, the son saw an object in the garden, which by
a slight movement, had attracted his attention, and looking more
closely, they found it was the old man just expiring. At the same
moment, the son discovered on the ground near him an Indian
paint bag. They at once understood the whole matter, and
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 523
knowing that the Indians were still near, fled to the fort. Next
day a force went out from the fort to examine, and after some
search, found the mother with an infant in her arms, both scalped.
A short distance further, in the same direction, they found the
eldest daughter, also scalped. A short distance from her, they
found the next daughter in the same situation, and scattered
about at intervals, the rest of the children but one, who, from
some circumstances, they supposed had been burned. They all
appeared to have been overtaken in flight, and murdered and
scalped where they were found. It seems the family were sur-
prised early in the morning, when all were in the house, and thus
became an easy prey to the savages.
"About December of the same year, a number of families came
into the fort from the neighborhood of Johnstown. Amongst
them, were Samuel Adams, a man named Thornton, and one,
Bridges. After their alarm had somewhat subsided, they agreed
to return for their property. A party started with pack-horses,
reached the place, and not seeing any Indians, collected their
property, and commenced their return. After proceeding some
distance, a dog belonging to one of the party showed signs of
uneasiness, and ran back. Bridges and Thornton desired the
others to wait whilst they would go back for him. They went
back, and had proceeded but 200 or 300 yards, when a body of
Indians, who had been lying in wait on each side of the way, but
who had been afraid to fire on account of the numbers of the
whites, suddenly rose up and surrounded them and took them
prisoners. The others, not knowing what had detained their
companions, went back after them; when they arrived near the
spot, the Indians fired on them, but without doing any injury.
The whites instantly turned and fled, except Samuel Adams, who
took to a tree and began to fight in the Indian style. In a few
minutes, however, he was killed, but not without doing the same
fearful service for his adversary. When the news reached the
fort, a party volunteered to visit the ground. When they reached
it, although the snow had fallen ankle deep, they readily found
the bodies of Adams and the Indian; the face of the latter having
been covered by his companions with Adams' hunting shirt.
"A singular circumstance also occurred about that time in the
neighborhood of the Allegheny Mountain, A man named Wells
had made a very considerable improvement, and was esteemed
rather wealthy for that region. He, like others, had been forced
with his family from his home, and had gone for protection to
524 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the fort. In the fall of the year, he concluded to return to his
place and dig his crop of potatoes. For that purpose, he took
with him six or seven men, an Irish servant girl to cook, and an
old plough-horse. After they had finished their job, they made
preparations to return to the fort next day. During the night
Wells dreamed that on his way to his family, he had been attacked
and gored by a bull ; and so strong an impression did this dream
make, that he mentioned it to his companions, and told them
that he was sure some danger awaited them. He slept again,
and dreamed that he was about to shoot a deer, and when cocking
his gun, the main-spring broke. In his dream he thought he
heard distinctly the crack of the spring when it broke. He again
awoke, and his fears were confirmed; and he immediately urged
his friends to rise and get ready to start. Directly after he arose,
he went to his gun to examine if it was all right, and in cocking
it, the main-spring snapped off. This circumstance alarmed
them, and they soon had breakfast, and were ready to leave. To
prevent delay, the girl was put on the horse and started off, and
as soon as it was light enough, the rest followed. Before they
had gone far, a young dog belonging to Wells, manifested much
alarm, and ran back to the house. Wells called him; but after
coming a short distance, he invariably ran back. Not wishing
to leave him, as he was valuable, he went after him, but had gone
but a short distance towards the house, when five Indians rose
from behind a large tree that had fallen, and approached him with
extended hands. The men who were with him fled instantly, and
he would have followed; but the Indians were so close he thought
it useless. As they approached him, however, he fancied the
looks of a very powerful Indian who was nearest him boded no
good; and being a very swift runner, and thinking it neck or
nothing at any rate, determined to attempt an escape. As the
Indian approached, he threw at him his useless rifle, and dashed
ofif towards the woods in the direction his companions had gone.
Instead of firing, the Indians commenced a pursuit for the pur-
pose of making him a prisoner, but he out ran them. After run-
ning some distance, and when they thought he would escape, they
all stopped and fired at once, and every bullet struck him, but
without doing him much injury or retarding his flight. Soon
after this he saw where his companions had^ concealed them-
selves; and as he passed, begged them to fire on the Indians and
save him; but they were afraid and kept quiet. ■ He continued his
flight, and after a short time, overtook the girl with the horse.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1775, 1776, 1777 525
She quickly understood his danger, and dismounting instantly,
urged him to take her place, while she would save herself by con-
cealment. He mounted, but without a whip, and for want of
one could not get the old horse out of a trot. This delay brought
the Indians upon him again directly, and as soon as they were
near enough, they fired; and this time with more effect, as one
of the balls struck him in the hip and lodged in his groin. But
this saved his life — it frightened the horse into a gallop, and he
escaped, although he suffered severely for several months after-
wards.
"The Indians were afterwards pursued and surprised at their
morning meal; and when fired on, four of them were killed, but
the other, though wounded, made his escape. Bridges, who was
taken prisoner near Johnstown when Adams was murdered, saw
him come in to his people, and describes him as having been shot
through the chest, with leaves stuffed in the bullet holes to stop
the bleeding.
"The Indians were most troublesome during the predatory in-
cursions, which were frequent after the commencement of the
Revolution. They cut off a party of whites under command of
Captain Dorsey, at the Harbor, a deep cove formed by Ray's
Hill and a spur from it.
"John Lane, to whom I have before referred, was out at one
time as a spy, under the command of Captain Philips. He left
the scout once for two days, on a visit home, and when he re-
turned to the fort, the scout had been out some time. Fears were
entertained for their safety. A party went in search ; and within
a mile or two of the fort, found Captain Philips and the whole of
his men, 15 in number, killed and scalped. When found, they
were all tied to saplings; and, to use the language of the narrator,
who was an eye-witness, 'their bodies were completely riddled
with arrows."
The murder of Captain Philips and his rangers, above referred
to, happened in 1780, and will be described in a later chapter.
On November 8th, 1777, a man was killed by Indians, on the
mountain near Bedford. Less than a month before this murder,
or on October 12th, another settler was killed and scalped near
Stony Creek, in the adjoining county of Somerset.
Thomas Smith and George Woods, in a letter written from
Bedford to President Wharton, on November 27th, 1777, describe
the terrible sufferings of the settlers in what is now Bedford and
Blair Counties, as follows:
526 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"The present situation of this County is so truly deplorable
that we should be inexcusable if we delayed a moment in ac-
quainting you with it; an Indian war is now raging around us in
its utmost fury. Before you went down, they had killed one man
at Stony Creek; since that time they have killed five on the
mountain, over against the heads of Dunning's Creek, killed or
taken three at the three springs, wounded one and killed some
children by Frankstown, and had they not been providentially
discovered in the Night, and a party went out and fired on them,
they would, in all probability, have destroyed a great part of that
settlement in a few hours. A small party went out into Morrison's
Cove scouting, and unfortunately divided; the Indians dis-
covered one division, and out of eight, killed seven and wounded
the other. In short, a day hardly passes without our hearing of
some new murder, and if the People continue only a week longer
to fly as they have done for a week Past, Cumberland County will
be a frontier. From Morrison's, Croyl's and Friend's Coves,
Dunning's Creek and one half of the Glades they are fled or
forted, and for all the defence that can be made here, the Indians
may do almost what they please." (Penna. Archives, Vol. 6,
page. 39.)
In our next chapter, we shall describe the terrible events of the
year, 1778.
CHAPTER XXIV
The Revolutionary War
1778
The Squaw Campaign
FOLLOWING the flight of Dr. John Connolly from Fort
Pitt, in the summer of 1775, the Virginia convention, in
August of that year, directed Captain John Neville to occupy
this fort with his company of about one hundred troops from the
Shenandoah Valley. Captain Neville accordingly took possession
of the fort on September 11th. He continued to command this
post until June 1st, 1777, on which date he was succeeded by
Brigadier-General Edward Hand, by orders of General Washing-
ton.
Soon after General Hand took charge of the important post of
Fort Pitt, the terrible raids of Shawnees, Wyandots, Delawares of
the Munsee Clan and Senecas into the region east of Fort Pitt,
described in Chapter XXHI, took place, although, as was seen
in the same chapter, many murders had been committed by the
Indians in this region before the arrival of General Hand. Soon
after arriving at Fort Pitt, General Hand decided to carry the
war into the Indian country west of the Ohio and Allegheny, his
plan being to descend the Ohio to the mouth of the Great Kan-
awha, and march from this place against the Shawnee towns on
the Scioto. He sent letters to the militia commanders in Bedford
and Westmoreland counties, Pennsylvania, and the frontier
counties of Virginia, asking for troops; and his project was ap-
proved by the Continental Congress. He expected five hundred
men from Westmoreland and Bedford Counties and fifteen
hundred from Virginia. The latter were to assemble at Fort
Henry (Wheeling, West Virginia) and Fort Randolph (at the
mouth of the Great Kanawha). Owing to the distressed condi-
tion of the western frontier and owing to the fact that most of
the able-bodied men of this region were in the Continental Army
528 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
in the East, Bedford County raised no troops for this expedition,
Westmoreland raised only about one hundred under Colonel
Archibald Lochry, and Virginia raised only a few squads. On
October 19th, 1777, General Hand left Fort Pitt, and went to
Fort Henry, where he waited about a week for the assembling
of the Virginians. Only a few appeared. General Hand then
returned in disgust to Fort Pitt. In the meantime, a few Vir-
ginians assembled at Fort Randolph, and, hearing no word from
General Hand, dispersed. Thus this expedition ended in failure.
Throughout the autumn the raids into the region east of Fort
Pitt continued.
About Christmas, General Hand learned that the British had
built a magazine where Cleveland, Ohio, now stands, and had
stored it with arms, ammunition and clothing for the use of the
Indian incursions, instigated by Colonel Henry Hamilton and
proposed to be made against the western frontier in the spring of
1778. Hand then determined to lead an expedition to destroy
these supplies. By February 15th, 1778, he had raised, by great
exertions, five hundred horsemen for this proposed expedition.
On this date (Feb. 15th, 1778), his expedition left Fort Pitt,
descending the Ohio to the mouth of the Beaver and then ascend-
ing the Beaver to the mouth of the Mahoning. By the time the
Mahoning was reached that stream was almost impassable, and
Hand was so disheartened that he was about to give up the ex-
pedition and return, when the footprints of some Indians were
discovered on the high ground. These tracks led to a small
Indian village, where Edinburg, Lawrence County, now stands.
Hand's forces attacked the village, but found that it contained
only one old man, and some squaws and children, the warriors
being away on a hunt. The Indians escaped except the old man
and one squaw, who were both shot, and another squaw, who was
taken prisoner. This woman captive informed Hand that ten
Delawares of the Wolf Clan were making salt ten miles farther
up the Mahoning. Hand then dispatched a detachment after
these Indians, who proved to be four squaws and a boy. The
soldiers killed three of the squaws and the boy, and captured the
other squaw.
The condition of the weather making further progress im-
possible, General Hand led his army back to Fort Pitt with the
two squaw captives. His formidable force of five hundred horse-
men had slain one old man, four women, one boy, and captured
two women. On Hand's arrival at Fort Pitt, the frontiersmen
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 529
derided his recent exploits and dubbed the expedition the "Squaw
Campaign." Discouraged and humiliated, he asked General
Washington to relieve him, and on May 2nd, Congress voted his
recall, and commissioned General Lachlan Mcintosh to succeed
him.
Flight of the Pittsburgh Tories
Captain Alexander McKee, who had been Deputy Indian
Agent under George Croghan, was the leader of the Tory move-
ment in Western Pennsylvania, having been discovered in cor-
respondence with the British as early as 1776. Finally General
Hand ordered him to report to the Continental Congress. McKee
then decided to escape. Hand, hearing of his plans, sent a detach-
ment of soldiers to McKee's house on his plantation at McKee's
Rocks to arrest him and bring him to Fort Pitt. The detachment
arrived too late. McKee, Robert Surphit, Simon Girty, Matthew
Elliott, a man named Higgins, and two negro slaves belonging to
McKee had escaped during the night of March 28th, 1778. They
fled to the Delaware capital of Conshocton, where they made an
attempt to turn the peaceable Delawares against the Americans.
Their attempt, however, was thwarted by the Delaware chief,
White Eyes, though Captain Pipe argued strongly for war. They
then went to the Shawnee villages on the Scioto, where they were
heartily welcomed, as many of the Shawnees had already taken
up arms against the Americans. At Colonel Henry Hamilton's
request, they went from the Shawnee villages to Detroit, where
they were given commissions in the British service. They then
became merciless raiders of the frontiers, as underlings of the
"hair-buyer British general." They left behind them at Fort
Pitt a number of sympathizers in the Thirteenth Virginia Regi-
ment, of which Colonel William Crawford was in command.
Crawford, personal friend of George Washington and thoroughly
loyal to the American cause, discovered a plot which had been
planned by some members of this regiment, to blow up the fort.
He had several of these plotters executed.
The Tories of Sinking Spring Valley
While the Tory plotting leading to the flight of the Tories,
Captain Alexander McKee, Matthew Elliott, Robert Surphlit,
and Simon Girty from Fort Pitt, was going on, British agents
from Niagara and Detroit visited several isolated settlements in
530 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the mountains of Pennsylvania, in an effort to persuade the moun-
taineers to espouse the British cause. One of these agents suc-
ceeded in deluding a number of frontiersmen in what is now Blair
County, promising that any man who deserted the American
cause should have two hundred acres of land on the conclusion of
peace. He told these settlers that, if they would join a force of
British and Indians coming down the Allegheny in the spring of
1778, they would be permitted to join in a general incursion
against the frontier settlements, and receive their share of the
pillage.
The frontiersmen who yielded to the persuasions of the British
agent, held meetings in the isolated Sinking Spring Valley, in
Blair County, in February and March, 1778, their leader being
John Weston. In the meantime, after fully enlisting Weston, the
British agent returned up the Allegheny, promising to come to
Kittanning about the middle of April with a force of three hun-
dred Indians and Tories to meet Weston's followers, and then
attack Fort Pitt and the frontier settlements. By about the first
of April, Weston had increased his band to thirty, and was joined
about that time by a man named McKee, who came from Carlisle.
At Carlisle, McKee had been in communication with a British
officer who had been held at that place as a prisoner of war, who
gave McKee a letter addressed to all British officers, vouching
for the loyalty of McKee and his associates. This letter was to be
used in securing the protection of the plotters of the Sinking
Spring Valley, when they would meet the force of British and
Indians at Kittanning.
Presently word reached the plotters that a force of Indians
had gathered at Kittanning, and occupied the fort at that place,
which had been deserted by the Americans the year before. Then
Weston and his associates set out in their march over the moun-
tains to Kittanning, crossing the main range of the Alleghenies at
Kittanning Point, and following the Kittanning Indian Trail. On
the afternoon of the second day, they encountered a band of one
hundred Iroquois who were on a plundering raid of their own, and
believed Weston and his men to be enemies. Weston ran forward
waving his hand and shouting: "Friends! Friends!" The Iro-
quois being ignorant of the conspiracy, killed and scalped Weston,
and then darted into the thickets. McKee waving in one hand the
letter he had received from the British prisoner at Carlisle and in
the other a white handkerchief, called out to the Indians: "Broth-
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 531
ers! Brothers!" The Indians did not respond, but vanished into
the forest.
Weston was buried where he fell, and his companions decided
to proceed no further. Many perished from hunger in the wilder-
ness. Some, after great suffering, reached British posts in the
southern colonies. Five returned to their homes, and were later
lodged in jail at Bedford. The leader of these, Richard Weston,
brother of the dead plotter, was caught in the Sinking Spring
Valley by a party of Americans, and lodged in jail at Carlisle to
await trial, but later made his escape. Those who had fled were
charged with treason, and their estates were forfeited. After the
Revolutionary War was over, a few returned to Pennsylvania,
succeeded in procuring the removal of the attainder, and got
back their land. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, pages 469, 542, 543;
Hassler's "Old Westmoreland," pages 49 to 53.)
It is said that the friendly Delaware, Captain Logan, for whom
Logan's Valley in Blair County is named, gave the loyal settlers
information as to the plotting of the Tories of the Sinking Spring
Valley. This Indian lived for many years where Tyrone now
stands. A band of rangers, upon learning of the march of the
Tories, scoured the woods almost as far as Kittanning, five of
their number being killed by lurking Indians. (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 6, page 559.) Colonel Arthur Buchanan sent this force.
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 485.)
Outrages in Westmoreland County in 1778
In April, 1778, the Senecas crossed the Kiskiminetas and
Conemaugh, and once more entered Westmoreland County. On
the 28th of that month about twenty rangers, commanded by
Captain Hopkins who had gone out from Fort Wallace, were sur-
prised by a larger force of Indians, and defeated. Nine of the
rangers lay dead in the forest and their bodies were left behind,
while Captain Hopkins was slightly wounded. Four of the
Indians were killed in this engagement. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6,
page 470; also page 495.)
Hassler, in his "Old Westmoreland" suggests that this was
probably the combat referred to by Dr. Joseph Smith in his "Old
Redstone," in which Ebenezer Finley, son of the pioneer preacher,
James Finley, took part. According to Smith, a horseman dashed
into the fort with the word that he had seen two men and a
woman fleeing through the woods from Indians. About twenty
532 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of the militia at Fort Wallace then sallied forth, and at about a
mile and a half from the fort were ambushed. Presently, the
militia retreated toward the fort, in the meantime many being
shot down or tomahawked. Ebenezer Finley having fallen be-
hind his companions while trying to prime his gun, exerted him-
self tremendously to prevent his being overtaken. In this effort
he succeeded in passing a comrade by striking him on the shoulder
with his elbow. At almost the same instant his comrade was
brained with a tomahawk. Says Hassler: "Thus young Finley
saved himself by sacrificing the life of another, and the pious
author [Dr. Joseph Smith] would have it that Finley escaped by
the interposition of Providence."
Hassler, in his "Old Westmoreland" describes another event
which tradition says took place near Fort Wallace possibly in the
summer of 1778, as follows:
"The story goes that signs of Indians were seen near Fort Barr,
and the settlers throughout the southern part of Derry took
refuge there. They were preparing to withstand an attack, when
brisk firing was heard in the direction of Fort Wallace. Major
James Wilson, at the head of about forty men, promptly set out
from Barr's to the relief of the other post. They arrived within
sight of Fort Wallace, which they found heavily besieged ; but as
soon as Wilson's company appeared, the savages turned upon it
and assailed it in overwhelming force. The principal conflict took
place on a bridge over a deep gully, about 500 yards from the fort.
Several Indians were there slain and others were thrown over the
bridge; but Wilson's party was forced to retreat and fought
desperately all the way back to Fort Barr. During this retreat
two of Robert Barr's sons, Alexander and Robert, were killed,
but their bodies were saved from the scalping knife. All others
gained the stockade in safety, and the Indians soon afterward
disappeared from the settlement."
In 1778, a settler named Reed lived not far from Fort Ligonier.
When Indian troubles threatened the settlement. Reed and his
family moved to the fort, where his oldest daughter, Rebecca,
distinguished herself in running foot races with various athletes
of the garrison. Some time during the summer, Rebecca and her
brother, George, a young man named Means, and his sister
Sarah, left the fort to gather berries in a clearing about two miles
away. On their way, the young men, who were walking ahead,
met Major McDowell coming toward the fort. At that instant
the party were fired upon by Indians. McDowell's rifle was
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 533
splintered by a bullet, and young Reed was mortally wounded.
Young Means ran back to protect the girls, and was captured.
The girls started to run toward the fort, but the Indians soon
caught Miss Means. Miss Reed, however, outdistanced her pur-
suers as she fled toward the fort.
The garrison hearing the firing, a relief party headed by a
young man named Shannon, proceeded in the direction of the
firing. These met Miss Reed a short distance from the fort, and
Shannon conducted her to safety, while the others proceeded to
the scene of the firing, where they found the lifeless bodies of
young Reed and Miss Means. Three years later young Means
returned from his captivity and reported that the warrior who
had chased Miss Reed was renowned as an athlete among the
Indians, but had lost his prestige on account of his failure to
catch the "white squaw." Later young Shannon married Re-
becca Reed, and they spent a long and happy life in the Ligonier
Valley.
The Ulery family lived about two miles south of Ligonier. In
the month of July, most likely in the year 1778, the three girls,
Julian, aged twenty, Elizabeth, aged eighteen, and Abigail, aged
sixteen, were raking hay a short distance from their home, when
they were attacked by Indians. The girls ran toward the house
with their pursuers close on their heels. Abigail was unable to
keep up with her sisters, and when the latter got into the house,
they immediately closed and barred the door, thinking that
Abigail had been captured. The father then shot through the
door, wounding one of the Indians. In the meantime, Abigail ran
into the woods above the house, and hid herself among leaves and
weeds in a depression made by the uprooting of a tree. The In-
dians came near where she lay concealed ; but the wounded mem-
ber of the band was moaning so piteously that his companions,
without making further search for Abigail, carried him away, and
soon disappeared over the brow of the hill above the Ulery home.
No doubt this Indian died, for shortly afterwards a newly made
grave was found at that place, and many years later the grave
was opened and human bones exhumed by Isaac Slater.
The following day, Julian and Elizabeth went to work in the
same field, when Indians, evidently the same band that made the
attack the day before, got between the girls and the house, and
succeeded in capturing them. Julian and Elizabeth struggled
desperately with their captors. Then, in the hope of making the
girls reconciled to going along with them, the Indians gave them
534 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
new moccasins. The captives still struggled, and were dragged
along to the rivulet near Brant's school house, when the Indians
became desperate and told them to make a choice between cap-
tivity and death. The girls struggled all the harder, and were
then tomahawked and scalped on the spot. The Indians then
hurried on, but presently returned to remove the moccasins from
the girls, when they found Elizabeth partly recovered, and sitting
up against a tree. An Indian then sunk his tomahawk into her
brain. Julian was conscious but lay still, and the Indians thought
her dead. She recovered but was never strong, and her scalp
never healed. She spent her days on the homestead with her
sister Abigail.
The Harman family lived in 1777 near Williams' block house
about midway between Stahlstown and Donegal, Westmoreland
County. Some time during the summer of this year, Mr. Harman
and three of his neighbors were returning from some gathering in
the neighborhood, when they were fired upon by Indians from
ambush, and all killed except one, who throwing his arms about
his horse's neck, rode beyond the reach of the Indians. His body
was found the next day with his horse standing by its side.
Mrs. Harman and her sons, Andrew, John, and Philip, spent
the next winter at the block house, and then returned to the farm
on Four Mile Run. One morning in the spring of 1778, Mrs.
Harman sent John and Andrew to chase some horses of a neighbor
out of a field of growing grain. A band of Senecas who were
watching, captured the boys, and carried them to the headwaters
of the Allegheny. A member of this Indian band had the tobacco
pouch of Mr. Harman, which the boys recognized, and he was no
doubt a member of the band who killed the father during the pre-
ceding summer. Both John and Andrew were adopted by the
Senecas. John died among them about a year after his capture,
but Andrew after two years was sold to a British officer for a bottle
of rum, who took him to London where he was kept for another
two years as a servant. At the end of the Revolutionary War, he
was exchanged and sent to New York, from which place he im-
mediately went to his old home in the Ligonier Valley, where he
found his mother overjoyed to meet him. Andrew had many
thrilling experiences during his captivity. He was among the
Senecas when Colonel Brodhead marched against them in the
summer of 1779.
As will be seen later in this chapter, the Eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment, under Colonel Daniel Brodhead, was sent back over
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 535
the mountains to Fort Pitt in the summer of 1778 to protect the
harried western frontier. Captain Samuel Miller was sent in the
advance to raise recruits in Westmoreland County and to procure
supplies for the forts and stockades. On July 7th, he and nine
other men, most of whom were Continental soldiers, were bringing
grain to Hannastown from the neighborhood of Fort Hand,
located in the northern part of Westmoreland County. A party
of Indians, likely Senecas, ambushed Captain Miller's party,
killing him and seven others. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 673.)
Clark's Expedition — Fatal Voyage of David Rodgers
In January, 1778, Colonel George Rogers Clark raised a force
of one hundred and fifty Virginians principally in the upper
Monongahela Valley, and then marched to Fort Redstone, went
into camp where West Brownsville, Washington County, now
stands, and there constructed boats for his expedition to the
Northwest. Having constructed the boats and gotten a supply of
powder from the stores which George Gibson and William Linn
secured from the Spaniards in New Orleans, as related in Chapter
XXIII, Clark's forces left the camp at West Brownsville, on May
17th, and then proceeded down the Monongahela and Ohio.
The achievements of this heroic band are among the most
brilliant in the pages of military history. In February, 1779, for
a week, they marched through ice-cold water up to their breasts,
pressing on with a dauntlessness and valor never surpassed. The
British posts at Vincennes, Kaskaskia and Cahokia fell into their
hands, adding Indiana and Illinois to the Continental domain.
It was at Vincennes, on February 25th, that Colonel Henry
Hamilton, the "hairbuyer" surrendered to the great Virginian.
In the spring of 1778, Governor Henry of Virginia, directed
Captain David Rodgers, also a Virginian, then living at Redstone
(Brownsville, Fayette County), to organize an expedition to bring
powder from New Orleans by way of the Ohio River. Rodgers at
once gathered up a force of forty settlers in the vicinity of Red-
stone, proceeded to Fort Pitt, and constructed two large flat
boats. Among his force, was Basil Brown, one of the founders of
Brownsville. Leaving Fort Pitt in June, Rodgers' force floated
down to the mouth of the Arkansas River, At a Spanish fort
near this place, he learned that the powder had been sent up the
Mississippi to St. Louis. Leaving his boats and most of his men
at the post, he, with six companions, floated in a canoe down to
536 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Spanish capital of Louisiana, obtained there the proper papers
and then returned to St. Louis and secured the powder.
The voyage up the Ohio was uneventful until the mouth of
the Licking was reached. Here, on an October afternoon, several
Indians were seen crossing the Ohio to the Kentucky shore, about
a mile up stream. Rodgers believed that the Indians did not see
his boats, and decided to halt and attack them. Pulling his boats
on the beach in the mouth of the Licking, he penetrated the
forest, where a strong force of Indians, led by Simon Girty and
Matthew Elliott, outnumbering Rodgers' party two to one, sur-
rounded the voyagers and killed the entire party except thirteen.
The Indians who had been seen crossing the Ohio were only
decoys. Captain Rodgers was fatally wounded but, by the help
of John Knotts, was able to hide in a dark ravine, where Knotts
left the dying man in the morning, and returned through the
wilderness to Redstone. Afterwards an unsuccessful search was
made for the body of Rodgers, which had probably been devoured
by wolves.
Robert Benham, commissary of the expedition, was wounded
in both legs, but crawled into a tree-top. Here, on the afternoon
of the second day, suffering greatly from hunger, he shot a rac-
coon which came within range of his rifle. At the sound of his
gun, he heard a voice which he believed to be the shout of an In-
dian, and at once reloaded his rifle. Footsteps were heard ap-
proaching, and a white man covered with blood came out of the
thicket. This was Basil Brown. He was wounded in the right
arm and left shoulder, both arms being helpless. Benham pointed
out the dead raccoon, and Brown kicked it to where Benham
reclined, who built a fire, dressed and cooked the animal, and fed
both Brown and himself. Benham then placed his folded hat
between Brown's teeth, and the latter, wading into the Licking,
dipped the hat into the water, and carried it full to his thirsty
companion. During the days which followed. Brown would drive
rabbits, wild turkey, and other game, within the range of Ben-
ham's rifle, and when the latter had shot them. Brown kicked
them to the fire, and Benham dressed and cooked the game. Thus,
these two men lived in the wilderness for nineteen days, when a
flat boat descending the Ohio, rescued them, and took them to
what is now Louisville, Kentucky. Brown returned to the
Redstone settlement; but Benham, when the war was over,
settled at the place which was the scene of Rodgers' disaster, the
site of Newport, Kentucky.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 SH
Massacres in Blair County
About 1768, Adam and William Holliday settled near where
the town of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, now stands, and about
1777, Fort Holliday was erected in this neighborhood. On one
occasion, most likely in 1778 or 1779, Adam Holliday was en-
gaged in labor on his farm, when Indians appeared suddenly.
The family took to flight, Mr. Holliday jumping on his horse
with his two young children, John and James. His elder son Pat
and his daughter Jeanette were killed while attempting to flee.
In 1778, a party of Indians came to the home of Matthew Dean,
in Canoe Valley, Catherine Township, Blair County, while he and
his older children were working in a field, and murdered his wife
and three small children. A young man named Simonton was at
the Dean home at the time. He was taken prisoner and never
heard of again. In September, 1909, a monument was erected at
Keller Church Cemetery memorializing this tragedy of the
frontier.
Among the early settlers of Blair County were Samuel Moore
and his seven sons and two daughters, who came to Scotch Valley,
this county, from the Kishacoquillas or Big Valley, in 1768. They
were driven from Scotch Valley by the Indians some time in 1778,
and Moore's second son, James, was killed in the retreat. It
appears that some of Moore's horses had strayed, whereupon
James Moore and a boy named George McCartney, aged fourteen
years, started in pursuit. They searched as far as Fetter's Fort,
where Duncansville now stands, and while returning by a path
north of where Hollidaysburg now stands, and about to cross
Beaver Dam Creek on some driftwood, James Moore was shot
by an Indian in ambush. Young McCartney was pursued, but
turned suddenly and shot an Indian just as the savage was
stepping behind a tree to reload. The Indian fled, leaving a trail
of blood, but was afterward found dead some distance up the
stream. McCartney returned to Fetter's Fort, and reported,
when the garrison went out and found evidence of a large Indian
encampment near Canan's Station. The dead Indian's gun bore
the British coat of arms.
In 1778 or 1779, John Guilford fled from his home a short
distance east of Altoona to Fetter's Fort at Duncansville, in
order to escape from Indians who were seeking the scalps of the
settlers. Shortly thereafter, thinking the danger past, he re-
turned home, and was shot by an Indian just as he was entering
538 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
his cabin door. Soon after this atrocity, Thomas Coleman, near
the same place, met two Indians carrying away several children
of the settlers. Raising his rifle, he ordered the Indians to sur-
render, whereupon they dropped the children and fled into the
forest. Coleman was a noted Indian fighter, and it is said that
some years before this time, the Indians had killed his brother
on the Susquehanna.
Day's "Historical Collections" contains the following account
of an attack on Jacob Nave, some time during the Revolutionary
War, possibly in 1778, at his mill in Blair County:
"While all were gone to the fort [Fort Holliday], but himself
[Nave], he had been delayed for some cause about his mill, and on
leaving it, he espied a large Indian and a small one just emerging
from the bushes, each with a rifle; they pointed their rifles at him
several times, and he at them; but neither fired. At length he
shot the big Indian through the heart, and ran. The young In-
dian gave chase, but Nave found time to load, and fired at him;
but the fellow fell to the ground, and missed the ball. This farce
was repeated several times, when Nave waited until he had fallen
before he fired, and then killed him. He threw their bodies into
the creek, and escaped to the fort. The next day the Indians
burned his mill and dwelling."
On May 19th, 1778, the Pennsylvania Assembly informed the
Continental Congress that upwards of thirty people had recently
been killed by Indians in the present Counties of Bedford, Blair
and Huntingdon. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 524.)
Massacre on Lycoming Creek
On June 10th, 1778, occurred the terrible massacre at Lycoming
Creek, within the limits of the present town of Williamsport,
Lycoming County. On this day, Peter Smith, his wife and six
children, William King's wife and his two daughters, Ruth and
Sarah, Michael Smith, Michael Campbell, and David Chambers,
and two men named Snodgrass and Hammond, were going to
Lycoming in wagons; and when they arrived at Loyalsock Creek,
John Harris met them, told them that he heard firing up the creek,
and advised them to return to Fort Muncy, located about four
miles from the town of Muncy, Lycoming County, and erected
in the spring of 1778 by Colonel Thomas Hartley. Smith said
that the firing would not stop him; and he and his party con-
tinued up the West Branch of the Susquehanna, while Harris
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 539
proceeded to Fort Muncy and told the garrison of the firing which
he had heard. A detail of fifteen soldiers then started from the
fort in the direction of the firing.
When Smith and his party were within half a mile of Lycoming
Creek, they were ambushed by Indians, and Snodgrass fell dead
with a bullet through his forehead at the first fire. The Indians
then rushed toward the wagons, and the white men hurried toward
the shelter of some trees, while two of the children, a boy and girl,
escaped to the woods. The Indians then endeavored to surround
the party, and their movements being discovered, the other men
fled leaving Campbell, who was fighting at too close quarters to
join in the flight. Campbell was killed and scalped on the spot.
Before the men were out of sight of the wagons, they saw the
Indians attacking the women and children with their tomahawks.
This attack occurred just before sundown. The boy who had
escaped, fled to the stockade on Lycoming Creek, and informed
the garrison what had happened. In the meantime the detail of
fifteen soldiers from Fort Muncy, under Captain William Hep-
burn, arrived at the scene of this massacre and found the bodies
of Snodgrass and Campbell. It was then too dark to pursue the
Indians, but they pressed on toward Lycoming and met the party
going out from that place.
On the following morning they returned to the scene of the
massacre, and found the body of Peter Smith's wife. She had
been shot, stabbed, and scalped. A little girl and a boy had also
been killed and scalped. The body of Snodgrass was also found,
shot through the head and scalped. The boy who had made his
escape insisted that Mrs. King must be somewhere in the thicket,
as he heard her scream and say that she would not go along with
the Indians when they were dragging her away. The party then
made another search and found the body of Mrs. King near the
stream, to which she had dragged herself. She had been toma-
hawked and scalped, but was not dead. When her husband
approached her she arose to a sitting position, greeted him, and
then expired, not living long enough to relate the details of the
massacre.
Broken-hearted, William King returned to Northumberland,
and many years later, learning that his daughters were still alive,
he started on foot for Niagara, accompanied by a faithful old
Indian. He soon found his daughter Sarah and later, after much
suffering and hardship, succeeded in finding the other daughter,
540 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Ruth. The three then returned to their home near Milton, North-
umberland County.
On the same day, a number of horses having strayed from the
neighborhood of Fort Muncy, supposedly up Loyalsock Creek,
Captain Berry, with a company of twelve, started out to search
for them. Robert Covenhoven, his two brothers, James and
Thomas, and William Wyckoflf were in the company. At the
mouth of Loyalsock Creek, the party separated, Wyckoff, Peter
Shoefelt and a man named Thompson going up the West Branch
of the Susquehanna towards Williamsport to Thompson's house
to save some of his property, and the remaining members of the
company going up the Loyalsock. When Wyckofif, Thompson
and Shoefelt came to Thompson's house, they went in and com-
menced to cook dinner, when they were attacked by part of the
same band that, later in the day, committed the massacre at the
mouth of Lycoming Creek. Thompson and Shoefelt were killed.
Wyckoff was wounded and captured. He was liberated after a
captivity of two years. The men who had gone up Loyalsock
Creek, proceeded for some distance, and not finding the horses,
decided to return. Captain Berry, who was among these, was
advised by Robert Covenhoven not to return by the path by
which they had come. The Captain paid no attention to the
noted scout's advice. The men had not gone far, on their re-
turn, when they were fired upon by Indians, and most of them,
including Captain Berry, were killed. James Covenhoven was
shot through the shoulder and disabled. He cried to his brother,
Robert, that he was wounded and could do nothing, whereupon
Robert told him to run across the creek, and he would cover his
retreat. James reached the opposite side of the creek, when a
bullet struck him in the back of the head, killing him instantly.
Robert then ran for his life, and escaped by hiding in a tree top.
His brother, Thomas, was captured, as were Wyckoff, his son,
Cornelius, and a negro. The negro was burned at the stake in
the presence of the other prisoners. Wyckoff and his son re-
mained among the Indians for two years, when they were given
their freedom.
Thus ended this terrible day on the West Branch of the Sus-
quehanna, as the Indian allies of the British, laden with the
bloody scalps of men, women and children, set out through the
forests to present their instigators with the ghastly evidence of
their awful work and to receive the British scalp bounty. (Pa.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 541
Archives, Vol. 6, pages 589-591, 599; Meginnes' "History of the
West Branch," pages 209-215.)
Other Atrocities on the West Branch in 1778 —
Murder of James Brady
In the summer of 1778 a band of Indians attacked William
Winters and a number of other white men a short distance above
where Williamsport now stands. There were ten or eleven men
in William's company. Six of them were in a field near the river
mowing hay, while the others were in a cabin nearby. The men
in the field were shot and scalped in a few moments. Winters was
preparing dinner in the cabin when he heard the reports of the
Indians' rifles and their exultant shouts. Being satisfied that
their companions were killed. Winters and the others with him in
the cabin fled, and secreted themselves in the woods until night.
In the meantime, the Indians not suspecting that other white
men were near, left the neighborhood. During the night Winters
and his companions went to the meadow, collected the bodies of
the murdered men, and carefully covered them with a large
quantity of new-mown hay.
On May 8th, Simon Vaugh was killed by Indians, at the house
of Jones Davis on Bald Eagle Creek. On the same day, Jacob
Stanford, his wife and daughter, were killed and scalped in Penn's
Valley. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, pages 485 and 487.) John Caro-
thers, writing President Wharton from Carlisle, on May 12th,
says that other families met the same fate as that of the Stanford
family. At this time. Colonel Arthur Buchanan was busy pro-
tecting the refugees who came streaming into his settlement on
the Juniata. The settlers of this valley, also, suffered terribly at
the hands of the Indians, in 1778. In June, the upper end of the
Kishacoquillas Valley was raided, and several women and children
were carried into captivity.
On May 16th, 1778, three men, who were at work planting a
field of corn near the mouth of Bald Eagle Creek, were attacked
by a large body of Indians, and all killed and scalped. Two days
later a man, woman and child were taken prisoners near Pine
Creek by the same Indian band, and carried into captivity. On
May 20th, two men and seven women and children were captured
near Lycoming Creek and carried into captivity. At about the
same time, three families, sixteen persons in all, were killed and
carried away from Loyalsock. A party then went up from
542 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Wallis* Fort, and found two dead bodies and the houses of the
settlers burned to ashes. (Pa, Archives, Vol. 6, page 552.)
On May 17th, 1778, General James Potter whose family suf-
fered at the hands of the Indians during the Revolutionary War,
wrote from Upper Fort, Penn's Valley, that he was informed by
Colonel Long that, on May 11th, several families, coming to
Lycoming and escorted by a party under Colonel Hosterman,
were attacked by twelve Indians, who killed six of them, and six
were missing. At the same time three men were killed on Loyal-
sock Creek, and twenty persons were killed on the North Branch.
One, who was taken prisoner, but made his escape, said that the
Indians were determined to clear the two branches of the Sus-
quehanna of settlers that month. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page
516.) On July25th, General Potter again wrote from Penn's
Valley:
"Yesterday two men of Captain Finley's company of Colonel
Brodhead's regiment, went from this place on the plains a little
below my fields, and met a party of Indians, five in number, whom
they engaged. One of the soldiers, Thomas Van Doran, was shot
dead; the other, Jacob Shedacre, ran about four hundred yards,
and was pursued by one of the Indians. They attacked each other
with their knives, and our gallant soldier killed his antagonist.
His fate was hard, for another Indian came up and shot him. He
and the Indian lay within a perch of each other." Years after-
ward, James Alexander, who lived on the Old Fort farms, near
Centre Hall, Centre County, in Penn's Valley, picked up a
hunting knife, so rusted as to indicate that it might have be-
longed to Jacob Shedacre or his Indian antagonist. (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 6, page 666.)
During the summer of 1778, just before the "Great Runaway,"
described later in this chapter, four men named Robert Fleming,
Robert Donaldson, James McMichael and John Hamilton started
from Fort Antes, located opposite the town of Jersey Shore,
Lycoming County, to Fort Horn in a canoe. When they came
opposite the mouth of Pine Creek, they were fired upon by a
party of Indians lying in ambush on the south side of the West
Branch of the Susquehanna, and all were killed but Hamilton.
Hamilton, springing out of the canoe into the water and holding
on with one hand, managed with the other to work his way across
the river, keeping the canoe between his head and the rifles of the
Indians. Reaching the shore, he fled through the forest to a
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 543
point opposite Fort Antes, where he cried for assistance, and was
speedily taken over to the fort.
On the same day a party of men driving some cattle from above
the Great Island (Lock-Haven) were fired upon by a party of
Indians. They returned the fire and one of the Indian band fell
and was carried off by his companions. A man named Samuel
Fleming was shot through the shoulder in this encounter.
About the time of the Great Runaway, occurred the murder of
John Michael Bashore, most likely during the first week of July,
1778. Michael Weyland and another man pushed a boat over
the river from the east side, and took Bashore's goods. Bashore
then went to his stable, got his horse, and attempted to drive
some cattle down along the shore. After proceeding some dis-
tance, he was fired upon by Indians in ambush and killed.
Weyland and his companion, who were lying down in the bottom
of the boat, rose to fire upon the Indians, and the former was
struck on the lip by a spent ball from one of the Indians' rifles,
receiving a scar which he carried to the grave.
John Blair Linn, in his "Annals of Buffalo Valley" relates the
following sad incident of one of the Indian raids of 1778:
"Philip Seebold told me he often heard old Mrs. Fought tell of
this raid. She said they were threshing grain on their place,
where the road through Chappel's Hollow comes out into Dry
Valley, when the Indians came upon them suddenly. Her baby
was near her, and she picked it up, and ran. Another child, that
could just run about, was back of their little barn. She heard it
call, 'O, mother, take me along, too.' She looked around, and the
Indians were close upon her. She ran the whole way, two miles,
to Penn's Creek, to a house where the neighbors had gathered.
She never heard of her child again ; but as there was no indication
that it was killed, she hoped for its return some day. At night
and in the quiet hours of the day, the last words of her child,
'O, mother, take me along, too,' rang in her ears long years after.
"She said the house they took refuge in, was surrounded by the
Indians. They suffered from thirst, and a man named Peter —
said he would have water, if he died for it. They allowed him to
go out, and as he turned the corner of the house, a rifle cracked,
and he fell dead. The next day the Indians withdrew, and they
embarked in canoes, and went down Penn's Creek. On the Isle
of Que [near Selinsgrove, Snyder County], she said, she went into
a house, and found no one about. A baby sat propped up in a
544 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
cradle. On close inspection, she found it was dead, and the marks
of the tomahawk."
One of the bloody deeds of the Delaware chief, Bald Eagle, of
the Wolf Clan, for whom Bald Eagle Mountain and Bald Eagle
Valley in Clinton County, are named, was the fatal wounding of
James Brady, son of Captain John Brady and brother of the
famous Captain Samuel Brady, near Williamsport, on August
8th, 1778, thus described in Meginness' "History of the West
Branch Valley," the description being based upon the account of
this event, found in Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, pages 688 and 689:
"A Corporal and four men, belonging to Colonel Hartley's
regiment, and three militiamen, were ordered about two miles
above Loyalsock, on the 8th of August, 1778, to protect fourteen
reapers and cradlers, who went to assist Peter Smith, the unfortu-
nate man that had his wife and four children murdered about a
month previous, to cut his crop. Smith's farm was on Turkey
Run, not far from Williamsport, on the opposite side of the river.
"James Brady, son of Captain John, the younger brother of
Captain Sam Brady of the Rangers, was with the party. Accord-
ing to custom in those days, when no commissioned officer was
present, the company generally selected a leader, whom they
styled 'Captain,' and obeyed him as such. Young James Brady
was selected Captain of this little band of about twenty men.
"On arriving at the field, they placed two sentinels at the
opposite ends, the sides having clear land around. The day being
Friday, they cut the greater part of the grain, and intended to
complete it the next morning. Four of the reapers improperly
left that night, and returned to the fort. A strict watch was kept
all night, but nothing unusual occurred. In the morning they all
went to work; the cradlers, four in number, by themselves, near
the house; the reapers in another part of the field. The reapers,
except young Brady, placed their guns round a tree. He thought
this was wrong, and placed his some distance from the rest. The
morning proved to be very foggy, and about an hour after sun-
rise, the sentinels and reapers were surprised by a number of
Indians, under cover of the fog, quietly approaching them. The
sentinels fired and ran towards the reapers, when they all ran,
with the exception of young Brady. He made towards his rifle,
pursued by three Indians, and when within a few yards of it, was
fired upon by a white man with a pistol, probably a tory, but
falling over a sheaf of grain, the shot missed him. He rose again,
and when almost within reach of the rifle, was wounded by a shot
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 545
from an Indian. Here another sentinel fired his gun, but was
immediately, with a militiaman, shot down, Brady succeeded in
getting his rifle, however, and shot the first Indian dead. He
caught up another gun, and brought down a second savage, when
they closed around him in numbers, but being a stout active man,
he struggled with them for some time. At length one of them
struck a tomahawk into his head, when he fell, and was wounded
with a spear in the hands of another. He was so stunned with
the blow of the tomahawk, that he remained powerless, but
strange as it may seem, retained his senses. They ruthlessly tore
the scalp from his head as he lay in apparent death ; and it was a
glorious trophy for them, for he had long and remarkably red
hair.
"The cradlers, who it appears were in a low spot, in a distant
part of the field, on hearing the alarm, ascended an eminence and
partly beheld this unhappy affair. The Indians, as soon as they
accomplished their bloody work, left instantly, probably fearing
an attack from the whites.
"The Corporal and three men, with the cradlers, proposed to
make a stand; but the others thought it imprudent, and they all
immediately left. The cradlers being acquainted with the country,
took the nearest way to Wallis' ; the Corporal and his three men
pushed right down the road. At Loyalsock they were fired upon
by a party of Indians, probably the same that killed Brady.
They returned the fire, when the Indians fled; and they retook
three horses from them, and brought them to the fort in safety.
"After Brady was scalped, he related that a little Indian was
called and made to strike the tomahawk into his head, in four
separate places. He was probably taking lessons in the art of
butchery.
"After coming to himself, he attempted, between walking and
creeping, to reach the cabin, where an old man named Jerome
Vaness, had been employed to cook for them. On hearing the
report of the guns, he had hid himself; but when he saw Brady
return, he came to him. James begged the old man to fly to the
fort, saying, 'The Indians will soon be back and will kill you.'
The worthy man positively refused to leave him alone, but stayed
and endeavored to dress his frightful wounds. Brady requested
to be assisted down the river, where he drank large quantities of
water, when he still insisted on the old man leaving him and try-
ing to save himself; but he would not do it. He then directed his
faithful old friend to load the gun that was in the cabin, which
546 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
was done, and put into his hands, when he lay down and appeared
to sleep.
"As soon as the sad intelligence reached the fort, [Fort Muncy],
Captain Walker mustered a party of men and proceeded to the
spot. When they came to the river bank, Brady heard the noise,
and supposing it was Indians, jumped to his feet and cocked his
gun. But it was friends. They made a bier and placed him on it,
and brought him away. He requested to be taken to Sunbury
to his mother. His request was granted, and a party started
with him, amongst whom was Robert Covenhoven. He became
very feverish by the way, and drank large quantities of water, and
became partly delirious. It was late at night when they arrived
at Sunbury, and did not intend to arouse his mother; but it
seemed she had a presentiment of something that was to happen,
and being awake to alarms, met them at the river and assisted to
convey her wounded son to the house. He presented a frightful
spectacle, and the meeting of mother and son is described to have
been heart-rending. Her heart was wrung with the keenest
anguish, and her lamentations were terrible to be heard.
"The young Captain lived five days. The first four he was
delirious, on the fifth his reason returned, and he described the
whole scene he had passed through very vividly, and with great
minuteness. He said the Indians were of the Seneca tribe, and
amongst them were two chiefs; one of whom was a very large man,
and from the description was supposed to be Cornplanter; the
other he personally knew to be the celebrated chief Bald Eagle,
who had his nest near where Milesburg, Centre County, now
stands.
"On the evening of the fifth day, the young Captain died,
deeply regretted by all who knew him; for he was a noble and
promising young man. Vengenance, 'not loud, but deep,' was
breathed against the Bald Eagle, but he laughed it to scorn, till
the fatal day at Brady's Bend on the Allegheny."
Lieutenant (later Captain) Samuel Brady, was at Carlisle
accompanying his regiment, the Eighth Pennsylvania, to Fort
Pitt, when he received word of the scalping of his brother. He
had parted from him about a week before. Samuel now hastened
to Sunbury, but arrived too late to find James alive.
Samuel Brady's rage over the murder of his beloved brother
stirred the depths of his soul. He made a solemn vow that he
would never make peace with the Indians of any tribe. (See also
Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 691.)
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 547
On Christmas Day, 1778, Andrew Fleming left his home on
Pine Creek to go deer hunting. He had not been gone long until
his wife heard the report of a gun, and thought that he had fired
at a deer. The day having worn away without his having re-
turned, she became alarmed and started to search for him. Pro-
ceeding up a ravine some distance from the house, she saw three
Indians lurking in the bushes, and at once her worst suspicions
were aroused. She returned hastily, and gave the alarm. Then
a number of neighbors collected, and proceeded to search for her
husband. Presently they came upon his dead body. Three
bullets, apparently fired simultaneously, as the wife heard but
one report, passed through his body, and his scalp was removed.
A Friendly Indian Murdered
The foregoing are some of the outrages on the West Branch of
the Susquehanna during the terrible year of 1778. It is but fair
to call attention to the fact, however, that during this same year
a friendly Indian was infamously murdered at Reed's Fort, where
Lock Haven now stands. This Indian, having appeared on the
river bank, made signs to the garrison at Reed's Fort to come
with a canoe and take him over. The garrison, fearing that he
might be a decoy, refused to comply with his request. He in-
sisted, however, and in order to show his good intentions waded
far into the river, whereupon one of the women of the fort, sup-
posed to be Mrs. Reed, the wife of the commandant, took a canoe,
crossed over alone, and brought him to the fort. The Indian
then advised the garrison that a powerful band of Indians was
preparing to make a descent upon the settlements for the purpose
of wiping them off the face of the earth. He said that he had
traveled a great distance to give this warning. Having delivered
his message and feeling perfectly safe, he lay down to seek repose,
as he was much exhausted, and was soon asleep. Some of the
garrison commenced shooting at a mark, among whom was a man
named Dewitt, who was slightly under the influence of liquor.
Loading his rifle, he told his companions that he would make the
bullet he was putting in kill an Indian, and instead of shooting
at the mark, he sent the bullet crashing through the brain of the
sleeping Indian. The men of the garrison were so enraged at this
fiendish act that they threatened to lynch him, whereupon he
fled and was never heard of again.
548 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Job Chilloway and Shawnee John
Two friendly Indians, who often warned the garrisons of the
forts on the West Branch of the Susquehanna of the approach of
hostile Indians, during the terrible times we have just been
describing, were Job Chilloway and Shawnee John. Chilloway
remained most of the time near Fort Antes, being compelled to
leave his hunting cabins in Nippenose and Sugar valleys through
fear that the hostile Indians would murder him for being "a friend
to the settlers." Colonel Antes relates that, on one occasion,
Chilloway found one of the sentinels at Fort Antes leaning up
against a tree asleep, whereupon he "grappled him like a bear."
The sentinel was terribly frightened, and Chilloway censured
him for being so careless. Said he: "It was an Indian that caught
you, but you may thank God he was your friend." This Indian
is described as "a tall, muscular man, with his ears cut so as to
hang pendant, like a pair of ear-rings." He also served in Colonel
Potter's regiment in the Revolutionary War. He lived much in
the Juniata Valley. In his old age, he yielded to the temptation
of strong drink, and is said to have been found dead in his cabin
about the close of the eighteenth century. Shawnee John also
served in the Patriot army in the Revolutionary War, being a
member of Captain Lowdon's company. He died many years
after the Revolution at the "Nest" of Chief Bald Eagle, near
Milesburg, Centre County.
Outrages on the North Branch of the Susquehanna in 1778
We have just seen how outrages were committed on the West
Branch of the Susquehanna during the month of June. During
this same month the North Branch of the Susquehanna was also
devastated. On the 12th of the month, William Crooks and Asa
Budd went up the river to a point several miles above Tunk-
hannock, and took possession of the abandoned house of John
Secord, who had turned Tory. Crooks was fired upon by some
hostile Indians and killed. On the 17th, a party of six went up
the river in canoes to observe the movements of the Indians.
About six miles below Tunkhannock, those in the forward canoe
landed and ascended the bank, when they saw an armed force
of Indians and Tories advancing against them. Giving the alarm,
they returned to their boats, and endeavored to get behind an
island to escape the fire of the Indians. In this canoe were Mina
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 549
Robbins, Joel Phelps, and Stephen Jenkins. Robbins was killed
and Phelps wounded, while Jenkins escaped unharmed. Captain
Jewett went up the river with a scouting party on the 26th, re-
turning on the 30th with the news that the Indians and Tories
were assembling in great force up the river.
Also, on June 30th, Benjamin Harding, Stuckley Harding,
young John Harding, James Hadsell and his sons James and
John, Daniel Weller, John Gardner and Daniel Carr went up the
river from Wyoming into Exter to labor in their fields. Late in
the afternoon, they were attacked by Indians. Weller, Gardner
and Carr were taken prisoners. Benjamin Harding, Stuckley
Harding, James Hadsall and his son, James, were killed. Young
John Harding escaped by throwing himself into the Susquehanna
and lying under the willows with his mouth just above the surface
of the water. He heard with anguish the death moans of his
relatives and friends. The Indians searched carefully for him,
and, at one time, were so close that they could have touched him.
On July 1st, Colonel Nathan Denison and Lieutenant-Colonel
George Dorrance, with a small force, marched from Forty Fort,
located within the limits of the town of the same name in Luzerne
County, to Exter, eleven miles distant, where the murders of
June 30th were committed, and buried the dead near Fort
Jenkins, located where the town of West Pittston, Luzerne
County, now stands. The appearance of the dead bodies in-
dicated that the victims had fought to the last. All were scalped
and much mutilated. The arms and faces of the two Hardings
were frightfully cut, and there were several spear holes through
their bodies. Two Indians, who were watching the dead, ex-
pecting to kill any white men who might come to take away the
bodies, were themselves surprised and slain by the burial party.
One was shot where he sat, and the other in the river, to which he
had fled. It is supposed that Zebulon Marcy shot one of these
as he was hunted for several years by a brother of one of the slain
Indians, who swore that he would have revenge. Many years
afterwards, Elisha Harding, Esq. erected a stone to the memory
of the murdered frontiersmen, with the inscription:
"Sweet be the Sleep of Those Who Prefer Death to Slavery."
(Miner's "History of Wyoming," pages 217-218.)
The Wyoming Massacre
On July 3rd, 1778, occurred the terrible massacre of Wyoming.
Late in June, Colonel John Butler with his Tory rangers, a detach-
550 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
ment of Sir John Johnson's Royal Greens, and a large body of
Indians, chiefly Senecas, altogether a force numbering about four
hundred British and Tories and seven hundred Indians, descended
the North Branch of the Susquehanna, committed the murders
above described, and entered the charming valley of the Wyoming
in Luzerne County. On July 2nd, Fort Jenkins, located within
the present limits of the town of West Pittston, was attacked by
these invaders, and capitulated after four of its defenders were
killed and three taken prisoners. On the same day Wintermoot's
fort, about a mile below Fort Jenkins, threw open its gates and
here the British and Tories assembled.
There were several small stockades at Wyoming within the
limits of the present city of Wilkes-Barre, but no cannon; and
none of the forts was able to hold out against such a large force.
Moreover most of the able-bodied men of Wyoming were in the
American army. Colonel Zebulon Butler of the Continental
army, happened to be at home at Wyoming at the time, and
assumed command of the settlers, most of them being old men
and boys who organized and formed themselves into companies
to garrison the forts.
On July 3rd, Colonel Zebulon Butler's forces marched out to
meet the invaders, Butler assisted by Major Garret, commanding
the right wing, and Colonel Denison assisted by Lieutenant-
Colonel George Dorrance, commanding the left. Colonel
Zebulon Butler made an address to his forces just before he
ordered the column to display, as follows: "Men, yonder is the
enemy. The fate of the Hardings tells us what we have to expect
if defeated."
The engagement began between four and five o'clock in the
afternoon. The enemy, outnumbering the gallant defenders
nearly three to one, was able to outflank them, especially on the
left, where a swamp well suited Indian warfare. The men of
Wyoming fell in great numbers, and it soon becoming impossible
to maintain their position. Colonel Dorrance gave an order to
fall back, so as to present a better front to the enemy. His com-
mand, however, was mistaken as a signal for retreat. The
defenders becoming demoralized, were slaughtered without mercy.
Even those who surrendered as prisoners of war, were subjected
to the most cruel torture. Sixteen Americans were arranged
around a large stone, since known as the Bloody Rock, or Queen
Esther's Rock, where Queen Esther Montour, a granddaughter
of Madam Montour, dashed out their brains with a tomahawk as
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 SSI
she passed around the circle. By a desperate effort three men,
named Hammond, Evans, and Joseph ElHott, escaped her fury.
In another similar ring nine persons were butchered in the same
manner. Many were shot swimming the Susquehanna, and others
were hunted out and killed in their hiding places. Only sixty of
those who had marched out to give battle survived. The stock-
ades vv^ere filled with widows and orphans. It has been said that
one hundred and fifty widows and six orphans were the result of
this battle, and that about two-thirds of the defenders were
slaughtered. The Indians secured 227 scalps, for which the
British afterwards paid ten dollars each. A monument has been
erected marking the site of this, the most dreadful massacre in the
annals of Pennsylvania.
At Forty Fort, located within the limits of the town of that
name, the firing at Wyoming was distinctly heard, and the spirits
of the defenders of that place were high until they learned the
dreadful news of Wyoming, when the first fugitives reached there
in the evening. Many other fugitives came to Forty Fort during
the night, among them being Colonel Dennison, who rallied the
little band for defense, and succeeded the next day in entering into
terms of capitulation with the Tory leader. Colonel John Butler.
The enemy marched into Forty Fort six abreast, the British and
Tories at the northern gate, and the Indians at the southern. In
violation of the terms of capitulation the Indians began immedi-
ately to rob, plunder, and destroy. Tory Butler did nothing to
stop it. When night came on the blaze of burning dwellings
lighted up the valley, and the terrified survivors of the massacre
fled to the Pocono Mountains beyond Stroudsburg. Many of
them however, perished in the dreadful wilderness on the way,
and these places are still called "Shades of Death," In a few
days Colonel John Butler led the first part of his force away, but
the Indians continued their work of burning and plundering until
almost every building in the beautiful valley was consumed.
The scenes that were enacted at Forty Fort were repeated at
Pittston Fort, located at the town of Pittston, on the east side
of the river, almost opposite the battle field. All the families
living in the neighborhood of this fort had been collected here,
and the fort was garrisoned by a force of about forty men under
Captain Jeremiah Blanchard. From their station in the fort,
the people could see the progress of the battle, the flight from the
field, as well as the torture of the prisoners the night following.
At Wilkes-Barre Fort, located on the site now occupied in part
S52 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
by the court house at Wilkes-Barre, many men, women and
children had gathered on the eve of the battle. A few of the
survivors of the battle made their way to this fort, bringing word
of the battle. During that terrible night, plans were made for
flight, and on the morning of the 4th, many of the occupants of
the fort set out on their terrible journey through the wilderness.
On the same day, the Indians took possession of the fort and
burned it to ashes. Fugitives from Shawnee Fort, located south
of the present town of Plymouth, also from Rosencrans' Block-
house, in Plains Township, Luzerne County, and from Stewart's
Blockhouse, in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, joined the
other survivors in their flight from the Valley.
It will be remembered that John Gardner was captured when
the Hardings were killed, a few days before the massacre. On the
morning of the 4th, his wife and children were permitted to see
and take leave of him. Elisha Harding, Esq., then a boy, was
present at the leave taking, and has recorded that it was extremely
affecting. When the last words of farewell were said, the Indians
placed a heavy burden on his shoulders, put a halter around his
neck, and led him away. Later he was tortured to death by the
squaws with fire. Daniel Carr, a fellow prisoner, saw the charred
remains of the unfortunate husband and father.
From the farm of an aged man, named Weeks, who lived where
Wilkes-Barre now stands, his sons, Philip, Jonathan and Barthol-
omew, and Silas Benedict, Jabez Beers, Josiah Carman and
Robert Bates, relatives, had gone out to battle. At night, the
whole seven lay dead on the field of the slain. The family of
Obadiah Gore also suffered terribly. Three sons and two sons-
in-law were slain. Five of the Inman family were in the battle.
Two fell, and another died of the fatigue and suffering of the
terrible day. Another was killed by the Indians before the end
of the year.
The day after the massacre, news came down from the Lacka-
wana that a Mr. Hickman, his wife and child were murdered at
Capouse, and that two men, named Leach and St. John, who
were removing with their families, were shot six miles up the
Lackawanna. One of them had a child in his arms, which an
Indian took up and handed to its mother, covered with its
father's blood. Leaving the women unharmed, the Indians
departed with the scalps of their husbands.
Miner's "History of Wyoming" says the following in regard
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 553
to the horrible tortures of the prisoners captured by the British,
Tories and Indians at Wyoming:
"On the river bank, on the Pittston side, Capt. Blanchard,
Esq., Whitaker and Ishmael Bennet, attracted by fires among
the trees, on the opposite shore, took their station and witnessed
the process of torture. Several naked men, in the midst of
flames, were driven around a stake; their groans and screams
were most piteous, while the shouts and yells of the savages, who
danced around, urging the victims on with their spears, were too
horrible to be endured. They were powerless to help or avenge,
and withdrew, heartsick from the view of their horrid orgies,
glad that they did not know who were the sufferers."
Miner's "History of Wyoming" gives the following incidents
of the flight of the survivors:
"The only hope of safety seemed to be in flight. The several
passages through the swamp were thronged. Few having been
thoughtful enough to take provisions, the greater part were
destitute. On the old warrior's path, there were in one company,
about one hundred women and children, with but a single man,
Jonathan Fitch, Esq., Sheriff of the county, to advise or aid them.
The way tow^ards the Wind Gap and Stroudsburg, was equally
crowded. Sufferings from fatigue and hunger soon became ex-
treme. The brave George Cooper, who would "have one shot
more," with his companions, Westover and Stark, and their
families, had made an effort to obtain provisions, but the Indians
being discovered watching their dwellings, they were compelled
to fly with scarce a morsel, though exhausted by the battle.
"Of the little they had, neither of the men would partake, so
that the children need not perish. Tears gushed from the eyes
of the aged widow of Cooper, when she related that her husband
had lain on his face to lap up a little meal which a companion,
in their flight, had spilt on the earth. Children were born, and
several perished in the "Dismal Swamp" or "Shades of Death,"
as it is called to this day. Mrs. Truesdale was taken in labour;
daring to delay but a few minutes, she was soon seen with her
infant, moving onward, a sheet having been fixed on a horse, so
as to carry them. Jabez Fish, who was in the battle, escaped;
but not being able to join his family, was supposed to have fallen;
and Mrs. Fish hastened with her children through the wilderness.
Overcome with fatigue and want, her infant died. Sitting down
a moment on a stone, to see it draw its last breath, she gazed in
its face with unutterable anguish. There was no way to dig a
554 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
grave — and to leave it to be devoured by wolves, seemed worse
than death. So she took the dead babe in her arms, and carried
it twenty miles, when she came to a German settlement. Though
poor, they gave her food, made a box for the child, attended her
to the graveyard, and decently buried it, kindly bidding her
welcome till she should be rested. The uniform hospitality of
the Germans is gratefully attested by the Wyoming people.
"The wife of Ebenezer Marcy was taken in labour in the wilder-
ness. Having no mode of conveyance, her sufferings were inex-
pressibly severe. She was able to drag her fainting steps but
about two miles that day. The next, being overtaken by a
neighbour with a horse, she rode, and in a week's time, was more
than one hundred miles, with her infant, from the place of its
birth.
"Mrs. Rogers, from Plymouth, an aged woman flying with her
family, overcome by fatigue and sorrow, fainted in the wilderness,
twenty miles from human habitation. She could take no nourish-
ment, and soon died. They made a grave in the best manner they
could, and the next day, nearly exhausted, came to a settlement
of Germans, who treated them with exceeding great kindness.
Mrs. Courtright relates that she, then a young girl flying with
her father's family, saw sitting by the roadside, a widow who had
learned the death of her husband. Six children were on the
ground near her. The group were the very image of despair, for
they were without food. Just at that moment, a man was seen
riding rapidly towards them from the settlements. It was Mr.
HoUenback. Foreseeing the probable destruction, he had pro-
vidently loaded his horse with bread, and was hastening back,
like an angel of mercy, to their relief. Cries of gratitude went up
to Heaven. He imparted a morsel to each, and hastened on to
the relief of others.
"The widow of Anderson Dana, Esq., and her widowed
daughter, Mrs. Whiton, did not learn, certainly of the deaths of
their husbands until they were at Bullock's, on the mountain
ten miles on their way. Many then heard the fate of relations,
and a messenger brought to Mr. Bullock word that both his
sons were dead on the field. Then there was mourning and
lamentation and the wringing of hands."
A few weeks after the massacre, Colonel Zebulon Butler re-
turned to the desolate valley, having joined Captain Spalding's
company from Stroudsburg. A new stockade was erected at
Wilkes-Barre, sustained by some settlers who had returned in the
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 555
hope of saving part of their harvest of wheat. But lurking In-
dians were in the vicinity, and many of those settlers who had
returned, were slain in their fields. Among these were John
Abbot and Isaac Williams. About the same time, Isaac Tripp,
the elder, his grandson, Isaac Tripp, and two young men, named
Keys and Hocksey, were captured on the Lackawanna. Keys and
Hocksey were killed by their captors, while on the journey to the
Indian country, but the elder Tripp was released. On August
24th, Luke Sweetland and Joseph Blanchard were captured near
Nanticoke, and carried away. On October 2nd, after the return
of Colonel Hartley's expedition, described later in this chapter,
four of Captain Morrison's men were attacked on the west side
of the Susquehanna. Three were killed, and the fourth made
his escape. On October 14th, William Jameson, who had been
in the battle, was shot, tomahawked and scalped, as he was re-
turning home from Wilkes-Barre. In the meantime, the dead of
the massacre lay on the field, decomposing beneath the summer
sun. Finally, on October 22nd, the corpses were collected, and
buried in a large hole. Before the autumn frosts had come, it
was impossible to perform the work of sepulture.
Fifteen years after the massacre, a number of Indians, among
whom were several noted chiefs, passed through Wyoming on
their way to Philadelphia. Approaching Wilkes-Barre, they sent
word to the town, as they apprehended danger. An escort of
citizens of the place then accompanied them to the town, where
a council was held in the court house that evening, at which
pacific assurances were given. On their return, the Indians
passed on the side of the river opposite the scene of the massacre,
some of the older warriors showing much excitement, talking and
gesticulating with much emphasis. Miner, in his "History of
Wyoming," says that he met the Seneca chief. Red Jacket, in
Washington, in 1827 or 1828, and strove to lead him to talk of
the terrible event in which he had taken part, on the banks of
the Susquehanna, but that, on that subject, he found the old
chief's lips hermetically sealed.
No pen is gifted enough and no imagination is vivid enough to
describe the Wyoming Massacre. Our flesh creeps and chills run
down our pulses, when we contemplate this saga of blood and
death, with the Indian allies of the British carrying away the
bloody scalps of Lieutenant-Colonel George Dorrance and the
two hundred and twenty-six men, boys, women and children,
who perished with him, to receive the infamous British scalp
556 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
bounty. We have said elsewhere in this history that there is not
a darker page in the annals of the world, since men began to
record events, than the account of the butchery of aged men,
women and children by the Indian allies of the British, during
the Revolutionary War. If any one should think this statement
too sweeping, let him contemplate the unutterable woe and
horrors of Wyoming.
Red Jacket, Big Tree and Joseph Brant
Both Red Jacket and Big Tree were in the Wyoming Massacre,
and it has been charged that Joseph Brant also took part in this
bloody event.
The noted Seneca chieftain and orator, Red Jacket, was born
about 1756 at or near Canoga, Seneca County, New York, and
died on the former Buffalo Reservation on lands now within the
limits of the city of Buffalo, New York, January 20th, 1830. He
was faithful to the British during the Revolutionary War, and
took part in the major operations of the Six Nations during this
struggle. In the spring of 1792, he visited President Washington
at Philadelphia. On this occasion, Washington presented the
noted Seneca with a silver medal, as a token of friendship and
esteem. In 1884, his remains were removed from their forsaken
grave on the Buffalo Reservation to Forest Lawn Cemetery,
Buffalo, N. Y., where a monument to Red Jacket was unveiled
June 22nd, 1891.
The Seneca chief, Ga-oun-do-wah-nah, or Big Tree, was one
of the fiercest warriors in the Wyoming Massacre. He was one
of the principal leaders of his tribe, and as an orator, was scarcely
inferior to Red Jacket.
Joseph Brant's Indian name was Thayendanegea. He was
born on the Ohio, in 1742, when his parents were on a hunting
expedition in that region. His father was a Mohawk chief, and
his mother was also an Indian or at least a half-blood. Brant was
a man of education and ability. He traveled in England, where
he was received with distinction. He published the Gospel of
St. Mark in Mohawk. It is said that he was a Freemason. His
services in the English interest began when, at the age of thirteen
years, he joined the Indians under Sir William Johnson at the
battle of Lake George. About 1765, he married the daughter of
an Oneida chief and settled at Canajoharie, in the Mohawk
Valley, New York, where he joined the Episcopal Church. He
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 557
held a colonel's commission in the Revolutionary War, and took
part in the massacre at Cherry Valley, New York, and the battle
of Oriskany, but it seems true that he was not at the Wyoming
Massacre, as has been charged. He stoutly opposed General
Sullivan's expedition against the Six Nations in the summer of
1779. He was thrice married, his third wife being George Crog-
han's Mohawk daughter. Also his sister Molly became, accord-
ing to the Indian method, the wife of Sir William Johnson. He
died on the Grand River, in Ontario, November 24th, 1807, to
which place he had removed with his Mohawk and other Iroquois
followers after the Revolutionary War.
Invasion of Pike County
On the night of July 3rd, 1778, the officers in command of the
fort in the Wallenpaupack settlement, on the creek of the same
name between Pike and Wayne Counties, caused a false alarm
of danger to be made in order to try the temper of the troops.
The people of the settlement hurried to the fort, carrying their
goods with them. Amidst this alarm, a body of sixty Tories and
Indians approached to within half a mile of the fort. They told
some prisoners, afterwards captured, that their object was to
carry off the cattle of the settlement, as they had been given
orders by Joseph Brant not to kill the settlers of this place. Seeing
the preparations at the fort, they retreated to the Lackawaxen,
four or five miles above the mouth of the Wallenpaupack, burning
the grist mill of Joseph Washburne, at what is now Wilsonville.
The next afternoon, a young man, named Hammond, who had
escaped from the Indians at the Wyoming Massacre of the pre-
ceding day, brought the news of this tragedy to the settlers of
Wallenpaupack. By sunset the settlers were on their way to the
Delaware River, a number of the women and children being so
sick that they had to be carried in carts. On the evening of July
5th, they arrived at a point three miles above Milford, where
they intended to pass the night. Soon after they halted, they
heard that they were being pursued by Indians, and at once
renewed their flight, not stopping until they reached the other
side of the Delaware. When the news of the Wyoming Massacre
reached the settlers of this region. Captain Zebulon Parrish, his
son, Jasper, and Stephen Kimble went down to the mouth of the
Wallenpaupack to warn Benjamin Haynes, David Ford and
James Hough of the danger. Near the mouth of the Wallen-
558 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
paupack, they were called to by a body of Tories and Indians
who told them that the Susquehanna Indians had attacked the
settlement, and invited them to cross the creek and surrender
themselves, threatening to fire upon them if they refused, and
promising kind treatment if they would surrender. The three
men crossed the creek, and surrendered themselves. One of their
horses escaped, and was recovered by the settlers on their flight
to the Delaware, just described. The men were retained as
prisoners until the close of the Revolutionary War.
After their retreat from the Wallenpaupack, most of the
settlers went to Orange County, New York, where they remained
until the close of the Revolutionary War, while some went back
to Conneticutt whence they had come. However, in August,
1778, John Pellet, Jr., Walter Kimble, Charles Forsythe and
Uriah Chapman, Jr., all settlers of Wallenpaupack, returned to
the settlement for the purpose of cutting hay. Commencing work
at the upper end of the settlement, they had finished cutting all
the hay except that on the farm of Uriah Chapman in the lower
end of the settlement, when, in the afternoon, Indians fired upon
and wounded Chapman who had left his work and gone to a
spring for water. Springing towards a sled on which the men
had deposited their guns, he attempted to raise a rifle and first
discovered that he was wounded, the weapon dropping from his
hands. Weak from the loss of blood, he ran for the fort, but did
not reach it until night. In the meantime, his companions, hear-
ing the report of the Indian's rifle, also ran to the fort, which they
reached in safety. The Indians picked up the rifles from the
sled, and prowled around the fort that night, but did not attack
it. The next day, the four young men made their escape. The
bullet from the Indian's rifle passed through Chapman's right
arm into his shoulder, and at the time of his death, fifty-one years
later, was found lodged against his back bone. (Pa. Archives,
Vol. 6, page 721.)
The Great Runaway
The Wyoming Massacre was followed by the "Great Runaway"
of the settlers on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, when they
learned the fate of the settlers at Wyoming. Within two days
following the massacre, the news had penetrated the entire North
Branch Valley and as far up the West Branch as Fort Antes,
located where the town of Jersey Shore, Lycoming County, now
stands.
f%%
r^ /^/yi/^ '
JOSEPH BRANT
Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), who acted so conspicuous a part on the frontiers of New
York and Pennsylvania, as an ally of the British during the Revohitionary War, was descended
from a Sachem of the Mohawks, and, on account of his natural gifts and the advantages which
he enjoyed for their cultivation, as brother-in-law, after the Indian manner, of Sir William
Johnson, attained the high honor of being recognized as the war chief of the Iroquois Confedera-
tion— the highest honor to which an Iroquois could aspire. The story of the pillage, burnings,
outrages, murders and massacres, commited by this ally of the British and by Iroquois under
his direction, would fill a large volume. See also pages 556 and 557.
THE REVOLUTIOARY WAR— 1778 559
Colonel Hunter, then commandant at Fort Augusta (Sunbury),
sent word to Colonel Hepburn, commandant at Fort Muncy,
located about four miles from the town of Muncy, Lycoming
County, that the inhabitants of that part of the valley of the
West Branch of the Susquehanna lying beyond the Muncy Hills,
should abandon their homes and rendezvous at Fort Augusta, if
they valued their lives. Colonel Hepburn had some difficulty in
getting a messenger to carry the word to Colonel Antes, com-
mandant at Fort Antes. Finally Robert Covenhoven, the daring
scout, and a young man employed at Culbertson's mill, agreed to
undertake the dangerous journey. It seems, however, that
Covenhoven went alone. On his way, he spent the night at the
home of Andrew Armstrong, near the present village of Linden,
Lycoming County, about sixteen miles west of Fort Muncy. He
warned Armstrong of the impending danger, and advised him to
leave. Armstrong refused to do so, and a few days later a band
of Indians attacked his home, and carried him and his little son
into captivity. He was never heard of again. A woman named
Nancy Bunday, who was at the Armstrong home at the time, was
also carried away; but Mrs. Armstrong hid under a bed and was
not found by the Indians. Years afterwards an aged Indian,
leading a young man who appeared to have white blood in his
veins, knocked at the door of Widow Armstrong's home, and told
her his young companion was her son. The young man remained
in the neighborhood for some time, but Mrs. Armstrong could
not bring herself to the point of accepting him as her son, where-
upon he returned to his Indian companions.
But to return to Robert Covenhoven. Leaving Armstrong's
house, he crossed the river, ascended Bald Eagle Mountain, and
took his way along the level plateau on its summit until he came
to the gap opposite Fort Antes. It was evening when he arrived
near this fort. A girl had just gone outside to milk a cow, when
she was fired upon by an Indian in ambush. The bullet passed
through the folds of her dress, but she was unharmed. Coven-
hoven, startled by the report of the Indian's rifle, at first believed
himself discovered and being fired upon, but, finding himself un-
harmed, dashed into the fort and delivered the message to evac-
uate the place within a week. He then returned to Fort Muncy,
while a messenger was sent from Fort Antes to Fort Horn,
located farther up the West Branch in what is now the eastern
part of Clinton County, bearing the order to evacuate. Then
560 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
began the historic flight of the settlers of the West Branch to
Sunbury and other places of safety.
On July 12th, Colonel Matthew Smith wrote from Paxtang
that he had just arrived at Harris' Ferry and beheld the greatest
scenes of distress that he had ever seen, the place being crowded
with settlers who had come down the river, leaving everything.
Also William McClay, later the first United States senator from
Pennsylvania, wrote from Paxtang on the same day as follows:
"I left Sunbury and almost my whole property on Wednesday
last. I will not trouble you with a recital of the inconveniences
I suffered while I brought my family by water to this place. I
never in my life saw such scenes of distress. The river and roads
leading down it were covered with men, women and children,
flying for their lives. In short, Northumberland County is
broken up." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 634.) At the same time,
Robert Covenhoven wrote concerning the flight of the settlers:
"I took my own family safely to Sunbury and came back in the
keel boat to secure my furniture. Just as I rounded a point above
Derrstown [now Lewisburg, Union County], I met the whole
convoy from all the forts above. Such a sight I never saw in all
my life. Boats, canoes, hog-troughs, rafts, hastily made of dry
sticks, every sort of floating article had been put into requisition
and was crowded with women, children, and plunder. When-
ever an obstruction occurred at any shoal or ripple, the women
would leap out into the water and put their shoulders to the boat
or raft and launch it again into deep water. The men of the
settlement came down in single file on each side of the river to
guard the women and children. The whole convoy arrived
safely at Sunbury, leaving the entire range of farms along the
West Branch to the ravages of the Indians." Also, on July 12th,
Peter DeHaven wrote from Hummelstown to Colonel Timothy
Matlack, concerning the flight of the inhabitants, as follows:
"This day there was twenty or thirty families passed through
this town, some from Buffalo Valley and from Sunbury, and some
families from this side of Peters mountain. Yomin [Wyoming] is
taken. Most of our people have left Sunbury, and are coming
down. Those people inform us that there is 200 wagons on the
road coming down in a day or two." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page
633.)
It is a remarkable fact that but few persons were killed by the
Indians during this precipitate flight of the settlers.
After Covenhoven had placed his furniture into his boat arid
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 561
was proceeding down the river, just below Fort Menninger,
located on the west bank of the West Branch at the mouth of
White Deer Creek, Union County, he saw Mrs. Margaret Wilson
Durham on the shore, fleeing from an Indian. She and the wife
of Assemblyman James McKnight, each with an infant in her
arms, started on horseback from Fort Freeland, located on the
north side of Warrior Run, about two miles above McEwansville,
Northumberland County, to go to Northumberland, when, near
the mouth of Warrior Run, about two miles from the fort, they
were fired upon by a band of Indians and ambushed. Mrs.
Durham's child was killed in her arms, and an Indian rushed out
of the bushes and scalped her. Alexander GufTy, Peter Williams,
and Ellis Williams hastened to the scene of the shooting, and
were greatly surprised to find Mrs. Durham alive and piteously
calling for water. These men bound up her head as best they
could and conveyed her in a canoe down the river to Sunbury,
where Colonel William Plunkett, who was also a physician,
dressed her wounded head. She recovered and lived to the
mature age of seventy-four years, dying in 1829.
Mrs. McKnight was not injured. Her horse became frightened
at the shooting, and ran back to the fort. As the horse wheeled,
Mrs. McKnight's child fell from her arms; but she caught it by
the foot, and thus held it until the fort was reached. Two of Mrs.
McKnight's sons, who were accompanying her and Mrs. Durham
on foot, were captured, as was Mr. Durham. The father and the
two boys were taken to Canada, and returned home after the
close of the Revolutionary War.
In answer to Colonel Hunter's appeal. Colonel Daniel Broad-
head with the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, then on its march
to Fort Pitt, was ordered to the West Branch, arriving at Fort
Muncy on July 24th. Also Colonel Thomas Hartley with a
small regiment arrived at Fort Augusta on August 1st and
marched to the relief of Colonel Broadhead at Fort Muncy.
After Colonel Hartley's expedition, which we shall now describe,
some of the more venturesome settlers returned to their habita-
tions.
Colonel Hartley's Expedition
Reference has already been made to Colonel Thomas Hartley's
expedition in the autumn of 1778. Leaving Samuel Wallis' at
Muncy on September 21, he led a force of two hundred men
through swamps, over mountains, twenty times crossing the
562 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Lycoming River; and on the 26th, his advance party of nineteen
fired upon an equal number of Indians, killed their leader, and
put the rest to flight. This engagement caused the alarm to be
given to the main body of the Indians against whom his expedi-
tion was aimed ; and a few miles further he found where seventy
warriors had slept the preceding night, from which place they had
turned back. Furthermore, one of his men who had deserted him,
had warned the Indians, as was learned when the expedition
reached Sheshecununk, Bradford County, where fifteen Indians
were taken prisoner.
From Sheshecununk, Hartley advanced to Tioga, destroyed
the town, and captured a prisoner. Butler, the Tory leader, had
been there with a force of three hundred Tories and Indians only
a few hours before Hartley reached that place. Ascertaining at
Tioga that a force of five hundred was fortifying itself at Chemung
only twelve miles distant, Hartley retreated to Sheshecununk, at
which place he crossed the North Branch of the Susquehanna,
and proceeded to the Indian town of Wyalusing, Bradford
County. There with the supply of provisions exhausted, his
force spent the night of September 28th, and devoted the next
morning to killing and cooking beef. Seventy of his force left
for home in canoes, and the remainder were attacked three times
below Wyalusing, with the loss of four killed and wounded. At
Wyoming three men going out looking for potatoes, were scalped,
and Hartley left half of his detachment as a garrison at that place.
He then returned to Sunbury and, the term of his militiamen
having expired, he appealed to Congress and the Provincial
Council for more troops. His expedition had marched three
hundred miles in two weeks, devastating the country of Queen
Esther, and destroying her town, as well as Tioga, Sheshecununk,
and Wayalusing. In the forests and groves he found where the
Indians had dressed and dried the scalps of the frontier victims.
(See Colonel Hartley's report to Congress of his expedition,
recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, pages 5 to 9.)
About the 1st of November, the Indians came down the North
Branch of the Susquehanna, destroying the settlements as far as
the mouth of the Nescopeck, and investing Wyoming. Colonel
Hartley then advanced from Fort Jenkins, (which was situated on
the north shore of the North Branch of the Susquehanna about
midway between Berwick and Bloomsburg, in Columbia County),
with its garrison to the relief of Wyoming, clearing the country of
the enemy.
THt: REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 56.^
Among the atrocities, committed in the Wyoming Valley at this
time, were the following :
On November 7th, John Perkins was killed at Plymouth.
About the same time, William Jackson and a Mr. Lester were
captured at a mill at Nanticoke, marched three miles up into
Hanover, and then shot down. This band of Indians also cap-
tured a certain "old Mr. Hageman," who escaped with six wounds
in his body, and survived, although he had received such a deep
spear thrust that the food oozed from the wound in his side. On
November 9th, Captain Carr and Philip Goss, while attempting
to make their escape in a canoe, were shot below Wapwallopen,
the former killed outright and the latter left dying on the shore.
About the same time, Robert Alexander and Amos Parker were
found murdered in the lower part of the Valley. Late in the
autumn, Isaac Inman was murdered in Hanover. He was lured
into the forest by what he thought was the sound of wild-turkeys.
Presently the report of a gun was heard, but he did not return.
That night a heavy snow fell, which lay until spring, when his
mutilated body was found. On November 19th, the Utley family
was murdered near Nescopeck. John, Elisha, and Diah Utley
were the first attacked. John and Elisha were killed, and Diah,
the youngest, fled to the river, and swam to the west shore; but
an Indian who had crossed before in a canoe, killed him with a
tomahawk when he emerged from the river. After killing John
and Elisha, the Indians entered the house, killed and scalped the
aged mother, placed her in a chair, and so left her. We shall
now describe the attack on the Slocum family,
Frances Slocum, the Lost Sister of Wyoming
On November 2nd, 1778, Jonathan Slocum and his sons,
William and Benjamin, were at work harvesting their corn near
Wyoming. At the Slocum home were the other members of the
family and a Mrs. Nathan Kingsley and her two sons. About
noon, the Kingsley boys, who were sharpening a knife on the
grindstone in the front yard, were attacked by Indians. Mrs.
Slocum hastened to the door and was horrified to see the lifeless
body of the elder Kingsley boy lying on the ground, and the In-
dian who had killed him, preparing to scalp him with the knife
that the boys were sharpening. Snatching her infant from the
cradle and calling to the others to run for their lives, she fled out
of the rear door of the house over a log fence into a swamp be-
564 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
yond, where she hid herself and her baby. In the meantime, the
younger Kingsley boy and Frances Slocum, a girl five and a half
years old, hid themselves under a staircase, and Judith Slocum
with her three year old brother, Isaac, also fled toward the swamp,
while little Mary Slocum, a girl nine years of age, started to flee
in the direction of the fort at Wyoming, carrying her baby brother
one and one-half years old, in her arms. Ebenezer Slocum, a boy
thirteen years old, was a cripple, and was unable to flee.
While the Slocums were fleeing from their home, the Indians
made their way into the house, dragging forth young Kingsley,
Frances Slocum, and Ebenezer Slocum. Mrs. Slocum then,
leaving her baby behind, rushed among the Indians and implored
them to release the child. She pointed to the crippled feet of
Ebenezer, and exclaimed: "The child is lame, he can do thee no
good." The Indians then released Ebenezer, but in spite of the
piteous pleadings of the mother, they refused to release little
Frances. The leader of the Indians, throwing Frances athwart
his shoulder, and another of the band doing likewise with young
Kingsley, they dashed into the woods. Little Frances looked
toward her mother and stretched out her little arms in a pitiful
appeal. This was the last sight that the mother ever had of her
little daughter, — a picture that was in her memory every waking
moment until death.
Long years afterwards it was learned from Frances Slocum
that she and the Kingsley boy were carried to a cave, where the
Indians kept them that night. Setting out at sunrise the next
morning, they traveled for many days before arriving at the In-
dian village to which the captors belonged. When they arrived
at this village, the Kingsley boy was taken away, which was the
last she ever saw or heard of him.
The chief who took Frances gave her to an aged Delaware
couple, who adopted her, giving her the name of Weletawash,
which was the name of the couple's youngest child, who had
lately died. This Indian couple was living in Ontario, Canada,
when the Revolution ended. They then moved to the site of the
present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Frances grew to
womanhood, and in 1790 married the Delaware, Little Turtle.
In 1794 her husband deserted her and went west. Later she
married a chief of the Miamis called Shepoconnah, and in 1801
they, with their two sons and daughter removed to the Osage
village about one mile from the confluence of the Mississineva
and Wabash Rivers in the state of Indiana. Here Shepoconnah
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 565
was made a war chief of the Miamis and Frances was admitted
into the Miami tribe, and given the name of Maconaquah,
signifying "A Young Bear." Shepoconnah died in 1832.
After the capture of Frances, her father was killed. Many
efforts were made to obtain clues as to her whereabouts, but to no
avail. Also, after peace was declared ending the Revolutionary
War, her brothers made a journey to Fort Niagara, where they
offered one hundred guineas for her recovery. The brothers
never gave up the search for their sister. They visited many
Indian villages and traveled thousands of miles, even enlisting
the United States Government in the search. They also attended
every gathering of Indians where white children captives were
given up.
Finally, in 1835, Colonel George W. Ewing, an Indian trader,
was quartered in the home of Maconoquah, as Frances Slocum
was now called, where she related the story of her life to him.
Marveling at its mystery. Colonel Ewing wrote the postmaster
at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a letter containing the narrative of
Maconoquah. No one however, was interested; but two years
later John W. Forney, publisher of the Lancaster Intelligencer,
ran across this letter and published it in July, 1837. Immediately
the narrative was read by those who knew the story of the lost
sister of Wyoming. A short time afterward Joseph Slocum jour-
neyed to the home of Maconoquah, where he positively identified
her as his long lost sister. She acknowledged him as her brother,
but declined to leave her wigwam to enjoy the comforts of her
brother's home in Wilkes-Barre. Said she: "No, I cannot. I
have always lived with the Indians; they have always used me
kindly; I am used to them. The Great Spirit has always allowed
me to live with them, and I wish to live and die with them." The
brother then returned to his home, and correspondence was kept
up between the lost sister of Wyoming and her relatives until her
death, which occurred March 9, 1847.
But, to return to Jonathan Slocum, the father of Frances. On
December 16th, 1778, about a month and a half after the capture
of his daughter, he, his father-in-law, Isaac Tripp, Esq., and
William Slocum were feeding their cows from a stack in the
meadow, in sight of the fort at Wyoming, when they were fired
upon by Indians. Mr. Slocum was shot dead; Mr. Tripp was
speared and tomahawked ; and William Slocum was wounded in
the heel by a spent ball, but made his escape, and gave the alarm.
"Thus," says Miner in his "History of Wyoming," "in a little
S66 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
more than a month, Mrs. Slocum had lost a beloved child, carried
into captivity; the doorway had been drenched in blood by the
murder of an inmate of the family; two others of the household
had been taken away prisoners; and now her husband and her
father were both stricken down to the grave, murdered and
mangled by merciless Indians. Verily, the annals of Indian
atrocities, written in blood, record few instances of desolation and
woe equal to this."
Coshishton Massacre
The Indians, Tories and British, after the massacre at Wyo-
ming, spread terror throughout the settlements on the Delaware.
Colonel Jacob Stroud in a few days advised that they were dis-
covered at the mouth of Lackawaxen Creek, in Pike County. Soon
they continued their ravages and advance towards the Minisinks,
where the people were poorly prepared for defense. In a letter
written by Colonel Stroud from Fort Penn, where Stroudsburg,
Monroe County, now stands, to Colonel John Weitzel, on July
17th, 1778, he said:
"I just now, by express, received a letter from Judge Symens,
informing me that Coshishton was entirely cut off yesterday
morning by a parcel of Tories and Indians, massacreing all men,
women and children; even those that have been captivated
[captured] by them before and dismissed by them with certain
badges of distinction and their reputed friends; they threatened
to cut off and destroy Peanpeek this morning, which we expect,
if they should incline to come on to Minisinks and this place;
we shall be unable to prevent it, as we are but about 60 men
strong now assembled." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 6, page 651.)
Westward March of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment
As stated in the first part of this chapter. General Hand was
relieved of command of the western department on May 2nd,
1778, and General Lachlan Mcintosh was commissioned to suc-
ceed him. At the same time, the Eighth Pennsylvania and
Thirteenth Virginia Regiments were detached from Washington's
army at Valley Forge, and ordered to Fort Pitt. Colonel Daniel
Brodhead commanded the former, and Colonel William Craw-
ford, the latter. Ephriam Blaine, commissary of the Eighth
Pennsylvania, was the grandfather of James G. Blaine. Other
notable Pennsylvanians in this regiment were Major (later
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 567
General) Richard Butler, Lieutenant-Colonel George Wilson, and
Adjutant Michael Huffnagle.
General Mcintosh, with the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment,
left Valley Forge in May, and marched to Lancaster, where the
Continental Congress was in session. The Eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment left Valley Forge about the middle of June, and pro-
ceeded by way of Lancaster to Carlisle, at which place it arrived
early on the 8th of July. In the meantime, the Thirteenth Vir-
ginia had reached Carlisle and pushed on over the mountains
toward the Ohio, and General Mcintosh waited at Carlisle until
the arrival of the Eighth Pennsylvania. In the meantime, also,
while waiting at Carlisle, General Mcintosh learned of the terrible
Indian raids on the West Branch and North Branch of the Sus-
quehanna, described earlier in this chapter. Upon the arrival of
the Eighth Pennsylvania, he ordered Colonel Daniel Brodhead to
march up the Susquehanna, drive out the Indians, and en-
courage the settlers to return to their deserted plantations.
On July 12th, Colonel Brodhead left Carlisle for the Susque-
hanna, with about three hundred and forty troops, marching in
light order and leaving the pack horses and baggage at Carlisle.
As stated earlier in this chapter, several detachments, among
whom was Captain Samuel Miller, had already been sent on the
road to Fort Pitt, to secure recruits and to prepare supplies for
the regiment. Colonel Brodhead, upon arriving at Fort Augusta,
held by one hundred men, sent details up both branches of the
Susquehanna. Major Richard Butler was sent up the North
Branch to Nescopeck, with two companies; Captain John Finley
was sent with one company into Penn's Valley, west of the Sus-
quehanna; while Colonel Brodhead, with the rest of the command,
advanced up the West Branch to Muncy. He wrote from Muncy,
on July 24th: "Great numbers of the inhabitants returned upon
my approach, and are now collected in large bodies, reaping their
harvests." (Pa. archives, Vol. 6, page 660.) Major Butler's
and Colonel Brodhead 's detachments had no opportunity for
battle with the Indians; but Captain Finley 's company had the
engagement on July 24th near General James Potter's plantation
in Penn's Valley, mentioned in his letter of July 25th, quoted
earlier in this chapter.
Captain John Brady of the Twelfth Pennsylvania Regiment,
father of the famous Captain Samuel Brady, had erected a
stockade at Muncy; and here Samuel, who was then a lieutenant
in the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, visited him and other
568 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
members of the family while Brodhead's troops were in this
region. At the end of July, the Eighth Pennsylvania was re-
lieved by the Eleventh Pennsylvania, whereupon Colonel Brod-
head's troops, Samuel Brady being with them, proceeded to
Carlisle, at which place they arrived on August 6th. (Pa. Archives
Vol. 6, page 680.) The regiment rested at Carlisle one week be-
fore taking up the march over the mountains to Fort Pitt. Just
before it left, Lieutenant Samuel Brady received the sad news of
the fatal wounding of his brother James, as stated earlier in this
chapter. On account of his brother's death, he was excused from
accompanying his regiment to Fort Pitt, and spent the month of
September in securing recruits in Cumberland County. Later he
joined the regiment at Fort Pitt, and entered upon his brilliant
career as a scout.
Leaving Carlisle on August 13th, the Eighth Pennsylvania
Regiment marched by way of Bedford, Ligonier and Hannas-
town to Fort Pitt, where it arrived on September 10th, having
been almost three months on the road from Valley Forge. Says
Hassler, in his "Old Westmoreland":
"After it [the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment] reached Bedford,
it was in its own country. From that place to Pittsburgh, all
along the line of march, there were many joyful reunions, and
doubtless the travel-stained soldiers were well served with food
and drink as they passed through Westmoreland. Yet many
tearful women sat at the wayside cabins and sad-faced parents
looked in vain for the familiar figures of beloved sons. Nearly
three hundred of the stout frontier youths who marched away to
the East to help Washington did not return to the defense of
their own borderland."
Alliance with the Delawares
The Delawares of the Turkey and Turtle Clans on the Tus-
carawas and Muskingum, owing principally to the influence of
White Eyes, having maintained neutrality between the Americans
and the British, during the early years of the Revolutionary War,
and this remarkable chieftain having shown an intelligent sym-
pathy with the American cause and expressed the hope that the
Delaware Nation might form the fourteenth state in the American
union. Congress, in June, 1778, ordered a treaty to be held at
Fort Pitt, on July 23rd, for the purpose of forming an alliance
with these Indians, and requested Virginia to choose two com-
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 569
missioners and Pennsylvania, one, for this purpose. Pennsylvania
neglected to choose a commissioner; but Virginia appointed
General Andrew Lewis, the conqueror of Cornstalk, at Point
Pleasant, and his brother, Thomas Lewis, a civilian. The time
of the treaty was postponed to September, owing to the inability
of the American troops to reach Fort Pitt in July.
Messengers were sent to the Shawnees, inviting them to come
to the treaty with the Delawares; but they declined, except a
small band under Nimwha, who lived with the Delawares at
Coshocton. One of the messengers sent to the Shawnees was
James Girty, brother of the notorious Simon Girty. James did
not return from his mission, but deserted the Americans.
The main purpose the Americans had in mind in making an
alliance with the Delawares was that the American troops might
not be opposed by this powerful Indian tribe in a contemplated
march against Detroit through the three hundred miles of wilder-
ness west of Fort Pitt.
When Colonel Brodhead and his troops reached Fort Pitt, on
September 10th, they found the wigwams of the Delawares
pitched near the shore of the Allegheny a short distance above
the fort. The conference began on September 12th, and the
treaty was signed on the 17th. Besides White Eyes, the Dela-
wares were represented by Killbuck, successor to New Comer of
the Turtle Clan, Captain Pipe, successor to Custaloga, of the
Wolf Clan, and Wingenund, the Delaware "wise man." These
three chiefs appeared at the councils, in all their gaudy attire,
painted, feathered, and beaded; while General Mcintosh and his
staff officers attended in new uniforms. The interpreter was Job
Chilloway, a Delaware from the Susquehanna, who had learned
the English language from having lived for a number of years
among the white people.
General Lewis advised the Delaware chiefs of his intention to
send an army against the British at Detroit, and asked the per-
mission of the Delawares for the army to pass through the terri-
tory over which they claimed control, bounded on the east by the
Ohio and Allegheny, and on the west by the Hocking and San-
dusky.
By the terms of the treaty as finally concluded, all offenses
were mutually forgiven ; a perpetual friendship was pledged ; each
party agreed to assist the other in any just war; the Delawares
gave permission for an American army to pass through their
territory, and agreed to furnish meat, corn, warriors and guides
570 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
for the army. The United States agreed to erect and garrison a
fort, within the Delaware country, for the protection of the old
men, women, and children; and each party agreed to punish
offenses committed by citizens of the other, according to a system
to be arranged later. The United States promised the establish-
ment of fair and honest trade relations; and lastly, the United
States guaranteed the integrity of the Delaware nation, and
promised to admit it as a state of the American Union, "provided
nothing contained in this article be considered as conclusive until
it meets the approbation of congress." With reference to the
promise to admit the Delaware nation as a state of the Union,
the commissioners must have known that this was an impossi-
bility.
But the guileless White Eyes never suspected that he and his
people were being imposed upon. Said he: "Brothers, we are
become one people. We [the Delawares], are at a loss to express
our thoughts, but we hope soon to convince you by our actions of
the sincerity of our hearts. We now inform you that as many of
our warriors as can possibly be spared will join you and go with
you."
This treaty, was signed by the Delaware chiefs. White Eyes,
Captain Pipe and John Killbuck. On the part of the United
States, it was signed by General Andrew Lewis and his brother
Thomas Lewis. It was witnessed by General Lachlan Mcintosh,
Colonel Daniel Brodhead, Colonel William Crawford, Colonel
John Gibson, Major Arthur Graham, Captain Joseph L. Finley,
Captain John Finley, John Campbell, John Stephenson and
Benjamin Mills. Its proceedings are found in the manuscript
letter book of Colonel George Morgan, then Indian Agent at
Fort Pitt.
The great courage of White Eyes in forming this alliance with
the Americans is seen when it is recalled that all the other western
tribes were on the side of the British, and, for some time had
been endeavoring, by solicitation and threats, to draw all the
Delawares into a British alliance. Colonel Hamilton, the "hair-
buyer" was still at the height of his career in sending war parties
against the frontier settlements.
General Mcintosh Marches to the Tuscarawas
The plan of General Mcintosh for the protection of the western
frontier was to capture Detroit. Immediately after the treaty
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1778 571
with the Delawares, he began preparations for an expedition
against this place. About October 1st, 1778, his army of thirteen
hundred troops, five hundred of whom were regulars of the
Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment and the Thirteenth Virginia
Regiment, went from Fort Pitt down the Ohio to the mouth of
the Beaver, where four weeks were spent in erecting Fort Mc-
intosh, located on the high bluff overlooking the Ohio, at the
site of the present town of Beaver. On November 5th, his army
took up the march through the wilderness to the Tuscarawas,
reaching this stream, on November 19th, at the place where the
town of Bolivar, Ohio, now stands. Here the expedition against
Detroit was abandoned on account of the lateness of the season,
and a fort was erected, called Fort Laurens in honor of Henry
Laurens, the president of the Continental Congress.
General Mcintosh returned to Fort Pitt, leaving one hundred
and fifty troops of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment under
Colonel John Gibson at Fort Laurens; while Colonel Daniel
Brodhead was left in command of Fort Mcintosh with a detach-
ment of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. The garrison at
Fort Laurens spent a terrible winter, being short of supplies, and
it being impossible for the soldiers to hunt game on account of
the hostile Wyandots, Miamis and Shawnees. Early in January,
1779, Captain John Clark was sent with a detachment carrying
supplies. Although attacked by Indians led by Simon Girty, he
reached Fort Laurens in safety. Captain Clark then attempted
to return to Fort Pitt, but was again attacked and driven back
to Fort Laurens. A few days later, he made a third attempt, this
one successful. Soon a large force of Indians, under Simon Girty
and Captain Henry Bird, surrounded Fort Laurens, and began
a siege of the place. Almost starving, they told Colonel Gibson
that they would withdraw if he would give them a barrel of meat
and a barrel of flour. This Gibson did, telling them he had a
large supply of both. The Indians then withdrew to their villages.
On March 23rd, General Mcintosh reached the fort with a force
of five hundred men carrying supplies. Gibson's soldiers were so
overjoyed that they fired a volley, as they had been living on
soup made of raw hides and roots. The firing of the volley
frightened Mcintosh's pack horses, and they dashed off through
the woods, scattering the provisions, only about half of which the
troops were able to gather up. Colonel Gibson and his detach-
ment returned with General Mcintosh, leaving Major Vernon
572 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and a garrison of one hundred men of the Eighth Pennsylvania
in charge of the fort.
Before making this last journey to Fort Laurens, General Mc-
intosh had asked General Washington to relieve him of his com-
mand. Upon his return to Fort Pitt, he was notified that Colonel
Daniel Brodhead had been appointed to take his place as com-
mander of the western department.
Death of White Eyes
On General Mcintosh's march from Fort Mcintosh to the
Tuscarawas, White Eyes, according to Hassler's "Old Westmore-
land" and other authorities, was treacherously put to death, it is
believed, by a Virginia militiaman. However, Hecke welder and
De Schweinitz say he died of small-pox at the camp on the Tus-
carawas on November 10th, 1778. Both the "Handbook of
American Indians" and Loskiel's "History of the Moravian
Missions" say the cause of the great chief's death was small-pox,
and both erroneously give the place of his death as Pittsburgh.
Says DeSchweinitz : "Where his [White Eyes'] remains are
resting, no man knows; the plowshare has often furrowed his
grave. But his name lives; and the Christian may hope that in
the resurrection of the just, he, too will be found among the great
multitude redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation."
CHAPTER XXV
The Revolutionary War
1779
WHEN Colonel Daniel Brodhead took command of Fort
Pitt, in April, 1779, General Mcintosh transferred to him
not only the garrison of this post but the small garrisons at Fort
Henry (Wheeling, West Virginia), Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant
West Virginia), and Fort Hand, in the northern part of West-
moreland County, Brodhead then sent a force under Lieutenant
Lawrence Harrison, of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, to oc-
cupy Fort Crawford, located on the east bank of the Allegheny,
where the town of Parnassus, Westmoreland County, now stands,
which fort had been erected during the summer of 1778 by Colonel
William Crawford. He also withdrew most of the garrison from
Fort Laurens to Fort Mcintosh, and later dismantled the former.
Colonel Brodhead, soon after taking command of the western
department, put into operation a system of scouting from one
fort to another in the western region. The scouts were selected
from the boldest and most experienced frontiersmen under his
command. Their captains were Van Swearingen, John Hardin
and Samuel Brady.
Captain Samuel Brady's Revenge
Soon after Samuel Brady was appointed one of the leaders of
Brodhead 's scouts, he received another crushing blow. On April
11th, 1779, his father. Captain John Brady, was conveying sup-
plies from Fort Wallis to Fort Muncy, when three Iroquois
Indians, secreted in a thicket, shot him dead from his horse.
The body of Captain John Brady was buried in an old grave-
yard near Halls, Lycoming County, where a heavy granite marker
was erected at his grave, bearing the following inscription :
Captain John Brady
Fell in Defense of Our Forefathers
At Wolf Run, April 11, 1779,
Aged Forty-six Years
574 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
One hundred years after his death, funds were raised for the
erection of a large monument to his memory in the cemetery at
Muncy, the shaft being unveiled on October 15, 1879.
When Captain Samuel Brady received the news of the murder
of his father, it is said that, in a frenzy of grief, he renewed the
vow taken after the murder of his brother, raising his hand on
high, and saying:
"Aided by Him Who formed yonder sun and heavens, I will
avenge the murder of my father ; nor while I live, will I ever be at
peace with the Indians of any tribe."
Samuel Brady did not have long to wait for an opportunity
to avenge the death of his brother. In June, 1779, a band of the
Wolf Clan of Delawares and probably some Senecas, came down
the Allegheny River and made a raid into Westmoreland County,
killing a soldier between Fort Hand (near Apollo) and Fort Craw-
ford (Parnassus), attacking the settlement at James Perry's Mill
on Big Sewickley Creek, killing a woman and four children and
carrying off two children, the latter no doubt being the children of
Frederick Heinrich (Henry), near Greensburg.
At least General Hugh Brady, a brother of Samuel Brady, in
his account of the Brady family, says these were the children of
Mr. Henry, as does C. W. Butterfield in his "Washington-Irvine
Correspondence." (See also Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, page 505.)
The attack on the home of Frederick Henry is thus described
in Rev. W. A. Zundel's "History of Old Zion Lutheran Church":
"Frederick Henry (Heinrich), of Northampton, Burlington
County, New Jersey, settled, shortly after 1770, in the Herold
settlement [in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County]. In
time, the new settlers cleared some land and erected a house and
stables. Four children cheered this lonely settlement. During
the spring of 1779, when the husband, Frederick Henry, was com-
pelled to leave home to take some grist to a distant mill, a band
of Indians, perhaps Senecas, descended upon the helpless home.
"As was their custom, the Indians sneaked up to the house to
ascertain if the men were home and on guard. Now, the Henrys
had a large cock that frequently came to the door of the home to
be fed. Mrs. Henry, seeing some feathers moving near the door,
sent one of the children to shoo away the big rooster; whereupon
the Indians, decked out in the feathers of their war headgear,
burst in upon the helpless family. Mrs. Henry bravely attempted
to defend her little ones; whereupon she was tomahawked and
scalped in the presence of her small children.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 SIS
"One child, seeing the Indians coming at the door, fled into
the corn field and hid among the corn, and thus escaped, the
Indians being in a hurry, fearing the wrath of the settlers. The
Indians now took the three children captive, and after firing the
buildings, started on their journey toward the Indian country.
It soon developed that the youngest child, a mere infant, would
be too much bother to the Indians, so when it began to cry, a big
Indian took it by its feet, and dashed its brains out against a
maple tree on the Solomon Bender farm, now owned by William
Henry. This tree was held sacred by the pioneers and it stood
until recent times (about 1900). The other children were carried
away.
"Immediately upon the return of Henry, a posse of settlers
started out in pursuit of the Indians. One account relates that
the Indians were in their camp above Pittsburgh on the Alle-
gheny, and after a lively skirmish, the children were recaptured,
and the murderer of the wife and child identified, tied to a tree,
and dispatched by the daughter, Anna Margaret, then about nine
years old. Another account agrees with the report of Colonel
Brodhead, that Captain Brady, with twenty white men and a
Delaware chief, effected the capture."*
The news of this raid reaching Fort Pitt, two parties were
sent out against these Indians, one marching into the Sewickley
settlement and attempting to follow the Indian trail, and the
other consisting of twenty men under Captain Samuel Brady,
ascending the Allegheny River.
Brady's forces were painted and dressed like Indians. He
had with him his "pet Indian," the unfortunate Nanowland, who
was killed at Killbuck Island, near Fort Pitt, in the spring of
1782, by the Scotch-Irish settlers living on Chartier's Creek.
Brady's reason for going up the Allegheny was that he was
satisfied that the Indians came from the north and would return
that direction to get possession of their canoes, which they had
no doubt hidden along the river bank when they had left the
stream. Brady came upon the canoes of these Indians drawn up
within the mouth of one of the creeks entering the Allegheny from
the east. There is lack of agreement among historians as to the
identity of this creek. Some say that it was the Big Mahoning;
but Colonel Brodhead, in his report to General Washington,
written on June 24th, says that the scene was "about fifteen miles
above Kittanning," which agrees with the location of Red Bank
Creek; not far from the beautiful bend on the Allegheny, which
*In this same raid, two children of a settler named Haines were killed near the site of the
Henry atrocity.
576 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
bears the name of Brady. General Hugh Brady also locates this
incident being near the mouth of Red Bank Creek. (Linn's
"Annals of the Buffalo Valley," page 227.) Colonel Brodhead,
in his letter of June 24th, above quoted in part, further says:
"About a fortnight ago, three men which I had sent to recon-
noitre the Seneca Country, returned from Venango, being chased
by a number of warriors who were coming down the river in
canoes ; they continued their pursuit until they came to this side
of the Kittanning, and the white men narrowly escaped." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 7, page 505.)
The Indians were in camp in the woods north of Red Bank
Creek, and were preparing supper when Brady discovered them.
They had hobbled the horses which they had stolen, and turned
them loose to graze on the meadow near the creek. On account
of the swollen condition of the creek, Brady's men were compelled
to ascend it two miles before they were able to cross. Waiting
until after nightfall, Brady and his men descended the northern
side of the creek to a point near the camp, and then lay in the
tall grass.
Laying aside their arms, Brady and Nanowland crept on their
stomachs to within a few yards of the Indian camp, in order to
count the number of the Indians and learn the position of the
captives taken. As Brady and his faithful Delaware were lying in
the grass, one of the warriors arose from his position near the fire,
stepped forth to a few feet from where Brady lay, stood there for
a while and then returned to his companions, and lay down to
sleep. Then Brady and Nanowland crept back to their com-
panions and prepared to attack the Indians at daybreak. As the
first streaks of dawn floated over the verdant hills of the Alle-
gheny, one of the Indians awoke and aroused his companions.
The whole band then stood about the fire, when suddenly a sheet
of flame blazed from the rifles of Brady and his men, and the chief
of the seven Indians fell dead, while the others fled into the sur-
rounding forest, two of them severely wounded. It was Brady's
own rifle that brought down the chief, who was none other than
Bald Eagle. With a shout of triumph, Brady leaped upon the
fallen chieftain and scalped him. Thus, on the banks of the
Allegheny, far from the harvest field near the banks of the Sus-
quehanna, where Bald Eagle killed young James Brady, during
the preceding summer. Captain Samuel Brady avenged the death
of his younger and favorite brother.
The children captured by Bald Eagle's band were recovered
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 577
unharmed and returned to Fort Pitt. The death of Bald Eagle
had a good effect in that the Indians made no more raids into
Westmoreland during that summer. Three weeks later, Captain
Brady returned to the neighborhood of the attack on Bald Eagle's
band. Observing a flock of crows hovering above the thicket, he
made a search and found the partially devoured body of one of
the Indians that died of his wounds.
Other Exploits of Captain Samuel Brady
On one occasion Samuel Brady started from Pittsburgh with a
few picked men on a scout toward the Sandusky villages. While
they were on their return trip they were pursued by Indians and
all killed except Brady, who succeeded in getting as far towards
Fort Pitt as the hill named for him near Beaver. He was not
wounded, but almost dead from fatigue. He well realized that he
was being tracked by the Indians, and that if he did not resort to
some trick to elude them, he would be lost. Having selected a
large tree, lately been blown down having a leafy top, he walked
back carefully in his tracks a few hundred yards, and then turned
about and walked in his old steps as far as the tree. This was
done in the hope and belief that the Indians would be sure to
follow him thither. He then walked along the trunk of the tree,
and hid himself in its leafy top. He believed that the Indians
would track him to the tree, and finding no further trace of him,
would sit on the trunk or log of the same for consultation. He
had not long to wait. Presently three Indians with their eyes
bent to the earth followed his tracks, came to the tree, which they
closely examined for the trail beyond, but not finding any, sat
down on the trunk to consult together just as Brady had antici-
pated. Quickly and silently Brady raised his rifle and shot the
foremost Indian dead. The bullet passed through his body and
wounded the other two. Springing upon these with clubbed rifle,
Brady soon dispatched them both.
On another occasion, as this noted scout was returning to Fort
Pitt, he realized that he was being tracked by an Indian with a
dog. Occasionally he had seen the Indian in the distance passing
from tree to tree and advancing on his trail. For his ambush he
selected a large chestnut tree which had been blown out of root.
He walked from the top of the tree along its trunk, and sat down
in the hole made by the uprooting of the tree. In a short time he
saw a small dog mount the log at the other end and with nose to
578 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the trunk approach him, closely followed by a plumed warrior.
Brady had to make a choice between the dog and the Indian. He
preferred shooting the former, which he did. As the dog rolled off
the log dead, the Indian with a loud whoop ran into the forest
and disappeared.
Charles McKnight, in "Our Western Border," relates an in-
cident in Brady's life that happened about the close of the Revolu-
tionary War. Brady, with two companions, Thomas Bevington
and Benjamin Biggs, were coming from Fort Mcintosh (Beaver,
Pa.) to Fort Pitt, and when they arrived at the site of the present
town of Sewickley, Allegheny County, they suddenly came upon
"Indian signs." At that time there was but a solitary cabin at
this place, that of a hunter named Albert Gray. Brady, bidding
his men crouch down, approached the cabin to reconnoitre, and
presently saw Gray approaching on horseback with a deer laid
across the horse's back behind him. Brady, being dressed as an
Indian, sprang forth and jerked Gray from his horse. Gray,
thinking him an Indian, offered fierce resistance; but the hunter's
fears were allayed by the Captain's whispering to him: "Don't
strike; I am Captain Brady. For God's sake keep quiet." The
two then approached nearer the cabin, and found it a heap of
smoking ruins. The Indians had burned it after carrying off
Gray's wife and two children. Brady and Gray then joined the
other white men, and the four hurried to the ford on the Beaver
River, near its mouth, to intercept the Indian band at that place.
The white men crossed the Beaver about dusk, and cautiously
entering a ravine, discovered the Indians eating their evening
meal near a spring, with Gray's wife and two children with them.
As there were about a dozen in the band, Brady decided to wait
until the Indians were asleep before attacking them. Cautiously
crawling near the sleeping Indians in the darkness, Brady and his
companions attacked them with rifle, tomahawk and knife, and
soon every one was dispatched. Gray's wife and children at first
fled, but finding deliverance at hand, soon returned. The spring
near which the Indians were slain was called the "Bloody Spring."
McKnight also says, in "Our Western Border," that, on one
of his hunting trips, Brady was captured by a band of Indians
near Beaver, and taken to their town on the west bank of the
Beaver River, about a mile and a half above its mouth. Says
McKnight:
"After the usual exultations and rejoicings at the capture of a
noted enemy, and causing him to run the gauntlet, a fire was
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 579
prepared, near which Brady was placed after being stripped, and
with his arms unbound. Previous to tying him to the stake, a
large circle was formed around of Indian men, women and
children, dancing and yelling, and uttering all manner of threats
and abuses that their small knowledge of the English language
could afford. The prisoner looked on these preparations for
death and on his savage foe with a firm countenance and a steady
eye, meeting all their threats with Indian fortitude. In the midst
of their dancing and rejoicing, a squaw of one of their chiefs
came near him, with a child in her arms. Quick as thought, and
with intuitive prescience, he snatched it from her, and threw it
toward the fire. Horror stricken at the sudden outrage, the
Indians simultaneously rushed to rescue the infant from the
flames. In the midst of this confusion, Brady darted from the
circle, overturning all that came in his way, and rushed into the
adjacent thicket, with the Indians yelling at his heels. He
ascended the steep side of a hill amidst a shower of bullets, and
darting down the opposite declivity, secreted himself in the deep
ravines and laurel thickets that abounded for several miles to
the west. His knowledge of the country, and wonderful activity,
enabled him to elude his enemies. Another version of this event,
furnished us, makes it the squaw herself that the Captain pushed
on the fire."
One of the well known stories of Samuel Brady is that of his
famous leap, which took place during the summer of 1780. In
this summer a band of Indians murdered several families in
Washington County, and started for the Indian country, in Ohio,
with the scalps of the victims. Brady was visiting at the home of
Captain Van Swearingen in Washington County at the time of
this raid. With a company of rangers, among whom were John
Dillow and a man named Stoup, Brady started in pursuit of the
murderers. Near a lake in Portage County, Ohio, since known as
Brady's Lake, the noted scout and his men overtook the Indians.
In the battle which followed, most of Brady's men were killed,
and he was captured. The Indians decided to burn him at the
stake. They stripped him, and bound him to a post. Then the
fire was lighted. Brady was a man of great physical strength, ■
and consequently succeeded in working his bonds loose. Then
waiting a favorable opportunity, he leaped through the flames,
knocking a squaw into the fire, and dashing into the forest.
Scores of Indians took up the pursuit. Reaching the high bank
of the Cuyahoga River at a point within the limits of the present
580 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
town of Kent, Ohio, summoning all his powers, Brady leaped
across the stream, though the distance was more than twenty-five
feet. His Indian pursuers then crossed the river at the ford at
some distance from the point where Brady leaped across, and
were soon in hot pursuit. Running to the lake, Brady concealed
himself among the rushes, some accounts saying that he sub-
merged himself in the water and breathed through a reed. Dur-
ing the night he came from his place of concealment, and then
made his way through the wilderness to Fort Mcintosh.
In May, 1780, Colonel Brodhead, then in command at Fort
Pitt, received a report that an army of British and Indians was
assembling on the Sandusky River in Ohio, intending to attack
Fort Pitt. Accordingly, he directed Samuel Brady to go to the
Indian settlement on the Sandusky with a few scouts, in order to
learn the plans of the proposed expedition against Fort Pitt.
Late in May, Brady set out for Sandusky with five white com-
panions and two Delawares, the whole company being dressed
and painted like Indians. When Brady's company approached
the Wyandot country, they traveled only by night, hiding in the
forests by day. One of the Delawares became faint-hearted and
returned to Fort Pitt.
When Brady and his remaining companions drew near the
Wyandot capital near Upper Sandusky, he and one Delaware
companion waded to a wooded island opposite the Indian town,
where they lay all the next day watching the Indians enjoy a horse
race near the bank of the river. They found the town full of
warriors. The indications were that the savages were preparing
for the warpath. During the night Brady and his companion re-
joined the others, and started toward Fort Pitt. When they had
reached a point about two miles from Sandusky, they captured
two Indian maidens at a camp, and took them along, believing
that they might divulge valuable information. At the end of six
days, one of these squaws escaped. The food supply of Brady
and his men was now exhausted, and for an entire week they had
nothing to eat but berries. Brady succeeded in shooting an
otter; but even these hungry frontiersmen could not eat the rank
flesh.
When Brady and his companions reached a point near the old
Indian town of Kuskuskies, at the junction of the Mahoning and
Shenango Rivers, in Lawrence County, Brady saw a deer and
attempted to shoot it; but his gun flashed in the pan. He was
preparing again to fire, when he heard the voices of Indians. Con-
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 581
cealing himself, he saw an Indian captain riding a grey horse
followed by six warriors on foot, coming along the Indian trail.
On the same horse with the Indian captain, were a captive white
woman and her child, the woman riding behind the Indian, who
held her child in his arms. Brady at once recognized the woman
as Mrs. Jennie Stoops, who had been captured some time before
on Chartier's Creek, at a point near the present town of Crafton,
Allegheny County. Taking careful aim Brady shot the Indian
captain through the head. The savage fell from his horse, drag-
ging the woman and child with him. Brady then dashed for-
ward shouting for his men to come on. The hostile Indians being
surprised at the sudden death of their leader, fired a few shots,
and then fled. Being dressed like an Indian, Mrs. Stoops did not
recognize Lieutenant Brady, but thought him an Indian. "Why
did you shoot your brother?" she asked. Brady took the child in
his arms, saying, "Jennie Stoops, I am Captain Brady, follow me,
and I will secure you and your child." Taking Mrs. Stoops by the
hand and the child in his arms, Brady hastened into the thicket,
where he found his companions cowering in fear, who had let the
other Indian squaw escape.
After going a few miles further along the trail toward Fort
Mcintosh (now Beaver), Brady and his scouts met a band of
settlers from the Chartier's Valley, pursuing the captors of Mrs.
Stoops and her child. Mrs. Stoops and her infant were then
restored unharmed to the husband and father; and Brady re-
turned to the scene of the adventure, where he found and scalped
the Wyandot captain. Colonel Brodhead, in a letter to President
Reed, written at Fort Pitt, on June 30th, 1780, and recorded in
Pa. Archives, Vol. 8, pages 378 and 379, mentioned the exploit
just related, and recommended Brady's promotion to the rank of
Captain.
Brady's scouting covered a vast extent of territory, to the
headwaters of the Allegheny, to Sandusky on the west, and to the
West Branch of the Susquehanna, on the east. In "Meginness'
History of the West Branch Valley," is an account of an "Indian
hunt" which Brady and Peter Grove made, most likely in 1780,
through the counties of Huntingdon, Clearfield, Centre, Lycom-
ing, Clinton, and Union. They would creep up on Indian camps,
fire into the same, each killing an Indian, and then bound off
through the woods like antelopes. They were matchless sprinters,
and the Indians were never able to overtake them. In this
"hunt," they killed many Indians, among them being Blacksnake,
582 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the Panther, the Greatshot, and Wamp. It is a terrible story of
butchery. Grove says that his heart was wrung to tears by the
cries of Wamp's squaw. Some time after they had shot the
Panther and the Blacksnake, they returned to the camp where
the massacre occured. Says Grove: "We found the Panther
dead, but the Blacksnake was yet alive, and vomiting blood. We
made all dead shots that day."
After the Revolutionary War, Brady left Fort Pitt and the
Chartiers settlement near-by, and went with his father-in-law,
Captain Van Swearingen, to West Liberty, Ohio County, West
Virginia. When General Anthony Wayne arrived in Pittsburgh
in the summer of 1792 to assemble and train an army to march
against the Western Indians, he sent for Captain Brady, and gave
him command of spies in the employ of the Government. In
May, 1793, Brady was tried in Pittsburgh for the killing of some
Indians, in the spring of 1791, where the present town of Fallston,
Beaver County, now stands. These Indians, who were Dela-
wares, had murdered Paul Riley, Mrs. Vanbuskirke and several
of the Boggs family in Ohio County, West Virginia. Brady and
twenty other men pursued them, overtaking what they believed
to be the same band at Fallston and killing several, two of whom
were women. Governor Mifflin, of Pennsylvania, offered a
reward of $500.00 for Brady's person; but the noted frontiersman
surrendered himself for trial. He was defended by James Ross,
Esq., and was acquitted. The old Indian chief, Guyasuta, was
a witness for Brady, and his testimony was so strong in favor of
the defendant that even Mr. Ross was abashed. At the close of
the trial, Mr. Ross spoke to Guyasuta, expressing his surprise at
the decided tone of his testimony. The aged chief then clapped
his hand on his breast, and said: "Am I not the friend of Brady?"
Samuel Brady was born at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. About
1786, he married Drusella Swearingen, a daughter of Captain
Van Swearingen, "Indian Van," as he was called, of Washington
County. He died at West Liberty, West Virginia, on January
1st, 1796, aged thirty-seven years. The inscription on his tomb-
stone gives the date of his death and his age, although some
historians have stated that he died on Christmas day, 1795, in
his thirty-ninth year.
Outrages in Westmoreland County in 1779
Early in the spring of 1779, the inhabitants of Westmoreland
County suffered terribly[from Indian raids. In the latter part of
THEfREVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 583
April, a band of Senecas entered the Ligonier Valley, killed one
man, and carried two families into captivity. On April 26th,
Fort Hand, garrisoned by seventeen men under Captain Samuel
Moorhead and Lieutenant William Jack, was attacked, possibly
by the same band, estimated to be one hundred strong. At one
o'clock in the afternoon, the Indians fired upon two ploughmen,
who escaped to the fort. Then the fort was attacked, several
women within making bullets while the riflemen fired at the In-
dians. The firing was kept up until nightfall. In the meantime,
three of the garrison were wounded, one of them fatally. This
was Sergeant Philip McGraw, who occupied a sentry box. He
died in a few days. After McGraw had been shot and removed,
a man named McCauley, who took his place, was also wounded.
During the night, the Indians shot at the fort, and mimicked
the sentinel's cry, "All's well." At midnight, they set fire tojohn
McKibbon's barn near the fort, and the Tories among them cried :
"Is all well now?" During the night, a messenger was sent to
Fort Pitt for aid. The Indians gave up the siege the next fore-
noon, and forty soldiers who were hurried from Fort Pitt, arrived
too late to intercept them. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, pages 362 and
363.)
Colonel George Reading, writing President Reed from Fort
Ligonier, April 26, 1779, says that on that day the Indians "made
a breach upon us, killed one man, took another prisoner, another
man is missing;" that two families living some distance from the
fort were evidently captured or killed, (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7,
page 345.)
The dreadful situation of the Westmoreland settlers during
that spring is seen in the following statement in a letter sent to
President Reed by Archibald Lochry, from Hannastown, on May
1st: "The savages are continually making depredations among
us. Not less than forty people have been killed, wounded, or
captured this spring, and the enemy have killed our creatures
within three hundred yards of this town." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7,
page 362.)
Charles Clifford lived on Mill Creek, about two and one-half
miles northward from Ligonier. On April 22nd, 1779, he and his
two sons went to work in the field. Leaving his sons to continue
the work, he went in search of his horses. After searching for some
time without success, he reached the Forbes Road leading to the
stockade near Laughlintown, when five Indians who lay concealed
behind a log, shot at him. One bullet splintered his gun and cut
584 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
his face, which bled freely, but otherwise he was unharmed. The
Indians believed that Clifford was protected by the Great Spirit.
They approached him, wiped the blood from his face, and told
him that they were glad that they had not killed him. They then
took him along with them, and when they had reached a point
near Fairfield, Westmoreland County, they met fifty- two others
proceeding northward, having with them a prisoner named Peter
Maharg. The chief of this band wore many silver trinkets on his
head and arms. After a while the two bands separated, Clifford
going with one, and Maharg with the other. Clifford was carried
to the Seneca region on the headwaters of the Allegheny, and
after six weeks, was delivered to the British at Montreal. He
was well liked by the British officers, and from one he secured a
compass, which he gave to James Flock, who with it made his
way back to his home in Westmoreland, where he had been
captured sometime before. After two and one-half years, Clifford
was exchanged and returned to his home in the Ligonier Valley.
This was not the only experience that the Clifford family had
with the Indians. On the 18th of October, 1777, Clifford's son,
(some say his brother) James, shot an Indian while hunting with
a dog near Bunger's spring about a quarter of a mile from the
fort at Ligonier. The Indian was not killed outright, and a party
of militia immediately turned out from the fort to search for him.
They traced him by blood on the path for about forty rods, at
which point the Indian seems to have stopped the wound with
leaves. They were unable to find him.
Colonel Brodhead's Expedition Against the
Senecas and Delawares
In order to put a stop to the raids of the Delawares of the
Munsee Clan and of the Senecas under Guyasuta into Westmore-
land County, Colonel Brodhead, in the summer of 1779, begged
General Washington for permission to lead an expedition into
the Seneca Country. Early in the same summer, Washington
directed General John Sullivan to invade the territory of the
Iroquois from the East; and, about the middle of July, Brodhead
received permission from Washington to undertake a cooperating
movement up the Allegheny. With sixty boats, two hundred
pack horses and six hundred and five soldiers, he left Fort Pitt
on August 11th. Small garrisons were placed at Fort Mcintosh
(Beaver), Fort Crawford (Parnassus) and Fort Armstrong, a
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 585
stockade which Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Bayard had erected
just below the present town of Kittanning in June, 1779, naming
it in honor of General John Armstrong. A band of friendly Dela-
wares, under Captain Samuel Brady and Lieutenant John Hardin,
accompanied the expedition as scouts. Brodhead's small army
ascended the beautiful Allegheny, whose banks were now clothed
in the verdure of midsummer.
Majestic stood the river hills,
Clothed in living green,
While Allegheny gently rolled
Its winding way between.
Reaching the mouth of the Mahoning, Brodhead left the
river and followed the Indian trail running almost due north
through the wilderness of what is now Clarion County, and
reached the Allegheny near the mouth of Tionesta Creek, Forest
County. A few miles below the mouth of Brokenstraw Creek,
Warren County, Brodhead's force encountered a party of thirty
Seneca's, under Guyasuta, descending the Allegheny on their
way to raid the frontier settlements. Both sides discovered each
other at about the same time, took position behind trees and
rocks, and a sharp fight commenced, which lasted but a few
minutes, when a party of Brodhead's scouts, moving over the
river hill, attacked the Senecas on the flank. The Indians then
took to flight, leaving five of their number dead on the field. It
has been said that Cornplanter was the commander of the In-
dians at this engagement, but it is clear that he was at this time
in the Genesee country endeavoring to oppose the advance of
Sullivan's army. Brodhead then marched up the river, destroyed
the Seneca towns, and burned one hundred thirty of their houses,
some of them large enough for three or four families. This was
where the Seneca or Cornplanter Reservation in Warren County,
is now located. They also destroyed five hundred acres of corn,
of which Brodhead said: "I never saw finer corn, although it was
planted much thicker than is common with our farmers."
Brodhead's forces then returned to the deserted Indian town
of Buccaloons, located at the mouth of Brokenstraw Creek.
From here the troops marched across the country to French
Creek, crossing Oil Creek on the way, where they rubbed them-
selves with the oil which they found floating on the top of the
water and received much relief from rheumatic pains. At the
junction of Conneaut Creek and French Creek, the troops burned
586 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the deserted Munsee Delaware town of Maghingquechahocking,
consisting of thirty-five large houses. The army then descended
French Creek to its mouth, and returned to Fort Pitt over the
Venango Indian Trail, which ran almost north and south through
the heart of Butler County, dividing near Murdering Town, one
branch leading to Logstown (Ambridge) and the other down
Pine Creek to the Allegheny.
Slippery Rock Creek is said, by some authorities, to have
gotten its name from an incident which happened while Brod-
head's troops were crossing this stream in the northern part of
Butler County. The horse of one of the soldiers, John Ward,
slipped on one of the large, smooth stones in the bottom of the
creek and severely injured the rider, whereupon the soldiers
named the stream "Slippery Rock." However, Hecke welder
says that the Delawares called this stream Weschachachapochka,
meaning "slippery rock."
Colonel Brodhead's troops arrived at Fort Pitt on September
14th, without the loss of a man or a horse. Congress gave him a
vote of thanks for the success of his expedition, and Washington
warmly congratulated him.
Some historians have erroneously located the battle Brodhead
fought in this expedition as being near East Brady, Clarion
County, confusing it with the encounter that Captain Samuel
Brady had with the Indians near the mouth of Red Bank Creek
in June, 1779, in which the Delaware chief. Bald Eagle, was
killed. For Brodhead's account of the expedition and battle,
see his report to General Washington, in Pa. Archives, Vol. 12,
pages 155 to 158.*
The Prowess of Mrs. Experience Bozarth
About the middle of March, 1779, several families who were
afraid to stay at home, gathered at the house of Mrs. Experience
Bozarth on Dunkard Creek, Greene County. About April 1st,
a band of Indians, likely Shawnees or Wyandots, made an attack
upon the house, when all the men except two were absent. Some
of the children, who were playing near the house, came running
in great haste, saying that "there were ugly red men." One of
the men in the house stepped to the door, receiving a bullet in
his side, causing him to fall back into the house. The Indian who
shot him came in over his prostrate body, and engaged the other
man in the house. This man tossed the Indian on a bed, and
♦The battle was on August 15. Brodhead probably crossed the New York State line. He
and General Sullivan sent messengers to each other, but it seems none got through in time to
be of service.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 587
called for a knife to kill him. Mrs. Bozarth not finding a knife,
took up an axe that lay nearby, and with it knocked out the brains
of this Indian. At the same instant, a second Indian entered the
door, and shot the man dead who was struggling with the Indian
on the bed. Mrs. Bozart immediately attacked this second Indian
with her axe, giving him several large gashes which let his en-
trails appear. He bawled with pain. Then one of several other
Indians who had been engaged in killing the children out of doors,
rushed to the relief of the wounded Indian, and Mrs. Bozarth
split his head open with her axe as he came through the door.
Another Indian dragged the wounded and bellowing savage out
of doors; whereupon Mrs. Bozarth with the assistance of the
man who had been shot, but by this time was a little recovered,
shut the door and fastened it. The inmates of the house kept
garrison for several days until a relief party arrived. In the
meantime, the dead white man and the dead Indian were both
in the house with them.
Atrocities in Washington County in 1779
In the summer of 1779, hostile Indians invaded the valley of
Cross Creek, in Washington County, capturing the wife of
William Reynolds and her baby at the blockhouse which Mr.
Reynolds had erected in 1775, in what is now Cross Creek Town-
ship. Mr. Reynolds was absent at the time of the capture of his
family. He soon returned, and, accompanied by Robert Mc-
Cready, Rev. Thomas Marquis and John Marquis, pursued the
Indians, who, discovering that they were being pursued, killed
Mrs. Reynolds and her baby, and made their escape through the
forest.
In July, 1779, William Anderson was shot from ambush while
working in the field near his home on Raccoon Creek, Washington
County. He was able to make his way to the cabin of Thomas
Armor, who carried him to Fort Dillow, in what is now Hanover
Township, the nearest place of refuge. The records of the time
do not show whether Mr. Anderson lived or died. Colonel
Brodhead, in his letter written from Fort Pitt on August 4th, to
General Washington, says that Anderson was wounded, and that,
on August 3rd, a soldier was killed at Fort Mcintosh and a
sergeant badly wounded. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, page 148; see
also same volume, page 142.) When Mrs. Anderson heard the
shot that wounded her husband, she took her infant son in her
588 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
arms and fled to the forest, where she concealed herself and baby
in the top of a fallen tree. The Indians then went to the Ander-
son home, and captured two boys, step-brothers, aged four and
seven years. In carrying off the boys, the Indians passed within
a few feet of where Mrs. Anderson and her baby were concealed.
The boys were taken to the Indian towns in Ohio. The elder,
Logan, returned to Fort Mcintosh after the close of the Revolu-
tionary War. The younger boy ended his days among the
Indians.
Wyoming Valley Again Invaded
In March, 1779, Indian allies of the British once more invaded
the Wyoming Valley. On the 21st of this month, Josiah Rogers
and Captain James Bidlack were attacked on the flats near Ply-
mouth. The Indians attempted to seize the bridles of the white
men's horses, and a race for life ensued. The girth of Captain
Bidlack's saddle broke, and he was thrown and captured. Several
bullets passed through the clothes of Rogers, but he escaped.
On the same day many Indians were seen advancing over the
Kingston flats towards a block-house erected on that side of the
Susquehanna, and in full view from the fort at Wilkes-Barre.
Colonel Zebulon Butler then detached twenty-five men to aid
those in the blockhouse. A charge was made on the Indians,
causing them to retreat, and the soldiers followed them to the
edge of the woods, Arhen more Indians were discovered; where-
upon the enemy advanced, a skirmish ensued, and several of the
soldiers were wounded, but none mortally. The Indians suc-
ceeded in taking away sixty cattle and twenty horses of the
settlers.
On March 23rd, three hundred Indians and Tories, formed in
a semi-circle, approached the fort at Wilkes-Barre. A brisk fire
was opened upon them from the fort, and the chief who led them
was killed by a ball from a four pound cannon. They were re-
pulsed, but succeeded in securing fifty-one cattle and ten horses,
and in burning two houses and two well-filled barns. The house
of Thaddeus Williams, within eighty rods of the fort, was at-
tacked, but Mr. Williams' son. Sergeant Thomas Williams, using
two rifles, succeeded in killing one of the Indians and wounding
their leader. The Indians then withdrew, and Sergeant Williams'
aged parents were saved from death.
In a few days, a band of twenty Indians returned, and on the
Kingston side of the river, in sight of the fort at Wilkes-Barre,
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 589
killed Elihu Williams, Lieutenant Buck and Stephen Pettebone,
and wounded Frederick Follet, who fell pierced by seven spear
wounds, and was scalped with the others, and left for dead. At
once, a detachment was sent across the river from the fort, but
the Indians had fled. Follet, covered with blood, showed signs
of life, and was taken to the fort. Dr. William Hooker Smith
pronounced his condition hopeless, as one spear thrust had
penetrated his stomach, causing its contents to come out at his
side; but he recovered, and lived for many years.
Having been reinforced by a German regiment of three hundred
men, Colonel Zebulon Butler was able to clear the open portions
of the valley of hostile Indians, but they still continued to lie in
ambush in the passes of the mountains. Major Powell, com-
manding two hundred men who had fought valiantly at Ger-
man town, was ordered to Wyoming, and on the night of April
19th, arrived at Bear Creek, about ten miles from the fort.
Taking up their march the following day, with the regimental
band playing livelv music, deer were reported to have been seen
by the van guard, whereupon Captain Davis and Lieutenant
Jones, armed with rifles, hastened forward with a small party
hoping to secure venison. Near Laurel Run and near the summit
of the second mountain, about four miles from the fort, fire was
opened upon them by Indians in ambush, and Captain Davis,
Lieutenant Jones, Corporal Butler, and three other men fell.
Major Powell then hastened forward, arriving at a moment
when one of the Indians had seized the wife of one of the soldiers
who had fallen, and was dragging her off into the thicket. The
woman escaped, but Major Powell's men were thrown into con-
fusion, and retreated in disorder, though the Major succeeded in
sending a messenger to the fort. The Wyoming soldiers marched
to the mountain, and escorted Major Powell and his men into
the valley. Both the German regiment and Major Powell's
battalion had been ordered to Wyoming to await and join
General Sullivan's army in its march against the Six Nations
described later in this chapter.*
Attack on Killatns and Kimbles
In the spring of 1779, Ephraim Killam, Jeptha Killam, Silas
Killam, Ephraim Kimble and Walter Kimble went back to the
Wallenpaupack settlement on the creek of the same name between
Pike and Wayne Counties, to make maple sugar. The fort in the
♦Major Daniel Burchardt commanded the German regiment. It was recruited in Pennsyl-
vania and Maryland.
590 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
settlement having been destroyed, the men took up their tempo-
rary residence in a log house about seven miles from Wilsonville
and about half a mile southwest from the site of the fort. One
evening Silas Killam and Walter Kimble were out of the house,
the former collecting sap and the latter shooting ducks, when a
band of Indians attacked them. Silas Killam, who was nearest
the house, succeeded in reaching it, the door being opened for
him by his brother Ephraim, As he entered the house, he was
wounded in the arm. Walter Kimble, finding his retreat to the
house intercepted, ran to the hills, and fled all night through the
snow, arriving the next morning at the house of his brother Abel,
about a mile above Milford, Pike County. After the Indians
surprised the two men, they built a fire on the side of the stable
opposite the house, with the intention of besieging the occupants
of the house. As they were in the act of building the fire, Ephraim
Kimble mortally wounded one of the Indians. During the
evening, the men in the house built a large fire on the hearth, and
silently made their escape through a rear window, unobserved
by the Indians. They ran to the Delaware, which they crossed
about seven miles above Milford.
Capture of Assemblyman Jamies McKnight
On April 26th, 1779, James McKnight was captured by the
Indians at Fort Freeland, located about four miles east of Watson-
town, Northumberland County. He was a member of the
Assembly of Pennsylvania, having been elected to that office in
1778. The following letter written by Colonel Samuel Hunter
from Fort Augusta (Sunbury) to President Reed on April 27th,
1779, gives an account of this event and other outrages on the
Susquehanna frontier:
"I am really sorry to inform you of our present disturbances;
not a day, but there is some of the enemy makes their appearances
on our frontiers. On Sunday last, there was a party of savages
attacked the inhabitants that lived near Fort Jenkins, and had
taken two or three familys prisoners, but the garrison being
appris'd of it, about thirty men turned out of the fort and rescued
the prisoners; the Indians collecting themselves in a body drove
our men under cover of the fort, with the loss of three men kill'd
and four badly wounded ; they burned several houses near the fort,
kill'd cattle, and drove off a number of horses.
"Yesterday there was another party of Indians, about thirty
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 591
or forty, kill'd and took seven of our militia, that was stationed at
a little Fort near Muncy Hill, call'd Fort Freeland; there was two
or three of the inhabitants taken prisoners; among the latter is
James McKnight, Esqr., one of our Assemblymen; the same day
a party of thirteen of the inhabitants that went to hunt their
horses, about four or five miles from Fort Muncy was fired upon
by a large party of Indians, and all taken or kill'd except one man.
Captain Walker, of the Continental Troops, who commands at
that post, turned out with thirty-four men to the place he heard
the firing, and found four men kill'd and scalped and supposes
they captured ye remaind'r.
"This is the way our frontiers is harrassed by a cruel savage
enemy, so that they cannot get any spring crops in to induce them
to stay in the county. I am afraid in a very short time we shall
have no inhabitants above this place unless when General Hand
arrives here, he may order some of the troops at Wyoming down
on our frontiers; all Col. Hartley's Regiment, our two months'
men, and what militia we can turn out, is very inadequate to
guard our country.
"I am certain everything is doing for our relief, but afraid it
will be too late for this county, as it's impossible to prevail on the
inhabitants to make a stand, upon account of their women and
childer.
"Our case is really deplorable and alarming, and our county
on ye eve of breaking up, as I am informed at the time I am writ-
ing this by two or three expresses that there is nothing to be seen
but desolation, fire and smoke; as the inhabitants is collected at
particular places, the enemy burns all their houses that they have
evacuated." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, pages 346 and 347.)
According to Linn's "Annals of Buffalo Valley," a family
named McKnight lived near Fort Freeland in 1779. The family
secured a guard from the fort, for the purpose of milking their
cows. In this guard, consisting of fourteen militia, were Jacob
Gift, Michael Lepley and a man named Herrold. The cows were
driven into a pen, and while they were being milked, a party of
thirty Indians attacked the guard and family, killing many,
among whom were Lepley and old Mr. McKnight. Herrold fled
towards the fort, and as he neared it, the garrison heard the report
of a rifle, and saw him fall and an Indian scalped him. Gift also
tried to make his escape, but was overtaken, tomahawked and
scalped. When the soldiers from the fort came up, they found
that Gift had fought desperately for his life. The ground was
592 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
covered with blood, and Gift's rifle was broken into pieces. Mc-
Knight's son was the only one that finally escaped. He was
closely pursued. A tomahawk struck the top rail of a fence just
after he had cleared it, and he also leaped across Warrior Run in
his flight.
Atrocities in Union County in 1779
After the Great Runaway of July, 1778, a few of the most
venturesome of the inhabitants returned to the valley of the West
Branch of the Susquehanna. The following year, in May, the
Indians entered Union County, and killed John Sample and his
wife on White Deer Creek. There were about twenty Indians in
this band. Christian VanGundy and Henry Vandyke, with a
small force of settlers, had hastened to the Sample home to bring
away the aged couple. While quartered in the Sample home,
Indians made an attack during the night, endeavoring to break
down the door with a log, and setting fire to the roof. Those in-
side fired upon them wounding two, whom the other Indians
carried off'. VanGundy was wounded in the leg while extinguish-
ing the fire, and one of his companions was shot in the face. At
daybreak, they decided to leave the house and seek safety in
flight. On opening the door, they found the leader of the Indian
band lying dead in front of it. VanGundy took his rifle and Van-
dyke his powder horn. The other Indians then came from am-
bush. VanGundy, with his two rifles, hastened to a ravine, and
endeavored to get the old folks to follow him. They refused to
follow, and then the Indians killed and scalped them. Colonel
John Kelly led a party which came upon five of these Indians
sitting upon a log. Four were killed at one volley, and the fifth
escaped. For an interesting account of the murder of the Samples
and the pursuit of the Indians by Colonel John Kelly, the reader
is referred to Linn's "Annals of Buff^alo Valley," pages 171 to 173.
On July 8th, Indians again entered this neighborhood, destroying
the mill of the widow of Peter Smith, near the mouth of White
Deer Creek, and killing one man in the attack. This was a
famous grist, saw and boring mill. Here many gun barrels were
bored for the Continental army.
Colonel John Kelly was an active defender of this part of the
Pennsylvania frontier during the Revolution. At one time he
was awakened by the growls of his dog at his cabin on Spruce
Run. Cautiously peering into the darkness, he saw the head of
an Indian protruding above a log near his cabin. Taking aim
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 593
through a hole in the cabin door, he shot the Indian dead, and,
the next morning, buried him near his cabin. He kept this event
a secret until a few years prior to his death in 1832. Perhaps
Colonel Kelly feared that, if the killing of this Indian became
known to the relatives and friends of the slain, they would never
be satisfied until they had killed him. He probably knew of the
killing of an Indian in his neighborhood, which was avenged many
years later, after the white man had established a home in Ken-
tucky. The Indian who murdered him was apprehended, and
confessed that he had often sought an opportunity to kill the
white man in Pennsylvania, and then followed him to Kentucky.
Other Outrages on the
North and West Branches in 1779
On May 17th, 1779, a band of Indians killed and scalped a
family of four persons on the North Branch of the Susquehanna,
opposite Fort Jenkins, located about midway between the present
towns of Berwick and Bloomsburg, Columbia County. The
parents had sent two of their children, a boy and a girl, to the
neighborhood of Catawissa for some supplies. Taking a path on
the hill back of the house and running parallel with the river, after
proceeding some distance the children came to the remains of a
recent fire where muscles had been roasted. They became
alarmed and turned back toward home. On arriving at the hill
overlooking the home, they saw it in flames and Indians disap-
pearing into the woods. On approaching the house they found
the rest of the family killed and scalped.
In May, also, a band of thirty-five Indians made an attack on
a number of families that lived about a mile from Fort Jenkins,
and took three families prisoners, twenty-two in number. En-
sign Thornberry was sent with twenty soldiers and three settlers
in pursuit of the Indians. Overtaking the Indians, a sharp en-
gagement ensued which lasted thirty minutes, during which four
of the pursuers were killed and five wounded. The survivors
were compelled to retreat leaving their dead on the ground. How-
ever, during the engagement the prisoners escaped.
All the available troops at the forts along the West Branch of
the Susquehanna having been withdrawn in the summer of 1779
to join the army of General Sullivan on its march to the territory
of the Six Nations in New York, left this part of the Pennsylvania
frontier practically unprotected. On the 3rd of July, the Indians
594 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
killed three men and took three prisoners at Lycoming Creek,
and, as seen elsewhere in this chapter, on the 8th of this month,
burned the mill of widow Smith, in Union County. On the 17th
of this month they burned Sterett's Mill and nearly all of the
houses in Muncy Township, Lycoming County. On this day,
also, two men were killed and three captured at Fort Brady,
located adjoining the town of Muncy, Lycoming County. Many
families were carried into captivity, among them being the family
of Joseph Webster. Webster's eldest son was killed and a son
and two daughters were carried into captivity. Pushing on, the
same Indian band appeared near Fort Freeland on July 20th,
and surprised several men at work in a cornfield. They killed
Isaac Vincent, Elias Freeland, Jacob Freeland, Jr., and James
Miles, and captured Michael Freeland and Benjamin Vincent, a
lad of eleven years. Young Vincent remained in captivity for
five years, when he returned. Daniel Vincent was chased by
the Indians but outran them and escaped by leaping over a high
log fence. The boy, Benjamin Vincent, hid in a furrow in the
field and later thought he would be more secure by climbing a
tree in the woods nearby. This he did, but the Indians saw him
and then captured him. He was ignorant of the fate of the others
until that afternoon, when an Indian thrust a bloody scalp into
his face, which he recognized as that of his brother, Isaac. It is
said that young Freeland, upon the alarm being given that the
Indians were approaching, ran towards a stone quarry, but was
pursued and wounded in the thigh with a spear. He fell near the
stone quarry, and an Indian pounced upon him. Suddenly rising,
however, with the Indian on his shoulders, he pitched his an-
tagonist over the precipice, and would have escaped, but another
Indian ran up and killed him.
Colonel Samuel Hunter's letter to Colonel Matthew Smith,
written at Fort Augusta on July 23rd, 1779, mentions the
atrocities of July 3rd, 8th, 17th and 20th, and describes the
terrible situation on the North Branch after the evacuation of
Fort Muncy some time before. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, page 574.)
In the autumn of 1779, Henry McHenry, at the head of a
party of ten men from Fort Montgomery, also called Fort Rice,
then being erected by Colonel Weltner's German Regiment in
Lewis Township, Northumberland County, came to Loyal Sock
to thresh some grain. Sentinels were posted to guard those en-
gaged in the work of threshing. McHenry, who was one of the
sentinels, took up his position in a clump of bushes, and soon
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 595
observed an Indian creeping along on his hands and feet to get
a shot at the threshers in the barn. McHenry shot the Indian
through the small of the back. The Indian then ran a short
distance and fell, but his comrades carried him off and did not
return.
Capture of Fort Freeland
As related presently, General John Sullivan was sent by Gen-
eral Washington, in the summer of 1779, with an army to invade
the territory of the Six Nations, in New York. No sooner had
General Sullivan started on his march from Easton than the In-
dians learned of his plan and, assisted by the Tories, took meas-
ures to defeat the expedition. Captain John MacDonald, a Tory
in command of a force of British and three hundred Senecas,
marched from the vicinity of Wyalusing, Bradford County, and
attacked the garrison at Fort Freeland on July 28th, where many
settlers had gathered for protection.
About daylight, an aged man named James Watt left Fort
Freeland to look for his sheep. He had gone but a short distance
in the direction of the creek, when an Indian, John Montour,
sprang upon him from ambush, and attempted to drag him off.
Watt cried loudly for assistance, and Montour then felled him
with his tomahawk and attempted to scalp him, but was wounded
in the back by a bullet fired from the fort, which compelled him
to flee. The Indian, John Montour, is said to have died several
days afterwards from the effects of his wound. A post was
erected at his grave, painted red, and the place is known as
"Painted Post."
These statements concerning John Montour are based on the
account of the attack on Fort Freeland contained in Meginnes'
"History of the West Branch." This John Montour, whoever
he was, was not the John Montour who was the son of the noted
Andrew Montour. The latter John Montour survived the Rev-
olutionary War. He rendered important service to the Ameri-
cans in this struggle. He accompanied William Wilson and
White Eyes to Detroit in the summer of 1776. He was also with
Colonel Brodhead in the attack on Coshocton in the spring of
1781.
Two young men, who were on the outside of the fort when the
Indians and British appeared, immediately ran in. One was
wounded in the forehead when he stopped at the gate to look
back, but his companion pulled him in, and closed the gate. At
596 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
that instant Jacob Freeland, Sr., was shot and fell inside the gate.
Then the attack began in earnest. Mary Kirk and Phoebe
Vincent commenced immediately to melt all their spoons and
plates into bullets for use of the defenders.
The firing on Fort Freeland could be distinctly heard at Fort
Boone, located about a mile above the town of Milton, Northum-
berland County; whereupon, Captain Hawkins Boone, a cousin
of the famous Daniel Boone, hastened from the fort with a detail
of thirty-two soldiers to the relief of the defenders at Fort Free-
land. However, in a few hours Fort Freeland was a mass of
ruins, and its gallant defenders were either tomahawked or
taken prisoners. It is said that the resistance was so stubborn
that the articles of capitulation were not accepted until Captain
MacDonald had made the third proposal, and not even then,
until all the ammunition in the fort was exhausted, the women
even melting the pewter into bullets while the men fired them at
the British and Indians.
Upon the surrender of the fort, the British and Indians gathered
together the provisions and proceeded to the creek, where they
made preparations for a feast. While they were feasting Captain
Boone's party arrived on the opposite bank of the creek and fired
a volley into the midst of the revelers, killing about thirty of them.
However, the British and Indians soon rallied and surrounded
Boone's forces, killing thirteen of them, among whom was Captain
Boone himself. As a result of the capture of Fort Freeland, one
hundred and eight settlers were killed or taken prisoner. The
enemy then ravaged the country in the vicinity, advancing as far
as Milton, and burning everything before them.
Fifty- two women and children, and four old men were per-
mitted by the British commander to go to Fort Augusta. The
captives were taken to Niagara. The few who survived the hard-
ships of the terrible march through the wilderness and the suffer-
ings of long imprisonment, returned to the surviving members of
their families after the close of the RevolHtionar>'^ War.
Samuel Brady, brother of Captain John Brady and uncle of the
famous Captain Samuel Brady, was at Fort Freeland at the time
of its capture. Having determined not to be taken prisoner and
watching a favorable opportunity to escape, he dashed into the
bushes, and ran for his life. After running for some distance, he
looked back and found that he was pursued by two Indians, one
a large and vicious looking man, and the other a small one.
Presently his foot slipped into a hole and he fell, but was able to
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1770 S97
turn suddenly and shoot the larger Indian, whereupon the
smaller one fled. The following day Henry Gilpin, while milking
a cow, probably near Fort Muncy, was tomahawked by some
Indians. The killed of the garrison and of Boone's party amounted
to about twenty men. Among the slain was Captain Samuel
Daugherty.
Under the terms of capitulation Cornelius Vincent and his
sons, Daniel and Bethuel, with some of their neighbors, were
taken prisoners. They were carried to Tioga, thence to the
Genesee country in New York, thence to Niagara and lower
Canada. Daniel Vincent had been recently married, and, after
his capture, his wife with a heavy heart returned to her father's
home in New Jersey. Three years rolled away with no tidings
from her husband, and she despaired of ever seeing him again.
However, one winter evening her husband returned, and with a
cry of joy she sprang into his arms. About the same time, also,
Cornelius and Bethuel Vincent returned from captivity. Cornelius
had been heavily ironed for a period of eighteen months, and bore
the marks of the British fetters on his ankles until his death.
The capture of Fort Freeland and the ravaging of the country
in the vicinity was not strictly an Indian incursion. The Senecas
under Hickatoo, the husband of Mary Jemison, White Woman of
Genesee, were simply allies of the British detachment com-
manded by Captain John MacDonald.
As stated earlier in this chapter, the withdrawal of troops from
the garrisons on the Susquehanna for the expedition of Major-
General John Sullivan in the summer of 1779, left this part of the
Pennsylvania frontier without adequate protection. After the
capture of Fort Freeland, General Sullivan, then at Wyoming,
was appealed to for the sending of troops to the West Branch
and lower part of the North Branch. On July 30th, he wrote
Colonel Samuel Hunter at Fort Augusta that it would be unwise
for him to turn the course of his army. "Nothing can so ef-
fectually draw the Indians out of your country," wrote he, "as
carrying the war into theirs. Tomorrow morning I shall march
with the whole army for Tioga, and must leave you to call upon
the Council of your State for such assistance as may serve to
relieve you from your present perilous situation. As Pennsyl-
vania has neglected to furnish me with the troops promised for
this expedition, she certainly will be enabled to defend her
frontiers without much inconvenience."* (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7,
page 594. For various letters of Colonel Samuel Hunter, William
♦Sullivan, on July 21st, complained that not a man of the 720 rangers promised by Penn-
sylvania had joined his army. Large wages paid for boatmen by Sullivan's Quartermaster was
given as an excuse for failure to persuade men into the military service.
598 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Maclay, Colonel Matthew Smith, Francis Allison, Jr., and
General Sullivan, relative to the dreadful situation culminating
in the capture of Fort Freeland, see Pa. Archives, Vol. 7, pages
586 to 597, also page 610.)
The Battle of Minisink
One of the most hotly contested battles of the Revolutionary
War was the battle of Minisink, which was fought on July 22nd,
1779, as General Sullivan's expedition was about ready to ad-
vance from Wyoming. The place of the battle was what is now
Port Jervis, New York, just across the Delaware River from the
town of Lackawaxon, Pike County, Pennsylvania. Early in
July the Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant, with four hundred of his
warriors, left the Susquehanna and approached the settlements
on the Delaware. On the 19th of July the Tories who were with
Brant's forces, disguised as Indians, came to the village of Mini-
sink, now Port Jervis, and set fire to the town. The fort, the
mill, and twelve houses and barns were burned, and several
persons were killed. Most of the inhabitants fled to the moun-
tains for safety. The Tories then took their prisoners and booty
to Grassy Brook, where Brant had left the main body of his
Indians.
In the meantime, a force of one hundred and fifty volunteers
had assembled to pursue the invaders. Colonel Tuesten, fearing
the craftiness and treachery of Brant, opposed pursuit, but was
overruled. Then Major Meeker mounted his horse and shouted :
"Let the brave follow me; cowards may stay behind."
On July 22nd, the pursuers came upon the Indian encamp-
ment of the previous night at Halfway Brook. The smouldering
fires gave plain evidence that the savages were in great force, and
the two colonels very prudently advised against further pursuit,
but were overruled. A captain was then sent forward with a
scouting party, but being discovered, was slain. The volunteers
eagerly pressed forward, and at nine o'clock, saw the enemy
marching in the direction of the fording place on the Delaware.
In the meantime. Brant had deposited much of his plunder in Pike
County. The commander of the volunteer troops then decided
to intercept Brant's forces at the fording place, but the wily
chieftain, comprehending the designs of the Americans, wheeled
his columns and, by skillful movement, brought his whole force
in the rear of the volunteers. Indeed, he had formed an ambus-
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 599
cade and deliberately selected a battle ground suitable for his
purpose.
The Americans, surprised and disappointed at not finding
Brant's forces where they expected them, were marching back,
when they encountered the Indians. Brant's forces greatly out-
numbered the Americans and, to make matters worse, the ammu-
nition of the latter was limited, making it necessary for them to
fire, not at random, but to make every shot count. The engage-
ment began at eleven o'clock, and when night fell it was still un-
decided. By that time, the ammunition of the Americans was
almost expended, and their line was broken. The Americans
then began a retreat. Dr. Tuesten, who was dressing the wounds
of seventeen who were injured, was fallen upon, and he and the
entire seventeen were killed. Many were shot while swimming
the river. Some escaped under the cover of darkness. A few
succeeded in reaching the wilds of Pike County. Only thirty of
the force of one hundred and fifty that went out to battle, re-
turned to tell the story of the engagement. "The massacre of
the wounded Americans," says Frederick A. Godcharles, "is one
of the darkest stains upon the memory of Brant, whose honor
and humanity were often more conspicuous than that of his
Tory allies."
General Sullivan's Expedition Against the Six Nations
General Washington, exasperated at the continued outrages of
the Six Nations, determined that the power of that great Con-
federacy should be broken. Accordingly, in the summer of 1779,
he sent General John Sullivan into the Iroquois country in North-
eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York with an army of
five thousand men. Sullivan rendezvoused at Easton May 26th.
His line of march passed through Wyoming,* Tunkhannock,
Wyalusing, Sheshecununk, Tioga, and Chemung. At Newtown
near Elmira, New York, the Indians, fifteen hundred strong,
under Joseph Brant and Captain John MacDonald, and
the British and Tories, under Colonel John Butler and
Walter Butler, made a determined stand, on August 29th, but
were overwhelmingly defeated.! Sullivan then marched through
the heart of the territory of the Six Nations, burning their houses,
destroying their corn, killing their cattle, and felling their orchards
which had been growing for generations. Terrible was the re-
*At Wyoming (Wilkes- Barre), Sullivan's army encamped from June 23d to July 3l8t, as
military stores were collected, then proceeded up the Susquehanna.
tThe earlier report of the battle was that Sir John Johnson and Guy Johnson were also in
the engagement.
600 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
tribution which he visited upon them for siding with the British
and devastating the American frontier.
We quote the following account of Sullivan's Expedition from
Headley's "Washington and His Generals:"
"Our Revolution called forth every variety of talent, and tried
it in every mode of warfare. Perhaps there never was a war into
which such various elements entered. We had not only to organ-
ize a government and army, with which to meet a powerful
antagonist, and also quench the flames of civil war in our own
land, but were compelled to meet a cloud of savages on their own
field of battle — the impenetrable forest — and in their own way.
The English enlisted them against us by promises of plunder, and
appealing to their revenge ; while their own bitter hatred prompted
them to take advantage of the defenseless state of our frontiers,
to fall on our settlements and massacre our people.
"The tragedies which were enacted at Cherry Valley and
Wyoming, with all the heart-sickening details and bloody pas-
sages, finally aroused our government to a vigorous effort. Wash-
ington, being directed to adopt measures to punish these atrocities
and secure our frontiers, ordered Sullivan to take an army and
invade the Indian territories. The Six Nations, lying along the
Susquehanna and around our inland lakes, extending to the
Genesee flats, were to be the objects of this attack. His orders
were to burn their villages, destroy their grain, and lay waste
their land.
"A partisan warfare had been long carried on between the
border inhabitants and the Indians, in which there had been an
exhibition of bravery, hardihood, and spirit of adventure never
surpassed. The pages of romance furnish no such thrilling narra-
tive, examples of female heroism, and patient suffering, and such
touching incidents as the history of our border war. For personal
prowess, manly courage, and adventure, nothing can exceed it.
Yet it had hitherto been a sort of hand-to-hand fighting, a meas-
uring of the Indian's agility and cunning against the white man's
strength and boldness; but now a large army, with a skillful com-
mander at its head, was to sweep down everything in its passage.
"The plan adopted was for the main army to rendezvous at
Wyoming, and from thence ascend into the enemy's country,
while General James Clinton, advancing with one brigade along
the Mohawk west, was to form a junction with it, wherever
Sullivan should direct. The first of May, 1779, the troops com-
menced their march, but did not arrive at Wyoming till the middle
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 601
of June. It was a slow and toilsome business for an army to cut
roads, bridge marshes, and transport artillery and baggage
through the wide expanse of forest between the Delaware and
Susquehanna. At length, however, the whole force assembled
at Wyoming; and on the thirty-first of July took their final
departure.
"So imposing a spectacle those solitudes never before witnessed.
An army of three thousand men slowly wound along the pic-
turesque banks of the Susquehanna — now their variegated uni-
forms sprinkling the open fields with gay colors, and anon their
glittering bayonets fringing the dark forest with light; while by
their side floated a hundred and fifty boats, laden with cannon
and stores — slowly stemming the sluggish stream. Ofiicers dash-
ing along in their uniforms, and small bodies of horse between the
columns, completed the scene — while exciting strains of martial
music rose and fell in prolonged cadences on the summer air, and
swept, dying away, into the deep solitudes. The gay song of the
oarsman, as he bent to his toil, mingled in the hoarse words of
command ; and like some wizard creation of the American wilder-
ness, the mighty pageant passed slowly along. The hawk flew
screaming from his eyrie at the sight; and the Indian gazed with
wonder and afi^right, as he watched it from the mountain-top,
winding miles and miles through the sweet valley, or caught from
afar the deafening roll of the drums and shrill blast of the bugle.
At night the boats were moored to the shore, and the army en-
camped beside them — the innumerable watchfires stretching for
miles along the river. As the morning sun rose over the green
forest, the drums beat the reveille throughout the camp, and
again the pageant of the day before commenced. Everything was
in the freshness of summer vegetation, and the great forest rolled
its sea of foliage over their heads, aff"ording a welcome shelter
from the heat of an August sun.
"Thus, day after day, this host toiled forward, and on the
twelfth from the date of their march, reached Tioga. Here they
entered on the Indian settlements and the work of devastation
commenced. Here also Clinton, coming down the Susquehanna,
joined them with his brigade — and when the head of his column
came in sight of the main army, and the boats floated into view,
there went up such a shout as never before shook that wilderness.
"Sullivan, in the meantime, had destroyed the village of
Chemung; and Clinton, on his passage, had laid waste the settle-
ment of the Onondagas.* The whole army, now amounting to
♦Chemung was destroyed by Sullivan's army on August 13. The historic settlement of the
Onondagas consisting of about forty houses, was destroyed on April 21, 1779, by the troops of
Col. Van Schaick. See Appendix B.
602 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
nearly five thousand men, marched on the 26th of August up the
Tioga River, destroying as it went. At Newtown the Indians
made a stand. From the river to a ridge of hills, they had thrown
up a breastwork a mile in extent, and thus defended, boldly with-
stood for two hours a heavy fire of artillery; but being at length
attacked in flank by General Poor, they broke and fled. The
village was immediately set on fire, and the rich fields of corn cut
down and trodden under foot.
[The battle of Newtown took place near Elmira, New York, on
August 29th, 1779. The Indians numbered 1,500, and were com-
manded by Tha-yen-dan-e-gea, the noted Mohawk chief, other-
wise known as Joseph Brant. Colonel John Butler, his son,
Captain Walter Butler and Captain John MacDonald
commanded the British and Tories, consisting of four or
five hundred men. General Sullivan's forces were composed
of: General James Clinton's army, which had wintered on the
Mohawk, thence had advanced to Lake Otsego, dammed up its
outlet, and floated down the Susquehanna in two hundred boats
on the "artificial fresh," joining Sullivan's advance on August
22nd; General Edward Hand's brigade, consisting of the German
regiment, that commanded by Colonel Adam Hubley and the In-
dependent regiments of Colonels Shott and Spalding; General
Maxwell's brigade, consisting of four regiments under Colonels
Dayton, Sh reeve, Ogden and Spencer; General Poor's brigade,
consisting of four regiments under Colonels Cilly, Reed, Scammel
and Courland; Colonel Thomas Proctor's artillery ; and the second
line, or reserves, under Colonels Livingston, Dubois, Gainsworth
and Olden. — Author]
"On the first of September the army left the river, and struck
across the wilderness, to Catherine's Town. Night overtook them
in the middle of a swamp, nine miles wide; and the rear guard,
without packs or baggage, were compelled to pass the whole night
on the marshy ground. This town also was burned, and the fields
ravaged. Having reached Seneca Lake, they followed its shores
northward, to Kendaia, a beautiful Indian village, with painted
houses, and monuments for the dead, and richly cultivated fields.
It smiled like an oasis there in the wilderness; but the smoke of
the conflagration soon wrapped it, and when the sun again shone
upon it, a smoldering heap alone remained — the waving corn had
disappeared with the dwellings, and the cattle lay slaughtered
around.
"Our troops moved like an awful, resistless scourge through
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 603
this rich country — open and fruitful fields and smiling villages
were before them — behind them a ruinous waste. Now and then,
detachments sent off from the main body were attacked, and on
one occasion seven slain ; and once or twice the Indians threatened
to make a stand for their homes, but soon fled in despair, and the
army had it all their own way. The capital of the Senecas, a town
consisting of sixty houses, surrounded with beautiful cornfields
and orchards, was burned to the ground, and the harvest de-
stroyed. Canandaigua fell next, and then the army stretched
away for the Genesee flats. The fourth day it reached this
beautiful region, then almost wholly unknown to the white man.
The valley, twenty miles long and four broad, had scarce a forest
tree in it, and presented one of the most beautiful contrasts to the
surrounding wilderness that could well be conceived.
"As the weary columns slowly emerged from the dark forest,
and filed off into this open space, their admiration and astonish-
ment knew no bounds. They seemed suddenly to have been
transported into an Eden. The tall, ripe grass bent before the
wind — cornfield on cornfield, as far as the eye could reach, waved
in the sunlight — orchards that had been growing for generations,
were weighed down under the profusion of fruit — cattle grazed
on the banks of the river, and all was luxuriance and beauty. In
the midst of this garden of nature, where the gifts of Heaven had
been lavished with such prodigality, were scattered a hundred
and twenty-eight houses — not miserable huts, huddled together,
but large, airy buildings, situated in the most pleasant spots, sur-
rounded with fruit trees, and exhibiting a civilization on the part
of the Indians never before witnessed.
"Into this scene of surpassing loveliness the sword of war had
now entered, and the approach of Sullivan's vast army, accom-
panied with the loud beat of the drum and shrill fife, sent con-
sternation through the hearts of the inhabitants. At first they
seemed resolved to defend their homes; but soon, as all the rest
had done, turned and fled in affright. Not a soul remained be-
hind; and Sullivan marched into a deserted, silent village. His
heart relented at the sight of so much beauty; but his commands
were peremptory. The soldiers thought, too, of Wyoming and
Cherry Valley, and the thousand massacres that had made our
borders flow in blood, and their hearts were steeled against pity.
An enemy who felt no obligations, and kept no faith, must be
placed beyond the reach of inflicting injury.
"At evening, that army of five thousand men encamped in the
604 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
village; and just as the sun went down behind the limitless forest,
a group of officers might be seen, flooded by its farewell beams,
gazing on the scene. While they thus stood conversing, suddenly
there rolled by a dull and heavy sound, which startled them into
an attitude of the deepest attention. There was no mistaking
that report — it was the thunder of cannon — and for a moment
they looked on each other with anxious countenances. That
solitary roar, slowly traversing the mighty solitudes that hemmed
them in, might well awaken the deepest solicitude. But it was not
repeated; and night fell on the valley of Genesee, and the tired
army slept. The next morning, as the sun rose over the wilderness
that heavy echo again shook the ground. It was then discovered
to be the morning and evening gun of the British at Niagara; and
its lonely thunder there made the solitude more fearful.
"Soon after sunrise, immense columns of smoke began to rise
the length and breadth of the valley, and in a short time the whole
settlement was wrapt in flame from limit to limit; and before
night those hundred and twenty-eight houses were a heap of
ashes. The grain had been gathered into them, and thus both
were destroyed together. The orchards were cut down, the corn-
fields uprooted, and the cattle butchered and left to rot on the
plain. A scene of desolation took the place of that scene of beauty
and the army encamped at night in a desert. [The corn destroyed
by General Sullivan's army has been estimated at one hundred
and sixty thousand bushels. — Author]
"The next day, having accomplished the object of his mission,
Sullivan commenced his homeward march. Ah! who can tell the
famine, and disease, and suffering of those homeless Indians dur-
ing the next winter? A few built huts amid the ashes of their
former dwellings, but the greater part passed the winter around
Fort Niagara.
"On the fifteenth of October, after having been absent since
the first of May, or five months and a half, the army again reached
Easton. Two hundred and eighty miles had been traversed over
mountains, through forests, across swamps and rivers, and amid
hostile Indians. The thanks of Congress were presented to Sulli-
van and his army for the manner they had fulfilled their arduous
task."
The object of the expedition having been accomplished.
General Sullivan returned to Easton, Pennsylvania. Only forty
soldiers were lost by sickness and the enemy.
During General Sullivan's march through the territory of the
UPPER LEP'T. — Major-General John Sullivan, commander of the Expedition against
the Six Nations in the summer and autumn of 1779. For biographical sketch, see Appendix B.
UPPER RIGHT. — Brigadier-General Edward Hand, second in importance of position to
General Sullivan in the Expedition against the Six Nations. Born in Ireland, December 31,
1744. Fought in the battles of Long Island and Trenton. Commander of Fort Pitt from June
1,1777 to May 2, 1778. Became Adjutant-General of the Continental Army in 1780. Made
Major-General September 30, 1783. Died in Lancaster County, Pa., September 4, 1802.
LOWER. — View of the Genesee River, whose fertile and charming valley was devastated
by General Sullivan's army with fire and sword, in September, 1779. At the Seneca town,
called Gathtsegwarohare, located on the east side of Canaseraga Creek, about two miles from
its confluence with the Genesee River, in Livingston County, New York, were vast fields of
corn, which it took two thousand troops six hours to destroy, on September 14th. At the Seneca
town, called Genesee Castle, the western door of the "Long House" of the Iroquois, located
on the west side of the Genesee, near the present Leicester, Livingston County, were vast
orchards and vast fields of corn, some of the ears being twenty-two inches long. The army
destroyed these, September 15th. See Gathtsegwarohare and Genesee Castle, in Appendix B.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1779 605
Six Nations, occurred the murder of Lieutenant Thomas Boyd,
one of the most horrible atrocities in the annals of frontier history.
Boyd was a resident of Northumberland, Pennsylvania, a brother
of the illustrious Captain John Boyd and Lieutenant William
Boyd, the latter of whom laid down his life at the battle of
Brandy wine. Miner, in his "History of Wyoming," thus describes
this atrocity:
"On the 13th of September, Lieutenant Boyd of the rifle corps,
was directed to take five or six men, with a friendly Indian Chief
[Hanjost] as guide, and advance toward the Genessee to recon-
noiter. Numbers volunteering, he marched out at the head of
twenty-four men — too few, if battle was intended; too many, if
secrecy and celerity were prime requisites of the enterprise.
Striking Little Castle, on the Genessee River, he surprised, killed
and scalped two Indians. On his return, Boyd was surrounded by
a strong detachment of the enemy, who killed fourteen of his men,
and took him and a soldier prisoners, eight men only escaping.
The next day the army accelerated their march, with the hope of
releasing Lieutenant Boyd. On arriving at the Genessee Castle,
his remains and those of the other prisoner were found, sur-
rounded by all the horrid evidences of savage barbarity. The tor-
ture fires were yet burning. Flaming pine knots had been thrust
into their flesh, their finger nails pulled out, their tongues cut ofl',
and their heads severed from their bodies. It was said that Boyd
was brought before Colonel Butler, who examined him, Boyd
being on one knee, a warrior on each side firmly grasping his
arms, a third at his back with a tomahawk raised. What a
scene for a limner! 'How many men has Sullivan?' 'I cannot tell
you, sir.' 'How is the army divided and disposed?' 'I cannot give
you any information, sir.' 'Boyd, life is sweet, you had better
answer me.' 'Duty forbids, and I would not if life depended on
the word — but Colonel Butler, I know the issue, my doom is fixed.'
Another version of the affair omits the interview, and relates
that Boyd was stabbed in the abdomen, an intestine drawn out
and tied to a tree, around which the sufferer was driven. Both
may be true. That a prisoner should be taken before Butler for
examination, is quite probable."
The force of British, Tories and Indians that lay in ambush and
attacked Lieutenant Boyd's party consisted of four or five hun-
dred men, led by Colonel John Butler and Joseph Brant. Boyd
and his men posted themselves in a small grove, with consider-
able open space around it. Hopelessly and gallantly, they fought
606 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
against overwhelming odds. Some of the enemy were so near
that the powder from their rifles burned the clothing of the
Americans.
Sergeant Michael Parker was the rifleman who was murdered
with Lieutenant Boyd. Timothy Murphy, of Northumberland,
a personal friend of the Boyd brothers, was one of Boyd's men to
escape. He reported that Boyd and Chief Hanjost were captured,
and told of the brave resistance they made. Colonel Adam Hub-
ley wrote of Murphy that he killed thirty-three Indian allies of
the British during the Revolutionary War.
Colonel Hubley, who kept a journal of Sullivan's expedition,
wrote as follows, when the army arrived at the Genessee Castle,
the central seat of the Senecas, in what is now Livingston County,
New York.
"At this place we found the body of the brave but unfortunate
Lieutenant Boyd and one rifleman, massacred in the most cruel
and barbarous manner that the human mind can possibly con-
ceive, the savages having put them to the most excruciating tor-
ments possible by first plucking their nails from hand and feet,
then spearing, cutting and whipping them and mangling their
bodies, then cutting off the flesh from their shoulders, tomahawk-
ing and severing their heads from their bodies and leaving them
a prey to their dogs.
"This evening the remains of Lieutenant Boyd and the rifle-
man were interred with military honors. Mr. Boyd's former good
character as a brave soldier and an honest man, and his behaviour
in the skirmish of yesterday (several of the Indians being found
dead and some seen carried off) must endear him to all friends of
mankind. May his fate await those who have been the cause of
his. O, Britain — Behold — and blush!"
The great Confederacy of the Six Nations never recovered
from the terrible blow dealt them by General Sullivan. The
following winter is known as "the winter of the deep snow," and
was perhaps the severest winter in the history of the United
States. In January, New York harbor was frozen over so solidly
that the British drove laden wagons on the ice from the city to
Staten Island. One heavy snowstorm followed another, and by
February first, the snow lay four feet deep in the woods and
mountains of Pennsylvania and New York. Their food supplies
destroyed by Sullivan's army, great numbers of the Iroquois
starved and froze to death during this terrible winter.*
♦For additional details as to Sullivan's expedition, see APPENDIX B.
CHAPTER XXVI
The Revolutionary War
1780
Indian Events in Western Pennsylvania in 1780
THE winter of 1779-80 was perhaps the severest in the
history of the United States. By February the snow lay
four feet deep in the woods and on the mountains of Pennsyl-
vania, preventing the bringing of supplies for the garrison at Fort
Pitt. The severe weather also prevented Indian raids — a
fortunate thing for Western Pennsylvania, as Colonel Brodhead,
commander of the western department, and Colonel Archibald
Lochry, county-lieutenant of Westmoreland, both claimed
authority over the two companies of rangers raised in Westmore-
land County, and spent much time in a controversy that did not
contribute to military efficiency.
Before the Senecas recovered from the blows given them by
General Sullivan and Colonel Brodhead and from the effects of
the terrible winter following, the Shawnees, Wyandots and
Munsee Clan of Delawares came from their strongholds in Ohio
and raided the Western Pennsylvania frontier. On Sunday
morning, March 12th, 1780, a party of Wyandots fell upon five
men and six children at a sugar camp at the mouth of Reardon
Run on Raccoon Creek near the line between Beaver and Wash-
ington Counties. The white persons were members of the
Tucker and Turner families of Noblestown, Allegheny County,
and the Foulkes family of the northern part of Washington
County. The white men were killed and scalped, and the chil-
dren, three boys and three girls, were captured. Among the
children were George Foulkes, aged eleven, Elizabeth Foulkes,
aged nine, and Samuel Whittaker, aged eleven. The captive
children remained among the Indians for many years. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 8, page 140.)
Near the end of March, a band of the Muncy Clan of Dela-
wares, led by Washnash, captured a flatboat, about twenty-five
66^ THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
miles below Wheeling, West Virginia, going down the Ohio
River to Kentucky, killing three and making prisoners of twenty-
one men, women and children. Among the prisoners was
Catherine Malott, a girl aged about eighteen years, who subse-
quently became the wife of the notorious renegade, Simon Girty.
(Butterfield's "Washington-Irvine Correspondence," page 74; Pa.
Archives, Vol. 8, page 159; Pa. Archives, Vol. 12, page 218.)
Indian raids continued into Southwestern Pennsylvania
throughout the month of April. On April 27th, 1780, Colonel
Brodhead wrote President Reed of the Supreme Executive coun-
cil, as follows:
"Between 40 and 50 men, women and children have been killed
or taken from what are now called the counties of Yohogania
[Washington], Monongalia and Ohio, but no damage is done yet
in Westmoreland." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 8, page 210.)
But Westmoreland was soon to be invaded by the Senecas,
who had somewhat recovered from the blows of Brodhead and
Sullivan. In May, 1780, they came down the Allegheny, entered
Westmoreland County, and killed and captured five persons
near Ligonier, burned Laughlin's Mill, killed two men on Bushy
Run and two on Braddock's Road, near Turtle Creek. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 8, pages 246 and 280.)
In this same month (May) Colonel Brodhead endeavored to
make peace with the hostile tribes in Ohio — the Shawnees, Wyan-
dots and Delawares of the Munsee Clan. He sent Godfrey
Lanctot, a Frenchman who spoke several Indian languages, to
visit these western tribes in the American interest; but Lanctot's
efforts were fruitless, as the hostile Indians would not listen to
him. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 8, pages 301 and 551.) About this
time the garrisons which had been withdrawn from Fort Arm-
strong and Fort Crawford in the autumn of 1779, were once more
placed in these places of defense. However, by the middle of
August, these forts had to be evacuated on account of lack of
food for the garrisons.
In June Colonel Brodhead, hearing that the British and Indians
were assembling on the Sandusky River, sent Captain Samuel
Brady on the scouting expedition into Ohio, mentioned in the
sketch of this noted scout in Chapter XXV, in returning from
which he rescued Jennie Stoops and her child, who had been
captured in the Chartiers Valley in the early part of this month.
On July 21st, 1780, Col. Brodhead wrote Timothy Pickering,
giving an account of a battle between the militia and a body of
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 609
Indians who had crossed the Ohio River near the present town of
Industry, Beaver County, as follows:
"A few days ago, I received intelligence of a party of thirty odd
Wyandot Indians having crossed the Ohio five miles below Fort
Mcintosh [Beaver], and that they had hid their canoes upon the
shore. I immediately ordered out two parties of the nearest
militia to go in search of them, and cover the harvesters. At the
same time, Capt. Mclntyre was detailed with a party to form an
ambuscade opposite the enemies' craft. Five men who were
reaping in a field discovered the Indians, and presuming their
number was small, went out to attack them; but four of them
were immediately killed, and the other taken prisoner, before
the militia were collected. But they were attacked by Capt.
Mclntyre's party on the river, and many of them were killed
and wounded, two canoes were sunk, and the prisoner retaken;
but the water was so deep our men could not find the bodies of
the savages, and therefore the number killed cannot be ascer-
tained. The Indians left in their craft two guns, six blankets,
eleven paint-bags, eight earwheels, a large brass kettle and many
other articles. The Indians informed the prisoner that fifteen
Wyandots were detached at Hannastown; upon receiving this
information, another party was immediately detached up the
Allegheny River with two Delaware Indians to take the tracks
and make pursuit, but as the party has not yet returned, I
cannot inform you of its success."
On September 4th, two settlers were killed and scalped near
Robinson's Run in what is now Allegheny County. Then, about
the middle of this month, a band of Wyandots ravaged the
valley of Ten Mile Creek, Washington County, killing and
capturing seven persons.* (Pa. Archives, Vol. 8, page 559.) Other
outrages in Washington County during this suinmer were the
capture of Alexander Burns in West Finley Township and the
murder of the two little sons of James Beham in the same Town-
ship. At the time of the murder of the Beham boys, the Bennett
family, who lived near, fled to escape the tomahawk of the hostile
Indians, leaving one of their number, an old lady, to her fate.
Upon their return, they found her dead, but the scant records of
the time do not definitely say whether or not she was killed by
the Indians.
Still other outrages in Washington County in the summer of
1780, were the murder of Robert Shearer, his brother, Hugh,
♦Among the captured, were Michael and Andrew, the sons of John Adam Simon. Both
later escaped. Andrew was disfigured by being scalped.
610 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and the two sons of William McCandless, near Beelor's Fort,
Robinson Township.*
Throughout this terrible summer, provisions were so low at
Fort Pitt that Colonel Brodhead could not adequately defend the
harried western frontier. Besides, Southwestern Pennsylvania
was then in a state of chaos on account of the conflicting claims
of Pennsylvania and Virginia. In order to furnish food for the
suffering garrison at Fort Pitt, Colonel Brodhead sent Captain
Samuel Brady into the settlements on Chartiers Creek and the
western side of the Monongahela and Lieutenant Uriah Springer
into the settlements on the east side of the Monongahela, in an
effort to purchase cattle and sheep from the farmers. These
efforts to supply the garrison with food were failures. The farm-
ers had lost many of their sheep and cattle in the Indian raids,
and then drove the rest into recesses of the forest. Efforts to
raise volunteers for an expedition against the Wyandots and
other Indians of Ohio were also failures.
Due to the alliance between the Delawares and the United
States, Colonel Brodhead, in the autumn of 1780, received the
aid of more than forty friendly Delawares of the Turtle and
Turkey Clans, who had come to assist him in his contemplated
operations against the Wyandots. The chagrin of the loyal Dela-
wares was great when Brodhead told them that the expedition
would have to be abandoned on account of lack of food. To make
matters worse, a band of militia from Westmoreland County
marched to attack these friendly Delawares, their wives and
children. In a letter to President Reed, dated November 2nd,
1780, Brodhead says: "I believe I could have called out near an
hundred. But as upwards of forty men from the neighborhood
of Hannastown have attempted to destroy them whilst they con-
sider themselves under our protection, it may not be an easy
matter to call them out again, notwithstanding they [the Hannas-
town settlers] were prevented from executing their unmanly
intention, by a guard of regular soldiers posted for the Indians'
protection. I was not a little surprised to find that the late Cap-
tains Irwin and Jack, Lieutenant Brownlee, and Ensign Guthrie
concerned in this base attempt. I suppose the women and
children were to suffer an equal carnage with the men." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 8, page 596.)
It was very fortunate for Colonel Brodhead that he was able
to save the lives of these friendly Delawares. Provisions at Fort
Pitt became still scarcer. Then Colonel Brodhead sent many of
♦According to Myrtle W. Richey, of Washington, Pa., a descendant of the Shearers, Hugh
Shearer, Sr., was captured about this time and later escaped.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 611
the friendly Delawares, whose lives he had saved, to the Great
Kanawha to spend the winter there hunting buffaloes, and to
bring the meat to Fort Pitt. During the winter of 1780-81, the
garrison consisted of about three hundred troops.
Outrages in the Wyoming Valley in 1780
Terrible as was the retribution which General Sullivan visited
upon the Six Nations in the summer of 1779, it did not prevent
their entering the Wyoming Valley the next spring, and bringing
terrible suffering to the settlers of Luzerne County. This incur-
sion is thus described in Miner's "History of Wyoming":
"In the latter part of March an alai-m was given that Indians
were in the valley. On the 27th, Thomas Bennett and his son, a
lad, in a field not far from their house, in Kingston, were seized
and made prisoners by six Indians. Lebbeus Hammond, who had
been captured a few hours before, they found tied as they entered
a gorge of the mountain. Hammond had been in the battle, [the
Wyoming Massacre of July 3rd, 1778] and was then taken pris-
oner, but had escaped from the fatal ring at bloody rock, where
Queen Esther was pursuing her murderous rounds as previously
related. He was a prize of more than ordinary value. No doubt
could exist but that he was destined a victim to the crudest bar-
barity. The night of the 27th they took up their quarters about
twelve miles north from the valley. The next day, having crossed
the river near the three islands, they pushed on toward Meshop-
pen with all the speed in their power. While on their march they
met two parties of Indians and Tories, descending for murder and
pillage upon the settlement. A man by the name of Moses Mount
whom they knew, was particular in his inquiries Into the state of
the garrison and the situation of the inhabitants. On the evening
of the 28th they built a fire, with the aid of Mr. Bennett, who
being an old man, was least feared, and permitted to go unbound.
To a request from Mr. Bennett, of the Chief, to lend him an awl
to put on a button, the savage, with a significant look replied,
'No want button for one night,' and refused his request. The
purpose of the Indians could not be mistaken. Whispering to
Hammond, while the Indians went to a spring near by, to drink,
it was resolved to make an effort to escape. To stay was certain
death; they could but die. Tired with their heavy march, after
a supper of venison, the Indians lay around the fire, Hammond
and the boy tied between them, except an old Indian who was set
612 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
to keep the first watch. His spear lay by his side, while he picked
the meat from the head of a deer, as half sleeping and nodding, he
sat over the fire. Bennett was allowed to sit near him, and
seemingly in a careless manner, took the spear, and rolled it
playfully on his thigh. Watching his opportunity when least on
his guard, he thrust the spear through the Indian's side, who fell
with a startling groan upon the burning logs. There was not a
moment to be lost. Age forgot its decrepitude. In an instant
Hammond and young Bennett were cut loose, the arms seized,
three of the remaining savages tomahawked, and slain as they
slept, and another wounded. One only escaped unhurt. On the
evening of the 30th the captive victors came in with five rifles, a
silver mounted hanger, and several spears and blankets, as
trophies of their brilliant exploit.
"Another band of ten Indians, on the same day that Bennett
and Hammond were taken, shot Asa Upson in Hanover, (near
where the bridge crosses the canal below Carey-Town). On the
28th, two men were making sugar about eight miles below Wilkes-
Barre, one was killed, the other taken prisoner. On the 29th,
Jonah Rogers, a lad of fourteen or fifteen, was taken prisoner
from the lower part of the valley. The Indians then pushed down
the river to Fishing Creek, where, on the 30th they surprised the
family of the Van Campens. Moses Van Campen was taken
prisoner after they had murdered and scalped his father, his
brother, and his uncle, and captured a boy named Pence. Direct-
ing their course northeast, the savages passed through Hunting-
ton, where they were met by a scout of four men under the orders
of Capt. Franklin, Shots were exchanged, and two of his men
wounded. Too few to cope with the Indian party, Capt. Franklin
took up a position in an old log house; but the enemy preferred to
pursue their course, and the same evening came to a camp where
Abraham Pike, with his wife, were making sugar. Pike, who was
a British deserter, was a most desirable acquisition. The wife and
her child they painted, and sent into the settlements. The party
now bent their way to the lake country, crossed the Susquehanna
at the little Tunkhannock, and pursued their course up the east
branch of the river.
"Lieut. Van Campen, a man of true courage, brave and enter-
prising, formed a plan, with Pike, Rogers, and Pence, to rise on the
ten Indians, and effect their liberation, or die in the attempt. It
was a bold and hazardous enterprise. The party had ascended to
within fifteen miles of Tioga Point, where they encamped on the
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 613
night of the 3rd of April. The Indians, beyond the probability of
pursuit, all lay down to sleep, five on each side of the prisoners,
who were carefully bound. Van Cam pen had observed that a
knife, used by one of the Indians, fell near him, and placing his
foot on it, secured the inestimable prize. About midnight, finding
the enemy buried in profound sleep. Van Campen cut himself
loose, and with noiseless celerity liberated the hands of his com-
panions. Springing to their feet, placing the guns in a secure
place, tomahawks were used with the utmost vigour. The Indians
made a desperate, but unavailing elTort for the mastery, but were
overpowered, and several of the ten killed, two others wounded,
and two or three escaped unhurt.* After scalping the dead, recov-
ering the scalps of those of our people whom the Indians had
slain, making a hasty raft, the party, taking the guns, tomahawks,
spears, and blankets of the foe, descended the Susquehanna, and
on the evening of the 5th of April arrived with their spoils in
triumph at Wyoming.
"No nobler deed was performed during the Revolutionary
War. In a narrative of his life and services, written in 1837, and
presented as a memorial to Congress, asking for a pension, Lieut.
Van Campen represents his companions in this affair, except
Pence, as terrified and inactive, thus impairing his own credit, and
marring the beauty of a most chivalrous achievement. There was
honour enough for all; there could be no motive but excessive
self-glorification, for representing Pike and Rogers as cowards.
But when that narrative was written Van Campen was an old
man. Pike and Rogers were both dead, and he may have supposed
no one remained to rescue their names from the odium. The
writer of this knew Abraham Pike and Jonah Rogers well. Mr.
Rogers was a highly respectable citizen, and was well understood,
though quite a youth, to have performed his duty like a man.
That he was collected and cool is evident from his observing that
Pike struck his first blow with the head of his axe, then turned it
and gave the edge. The former he has often heard recount the
daring exploit, and until this recent statement of Van Campen,
never heard a doubt of Pike's courage expressed. Familiarly he
was called 'Serjeant Pike, the Indian killer,' and as such was
every where welcome. An Irishman! A regulariy disciplined
soldier! The presumption would be strong against the charge of
cowardice. But death was certain if taken to Niagara; even
cowardice itself would have stimulated a man, so situated, to
fight. That Van Campen's memory had become impaired, is
614 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
apparent from the fact that he claimed to have killed nine of the
ten Indians. Col. Jenkins, in a memorandum made at the time
says: 'Pike and two men from Fishing Creek, and two boys that
were taken by the Indians, made their escape by rising on the
guard, killed three, and the rest took to the woods, and left the
prisoners with twelve guns,' &c. No! without detracting from
the bravery and good conduct of Van Campen, we cannot but
conclude, that he had told the story of his own prowess, height-
ening the colouring in his own favour, as he found it gave him
consideration with his wondering listeners, until, perhaps, he
believed himself the sole hero of the victory.
"On the 30th of March, three persons, named Avery, Lyons,
and Jones, were taken prisoners by the Indians, from Capouse.
"The unfortunate, or fortunate Hammond, who, twice in such
fearful jeopardy, had twice escaped, had now the pleasure of
appearing at Head-Quarters, having been sent on the 3rd of April,
by Col. Butler, express, with despatches for his Excellency.
"In the course of these predatory excursions, the savages set
fire to the simple log buildings which the settlers had erected for
their temporary residence."
On March 31st, seven or eight persons were captured by In-
dians about two miles above Fort Jenkins, in Columbia County.
In September, 1780, a large band of Indians, descending the
Susquehanna and passing through Wyoming without giving any
alarm, crossed the river near the mouth of Nescopeck Creek, and
advanced into what is now Sugar Loaf Township, Luzerne Coun ty
where they found a party of thirty-one Americans, commanded
by Lieutenant Myers, and fiercely attacked them. The Ameri-
cans were not suspecting that an enemy was near, were thrown
into confusion, and badly defeated. In vain. Lieutenant Myers
endeavored to rally his forces, vowing that he would die before
he would retreat. The gallant lieutenant was captured, but made
his escape on the second night of his captivity, and came to the
fort at Wyoming with the melancholy tidings that thirteen of his
men hadbeen scalped and most of the others taken prisoner. The
Indians hastened to their strongholds in New York after burning
the Shickshinny mills and all the grain stacks in the neighborhood.
On December 6th, 1780, a party of nineteen British, Tories
and five Indians, under command of Lieutenant Turney of
Colonel John Butler's Rangers, entered the Wyoming Valley,
and near Plymouth, captured Benjamin Harvey, Elisha Harvey,
Nathan Bullock, James Frisbee, Jonathan Frisbee, Manassah
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 615
Cady and Samuel Palmer (later Colonel) Ransom. Lieutenant
Rosewell Franklin, with twenty-six men, pursued the invaders,
but they made their escape. The prisoners were taken to Niagara,
suffering greatly from cold and hunger on the way. The next
summer all were released except the younger Harvey, Frisbee
and Ransom. These were taken to Montreal during the summer,
and in the autumn, were removed to Prisoner's Island in the St.
Lawrence, where there were 167 American captives at that time.
Here Ransom made his escape on June 9th, 1782. He arrived at
Wyoming on July 27th of that year, just the day following the
murder of a man, woman and two children, by Indians, near
Catawissa, Columbia County, thirty miles below Wyoming.
Moses Van Campen*s Other Experiences
Moses Van Campen had other experiences with the Indians in
addition to the terrible one just related. In the spring of 1778, he,
with a small force of men, built Fort Wheeler, on the banks of
Fishing Creek, about three miles from Bloomsburg, Columbia
County. Before the fort was completed, it was attacked by a
large body of Indians. Fortunately the inhabitants of the settle-
ment were in the fort, and from its elevated position could see
their dwellings entered, their feather beds and blankets carried
out and scattered around, and later the whole settlement re-
duced to ashes. On the day of the attack, Van Campen sur-
rounded the fort at a distance of four rods with a barricade of
brush and stakes. Seeing this obstruction, the Indians fired at
the fort from the distance, hiding behind trees and bushes.
When darkness descended, the supply of ammunition at the fort
being low. Van Campen sent two of his men to Fort Jenkins,
about eight miles away, for more, and they returned before dawn
the next morning with a plentiful supply of powder and lead.
From their return until dawn, the garrison spent the time in
making bullets and getting ready for the encounter which they
expected in the morning. However, the enemy disappeared
during the night, leaving blood stains on the ground, but nothing
else to indicate their loss.
In the month of June, some settlers' houses near this fort were
attacked when the women and girls were milking the cows in the
evening. Van Campen, with ten sharpshooters, succeeded in
getting between the milkers and the Indians, and shot the leader
of the Indian band, whereupon the rest fled. "The honest dairy
616 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
women," says Van Campen in his Narrative, "were more terribly
frightened than the Indians. They started upon their feet,
screamed aloud and ran with all their might, fearful lest the enemy
should be upon them. In the meantime, the milk pails flew in
every direction, and the milk was scattered to the winds."*
Also in the spring of 1781, Van Campen erected Fort McClure,
which stood within the limits of Bloomsburg. During that sum-
mer, a man who had been captured by the Indians in the Buffalo
Valley and had made his escape, came to this fort and reported
that there was a band of three hundred Indians on Sinnema-
honing Creek, in what is now Cameron and Potter Counties, most
likely getting ready to descend upon the settlements. Colonel
Hunter then sent a party, called the "Grove Party," to recon-
noitre, composed of Moses Van Campen, Captain Campbell,
Peter and Michael Grove and Lieutenant Cramer. Carrying a
three weeks' supply of provisions, this party proceeded up the
West Branch of the Susquehanna, and thence so far up the
Sinnemahoning that, finding no Indian signs, they concluded the
report was false. As they were returning, at a point some dis-
tance below the mouth of the Sinnemahoning, they discovered
smoke ahead of them in the evening, and concluded it was made
by a party of Indians. Creeping cautiously towards the smoke,
Van Campen 's men discovered a band of twenty-five or thirty
Indians lying around the fire. Waiting until they were asleep.
Van Campen and his companions dashed among them and killed
several with rifle and tomahawk. The rest fled precipitately
through the forest. Van Campen says that this Indian band had
been as far into the interior as Penn's Creek, and had killed and
scalped two or three families. His men found several scalps and
a great quantity of cloth, which the Indians had with them. The
cloth was taken to Northumberland and distributed among the
distressed settlers. (See Moses Van Campen 's Narrative.)
In the spring of 1782, Van Campen was engaged, with a small
force, in rebuilding Fort Muncy, located four or five miles from
the town of Muncy, Lycoming County, which had been destroyed
by the Indians in 1779. About April 10th, Captain Robinson,
Esquire Culbertson, James Daugherty, William McGrady and a
Mr. Barkley came to the unfinished fort, and Esquire Culbertson
advised that his brother had been killed by the Indians near the
mouth of Bald Eagle Creek. He said that he had been informed
that his brother and some of his brother's companions had been
buried without having been mutilated by their murderers. He
*Van Campen served in Sullivan's expedition, in 1779.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 617
was anxious to make a search to ascertain the truth of this report.
Captain Robinson then sent Van Campen with twenty men, as a
guard for Esquire Culbertson, up the West Branch of the Sus-
quehanna to Big Island (Lock Haven), thence up Bald Eagle
Creek to the place where Culbertson's brother had been buried.
They reached the place on the night of April 15th. On the morn-
ing of the succeeding day, Van Campen's party was attacked by
a force of eighty-five Indians. Esquire Culbertson and two
others escaped, nine of the white men were killed, and the rest,
among whom was Van Campen, were taken prisoners.
Van Campen was carried to the Seneca village of Caneadea,
on the Genessee, where he successfully ran the gauntlet. Some
of his companions were adopted by the Senecas to make up the
loss of those killed in the encounter. After running the gauntlet,
Van Campen was taken to Fort Niagara and given to the British.
Presently the Indians learned that he had been captured before
and had killed his captors. They then demanded that the British
give him back to them for torture. The British commander sent
an officer to examine him, and to this officer Van Campen frankly
stated the facts as to his escape from his Indian captors in the
spring of 1780. The officer then told the brave frontiersman that
his case was desperate, whereupon Van Campen replied that he
considered himself a prisoner of war of the British, and that he
hoped the British would have more honor than to deliver him to
the Indians to be tortured to death at the stake. He pointed out
that, in case the British did deliver him for torture, they could
depend upon it that the Americans would make retaliation by
taking the life of some British officer captured by the patriot
forces. The officer soon returned and advised him that the only
way his life could be spared was for him to espouse the British
cause, offering him the inducement that he should hold the same
rank in the British service as he then possessed. "No, sir, no,"
said Van Campen, "my life belongs to my country. Give me
the stake, the tomahawk, or the scalping knife, before I will dis-
honor the character of an American officer." The British then
took him to Montreal, thence to New York, where he was ex-
changed in March, 1783. Some time prior to 1800, he removed
to the state of New York, where he died in 1849, at the great age
of ninety-two years. The dust of this noted man of the Penn-
sylvania frontier reposes at Angelica, Allegany County, New
York, about ten miles from Caneadea, where he ran the
gauntlet.
618 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Atrocities in Union County in 1780
On April 8th, 1780, a band of Indians killed David Couples,
who lived on Redbank Run. They scalped him and two of his
children, and took his wife prisoner. Encamping for the night
on the hill above White Deer Mills, the frontier wife and mother
made her escape, although one of the Indians had lain upon part
of her dress, so that her moving might waken him.
On May 16th, a patrol of Continental soldiers was attacked by
a body of Indians at French Jacob's Mill, (Jacob Groshong's
Mill) near the end of Brush Valley, Union County. Four of the
soldiers, John Foster Jr., James Chambers, George Etzweiler
and Samuel McLaughlin, were killed. The soldiers had just re-
turned from patroling the neighborhood, and were outside the
mill, washing themselves when the Indians swooped down upon
them. Christian Shively heard the firing as he was threshing
grain in his field. Shively concealed his wife and two small
children near the creek, while he rolled some logs into the stream
and made a raft. He then put his wife and children on the raft,
and they floated down the stream to safety. Henry Pontius,
another neighbor, also heard the firing, secured his rifle, mounted
his horse, made a circuit of the woods, and arrived at the mill
just in time to see the Indians leaving with their plunder.
The following day, messengers started for Philadelphia with
an appeal for assistance. A detail started for New Berlin, carry-
ing the bodies of the slain soldiers. When John Clark's farm was
reached, the party divided. Those carrying the bodies of Foster
and Chambers were compelled, on account of the warm weather,
to make burial in the Lewis graveyard. The other party, bearing
the body of Etzweiler, buried it on the farm of John Brook, where
his grave was marked ; and the body of McLaughlin was carried
to New Berlin, and buried in Dry Run Cemetery
On July 14th, 1780, Indians attacked a family of Aliens living
at the mouth of Buffalo Creek, at or near where Lewisburg now
stands. The husband and three children were killed, but the
mother succeeded in making her escape across the creek. Looking
back, she saw the Indians dash out the brains of her smallest
child against a tree.
The same day Baltzer Klinesmith was killed and his two
daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, were captured, near Dreis-
bach Church, Union County. The Indians took the girls to a
spring north of New Berlin, where they left them in charge of an
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 619
old Indian while the rest of the band went down Dry Valley.
Soon it began to rain, and the old Indian made his prisoners
gather brush to cover a bag of flour which the band had stolen.
As the girls were gathering the brush, the Indian lay down under
a tree with his tomahawk under his head. In a short time he was
asleep and the girls, passing with the brush, gradually worked
the tomahawk from under his head as he slept. Elizabeth then
secured the tomahawk, and motioning to Catherine to run, sank
it into the Indian's skull. Just then the rest of the Indian band
returned, and pursued the fleeing girls. As they neared their
home, a rifle ball passed through Catherine's shoulder, maiming
her for life, but both girls escaped. A party of neighbors gave
chase to the Indians. Also, in July 1780, Patrick Watson and
his mother were killed at their cabin near White Springs, Union
County.
Attack on Fort Rice
Early in September, 1780, Fort Rice, also known as Fort
Montgomery, in Lewis Township, Northumberland County was
attacked by 250 or 300 Tories and Indians. On failure to capture
the fort, the Tories and their Indian allies broke into small parties
and devastated the surrounding country with tomahawk and fire,
One large party of Indians moved eastward to Fort Jenkins,
which they found abandoned, and then set fire to the buildings
in the neighborhood, on the 9th of September. Hearing of the
approach of Captain Klader with a company of Northampton
County militia, they suddenly decamped, crossed the North
Branch of the Susquehanna near Berwick, and went on to Sugar
Loaf, in Luzerne County, as seen earlier in this chapter, where
they ambuscaded the militia, killing or capturing the greater
number of them, and relieving their Tory friends from fear of
capture.
Capture of the Gilbert Family
On April 25th, 1780, occurred the capture of the family of
Benjamin Gilbert, in what is now Carbon County. The following
account of this event is quoted from Egle's, "History of Pennsyl-
vania":
"As late as 1780 the Gilbert family, living on Mahoning Creek,
five or six miles from Fort Allen, were carried into a bitterly
painful captivity by a party of Indians, who took them to Canada,
and there separated them. At the time of its occurrence, this
620 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
event caused intense excitement throughout the State, and from
an interesting narrative pubUshed shortly after their release from
captivity, we append the following synopsis :
"Benjamin Gilbert, a Quaker from Byberry, near Philadel-
phia, in 1775, removed with his family to a farm on Mahoning
creek, five or six miles from Fort Allen. His second wife was a
widow Peart. They were comfortably situated, with a good log
dwelling-house, barn, and saw and grist mill. For five years this
peaceable family went on industriously and prosperously ; but on
the 25th of April, 1780, the very year after Sullivan's expedition,
they were surprised about sunrise by a party of eleven Indians,
who took them all prisoners. At the Gilbert farm they made
captives of Benjamin Gilbert, Sr., aged 69 years; Elizabeth, his
wife, 55; Joseph Gilbert, his son, 41; Jesse Gilbert; another son,
19; Sarah Gilbert, wife to Jesse, 19; Rebecca Gilbert, a daughter
16; Abner Gilbert, a son, 14; Elizabeth Gilbert, a daughter, 12;
Thomas Peart, son to Benjamin Gilbert's wife, 23; Benjamin
Gilbert, a son of John Gilbert of Philadelphia, 11 ; Andrew Harri-
gar, of German descent, 26; a hireling of Benjamin Gilbert's;
and Abigail Dodson, 14, a daughter of Samuel Dodson, who lived
on a farm about one mile from Gilbert's mill. The whole number
taken at Gilbert's was twelve. The Indians then proceeded about
half a mile to Benjamin Peart's dwelling, and there captured
himself, aged 27; Elizabeth, his wife, 20, and their child, nine
months old.
"The last look the poor captives had of their once comfortable
home was to see the flames and falling in of the roofs, from
Summer Hill. The Indians led their captives on a toilsome road
over Mauch Chunk and Broad Mountains into the Nescopec path,
and then across Quakake Creek and the Moravian pine swamp to
Mahoning Mountain where they lodged the first night. On their
way they had prepared moccasins for some of the children. In-
dians generally secure their prisoners by cutting down a sapling
as large as a man's thigh, and therein cut notches in which they
fix their legs, and over this they place a pole, crossing it with
stakes drove in the ground, and on the crotches of the stakes they
place other poles or riders, effectually confining the prisoners on
their backs; and besides all this they put a strap round their
necks, which they fasten to a tree. In this manner the night
passed with the Gilbert family. Their beds were hemlock
branches strewed on the ground, and blankets for a covering.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 621
Andrew Montour was the leader of the Indian party. [Not the
son of Madam Montour].
"The forlorn band were dragged on over the wild and rugged
region between the Lehigh and the Chemung branch of the Sus-
quehanna. They were often ready to faint by the way, but the
cruel threat of immediate death urged them again to the march.
The old man, Benjamin Gilbert, indeed, had begun to fail, and
had been painted black — a fatal omen among the Indians; but
when his cruel captors had put a rope around his neck, and ap-
peared about to kill him, the intercessions of his wife softened
their hearts, and he was saved. Subsequently, in Canada, the
old man, conversing with the chief, observed that he might say
what none of the other Indians could, 'that he had brought in the
oldest man and the youngest child.' The chief's reply was im-
pressive: 'It was not I, but the great God, who brought you
through; for we were determined to kill you, but were prevented.'
"On the fifty-fourth day of their captivity, the Gilbert family
had to encounter the fearful ordeal of the gauntlet. 'The prison-
ers,' says the author of the narrative, 'were released from the
heavy loads they had heretofore been compelled to carry, and were
it not for the treatment they expected on their approaching the
Indian towns, and the hardship of separation, their situation
would have been tolerable ; but the horror of their minds, arising
from the dreadful yells of the Indians as they approached the
hamlets, is easier conceived than described — for they were no
strangers to the customary cruelty exercised upon the captives on
entering their towns. The Indians — men, women, and children —
collected together, bringing clubs and stones in order to beat
them, which they usually do with great severity, by way of
revenge for their relations who have been slain. This is per-
formed immediately upon their entering the village where the
warriors reside, and cannot be avoided; the blows, however cruel,
must be borne without complaint. The prisoners are sorely
beaten until their enemies are weary with the cruel sport. Their
sufferings were in this case very great; they received several
wounds, and two of the women who were on horseback were much
bruised by falling from their horses, which were frightened by the
Indians. Elizabeth, the mother, took shelter by the side of one
of them (a warrior), but upon his observing that she met with
some favor upon his account, he sent her away; she then received
several violent blows, so that she was almost disabled. The blood
trickled from their heads in a stream, their hair being cropped
622 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
close and the clothes they had on in rags, made their situation
truly piteous. Whilst the Indians were inflicting this revenge
upon the captives, the chief came and put a stop to any further
cruelty by telling them 'it was sufficient,' which they immediately
attended to.
"Soon after this a severer trial awaited them. They were
separated from each other. Some were given over to Indians to
be adopted, others were hired out by their Indian owners to ser-
vice in white families, and others were sent down the lake to
Montreal. Among the latter was the old patriarch, Benjamin
Gilbert. But the old man, accustomed to the comforts of civilized
life, broken in body and mind from such unexpected calamities,
sank under the complication of woe and hardship. His remains
were interred at the foot of an oak near the old fort of Coeur du
Lac, on the St. Lawrence, below Ogdensburg. Some of the family
met with kind treatment from the hands of British officers at
Montreal, who were interested in their story, and exerted them-
selves to release them from captivity.
"Sarah Gilbert, the wife of Jesse, becoming a mother, Elizabeth
left the service she was engaged in — Jesse having taken a house —
that she might give her daughter every necessary attendance. In
order to make their situation as comfortable as possible, they took
a child to nurse, which added a little to their income. After
this, Elizabeth Gilbert hired herself to iron a day for Adam Scott.
While she was at her work, a little girl belonging to the house
acquainted her that there were some who wanted to see her, and
upon entering the room, she found six of her children. The joy
and surprise she felt on this occasion were beyond what we shall
attempt to describe. A messenger was sent to inform Jesse and
his wife that Joseph Gilbert, Benjamin Peart, Elizabeth his wife,
and their young child, and Abner and Elizabeth Gilbert the
younger, were with their mother.
"Among the customs, or indeed common laws, of the Indian
tribes, one of the most remarkable and interesting was adoption
of prisoners. This right belonged more particularly to the females
than to the warriors, and well was it for the prisoners that the
election depended rather upon the voice of the mother than on
that of the father, as innumerable lives were thus spared whom
the warriors would have immolated. When once adopted, if the
captives assume a cheerful aspect, entered into their modes of
life, learned their language, and, in brief, acted as if they actually
felt themselves adopted, all hardship was removed not incident to
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 623
Indian modes of life. But, if this change of relation operated as
ameHoration of condition in the life of the prisoner, it rendered
ransom extremely difficult in all cases, and in some instances pre-
cluded it altogether. These difficulties were exemplified in a strik-
ing manner in the person of Elizabeth Gilbert the younger. This
girl, only twelve years of age when captured, was adopted by an
Indian family, but afterwards permitted to reside in a white
family of the name of Secord, by whom she was treated as a child
indeed, and to whom she became so much attached as to call Mrs.
Secord by the endearing title of mamma. Her residence, how-
ever, in a white family, was a favor granted to the Secords by the
Indian parents of Elizabeth, who regarded and claimed her as
their child. Mr. Secord having business at Niagara, took Betsy,
as she was called, with him; and there after long separation, she
had the happiness to meet with six of her relations, most of whom
had been already released and were preparing to set out for
Montreal, lingering and yearning for those they seemed destined
to leave behind, perhaps for ever. The sight of their beloved
little sister roused every energy to effect her release, which desire
was generously seconded by John Secord and Colonel Butler,
who, soon after her visit to Niagara, sent for the Indian who
claimed Elizabeth, and made overtures for her ransom. At first
he declared that he 'would not sell his own flesh and blood;' but,
attacked through his interest, or in other words, his necessities,
the negotiations succeeded, and, as we have already seen, her
youngest child was among the treasures first restored to the
mother at Montreal.
Eventually they were all redeemed and collected at Montreal
on the 22nd of August, 1782, when they took leave of their kind
friends there, and returned to Byberry, after a captivity of two
years and five months."
Mountain Valleys Invaded — Rangers Massacred
The settlers of the mountain valleys of counties of Huntingdon,
Blair and Bedford suffered terribly at the hands of the Indian
allies of the British during the Revolutionary War. The follow-
ing letters, recorded in Pa. Archives, Vol.-iO; tell part of the story
of the sufferings of these settlers in the summer of 1780:
Major Robert Cluggage, in a letter written from Huntingdon
to Colonel John Piper, on May 30th, and recorded on page 278
of above mentioned volume, says:
624 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
"I make free to write you concerning the difficulty of the times
in those parts at present, which ought to be the concern of every
good man. A party of men from Cumberland and from those
parts was marched out to way-lay the gaps of the Allegheny
Mountains, before we arrived from your house. When they went
to the new gap above Frankstown, they found that a small party
of the enemy had returned that route some days before they got
there, and had taken with them a number of horses; yet we sup-
posed a part of the enemy to be left behind, which we found to
be true bv the discovery of William Phelaps [Phillips]. Last
Friday, where he had a noble chance of two Indians, near the
three springs at Aughwick, had it not been for one of his children
that was with him which he was doubtful would have fallen into
their hands if he had fired on them. He immediately alarmed
the neighbors. They raised a party and pursued them for some
miles, came to their fire where they had roasted a turkey, and
were just gone. The Indians seemed to be headed towards
Pregmor's mill, when the party lost their tracks. A discovery
has been made lately at Captain Simon ton's. From thoses dis-
coveries we may draw this conclusion that those are spies making
a proper discovery of the country, and when reinforced, I am
doubtful [fearful] will make a heavy stroke."
Colonel John Piper, in a letter written from Bedford to Presi-
dent Joseph Reed of the Supreme Executive Council, on June
3rd, and recorded on page 297 of above mentioned volume, says:
"I mentioned in my last by General St. Clair that the Indians
had made an incursion into this county, which, to our misfor-
tune, is more general than I at that time supposed, there being
upwards of twenty people killed and taken. The consequence is
that the settlements adjacent to where the murders were done
are abandoned. The militia turned out, but for want of pro-
visions could not follow the enemy far . . . Spies, or at least
those who are suspected to be spies, have been discovered in
different parts; and we have every reason to dread the full of the
next moon will be fatal to use."
Then, on August 6th, Colonel Piper again wrote President
Reed, from Bedford, the letter being recorded on page 488 of
above mentioned volume:
"Your favor of the 3rd of June, with the blank commissions,
has been duly received. Since which we have been anxiously
employed in raising our quota of Pennsylvania volunteers, and,
at the same time, defending our frontiers; but, in our present
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1780 625
shattered situation, a full company cannot be expected from this
county, when a number of our militia companies are entirely
broken up, and the townships laid waste. So that the communi-
cation betwixt our upper and lower districts is entirely broken,
and our apprehensions of immediate danger are not lessened, but
greatly aggravated, by a most alarming stroke. Captain Phillips,
an experienced, good woodsman, had engaged a company of
rangers for the space of two months for the defense of our fron-
tiers, was surprised at his post on Sunday, the 16th of July,
when the Captain with eleven of his company were all taken and
killed. When I received the intelligence, which was the day
following, I marched with only ten men directly to the place,
where we found the house burnt to ashes, with sundry Indian
tomahawks that had been lost in the action, but found no person
killed at that place. But, upon taking the Indian tracks, within
about one half mile we found ten of Captain Phillips' company
with their hands tied and murdered in the most cruel manner.
This bold enterprise so alarmed the inhabitants that our whole
frontiers were on the point of giving way, but upon application
to the Lieutenant of Cumberland County, he hath sent to our
assistance one company of the Pennsylvania volunteers, which,
with the volunteers raised in our own county, hath so encouraged
the inhabitants that they seem determined to stand it a little
longer."
Pennsylvania Offers Bounties for Scalps
In former chapters, we saw that Pennsylvania offered rewards
for the scalps of Indians, during the French and Indian War and
the Pontiac and Guyasuta War. As early as April, 1779, William
Maclay, later United States Senator, recommended to the
Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania the hunting of
hostile Indians with horses and dogs. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 7,
page 357.) In the spring of 1780, when the Indians in alliance
with the British, urged on by the substantial bounties which the
British and Tory commanders at Detroit and in New York were
giving for American scalps, even the scalps of babes, were making
the soil of the land of Penn red with the blood of its inhabitants,
combatants and non-combatants alike, and were torturing many
of them to death in the Indian villages, Pennsylvania again
offered bounties for Indian scalps. Colonel Samuel Hunter and
Colonel Jacob Stroud were authorized to offer these rewards.
On April 7th, 1780, President Reed wrote Colonel Samuel
626 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Hunter as follows: "The council would and do for this purpose
authorize you to offer the following premiums for every male
prisoner whether white or Indian, if the former is acting with the
latter, Fifteen Hundred Dollars, and One Thousand Dollars for
every Indian scalp." And on April 11, 1780, he wrote to Colonel
Jacob Stroud, "We have therefore authorized Lieutenant of the
county (Northampton) to offer Fifteen Hundred Dollars for
every Indian or Tory prisoner taken in arms against us, and One
Thousand Dollars for every Indian scalp." (Pa. Archives, Vol.
8, pages 167, 176, 283, 369 and 393.)
On June 27th, 1780, Colonel Hunter wrote to President Reed
from Sunbury, stating that several small parties have "made
attempts to get scalps or prisoners agreeable to the proclamation,
but have returned without success in that way." President Reed
then replied with a letter of "condolence," in which he said: "We
are sorry to hear the attempts which have been made to get scalps
and prisoners have been so unsuccessful and hope perseverance
will in time produce better effects." "Better effects" were
presently "produced." Many scalping parties were organized,
which were quite successful. On one occasion thirteen scalps
were sent to Fort Pitt in one package. Moreover, the scalp
bounty law was brought into disrepute by the killing of friendly
Indians to sell their scalps.
Captain Samuel Brady was a recipient of scalp bounties. In
the minutes of a meeting of the Provincial Council on February
19th, 1781, we find an order to Colonel Lochry, Lieutenant of
Westmoreland County, "for the sum of twelve pounds, ten
shillings, state money, to be paid to Captain Samuel Brady as a
reward for an Indian's scalp, agreeable to a late proclamation of
this board." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 12, page 632.)
Finally, when General Sir Guy Carleton, in the autumn of
1782, shocked by the cruel burning of Colonel William Crawford
and other American prisoners, put an end to the British alliance
with the Indians, Pennsylvania no longer gave money for the
scalps of the Indians.
CHAPTER XXVII
The Revolutionary War
1781
Colonel Brodhead Destroys Coshocton
ON the death of the friendly Delaware Chief, White Eyes,
Captain Pipe continued as head of the war faction among
the Delawares; and so great was his influence that he succeeded
in persuading the majority of the tribe, in violation of the
alliance which they had made with the Americans, to go over to
the British. The Delaware Council at Coshocton took this action
in February, 1781, during the absence of Killbuck at Fort
Pitt. From the Moravian mission at Salem, on the Tuscarawas
River, about fourteen miles below New Philadelphia, Killbuck
wrote a long letter to Colonel Brodhead at Fort Pitt by the hand
of Rev. John Heckewelder, informing the Colonel of the action
of the Delaware Council. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 8, pages 769 to 771.)
Colonel Brodhead then determined to attack the Delaware
town of Coshocton, and punish the Delawares for their perfidy.
He proceeded to Wheeling, from which place he took up the march
toward the Delaware capital, on April 10th, having about three
hundred troops, after having received, by the help of Colonel
David Shepherd, of Wheeling, four companies totaling one hun-
dred and thirty-four officers and men, under Captains John Ogle,
Benjamin Royle, Jacob Lefier and William Crawford. On April
20th, Brodhead's advance having come upon three Delawares
about a mile from Coshocton, captured one, but the other two
escaped and gave the alarm. Brodhead's forces, among whom
were John Montour, Nanowland, and several other friendly
Delawares, then dashed into the Delaware capital, where they
found but fifteen warriors, every one of whom was put to death
in the resistless rush of the American troops; but no harm was
done to the old men, women and children. Brodhead's troops
then set fire to the town after having "taken great quantities
of peltry and other stores," and destroyed about forty head of
628 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
cattle. The reason that Brodhead found so few warriors in
Coshocton was that a band of forty who had just returned from a
raid on the settlements, laden with scalps and prisoners, had
crossed to the farther side of the river, a few miles above the
town, to enjoy a drunken revel. On account of the swollen con-
dition of the stream and the fact that the war parties had taken
their canoes with them, the troops were unable to cross to the
farther side. Brodhead wished to send a detail to the Moravian
towns farther up the river, for the purpose of procuring boats; but
the volunteer soldiers protested, saying that they had done
enough, suffered severely from the weather, had almost worn out
their horses, and proposed to return to Fort Pitt. The Colonel,
finding that he could not help himself, inasmuch as the troops
were not subject to strict military discipline, consented to their
proposal. However, Killbuck and a number of his friendly Dela-
wares later struck the hostile Delawares on the farther side of the
river. While Brodhead's forces were resting at New Comer's
Town, a few days later, on their way back to Fort Pitt, Killbuck
appeared in camp and threw at Brodhead's feet the fresh scalp of
"one of the greatest villians" among the hostile Delawares.
On the return march, Brodhead followed the Tuscarawas to
New Comer's Town, at which place he found about thirty friend-
ly Delawares who had withdrawn from Coshocton when the Dela-
ware council voted to espouse the British cause. "The troops,"
said Brodhead in his report of the expedition, "experienced great
kindness from the Moravian Indians and those at New Comer's
Town, and obtained a sufficient supply of meat and corn to subsist
the men and horses to the Ohio River."
The expedition returned to Wheeling about May 1st. Here
the captured skins and furs were sold at auction for the enormous
Slim of eighty thousand pounds.
As a result of the destruction of Coshocton, the hostile Dela-
wares went to the headwaters of the Sandusky River and other
places nearer the British at Detroit, while Killbuck and his friend-
ly Delawares took up their residence on Smoky Island, near Fort
Pitt, among them being Captain Samuel Brady's friend, Nanow-
land, and Chief Big Cat. Killbuck, who, in baptism, was given
the name William Henry in honor of Judge Henry of Lancaster,
and who held a commission from the United States Congress,
proudly called himself "Colonel Henry."
Colonel Brodhead's report of this expedition is found in Pa.
Colonel Daniel Brodhead, commander of Fort Pitt and the Western Department
from April, 1779 until about November 1, 1781. Born about 1725, probably at
Albany, N. Y., he migrated with his father to Pennsylvania, in 1738, settling near
Stroudsburg, Monroe County. Having served throughout the Revolutionary War,
he was mustered out as Brevet Brigadier General. Died at Milford, Pike County,
Pa., November 15, 1809.
— Courtesy Hon. Daniel Brodhead Heiner, Kittanning, Pa., a descendant of General
Brodhead.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 629
Archives, Vol. 9, page 161. It is unfortunate that so many his-
torians, in describing the Coshocton campaign, have copied the
errors of Dr. Doddridge's "Notes" instead of following Brodhead's
own report. Hassler, in his "Old Westmoreland", after calling
attention to the fact that Doddridge made an error of almost a
year in the time of the expedition and also made the terrible ac-
cusation that Colonel Brodhead, honorable soldier that he was,
did not kill the fifteen Delaware warriors in the battle as he enter-
ed the Delaware capital, but took them captive, then bound
them, led them some distance from the town, and tomahawked,
speared and scalped them, makes the following comment:
"Doddridge's book has still thousands of readers. Doubtless,
it well describes the conditions of pioneer life in Western Penn-
sylvania, but as to historical events it is totally unreliable. At
the time Brodhead destroyed Coshocton, Joseph Doddridge was
about twelve years old, and he did not write his 'Notes' until
forty years afterward. His only sources of information [the Pa.
Archives and Pa. Col. Records not yet having been printed]
were the exaggerated yarns told by ignorant frontiersmen, beside
the log cabin fires, into the ears of the wondering boy. Long years
afterward, he endeavored to recall and set down these stories
heard in childhood, and many persons have considered the result
history." ("Old Westmoreland", pages 128 and 129.)
Among the histories which copy t he lamentable error contained
in Doddridge's "Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of
Virginia and Pennsylvania", are Craig's "History of Pittsburg"
and Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio." Even the revised
edition (1890) of the latter work copies Doddridge's error.
(See Vol. 1, page 480.) While it is true that Colonel Brodhead's
silence is no proof that the disgraceful affair, mentioned by
Doddridge, did not occur, the testimony of the enemy, even that
of the notorious renegade, Simon Girty, who hated Brodhead,
disproves Doddridge's story. Girty wrote that Colonel Brod-
head released the prisoners, among who were four warriors who
had satisfied him that they had not taken part in raids against
the frontier, and that he (Brodhead) expressed regret to these
prisoners that members of their tribe had been killed during the
attack on Coshocton. (Butterfield's "The Girtys", page 128;
Winsor's "Westward Movement", page 192.)
In this connection we state that, when the Delaware Council
at Coshocton voted to take up arms against the United States,
the Moravian converts renounced all fellowship with the hostile
630 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
members of the Delaware tribe. Then, the British at Detroit,
believing that the Moravian Delawares were being instigated
by the Moravian Missionaries to take an active part on the
American side, set on foot measures to punish them, and finally
an expedition of Wyandots, Mingoes, Shawnees and Delawares
of the Munsee Clan was sent to break up the settlements of
the Moravian converts on the Tuscarawas. The result of the
expedition was that the Moravian missions were broken up, and
the Christian Delawares taken to the north bank of the Sandusky
in Wyandot County, Ohio, while the missionaries were taken to
Detroit for trial on the charge that they had rendered assistance
to the Americans. The exodus from the missions began in Sep-
tember, 1781 ; and the trial took place in November, before Major
De Pyster, who had succeeded to the command of Detroit
after the capture of Hamilton, the "hair-buyer," by George Rogers
Clark, in February, 1779. De Pyster opened the council by re-
hearsing the charges against the missionaries, and then addressing
Captain Pipe, asked him whether the accusations were correct
and founded in fact, and especially whether the missionaries had
corresponded with the Americans.
"There may be some truth in the accusations, " said Captain
Pipe. "I am not prepared to say that all that you have heard is
false. But now nothing more of that sort will occur. The teach-
ers are here." De Pyster replied: "I infer, therefore, that these
men have corresponded with the rebels, and sent letters to Fort
Pitt. From your answer this seems to be evident. Tell me, is it
so?"
Captain Pipe then sprang to his feet and exclaimed: "Father,
I have said that there may be some truth in the reports that have
reached you; but now I will tell you exactly what has occurred.
These teachers are innocent. On their own account they never
wrote letters; they had to do it. I (striking upon his breast)
and the chiefs at Goshachgunk are responsible. We induced these
teachers to write letters to Pittsburgh, even at such times when
they at first declined. But this will no more occur, as I have said,
because they are now here."
Major De Peyster then acquitted the missionaries, explaining
that he was not opposed to the preaching of the Gospel among the
Indians and cautioned the missionaries not to meddle with the
war. He gave them permission to return to their converts as soon
as they pleased.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 631
Andrew Poe's Fight with Big Foot
"A striking incident in the history of Washington County
was connected with the removal of the Moravians [to Sandusky,
just related]. While the exiles were being conducted up the
Walhonding, seven Wyandot warriors left the company and went
on a raid across the Ohio River. Among the seven were three
sons of Dunquat, the half-king, and the eldest son, Scotosh, was the
leader of the party. They crossed the Ohio on a raft, which they
hid in the mouth of Tomlinson's run. They visited the farm of
Phillip Jackson, on Harman's Creek, and captured Jackson in his
flax field. The prisoner was a carpenter, about 60 years old, and
his trade made him valuable to the Indians, as he could build
houses for them. The savages did not return directly to their
raft, but traveled by devious ways to the river to baflfle pursuit.
The taking of the carpenter was seen by his son who ran nine
miles to Ft. Cherry, on Little Racoon Creek, and gave the alarm.
Pursuit the same evening was prevented by a heavy rain, but the
next morning seventeen stout young men, all mounted, gathered
at Jackson's farm. Most of the borderers decided to follow the
crooked and half obliterated trail, but John Jack, a professional
scout, declared that he believed he knew where the Indians had
hidden their raft, and called for followers. Six men joined him,
John Cherry, Andrew Poe, Adam Poe, William Castelman,
William Rankin, and James Whitacre, and they rode on a gallop
directly for the mouth of Tomlinson's Run.
"Jack's surmise was a shrewed one, based on a thorough knowl-
edge of the Ohio River and the habits of the Indians. At the top
of the river hill, the borderers tied their horses in a grove and
descended cautiously to the river bank. At the mouth of the run
were five Indians, with their prisoner, preparing to shove off their
raft. John Cherry fired the first shot, killed an Indian, and was
himself killed by the return fire. Four of the five Indians were
slain, Phillip Jackson was rescued without injury, and Scotosh
escaped up the river with a wound in his right hand.
"Andrew Poe, in approaching the river, had gone aside to
follow a trail that deviated to the left. Peering over a little bluff,
he saw two of the sons of the half -king sitting by the stream. The
sound of the firing at the mouth of the run alarmed them, and they
arose. Poe's gun missed fire, and he jumped directly upon the
two savages, throwing them to the ground. A fierce wrestling
contest took place. Andrew Poe was six feet tall, of unusual
632 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
strength, and almost a match for the two brothers. One of them
wounded him in the wrist with a tomahawk, but he got possession
of the only rifle that was in working order and loaded, and fatally
shot the one who had cut him. Poe and the other savage [his
English name was Big Foot. He was a large and powerful Indian]
contested for the mastery, awhile on the shore, and then in the
water, where Andrew attempted to drown his antagonist. The
Indian escaped, reached land and began to load his gun, when
Andrew struck out for the opposite shore, shouting for his brother
Adam. At the opportune moment, Adam appeared and shot the
Indian through the body, but before he expired the savage rolled
into the water and his corpse was carried away down the stream.
One of the borderers, mistaking Andrew in the stream for an
Indian, fired at him and wounded him in the shoulder. The
triumphant return of the party to Ft. Cherry was saddened by the
death of John Cherry, who was a man of great popularity and
a natural leader on the frontier.
"Scotosh, the only survivor of the raiding band, succeeded in
swimming the Ohio and hid over night in the woods. In the morn-
ing he made a small raft, recrossed the stream, recovered the body
of his brother lying on the beach, conveyed it to the Indian side
of the river and buried it in the woods. He then made his way to
Upper Sandusky, with a sad message for his father and the tribe."
— (Hassler's "Old Westmoreland").
Some authorities say the time of Andrew Poe's encounter with
Big Foot was June, 1781. There is also a tradition that, some
time after the Revolutionary War, a noted warrior of the Wy-
andots, named Rohnyenness, was sent to Andrew Poe's cabin in
Washington County, to avenge the killing of Big Foot. Poe in-
vited the Indian to remain over night. After Poe was asleep, the
Indian arose, knife in hand, to kill him, but, thinking of the trust
the white man had placed in him, his heart failed him, and he then
went to sleep also. In the morning he left and went back home.
Afterward he was converted to Christianity, and such is the story
he told to Rev. Finley, a Methodist missionary among the Wy-
andots. About 1800, Andrew Poe left Washington County, and
took up his residence in Beaver County, where he died, July 15th,
1823, aged eighty-one years. His dust reposes in the cemetery
of Mill Creek Presbyterian Church at Hookstown, Beaver
County.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 633
Other Events in Washington County in 1781
One morning in September, 1781, Frank Hupp, Jacob Fisher
and Captain John Jacob Miller left the latter's blockhouse in
Donegal Township, Washington County, to search for some
horses which had strayed and to scout for Indians. At nightfall
they arrived at the cabin of Jonathan Link, on the right bank
of the Middle Fork of Wheeling Creek, about three miles south
of West Alexander and very near the West Virginia line. Mr.
Link invited them to spend the night with him. They complied,
and during the night all the occupants of the cabin were awakened
by the furious barking of Link's dog, which continued almost
until morning. Unknown to the white men, a band of Shawnee
Indians had surrounded the cabin in the night time, waiting for
their appearance at dawn. At daylight. Hupp and Fisher step-
ped out of the cabin to wash at a spring a few feet away, leaving
Mr. Link and Captain Miller in bed in the loft of the cabin.
Hupp and Fisher had scarcely gotten outside the cabin when the
Indians fired upon them, mortally wounding the former and
killing the latter. Frank Hupp was able to reach the loft to warn
Captain Miller and Jonathan Link, and then sank down dead.
The Indians entered the cabin before Miller and Link could
make defense, captured them, and dragged Hupp's body out and
removed the scalp.
The captives. Miller and Link, were left in charge of a guard
near West Alexander, while other Indians of the band went to
the cabin of Presley Peake, a short distance away, on Buffalo
Creek, where they captured Mr. Peake, and a man named Bur-
nett, and William Hawkins. The band then separated into two
parties, one going to the cabin of Edward Gaither and the other
to the cabin of William Hawkins. However, the occupants of the
Gaither cabin, hearing the shots fired when the Indians were at
Peake's cabin, made their escape to Miller's blockhouse, and
thus escaped death or capture. At the Hawkins cabin, the In-
dians found only one occupant. Miss Elizabeth Hawkins, the
rest of the family having fied to the woods when they heard the
shots at Peake's cabin. The girl was too ill to flee, and was cap-
tured. Mrs. Hawkins narrowly escaped capture. She was hiding
with her infant, William Hawkins, Jr., in the woods, when the
Indians, after capturing Elizabeth, passed within a few feet of
where she lay. In order to keep her child from crying, she gagged
the babe with her apron. The infant grew to manhood, and
634 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
was county surveyor of Washington County in 1820, according
to Earle R. Forrest's "History of Washington County."
Taking Elizabeth Hawkins, her father, WilHam Hawkins, Pres-
ley Peake and Mr, Burnett, the Indians returned to the place
where they had left the guard with Captain Miller and Jonathan
Link, and then set out with all the prisoners for the Shawnee vil-
lages in Ohio. After proceeding for some distance, the Indians
killed William Hawkins, Presley Peake and Mr. Burnett. At
nightfall, the Indians and their remaining prisoners reached the
banks of Big Wheeling Creek, where they encamped for the night,
the prisoners being securely bound. During the night, Captain
Miller succeeded in severing his cords with his teeth, and cauti-
ously made his escape, reaching his blockhouse at daylight and
leading a party to Link's cabin to bury Frank Hupp and Jacob
Fisher. Jonathan Link and Elizabeth Hawkins were carried to
the Shawnee towns in Ohio. No word was ever heard from Link,
as far as can be ascertained, except that tradition says he was
brought back near his cabin and there shot to death. Elizabeth
Hawkins spent the remainder of her life among the Shawnees.
She became the wife of a Shawnee chieftain. After the permanent
peace following the Treaty of Greenville, in August, 1795, she re-
turned for a short time to her relatives and the familiar scenes
of her childhood, then went back to her Indian wigwam, never
to be heard from or seen again by relatives and friends among
the whites.
Massacres in Westmoreland County in 1781*
The soil of the historic county of Westmoreland was crimsoned
with the blood of the settlers in the terrible year of 1781. Colonel
Archibald Lochry, writing from his home in Unity Township to
President Reed, on April 17th, describes the bloody incursions
of the Indians, as follows:
"The savages have begun their hostilities. Since I came from
Phila., they have struck us in four different places, have taken
and killed thirteen persons with a number of horses and other
effects of the inhabitants. Two of the unhappy people were killed
one mile from Hannastown. Our country is worse depopulated
than ever it has been." (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, page 79.)
Also, Colonel James Perry, writing from Big Sewickley Creek
to President Reed, on July 2nd, tells of the massacre at Phillip
Klingensmith's blockhouse, as follows:
"This morning a small garrison at Philip Clingensmiths
♦See also "Pomroy's Fort" in Appendix E.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 635
[Klingensmith's], about eight miles from this, and four or five
miles from Hannastown, consisting of between twenty and thirty
men, women and children was destroyed; only three made their
escape. The particulars I cannot well inform you, as the party
that was sent to bury the dead are not yet returned, and I wait
every moment to hear of or perhaps see them strike at some other
place. The party was supposed to be about seventeen, and I am
apt to think there are still more of them in the settlements." (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 9, page 240.)
Philip Klingensmith's house was in the Brush Creek settlement,
likely where Jeanette now stands. About this time, raiding
Indians burned the log school house of the Brush Creek Lutheran
Church, and captured Colonel Christopher Truby's daughter.
She was recovered in what is now Clarion County.
In his letter, above quoted, Colonel Perry tells of other tra-
gedies of the Westmoreland frontier, as follows:
"About three weeks ago, one, James Chambers, was taken
prisoner about two miles from my house; last Friday two young
women were killed in the Ligonier Valley."
As these terrible things were happening on the western frontier,
Captain Samuel Brady was vigilantly scouting for Colonel
Brodhead in the vicinity of Fort Pitt. On one occasion, in the
summer of either 1780 or 1781, he and a man, named Phouts,
got Brodhead's permission to ascend the Allegheny on a scout.
They crept up on an Indian camp near the Kiskiminetas, and
captured the only Indian there, an old warrior. On their way
back to Fort Pitt, they encamped at the mouth of a run, where
they had hidden some venison while on their way up the river.
Here the Indian was left in charge of Phouts, while Brady searched
for the venison. Presently the Indian complained that the
cords which bound his arms caused him considerable pain.
Phouts then released the cords, and, while busy at something
else for a moment, the Indian seized a gun and fired at Phouts.
Phouts at once tomahawked and scalped the aged warrior, and
he and Brady took his scalp to Fort Pitt.
General Clark's Draft — Colonel Lochry's Disaster
General George Rogers Clark, early in 1781, was authorized
by Virginia to lead an army to capture Detroit, one hundred and
forty Virginia troops were placed under his command, and he was
636 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
authorized to raise and equip volunteers in south western Penn-
sylvania, descend the Ohio to the Wabash, thence ascend this
stream and march overland to Detroit. Arriving in Pennsylvania
about March 1st, he made his headquarters at the home of Colo-
nel William Crawford, where Connellsville now stands, and also
spent some time at the home of Colonel Dorsey Pentecost on
Chartier's Creek, Washington County. By persuasion and by
draft, he attempted to raise two thousand troops. Many Penn-
sylvanians, resenting his oppressive measures, opposed his efforts,
among them being James Marshel, county lieutenant of Wash-
ington County and Captain John Hardin; while such men as
Colonel Pentecost, Gabriel Cox and Daniel Leet, all of Washing-
ton County, worked strenuously in an effort to assist the great Vir-
ginian who had conquered the Illinois country and captured Colo-
nel Hamilton, the "hair-buyer." Colonel Brodhead opposed
Clark's draft, but was ordered by General Washington to give
General Clark the assistance of Captain Isaac Craig's field artil-
lery and some infantry. Also the militia officers of Westmoreland
County, at a meeting held at the home of Captain John Mc-
Clelland on Big Sewickley Creek, on June 18th, decided, against
the opposition of Colonel Christopher Hays, the Westmoreland
member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council, to give
Clark the aid of three hundred militia from Westmoreland
County, to be raised "by volunteers or draft," and to be com-
manded by Colonel Archibald Lochry.
The contention between the adherents to Pennsylvania
and the adherents to Virginia in the unhappy territorial dispute
between these states, was responsible for Clark's being able to
raise only four hundred troops, including Captain Craig's battery
of field pieces. With these he left the mouth of Chartier's Creek
and marched to Wheeling, where his boats were built, and where
he waited in vain for several weeks for other additions to his band.
The dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as the
harried condition of the Westmoreland frontier, made it impos-
sible for Colonel Lochry to raise the number of troops required
of him.
Lochry's forces began to assemble at Carnahan's blockhouse,
about eleven miles northwest of Hannastown, on August 1st,
where the muster was held the following day. On August 3d,
his little band of eighty-three militiamen began its march to join
General Clark at Wheeling, its first camp being at Gaspard
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 637
Markle's mill and blockhouse, two miles east of West Newton.
Crossing the Youghiogheny at West Newton and the Mononga-
hela at Monongahela City, Lochry's force went overland by the
settlements on the headwaters of Chartiers and Raccoon Creeks,
Washington County, and reached the Ohio River at Wheeling,
West Virginia, on August 8th, just a few hours after General
Clark's forces had left that place. Lochry was detained at Wheel-
ing for four days, while seven boats were built.
On August 13th, the boats were ready, and most of the soldiers
embarked in them, while the horses were conducted along the
southern shore. Thus the expedition proceeded until August 15th,
when Lochry overtook a large horse boat, which General Clark
had left in charge of seven men for the use of Lochry's horses.
The horses were put into the boat, and the expedition moved with
increased speed. On the following day, Lochry sent Captain
Samuel Shannon and seven men in a small boat, to endeaver to
overtake General Clark and ask him to leave some provisions for
the Westmoreland flotilla. On August 17th, two men who were
sent out to hunt did not return. It is likely that they were killed
by Indians. On August 20th, two of Captain Shannon's men
were picked up from the southern shore. They informed Colonel
Lochry that Shannon's men had been attacked by Indians on the
Kentucky side of the river below the mouth of the Scioto. These
two half-starved soldiers were the only survivors, a third soldier
having been fatally wounded by stepping on his hunting knife
while fleeing through the brush. Unhappily Captain Shannon
was carrying a letter to General Clark, revealing the weakness and
distressed condition of Lochry's men. This fell into the hands
of the enemy. Keen-eyed Indians had been watching Lochry's
flotilla ever since it left Wheeling.
On the forenoon of August 24th, the boats approached a level
spot at the mouth of the creek since known as Lochry's Run, the
same being the dividing line between Ohio and Dearborn Counties,
Indiana. It being absolutely necessary to land somewhere to
feed the horses and hunt game for the half-famished soldiers,
Colonel Lochry at once ordered a landing. The boats were there-
fore beached, and the men and horses were soon on the northern
shore.
No sooner had they landed than half a hundred rifles blazed
from the woods that flanked the level ground near the shore.
Manv of Lochry's men were killed and others wounded. Others
638 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
hastened to the boats and pushed for the Kentucky shore. Says
Hassler in his "Old Westmoreland": "Painted savages then ap-
peared, shrieking and firing, and a fleet of canoes filled with other
savages shot out from the Kentucky shore, completely cutting off
the escape of Lochry's men. The volunteers returned the fire for
a few moments, but were entrapped, and Colonel Lochry offered
to surrender. The fight ceased, the boats poled back to shore and
the force landed the second time. Human blood was now mingled
with that of the buffalo in the languidly flowing river. [The troops
had shot a buffalo at the water's edge just before the attack].
.... The Westmoreland men found themselves the prisoners
of Joseph Brant, the famous war chief of the Mohawks, with a
large band of Iroquois, Shawnees, and Wyandots. George Girty,
a brother of Simon, was in command of some of the Indians. The
fierce Shawnees could not be controlled and began at once to kill
their share of the prisoners. While Lochry sat on a log, a Shawnee
warrior stepped behind him and sunk a tomahawk into the
Colonel's skull, tearing off the scalp before life was gone. It was
with great difficulty that Brant prevented the massacre of the men
assigned to the Mohawks and Wyandots."
In this ill-fated expedition, forty of Lochry's force were slain,
most of them after the surrender. The prisoners who were not
butchered by the savages, were taken to Detroit and from there to
Montreal, at which place a few escaped, and the remainder were
released after the treaty of peace ending the Revolutionary War.
Among the few who returned to Westmoreland County, were
Richard Wallace, the quarter-master. Captain Thomas Stokely,
Lieutenant Richard Fleming, John Guthrie, John Crawford,
Lieutenant Isaac Anderson, Ensign James Hunter, Manasseh
Coyle, Captain Robert Orr, and Lieutenant Samuel Craig, Jr.,
whose father, as was seen in Chapter XXIII, was either killed
or captured at the base of the Chestnut Ridge, on November 1st,
1777.
Thus Colonel Lochry's expedition ended in disaster. General
Clark's expedition was a failure. By the time he had arrived at
Fort Nelson, opposite Louisville, Kentucky, so many of his force
had deserted that he could not make the march into the Indian
country. (For details of Lochry's expedition, see Lieutenant Isaac
Anderson's Journal, in Pa. Archives, Sec. Series, Vol. 14. See,
also, Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, pages 333, 369, 458, 574, 733; Pa. Col.
Rec, Vol. 13, pages, 325, 473.)
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 639
Expedition Against Moravian Delawares
The Western Pennsylvania frontiersmen, in the autumn of
1781, decided that the Moravian Delawares should no longer be
permitted to reside in the villages of Schoenbrun (Beautiful
Spring) Gnadenhuetten (Tents of Grace), and Salem, all on the
Tuscarawas River in Ohio. These villages were between the
habitat of the hostile Indians and the Pennsylvania settlements.
Even if it were not true that some of the Moravian Delawares
sometimes joined the war parties of the hostile Indians, yet it
was thought that they gave the war parties food and shelter.
They were possibly compelled to do this by the hostile Indians.
Colonel David Williamson, one of the battalion commanders of
Washington County, raised a force of about a hundred men,
and went to the Tuscarawas in November, with the intention
of compelling the Moravians either to migrate into the country
of the hostile Indians or to move to Fort Pitt. When Williamson
and his troops arrived at the Tuscarawas, they found that the vil-
lages had already been broken up, as was related earlier in this
chapter. Only a few men and women were in the villages. These
had come from the Sandusky to gather their corn. Colonel
Williamson compelled them to accompany him to Fort Pitt, and
placed them under the care of General William Irvine, who had
succeeded Colonel Brodhead as commander of the Western De-
partment about November 1st, having been appointed by
Congress on September 24th. General Irvine soon permitted these
Christian Delawares to return to their brethren on the Sandusky
River. In our next chapter we shall describe the fate of the
Moravian Delawares at the hands of this same Colonel William-
son and his Scotch-Irish militia from Washington County.
Colonel Brodhead Given Indian Name
In taking leave of Colonel (later General) Daniel Brodhead,
as commander of Fort Pitt, we call attention to the fact that he
was held in high esteem by those members of the Delaware tribe
who were friendly to the United States. On April 9th, 1779,
soon after Colonel Brodhead took command at Fort Pitt, a
number of friendly Delaware chiefs, in council at that place,
conferred on him the Delaware name of "Maghingua Keeshuck,"
meaning "The Great Moon." Among these chiefs were Captain
Johnny, or Straight Arm, of the Turkey Clan, and Killbuck, or
Gelelemend, also known as Captain Henry, of the Turtle Clan.
640 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Killbuck was a grandson of the great New Comer. In conse-
quence of his friendship for Colonel Brodhead and the United
States, he incurred the hatred of the war faction among the
Delawares, which continued even after the general peace con-
cluded between the Delawares and the United States by the
Treaty of Greenville, August 3d, 1795. Killbuck died at Goshen,
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in the early winter of 1811.
Attack on Stock Family
One of the principal Indian outrages of the Revolutionary War
was the attack on the Stock, or Stuck, family near Selinsgrove,
Snyder County, in 1781. Three of the sons of Mr. Stock were
at work in a field when a band of thirty Indians appeared. The
Indians did not attack these three, but found another son plough-
ing in the field, whom they killed. They then entered the Stock
home, occupied at the time by Mrs. Stock and her daughter-in-
law. Mrs, Stock defended herself with a canoe pole, in the mean-
time retreating toward the field where Mr. Stock was working.
The Indians overtook her, however, and sank a tomahawk into
her brain. Then after plundering the house, they carried the
daughter-in-law into the woods, and killed and scalped her.
When Mr. Stock returned and found the mutilated bodies of
his wife, son, and daughter-in-law, he gave the alarm. Then
Michael Grove, John Stroh, and Peter Pence pursued the enemy,
coming upon them encamped on the North Branch of the Susque-
hanna on the side of the hill covered with fern. Grove crept close
enough to the Indian band to discover that their rifles were
stacked around a tree, and that all but three of the Indians were
asleep. One was telling his companions in great glee how poor Mrs.
Stock defended herself with a canoe pole. Lying quiet until all the
Indians were asleep, Grove then returned to Stroh and Pence.
The three frontiersmen then decided to attack, and creeping close
to the camp, they dashed among the sleeping Indians, Grove ap-
plying his deadly tomahawk, while Stroh and Pence seized the
rifles and fired among the sleeping warriors. After several Indians
were killed the others, believing that they were attacked by a large
force, fled into the forest. A captive white boy was liberated on
this occasion, and the frontiersmen returned with the scalps of the
slain Indians and their best rifles.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 641
Outrages in Northumberland and Union Counties in 1781
On April 6th, 1781, a band of Indians entered the Chilisqua-
que or Buffalo Valley and attacked an old man, his son and
daughter, killing and scalping the boy and capturing the girl.
The old gentleman defended himself so energetically with a
stout stick against one of the Indians who had a tomahawk that
he made him drop his weapon. Colonel John Kelly and some
of his neighbors who were at a house some distance from the
place of the attack, hearing the alarm, came to the assistance of
the old man and obliged the Indians to flee so suddenly that they
left the girl and the aged man. On Sunday, the 8th day of the
same month, Indians attacked the house of a certain Mr. Darmes
about five miles from Sunbury. Mr. Darmes was killed and the
house plundered of everthing of value, but four women and a
number of children, strangely, who were there, were not harmed.
Captain Joseph Solomon, who lived about five miles from
Northumberland on the main road leading to Danville, was sur-
prised by this same band of Indians on the day Mr. Darmes
was killed. Captain Solomon was captured, but his wife escaped
to the woods, where that night she gave birth to her first bom.
A hired girl escaped by running upstairs, and closing a trap-door.
After traveling with Solomon for five days, this Indian band was
met by another, led by the chief, Shenap, to whom Solomon was
turned over. This latter band soon met another band of Indians,
having a prisoner named Williamson. Solomon and Williamson
were ordered to run the gauntlet. Williamson refused, and was
beaten to death. Solomon very successfully ran the gauntlet,
and was congratulated by Shenap. Later he was exchanged,
and reached his home in safety. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, page
70 and Meginnes' "History of the West Branch of the Susque-
hanna, pages 260 and 261.)
In March 1781, Captain James Thompson and Margaret
Young were captured by Indians, on adjoining farms near Spruce
Run, White Deer Township, Union County, there being five
in the Indian band. Thompson was a very active young man,
and determined to rescue Miss Young. On the second night of
their captivity, while the Indians were asleep, Thompson found
a stone weighing about two pounds, and kneeling beside the
nearest Indian, felt for his temple, intending to kill him with the
stone and dispatch the others with the Indian's tomahawk as
they arose. However, the blow he gave the Indian with the stone,
only wounded him, and he arose with a fierce yell, which awoke
642 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the others. He sprang at Thompson and would have killed him
if the others had not in terf erred. Thompson had thrown the
stojie far from the spot, and the other Indians, thinking that the
wounded Indian was making so much noise over so trifling a
matter as being struck with a white man's fist, were very much
amused, and prevented injury to Thompson. The Indians took
their prisoners up the Susquehanna, crossed the river in a canoe,
and proceeded up Loyalsock Creek. For five nights, Thompson
was laid on his back with his arms extended and tied to stakes.
On the seventh night, near the mouth of Towanda Creek, the
Indians directed Thompson and Miss Young to build a fire for
themselves while they built another. While engaged in this work,
Thompson quietly told the girl that he proposed to rescue both
her and himself that evening. She advised him to save himself,
if he could, but not to risk his life in an attempt to rescue her also.
Accordingly, Thompson made wider and wider circles while
gathering sticks for the fire, and at last bounded off through the
forest. The Indians pursued, but were unable to shoot or re-
capture him. Some days later, almost starved, he arrived at a
point a short distance above where the town of Milton, North-
umberland County, now stands. He had descended the Susque-
hanna in the same canoe in which the Indians had conveyed
Miss Young and him across this stream, and was so weak, when
discovered by the people on the shore, that he was unable to
rise from the canoe.
Miss Young, in the meantime, was carried by her captors to the
neighborhood of Montreal, Canada,where she was given to an
old squaw, who later sent her to Montreal and sold her to a man
also named Young, who proved to be a cousin of the girl. Yoang
gave her a home in his father's family, and after the close of the
Revolutionary War, she visited her Pennsylvania home, where
she soon sickened and died.
At about the same time as the capture of Captain James Thomp-
son and Margaret Young, John Shively was captured near the
same place, and was never heard of again. In the same incur-
sion, George Rote and his sister Rody, aged about twelve and
fourteen years respectively, were captured near Mifflinburg,
Union County. When peace was declared, they met near where
Clarion now stands, and returned home together.
In April, 1781, David Emrick was killed by Indians near
Chappell Hollow, Union County, and his entire family captured.
One of his daughters died of excessive bleeding from the nose
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 643
during the terrible journey through the wilderness. The wife and
other daughters were taken to Niagara, and subsequently mar-
ried Indians. Many years afterward, Mrs. Emrick and her
Indian husband came to Henry Myer's, near Harrisburg, to get
some money due her from her grandfather's estate, according to
Linn's "Annals of Buffalo Valley."
Henry Bickel was killed near the scene of the Emrick tragedy
about the same time. In October, 1781, Christian Hetrick, a
private in Captain Samuel McGrady's company of rangers, was
killed by Indians, in Union County.
Atrocities At Northumberland, Wyoming, Etc.
Meginnes, in his "History of the West Branch Valley," de-
scribes the attack on John Tate and Catherine Storm as follows :
"A few miles above Northumberland, on what was known as
Judge McPherson's farm, resided a man, named John Tate;
probably in 1780 or 1781. A large field of flax grew near the
house. It was harvest time, and a number of men were engaged
in the field, some distance from the house. The path ran by this
field of flax, where a party of Indians came out and laid to watch
for the men returning from dinner. Owing to some cause or
other, they went to the field another way, and missed their vic-
tims. Waiting for some time, they at length rose and went to
the house, where they found a young woman named Catharine
Storm, and another, engaged in spinning flax. Miss Storm was
knocked over, with a tomahawk, and scalped; the other girl
secreted herself behind a door and escaped. They then went to
the field, and killed Tate.
"Catherine Storm was not killed by the blow of the tomahawk,
only stunned. She finally recovered, and lived for many years.
No hair grew on her head where the scalp was removed."
Linn in his "Annals of Buffalo Valley," says that David Storm,
the father of these girls, was in the field when the Indians came ;
that he fled to the house, and was there killed by the Indians.
Linn says that the Storm murder took place in 1781.*
On Sunday, June 9th, 1781, twelve Indians attacked a block-
house in the Hanover settlement, about three miles below the
fort at Wilkes-Barre. The men and women of the blockhouse
gallantly defended. On receiving the alarm, a party from the
♦Philip Tome, in his "Pioneer Life," says that the Seneca chief, Cornplanter, told him in
1817 that he and his half-brother helped to attack a blockhouse at "Munsee Hill," on the West
Branch of the Susquehanna some time during the Revolutionary War. In this attack the half-
brother was killed. Cornplanter also told Tome that he was at Braddock's defeat, and that the
British were to blame for the Indian atrocities during the Revolutionary War, as they supplied
the Indians with amunition and paid them for scalps. ("Pioneer Life," page 37. Reprint of
edition of 1854, by The Aurand Press, Harrisburg, Pa., 1928.)
644 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
fort hastened to the blockhouse, and found pools of blood, where
Lieutenant Roswell Franklin had probably fatally wounded one
of the Indians. On June 14th, Lieutenant Grain wounded an
Indian within six hundred yards of the fort at Wilkes-Barre. On
Friday, September 7th, Indians again entered the Hanover set-
tlement, and captured Arnold Franklin and Rosewell Franklin,
Jr., sons of Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin, who had shot an Indian
on June 9th, Captain Michael, with a party ,went in pursuit of
these Indians, but they eluded the white men. We shall record
more about Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin when we set forth the
Indian events of 1782.
On June 17th, 1781, a party of Indians killed an old man and
took three prisoners, near Shohola, on the Delaware, in Pike
County. A band of Americans pursued the Indians, and liber-
ated the prisoners after wounding an Indian mortally, who, in
dying said that this was the same band that had attacked
the blockhouse about three miles below the fort at Wilkes-Barre,
on June 9th.
Miner, in his "History of Wyoming," records the Larned tra-
gedy of July 3d, 1781, as follows:
"On the 3d of July 1781, a bloody and most melancholy tra-
gedy was enacted on the road leading from Wyoming to the
Delaware, at Stroudsburg. Mr. Larned, an aged, man and his
son George, were shot and scalped near their house. Another
son, John, shot an Indian, who was left dead on the spot where
he fell. The savages carried off George Larned 's wife and an
infant four months old, but not choosing to be encumbered with
the child, they dashed out its brains. Being pursued, they aband-
oned the horses and the plunder taken, and left the old man's
scalp behind them."
Some time during the year, 1781, John Hamilton was shot
while working in his field, near the present town of Northumber-
land.
In the autumn of 1781, Jacob Roller was hunting in the east-
ern part of Blair County, possibly Tyrone Township. He was
shot and scalped by Indians, and a man, named Rebault, living
near, was also killed. Both Roller and his father, Jacob Roller,
Sr., were valiant defenders of the frontier during the Revolution-
ary War.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1781 645
Capture of Captain John Boyd
In June, 1781, Captain John Boyd, of Northumberland
County, eldest brother of Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, whose
tragic death during Sullivan's expedition was described in Chap-
ter XXV, led a company of about forty rangers from the Susque-
hanna for the defense of the sorely distressed western frontier.
While marching across the Allegheny Mountains, he and his
men were ambushed by Indians near the headwaters of the
Raystown Branch of the Juniata River, in Bedford County.
Several rangers were killed, and others were captured. Among
the latter were Captain Boyd himself and Lieutenant John Cook.
Boyd was wounded in the skirmish. After his capture, he made
a desperate effort to escape in spite of his wounds; but he was
pursued, and received three terrible gashes in his head with a
tomahawk when he was recaptured.
Among those captured with Captain John Boyd, was Captain
Horatio Jones, who was retained as a captive among the Senecas
until after the Fort Stanwix treaty of 1784, when he was ap-
pointed by General Washington interpreter of the Six Nations,
an ofhce whose duties he continued to perform until within a few
years of his death, at Geneseo, New York, August 18th, 1836.
The Indians then set out with their prisoners through the
wilderness, reaching the West Branch of the Susquehanna near
the mouth of Sinnemahoning Creek in Cameron County. Here
a prisoner, named Ross, who was so badly wounded that he could
travel no further, was tortured to death, while Captain Boyd,
weak from the loss of blood and tied to a small oak tree, was
compelled to witness the tragic scence, realizing that the Indians
contemplated torturing him also. With thoughts of his heroic
brother in his mind, he resigned himself to his fate. As the In-
dians began preparations for his torture, he sang a plaintive
Masonic song, which attracted the attention of his captors and
to which they listened closely to its end. Then an Oneida squaw
came up to him and claimed him as her son. She carefully dressed
his wounds. The other Indians made no interference. The
wounded Captain was taken to Quebec, the old squaw carefully
guarding him all the way through the wilderness. In the spring
of 1782, Boyd, Lieutenant John Cook and others of the captives
were released, and returned to Philadelphia. In after years,
Captain Boyd often sent his Indian benefactress presents, and,
646 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
at one time, visited her in her forest home and personally thanked
her for saving his life.
We close this chapter with a short account of the prowess
of a certain Mrs. Porter, who, according to Loudon's "Indian
Narratives", lived in either in Huntingdon or Blair County. It
is quite probable that the event took place some time during
the Revolutionary War, though it may have been during Pon-
tiac's War. At any rate, one day Mr. Porter, who was a militia
officer, went to the mill, leaving Mrs. Porter alone. After Mr.
Porter left, Mrs. Porter saw an Indian approaching the house.
Taking Mr. Porter's sword, the pioneer woman left the door
unlocked, stood behind it, and waited for the Indian to enter.
When he came in, she split his head open with the sword. Another
came in, and met the same fate. A third Indian, seeing what
had happened to his companions, did not attempt to enter at
that time. Mrs. Porter then went up stairs, taking a rifle with
her, hoping that she would get an opportunity to fire through a
port hole at the third Indian. However, this Indian now came
into the house, and followed Mrs. Porter up stairs, where she
shot him dead. The heroic woman came down, and started to
give the alarm throughout the neighborhood, but met her hus-
band on the way, and together they rode to a place of safety.
The next morning some men came to the place and found that
other Indians had burned Mr. Porter's house and barn. This
event is but one of many showing the heroism of the women of
the Pennsylvania frontier.
CHAPTER XXVIII
The Revolutionary War
(1782—1783)
Moravian Delawares Massacred
THE spring of 1782 opened early, mild weather beginning
about February 1st. This caused the Wyandots, Shawnees,
Delawares and other hostile tribes in Ohio to begin their raids
in Southwestern Pennsylvania as early as February 8th, on
which date Indians murdered John Fink, near Buchanan's Fort
on the upper Monongahela.
This murder was followed by the attack on the home of Robert
Wallace, in what is now Hanover Township, Washington County,
on February 10th (some say February 17th), most likely by a
band of Shawnees. Mr. Wallace was absent at the time. The
Indians carried off his wife, Mary, and their three children, a boy
aged ten years, another, Robert, aged three years, and an infant
daughter. When Mr. Wallace returned that evening and found
that his family had been captured, he spread the alarm; and the
next morning a band of his neighbors started in pursuit of the
Indians but were unable to follow the trail on account of the fall-
ing snow. The Indians fled to Ohio by way of the Indian trail lead-
ing through Beaver County. On their way they killed and scalped
Mrs. Wallace and her baby, and hid the bodies in the underbrush,
where their bones were found the next year by hunters. Mr. Wal-
lace was able to identify his wife's skeleton by the shape of the
teeth. The eldest boy died soon after his capture, and the other,
Robert, was sold by his captors to the Wyandots. His father
recovered him three years later. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, page 511 ;
Butterfield's "Washington Irvine Correspondence," page 101.)
About the middle of February, a band of Indians captured
John Carpenter on the Dutch Fork of Buffalo Creek, Washington
County. He was carried towards the villages on the Tuscarawas,
Four of his captors were Wyandots; but two others, who spoke
German, told Carpenter they were Moravian Indians. On the
648 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
morning of the second day after crossing the Ohio, Carpenter
was sent into the woods after the horses. Finding them, he
mounted one and made his escape. He arrived at the Ohio near
Fort Mcintosh [Beaver], thence went up the Ohio to Fort Pitt,
and told his story to Colonel Gibson, then returned to his home
on Buffalo Creek.
The settlers in Washington County were greatly alarmed by
these Indian incursions, coming so early in the year. The party
that captured the Wallace family, from all indications, must
have consisted of at least thirty warriors. It was believed that
the hostile Indians could not have come from a point farther away
than the Moravian villages on the Tuscarawas. After learning
from John Carpenter that there were Moravian Indians among
the raiders of the frontier, the Washington County frontiersmen
determined to destroy the villages on the Tuscarawas as harbor-
ing places for the hostile Indians. Their plans were formed at
Vance's Fort, located about one mile north of the present village
of Cross Creek.
Accordingly, the settlers of Washington County turned out to
the number of one hundred sixty, under the command of Colonel
David Williamson, and crossing the Ohio at Mingo Bottom, a few
miles below Steubenville, marched against the Moravian villages.
On the evening of March 6th, they were within striking distance
of the Moravian town of Gnadenhuetten, on the eastern bank of
the Tuscarawas, about nine miles below New Philadelphia, when
their scouts brought the intelligence to the camp at night that
the town was full of Indians. Williamson and his force believed
that the occupants of the town were the savages who had been
making the raids, but as a matter of fact they were Moravian
converts who, after being compelled to go to Sandusky in
the preceding autumn, had come back to their old homes to
gather corn.
Some of these Moravian Delawares had come to Gnaden-
huetten from Sandusky as early as the middle of January for
the purpose of gathering the corn. Others had followed in small
parties until, according to Butterfield's "The Girtys," there
were one hundred and fifty men, women and children in the
Tuscarawas Valley by the first of March. According to a letter
written by Dorsey Pentecost, of Washington County, to President
Moore, on May 8th, 1782, and recorded in Penna. Archives, Vol.
9, pages 540 and 541, at least ten Wyandot warriors accompanied
the Moravian Delawares to Gnadenhuetten, halted there for a
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 649
time, and then went to raid the Washington County settlements.
According to Pentecost, four of these Wyandots had returned
to the Tuscarawas and were in the Moravian towns when
Williamson's forces arrived. Furthermore, it is quite likely, as
charged at the time, that some Moravian Delawares, either
through coercion or of their own free will, accompanied the
Wyandot warriors in their raiding. There were, of course,
Moravian Delawares whose savage instincts were not entirely
destroyed by the teachings of the pious Moravian missionaries.
Williamson attacked the town the next morning. The pres-
ence of women and children was plain notice to the frontiersmen
that the town was not occupied by a war party. Furthermore, no
resistance was made and there was no show of hostile action.*
Holding a council with a few of the converts who could speak
English, Williamson advised them that they must go to Fort Pitt
instead of returning to Sandusky. To this they agreed, and at
his suggestion, sent messengers down the river to Salem to tell the
converts of that place to come to Gnadenheutten. While the
Indians were being assembled and conducted to the church at
Gnadenhuetten, an Indian woman was found to be wearing the
dress of the wife of Robert Wallace, who, as we have seen, had
been captured on February 10th on Raccoon Creek, Washington
County, and later killed, by some hostile Indians. The Indian
men were then examined, one at a time, but none of them ac-
knowledged guilt. This dress had been sold to the Moravian
woman by the hostile Wyandots; but Williamson's men did not
pause to reason matters out.
The frontiersmen then began to clamor for the execution of
the whole band. Williamson put the question to vote whether
they should be taken to Fort Pitt or put to death on the spot.
All but eighteen voted to slay all the Indians in the morning.
Bishop Loskiel, in his "History of the Missions of the United
Brethren," says that the converts were informed that evening of
the fate which awaited them, and that they spent the night in
praying, singing hymns, and exhorting one another to die with
the fortitude of Christians. Rev. Edward Christy, who accom-
panied the expedition, looked in at the windows of the cooper shop
and church on that night of anguish. Men were shaking one
another by the hand and kissing one another. Tears were stream-
ing down some faces, while others were full of lines of agony.
♦About a mile from Gnadenhuetten, Williamson's men met a Moravian Delaware, named
Shebosh, and fired upon him, wounding him in the arm. He begged for his life, saying that he
was a friend, the son of a white Christian man. Paying no attention to his entreaties, the
frontiersmen tomahawked and scalped him. — Loskiel.
650 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Agonized mothers, with tears streaming down their swarthy
faces, held their children in close embrace.
Accordingly, on the morning of Friday, March 8th, 1782, the
terrible decree was carried into execution. The Indian men were
led two by two to the cooper shop, where they were beaten to
death with mallets and hatchets. The women and children were
led into the church and there slaughtered. Many of them died
with prayers on their lips, while others met their death chanting
songs. Altogether forty men, twenty women, and thirty-four
children were inhumanly butchered. Many of the children were
brained in their wretched mothers' arms. One of the murderers
after having broken the skulls of fourteen of the Christian Dela-
wares, with a cooper's mallet, handed the blood-stained weapon to
a companion with the remark: "My arm fails me, go on with the
work. I think I have done pretty well." Only two Indians es-
caped. One was a boy who hid himself in the cellar under the
house in which the women and children were butchered, and crept
forth during the night. The other was a boy who was scalped
among the men, but later revived and crawled into the woods in
the night time. Among the victims was the Delaware chief,
Glikkikan.
For the names of the Washington County men who took part
in the slaughter of the Moravian Delawares at Gnadenhuetten,
see Penna. Archives, Second Series, Vol. 14, page 753; also
Earle R. Forrest's "History of Washington County, Pennsyl-
vania," Vol. 1, pages 139 to 142. From this latter work, we
quote the following, which appears on page 138 of the first
volume :
"The story is told that the eighteen men who voted for mercy
retired under the river bank during the massacre. The survivor
of the eighteen died in 1839, aged ninety-six years, and he re-
lated many of the details of the massacre in after life. He told
how Robert Wallace [whose family, it will be recalled, was
captured in Washington County, on February 10th, 1782) went
to them after the massacre, his clothing covered with blood, and,
with tears streaming down his face, said: 'You know I couldn't
help it.'"
Before Williamson's troops left for home, they burned every
building at Gnadhuetten, "including the two slaughter houses
with their heaped-up corpses." The neighboring Moravian vil-
lages of Schoenbrun and Salem were also reduced to ashes.
Arriving at Mingo Bottom with the goods of the victims loaded
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 651
upon eighty horses, the raiders divided the spoils, and scattered
to their Washington County homes to spread the news of their
exploit. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, pages 523 to 525; Butterfield's
"Washington-Irvine Correspondence," pages 99 to 102.)
The wholesale slaughter of these Moravian Delawares, many
of whom had been with the Moravian missionaries from the early
days of their missionary activities in Eastern Pennsylvania, had
endured the buffets and received the curses of the Pennsylvania
settlers during the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War
and had followed their Christian teachers from the Susquehanna
to the Beaver and thence to the Tuscarawas, is one of the darkest
spots on the pages of American history. The terrible Indian
raids against the Scotch-Irish settlers of Washington County
largely explain why the minds of Williamson's men were inflamed;
but these outrages, committed by Shawnees and Wyandots
principally, cannot be taken as justification for the slaughter of
the women and children of the peaceable Moravian Delawares.
Such is the impartial verdict of history.
In April, 1781, eleven months before the massacre, the Delaware
chief, Pachgantschihilas, or Buckongahelas, later one of the
signers of the treaty of Greenville, came to the Moravian Indians
at Gnadenhuetten, and sought to persuade them to remove from
their exposed position to a place of safety among the Wyandots
on the Maumee. He reviewed the whole history of the relations
between the whites and the Delawares, concluding, as reported
by Rev. John Heckewelder, who was present, with the following
remarks, part of which were prophetic words:
"I admit that there are good white men, but they bear no
proportion to the bad; the bad must be the strongest, for they
rule. They do what they please. They enslave those who are
not of their colour, although created by the same Great Spirit
who created us. They would make slaves of us if they could,
but as they cannot do it, they kill us. There is no faith to be
placed in their words. They are not like the Indians, who are
only enemies while at war, and are friends in peace. They will
say to an Indian: 'My friend, my brother.' They will take him
by the hand, and at the same moment destroy him. And so you
(addressing himself to the Christian Indians) will also be treated
by them before long. Remember that this day I have warned
you to beware of such friends as these. I know the long knives;
they are not to be trusted."
The bones of the victims at Gnadenhuetten were buried fifteen
652 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
years later when the Moravians and their Delaware converts
again attempted to build a mission house in the vicinity. The
site of the town was then covered with bushes and infested with
rattlesnakes, and the bones had been dragged about by wild
beasts. The Delaware chief, Killbuck, assisted in gathering up
the bones. Later, in October 1799, Rev. John Heckewelder rein-
terred the bones in a cellar of one of the houses of the old town.
A monument now marks the site in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
Colonel Williamson was not punished for the massacre of the
Moravian Delawares. Indeed few of the Scotch-Irish settlers
of Western Pennsylvania were outspoken in disapproving this
atrocious deed. A good example to the contrary was Colonel
Edward Cook, of Westmoreland County, who, on September
2nd, 1782, wrote the Governor of Pennsylvania as follows:
"The perpetrators of that wicked deed ought to be brought
to condign punishment; that, without something is done in the
matter, it will disgrace the annals of the United States, and be
an everlasting plea and cover for British cruelty." (Butterfield's
"Washington-Irvine Correspondence," page 345.)
Colonel Edward Cook, who thus dared the wrath of his Scotch-
Irish neighbors in condemning the Gnadenhuetten slaughter, was
one of the most notable men of the western frontier. His stone
mansion, erected in 1772 in what is now Washington Township,
Fayette County, is still standing. He was a delegate to the con-
vention of 1776 which formed the first constitution of Pennsyl-
vania, and for more than four years was a sub-lieutenant of
Westmoreland County under Archibald Lochry.
Williamson's men had been at home about two weeks, when
the Scotch-Irish settlers on Chartiers Creek marched to attack the
friendly Delawares on Smoky Island under the guns of Fort Pitt.
The attack upon these friendly Indians was made on Sunday
morning, March 24th. A small guard of regular soldiers from the
fort was surprised and made prisoners. Then several of the In-
dians were killed, among them being Nanowland, the friend of
Captain Samuel Brady, and another who held a Captain's com-
mission in the American army. Chief Killbuck and a few of his
warriors escaped to Fort Pitt. In his flight, Killbuck is said to
have lost the wampum containing the treaty which Tamanend
and his associate chiefs entered into with William Penn, one
hundred years before. Two warriors fled to the woods on the
northern side of the Allegheny, and made their way to Sandusky.
One of these was the friendly Delaware chief. Big Cat, who, on
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 653
account of this treacherous attack, became the bitter foe of the
Americans. Before the Scotch-Irish settlers left for home, they
sent word to Colonel John Gibson, then in temporary command
of Fort Pitt, during the absence of General Irvine at Carlisle,
that they would kill and scalp him at the first opportunity, for
no other reason than that he had been the protector of the friend-
ly Delawares. (Butterfield's "Washington- Irvine Correspond-
ence,"pages 100 to 103 and 108.)
General Irvine returned to Fort Pitt on the day following the
attack on the friendly Delawares on Smoky Island. Several
weeks later he received an order from the Supreme Executive
Council of Pennsylvania to investigate and report on the massacre
at Gnadenhuetten. He was unable to uncover the details or fix
the responsibility, although he interrogated Colonel Williamson
and many of his captains. He found the sentiment on the west-
em frontier overwhelmingly commending the horrible deed of
Williamson's men, and reported that it would be well to let the
matter rest. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, pages 525, 540, 541, 552,
Butterfield's "Washington- Irvine Correspondence," pages 236 to
242, 245 and 246).
Glikkikan
We have said that among the Christian Delawares murdered
at Gnadenhuetten, was the Delaware chief, Glikkikan. He had
formerly lived in the Kuskuskies region in what is now Lawrence
County, Pennsylvania, and was then the principal counsellor
of the Delaware chief, Packanke, whose capital was New Kas-
kunk, which some authorities say stood on or near the site of
New Castle, and others on or near the site of Edinburg, Lawrence
County. In the summer of 1769, Glikkikan made a journey to
the Moravian mission at Lawunakhannek, located on the
Allegheny, a few miles above Tionesta, Forest County, for the
purpose of refuting the doctrines of Christianity. Before this he
is said to have held a successful disputation with the French
Jesuits at Venango (Franklin), and was therefore confident that
he could put the Moravian missionaries to confusion. Rev.
David Zeisberger, head of the Moravian mission at Lawunak-
hannek, was absent when Glikkikan arrived; but Anthony, a
native convert and assistant, made such an impressive speech
to him, setting forth the doctrines of Christianity, as to astonish
the chieftain. Zeisberger arrived soon after, and confirmed
Anthony's speech, with the result that Glikkikan, instead of
654 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
delivering the elaborate speech which he had prepared against
Christianity, replied: "I have nothing to say. I believe your
word." When he returned to his home, instead of boasting of a
victory over the Moravians, he advised his associate warriors
to go and hear the Gospel preached by the Moravians.
Soon afterwards he made another visit to the Moravian
mission, informed the missionaries that he desired to embrace
Christianity, and invited them in the name of his chief, Packanke,
to come and settle on a tract of land on the Beaver, where the
town of Moravia, Lawrence County, now stands. Packanke
offered this land for the use of the mission. The Moravians
accepted this invitation, and removed the mission from Lawunak-
hannek to what is now Moravia in April, 1770. From Moravia
the mission was removed to the Tuscarawas in the spring of 1773.
Glikkikan remained a devout Christian the rest of his life.
Before his conversion to Christianity, he had killed a child during
one of the raids of the Delawares against the Pennsylvania settle-
ments in the French and Indian War. This was the babe of
Rachel Abbott, of Franklin County, whom Glikkikan captured
in this raid. Some Frenchmen, with the Indians on the raid,
persuaded Glikkikan to kill the child in order to put an end to its
incessant crying. After his conversion, he suffered deep remorse
for this terrible deed. The mother of the child, according to
Heckewelder, forgave him, and told him that God would forgive
him, since he was truly penitent. Yet, the tears of Glikkikan
continued to flow. Dare we not hope that Glikkikan made peace
with his God?
Attack on Miller's Blockhouse
While preparations were being made for Colonel William Craw-
ford's expedition against Sandusky, described later in this
chapter, Indians from Ohio made bloody incursions into Western
Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. Thomas Edgerton,
or Edgington, was captured on Harmon's Creek and John Stev-
enson near West Liberty. Five soldiers were ambushed near Fort
Mcintosh, two being killed and the others taken to Lower San-
dusky, where they ran the gauntlet. (Butterfield's "Washington-
Irvine Correspondence", page 345.)
During the night of Saturday, March 30th, 1782, a band of
about seventy Shawnee warriors surrounded Millers' blockhouse
on the Dutch Fork of Buffalo Creek, in Donegal Township,
Washington County, and lay concealed. Early the next morning
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 655
(Easter Morning), most of the men left the blockhouse, on a
scouting expedition, some of them going to Rices Fort, two miles
farther down the Dutch Fork. The only persons left at Miller's
were John Hupp, Sr,, and his wife, Ann, their four children,
Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth and John; Jacob Miller, Sr., and sev-
eral members of his family; the family of Edward Gaither, and
an old man, named Mathias Ault.
A colt belonging to Jacob Miller, Sr., had strayed, and shortly
after the scouts left, Mr. Miller and John Hupp, Sr., started out
to search for it. Shortly after they entered the woods, the Indians
fired upon them from ambush. Both were killed and scalped.
The Shawnees then closed in on the blockhouse. Ann Hupp, upon
hearing the shots that killed her husband and Jacob Miller, Sr.,
took charge of the defense of the blockhouse. She at once sent
Fredrick Miller, a boy aged eleven years, a son of Jacob Miller,
Sr., to Rice's Fort for help. The Indians saw the boy, and fired
upon him, wounding him in the arm. He was compelled to flee
back to the blockhouse. Ann Hupp, inspiring the other women
and old Mr. Ault with her sublime courage, ran from one port
hole to another, pointing her rifle at the Indians, which gave
them the impression that the place was defended by a large
number of persons. Occasionally a shot was fired at the Indians
as they showed themselves from behind the trees. Presently
three men were seen coming from the direction of Rice's Fort.
These were Captain Jacob Miller, Jr., Philip Hupp and Jacob
Rowe, aged sixteen, the last a brother of Ann Hupp. Ann Hupp
shouted directions to them as to the safest way to approach the
blockhouse. Making a dash, they entered the place unharmed.
The occupants of the house now fired upon the Indians with spirit
whenever one exposed himself to view. Towards evening, the
Indians withdrew. The next day the bodies of Jacob Miller, Sr.,
and John Hupp, Sr., were buried near the blockhouse. (Pa.
Archives, Vol. 9, page 541.)
The family of Ann Hupp had another terrible experience with
the Indians. In the autumn of 1776, her father, Adam Rowe,
set out from Washington County for Kentucky with his wife and
four children. Arriving at the flats of Grave Creek, West Vir-
ginia, they were attacked by Indians, and Mrs. Rowe and the
eldest son were killed, while Daniel, aged seven, the youngest of
the family, was captured. Young Jacob Rowe concealed himself
in the willows, and thus made his escape as a warrior with little
Daniel on his back, pursued him. This was the last seen or heard
656 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of little Daniel. Young Jacob made his way alone through the
forest back to Buffalo Creek, and told his harrowing story in the
arms of his sister Ann Hupp. Adam Rowe and his son, Adam
also escaped from the Indians and made their way back to
Washington County.
About the same time as the attack on Miller's blockhouse,
William Parks was killed and scalped within sight of Vance's Fort,
and Samuel Robinson met a similar fate on his farm in Jefferson
Township, both in Washington County.
The Corbly Atrocity
Rev. John Corbly was pastor of Goshen Baptist Church, near
Garard's Fort, in the southeastern part of Greene County. The
following letter, written by him to Rev. William Rogers, of Phila-
delphia, gives an account of the tragedy which befell his family:
"On the second Sabbath in May [May 12th] , in the year 1782,
being my appointment at one of my meeting-houses, about a
mile from my dwelling-house, I set out with my dear wife and five
children for public worship. Not suspecting any danger, I walked
behind 200 yards, with my Bible in my hands, meditating, as I
was thus employed, all of a sudden I was greatly alarmed with
the frightful shrieks of my dear family before me. I immediately
ran, with all the speed I could, vainly hunting a club as I ran,
till I got within forty yards of them ; my poor wife on seeing me,
cried to me to make my escape; an Indian ran up to shoot me;
I then fled, and by so doing, outran him. My wife had a sucking
child in her arms; this little infant they killed and scalped. They
then struck my wife several times, but not getting her down, the
Indian who aimed to shoot me, ran to her, shot her through the
body, and scalped her; my little boy, an only son, about six years
old, they sunk the hatchet into his brain, and thus dispatched
him. A daughter, besides the infant, they also killed and scalped.
My eldest daughter, who is yet alive, was hid in a tree, about 200
yards away from the place where the rest were killed, and saw
the whole proceedings. She, seeing the Indians all go off, as she
thought, got up, and deliberately crept from the hollow trunk;
but one of them espying her, ran hastily up, and scalped her; also
her only surviving sister, one on whose head they did not leave
more than an inch round, either of flesh or skin, besides taking a
piece of her skull. She and the before mentioned one are still
miraculously preserved, though, as you may think, I have had
and still have a great deal of trouble and expense with them,
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 657
besides anxiety about them, insomucli that I am, as to worldly
circumstances almost ruined. I am yet in hopes of seeing them
cured; they still, blessed be God, retain their senses, notwith-
standing the painful operations they have already, and must yet
pass through.
Muddy Creek, Washington [now Greene] County, July 8,
1785."
Attack on Walthour's Stockade — The Lame Indian
Some time in April, 1782, the Indians invaded the Brush
Creek settlement and attacked the stockade of Christopher
Walthour, about a mile and a half east of Irwin, Westmoreland
County. On this occasion six men were working in a field near
the stockade, among them being Walthour's son-in-law, named
Willard. The Indians killed Willard, and captured his daughter,
aged sixteen, who was carrying water for the men at work. An
Indian rushed forward to scalp Willard; but just as he was in the
act, a bullet fired from the stockade wounded him in the leg.
Uttering a howl of pain, he ran away into the thicket, leaving his
gun behind him.
As soon as possible, a body of frontiersmen started in pursuit
of the Indians. They followed their trail to the Allegheny River,
but were unable to pursue them further. About two months after-
wards, some hunters found the body of Willard's daughter not
far from Negley's Run. She had been tomahawked and scalped.
About six weeks after the attack on Walthour's blockhouse,
a lame Indian appeared in Pittsburgh, almost starved. A wound
in his leg occasioning suspicion, he was taken to Fort Pitt and
questioned. He confessed to the officers at the fort that he was
the Indian who killed Willard, and was recognized by them as
being Davy, a sub-chief of the Delawares. The news of his being
confined at Fort Pitt spread to the Brush Creek settlement,
whereupon Mrs. Mary Willard, the wife of the man whom Davy
had killed, came to the fort, and requested General Irvine to
give Davy up to the Brush Creek settlers for trial. General
Irvine persuaded her to permit the Indian to remain at the fort
in the hope that he might be exchanged for her daughter who was
then believed to be among the Indians. Soon after Mrs. Willard's
visit, the dead body of her daughter was found. Then a com-
mittee of the Brush Creek settlers called on General Irvine, and
requested that he surrender Davy to them for trial before two
justices of the peace and other reputable citizens. Enjoining
658 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
them to give the Indian such a trial, General Irvine delivered
Davy to them on July 21st. The Brush Creek settlers decided
to bum Davy at the stake. However, he made his escape from
them the night before he was to be burned, owing to the drowsi-
ness of his guard, and, mounting a horse which he found in the
woods, rode at frightful speed through the forest towards the Alle-
gheny. Pursuing settlers found the horse th« next day, near the
junction of the Kiskiminetas and Allegheny, covered with foam,
but no trace of Davy was ever found. Probably he drowned while
swimming the Allegheny or perished in the woods, as the bone
in his leg had been broken by the bullet fired at him when he
killed Mr. Willard, and had never healed.
The harried condition of the western frontier at the time of
which we are writing is seen in the following letter of Dorsey
Pentecost, of Washington County, written to President Moore,
on May 8th, 1782, and recorded in Penna. Archives, Vol. 9,
pages 540 and 541:
"The Indians are murdering frequently. Last Friday night
two men were killed on the frontiers of this county, and about a
week before I got home fourteen people were killed and captured
in different parts, and last week some mischief was done near
Hannastown, but I have not learned the particulars."
Attack on the Lyon Family*
Charles McKnight, in "Our Western Border," gives an ac-
count of an outrage which occurred in the spring of 1783
somewhere on the banks of Turtle Creek, which flows into the
Monongahela River near the town of Braddock, Allegheny
County, basing the account on the narrative of James Lyon,
of Beaver, Pennsylvania, as told by him to Dr. Denny, of Pitts-
burgh. The Lyon family, consisting of the father, his daughter,
Mary, and the two small sons, James and Eli, lived on this creek.
One day James and Eli were fishing in the creek with pin hooks,
made for them by their sister, Mary, when a band of Indians
appeared, and captured the boys. One of the Indians was wear-
ing Mr. Lyon's bloody shirt and hunting frock, the band having
murdered the father before coming upon the boys. The boys
were carried to the Indian towns of central Ohio. At one of
these towns, a white man, who they were told was Simon Girty,
treated little James very kindly, taking him on his knee and
caressing him. At White Woman's Creek, James was adopted
by an Indian family. At the close of the Revolutionary War,
•This was the family of Thomas Lyon. Date was April 4, 1783. Raybum's blockhouse
was mentioned in above account, on the site of present town of Turtle Creek. See page 680.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 659
James was delivered to the Americans at Fort Mcintosh. His
narrative is silent as to what became of Eli, but it is presumed
that he, too, was delivered at the same time and place. But to
return to their sister, Mary. She was not killed as the brothers
supposed, but ran to Raybum's blockhouse, and gave the alarm.
After James returned from captivity, she told him of the agony
she endured when she missed her little brothers and saw the
prints of the Indians' moccasins in the mud on the shore of the
creek.
Colonel Crawford's Expedition
Soon after the massacre of the Moravian Delawares at Gnad-
enhuetten, there was a general desire, throughout Washington
County especially, for a campaign against Sandusky — the
Wyandot town and settlement on the Sandusky River, in Wy-
andot County, Ohio, the rendezvous for the Indian allies of the
British. Near Sandusky were Mingoes, Shawnees, Ottawas and
Delawares mostly of the Munsee or Wolf Clan. A general call
then went out for volunteers to strike this stronghold of the
Indians. The general muster was fixed for Monday, May 20th,
1782, at Mingo Bottom, opposite Steubenville; and a few days
later, four hundred and eighty horsemen assembled at that place,
and elected Colonel William Crawford as the leader of the ex-
pedition, he, through the influence of General Irvine, then in
command at Fort Pitt, receiving five votes over Colonel David
Williamson. General Irvine had been requested to lead the ex-
pedition, but declined. When he was pressed to give the expedi-
tion assistance, he agreed to furnish some gun flints and powder,
on condition that the expedition would conform to military laws
and regulations. He also detailed Surgeon John Knight and
Lieutenant Rose to serve in the expedition.
Crawford's guides were John Slover, Jonathan Zane and
Thomas Nicholson. The stafif officers were Colonel David Wil-
liamson, and Majors Thomas Gaddis, John McClelland, John
Brinton and Daniel Leet. The Captains were Joseph Bane, John
Beeson, John Biggs, Charles Bilderback, William Bruce, Timothy
Downing, William Fife, John Hardin, John Hoagland, Andrew
Hood, William Leet, Duncan McGeehan, John Miller, James
Munn, Thomas Rankin, David Reed, Craig Ritchie and Ezekile
Ross.
On May 25th, the expedition left Mingo Bottom, and marched
towards Sandusky. On the 28th, the troops turned aside to visit
660 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the ruins of the Moravian town at Schoenbrun, where they fed
their horses on the standing corn. On the evening of June 3d, the
troops reached the upper Indian town on the Sandusky finding
the place deserted, the Indians having had warning of Colonel
Crawford's approach. Crawford then advised a retirement, but
was overruled in council. The next morning the command began
the march toward the principal Wyandot town, proceeding
through the beautiful plain on the west side of the Sandusky
River.
In the afternoon, as the troops neared a large grove, they were
fired upon by British and Indians in the grove. The Americans,
however, charged, and driving out the enemy, occupied the grove
themselves. Dismounting and forming a line along the northern
side of the grove, they for several hours exchanged a brisk rifle
fire with the British and Indians lying in the bushes. In this com-
bat, five of Crawford's men were killed and nineteen wounded,
while the enemy lost six killed and eleven wounded, among the
wounded being the British commander. Captain Caldwell.
During the night, Crawford's men were unable to get much
rest owing to the hideous yells of the savages, and when the day
dawned, the battle was resumed in long-range fighting. In the
afternoon, a band of one hundred and forty Shawnees joined the
other Indians. The Americans observed their arrival, and believ-
ing that they were greatly outnumbered by the savages, held a
council of war in which it was decided to retreat during the night.
As a matter of fact, however, the Indian forces, even when aug-
mented by the arrival of the Shawnees, did not exceed the number
of Crawford's forces.
No sooner had Crawford's men begun to retreat during the
night, than a strange panic seized them. Many fired their guns
into the darkness, and others leaving the ranks fled like maniacs
across the prairie. Meanwhile, the savages were slaying and
scalping the straggling fugitives. A few of the troops, exhausted
by the long fighting, had fallen asleep in the grove and awoke to
find themselves deserted. These were almost all overt ken and
scalped.
In the expedition were Crawford's only son, John, his nephew,
William Crawford, and his son-in-law, William Harrison. In the
wild retreat, the Colonel was unable to find them. Standing by
the trail as the fugitives rushed by, he called for his son, and
receiving no answer, fell to the rear and became lost. He then
met with Dr. Knight, the surgeon, and nine other men; and to-
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 661
gether they wandered about for two days, when they were cap-
tured by a band of Delawares. Captain Pipe ordered them to be
burned at the stake. Colonel Williamson and Lieutenant Rose
kept the main body together on the retreat. In the southern
part of what is now Crawford County, Ohio, the Shawnees and
Delawares vigorously attacked the rear guard, but were repulsed.
Colonel Williamson made good his escape, and with 300 soldiers,
arrived at Mingo Bottom, on June 12th.
In the hope of escaping such a dreadful fate as death at the
stake. Colonel Crawford asked that his old friend, the Delaware
chief, Wingenund, might be sent for. Wingenund appeared before
the Colonel, who entreated him to save his life, calling his atten-
tion to the fact that they had always been friends. Wingenund
reluctantly advised the Colonel that it was beyond his power to
save him. He told him that the Delawares and other tribes mak-
ing up the Indian forces, were determined to avenge Colonel
Williamson's butchery of the helpless women and children at
Gnadenhuetten during the preceding March. He told Crawford
that if Colonel Williamson had not been with Crawford's forces,
it might be possible to save Crawford's life; that the Indians had
their spies watching Crawford's march from the very beginning;
and that these spies saw him turn aside from the line of march
and visit the ruins at Schoenbrun, These things, said Wingenund,
convinced the Indians that Crawford's expedition was simply
seeking an opportunity to commit an outrage similar to the
atrocity committed by Williamson's troops, especially since Wil-
liamson hastened the retreat. Failing to capture the hated
Williamson, they determined that Crawford must pay the penalty.
Then Wingenund burst into tears, and turned aside that he
might not witness the torture of his friend.
The date of Colonel Crawford's torture was June 11th, 1782,
and the place was in the valley of Tymoochee Creek, about
five miles west of the present town of Upper Sandusky, Ohio.
He was tied by a long rope to a pole; his body was shot full of
gun powder; his ears were cut off; burning fagots were pressed
against his skin, and he was horribly gashed with knives. The
unfortunate man endured this terrible agony for four hours in the
presence of Dr. Knight and the renegades, Simon Girty and
Matthew Elliott. He appealed to Girty to shoot him and end
his misery, but in vain. Falling unconscious, his scalp was torn
off, and burning embers were poured upon his bleeding head.
The excruciating pain revived him ; he rose to his feet and started
662 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
once more to walk around the pole, then groaned and fell dead.
The Indians then burned his body to ashes.
Thus perished this prominent man of the Western Pennsyl-
vania frontier, the friend and land agent of George Washington.
His residence was, for some years prior to his tragic death, at
ConnellsviUe, Fayette County. Crawford County bears his name.
The other prisoners were divided among the Indian towns,
and, so far as is known, all were tortured to death except Dr.
Knight, the surgeon, and John Slover, one of the guides. Craw-
ford's son John succeeded in making his way home.
Dr. Knight, after the torture of Colonel Crawford, spent the
night at Captain Pipe's house, and early the next morning,
started for the Shawnee towns, forty miles distant, in charge
of an Indian on horseback, who, after once more painting him
black, drove the unfortunate surgeon before him. The Indian
was a large rough-looking man, but very sociable, and Dr. Knight
soon began to ingratiate himself. That night the Doctor tried
many times to untie himself, but the wary Indian always detected
his efforts. However, at daybreak, the Indian untied him, and
arose to rekindle the fire. The wood-gnats being very annoying
Dr. Knight asked the Indian if he would make a big smoke, so as
to drive the gnats away. The Indian said "yes", whereupon,
Knight began to gather sticks for the fire, and finding a short
dog- wood fork, slipped up behind the Indian, and smote him on
the head with it with all his strength. The Indian fell headlong
into the fire, but soon recovered himself, sprang up, and ran off,
howling with pain. Dr. Knight then took the Indian's gun, and
started through the wilderness for home. On the evening of the
twentieth day of his journey, he reached Fort Mcintosh, and the
next day, reached Fort Pitt, almost crazed by the hardships
through which he had gone, and to the great delight of General
Irvine. H. H. Brackenridge, who saw Knight upon the latter 's
arrival at Fort Pitt, said that the Doctor was so weak that he
could hardly articulate, and that it was three weeks before he
could give a continued account of his sufferings. (See McKnight's
"Western Border," pages 468 and 469; also Butterfield's Wash-
ington-Irvine Correspondence," page 126).
John Slover was captured by the Shawnees, and carried to
one of the Shawnee towns, where he saw the burned and mutilated
bodies of William Harrison (Crawford's son-in-law), William
Crawford (Crawford's nephew) and Major John McClelland, who
had been fourth of^cer in command. The next day the heads
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 663
and limbs of the bodies were cut ofif and stuck on poles, and the
other parts of the corpses given to the dogs. The Indians care-
fully interrogated Slover as to the progress of the war and the
movements of the Americans, and he had the satisfaction of
telling them of Comwallis' surrender. In a few days, Dr. John
Knight's guard arrived with a wound four inches long on his
head, and told a marvelous story of a desperate struggle he
had had with the surgeon, whom he described as a large and
powerful man, whose fingers he claimed he had cut off and to
whom he had given two deep knife thrusts, which he was sure
would prove fatal. Slover then told the Indians that Dr. Knight
was a small weak man. This information, in view of the guard's
wonderful story, greatly amused the Indians. Later, George
Girty bound Slover, painted him black, and dragged him off to
Mack-a-chack, where he was bound to a stake, wood was piled
around him and fired, and the horrible tortures were about to
commence, when a sudden rain storm drowned out the fire. He
was then untied and seated on the ground. The Indians decided
to postpone his torture until the following day, and carefully
bound him for the night. During the night, his three guards
fell asleep, and he succeeded in loosing his bonds and making
his escape unnoticed. After great suffering he reached Fort
Henry, where Wheeling, West Virginia, now stands. He reached
Fort Pitt on July 10th.
General Irvine wrote from Fort Pitt to General Washington,
on July 11th, 1782, that both Dr. Knight and John Slover told
him "they were assured by sundry Indians they formerly knew,
that not a single soul should, in the future, escape torture; and
gave, as a reason for this conduct, the Moravian affair."
Also, General Washington, writing General Irvine on August
6th, 1782, thus refers to Colonel Crawford's expedition and the
Colonel's unhappy fate: "I lament the failure of the former ex-
pedition, and am particularly affected with the disasterous fate
of Colonel Crawford. No other than the extremest tortures that
could be inflicted by savages, I think, could have been expected
by those who were unhappy enough to fall into their hands;
especially under the present exasperation of their minds for the
treatment given their Moravian friends." Thus the slaughter
of the Moravian Delawares at Gnadenhuetten by Colonel Wil-
liamson's Scotch-Irish troops was in the mind of Washington as
he penned this letter to General Irvine. (See Butterfield's
'Washington- Irvine Correspondence," pages 126 to 132).
664 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
For the best account of Colonel Crawford's expedition, the
reader is referred to C. W. Butterfield's "Historical Account of
the Expedition Against Sandusky"; also the narratives of Dr.
Knight and John Slover, Pa. Archives, Sec, Series, Vol. 14,
pages 690 to 727.
Westmoreland Settlers Petition General Irvine
When the news of the fate of Colonel Crawford reached the
German settlers on Brush Creek, Westmoreland County, they,
on June 22nd, 1782, sent a petition to General Irvine at Fort
Pitt, reciting their terrible sufferings at the hands of the Indians
since the beginning of the war, and asking that Continental
troops might be sent to guard the parties who must soon go out
to reap the harvest. Said these settlers: "From our fortitude
and perserverance in supporting the line of the frontier and there-
by resisting the incessant depredations of the enemy, our bravest
and most active men have been cut off from time to time, by
which our effective force is so greatly reduced that the idea of
further resistance is now totally vanished. . . .We are greatly
alarmed at the misfortune attending the late excursion into the
enemy's country [Crawford's expedition], as we have every
reason to believe that their triumphs on that occasion will be
attended with fresh and still more vigorous exertions against us."
The fears of the German settlers were soon realized in the raid
in which Hannastown was burned, which will presently be
described.
Many of these Germans had settled in the valley of Brush
Creek and the region between this valley and Greensburg soon
after General Forbes captured Fort Duquesne, among them
being Andrew Byerly, who came to this region in 1759. After
the Purchase of 1768, called the "New Purchase," many other
Germans joined their brethren in the western wilderness. About
1765, perhaps a year or two earlier, they founded Zion Lutheran
church, at Herold's (Harrold's), a few miles west of Greensburg —
probably the oldest congregation of any denomination in that
part of Pennsylvania lying west of the Allegheny Mountains,
except the Roman Catholic military chapel in connection with
Fort Duquesne. In the spring and summer of 1774, these
settlers erected Fort Allen, probably named in honor of Andrew
Allen, of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. This
fort, which stood near Zion Lutheran church, above named, and
was commanded by Colonel Cristopher Truby, had much to do
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 665
with the foiUng of the plans of Dr. John Connolly to set up the
authority of Virginia in Western Pennsylvania, in 1774, and was
also a place of refuge for the harrassed settlers during the Revolu-
tionary War. A tablet, erected by the Pennsylvania Historical
Commission, now marks the site of Fort Allen.
Guyasuta Burns Hannastown
The hardest blow dealt by the Indians during the Revolution-
ary War, within the limits of Western Pennsylvania, was the
burning of Hannastown, the county seat of Westmoreland, by
Guyasuta, on Saturday, July 13th, 1782. This historic frontier
village was located about three miles north of Greensburg. The
town grew up around the tavern of Robert Hanna, on the old
Forbes Road, before the Revolutionary War.
At the time of its destruction, Hannastown contained thirty
log houses, and, at the northern end, was a stockade fort of logs
set upright, and erected in 1773. In the center was a spring
whose waters still gush forth to quench the thirst of the lover of
Pennsylvania history, who makes a pilgrimage to the spot where
the frontier village stood.
Guyasuta, with a band of one hundred Seneca warriors and
sixty Canadian rangers, left Lake Chautauqua, New York,
descended the Allegheny River to a point a short distance above
Kittanning, and leaving the canoes on the bank of the river,
marched overland into the settlements of Westmoreland. While
the expedition was making its visitation of death and destruction,
many of these canoes broke loose from their moorings, and floated
down the river to Fort Pitt, where some of them were picked up
by the garrison. This was a detachment of a larger force that
intended to attack Fort Pitt, but gave up the undertaking upon
learning that the fort had been strengthened by General Irvine.
On this midsummer day when Guyasuta's warriors destroyed
the historic town, one of the harvesters, who were cutting wheat
on the farm of Michael Huffnagle, the county clerk, about a mile
north of the village, discovered a band of Indians, in war paint,
creeping through the woods. He informed his companions, and
all fled unseen to the stockade. The alarm was spread throughout
the Hannastown settlement by Sheriff Matthew Jack. About
sixty persons were in the village, and they took refuge within the
fort. Huffnagle carried most of the county records safely into the
fort at Hannastown, sometimes called Fort Reed.
666 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Four young men were sent out to scout. Coming upon the
Indians creeping through the thick woods in the valley of Crab-
tree Creek, they narrowly escaped death, and fled back to the fort,
followed closely by the Indians. It seems that Guyasuta intended
to take the fort by storm; for his warriors did not shoot or yell
until they rushed into the village. One man was wounded before
he reached the fort.
The Indians then drove into the woods all the horses found
in the pasture lots and stables, killed one hundred cattle, and
plundered the deserted houses. From the shelter of the houses,
they opened a hot rifle fire upon the stockade, defended by
twenty men with seventeen rifles, only nine of which were fit
for use. With these, the frontiersmen took turns at the loopholes,
and succeeded in preventing the Indians from assaulting and
battering down the gates. At least two of the savages were killed,
and others wounded; while only one person inside the stockade
was wounded, a maiden of sixteen summers named Margaret
Shaw, who received a bullet in her breast while exposed before
a hole in one of the gates, as she was rescuing a child, who had
toddled into danger. The young lady died from the effects of
her wound about two weeks later. Her dust reposes in the soil
of "Old Westmoreland," a short distance north of Mt. Pleasant.
The attack on the fort continued until night, when the Indians
set fire to the village, and danced in the glare of the flames. The
county jail and all the other buildings, except the courthouse and
one dwelling, were reduced to ashes. These two had been set on
fire, but the fire went out; and, as they stood near the fort, the
unerring rifles of the frontiersmen frustrated an attempt to set
fire to them again. Happily, the wind blew strongly from the
north, carrying the flames and burning embers away from the fort.
After the buildings were burned, the Indians and their white allies
retired to the valley of Crabtree Creek, and reveled and feasted
until late at night.
The attack was not renewed in the morning, and Guyasuta
and his forces made good their escape. It was not until Monday
morning that a force of sixty frontiersmen took up the pursuit,
following them to the crossing of the Kiskiminetas.
Other places in the neighborhood of Hannastown were also
attacked with deadly effect. Among these were Miller's station,
the homestead of Captain Samuel Miller, who was killed by
Indians near Fort Hand, on July 7th, 1778. Andrew Cruikshank,
who married Captain Miller's widow, resided at the station at
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782— 1783 667
the time of the Hannastown raid. A wedding had taken place
at the Cruikshank home on July 12th; and, on July 13th, many
friends were assembled at the home for the wedding party, when
Guyasuta's warriors fell upon them, killing several and making
prisoners of fifteen. Among the prisoners were Lieutenant
Joseph Brownlee, his wife and several children, Mrs. Robert
Hanna and her daughter, Jennie, and a Mrs. White and her two
children. As these prisoners were being taken through the woods,
Mrs. Hanna addressed Lieutenant Brownlee as "Captain";
whereupon the Indians killed him, his little son, whom he was
carrying, and nine other captives. The others were taken to
Canada, and were released at the close of the Revolutionary
War. However, it seems that Jennie Hanna married a British
officer in Canada, according to the statements in the pension
petition of Mrs. Elizabeth Guthrie, formerly Mrs. Brownlee.
Also, on Sunday morning, some of Guyasuta's force attacked
the Freeman settlement on Loyalhanna Creek, a few miles north-
east of Hannastown, killing one of Freeman's sons and capturing
two of his daughters. On the same day, an attack was made on
the Brush Creek settlement west of Hannastown, where many
farm animals were killed, and several farm buildings were burned.
This attack was promptly reported to General William Irvine,
then the commander of Fort Pitt, by Michael Huffnagle, the
defender of the Hannastown fort.
A small force of militia, under Colonel Edward Cook, County
Lieutenant of Westmoreland County, was stationed at Hannas-
town soon after the destruction of the town, and the settlers were
advised to rebuild their homes. But Hannastown never arose
from its ashes. Court was held there for a few sessions after the
burning of the village. Then a new road was laid out from Bed-
ford to Pittsburgh, following the course of the present Lincoln
Highway; and, in January, 1787, the Westmoreland Court began
its sessions in the town of Greensburg, on the new road, the
present county seat of the historic county of Westmoreland.
It appears that there was a previous attack on Hannastown.
Boucher, in his "History of Westmoreland County, "refers to this
former attack, as follows:
"Eve Oury was granted a special pension of forty dollars per
year by Act of April 1, 1846. The act itself recites that it was
granted for heroic bravery and risking her life in defense of the
garrison of Hannastown Fort in 1778, when it was attacked by a
large number of Indians, and that by her fortitude, she performed
668 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
efficient service in driving away the Indians, and thus saved the
inmates from a horrid butchery by the merciless and savage foe."
Eve Oury (Uhrig) was the daughter of Francis Oury. She
died at Shieldsburg, Westmoreland County, in 1848, and is buried
at Congruity, in the same county.
There were British with Guyasuta's warriors. The testimony
of the defenders of the Hannastown Fort proves this, as does the
fact that, after the enemy left, many jackets were found having
on them the buttons of the King's Eighth regiment.
Some other incidents connected with the destruction of
Hannastown are the following :
Captain Matthew Jack, while riding his fleet-footed horse
through the settlement to warn the people of the comming of
Guyasuta's warriors, came upon the Indians and Canadians near
Huffnagle's farm. Reigning his horse just in time, he started
towards Miller's station, and on the way, met two of the scouts,
James Brison and David Shaw, and told them to flee to the fort.
This they did, followed by the enemy. Shaw when arriving at
the village, stopped at his father's house for an instant. By this
time the Indians were emerging from the forest skirting the
village. Shaw raised his rifle and shot one of the foremost, and
then sprang through the gate into the stockade. In the mean-
time, Matthew Jack arrived at the home of a settler named Love.
Taking Mrs. Love and her babe behind him on the horse, he
rode to Miller's station, where he found the Indians firing upon
some men who were mowing in the meadow. He was detected ;
the bullets of the enemy whistled about his head, and cut the
bridle of his horse.
Some of the settlers at Miller's escaped to Rugh's blockhouse,
the large two-story log house of Michael Rugh, about two miles
south of Greensburg.* Among those who fled from Miller's, were
Mrs. Andrew Cruikshank, her young daughter and her brother.
They were closely pursued by an Indian. Turning suddenly,
the brother shot at the Indian just as the latter was springing be-
hind a tree, and at the same time dropped the child. Not waiting
to see whether the Indian was killed or wounded, Mrs. Cruik-
shank and her brother continued their flight to a blockhouse,
probably Rugh's. During the night they were joined there by
her son, the only surviving son of her former husband. Captain
Samuel Miller. The next day, the child was found unharmed in
*In 1778, Michael Rugh and his family were captured by Indians, and carried to Canada,
returning home three years later. About the same time, Robert Hayes and his son were cap-
tured.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 669
the only cabin left at Miller's station, to which it had made its
way through the forest at night. This child grew to womanhood.
A girl escaped death or capture at Miller's station by hiding
among some blackberry bushes in the woods.
Michael Kepple, a brother-in-law of Michael Rugh, was work-
ing in his field near his blockhouse, about a mile and a half north
of Greensburg on the afternoon of the attack on Hannastown.
He became aware of the presence of Indians in the woods near
his field by the strange actions of his dog. Unhitching his horses,
he hastened to his blockhouse, where his family and a number
of other families took refuge.
At the blockhouse of a settler named George, near Miller's
station, a band of forty horsemen assembled during the night,
and then proceeded to the Hannastown stockade. When they
arrived, they found that the Indians had retired to the valley
of Crabtree Creek, and were engaged in feasting and reveling.
The horsemen entered the stockade, unnoticed by the enemy.
Then they rode their horses back and forth across the bridge over
the little stream below the stockade in order that the enemy
might believe from the sound of the horses' hoofs that reinforce-
ments had arrived from Fort Ligonier. At the same time, two
old drums which had been found in the fort were beaten vigor-
ously. These actions on the part of the occupants of the stockade
had the effect of causing the Indians and Canadians to leave the
neighborhood.
At the Unity Presbyterian Church near the present town of
Latrobe, preparatory services were being held, on the afternoon
of the attack on Hannastown, for the communion services to be
held the next day. Word reached the assembled congregation
that Indians were in the settlement, whereupon Rev. Power
dismissed the worshippers, and hastened to his home near
Mount Pleasant. He was pastor of the Middle Presbyterian
Church, about two miles northeast of Mount Pleasant, in whose
cemetery Margaret Shaw was buried.
At Fort Allen, about three miles west of Greensburg, many
families took refuge during this incursion. Many of the settlers,
however, were unable to reach the blockhouses in the Westmore-
land settlements, and hid in the grain fields and forests.
On the day of the destruction of Hannastown, John Guthrie,
who had been ill, did not go to the harvest field with other
members of his family, but remained at home with his youngest
son to watch the bread baking in the oven. The little boy soon
670 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
strayed into the woods to play. Then came the alarm. The
father from the house and the other members of the family from
the field hastened to the Hannastown Fort, none noticing that
the little boy was missing. He was never seen again.
At the time of the Hannastown raid, a sixteen -year-old boy
in the neighborhood, named Isaac Steel, escaped his Indian
pursuers by leaping over a rail fence and hiding in the thick
brush of the woods. He was probably a relative of the John
Steel, mentioned by Loudon, who was attacked by Indians while
alone in his house and escaped by jumping out of a window.
Tradition says that, about the time of the Hannastown raid,
a young lady, named Rea, who lived seemingly not far from
Murraysville, was attacked by an Indian when alone in the house,
her brothers being at work in the fields at the time. While
attempting to climb in at the window, the Indian placed his
hands over the sill. The girl then seized an ax, struck the hand
and severed it at the wrist, and the Indian departed, howling
with pain.
Some time before the Hannastown raid, John Hill, an inhabi-
tant of Westmoreland County, was returning to his home with
some young fruit trees which he intended to plant on his farm.
While lying down at a spring drinking, he was attacked and
overpowered by some Indians, likely Senecas, who took him to
the upper Allegheny. The only report ever heard from him was
given by a Mrs. McVey, or McVeigh, who was captured in the
same incursion, and later returned to her home. Both were taken
to the Hickory Flats and were required to run the gauntlet. Hill
accomplished this feat in safety, but Mrs. McVey was beaten
down. Then Hill dashed among the Indians and carried her to
safety. The last sight she had of John Hill he was bound to a
tree.
The Frantz family lived on the farm which is now the home of
the Greensburg Country Club. Some time before the attack on
Hannastown, a band of Indians attacked the family, capturing
Mr. and Mrs. Frantz and their little daughter, Emma, aged
seven years, after killing several other members of the family.
The father and mother, after being taken a short distance, were
killed. Some accounts say that several of the sons were also
captured. Emma escaped from the Indians several years later
through the efforts of a trader, and returned to Westmoreland
County, where she married and left descendants in Hemfield
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 671
Township, according to Boucher's "History of Westmoreland
County."
(For account of the Destruction of Hannastown, see Penna.
Archives, Vol. 9, pages 596, 606; Butterfield's "Washington-
Irvine Correspondence," pages 176, 251, 381 and 383; Frontier
Forts of Penna., Vol. 2, pages 299 to 321, also 324.)
Scotch-Irish and Germans, going out from "Old Westmore-
land" in after years to seek new homes in the rapidly developing
country, took with them the thrilling story of the Hannastown
raid even to the far West. Along with it, they took the story of
the "Hannastown Resolutions" of May 17th, 1775 — a virtual
Declaration of Independence; also the story of the "Rattlesnake
Flag" of Colonel John Proctor's First Battalion of Westmoreland
County. In a word, they took with them the story of the long
years of suffering and heroic action which have caused the mighty
memories of the Revolution to cling, like gathering mists, around
the hills of "Old Westmoreland."*
The Walker Tragedy — Attack on Ewing's Blockhouse
In September, 1782, about twenty-five Indians approached
the cabin of Gabriel Walker near Robinson's Run, in the southern
part of Allegheny County, not far from the present town of
Carnegie, and concealed themselves with the intention of sur-
prising the family while at dinner. Fortunately some travelers,
with guns, came to the Walker home just at this time, causing the
Indians to delay their attack. When the travelers had taken
their departure, and while the younger members of the family
*The Hanging of Mamachtaga
An incident connected with the history of the Westmoreland County Court, before its
removal to Greensburg, was the hanging at Hannastown, in the summer of 1 785, of the Delaware
Indian, Mamachtaga (Trees-blown-across) for the murder of John Smith, on Smoky or Kill-
buck's Island, on May 11th of that year. The Indian was defended by H. H. Brackenridge,
Esq., later the leader of the Western Pennsylvania Bar. The only defense offered, which was
promptly over-ruled by Judges McKean and Bryan, was that the Indian was intoxicated when
he killed Smith. In broken English, he said he did not know why he killed Smith, but "supposed
he would know when he was under the ground." When some one asked him whether he knew
who the scarlet-robed judges were, he replied that one was God and the other the Savior. Thus
there was in his untutored mind the faint glimmerings of the teaching of the Morav an mis-
sionaries among the Delawares.
While Mamachtaga was confined in the Hannastown jail, awaiting executio:^, the jailer's
little girl became ill. Learning of her illness, the Indian told the jailer that, if permitted to go
into the woods for a few hours, he would get certain roots from which to make a medicine that
would cure the child, promising on his word as an Indian not to try to escape. The jailer took
him at his word. The Indian went to the woods, got the roots, and made the medicine. The
child soon got well. The day of execution having arrived, the Indian again asked permission
to go to the woods, this time to get earth and herbs from which to make the "death paint."
This second request was granted, and he soon returned with his face painted a bright red.
After being taken to the top of the gallows, made of two logs with' a cross-piece binding them
together at the top, he was pushed off into space. His fall broke the rope, and, though stunned,
he arose with a grim smile and again ascended the gallows. The broken rope was mended, and
it and another were placed about his neck. He was then pushed off a second time. There was
no breaking of the rope this time. He was strangled to deatb. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 10, page
464.)
672 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
and an apprenticed boy, named William Harkins, were working
in a field some distance from the house, the Indians, coming from
their place of concealment, captured five of the Walker children,
and pursued William Harkins, who made his escape to the fort
or blockhouse of James Ewing, two miles away, and gave the
alarm. Mrs. Walker, seeing the Indians approach, made her
escape with her infant and another small child to the high weeds
back of the house, and then fled to Ewing's fort. Mr. Walker
also made his escape to this place of refuge. In the meantime,
William Harkins, while running to the fort, passed the cabin of
Isaac Walker, gave him the alarm, and thus enabled him and his
family also to escape to the fort. After burning the home of
Gabriel Walker, the Indians assembled for an attack on Ewing's
fort or blockhouse. Just then several men from Miller's Run,
among whom was Captain Joseph Casnet, arrived at Ewing's.
After a consultation, the Indians murdered two of the captive
children of Gabriel Walker in sight of the blockhouse, boys aged
eight and twelve, respectively, and left their bleeding bodies on I
the ground. '• ' . '
The Indians then departed in a northwesterly direction, taking
with them Gabriel Walker's two daughters and a son. The news
of the murders and capture soon spread through the neighbor-
hood, and a band of about fifty settlers, among whom were
James Ewing, John Henry, Peter Hickman and John Conner,
pursued the Indians, and fired upon them as they were crossing
the Ohio at Logstown, killing one and wounding another. The
three Walker children returned to their parents after the Revolu-
tionary War, according to the "Narrative of the Walker Family,"
written by Isaac Walker, III, now in the possession of Charles
M. Ewing, of Washington, Pa., a descendant of James Ewing.
H. H. Brackenridge, in a letter recorded in the first volume of
Loudon's "Indian Narratives," mentions the murder of the
Walker children, and says that, at about the same time, other
atrocities were committed in what is now Allegheny County,
among them being the murder of two boys, named Chambers,
in a corn field within three miles of Fort Pitt and on the south
side of the Ohio. He seems to indicate that the Walker tragedy
took place in 1781, instead of 1782 as set forth in Isaac Walker's
"Narrative."
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 673
Other Atrocities — Attack on Rice's Fort
In October 1782, a Miss McCormick and Catherine Ewing
were captured by Indians, near McCormick's Fort, not far from
NefT's Mills, Huntingdon County. Miss Ewing was carried to
Montreal, where an exchange of prisoners took place, and she
was sent to Philadelphia, from which place she made her way
home. During the winter of 1782, Miss McCormick's father
learned of the fate of his daughter. He immediately started
after her on horseback, traveling seven days through sleet rain,
and snow, until he arrived at the place where the Indians had
her, and where he secured her by paying a heavy ransom. He
found her in an Indian family, who treated her kindly. She had
been given to an old Indian woman, who took a fancy to her, and
with whom she wandered from place to place until found by her
father.
Some time during the Revolutionary War, probably in 1782,
Indians attacked the home of Priscilla Peak or Peck, located not
far from Wolf's Fort, a place of refuge located about five miles
west of Washington and in the present township of Buffalo,
Washington County. She was confined to her bed with fever
when the Indians came. Some member of the family or other
occupant of the home, threw a quilt around her, and told her to
flee. In her weakened condition she had only strength enough
to reach a pig-pen, where she stopped for breath. Here an Indian
discovered her and scalped her, but was so closely pursued by the
whites that he did not tomahawk her. Later she crawled to
Wolf's Fort on her hands and knees. She recovered, and her
head healed, but she always wore a black cap to conceal her
mutilation.
During the Revolutionary War, also, a Miss Clemmens and
Lydia Boggs were chased by Indians to this fort, being able
to outrun their pursuers. Miss Boggs was later captured and
taken across the Ohio River. She made her escape, however,
swimming her horse across the Ohio.
In the summer of 1782, Matthew (Michael) Dillow and his
son John, were at work in a clearing near Dillow's Fort, in what is
now Hanover Township, Washington County, when Indians
attacked them, killing the father and capturing the son. The
son saw them secrete the body of his father near a large log
before starting on their march. After being in captivity several
years, the son returned to the neighborhood, and was questioned
674 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
as to what became of his father's body. He told the incidents
of his capture, whereupon several settlers, after a search, found
the skeleton of the murdered frontiersman, and buried it near
the fort.
On September 13th, 1782, a band of about seventy Indians
attacked the blockhouse of Abraham Rice, on Buffalo Creek, in
what is now Donegal Township, Washington County. The attack
continued from two o'clock in the afternoon until two o'clock the
following morning. Although the little fort was defended by only
six men, yet the Indians were not able to capture it. One of the
defenders, George Felebaum, was shot through the brain while
peering through a loop-hole, and four of the Indians were killed.
As the Indian band was returning to the Ohio River, they met
two settlers who were on their way to the relief of Rice's stockade,
and killed them. The attack on Rice's Fort was the last invasion
of Western Pennsylvania by a large body of Indians.
The Indians that attacked Rice's Fort were part of a larger
force which had unsuccessfully attacked Fort Henry, at Wheel-
ing, West Virginia, on September 11th and 12th. This was the
second seige of that place during the Revolutionary War. Con-
nected with its history are the thrilling deeds and adventures of
the Zanes, McCollochs, and Wetzels, accounts of which are given
in many books on border warfare, especially McKnight's
"Western Border," Doddridge's "Notes on the Settlement and
Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania",
Whither's "Chronicals of Border Warfare" and Cecil B. Hartley's
"Life of Lewis Wetzel." The German, Lewis Wetzel, has been
called "the Daniel Boone of West Virginia." He is said to have
killed twenty-seven Indians in the region around Wheeling, dur-
ing the Revolutionary War and the Indian uprising from 1789
to 1794, as well as many other Indians in Kentucky.
Until late in the autumn of 1782, the Indians — Senecas from
the upper Allegheny, and Delawares, Shawnees and Wyandots
from Ohio — killed settlers in Western Pennsylvania. General
Irvine wrote General Washington from Fort Pitt, on October
29th, that "they, the Indians, have killed so late as the 6th inst.
in this neighborhood."
Outrages in Union County in 1782 — The Lee Tragedy
Indian outrages in Union County in 1782 began on May 6th
of this year, when two men named Lee and Razoner were killed
between Mifflinburg and New Berlin, and Edward Tate was
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 675
badly wounded. They belonged to Captain George Overmeir's
Company of Rangers,
On the evening of August 13th, 1782, occurred the attack on
the home of Major John Lee, in what is now Winfield, Union
County. This was one of the most revolting crimes of the
Pennsylvania frontier. The family and some neighbors were
seated at supper when between sixty and seventy Indians rushed
into the house, tomahawked and scalped Major Lee, an old man
named John Walker and Mrs. Claudius Boatman and her daugh-
ter. A young woman named Katy Stoner hurried up stairs and
hid behind a chimney, where she remained undiscovered, and thus
survived to relate the details of the tragedy. Mrs. Lee, her
small child and a larger boy named Thomas were led away cap-
tives. Lee's son Robert, who was absent when the Indians
came, returned just as the Indians were leaving, but was not
observed by them. He then fled to Northumberland and gave
the alarm.
The Indians fled along the Great Path, leading up that side
of the valley of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, over White
Deer Mountains, and then crossed to the east side of the river
below Muncy. Colonel Samuel Hunter with a band of twenty
volunteers hastened in pursuit from Fort Augusta, where Sunbury
now stands. Arriving at the Lee home, Colonel Hunter's men
found some of the victims of savage cruelty yet alive and writhing
in the agony of their wounds. Both Major Lee and Mrs. Boat-
man's daughter were alive, and were carried back to Fort Augusta
on litters, where the Major died in great agony soon after his
arrival, while Miss Boatman was nursed back to health. Colonel
Hunter and his party, without waiting to bury the dead, hastened
after the Indians as rapidly as possible, and came in sight of them
above Lycoming Creek.
Mrs. Lee was accidentally bitten on the ankle by a rattlesnake
while crossing White Deer Mountains, causing her leg to become
terribly swollen and to pain her so severely that she traveled
with great difficulty. The Indians, realizing they were being
pursued, urged her along as rapidly as her strength would permit,
but she became weaker and weaker, and when about four miles
below where Jersey Shore now stands, her strength entirely failed
her, and she seated herself upon the ground. By this time.
Colonel Hunter's party were close upon the Indians, and in order
that the poor woman might not be recoveredfby the whites, a
warrior stealthily slipped up behind her, placed the muzzle of
676 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
his rifle close to her head and pulled the trigger, blowing off the
whole top of her head. Another Indian then snatched up her
young child, and holding it aloft by the feet, dashed it against a
tree. The whole Indian band then fled with renewed speed,
crossing the river at Smith's fording, at Level Corner, and
hurrying up through Nippenose Valley.
When Colonel Hunter's men came to the spot where Mrs. Lee
was murdered, they found her body still warm. Happily her
child was not dangerously injured, but was moaning piteously.
The pursuit was now pressing with so much vigor that near Antes'
Gap, the Indians hurriedly separated and ran up both sides of
the mountains. Colonel Hunter then concluded that, inasmuch
as the band had separated, further pursuit was not prudent.
His men then buried the body of Mrs. Lee, and returned, bringing
back the child. At the Lee home, they halted and buried the dead
there.
Young Thomas Lee, who was taken prisoner, was not recovered
until 1788. His brother, Robert, made arrangements with the
Indians to bring Thomas to Tioga Point, where he was delivered
to his relatives and friends. During his long stay with the Indians,
he had become so attached to them and Indian life, that he was
very reluctant to return to civilization, and his friends were
obliged to bind him and place him in a canoe. When the canoe
arrived at Wilkes-Barre, he was untied, but the canoe had no
sooner touched the shore than he darted away like a deer, and it
was several hours before he was retaken. On reaching Northum-
berland, he became sullen and morose, longing to be with his
forest friends and companions. By degrees he became accus-
tomed to civilized life. He eventually became a useful citizen.
The massacre at the Lee home resulted in the death of seven
persons and the capture of six. Of the latter only four were
recovered by their relatives and friends. Among these were
Rebecca Lee, who was restored to her brother, Robert, at North-
umberland, in 1785, and another sister, who was recovered at
Albany in 1786.
About the time of the massacre at the Lee home, a boy was
shot by Indians while on his way to a mill near Lewisburg.
(Linn's "Annals of Buffalo Valley," pages 210 to 213).
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 677
Outrages in Luzerne and Northumberland
Counties in 1782
When recording the Indian events of the Wyoming Valley
of the year, 1781, we set forth some of the experiences of Lieu-
tenant Rosewell Franklin. We now record a more distressing
tragedy in the life of this noted character, quoting from Miner's
"History of Wyoming" :
"In April following, Sunday the 7th, 1782, the Indians, still
burning with rage and intent on vengeance, rushed into Lieutenant
Franklin's house (in the Hanover settlement, a few miles below
Wilkes-Barre and took off his wife and their four remaining
children (two of Franklin's sons, it will be remembered, were
captured by the Indians on September 7th, 1781), one an infant
and set fire to the building, which, with the furniture not plun-
dered, was consumed to ashes. Parties went immediately in
pursuit. Sergeant Thomas Baldwin (Joseph Elliot second in
command) led seven determined men, with great celerity,
taking an unfrequented course, to head the savages. Arrived
at Wyalusing, near sixty miles, they were satisfied by examining
the fording place that the Indians had not crossed the stream.
Pushing on till they came to the mountain, nearly opposite
Asylum, a slight breast-work was thrown up, and arrangements
made to receive the enemy. Every precaution had been taken
to conceal the defence by setting up bushes in front; but the
wary chief, on approaching, discovered the snare, changed the
route of his party, leaving the path, and attempted to ascend the
hill, and pass our men fifty or sixty rods more easterly. The
attack was instantly commenced, a mutual fire was opened, and
continued for some time with spirit and yet with caution; the
Indians being desirous to get off with their prisoners and plunder ;
the pursuing party being afraid of hurting Mrs. Franklin and
the children. In the midst of the firing, the two little girls and
the boy sprung from their captors, and found refuge with their
friends. Instantly the savages shot Mrs. Franklin and retreated;
the chief, either to preserve the infant prisoner, as a trophy,
or to save himself from being a mark for the American rifles,
raised the babe on his shoulder, and thus bearing her aloft, fled.
Having recovered three of the children, and seeing the bleeding
remains of the mother, the Yankees suspended pursuit. Mrs.
Franklin was buried as decently as circumstances permitted, and
the children brought safely to Wyoming, where they arrived on
678 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
the 16th. Two of the men, Sergeant Baldwin and Oliver Bennet,
were wounded, the former severely, by the enemy's fire." The
Indian band numbered thirteen, six of whom were killed.
A boy was murdered by Indians near Bunkers, in the Wyom-
ing Valley, on June 1st, 1782. On the 8th of July of that year,
John Jameson, his young brother and Asa Chapman were riding
from their residence near Nanticoke on their way to Wilkes-
Barre. Coming opposite the Hanover meeting house, Jameson
exclaimed: "There are Indians." Almost at the same instant,
three rifle balls pierced his body, and he fell from his horse dead.
Chapman was wounded, but his horse carried him beyond reach
of the Indians. Young Jameson, being in the rear, escaped with-
out injury. Chapman arrived at the fort at Wilkes-Barre, where
Lieutenant Rosewell Franklin cut out the bullet, but the unfor-
tunate man, after taking an affectionate leave of his wife, breathed
his last a few hours after he received the fatal shot. A few days
later, Daniel McDowal was captured near Plymouth, and carried
to Niagara.
Colonel Samuel Hunter, in a letter written from Sunbury to
James Potter, vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council,
on October 26th, 1782, tells of the following:
"I am sorry to inform you that the savages still continue their
cruel ht)stilities against the inhabitants of this county. The 8th
inst., the enemy wounded one man at Wyoming, and took another
prisoner. The 14th, they killed and scalped an old couple on
Chillisquaque (Creek), the name of Martin, about one mile and
a half from Col. James Murray's, and took three young women
prisoners, being all the family that was in the house. This old
couple, being man and wife, I saw lying killed and scalped, and
was one that helped to bury them. The 24th inst., they killed
and scalped Serj. Edward Lee of Captain Robison's Company,
and took one, Robt. Caruthers, prisoner, about two miles from
Fort Rice."
Some time during the latter years of the Revolutionary War,
probably in 1782, Robert Lyon was sent from Fort Augusta with
a canoe full of supplies, which he was to take to Wyoming. On
the afternoon of the first day, he landed at the mouth of Fishing
Creek, and went to call on the family of a Mr. Cooper near that
place. He had scarcely arrived at the Cooper home when a band
of Indians, led by Shenap, surrounded the house and captured
him. He was taken to Niagara, where he was compelled to run
the gauntlet. Later he was surprised to find his brother as one
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 679
of the British officers at that place. He returned to his home
after the Revolutionary War.
The Abandoned Expeditions— Frontiersmen
Celebrate Thanksgiving
In the summer of 1782, General Washington decided that three
expeditions should be sent against the Indian allies of the British.
One was to be sent by the state of New York against the eastern
Iroquois in the neighborhood of Oswege; one, under Major-
General James Potter, was to advance from Fort Augusta (Sun-
bury, Pa.) against the Seneca strongholds in the valley of the
Genesee; and the third, to be commanded by General William
Irvine, was to advance from Fort Pitt against the Wyandots,
Delawares and other tribes on the Sandusky River in Ohio.
General Irvine began assembling his forces — regulars, volunteers,
rangers, and Pennsylvania and Virginia militia — but was com-
pelled to postpone the contemplated date of departure until
October 20th. While he was thus making ready to advance
against the Wyandots and Delawares, General George Rogers
Clark was busy preparing a similar expedition in Kentucky
against Shawnee towns on the Scioto. A correspondence passed
between General Irvine and General Clark for the purpose of
securing simultaneous action. Then a change of policy came
about on the British side, which we will now relate.
General Sir Guy Carleton, a humane man who had never
approved the infamous alliance of the British with the Indians,
which for six years had spread terror, desolation and death
throughout the frontier, was appointed commander-in-chief of
the British forces in America, shortly before the burning of
Colonel William Crawford at the stake on June 11th, 1782. Soon
after his appointment, shocked by the terrible fate of Colonel
Crawford and other American prisoners at Sandusky, he sent
orders to all British officers on the frontier to exert their efforts
to prevent further atrocities by their Indian allies. Soon these
orders were followed by other orders sent by him to the command-
ants at Detroit and Niagara to cease entirely the sending out of
Indian bands against the American frontiers and to act only on
the defensive. These latter orders reached DePeyster, the
commandant at Detroit, late in August and too late to prevent
the expedition which attacked Fort Henry at Wheeling on Sept-
ember 11th and 12th and Rice's Fort in Washington County on
September 13th. General Washington, at Newburg-on-the-
680 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Hudson, learned of General Carleton's action, on September 23d,
and at once wrote the authorities at Philadelphia to stop the
expeditions preparing to set out from Sunbury and Fort Pitt
(See Butterfield's "Washington-Irvine Correspondence," page
135; Pa. Archives, Vol.9, page 641.) However, Washington's
countermand did not reach General Clark in time to prevent
his expedition against the Shawnees. He moved on and destroyed
the Shawnee towns of Upper and Lower Piqua in what is now
Miami County, Ohio.
On the last Thursday of November, 1782, the harried fron-
tiersmen, believing that the Indian incursions were at an end,
participated with earnestness and great joy in the observance
of the first general Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
Atrocities in Western Pennsylvania
In the Spring of 1783, a band of twenty-five Shawnees, prob-
ably in revenge of the destruction of their towns by General
Clark in the autumn of 1782, entered Washington County and
committed murders. On March 27th, a certain Mrs. Walker was
captured on Buffalo Creek, this county, but succeeded in making
her escape. On April 1st, a family, named Boice, consisting of
eight persons, was captured not far from Washington, and carried
to the Indian villages in Ohio. On April 2nd, a man, whose name
has not been preserved, was killed within the limits of the present
town of Washington. At about the same time as the capture of
Mrs. Walker, persons were killed and captured near Walthour's
Fort in the Brush Creek settlement in Westmoreland County.
The following letters describe these atrocities in Washington and
Westmoreland Counties:
Colonel Stephen Bayard wrote from Fort Pitt to General
Irvine, on April 5th, 1783, stating that, about ten days prior to
the time of writing this letter, Indians killed James Davis and
his son and took two prisoners, near Fort Walthour, Westmore-
land County. Colonel Bayard adds: "An express came to me
last night from Col. Shepard, giving an account of six persons
being killed, six wounded and five made prisoners within seven
miles of Catfish (now Washington, the county seat of Washington
County). This moment I am infoiTned by a man from the Widow
Myres' (Myres' Blockhouse, Allegheny County) that one
Thomas Lyon who lived four miles from her house, was yesterday
killed and scalped."* On the same day (April 5th), William
Myres' or Myers' blockhouse was near the mouth of Turtle Creek. The two sons of Thomas
Lyon were captured on the same day the father was killed. See "Attack on the Lyon Family,"
page 658.
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 681
Parker and James Allison, sub-lieutenants of Washington County,
wrote the president of Pennsylvania as follows: "They (the
Indians) took one Mrs, Walker prisoner on the 27th ult., on
Buffalo Creek, but she happily made her escape. This woman
says that two parties of Indians are gone against the inhabitants.
Two days after, there were two men taken prisoners at Wheeling;
the day following a man was wounded on Short Creek. The 1st
of April, they took the Wison Boice and family consisting of eight
persons, and a man was killed the day following, near Washington
county court house." (Washington-Irvine Correspondence, "408
to 410; Pa. Archives, Vol. 10, page 167).
John Cummins, Lieutenant of the Westmoreland Rangers,
writing President Dickinson from Hannastown, on March 29th,
1783, referring to the murder of James Davis and his son, near
Fort Walthour, says: "Last week they killed two and took two
prisoners about ten miles from this place, near Brushy Run
Brush Creek. I could not learn what number there was of the
enemy. I only hear of four that were discovered. They were so
bold as to endeaver to break open the house, but were bravely
repulsed by one man and one woman who were within, but with-
out any arms or weapons of defense. One of the Indians at-
tempted to push his gun in at the door, which those on the in-
side of the room seized and broke, upon which the Indians left
them. The inhabitants of the frontiers seem more discouraged
this spring than they have been, having flattered themselves with
the most sanguine hopes of peace, which hopes they now think
are frustrated." (Penna. Archives, Vol. 10, page 22.)
Peace Mission of Major Ephraim Douglass
Some of the frontiersmen believed that the atrocities just de-
scribed were committed by Indians who had been out hunting
all winter and had not heard of the peace made between Great
Britain and the United States, or of the orders issued by General
Carleton. There was great fear, among the frontiersmen, that the
Indians might continue their raids without British support; and
hence appeals were sent to Congress for definite treaties of peace
with the tribes. The Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania
asked Congress, on April 4th, to take some action to pacify the
Indians; and repeated this request, on April 29th, with the state-
ment that forty persons had been killed and captured on the
Pennsylvania frontier, since the opening of the spring of 1783.
682 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Two days later, Congress voted to send a messenger to inform
the tribes that Great Britain had been compelled to make peace
with the Americans, and had agreed to evacuate the forts at
Detroit and Niagara. Major Ephraim Douglass, of Pittsburgh,
was the person chosen by Major-General Benjamin Lincoln,
Secretary of War, for this dangerous mission.
Douglass, accompanied by a guide and Captain George Mc-
Cully, left Fort Pitt on June 7th, well mounted and carrying a
white flag. Arriving at the Sandusky River, on June 16th, they
went to the principal town of the Delawares, where they met
the noted Delaware chief, Captain Pipe, who received them very
cordially. Captain Pipe declared himself greatly in favor of
peace, but declined to enter into peace negotiations until after
Douglass had treated with the Wyandots and the Shawnees, his
reason being that the Wyandots and Shawnees had first taken
up the hatchet against the Americans, and had forced the Del-
awares into the war. Douglass and his companions remained
at Captain Pipe's town two weeks. The chief of the Wyandots
residing in that neighborhood (on the Sandusky River) was the
Half King, Dunquat. Douglass learned that Dunquat was at
that time at Detroit, but his wife thought he would soon come
home, and persuaded the peace messengers to wait for him.
Captain Pipe sent a runner to the Shawnee towns on the Miami,
asking their chiefs to come to Sandusky to meet Major Douglass,
but the runner returned in five days with the news that the
Shawnees had just been called to Detroit to attend a council
with the British commander at that place.
Captain Pipe then advised Major Douglass to go to Detroit,
and treat with all the Indian chiefs in the presence of the British
commander. Dunquat did not return at the time his wife ex-
pected him, and Captain Pipe said that he (Dunquat) could not
make peace with the Americans without the authority of the
Wyandot council, which had its seat in Canada, not far from
Detroit. For these reasons Major Douglass decided to take
Captain Pipe's advice, and go to Detroit, at which place, ac-
companied by Captain Pipe, he arrived on July 4th, and was
kindly received by the commander. Colonel DePeyster, who,
however, would not permit him to hold a council with the Indian
chiefs. DePeyster objected to some of the language in Douglass'
letter of instructions, and was afraid that if the Indians were
told that Great Britain had been compelled to make peace with
the America'ns, it might cause the tribes to have contempt for
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR— 1782-1783 683
the power of the British. Nor was he willing that the Indians be
told that the British had agreed to evacuate Detroit, explaining
that he had no knowledge of such agreement. He finally ad-
vised Major Douglass to go to Niagara and state the terms of
his mission to Brigadier-General Allan Maclean, who had superior
authority in such affairs.
However, DePeyster gave much assistance to the object of
Douglass' mission, by holding a council, at Detroit, on July 6th,
with the chiefs of eleven tribes, representing nearly all the Indians
from the Scioto River to Lake Superior. They were the chiefs
of the Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Kickapoos, Weas,
Miamis, Pottawattamies, Wyandots, Ottawas, Piankeshaws and
part of the Senecas. He made the chiefs a long speech in which
he told them the essential part of Douglass' message; that Great
Britain and the United States had made peace; that the British
could, therefore, no longer give the Indians assistance in their
raids against the Americans; that the Americans desired peace
with the Indians, also, and had sent Major Douglass to invite
them to a treaty; and he closed by advising the Indians to cease
their warfare against the Americans.
DePeyster's speech had a good effect on the assembled chiefs,
and although they could hold no council with Douglass, they sur-
rounded his lodging, and saluted him with many and earnest
expressions of friendship. On July 7th, the peace envoys left
Detroit, and traveled through Ontario towards Niagara, which
place they reached in four days, and were civilly received by the
commander. General Allan Maclean, who made the same ob-
jections as those raised by Colonel DePeyster.
However, General Maclean, while not permitting Major Doug-
lass to speak directly to the Iroquois chiefs at Niagara, informed
them through Colonel Butler, of the desire of the United States
for peace with all the Indian tribes. While at Niagara, Douglass
had a long interview with the celebrated Mohawk chief, Joseph
Brant, in which he did all in his power to persuade this chieftain
of the kindly intentions of the United States towards the Indians,
General Maclean advised Major Douglass to go to Quebec and
confer with the Governor-General of Canada, but Douglass,
feeling that he had sufficiently carried out the mission on which
he was sent, decided to return home. General Maclean sent him
by boat to Oswego, from which place he went by way of Albany,
to Princeton, New Jersey, where he made his report to General
Benjamin Lincoln. His mission effected peace on the long-
684 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
harried frontiers. The Indian allies of the British no longer
spread terror, devastation and death in the settlements of New
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky, The Angel of
Peace then descended on the war-scarred, desolated country to
plume her ruffled pinions and to bring the blessings of Heaven
in her train. (See Major Douglass' report, dated August 18th,
1783, and recorded in Penna. Archives, Vol. 10, pages 83-90.)
During the reign of peace following Major Ephraim Douglass'
historic mission, Pennsylvania extinguished the Indian title to the
western part of her domain by two purchases which will be
described at the beginning of the next chapter.
Like in the prior Indian wars, many persons captured by the
Indians during the Revolutionary War never returned to their
relatives and friends. Many, like Duke Swearingen, who was
captured while bringing in the cows, near Swearingen's Fort in
Springhill Township, Fayette County, were never heard of again.
Many were tortured to death. Many were adopted into Indian
families, and preferred life among the Indians to life among the
whites. Many married Indians, with the result that today there
courses in the veins of Delawares and Shawnees on the plains of
Oklahoma and of Iroquois in New York and Canada, the blood of
the best pioneer families of Pennsylvania.
— Photograph by Frank C. Sherman, Rochester, N. Y.
REV. KIRKLAND MONUMENT
Monument at the grave of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, in the burial ground of Hamilton
College, near Clinton, N. Y. Born in Norwich, Conn., December 1, 1741, he early resolved to
devote his life to preaching the Gospel to the Red Man. He became a missionary among the
Oneidas. On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he was employed by the Continental
Congress to secure the friendship of the Six Nations. Owing to his influence, nearly all the
Oneidas remained neutral and refused to yield to the temptation of the British scalp bounties,
while the overwhelming majority of the Iroquois Confederations went over to the British.
He accompanied Sullivan's Expedition against the Six Nations as chaplain and Indian inter-
preter. After the Revolution, by a treaty with the Oneidas, he was granted a tract of land two
miles square near Clinton, Oneida County, N. Y. In 1793, he made valuable donations of
land to Hamilton-Oneida Academy, at Clinton, N. Y., which institution is now Hamilton
College. He died February 28, 1808. See page 506.
CHAPTER XXIX
The Post-Revolutionary Uprising
Purchases at Forts Stanwix and Mcintosh
At the treaty at Fort Stanwix (Rome, New York), in October,
_£\ 1784, the Six Nations ceded to Pennsylvania that part of
the state northwest of the boundary of the purchase of 1768.
The Seneca chief, Cornplanter, who was the bitter enemy of the
United States during the Revolutionary War, but became the
firm friend of the young Republic upon the conclusion of peace,
took a prominent part in the treaty of Fort Stanwix, using all
the energies of his brilliant intellect in favor of peace. The follow-
ing is the description in the deed of the Six Nations, dated October
23d, 1784:
"Beginning on the south side of the river Ohio, where the
western boundary of the state of Pennsylvania crosses the said
river, near Shingo's old town, at the mouth of Beaver Creek, and
thence by a due north line to the end of the forty-second and the
beginning of the forty-third degrees of north latitude; thence by a
due east line separating the forty-second and the forty-third de-
gree of north latitude, to the east side of the east branch of the
Susquehanna River; thence by the bounds of the late purchase
made at Fort Stanwix, the fifth day of November, Anno Domini
one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, as follows: Down
the said east branch of Susquehanna, on the east side thereof, till
it comes opposite to the mouth of a creek called by the Indians
Awandac, and across the river, and up the said creek on the south
side thereof, all along the range of hills called Burnet's Hills by
the English, and by the Indians ,on the north side of
them, to the head of a creek which runs into the west branch of
Susquehanna, which creek is by the Indians called Tyadaghton,
but by the Pennsylvanians, Pine Creek, and down the said creek
on the south side thereof to the said west branch of Susquehanna ;
thence crossing the said river, and running up the south side there-
of, the several courses thereof to the forks of the same river.
686 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
which lies nearest to a place on the river Ohio called Kittanning,
and from a fork by a straight line to Kittanning aforesaid; and
thence down the said river Ohio by the several courses thereof to
where said State of Pennsylvania crosses the same river, at the
place of beginning."
It will be noticed in the above deed of the purchase of 1784,
that the line was to run along the south bank of the West Branch
of the Susquehanna; thence "crossing the said river, and running
up the south side thereof, the several courses and distances thereof
to the forks of the same river, which lies nearest to a place on the
river Ohio called Kittanning, and from the fork by a straight line
to Kittanning aforesaid." The name "Canoe Place" is given
in the old maps of the state to designate the point on the West
Branch of the Susquehanna from which the purchase line ran to
Kittanning. The point also designated the head of navigation on
the West Branch. A survey of that line was made by Robert
Galbraith, in 1786, and a cherry tree, standing on the west branch
of the river was marked by him as the beginning of his survey.
The same cherry tree was also marked by William P. Brady as
the southeast corner of a tract surveyed by him "at Canoe Place",
in 1794, on a grant in the name of John Nicholson, Esq. The
town of Cherry Tree, Indiana County, now covers a part of this
ground. The historic cherry tree disappeared many years ago.
The Legislature of Pennsylvania, in 1893, granted an appropria-
tion of fifteen hundred dollars for marking the historic site, and a
substantial granite monument now stands where the tree stood.
From the Fort Stanwix purchase of November 5th, 1768,
described in Chapter XX, to the Fort Stanwix purchase of Oc-
tober 23d, 1784, the northwestern boundary of Indian purchases
in Pennsylvania ran from the North Branch of the Susquehanna,
on the New York line, to Towanda Creek, thence to the head of
Pine Creek, thence to the mouth of Pine Creek, and up the West
Branch of the Susquehanna to its source; thence over to Kit-
tanning; and thence down the Allegheny and Ohio to the west
line of the state. Now one of the important features of the Fort
Stanwix purchase and treaty of October 23d, 1784, was the
settlement of the difificulty that, ever since the Fort Stanwix
treaty and purchase of November 4th, 1768, had existed among
various Pennsylvania settlers in relation to that part of the
boundary of the former purchase marked by the creek called
Tyadaghton by the Indians. Some settlers claimed that this
was the Indian name for Lycoming Creek, while others claimed
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 687
it was the Indian name for Pine Creek. Therefore, at the
purchase and treaty of October, 1784, the Pennsylvania com-
missioners, in compliance with their instructions inquired
specifically of the Six Nations which stream was really the
Tyadaghton, and also the Indian name of Burnet's Hills, left
blank in the deed of November, 1768. The Indians then informed
the commissioners that Tyadaghton was what the white people
called Pine Creek, which flows into the West Branch of the Susque-
hanna in the western part of Lycoming County, instead of Ly-
coming Creek, which also flows into the West Branch of the Sus-
quehanna in Lycoming County, but some fifteen or more miles
farther to the east. As to Burnet's Hills, the Indians said they
knew them as the "Long Mountains" and by no other name.
The deed given at Fort Stanwix extinguished the Iroquois
title to this region, but it became necessary to appease the
Wyandots, Delawares and other western tribes, who likewise
claimed title to the same lands. Therefore, the same commis-
sioners who were at the treaty at Fort Stanwix, were sent to Fort
Mcintosh, the site of the present town of Beaver, Beaver County,
where, on January 21, 1785, Pennsylvania received a deed from
these Indians for the same land. The Fort Stanwix deed and the
Fort Mcintosh deed are identical as to boundaries, but the con-
sideration in the former was five thousand dollars, and in the latter
two thousand dollars. "Thus," says Meginness, "in a period of
about one hundred and two years was the whole right of the In-
dians to the soil of Pennsylvania extinguished."
These deeds included all of the counties of Lawrence, Mercer,
Crawford, Butler, Venango, Forest, Warren, Clarion, Jeff'erson,
Elk, Kane, Cameron, Potter, and a part of Beaver, Allegheny,
Armstrong, Erie, Indiana, Clearfield, Clinton, Tioga, and Brad-
ford. That part of Erie County called "the triangle," was ceded
to Pennsylvania by the United States, in 1792.
The great Frenchman, General Lafayette, attended the Fort
Mcintosh purchase, and addressed the assembled Indian chiefs.
The Pennsylvania commissioners, Samuel J. Atlee, William
Maclay and Francis Johnston, say in a letter written to President
John Dickinson of the Supreme Executive Council, recorded
in Penna. Archives, Vol. 10, page 346:
"The Marquis addressed them, praised those who had adhered
to us in the late war — blamed those who had been our enemies,
with freedom. Their answer was pertinent, and breathed the
spirit of peace. The Mohawks, in particular, declared their re-
688 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
pentance for the errors which they had committed. We were
Hkewise introduced to them by the Continental Commissioners."
One of the "Continental" or United States commissioners at
the Fort Mcintosh treaty was General Richard Butler, for whom
Butler County is named.
British Agents Cause Indian Uprising —
Atrocities in Washington. Greene and Allegheny
Counties
Upon the close of the Revolutionary War, enterprising men
turned their attention to the settlement of the vast and fertile
region west of the Alleghenies; and Congress, in 1787, formed the
Northwest Territory out of which the states of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin have been formed. General
Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor of the Northwest
Territory, and, in January 1789, held a treaty at Fort Harmar, at
the mouth of the Muskingum River, with representatives of the
Six Nations, Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas and other Western
Indians, by the terms of which they ceded large tracts of land to
the United States. However, the great majority of these Indians
refused to acknowledge the validity of the treaty, and shortly
thereafter, instigated by British traders, went on the war-path,
sending many of their war parties into the valleys of the Ohio
and Allegheny.
As C. W. Butterfield points out, in his "Washington-Irvine
Correspondence" (page 194), Great Britain, during all the time
from the close of the Revolutionary War until the Treaty of
Greenville, Ohio, in August, 1795, was covertly hostile to the
United States, aiding and abetting the Western Indians in various
ways. Therefore, as early as May 12th, 1784, an incursion was
made into Washington County by Indians from Ohio in which
two men were killed at or near Cross Creek. Also, in the harvest
time of 1785, Indians from Ohio again entered this county, mort-
ally wounding Josiah Scott, Jr., and capturing William Bailey,
near Candor. About November 1st, 1787, according to James
Marshel's letter of November 6th, 1787, recorded in Penna. Ar-
chives, Vol. 11, page 209, a band of Indians from Ohio entered
Washington County, attacking two families of seven persons
each, and killing all except two, whom they carried off.
The atrocities mentioned in the above volume of the Pennsyl-
vania Archives were probably the murder of the Davis and Crowe
families, though some authorities place the date of the murder
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 689
of these families as late as 1792. All authorities agree that these
two families were murdered on the same day, and since they do
not agree as to the date, we are inclined to believe that the account
given in the above mentioned volume of the Pennsylvania Ar-
chives refers to these families. We shall now describe these
atrocities.
The family of James Davis lived in what was then Washington
County, but is now Richill Township, Greene County. The fam-
ily was at the breakfast table on a Sunday morning, when the
Indians came to the cabin. Among the Indians was a renegade,
named Spicer, probably the WiUiam Spicer who, as a boy, was
captured in Greene County in the spring of 1774 by Logan, Chief
of the Mingoes, and spent his life among his captors. The father
and his two sons sprang for their rifles, but were shot dead on the
spot. After killing several of the children, according to some
accounts, and scalping the victims, eating the food, and plunder-
ing the cabin, the Indians captured the mother and only daughter,
and started away. One of the Indians was riding one of the Davis
horses, with the daughter before him and the mother behind.
Presently, John Henderson, who lay concealed in a thicket, shot
the Indian rider, causing him to fall from the horse, badly wound-
ed. Some time later, settlers found the decaying body of the
daughter, but no trace of the mother was ever discovered. The
mutilated bodies of the father, two sons and daughter were
buried near the cabin. At a later date, a skeleton of an Indian
was found near the scene of this atrocity, supposed to have been
that of the warrior shot by Henderson. A son of Davis managed
to elude the Indians. It appears that he had been sent to the
pasture field for the horses, while the other members of the family
were at breakfast. ("Frontier Forts," Vol. 2, page 442).
The Crowe family also lived in what is now Richill Township,
Greene County. One of the daughters worked for the family of
James Davis, whose murder we have just related, and came home
every Saturday evening to spend Sunday with her parents. On
the afternoon of the day of the murder of the Davis family, this
girl, accompanied by her four sisters, started for the Davis home.
They sat down under a tree, not far from the mouth of Wharton
Run, to crack nuts, when their brother, Michael, who had been
searching for a strayed colt and found it, passed them and told
them not to delay as it was getting late. Two of the girls then
started up Wheeling Creek and the other three started down the
stream. Presently two rifle shots broke the stillness of the autumn
690 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
afternoon, and two of the girls fell mortally wounded, while the
other three fled with the Indians in pursuit. One of the girls,
named Taner, was knocked down with a tomahawk, and the In-
dians, thinking she was dead, pressed on after the others, one of
whom was captured. The youngest girl, Mary, outran her pur-
suers, and was taken up behind her brother, Michael, on the horse.
She and Michael rode swiftly home, and told their agonized par-
ents what had happened. The parents and the surviving children,
except Taner and Michael, fled to Ryerson's Fort, near the pres-
ent Ryerson's Station. Michael was too young to run that dis-
tance and too large to be carried. His father concealed him
under the floor of the cabin and told him to remain there until
help arrived. In a short time, the Indians pillaged the cabin, but
did not find the boy. He remained hidden for three days without
food or water, before he was rescued. Taner Crowe, after being
knocked down, crawled into the brush and concealed herself be-
yond discovery. She recovered from her wound, and lived to
raise a large family.
It was during the year 1787, that Levi Morgan was attacked
by three Indians, on Buffalo Creek, Washington County, and,
in a running fight killed one of them. The story is told in Mc-
Knight's "Western Border."
On March 27th, 1789, Indians from Ohio made an incursion
into Washington County, capturing a Mrs. Glass, her little son,
and her female slave and two children. One of the Negro children
was killed after the Indians had proceeded a short distance with
their captives. Mr. Glass, discovering that his wife and son had
been captured, fled to Well's Fort, in Cross Creek Township,
and there organized a party of ten settlers who pursued the
Indians, and recovered the captives on the other side of the Ohio
River. Mr. Glass died a few years later, and his widow married
John Brown, and became the mother of Jane Brown, who, on
March 12th, 1811, became the wife of Rev. Alexander Campbell,
the founder of the Campbellite or Christian Church.
One of the most horrible atrocities committed in Washington
County in the pioneer days was the murder of the Mcintosh
family, in what is now West Finley Township, in August, 1789.
The members of the family were in the harvest field, stacking hay
or grain, when a band of Indians fired on them, killing the father,
who was on the stack. The mother and six children then
fled toward the house, but were overtaken, tomahawked and
scalped. Thus perished the entire family, except a daughter who
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 691
had been sent to a pasture field with a horse, and hearing the
firing, fled to Roney's Blockhouse, and gave the alarm. Hercules
Roney, at the head of a band of settlers, started for the scene
of the tragedy. They found the eight mutilated bodies of the
victims, and buried them.
About the time of the murder of the Mcintosh family, John
McCleery was murdered by hostile Indians, near the present
Hookstown, Beaver County. During this same summer, Indians
from Ohio committed atrocities within two miles of Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Gazette of July 2nd, 1789, contained the following:
"Yesterday were brought to this place and buried, the bodies
of two young men, named Arthur Graham and Alexander Camp-
bell, who had gone out the evening before to fish. They were
killed by the savages about two miles from this place."
General Harmar's Defeat
Realizing that the only way to put a stop to the Indian raids
from Ohio into Western Pennsylvania, was to carry the war into
their country, the Federal Government sent troops down the Ohio
in the summer and autumn of 1789, and erected Fort Washington,
where Cincinnatti, now stands. General Josiah Harmar arrived
at that place on December 29th, with three hundred regular
troops, and took command. Leaving Fort Washington with one
hundred regulars, he joined General Scott with two hundred and
thirty Kentucky volunteers, and marched into the Scioto country,
but was unable to engage the Indians in battle, as they abandoned
their villages and fled. The troops then returned to Fort Wash-
ington, having accomplished nothing definite.
The Indians continued their raids into Pennsylvania, Kentucky
and West Virginia during the summer of 1790. Then President
Washington called upon Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky
to raise militia to invade the Ohio country. On September 30th,
General Harmar left Fort Washington, and joined Colonel John
Hardin at Turkey Creek, on October 3d. Harmar's forces num-
bered between fourteen and fifteen hundred men. On October
4th, the army took up the march towards the Indian towns on
the Maumee and its tributaries, the St. Joseph and the St. Mary.
The principal town Harmar intended to attack was the Miami
town, called Kekionga, or Omee, located where the city of Fort
Wayne, Indiana, now stands. Having camped on the St. Mary
River on the night of October 13th, General Harmar, on the
692 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
following day, sent Major James Paul, who commanded a bat-
talion from Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, with six hundred
volunteers to attack Omee. This force arrived at Omee on Oct-
ober 16th, but found that the Indians had fled after having burned
the town. General Harmar arrived with the main column the
next day. The troops then destroyed 20,000 bushels of corn in
the vicinity.
On October 19th, Colonel Hardin, with one hundred and eighty
Pennsylvania and Kentucky militia and thirty regulars, started
in pursuit of some Indians who had stolen some horses the night
before. After a march of six miles, the troops were ambushed by
the Indians and badly defeated. Concluding that a general
engagement with the Indians was impossible, General Harmar
decided to return to Fort Washington. On October 20th, he
marched back eight miles, and then decided to bring on a partial
engagement. Late that night Harmar sent Colonel Hardin and
Major Wyllys, with three hundred Pennsylvania and Kentucky
militia and sixty regulars, with orders to find the enemy and
engage them. Hardin and Wyllys marched their forces to the
junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary Rivers, and then separated
into three columns, moving up the east bank of the St. Joseph
at some distance apart. This separating of the forces was the
opportunity the Miami chief. Little Turtle, and the Shawnee chief,
Blue Jacket, had been waiting for. Soon after the troops sepa-
rated, the Indians attacked the two columns of militia, and then
retreated, luring them away from the regulars. They then fell
upon the regulars, overwhelming them with terrible slaughter.
More than fifty regulars were slain. Among the slain was Major
Wyllys. In the meantime the militia lost one hundred and eighty
officers and men, killed, wounded, and missing. It was estimated
that the Indians lost only about one hundred. The American
survivors joined the main column under General Harmar, on
October 23d, and the army then took up the march back to Fort
Washington, at which place it arrived on November 3d. In this
campaign. General Harmar lost over two hundred men and one
half of his horses. The campaign was a failure, and the battle,
fought near Fort Wayne, Indiana, has gone down in history as
"Harmar's Defeat."
Conciliation of the Senecas
On June 27th, 1790, two friendly Senecas were murdered by
Benjamin Walker, Henry Walker, Joseph Walker and Samuel
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 693
Doyle, on Pine Creek, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The
Walkers were sons of John Walker who was killed by Indians
in the attack on the home of Major John Lee, in Union County,
on August 13th, 1782. At the time of the murder of the friendly
Senecas, the Delawares, Shawnees, Wyandots and other western
tribes were at war with the United States, and were doing all
in their power to draw the Senecas into the conflict. Hence it was
feared that the murder of the friendly Senecas would have the
effect of causing their tribe to join the hostile Indians. In order
to avert the threatened danger, President Washington, on Sept-
ember 4th, commissioned Colonel Timothy Pickering, then at
Wyoming, to meet the chiefs of the Senecas and offer to make
reparations for the injury done their tribe. Colonel Pickering
and Colonel Simon Spalding met Red Jacket, Farmer's Brother
Fish Carrier, Big Tree, Aupaumont and other chiefs of the
Senecas, at Tioga, on November 14th to 23d, gave them presents
and secured their friendship. The work of conciliation was con-
cluded at a treaty held at Elmira, New York the following year.
On October 29th, 1790, the Seneca chief, Cornplanter, accom-
panied by his half-brother. Half Town, appeared before the
Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, and laid before that
body a number of wrongs committed against the Senecas. He
had intended to go to Philadelphia at an earlier date, but was
detained by the excitement among the Senecas on account of
the murder of their two chiefs on Pine Creek. He told the Council
of the robbing of some of his company at Cat Fish (Washington,
Pa.,) as they were returning from the treaty at Fort Harmar,
early in 1 789 ; and of the murder of a young Seneca, the husband of
the sister of Complanter's wife, by a white man, about four miles
above Pittsburgh, in 1786, and of the murder of his (Complant-
er's) nephew, about fifteen miles below Pittsburgh, during the
preceding winter. Said he, on this occasion: "Fathers, consider
me and my people, and the many injuries we have sustained by
the repeated robberies and in the murders and depredations com-
mitted by the whites among us." (Pa. Col. Rec, Vol. 16, pages
501 to 506.)
Cornplanter and Half Town remained in Philadelphia until the
meeting of Congress. On December 1st, he met President Wash-
ington, and laid before him the complaints of the Senecas and
their request that lands be allotted to them. Washington
gave the noted chief a sum of money, and bespoke his aid in
pacifying the Miamis, In the meantime Governor Mifflin sent
694 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
a message to the Senecas with some of Complanter's companions,
deploring the murder of the two chiefs on Pine Creek.
It was a dark hour for the young RepubHc when Complanter
was holding his councils with Governor Mifflin and President
Washington at Philadelphia. The army of General Harmar had
gone down to inglorious defeat before the might of the western
tribes, and the British at Niagara were using their utmost in-
fluence to array the powerful Senecas against the United States.
Murders in Armstrong, Westmoreland, Indiana
and Crawford Counties
Following the defeat of General Harmar, many bloody incur-
sions were made upon the Western Pennsylvania frontier. One of
these was the attack on the fortified home of James Kirkpatrick,
in South Bend Township, Armstrong County, on April 28th, 1791.
Mr. Kirkpatrick's family had just completed morning worship,
when George Miller, who was at the home at that time, went to
the door and found three savages with their rifles cocked and toma-
hawks ready for attack. They rushed forward to enter the house,
but Miller succeeded in closing it before them. The Indians then
fired through the door and wounded Mr. Miller in the wrist, and
killed Kirkpatrick's child lying in its cradle. Mr. Kirkpatrick
then went to the loft, made an incision in the wall, and began to
fire on the Indians, killing one of them on the spot. In the mean-
time, Mrs. Kirkpatrick remained below busily employed in making
bullets, while her husband and his companion were defending the
house.
The above is the account given by most historians; but atten-
tion is called to the fact that, on Page 555 of volume four of the
Second Series of the Pennsylvania Archives, William Findley, in
a letter written to A. Dallas, Secretary of the Commonwealth, on
April 29th, 1791, states that there were six militia in Kirkpatrick's
house at the time of the attack. Also Andrew Gregg, in a letter
written to Colonel Samuel Bryson, and recorded in the same
volume of the Pennsylvania Archives, Page 559, states that two
men were killed in this attack and one wounded, in addition to the
killing of the babe.
There is a tradition among Mr. Kirkpatrick's descendants that,
after the attack on his home he decapitated the dead Indian and
placed his head upon a pole as a warning to other Indians that
might chance to come into the neighborhood ; also that he skinned
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 695
the Indian, tanned the skin and made it into razor straps. Robert
Mclntyre, of Butler, Pa., one of Kirkpatrick's descendants, has
one of the razor straps.
Two children, John Sloan and his sister, Nancy, a few weeks
after the attack on the home of James Kirkpatrick, were captured
near the Lutheran and Reformed Church, in South Bend Town-
ship, Armstrong County. They were working in the corn field
at the time. After being with the Indians for several years, they
were delivered at Fort Washington, and returned to their parents.
After returning, they said that, as they were being carried away,
their captors contemplated attacking the cabin of a settler named
Lowry, who lived in the same neighborhood, but seeing a hand
spike leaning against the cabin door, and mistaking it for a rifle,
decided not to make the attack.
The Mitchell family lived in Derry Township, Westmoreland
County, on the Loyalhanna, about two miles east of Latrobe.
In 1791 the family consisted of the mother and two children.
Charles, aged seventeen, and Susan, aged fifteen, the father having
died a few years before. During this year, four Indians ap-
proached the home while Charles and Susan were in the stable
attending to the work of feeding the stock. Charles tried to escape
by running towards the Loyalhanna, but was captured. Susan
hid under a trough for feeding horses, and the Indians were unable
to discover her. They then captured the mother, and started
north with her and Charles. They soon found that Mrs. Mitchell
was too old to travel. Then two Indians pushed on ahead with
Charles, while the other two loitered behind with Mrs. Mitchell.
After a while those conducting Charles stopped to build a fire,
when the two who had charge of Mrs. Mitchell joined them with
her bleeding scalp. They stretched and dried it in the presence of
her son. The band then crossed the Kiskiminetas into Arm-
strong County where they came upon the tracks of two white men,
which Charles recognized as those of Captain John Sloan and
Harry Hill. There was snow on the ground, and Captain Sloan's
exceedingly large feet made such large marks as to astonish the
Indians. One of them took the ramrod of his rifle and measured
Sloan's tracks. Charles told him that Sloan was a well-known
Indian fighter; whereupon the Indians decided not to follow Sloan
and Hill, and immediately pushed on northward, taking Charles
to the Senecas on the headwaters of the Allegheny River. Here
he escaped three years later, and returned to the Ligonier Valley.
One of the outrages committed about this time was the capture
696 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
of little Jacob Nicely, aged five years, the son of Adam Nicely,
who lived on Four Mile Run, in Westmoreland County, about two
miles from its junction with the Loyalhanna. Authorities differ
as to the time of the capture, some stating that it was during the
summer of 1790, and others during the summer of 1791.
Little Jacob and his brothers and sisters were picking black-
berries. Jacob returned to the house where his mother, who was
baking, gave him a cake and told him to rejoin his brothers and
sisters. He then started to return to the other children, when a
band of Indians, concealed in the woods, captured him. The
father with some companions followed the captors as far as the
Kiskiminetas, where their trail was lost in the forest.
Years came and went, and no trace of the captured child was
found. Finally, in 1828, a man from Westmoreland County, who
was trading among the Senecas in Warren County, recognized
Jacob, and brought back this information to the mother, who was
then an old lady past seventy years of age. In the meantime the
father had died. A brother then traveled on horseback to the
Seneca reservation, and found the long-lost Jacob. The brothers
recognized each other. Jacob had been adopted by the Indians,
had a family, and considerable possessions. A tradition in the
Nicely family says that some time prior to 1828, Jacob had made
a journey to Westmoreland County, in an effort to locate his rela-
tives, but being unable to speak English and mispronouncing the
family name, had returned to his Indian family without finding
his mother, brothers, and sisters.
Jacob accompanied his brother part way on the latter's return
to Westmoreland County, and presented him with a rifle and other
implements. He promised to return the following summer to visit
the aged mother. However, he did not return as he had promised,
perhaps having died. It is said that the father was unable to
converse on the subject of the capture of "Jakey" without shed-
ding tears. The aged mother went to her grave with the vivid re-
collection of her child captured so many years before.
Some time in 1791, David Peelor was killed by Indians while
working on his farm, a short distance from his blockhouse in
Armstrong Township, in the western part of Indiana County.
On April 1st, 1791, the settlers in "Mead's Settlement," where
Meadville, Crawford County, now stands, were warned by the
Seneca chief. Flying Cloud, of threatened danger from the
hostle Indians in Ohio. On the same day, eleven hostile Indians
were seen a short distance north of the settlement. Then, the
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 697
Seneca chief, Half Town, who was encamped in the neighborhood
with twenty-seven of his warriors, joined the settlers in a fruitless
search for the hostile Indians. On May 3d, Cornelius Van Horn
was captured in this settlement by a band of Indians. They
carried him to Conneaut Lake, where he made his escape and
returned to the settlement. At the time of the capture of Van
Horn, William Gregg was killed, and Thomas Ray was captured.
He was taken to Detroit, where Captain White, his former school-
mate in Scotland, purchased him from the Indians for two gallons
of whiskey, and sent him to Buffalo, from which place he was
conducted to Franklin, Pa., by the friendly Mohawk, Stripe Neck.
Also in the summer of 1791, Darius Mead was captured near
Franklin. His body was afterwards found side by side with that
of one of his captors. Captain Bull, a Delaware. They had fought
a duel to the death. Their bodies were buried side by side where
found, near the Shenango, in Mercer County.
John Brickell's Captivity
Some time in 1791, John Brickell, a lad of ten years, was
captured by some Delawares, very likely near Union town,
Fayette County. He was taken to the Delaware towns in Ohio,
at one of which he was compelled to run the gauntlet. However,
a chief, whom he believed to be Captain Pipe, saved him from
most of the tortures of this ordeal. Later, he was adopted by the
Delaware Chief, Big Cat, who treated him very kindly. During
his captivity of four and one half years, he met some of his
neighbors, who had also been captured, among these being Jane
Dick.
Young Brickell was delivered up at Fort Defiance, following
General Wayne's victory over the western tribes at the battle of
the Fallen Timbers. In his "Narrative," he thus describes this
occasion :
"Big Cat told me I must go over to the fort. The children
hung around me crying, and asked me if I was going to leave
them. I told them I did not know. When we got over and were
seated with the officers, Big Cat told me to stand up, which I
did. He then arose, and addressed me in about these words:
'My son, there are men the same color as yourself. There may
be some of your kin there, or your kin may be a great way of¥
from you. You have lived a long time with us. I call on you to
say if I have not been a father to you.' I said: 'You have used
Correction:— John Brickell was captured on the Allegheny instead of near Uniontown. He
was born near the latter place.
698 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
me as well as a father could a son.' He said: 'I am glad you
say so. You have lived with me; you have hunted with me.
But our treaty says you must be free. If you choose to go with
the people of your own color, I have no right to say a word;
but if you choose to stay with me, your people have no right to
speak. Now reflect on it and take your choice, and tell us as
soon as you make up your mind.'
"I was silent a few minutes, in which time it seemed as if I
thought of almost everything. I thought of the children I had
just left crying; I thought of the Indians I was attached to, and
I thought of my own people, and this latter thought predom-
inated, and I said: 'I will go with my kin.' The old man then
said: 'I have raised you; I have taught you to hunt; you are a
good hunter; you have been better to me than my own sons.
I am now getting old, and cannot hunt. I thought you would
be a support to my age. I leaned on you as a staff; now it is
broken. You are going to leave me, and I have no right to say
a word; but I am ruined.' He then sank back, in tears, to his
seat. I heartily joined him in his tears; parted with him, and
have never seen or heard of him since."
General St. Clair's Defeat
President Washington determined to send another army against
the Western Indians, and chose for its leader General Arthur
St. Clair, of Westmoreland County, Governor of the Northwest
Territory. Twenty-three hundred regulars and militia from
Western Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky assembled at Fort
Washington. "Beware of a surprise," said Washington to St.
Clair, as the latter left Philadelphia to take charge of the army,
many of whose soldiers were recruits from the large towns, ener-
vated by idleness and debauchery, and unfit for the rigors of
warfare against the Indians.
On September 17th, 1791, the army left Ludlow Station, six
miles from Fort Washington (Cincinnati), and proceeded slowly
to the Great Miami, where an advance detachment had erected
Fort Hamilton named in honor of Alexander Hamilton. On
October 12th, the army started the erection of Fort Jefferson,
forty-four miles north of Fort Hamilton and six miles south of the
present Greenville, Darke County, Ohio. Here General St. Clair
was taken ill, and was not able to proceed further until October
24th, on which day an advance of six miles was made, the General
Monument at the grave of General Arthur St. Clair, in the old Presbyterian
Cemetery, Greensburg, Pa. General St. Clair was born in Thurso, Caithness,
Scotland, in 1734; came to America during the French and Indian War. Settled
in the Ligonier \'a!ley, Westmoreland County, in 1764. He was agent for the
Penns. Served in the American forces during the Revolutionary War. Was a
delegate to the Continental Congress from November 2, 1785 to November 28,
1787, and its president in 1787. Was Governor of the Northwest Territory from
1789 to 1802. Was defeated by the western tribes, November 4, 1791. Died
August 31. 1818.
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 699
being so ill that he could hardly sit on his horse. The march was
resumed again.on October 30th, and on the same day sixty of the
militia deserted. On the night of November 3d, the army, weak-
ened by desertions and the garrisons left at Fort Hamilton and
Fort Jefferson, encamped on the eastern fork of the Wabash
River, upon a slight timbered elevation. St. Clair's forces num-
bered scarcely fourteen hundred at this time.
The militia encamped, on this night, on the other side of the
stream, about a quarter of a mile from the regulars. About half
an hour after sunrise on the morning of November 4th, the
militia were attacked by a large force of Indians, who charged
like trained soldiers. Some of the regulars rushed to their support,
but the onrush of the Indians was found irresistible, and both
the militia and the supporting regulars were driven back to the
main camp of the army. The Indians then surrounded the army,
and continued the work of slaughter. Little Turtle led the
Miamis, Blue Jacket, the Shawnees, Buckengahelas, the Dela-
wares, and Black Eagle, the Wyandots. Tecumseh, then a young
warrior, was among the Shawnee forces. The Indian chiefs were
assisted by the renegades, Simon Girty, Alexander McKee and
Matthew Elliott. It has also been claimed that Joseph Brant,
the famous Mohawk chief, was present, but this has been doubted.
According to Simon Girty, the enemy consisted of about twelve
hundred Indians besides some Canadians and half-breeds, al-
though some authorities place the number of Indians at more
than two thousand.
The battle raged for three hours. St. Clair's cannon failed to
terrify the Indians. Under the cover of its smoke, they crept up
on the front line and with the sickening thuds of their tomahawks,
broke the skulls of the soldiers. Their sharpshooters picked off
the artillerymen until only one officer was left Captain Ford —
and he was desperately wounded. Two of General St. Clair's
horses were shot before he could mount. He was so weak from
illness that he had to be lifted on a third horse, and, during the
battle, three horses were shot under him, and eight bullets pierced
his clothing and one cut off a lock of his grey hair. General
Richard Butler, second in command, was among the slain.
Thirty-seven officers and five hundred and ninety-three privates
were killed. Thirty-three officers and two hundred and fifty
privates were wounded. About two hundred and fifty women —
wives of some of the officers and men, cooks and camp followers —
were with the doomed army. Of these, fifty-six were killed. Many
700 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
soldiers and women were captured, and tortured to death. Sup-
plies to the value of thirty-three thousand dollars fell into the
hands of the Indians. The losses of this battle were greater than
those incurred by Washington in any battle of the Revolution.
At last, Colonel Darke, with some of the bravest troops, cut
a way through the ring of Indians, and opened an avenue for the
escape of the survivors. The Indians then fell on the rear guard,
and pursued the army for four miles in its disorderly retreat to
Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles away. Then they returned to
the scene of horror, to kill the wounded and to plunder the dead.
In his official report, General St. Clair said that the way to Fort
Jefferson was strewn with guns, cartridge-boxes and accoutre-
ments of all kinds. On November 8th, the survivors arrived at
Fort Washington.
In January, 1792, a detachment, sent by Colonel James Wil-
kinson, arrived at the scene of slaughter. The weather was bit-
terly cold, and the frozen bodies of the slain lay in great heaps,
scalped, stripped, and so blackened that but few of the bodies
could be identified. Some — those of both soldiers and women —
had stakes driven through them. Many bodies, covered with the
deep snow, could not be found. Colonel Wilkinson's men buried
all that could be found. On December 25th, 1793, a detachment,
sent by General Wayne, arrived on the battle-field. Some ac-
counts say that, before the men could lie down that night, they
had to clear the ground of bones. The next day all the bones
that could be found were buried. Among these were six hundred
skulls.
Colonel Wilkinson's detachment then erected Fort Recovery,
on the site of the battle. The town of Fort Recovery, in Mercer
County, Ohio, now occupies the site where St. Clair's army went
down to overwhelming and inglorious defeat.
This was one of the most crushing and disastrous defeats in
the Indian annals of America. The country was shocked, humili-
ated, and disheartened; and the Indians were much emboldened.
Washington was extremely agitated on hearing of St. Clair's mis-
fortune, and gave way to passionate invective, but recovering
himself said : "General St. Clair shall have justice. I will receive
him without displeasure; I will hear him without prejudice; he
shall have full justice." His investigation into St. Clair's conduct
resulted in the General's honorable acquittal.
A final word as to General Richard Butler. As related in
Chapter XIII, Simon Girty, the "White Savage," as Heckewelder
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 701
fittingly called him, saw and recognized General Butler as the
noted soldier was writhing in the agony of his wounds. Girty
told an Indian warrior that Butler was a high officer, whereupon
the Indian sank his tomahawk in the skull of the brave General,
scalped him, cut out his heart, and divided it into as many pieces
as there were tribes in the battle.
St. Clair had fought courageously against the Indian hordes led
by Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, and Simon Girty, the renegade; but
he never rose again in public estimation. Upon his removal as
Governor of the Northwest Territory, in 1802, he retired to his
mansion, which in the days of his affluence, he had built about two
miles northwest of Ligonier, in the Ligonier Valley. Financial
reverses soon came upon him, and his beautiful home and all his
other property were sold. He then removed to a log house on the
summit of Chestnut Ridge, where his son had purchased a small
farm for him. Here the old soldier spent the remainder of his
days in poverty, eking out a miserable existence by keeping
tavern and selling supplies to teamsters. He made frequent
appeals to the Legislature of Pennsylvania and to Congress for aid
in his declining years. His claim against the Government was
based upon the fact that he personally stood good for the supply-
ing of much provisions and equipment for the army which he led
against the Ohio Indians, on the promise of the Secretary of the
Treasury to reimburse him. In 1813 Pennsylvania gave him an
annuity of four hundred dollars; and shortly before his death,
Congress voted him the sum of two thousand dollars in settlement
of his claims against the Government, and a pension of sixty
dollars per month, dated back one year. Not a dollar of the settle-
ment gave any relief to the aged man, as it was all seized by his
creditors.
On August 30th, 1818, while driving down the Chestnut Ridge
with a pony hitched to an old wagon, he fell from the jolting
vehicle upon the rough road, where Susan Stienbarger found him
lying unconscious as she was going out to gather berries. The
pony was standing nearby. The General was then taken to his
humble home, but never regained consciousness, dying the next
day at the great age of eighty-four years. He is buried in the old
Presbyterian cemetery at Greensburg, where the Masons have
erected a monument at his grave having the statement that it
is "erected to supply the place of a nobler one due from his
country." His warfare over and his troubles ended, the old
soldier sleeps serenely in the arms of everlasting peace.
702 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Capture of Massa Harbison
Massa Harbison, whose terrible sufferings at the hands of the
Indians have been given wide publicity in Western Pennsylvania,
was born in Amwell Township, Somerset County, New Jersey,
March 18th, 1770, the daughter of Edward White, a soldier in the
Revolutionary War. As a child she witnessed the battles of Long
Island, Trenton, and Monmouth. In 1773 her father settled in
Brownsville, Fayette County, where she married John Harbison,
in 1787.
Her husband was a soldier in St. Clair's army. Being wounded
at the defeat of St. Clair, he was given lighter duty as a scout,
serving along the Allegheny frontier. On March 18th, 1792,
Indians attacked the home of Thomas Dick below the mouth of
Deer Creek, Allegheny County, and captured the entire family.
On the 22nd of March of the same year, seven Indians attacked
the house of Abraham Roose, about two miles above the mouth of
Bull Creek in the same county, and massacred his entire family.
The news of these massacres alarmed Mrs. Harbison, and with a
small child in her arms and another tied on the horse behind her,
she traveled seven miles from her home to James Paul's at Pine
Run, at which place about seventy women and children were col-
lected and from there taken to a place on the east side of the Alle-
gheny River called Reed's blockhouse, or Reed's station, about
two miles below the mouth of the Kiskiminetas.
Here Mrs. Harbison was captured within gunshot of the block-
house on May 22nd, 1792, by a band of Munsees and other
Indians, during the absence of her husband, who was on duty as a
scout at the time of his wife's capture.
Two spies, Davis and Sutton, having spent the night at the
Harbison home, left the next morning, Sunday May 22nd, when
the horn at the blockhouse was blown, leaving the door open.
Several Indians soon afterward entered, and dragged Mrs. Harbi-
son and her two eldest children by their feet from their beds, the
third and youngest child, about a year old, being in bed with her.
While the Indians were plundering the home, Mrs. Harbison ran
outside and shouted to the men in the blockhouse. Then an
Indian ran up and stopped her mouth, and another rushed at her
with upraised tomahawk, which a third seized, calling her his
squaw and claiming her as his own. Fifteen Indians then ad-
vanced and fired upon the blockhouse, killing one man and wound-
ing another, named Wolf, who was returning from the spring.
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 703
When Mrs. Harbison told her captors that there were forty men
at the blockhouse, each having two guns, those who were firing
were called back, and the band then started off with their captives.
Because one of the little boys, three years old, was crying and
unwilling to leave, one of the Indians seized him, dashed out his
brains on the threshold of the house, stabbed and scalped him.
The unfortunate woman and her two surviving children were
then taken to the top of the river hill, east of Freeport, where the
band stopped to tie up the plunder, and Mrs. Harbison counted
them, their number being thirty-two, among whom were two
white men, painted as Indians. Several could speak English.
Mrs. Harbison knew some of them well. Two were Senecas and
two were Delawares of the Munsee Clan, whose guns her husband
had repaired almost two years before. Two Indians were detailed
to guard her, and the rest then went off towards Puckety Creek.
Her guards then caught two of her uncle, John Currie's horses,
and placing her and her youngest child on one and a guard and
the other child on the other, proceeded towards the Kiski-
minetas River to a point opposite the upper end of Todd's Island
in the Allegheny, where, in descending the steep river hill, the
Indian's horse fell and rolled over, throwing the boy from his
back. On reaching the Allegheny, the horses could not be made
to swim. Then the Indians took their captives over to the island
in canoes.
After landing on Todd's Island, the little boy who had been
injured in falling from the horse, was tomahawked and scalped.
The Indians then crossed with their captives to the west side of
the Allegheny, where Freeport now stands, and proceeded to the
forks of Buffalo Creek, thence to the Indian camp near Keams'
Crossing, on the Connoquenessing, about two miles north of
Butler. Here the unhappy mother and her child spent two nights
in captivity. Here, also, she succeeded in escaping with her child
on the morning of May 25th, when one of her guards was absent
and the other had fallen asleep. For two days, she fled through
the wilderness towards the Allegheny, earring her child, her legs
and body being torn with briers and thorns and her feet pierced
by thorns. The Indians followed her trail, and, at one time, were
so near her as she lay concealed in a tree top, that she could hear
the wiping stick of one of the guns of the Indians, as it struck
against the weapon. For two hours she lay there, the child's
mouth full of cloth to keep it from crying, in a stillness so profound
that she could distinctly hear the beating of her heart.
704 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
On May 27th, she arrived at the Allegheny, opposite Six-Mile
Island. Seeing three men on the east side of the river, she called
to them, telling them who she was and of her terrible experience.
They requested her to walk up the bank of the river for some
distance, that they might see whether the Indians were using her
for a decoy. James Crozier then came over in a canoe, while the
other men stood with cocked rifles, ready to fire if she proved to
be a decoy. She was taken to the house of Mr. Carter, where
Sarah Carter and Mary Ann Crozier extracted one hundred and
fifty thorns from her feet and legs, by actual count of Felix Negley,
who watched the operation. On May 28th, she was taken in a
canoe to Pittsburgh, where, before John Wilkins, justice of the
peace, she made an affidavit setting forth her terrible experiences.
Her husband met her at Mr. Wilkin's ofifice that evening, and the
next day she was taken to Coe's station, on the west bank of the
Allegheny, at a point about a mile below the present town of
Parnassus. From this place a scout went the following morning
to Todd's Island, and buried the body of her five-year-old -son.
Six-Mile Island, where Mrs. Harbison was taken across the
river to safety, lies in the Allegheny just above Sharpsburg and
opposte Highland Park, Pittsburgh.
She resided during several subsequent years at Salt Lick, a
mile and a half north of Butler, on the Connoquenessing, at or
near the site of the Indian camp mentioned in her affidavit and
narrative. The last years of her life were passed in a cabin on the
lot on the northeastern corner of Fourth Street and Mulberry
Alley, Freeport, opposite the Methodist Episcopal Church, where
she died on Saturday, December 9th, 1837.
Concerning her husband, John Harbison, Smith's "History of
Armstrong County" relates the following incident:
"On a certain occasion Craig (Captain John Craig, commander
of the blockhouse at Freeport), ordered a scouting party to make
a tour of observation as far up the country as the mouth of Red
Bank. They went, and on their return reported that they had
not discovered any Indians. One of them, however, while on his
death-bed, many years afterward, sent for Craig and confessed to
him that, while on that tour, he and his comrades had captured an
Indian, and after obtaining all the information possible from him,
and not wishing to have the trouble of taking him as a prisoner to
the blockhouse, they concluded to keep his capture a secret, and
to dispatch him by tying him to a tree and each one shooting him,
so that, all being equally guilty, there would be no danger of any-
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 705
one disclosing their dread secret. Others of that scouting party,
having been questioned about that affair, acknowledged to finding
the Indian, but averred that John Harbison, who had just cause
for a deadly hate toward all Indians, tomahawked him while he
was conversing with another one of the party who understood the
Indian language, and that they all agreed to keep that deed secret
on Harbison's account."
Massa, however, in her narrative says that the killing of this
Indian occurred on Puckety Creek, Westmoreland County.
The capture of Massa Harbison was the most memorable of
any on the Allegheny frontier; yet no tablet has been erected on
the site of the home from which she and her children were dragged
by the ruthless savages, and on whose threshold her little son was
killed. Her dust with that of many others of the pioneers, was
removed to the new cemetery at Freeport some years ago, where a
marble monument has been erected at her grave, bearing the
following inscription :
Massa, Wife of John Harbison,
1770—1837
Captured By Indians May 22,
and Escaped May 27, 1792.
Murder on Fort Run Near Kittanning
In 1791 or 1792, an outrage occurred on Fort Run, near Kit-
tanning, thus described in Smith's "History of Armstrong
County":
"George Cook, who was born about 1764, was a soldier, a
scout, and resided in the Manor (Manor Township) from either his
boyhood or his early manhood until he was nearly four score, used
to narrate to his neighbors, among whom was William McKellog,
of 'Glentworth Park,' from whom the writer obtained a statement
of these tragical facts : While Cook was a member of a scouting
party who occupied a fort or blockhouse near Fort Run, so called
from Fort Armstrong, some Indians made a small cord from the
inner bark of a linden tree, with which they anchored a duck in a
hole or pool in that run, formed by the action of the water about
the roots of a sugar maple tree on its brink. Three of the scouting
party, while out on a tour of duty, noticed the duck which must
have appeared to them to be floating on the water. They set their
guns up against a buttonwood tree, which with the sugar maple
tree, was cut down after that land came into the possession of
706 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Richard Bailey. While they were stooping to catch the duck, as it
was presumed they did, they were shot by Indians, probably three,
because three reports of guns were heard. They fell dead into the
run, whose waters was colored with their blood. Hence that stream
also bears the name of Bloody Run. The bodies of those three
men were buried on a knoll opposite where they were shot, eight
or ten rods higher up the river. The Indians were probably con-
cealed among the weeds, which were then quite rank and abund-
ant."
"Several of the men who were in the fort or blockhouse, on
hearing the gun shots, came out, saw what had occurred, and dis-
covered the Indians'trail, which, on that or the next day, they
followed to the mouth of Pine Creek, and were about to give up
the pursuit, when, looking up the hill, they saw smoke on its face.
After dark, they crossed the mouth of the creek, and ascertained
the exact position in which the Indians were. The next morning
they crawled as carefully and quickly as possible through the
weeds and willows, until they thought they were within sure gun-
shot of the murderers of their comrades. They saw one of them
mending his moccasin. The other two were, they thought, cook-
ing meat for breakfast. They shot and killed two of the Indians,
and captured the other. Having brought him past the mouth of
that creek, on their return, and having reached 'an open grove,'
they told him that they would give him a start of some distance
ahead of them, and if he would beat them in running a race, he
should be released. He accepted the offer, started, but was over-
taken, fatally shot, and his body was left where he fell."
Some time during the summer of 1792, an aged lady, named
Nancy Ross, was killed and scalped when hunting for her cows,
near the site of the present town of West Alexander, Washington
County.
The Attack on the Party of Captain Sharp
In May, 1794, the Indians again made their appearance on the
Allegheny and attacked a canoe going up the river to Franklin,
killing John Carter and wounding William Cousins and Peter
Kinner. They were unable to get any scalps on this occasion, as
the other occupants paddled it out of their reach.
Major Denny mentions the above attack in his journal under
June 1, 1794, stating that this band of Indians then "crossed to the
Kiskiminetas and unfortunately fell in with a Kentucky boat
full of women and children, with but four men, lying to, feeding
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 707
their cattle." This was the attack on Captain Sharp, which is
thus described in Smith's "History of Armstrong County":
" Among the pioneers in the Plum Creek region was Captain
Andrew Sharp, who had been an officer in the Revolutionary ser-
vice, under Washington. He, with his wife and infant child, emi-
grated to this region in 1784, and purchased, settled upon, and
improved the tract of land, consisting of several hundred acres, on
which are Shelocta and the United Presbyterian Church, near the
county line.
"Captain Sharp, after residing about ten years on his farm,
revisited his kindred in Cumberland County, procured a supply
of school books and Bibles for his children, and returned to his
home in the wilderness. Determined that his children should have
facilities for education which did not exist there, he traded his farm
there for one in Kentucky. In the spring of 1 794, he removed with
his family to Black Lick Creek, where he either built or purchased
a flatboat, in which he, his wife and six children, a Mr. Connor,
wife and five children, a Mr. Taylor, wife and one child, and
Messrs. McCoy and Connor, single men, twenty in all, with their
baggage and household effects, embarked on the proposed passage
down the Kiskiminetas and Allegheny Rivers to Pittsburgh, and
thence on to Kentucky. Low water in the Black Lick rendered
their descent down it difficult. They glided down the Conemaugh
and Kiskiminetas to a point two miles below the falls of the latter,
at the mouth of Two Mile Run, below the present site of Apollo.
Capt. Sharp tied the boat there, and went back for the canoe
which had been detached while crossing the falls. When he re-
turned the children were gathering berries and playing on the
bank; the women were preparing supper, and the men who led the
horses had arrived. It was about an hour and a half before sunset.
A man then came along and reported that the Indians were near.
The women and children were called into the boat, and the men
having charge of the horses tied them on shore.
"It was then thought best that the party should go to the hom.e
of David Hall, who was the father of David Hall, of North Buffalo
Township, this county, and the grandfather of Rev. David
Hall, D. D., the present (1883) pastor of the Presbyterian Church
at Indiana, Pennsylvania, to spend the night. While the men
were tying the horses, seven Indians concealed behind a large
fallen tree, on the other side of which the children had been play-
ing half-an-hour before, fired on the party in the boat. Capt.
Sharp's right eyebrow was shot ofT by the first firing. Taylor is
708 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
said to have mounted one of his horses and fled to the woods,
leaving his wife and child to the care and protection of others.
While Capt. Sharp was cutting one end of the boat loose, he re-
ceived a bullet wound in his left side, and, while cutting the other
end loose, he received another wound in his right side. Neverthe-
less, he succeeded in removing the boat from its fastenings before
the Indians could enter it, and, discovering an Indian in the woods,
and calling for his gun, which his wife handed to him, shot and
killed the Indian. While the boat was in the whirlpool, it whirled
around for two and a half hours. When the open side of the boat,
that is, the side on which the baggage was not piled up for a breast-
work, was toward the land, the Indians fired into it. They fol-
lowed it twelve miles down the river, and bade those in it to dis-
embark, else they would fire into them again. Mrs. Connor and
her eldest son — a young man — wished to land. The latter re-
quested the Indians to come to the boat, informing them that all
the men had been shot. Capt. Sharp ordered him to desist, say-
ing that he would shoot him, if he did not. Just then young
Connor was shot by one of the Indians, and fell dead across Mrs.
Sharp's feet. McCoy was killed. All the women and children
escaped injury. Mr. Connor was severely wounded. After the
Indians ceased following, Capt. Sharp became so much exhausted
by his exertions and loss of blood, that his wife was obliged to
manage the boat all night. At daylight the next morning they
were within nine miles of Pittsburgh. Some men on shore, hav-
ing been signaled, came to their assistance. One of them pre-
ceded the party in a canoe, so that when they reached Pitts-
burgh, a physician was ready to attend upon them. Other prep-
arations had been made for their comfort and hospitable recep-
tion, by the good people of that place.
"Capt. Sharp, having sufifered severely from his wounds, died
July 8, 1794, forty days after he was wounded, with the roar of
cannon, so to speak, reverberating in his ears, which he had heard
celebrating the eighteenth anniversary of our national independ-
ence, which he, under Washington, had helped to achieve. Two
of his daughters were the only members of his family that could
follow his remains to the grave. He was buried with the honors of
war, in the presence of a large concourse of people. His youngest
child was then only eleven days old. As soon as his widow had
sufficiently recovered, she was conducted by her eldest daughter,
Hannah, to his grave.
"Col. Charles Campbell, in his letter to Gov. Mifflin, June
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 709
5th, 1794, respecting the stopping of the draft of the support of
the Presque Isle station, stated: 'The Indians, on the evening of
May 30th, fired on a boat that left my place to go to Kentucky,
about two miles below the falls of the Kiskiminetas, killed three
persons and wounded one, who were all the men in the boat, which
drifted down to about twelve miles above Pittsburgh, whence they
were aided by some persons on their way to Pittsburgh."
"Mrs. Sharp — her maiden name was Ann Wood — and her
children were removed to their kindred in Cumberland County,
Pennsylvania. Having remained there three years, they returned
to the farm near Crooked Creek, of which they had been repos-
sessed, where the family remained together for a long time,
"Mrs. Sharp's death occurred fifteen years after her husband's.
Their daughter Agnes is said to have been the first white child
bom this side, or west, of Crooked Creek, in this section of Penn-
sylvania. She was born on that farm February 21, 1785 ; married
to David Ralston in 1803, and, after his death, to James Mitchell
in 1810, and died August 2, 1862, and was buried in the Crooked
Creek Cemetery."
Some time in the spring of 1794, Andrew Allison, his wife and
child, and a neighbor named, Gawin Adams, fled to Moorhead's
blockhouse, located about three miles west of the town of Indiana,
Indiana County, to escape from Indians who were prowling
around the neighborhood. When Mr. Allison returned, he found
that his cabin had been burned by these Indians.
Last Indian Outrage in Pennsylvania
In the spring of 1795, the same year in which General Wayne
compelled the western tribes to sign the Treaty of Greenville,
two Indian events happened in western Pennsylvania, causing
considerable alarm in that region. The first was an attack,
made on May 7th by a party of ten white men on a family of
friendly Indians, on the Allegheny, near Franklin, Venango
County, as these Indians were returning from their winter hunt.
Two of the Indians were badly wounded, but all escaped with
the loss of their goods. The officer at Fort Franklin furnished
clothing to the Indian family for immediate relief. (Pa. Archives,
Sec. Series, Vol. 6, page 822).
The second event was an act of retaliation. On May 22nd,
Ralph Rutledge (some accounts say his brother, also), one of a
party of four men on their way from Le Boeuf (Waterford)
710 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
to Presqu' Isle (Erie), was killed and scalped by Indians at a
point now within the limits of the city of Erie, but then two miles
from the fort at that place. (Pa. Archives, Sec. Series, Vol. 6,
page 823; also "Frontier Forts of Penna.," Vol. 2, page 559).
The murder of Rutledge was the last Indian atrocity in Penn-
sylvania during the period of Indian occupation. Later, on June
30th, 1843, the wife and five children of James Wigton were
murdered at their home, about a mile from the "Old Stone
House," in Slippery Rock Township, Butler County, by an
Indian, named Samuel Mohawk, who had assisted in floating a
raft of lumber down the Allegheny to Pittsburgh, and was on
his way back to his home on the upper Allegheny, with his mind
crazed and his moral sense subverted by the white man's whiskey,
which he purchased at taverns along the road. Upon coming
to his sober senses, Mohawk sought God's forgiveness. He was
visited a number of times in the Butler County jail by Rev.
Gottlieb Bassler, pastor of the First English Lutheran Church
of Butler, who, after a course of religious instruction, baptized
him into the Christian Faith. He was hanged at Butler on
March 22nd, 1844. Though he made profession of religion and
implored God's mercy, his body was denied burial in any of the
cemeteries of Butler, and was buried in the woods. The dust of
his victims reposes in the cemetery of the Muddy Creek Presby-
terian Church, along the Butler and Slippery Rock pike, about
nine miles north of Butler. (See the Author's "History of Butler
County, Pennsylvania," Vol. 1, pages 450 to 454).
Wayne's Victory and Final Peace
The uprising of the Western Indians and the raids upon the
Western Pennsylvania frontier continuing, as we have seen, the
country, burning under the disgrace of Harmar's and St. Clair's
defeats, called loudly for a third expedition. Then President
Washington chose General Wayne, "Mad Anthony," the hero
of Stony Point, to lead the expedition. When informed by Wash-
ington of his selection, Wayne is said to have replied : "I am the
very man you want." He was a strict disciplinarian, and deter-
mined to avoid the faults which brought overwhelming and in-
glorious defeat upon his predecessors. He arrived in Pittsburgh
in June, 1792, having been furnished with instructions from Wash-
ington in which it was stated "that another defeat would be ir-
redeemably ruinous to the reputation of the Government." His
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 711
force was to consist of five thousand men, carefully drilled, and
to be called "The Legion of the United States." At Pittsburgh,
he erected Fort Fayette, where the Western National Bank now
stands.
In December, 1792, his legion was taken to the beautiful plain
overlooking the Ohio, about twenty miles below Pittsburgh, where
sham battles were fought and daily drills held. The place of this
winter camp is known as Legionville to this day. While here, he
was visited by the old Indian chiefs, Guyasuta and Cornplanter,
then friends of the United States.
Breaking camp late in April, 1793, Wayne led his forces to
Fort Washington (Cincinnati), where they were reinforced by
regulars and mounted militia from Kentucky. It was so late in
the season before all his forces were collected and supplies pro-
cured, that the offensive movement was delayed until the next
spring. Late in the year, he moved to a new camp. Fort Green-
ville, in Darke County, Ohio, six miles north of Fort Jefferson.
During the winter, Wayne remained at Fort Greenville, swept
the country between this place and the Miami villages, and took
possession of the ground upon which St. Clair was defeated, erect-
ing a fort there which he called Fort Recovery. Another detach-
ment later marched to the scene of General Harmar's defeat, and
erected Fort Wayne, named in honor of the commander of the
Legion, His force now consisted of thirty-six hundred troops.
In the meantime, in the spring of 1793, commissioners repre-
senting the United States met the western tribes in council, and
proposed that, in consideration of the lands ceded by the treaty at
Fort Harmar, the United States should pay the Indians "a large
sum of money, or goods, besides a full yearly supply of such
articles as they needed." The chiefs replied that money was of
no value to them. Said they: "You talk to us about conces-
sions. It appears strange that you should expect any from us,
who have only been defending our just rights against your in-
vasions. We want peace. Restore to us our country, and we
shall be enemies no longer."
During the summer of 1794, Fort Recovery was garrisoned by
a small detachment under Captain Gibson. On June 29th, Major
William McMahon arrived at Fort Recovery with ninety riflemen
and fifty dragoons. The next morning the fort was assailed by
a large force of Indians and British and Detroit militia. They
were repulsed with great slaughter. They renewed the attack
the following morning, and were again repulsed. Then they re-
712 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
treated from the same field where St. Clair's army had gone down
to crushing defeat. The exact number of the Indian and British
losses was never learned; but when the enemy returned to the
British post, Fort Miami, they said that no man ever fought
better than they did at Fort Recovery, and that they lost twice
as many as at St. Clair's defeat. One hundred and forty-two
Americans were killed in the two attacks on Fort Recovery.
However, the repulse of the Indian and British forces of more
than fifteen hundred, showed the mettle of the Legion of the
United States.
On July 26th, 1794, Wayne was joined at Fort Greenville by
General Charles Scott, with sixteen hundred mounted volunteers
from Kentucky. He then moved forward, skirmishing with bands
of lurking Indians as he advanced. He marched with open files,
to insure rapidity in forming a line or in extending the flanks, and
drilled his men to load while marching. He always halted in the
middle of the afternoon, encamping in a hollow square and sur-
rounding his camp with a rampart of logs. Arriving at the site
of the present village of Defiance, Ohio, the confluence of the
Anglaize and Maumee Rivers, Wayne erected Fort Defiance, and
made proposals of peace to the Indians. These were rejected
contrary to the advice of Little Turtle, and in accordance with
the advice of Blue Jacket. Said Little Turtle: "We have beaten
the enemy twice under separate commanders. We cannot expect
the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are
now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night and day are alike
to him, and during all the time that he has been marching upon
our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our young men,
we have never been able to surprise him." Indeed, so stealthy
had been Wayne's advance that the Indians nicknamed him "the
Blacksnake."
On August 18th, Wayne continued his march and, on the morn-
ing of August 20th had proceeded about five miles, to a point
several miles south of the present town of Maumee, in Lucas
County, Ohio, when his advance guard was fired upon heavily
by Indians in concealment, and fell back. He then formed his
men in two lines where a tornado had blown down a number of
trees in the woods — a circumstance which gave the engagement
the name of the "Battle of the Fallen Timbers." The fallen trees
made cavalry operations difficult, and afforded a shelter for the
two thousand Indians and Canadians who were posted among
them in two lines. Wayne's militia charged impetuously
THE POST- REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 713
with the bayonet, leaping over the logs and delivering a well-
directed fire, while General Scott with his mounted volun-
teers, turned the right flank of the enemy by a circuitous move-
ment, and Colonel Campbell, with his legionary cavalry, turned
the enemy's left flank. The Indians were driven at the point of
the bayonet for more than two miles through the forest, and de-
cisively beaten.* Nine Wyandot chiefs lay dead on the field. Blue
Jacket, Little Turtle, Buckongahelas, Simon Girty, Alexander
McKee and Matthew Elliott led the Indian forces in this battle.
Wayne, in his official report, says that the woods were strewn
with the bodies of the Indians and their white allies, and that
the latter were armed with British muskets. The Americans lost
thirty-three killed and one hundred wounded.
The Indians were driven under the guns of the British fort
(Fort Miami) in the neighborhood, and so strong was the resent-
ment of Wayne's men against the English, that it was with
difficulty that they could be restrained from storming the
fort. Indeed, many of the Kentucky troops advanced within
gunshot of the fort and hurled a volley of curses against the gar-
rison. However, the gates of the fort were closed against the
Indians. Captain Campbell, the British commandant, sent a
message to Wayne, complaining of this insult and demanding by
what authority Wayne's troops trespassed upon the precincts
of the British garrison. Mad Anthony replied in terms little less
polite than those of the Kentucky troops, informing Captain
Campbell that his only chance of safety was silence and civility.
The day after the battle General Wayne rode up to the British
Fort Miami and cooly inspected the works while the British held
matches ready at their cannon. Then Wayne's troops destroyed
the Indian cornfields, orchards, trading-houses, and stores. Soon
after their crushing defeat, the various western tribes sent dele-
gations to General Wayne asking for peace. These were the
Wyandots, the Shawnees, the Delawares, the Miamis, the Ojib-
was, the Ottawas, the Potawatomies, the Weas, the Kickapoos,
the Piankeshaws and the Kaskaskias. In addition to breaking
forever the power of the western tribes, one of the results of the
battle of the Fallen Timbers was the surrender to the United
States of Niagara, Detroit, Mackinac, Miami, and other posts
hitherto held by the British, from which bases they had assisted
and encouraged the Indians in their hostility against the
Americans.
Finally, on August 3d, 1795, the conquered tribes signed the
*So rspidly did tbe ladiaos flee that Wayse's secopd line was oot engaged.
714 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
Treaty at Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, by the terms of which
they ceded to the United States 25,000 square miles of territory
north of the Ohio River, about two-thirds of the present state of
Ohio. The treaty provided that the western tribes be given
twenty thousand dollars in goods and an annual allowance of
nine thousand five hundred dollars. That part of Pennsylvania
west of the Allegheny River and hitherto known as "the Indian
country," henceforth was free from Indian raids. Settlers rapidly
took up their abode in the fertile region, felling the forest, culti-
vating the virgin soil, and laying the foundation of the material
prosperity which there abounds today. Meanwhile the Indian
continued his march toward the untrodden West before the great
tide of white immigration that was pressing him away from the
lands he and his forefathers considered their own, as the gift of
the Great Spirit, who had stocked the forests with game and the
streams with fish for His Red Children.
One of the signers of the Treaty of Greenville, the Shawnee
chief, Mio-qua-coo-na-caw, or Red Pole, is buried in the grave-
yard of Trinity Episcopal Church, in Pittsburgh. In the latter
part of 1796, this chief and Blue Jacket, another Shawnee chief
who signed the Treaty of Greenville, went from the Scioto to
Philadelphia to interview the authorities of the United States
Government. They returned to Pittsburgh on Christmas day.
Here Red Pole was taken sick, and died on January 28th, 1797.
On his tombstone, in addition to his name, position among his
people and date of death, are the words: "Lamented by the
United States."
In this connection, we call attention to the fact that General
Wayne did not long survive his victorious campaign. In the
autumn of 1796, he left Detroit, intending to return to his home
in Chester County, Pennsylvania, as soon as possible. During
his passage down Lake Erie, he became seriously ill, and arriving
at Presqu' Isle (Erie), was unable to proceed further. No
remedies were available either on the ship or at Fort Presqu'
Isle, and he became rapidly worse. Dr. J. C. Wallace, who had
served with him as surgeon in the campaign against the Western
Indians, was summoned, being then at Fort Fayette (Pitts-
burgh). Dr. Wallace set out for Erie at once, but when he ar-
rived at Franklin, he learned that the General was no more,
having died on December 15th, 1796, at Fort Presqu' Isle.
Two days after his death, his body was buried at the foot of
the flag-staff of the fort. Here it rested until the spihig of 1809,
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 715
when his son, Colonel Isaac Wayne, came to Erie on horseback
to have the remains taken home and re-buried in the family lot
at Radnor, Chester County. On opening the grave, the body of
"Mad Anthony" was found in a most remarkable state of preser-
vation, but too bulky for the means of transportation available.
The flesh was boiled from the bones by placing the body in a
large lye kettle, and then re-interred in the original grave.
Colonel Wayne carried the bones back over the mountains to
the church-yard at Radnor. Colonel Wayne afterwards said:
"I have always regretted it. Had I known the state the remains
were in before separated, I think I should certainly have them
again deposited there and let them rest and had a monument
erected to his memory."
Blue Jacket, Little Turtle and Buckongahelas
Blue Jacket was a very influential Shawnee chief, born about
the middle of the 18th century. He was the principal leader of
the Indians in the battle of the Fallen Timbers, and, in General
Harmar's defeat, was associated with Little Turtle. He was one
of the signers of the Treaty of Greenville as well as the Treaty
of Ft. Industry, Ohio, July 4th, 1805, soon after which he dis-
appears from history.
Little Turtle was a Miami chief, born at Little Turtle's Village,
on Eel River, Indiana, about twenty miles northwest of the city
of Fort Wayne, in 1752. His mother was a Mohican. He was the
principal leader of the Indians at General Harmar's defeat and
one of their prominent leaders in General St. Clair's defeat and
the battle of the Fallen Timbers. He was one of the signers of the
Treaty of Greenville, remarking as he signed it, "I am the last to
sign it, and I will be the last to break it." This promise he faith-
fully kept until death. Even Tecumseh was not able to win him
away from peaceful relations with the Americans. Early in 1797,
he visited President Washington at Philadelphia, where he met
Count Volney and General Kosciusko, the latter of whom pre-
sented the famous chieftain with his own pair of elegantly mount-
ed pistols. Little Turtle died at Fort Wayne, July 14th, 1812.
Buckongahelas, leader of the Delawares in their last war
against the United States, also fought against the Americans in
the Revolutionary War, as an ally of the British. All accounts
agree that he was a noble warrior, "who took no delight in shed-
ding blood." He attended the treaty at Fort Mcintosh in
716 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
January, 1785. He also was one of the signers of the Treaty of
Greenville, August 3d, 1795, as well as the Treaty of Fort
Wayne, June 7th, 1803, and the Treaty of Vincennes, Indiana,
August 18th, 1804. He died soon after the treaty of Vincennes.
The conduct of the English in closing the gates of Fort Miami
against the Indians fleeing from General Wayne's soldiers after
they (the English) had instigated and assisted the western tribes
in their warfare against the United States, so disgusted Buckon-
gahelas that thereafter he was a friend of the young Republic.
Gornplanter*
It was owing largely to the influence of the great Seneca chief,
Cornplanter, that the Senecas did not join the Miamis and other
Western Indians as Wayne's army marched against them. In
fact, the Senecas flanked Wayne's advance. Had they thrown
their great weight against Wayne, it is very doubtful whether he
could have succeeded when he did. The writers of that day say
that Cornplanter's success in keeping the Senecas from joining
the Western tribes, is the greatest service he ever rendered the
Americans. Had Wayne's army met the fate of its predecessors
in that great Indian uprising, it is doubtful whether the Jay
Treaty with England would have been made, and that the British
would have evacuated the Western posts held by them.
On June 26th, 1794, a council was held at Le Boeuf (Waterford,
Pa.), by Captain Ebenezer Denny and Andrew Ellicott with
representatives of the Six Nations, among whom was Cornplanter.
The Six Nations demanded that settlers be removed from
the Lake region and objected to the settlement of Presque Isle,
claiming that the sale of these lands at the Treaty of Fort Harmar,
in January 1789, was not valid. It was feared by many at the
time that Cornplanter would turn against the United States.
However, the noted chieftain preferred to adjust the differences
between his tribe and the Americans without resort to bloodshed.
During the council, Cornplanter and his associate chiefs were fed
and supported by the authorities of Pennsylvania and the United
States Government.
Cornplanter (Garganwahgah) was born at Ganawagus, on the Genesee, some time between
1732 and 1740. His father was a white man, named John O'Bail, and his mother was a full-
blood Seneca. Cornplanter became a friend of the United States upon the close of the Revolu-
tionary War.
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 717
This great leader of the Senecas died at Cornplanter Town,
Warren County, on the banks of his long-loved Allegheny, on
February 18th, 1836, — the passing of the last great Indian chief of
Pennsylvania. "Whether at the time of his death he expected to
go to the fair Hunting Grounds of his own people or to the Heaven
of the Christians, is not known." It was his wish that his grave
should remain unmarked. However, the State of Pennsylvania
erected a monument at his grave, in 1866 — the first monument
erected by any state of the Union to an Indian chief — bearing the
following inscription :
"Gy-ant-wa-chia, The Cornplanter,
JOHN O'BAIL, ALIAS CORNPLANTER,
DIED
At Cornplanter Town, Feb. 18, A.D. 1836,
Aged About 100 Years.
"Chief of the Seneca tribe, and a principal chief of the Six
Nations from the period of the Revolutionary War to the time of
his death. Distinguished for talent, courage, eloquence, sobriety,
and love for tribe and race, to whose welfare he devoted his time,
his energy, and his means during a long and eventful life."
Three of Complanter's children were present at the dedication
of his monument, the last of whom died in 1874, aged about one
hundred years. Other descendants still reside on the Cornplanter
Reservation, in Warren County, cherishing the memory of "one
of the bravest, noblest and truest specimens of the aboriginal
race."
Cornplanter often had hunting and fishing camps at Conneaut
Lake, Crawford, County. According to Heckewelder, "Conneaut"
is a corruption of "Gunniati," meaning, "It is a long time since
they are gone." Though "it is a long time since they are gone,"
the memory of the Indian lingers by the shore of this beautiful
lake which Cornplanter loved so well.
718 THE INDIAN WARS OF PENNSYLVANIA
By Conneaut's waters a spirit doth dwell,
That casts o'er the region its mystical spell.
It basks 'mid the rushes and lilies that grow,
Beside the bright waters that sparkle below.
It floats on the zephyrs in radiance drest,
And loves the bright water and sleeps on its breast.
It's a spirit of old, a spirit of yore,
That lingers so fondly by Conneaut's shore.
It's dwelt by the lake since the old long ago,
When the Red Man owned the bright waters below.
Then the Indian's Manitou called to his son.
And he left the lake for a more lovely home .
But his spirit remains and sighs o'er his grave.
And guards his long slumber by Conneaut's wave.
Conclusion
Now that the Pennsylvania Indians have yielded their pleasant
land to the stronger hand of the white man and live only in the
songs and chronicles of the race that pressed them away from
their loved hunting grounds, may these chronicles be faithful
to their rude virtues as men and not pass in silence the great
wrongs and horrible atrocities which the anointed children of
civilization and education — children of the God of Revelation —
committed upon the untutored children of the forest. These
wrongs and atrocities — the fraudulent "Walking Purchase,"
the Albany Purchase of 1754, the settling of squatters upon
lands not purchased from the Indians, the degredation wrought
by the whiskey and vices of the white traders, the massacre of the
unarmed and defenseless Conestogas, the butchery of the Morav-
ian Delawares at Gnadenhuetten, the offering of rewards for the
scalps of Indian boys and girls — should be set over against the
wrongs and atrocities committed by the race that was fighting
and dying for the beautiful region of which it was the first owner.
Nor should we lose sight of the fact that hundreds of atrocities
perpetrated on the settlers of Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia
THE POST-REVOLUTIONARY UPRISING 719
and Kentucky by the Indians, during the Revolutionary War,
were committed at the instigation of the British and British
agents, who supplied the Indians with guns and amunition and
paid them substantial rewards for American scalps, even the
scalps of women and children. Let us remember, too, that
General Sullivan's Expedition against the Six Nations, which
destroyed the houses and food supplies of the Iroquois and
subjected them to the horrors of death by freezing and starva-
tion, showed the Americans as ruthless as the race they attacked.
There were many frontiersmen, who, actuated by an unrelenting
hatred for the whole Indian race, made no distinction between
good Indians and bad Indians, and were simply Indian hunters
and killers, at all times, whether in peace or in war, and without
regard to age or sex.
Even at this late day, our flesh creeps and chills run down our
pulses when we contemplate the horrors of the Indian wars of
Pennsylvania. But let us not forget that the Indians, defrauded
and cheated, were fighting to the death for their homes and hunt-
ing grounds; that they were proud spirits who were born free,
and loved freedom more than life itself; and that they had ample
reasons for hating, with such burning rancor, the race that drove
them from the lands of their fathers — the lands they considered
their own, as the gift of the Great Spirit to his Red Children. Also
let us hope that, after the bloody warfare that pressed the Penn-
sylvania Indians towards the setting sun, the souls of the Indians
and the souls of those who coveted their lands, entered into the
common enjoyment of a peaceful eternity.
Until time shall be no more, Indian place names will linger on
our Pennsylvania mountains and along our Pennsylvania streams
like the vibrations of deathless music — a mystic music which,
let us hope, will soothe the rancor of those who write the chron-
icles of the relations between the Indians and their conquerors,
and cause them to pay due tribute to their virtues as men and
their unhappy fate as a people.
THE END
APPENDIX A
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
In the following chronological table, reference is made to the pages where
the events are treated.
Events Prior to the French and Indian War
Date Events Page
1570 (Approximately.) Iroquois Confederation formed 38
1608 August. Captain John Smith meets Susquehannas 28
1615. Burr explores the Susquehanna Valley 30, 31
1638. March. Swedes arrive on the Delaware, found New Sweden, and
purchase lands from the Indians 60, 61
1643-48. Rev. John Campanius, Swedish Lutheran clergyman, converts
Delawares to Christianity, and translates Martin Luther's
catechism into Delaware language 62
1654. June 17. Great Council of Indians at Printz Hall, at Tinicum, 63, 64, 65
1655. New Sweden overthrown by the Dutch 61, 65
1656. (Approximately.) Eries conquered by Iroquois 56
1672. (Approximately.) Shawnees conquered by Iroquois 46
1675. Susquehannas conquered by Iroquois 32, 33
1682. (1) June 15. Deputy-Governor Markham purchases lands from
the Delawares for William Penn 69
(2) October 29. William Penn arrives in Pennsylvania 69
1683. (1) June 23. William Penn purchases land from the Delawares.
This is likely also the date of the Great Treaty 69, 70
For the Great Treaty, see pages 71 to 73
(2) September 10. William Penn purchases land from the
Susquehannas or Conestogas 106
1694. Shawnees come to Pechoquealin 46
1697. Shawnees come to Pequea Creek 46
1698. (1) Conoys, Ganawese or Piscataways enter Pennsylvania 53
(2) Nanticokes enter Pennsylvania 54
1701. (1) April 23. William Penn makes treaty with Shawnees,
Conoys, Susquehannas and Five Nations 78, 79
(2) October 7. Indians bid farewell to William Penn 79, 80
1704. May 16. Conestoga chief, Oretyagh, protests against rum traffic. 24
1706. June 6 and 7. Council at Philadelphia with Shawnees, Conestogas
and Conoys 83, 84
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 721
Date Events Page
1707. June. Governor John Evans makes journey through Conestoga
and Paxtang region 85
1710. June 8. Tuscarora ambassadors seek permission for their tribe to
settle in Pennsylvania 50, 5 1
1712. Tuscaroras begin migrating to the North 52
1717. July. Governor Keith holds councils with Indians at Conestoga,
86, 87, 88
1718. (1) June 30. Death of William Penn 81
(2) September 17. Delaware chief, Sassoonan, gives deed of re-
lease for lands between Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers 91
1721. July 5. Governor Keith holds great council with Indians at
Conestoga, preventing war between the Iroquois and the Southern
Indians, which would have involved the English Colonies 90
1722. (1) Tuscaroras admitted as the sixth member of the Iroquois
Confederation 39, 52
(2) June. Springettsbury Manor surveyed 91
1723. Tutelo enter Pennsylvania 55
1724. (1) Delawares begin westward migration and found Kittanning.42, 43
(2) Shawnees begin westward migration 47
1727. (1) July 3. First reference to the Ohio and Allegheny 131
(2) Shikellamy sent as Iroquois vice-regent to the Forks of the
Susquehanna 45
1728. (1) May. Threatened uprising of Shawnees and Delawares .... 92 to 95
(2) June. Sassoonan complains of settlers on Tulpehocken lands. 95
1731. (1) August. Shikellamy delivers ultimatum on rum traffic 24, 97
(2) Manor of Conodoguinet set apart for the Shawnees 98
(3) December 10. Conrad Weiser's first official relations with
the Colonial Authorities of Pennsylvania 98, 99
1732. (1) August. Great treaty with Iroquois at Philadelphia for the
purpose of securing their assistance in effort to have the Shawnees
return to the Susquehanna 97 to 104
(2) September 7. Sassoonan's sale of the Tulpehocken lands. . . .95, 96
1734. Iroquois send mission to the Ohio and Allegheny Shawnees, re-
questing them to return to the Susquehanna 103, 104
1736. September 27 to October 25. Great treaty held with Iroquois at
Philadelphia, at which Pennsylvania purchases Susquehanna and
Delaware land from Iroquois 104 to 110
1737. (1) February, March and April. Conrad Weiser, Stoffel Stump
and Shikellamy make terrible journey to Onondaga 110
(2) September 19. The fraudulent "Walking Purchase" 110 to 181
1738. March. Shawnees on Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas and Allegheny
take steps against the rum traffic 24, 25
1739. July 27 to August 1. Treaty with Shawnees at Philadelphia 118
1742. July and August. Treaty with Iroquois at Philadelphia, at which
the Iroquois chief, Canassatego, orders Delawares of the Munsee
Clan to remove from the bounds of the "Walking Purchase"
.'. 119 to 121;-also 113 to 117
722 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Date Events Page
1743. Conrad Weiser and Shikellamy journey to Onondaga to arrange
for a treaty 121, 122
1744. (1) April 9. Jack Armstrong, for whom Jack's Narrows on the
Juniata are named, killed by the Delaware, Musemeelin 125, 126
(2) June and July. Great treaty with Iroquois at Lancaster, at
which Maryland and Virginia purchase lands from the Iroquois
and the friendship of the Iroquois Confederation was secured as
King George's War was raging 121 to 126
1745. (1) Peter Chartier deserts to the French 127
(2) May and June. Conrad Weiser, Shikellamy, Andrew Mon-
tour and Bishop Spangenberg journey to Onondaga 129
(3) October. Albany treaty with Iroquois 129
1747. (1) Tanacharison and Scarouady sent by the Great Council of
the Six Nations to the Ohio Valley, taking up their residence at
Logstown 45
(2) Autumn. Great Delaware chief, Sassoonan, or Allumapees,
dies at Shamokin (Sunbury) 97
1748. (1) April. George Croghan's embassy to the western tribes at
Logstown 13 1 to 133
(2) September. Conrad Weiser's embassy to the western tribes
at Logstown 131 to 133
(3) December 17. The great vice-regent of the Six Nations,
Shikellamy dies at Shamokin (Sunbury) 133 to 135
1749. (1) Summer. Celoron's expedition down the Allegheny and
Ohio, during which leaden plates were buried at the mouths of
tributary streams proclaiming that the region drained by the
"Beautiful River" and its tributaries belonged to France. .137 to 139
(2) August 2. George Croghan purchases from Tanacharison and
Scarouady the first lands ever sold by the Indians to a white man
in the valley of the Ohio 139
(3) August 22. Pennsylvania purchases from the Six Nations
lands between the Susquehanna and the Delaware, known as the
purchase of 1749 135 to 137
1752. (1) June. Virginia holds treaty with Ohio tribes at Logstown,
139 to 141
(2) June 11. Tanacharison, as representative of the Six Nations,
appionts Shingas "King" of the Delawares 141
1753. (1) Spring, summer and autumn. French advance into the valley
of the Allegheny 141
(2) Summer. Tanacharison forbids French to advance into the
valley of the Allegheny and Ohio as the territory of the Six
Nations 141 to 144
(3) September. Indian treaty at Winchester, Virginia 142
(4) October, November and December. George Washington,
after Captain William Trent's unsuccessful mission, sent to St.
Pierre, commander of the French on the headwaters of the
Allegheny, bearing the protest of Governor Dinwiddle of Vir-
ginia 144 to 151
(5) December 27. Indian attempts to kill Washington 148, 149
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 723
The French and Indian War
Date Event Page
1754. (1) April 16. The French occupy the Forks of the Ohio (Pitts-
burgh), and begin erecting Fort Duquesne 152 to 154
(2) May 28. J umonville killed in the first skirmish of the French
and Indian War 157, 158
(2) July 4. Washington surrenders at Fort Necessity 162 to 167
(3) July 6. Albany purchase, which so offended the Shawnees
and Delawares 172 to 176
(4) October 4. Death of Tanacharison 176
1755. (1) July 9. General Braddock's defeat 187 to 191
(2) October 16. Penn's Creek Massacre 204 to 209
(3) October 25th. Attack on John Harris and his companions.209 to 211
(4) October 31 and November 1. Massacres in Great and Little
Coves and Conolloways 217 to 223
(5) November 1. Capture of Martin and Knox families 224 to 227
(6) November 14 to 16. Swatara and Tulpehocken massacres,
234 to 237
(7) November 24. Massacre of Moravians 241 to 243
(8) December 10 and 11. Attack on Brodhead and Hoeth
families 243, 244
(9) December. Numerous murders committed by Delawares and
Shawnees in Eastern Pennsylvania 244 to 246
(10) Autumn. The Kobel atrocity 239, 240
(11) Autumn. Dispute between Governor Morris and the As-
sembly 251, 252
(12) Autumn. Pennsylvania decides to erect chain of forts. . . . 252
1756. (1) January 1. Massacre of militia at Gnadenhuetten and
atrocities in Monroe County 255 to 259
(2) January 13 to 17. Council at Carlisle with reference to affairs
on the Ohio 276 to 279
(3) January 15. Massacre near Schupp's Mill 263
(4) January 27. Massacre in the Juniata Valley 263 to 265
(5) February 11. Capture of John and Richard Coxe and John
Craig 266 to 269
(6) February 14. Murder of Frederick Reichelsdorfer's daughters.
269 to 270
(7) March 7. Attack on Andrew Lycans and John Rewalt 271
(8) March 24. Attack on Zeislof and Gluck families 272
(9) April 1. Shingas burns Fort McCord 273
(10) April 14. Pennsylvania declares war against the Delawares
and Shawnees and offers rewards for Indian scalps 281 to 283
(11) June 11 or 12. King Beaver captures Bingham's Fort .... 286, 287
(12) July 26. Capture of John and James McCullough 287 to 289
(13) July. Atrocities in Perry, Franklin and Cumberland Coun-
ties 289 to 291
(14) July 28 to July 31. First council with Teedyuscung at
Easton 322, 323
(15) August 1. Captain Jacobs captures Fort Granville 294 to 296
(16) September 8. Colonel John Armstrong destroys Kittanning,
302 to 316
724 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Date Event Page
(17) October 12. Murder of Noah Frederick 297, 298
(18) November. Captain John Hambright's expedition 299, 300
(19) October and November. Murders near Forts Henry,
Lebanon, Northkill and Everett 300 to 302
(20) November 8 to 17. Second council with Teedyuscung at
Easton 325 to 329
(21) November. Death of Canachquasy 331
1757. (1) April and May. Councils at Harris Ferry and Lancaster. 333 to 337
(2) April 20. Atrocities in Monroe County 343 to 345
(3) May 16. The Spitler tragedy 345, 346
(4) June 19. Massacre on Quitapahilla Creek 346
(5) June 22. Trump tragedy 346, 347
(6) Summer. The Mackey atrocity 349 to 351
(7) July 21 to August 7. Third council with Teedyuscung at
Easton 338 to 343
(8) August. The Eckerlin tragedy 353, 354
(9) Other events of 1757 Chapter XV
1758. (1) April 5. Capture of Mary Jemison, later the "White Woman
of Genesse" 378 to 381
(2) April 13. Capture of the family of Richard Bard (Baird) . 381 to 383
(3) Summer and Autumn. Peace missions of the Moravian
missionary. Christian Frederick Post 356 to 372
(4) Summer. Death of Scarouady 385, 386
(5) Summer and Autumn. Expedition of General John Forbes
against Fort Duquesne Chapter XVII
(6) September 14. Major James Grant's defeat 395 to 397
(7) October 12. Attack on Colonel Bouquet's camp at Loyal-
hanna (Ligonier) 397 to 399
(8) October 8 to October 26. "Grand Council" at Easton. . .373 to 377
(9) November 12. Washington's skirmish near Ligonier 399, 400
(10) November 24. French abandon Fort Duquesne 401
(11) General Forbes takes possession of Fort Duquesne 400 to 402
1759. (1) January 3. Council with chiefs of the Delawares, Shawnees
and Six Nations at Pittsburgh 409
(2) February 9. General Forbes' council with chiefs of the Alle-
gheny region at Philadelphia 409, 410
(3) July 5 to 9. Great council with chiefs of the Delawares,
Shawnees, Wyandots and Six Nations at Fort Pitt 410
(4) Summer. French contemplate re-capturing the Forks of the
Ohio 404, 405
(5) Autumn. Fort Redstone, also called Fort Burd, erected. . . . 404
From the French and Indian War to Pontiac's War
1760. (1) Summer and autumn. English take possession of sites of
Forts Le Boeuf, Presqu' Isle and Machault, and erect new
forts 414, 415
(2) August 12. Great council at Fort Pitt with chiefs of the
western tribes 410
1762. (1) August. Treaty at Lancaster 404, 405, 410, 411
(2) November 3. Preliminaries of peace between England and
France signed 411
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 725
Pontiac's War
Date Event Page
1763. (1) Spring. Pontiac forms confederation of western tribes. . . .412, 413
(2) April 16. Murder of Teedyuscung 469
(3) May 28. Murder of Colonel William Clapham 419
(4) June 22. Capture of Fort Presqu' Isle 414 to 416
(5) June 18. Capture of Fort Le Boeuf 416 to 418
(6) June 17, approximately. Capture of Fort Venango 417, 418
(7) June 22. First attack on Fort Pitt, also attempt to inoculate
Indians with small-pox 420, 423, 424
(8) June and July. Siege of Fort Ligonier 424 to 427
(9) June and July. Siegeof Fort Bedford 428 to 430
(10) July 26 to August 1. Siege of Fort Pitt 421 to 423
See also 418 to 424.
(11) July. Invasion of Juniata, Tuscarora, Sherman's and
Cumberland valleys 430 to 438
(12) July and August. Colonel Henry Bouquet's march to relief
of western forts 439 to 449
(13) August 5 and 6. Battle of Bushy Run 442 to 449
(14) August. Murder of friendly Indian woman, Zippora. . . .454, 455
(15) August and September. Expeditions up the West Branch
of the Susquehanna 450 to 453
(16) September 8. Fincher family murdered 453
(17) October 8. Murder of Captain Jacob Wetterhold 456, 457
(18) October. Massacres in Northampton and Lehigh Counties,
456 to 459
(19) October 15. First Massacre of Wyoming 459 to 462
(20) November. Moravian Delawares removed to Philadelphia
for safety 455, 456
(21) December 14. Massacre of Conestogas at Conestoga. . .463, 464
(22) Massacre of Conestogas at Lancaster 465 to 469
1764. (1) January and February. "Paxton Boys" march to Philadel-
phia 467, 468
(2) June. Massacres in Franklin County 470
(3) July 7. Pennsylvania offers bounties for Indian scalps. .472 to 475
(4) July 26. Murder of Schoolmaster Brown and his pupils. .473, 474
(5) Autumn. Colonel Henry Bouquet's expedition to the
Tuscarawas and Muskingum 475 to 483
(6) December 5. Governor John Penn issues proclamation
telling of submission of Delawares and Shawnees and proclaiming
the war with these Indians at an end 482
From Pontiac's War to Lord Dunmore's War
1766. May 22. Council with Indians at Fort Pitt, relative to settle-
ments made on lands of the Indians 483
1768. (1) January 10. Murder of Indians by Frederick Stump 484 to 486
(2) May 9. Great Council with western Indians at Fort Pitt,
relative to settlements made by the whites on land owned by the
Indians 483, 484
(3) November 5. Penns make last purchase of lands from the
Indians, the purchase at Fort Stanwix (Rome, N. Y.) 484 to 486
726 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Lord Dunmore's War
Date Event Page
1769. (1) February 26th. Attack on Brush Creek settlers 486
(2) Summer. Murder of young Seneca George 486, 487
1773. Spring. Murder of Bald Eagle (not the Bald Eagle killed by
Captain Samuel Brady) 489
1774. (1) April 30. Murder of the family of Logan, Chief of the
Mingoes 490 to 492
(2) May. Murder of the friendly Delaware, Joseph Wipey. . .504, 505
(3) Spring and Summer. Peace efforts of Cornstalk and White
Eyes 492 to 495
(4) Summer. Raids of Logan, Chief of the Mingoes 495 to 498
(5) October 10. Battle of Point Pleasant 498, 499
(6) November. Famous speech of Logan, Chief of the Mingoes.
499 to 501
The Revolutionary War
1775. (1) July. Continental Congress divides frontier into three
Indian departments 509
(2) October. Council with the Delawares, Senecas, Shawnees
and Wyandots at Fort Pitt 509, 510
1776. (1) May. Grand Council between the British and the Six Nations
at Fort Niagara, N. Y., at which the overwhelming majority of
chiefs voted to take up arms in the British cause 506
(2) May. George Morgan takes charge as Indian agent at Fort
Pitt under appointment of the Continental Congress 510
(3) Summer. Peace mission of William Wilson 510
(4) October. Colonel Henry Hamilton, "the hair-buyer," di-
rected to enlist western tribes in the British service 506
(5) Autumn. Raising of Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment to de-
fend western frontier 512
1777. (1) January. Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment marches from
Kittanning to join Washington near the Delaware, leaving the
western frontier exposed to Indian raids 512
(2) January 27. Council at Easton with Senecas, Munsee Clan of
Delawares, Cayugas, Conoys, and Nanticokes 510, 511
(3) February 14. Capture of Andrew McFarlane 512, 513
(4) March 16. Murder of Simpson and capture of Fergus Moore-
head 513, 514
(5) June 19. Massacre at Standing Stone 514, 515
(6) Summer. Colonel Henry Hamilton sends Indians against
the western frontier, and gives them bounties for American scalps. 506
(7) Summer. "Gibson's Lambs" go to New Orleans for powder
for the defenders of the western frontier 514
(8) Summer and Autumn. Indian raids into Westmoreland and
Indiana Counties 515 to 519
(9) Summer and Autumn. Indian raids on the West Branch of
the Susquehanna 520 to 522
(10) Summer and Autumn. Murders in Bedford County. . . .522 to 525
(11) Autumn. Battle in Blair County 519
(12) October. General Hand's expedition down the Ohio 527, 528
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 727
Date Event Pag«
1778. (1) January. George Rogers Clark raises troops for his expedi-
tion to the Northwest ^^^
(2) February. The "Squaw Campaign" 527 to 529
(3) March 28. The Pittsburgh Tories, Captain Alexander Mc-
Kee, Simon Girty, Matthew Elliott, Robert Surphit and Higgms
escape to the British and Indians 529
(4) April. March of the Tories of Sinking Spring Valley 529 to 531
(5) Spring, summer and autumn. Indian outrages in Westmore-
land County 531 to 535
(6) Spring and Summer. Fatal voyage of David Rodgers 535, 536
(7) Summer. Indian outrages in Blair County 537, 538
(8) Spring, Summer and Autumn. Indian outrages on West
Branch of the Susquehanna 541 to 547
(9) June 10. Massacre on Lycoming Creek 538 to 540
(10) June 30. Murder of the Hardings 549
(11) July 3. The Wyoming Massacre 549 to 557
(12) Summer. Invasion of Pike County 557 to 558
(13) July. The Cohishton massacre 566
(14) July. The "Great Runaway" 558 to 561
(15) August 8. Murder of James Brady, brother of Captain
Samuel Brady .544 to 546
(16) August and September. The Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment
marches to defend the harried western frontier 566 to 568
(17) Colonel Thomas Hartley's expedition .561, 562
(18) September 12 to 17. The United States makes alliance with
the Delawares 568 to 570
(19) October and November. General Lachlan Mcintosh erects
Fort Mcintosh, and advances to the Tuscarawas 570 to 572
(20) November. Indian outrages on the North Branch of the
Susquehanna 562, 563
(21) November 2. Capture of Frances Slocum, the "Lost Sister
of Wyoming" 563 to 566
(22) November 10. Death of White Eyes 572
1779. (1) March. Prowess of Mrs. Bozart 586
(2) March. Invasion of the Wyoming Valley 588, 589
(3) April 11. Murder of Captain John Brady 573
(4) April 26. Capture of Assemblyman James McKnight 590, 591
(5) April 26. Attack on Fort Hand 582. 583
(6) April. Indian outrages in Westmoreland County 582 to 584
(7) May. Indian outrages in Union County 592, 593
(8) May. The Sample atrocity 592
(9) Summer. Indian outrages on the West Branch of the Susque-
hanna 593 to 595
(10) Summer. Indian outrages in Washington County 587, 588
(11) July 22. Battle of Minisink 598, 599
(12) July 28. Capture of Fort Freeland 595 to 598
(13) August and September. Colonel Daniel Brodhead's ex-
pedition against the Senecas and Munsee Clan of Delawares. . 584 to 586
(14) July, August and September. General John Sullivan's
expedition against the Six Nations 599 to 606
728 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Date Event Page
1780. (1) March 12. Massacre on Raccoon Creek 607
(2) March. Invasion of the Wyoming Valley and Capture of
Moses Van Campen 61 1 to 614
(3) April. Pennsylvania offers bounty for Indian scalps 625, 626
(4) April 25. Capture of the Gilbert family 619 to 623
(5) May. Atrocities in Washington County 608 to 611
(6) May. Godfrey Lanctot's mission 608
(7) Rescue of Jennie Stoops by Captain Samuel Brady. .580, 581, 608
(8) July. Captain Mclntyre's engagement with Wyandots 609
(9) Summer. Atrocities in Washington County 609, 610
(10) Summer. Atrocities in Blair, Bedford and Huntingdon
Counties 623 to 625
(11) Summer. Atrocities in Union County 618, 619
(12) September. Attack on Fort Rice, also known as Fort
Montgomery, (Northumberland County) 619
(13) Autumn. Attempt to attack friendly Delawares at Fort
Pitt 610
(14) December. Invasion of Wyoming Valley 614, 615
1781. (1) February. Delaware Council at Coshocton votes to espouse
British cause 627
(2) April 20. Colonel Brodhead destroys Coshocton 627
(3) April. Atrocities in Westmoreland County 634, 635
(4) March and April. Atrocities in Northumberland and Union
Counties 641 to 643
(5) Spring. Attack on the Stock family 640
(6) Spring and summer. General Clark's draft 635, 636
(7) June. September. Andrew Poe's fight with Big Foot. .. .631, 632
(8) June. Capture of Captain John Boyd 645
(9) July 2. Massacre at Philip Klingensmith's 635
(10) June and July. Outrages in the Wyoming Valley 643, 644
(11) August 24. Colonel Archibald Lochry's defeat 635 to 638
(12) September. Outrages in Washington County 631, 633, 634
(13) Autumn. Moravian missions on Tuscarawas broken up. . 629, 630
(14) November. Expedition against the Moravian Delawares. . 639
1782. (1) February 10. Capture of Robert Wallace's family 647
(2) February. Capture of John Carpenter 647
(3) March 8. Massacre of Moravian Delawares at Gnaden-
huetten 647 to 652
(4) March 24. Attack on friendly Delawares on Smoky Island . . . 652
(5) March 30. Attack on Miller's blockhouse 654, 655
(6) April. Soldiers ambushed near Fort Mcintosh and various
persons captured in Washington County. 654
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 729
Date Event Page
(7) April. Attack on Walthour's (Waldhauer's) blockhouse in
Brush Creek settlement, Westmoreland County 657, 658
(8) May 12. The Corbly tragedy in Greene County 656, 657
(9) April 16. Capture of Moses Van Campen 616, 617
(10) May 6. Raid in Union County 674
(11) Spring and Summer. Outrages in the Wyoming Valley 677
(12) June 5. Defeat of Colonel William Crawford 659 to 663
(13) June 11. Burning of Colonel William Crawford at the
stake 661
(14) June 22. Brush Creek settlers petition General Irvine 664
(15) July 13. Guyasuta burns Hannastown and raids other
parts of Westmoreland County 665 to 671
(16) August 13. Massacre at the home of Major John Lee. . 674 to 676
(17) September 13. Attack on Rice's Fort (Washington County).
_ 673, 674
(18) October. Capture of Miss McCormick and Catherine
Ewing 673
(19) October. Outrages in Northumberland County 678
(20) Autumn. The abandoned expeditions, following General
Sir Guy Carleton's orders to cease sending bands against the
frontier 679, 680
1783. (1) March and April. Outrages in Washington and Westmore-
land Counties 680, 681
(2) Summer. Peace mission of Major Ephriam Douglass. .681 to 684
(3) Spring. Capture of James and Eli Lyon 658, 659
The Post-Revolutionary Uprising
1784. (1) May 12. Murders on Cross Creek 688
(2) October 23. Purchase at Fort Stanwix 685
1785. (1) January 21. Purchase at Fort Mcintosh 687
(2) Summer. Raid in Washington County 685
1786. Summer. Murder of Cornplanter's brother-in-law 693
1787. (1) Summer or autumn. Attack on Levi Morgan
(2) November. Massacres in Greene County, probably of the
Davis and Crowe families 688 to 690
1789. (1) January. Treaty of Fort Harmar 688
(2) March 27. Capture of Mrs. Glass 690
(3) June 30. Murder of Arthur Graham and Alexander Camp-
bell within two miles of Pittsburgh 691
(4) August. Murder of the Mcintosh family 690, 691
1790. (1) June 27. Murder of friendly Senecas 692, 693
(2) October. General Harmar 's expedition and defeat 691, 692
(3) October and November. Conciliation of the Senecas. . . .692 to 694
730 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Date Event Page
1791. (1) Spring. Atrocities in Armstrong, Westmoreland, Indiana and
Crawford Counties 694 to 697
(2) September, October and November. Expedition and defeat
of General Arthur St. Clair 698 to 701
1792. (1) March. Atrocities in Allegheny County 702
(2) May 22. Capture of Massa Harbison 702 to 705
(3) Spring. Murder on Fort Run 705, 706
1794. (1) May. Attack on party of Captain Andrew Sharp 706 to 709
(2) August 20. General Anthony Wayne's victory at Fallen
Timbers 710 to 715
1795. (1) May 7. Friendly Indians attacked on the Allegheny 709
(2) May 22. Ralph Rutledge killed near Erie 709, 710
(3) August 3. Western tribes sign Treaty of Greenville 713, 714
1843. (1) June 30. Murder of the Wigton family in Butler County. . . 710
APPENDIX B
The Pennsylvania Sesqi-Centennial Celebration of the
General Sullivan Expedition Against the Iro-
quois or Six Nations — Other Matters
Relating to The Expedition
During the summer of 1929, Pennsylvania celebrated the Ses-
qui-centennial of Major-General John Sullivan's Expedition
against the Iroquois or Six Nations. A very praiseworthy feature
of the celebration was the marking of the Pennsylvania camp
sites of Sullivan's army, beginning at Easton, thence along the
line of the army's march to Wyoming (Wilkes-Barre), thence
along its line of march up the North Branch of the Susquehanna
to Tioga. The following list of tablets erected is taken from the
official program of the celebration, published by The Pennsyl-
vania Historical Commission:
At Easton — Sullivan Road over which the army began its advance, June 18,
1779.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission, The Valley Forge
Chapter S. A. R. and the City of Easton, 1929.
At Hellerstown — Heller's Tavern, the end of the first day's march, June 18,
1779.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Valley Forge
Chapter S. A. R., 1929.
Near Stroudsburg — Brinker's Mill, site of the Sullivan stores, the advance
post of the expedition.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission, The George N. Kemp
Post American Legion and The Valley Forge Chapter S. A. R., 1929.
Near Tannersville — Learned's Tavern, the last house on the frontier, the end
of the second day's march, June 19, 1779 — Distance 16 miles.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Monroe
County Historical Society, 1929.
Stroudsburg — Fort Penn, the home of Col. Jacob Stroud, was located here,
rendezvous for several companies for the expedition, uniting with main
army at Learned's Tavern.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission, The Historical Society
of Monroe County and The Jacob Stroud Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Crescent Lakes — White Oak Run, site of Chowder Camp, where Sullivan
dined on trout chowder, end of the third day's march, June 20, 1779 —
Distance 5 miles.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Valley Forge
Chapter S. A. R., 1929.
At Barren Hill — Fatigue Camp, the end of the fourth day's march, June 21,
1779, through the great swamp past the "Shades of Death" — Distance
20 miles.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Wyoming
Valley Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
732 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Near Laurel Run — Bullock Farm, 3-4 mile west on this road was the end of
the fifth day's march, June 22, 1779 — Distance 5 miles.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Wyoming
Valley Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Wilkes-Barre — Fort Wyoming, mobilization camp of Sullivan's army,
June 23-July 31, 1779.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Wyoming
Valley Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Warrior Run — Fort Freeland, mill built, 1773, stockaded, 1778, by Jacob
Freeland, attacked, captured and destroyed by British Tories and Seneca
Indians, 108 settlers killed or taken prisoners, July 28, 1779.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1929.
At Sunbury — Fort Augusta, first selected as rendezvous for the Sullivan
Expedition. Lt. Col. Adam Hubley's command the only regiment
quartered there to march against the Six Nations.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission.
At Wyoanna — Quialutimack, seven miles from Lackawanay (Lackawanna),
second encampment of Sullivan's Army on the march from Wyoming to
Teaoga, August 2, 1779, lay directly across the river.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Dial Rock
Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Tunkhannock — Tunkhannock, twelve miles from Quialutimack, on the
march from Wyoming to Teaoga (Tioga), August 3, 1779, lay on lowlands
between this point and river.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Tunkhannock
Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Black Walnut — Vanderlip's farm, fourteen miles from Tunkhannock,
fourth encampment of Sullivan's Army on the march from Wyoming to
Teaoga, August 4-5, 1779, lay on this lowland known as Black Walnut
Flats.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Tunkhannock
Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Wyalusing — Wyalusing, ten and one-half miles from Vanderlip's farm,
fifth encampment of Sullivan's Army on the march from Wyoming to
Teaoga, August 6-7, 1779, was on site just west on this road marked by
the Moravian Indian town monument.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Mach-Wi-Hi-
Lusing Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
At Rummerfield — Standing Stone, nine and one-half miles from Wyalusing,
sixth encampment of Sullivan's Army on the march from Wyoming to
Teaoga, August 8-9, 1779, was on river lowlands opposite the Standing
Stone.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Lt. Asa Stevens
Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
Above Towanda — Breakneck Hill, narrow pass over which Sullivan's Army
marched August 9, 1779, is visible directly across the river.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission.
At Upper Sheshequin — Sheshecunnuck, fifteen miles from Standing Stone,
seventh and last encampment of Sullivan's Army on march from Wyoming
to Teaoga, August, 10, 1779, lay on these lowlands by the river.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Tioga Point
Chapter D. A. R., 1929.
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 733
At Athens — Teaoga, Indian village three miles distant from Sheshecunnuck,
site of Sullivan's Army encampment, August 11-26, 1779, lay one and
one-fourth miles south of this point.
Marked by The Pennsylvania Historical Commission and The Tioga Point
Chapter D. A. R.
At Athens — Bridge Panel — Western end of the Indian Carrying Path from
Chemung to Susquehanna Rivers. The eastern was 190 rods southeast.
Fort Sullivan was built across this path.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Tioga Point Chapter
D. A. R., 1929.
At Athens — .Soldiers' Burial — Here within the confines of Fort Sullivan were
buried, August 14, 1779, several soldiers killed the day previous in skirmish
at Chemung as attested by Solomon Talada, soldier in the ranks who
returned to live in Athens all his life. Statement corroborated by finding
skeletons previous to 1839.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical Commission and Tioga Point Chapter
D. A. R., 1929.*
The Inception of Sullivan's Expedition
In this connection, it is fitting to set forth a few facts as to
Sullivan's Expedition, in addition to the facts set forth in the
acount given in Chapter XXV. Early in 1776, Sir John Johnson
fled to Canada, where he was commissioned a Colonel in the
British service and raised two battalions, composed mostly of
Scotchmen who had fled with him and of American loyalists.
From the color of their uniforms, they were called "Royal
Greens." Johnson, as their leader, became the merciless scourge
of the frontier. Besides the regularly enlisted companies of
"Royal Greens," there were many Tories, who often disguised
as Indians, either in company with the "Royal Greens" or in
bands by themselves, conducted a predatory and guerilla war-
fare on the frontiers that was savage as that of the Indian allies
of the British.
Such was the horde of men, white and red, among whom were
a few British regular troops — a horde whose battle-cry was
"No Quarter" — that ravaged the frontiers of New York and
Pennsylvania, and, on July 3d, 1778, perpetrated in the valley
of Wyoming a massacre as horrible and revolting as any that
stains the pages of history, ancient or modern. No pen is gifted
enough to discribe this massacre — the merciless slaughter of old
men, of women, of children; the glare of burning homes in the
valley of death; the horrible butchery at Queen Esther's Rock;
the fiend-like torture of the prisoners; the wild flight of the
survivors; the agonies in the "Shades of Death."
Out of this travail of blood and death on the banks of the Sus-
quehanna and out of similar agonies during the same year —
*In 1929, New York celebrated the Sesqui-Centennial of the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign,
and erected thirty-five markers along the routes of march of the armies.
734 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
at the German Flats, at Cherry Valley and at other places — ,
there was bom a determination on the part of General Washing-
ton and the Continental Congress to send a powerful army into
the territory of the Six Nations; to destroy their villages, their
orchards and their vast crops of corn and vegetables, useful not
only for the support of the Indians but also as supplies for the
British — to destroy these crops at a time which would prevent
their replanting. The matter was formally brought to the atten-
tion of the Continental Congress, and, on February 27th, 1779,
that body passed a resolution authorizing General Washington to
take the most effectual measures for protecting the Americans
on the frontiers.
After the resolution of the Continental Congress, of February
27th, 1779, Washington set about to carry out the same with
vigor. He sought the advice of Brigadier-General Edward Hand,
Colonel Zebulon Butler, Captain John Franklin, Captain Simon
Spalding and Lieutenant (later Colonel) John Jenkins. All of
these men had extensive knowledge of the territory of the Six
Nations. General Philip Schuyler, from his headquarters on the
Hudson, also transmitted important information relative to the
intentions and movements of the enemy.
Washington had in mind the appointing of General Philip
Schuyler as leader of the proposed expedition, but on account of
the latter's uncertainty as to his continuing in the army, refrained
from offering him the appointment. On March 6th, he wrote
General Horatio Gates, who was next in seniority, offering him
the appointment. General Gates declined the appointment
on the ground that he did not possess the youth and strength
requisite for such an undertaking. However, with his letter to
General Gates, Washington sent a letter to General John Sullivan
appointing him to the command, with instruction to General
Gates to forward this letter to General Sullivan in case he (Gates)
should decline the appointment. General Sullivan accepted the
command, and at once began preparations for the expedition.
Sketch of General Sullivan
This distinguished Revolutionary General was born at Somers-
worth, New Hampshire, February 18th, 1740, of Irish parents
who had come to America in 1723, and settled at Berwick, Maine,
on the other side of the river from the place of birth of their
immortal son. A farmer boy, he acquired a good education
under the direction of his father, who was a school teacher. In
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 735
young manhood, he read law with Hon. Isaac Livermore, of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and was admitted to the Bar,
commencing the practice of law at Durham, New Hampshire,
which continued to be his residence for the remainder of his life.
In 1772, he was Major of the New Hampshire Regiment. In
the spring of 1774, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly
of New Hampshire, and, in September of that year, he was a
delegate to the First Continental Congress. In May, 1775,
he was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In June,
1775, Congress appointed him Brigadier-General, and, in July,
1776, appointed him Major-General. In August, 1776, he was
captured by the Hessians under Von Heister, at the battle of
Brooklyn Heights, and later in that year was sent by Lord Howe
to Philadelphia to make overtures for peace to members of the
Continental Congress. Rejoining the Continental army, he
fought valiantly at Trenton, Princeton, Brandy wine and German-
town. He endured the rigors of the terrible winter at Valley
Forge, where he was compelled to draw on his personal fortune
for his support. The following summer he led the American
troops in the campaign in Rhode Island, retaining his command
here until the spring of 1779, when he was called to a new field,
where great exertions were demanded — the command of the
Expedition against the Six Nations.
General Sullivan enjoyed the confidence of Washington. His
conduct in the expedition against the Six Nations in destroying
the houses and food supplies of the Iroquois, was criticised by
many as vandal and unmilitary. But, in sweeping the territory
of the Iroquois as with a besom of destruction, he was only carry-
ing out the orders of Washington. Such was his love for the
commander-in-chief of the American armies that he bore the
criticisms in silence, rather than that Washington should suffer
reproach. Owing to exposure in the expedition against the
Iroquois and owing to the derangement of his business affairs
during his long period of service in the army, he retired in Novem-
ber, 1779. He continued to serve New Hampshire and the Nation
to the day of his death — as Attorney-General and Governor of
New Hampshire, as a member of Congress and as Judge of the
United States District Court of New Hampshire. He died at
Durham, New Hampshire, January 23d, 1795, and is buried in
the soil of his native state.
736 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
General Sullivan's Forces
General Sullivan arrived at Easton on May 7th, 1779, and at
once began preparations for the army to move. It was deter-
mined that the main division of his army should rendezvous at
Fort Wyoming, located where the city of Wilkes-Barre now
stands.
Three Brigades were to make up the center or main division
of his army. First was the New Jersey Brigade, commanded
by Brigadier-General William Maxwell. It was composed of the
First Regiment, commanded by Colonel Mathias Ogden; the
Second Regiment, commanded by Colonel Israel Shreve; the
Third Regiment, commanded by Colonel Elias Dayton; the
Independent or Fifth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Oliver
Spencer; also Colonel David Forman's Regiment, and Colonel
Elisha Sheldon's Connecticut Riflemen, both of which were
subsequently merged into Colonel Spencer's Independent or
Fifth Regiment.
The second was the New Hampshire Brigade, commanded by
Brigadier-General Enoch Poor. It was composed of the follow-
ing troops from that State : The First Regiment, commanded by
Colonel Joseph Cilley; the Second Regiment, commanded by
Lieutenant-Colonel George Reid; and the Third or Scammel's
Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Dearborn.
Also the Second New York Regiment, commanded by Colonel
Philip Van Cortlandt, was included in the New Hampshire
Brigade.
The third was a Brigade of Light Troops, commanded by
Brigadier-General Edward Hand. It was composed of the
Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-
Colonel Adam Hubley; the residue of the German Regiment,
recruited in Pennsylvania and Maryland, commanded by Major
Daniel Burchardt; Captain Simon Spalding's Independent
Wyoming Company; the Wyoming Militia, commanded by
Captain (later Colonel) John Franklin; and John Paul Schott's
Rifle Corps, commanded by Captain Anthony Selin.
There were also a section of Colonel Thomas Proctor's Pennsyl-
vania Artillery and Armand's Corps of French Volunteers.
However, Colonel Armand, on June 30th, was ordered with his
troops to join the army of Washington.
Without going into the details of the mobilization, we state
that the above is a list of the troops, numbering in excess of
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 737
3,500, that assembled at Fort Wyoming in the spring and summer
of 1779, with the exception of the Wyoming Company and two
companies of the Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment, all under
the command of Colonel Zebulon Butler, who were already at
this place.
As was seen in Chapter XXV, the right division, consisting
of the New York Brigade, consisting of about 1,500 troops,
commanded by Brigadier-General James Clinton, had wintered
on the Mohawk, and joined the major part of Sullivan's forces
at Tioga, on August 22nd. It was composed of the Third Regi-
ment, under Colonel Peter Gansevoort; the Fourth or Living-
ston's Regiment, under Colonel Frederick Weissenfels; the Fifth
or Independent Regiment, under Colonel Louis Dubois; the
Sixth Massachusetts or Alden's Regiment, under Major Whiting;
the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel
William Butler; and companies of Morgan's famous Riflemen,
with Major James Parr as senior officer, as well as a small com-
mand under Colonel John Harper.
As was also seen in Chapter XXV, the left division, consisting
of 600 troops, commanded by Colonel Daniel Brodhead, left
Fort Pitt, on August 11th, and proceeded up the Allegheny
against the Senecas and Munsee Clan of Delawares, as a cooperat-
ing movement, although Brodhead's forces never became con-
nected with Sullivan's army and never received orders from him.
General Sullivan's Difficulties
Great were the difficulties which General Sullivan encountered
both before and after he arrived at Fort Wyoming, on June 23d.
The New Jersey troops were in a state of discontent, almost
mutiny, owing to the fact that the authorities of that State made
no provision for the depreciation of the Continental currency
and did not pay them for their services, even in the almost
worthless Continental paper money. General Sullivan exerted
himself to the utmost to quiet their minds, and Washington
declared that nothing else had occurred during the war which
gave him so much alarm.
There was also the difficulty that many Pennsylvanians op-
posed the expedition. The Pennsylvania Quakers, whose prin-
ciples were averse to war, really pitied the Six Nations and placed
the blame for their atrocities where it rightly belonged — on the
British and Tories. Besides, many Pennsylvanians of wealth
and influence, resenting the claims of Connecticut to the Wyom-
738 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
ing Valley and the upper Delaware region, seemed perfectly
willing that the Iroquois should keep Connecticut settlers out
of the disputed territory. Besides, too, Independent companies,
promised by Pennsylvania, were not raised. (Pa. Archives, Vol.
7, pages 93 and 94; also pages 568 and 569). General Sullivan
wrote General Washington from Wyoming, on June 12th, ex-
pressing his disappointment at the attitude of Pennsylvania,
to which letter Washington replied, on June 21st, as follows:
"I am very sorry that you are like to be disappointed in the
independent companies expected from Pennsylvania, and that
you have encountered greater difficulties than you looked for.
I am satisfied that every exertion in your power will be made."
Then, on July 21st, Sullivan wrote from Wyoming to the Presi-
dent and Council of Pennsylvania that not a man of the seven
hundred and twenty rangers promised by Pennsylvania had
joined his forces. However, such Pennsylvanians as William
Maclay, Lieutenant of Northumberland, did all in their power to
cooperate with General Sullivan. Maclay wrote President Reed
of the Pennsylvania Council, on July 22nd: "I wish not to com-
plain of any one, nor would be understood so. I, however, know
the wretched slothfulness of many who are engaged in the public
department." (See various letters of Sullivan, Maclay, Colonel
Adam Hubley and others, relative to Pennsylvania's attitude,
in Pa. Archives, Vol. 7.) The above are only a few of the diffi-
culties which beset General Sullivan. There were some persons
who claimed that his demands were exhorbitant and threatened
to prefer charges against him before the Continental Congress.
General Sullivan Marches from Fort Wyoming
Surmounting his numerous difficulties and refusing to turn
aside from his line of march on account of the battle of Minisink
and the capture of Fort Freeland, described in Chapter XXV,
General Sullivan remained at Fort Wyoming until July 31st.
At 1 o'clock, P. M., on this day, he broke camp. As the shrilling
fifes, the rolling drums and the thundering cannon awoke the
echoes in the valley of Wyoming, he started on his march up the
beautiful and majestic Susquehanna, under the flaunting flags
and the glorious summer sky, with the grand, wild music of war,
to the success of his expedition and to immortality.
The success of the expedition was hailed with great joy through-
out the whole country. As for the Iroquois, the memory of the
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 739
terrible retribution lingered in their cabins for generations. The
distinguished Seneca chief, Complanter, more than a decade
after the expedition, gave expression to the gloom of the Iroquois
in the following speech delivered to President Washington at
Philadelphia :
"Father — The voice of the Seneca Nation speaks to you, the
great Counselor in whom the wise men of all the thirteen fires
have placed their wisdom. It may be very small in your ears,
and therefore we entreat you to hearken with attention; for we
are about to speak to you of things which to us are very great.
When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we
called you the 'Town Destroyer!' and to this day, when that
name is heard, our women look behind them and turn pale, and
our children cling close to their mothers."
Principal Towns Destroyed by General Sullivan's Army
The following is a list of the principal Indian towns in New York, destroyed
by General Sullivan's army in the Expedition against the Six Nations:
Adjuta. Also called Kanaghsaws and Yoxsaw. Located about a mile
north of Conesus Center, Livingston County. Contained eighteen houses,
and between the town and Lake Conesus were large fields of corn. It was
from this place that Lieutenant Thomas Boyd was sent on the scouting
expedition which resulted in his capture and death. See pages 604 to 606.
Canadasaga, or Senca Castle. A large and important town, the Capital
of the Senecas, situated about one and a half miles west of Geneva, Ontario
County. It contained sixty houses, with thirty more in the immediate vicinity.
It was surrounded by large orchards of apple, peach and mulberry trees. Also
large fields of onions, peas, beans, squashes, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, cu-
cumbers, water-melons, carrots and parsnips and corn were in the vicinity.
At this town Sir William Johnson had erected a stockade, in 1756.
Chemung. There were two towns of this name. Old Chemung was
situated about half a mile above the present Chemung, Chemung County.
New Chemung was situated about three miles above the present Chemung.
It contained about sixty houses.
Choharo. A Cayuga villag^, situated at the foot of Cayuga Lake.
Conihunto. A village situated on an island in the Susquehanna near the
present town of Afton, Chenango County.
Coreorgonel. A village, also called Hehorisskanadia, situated on the west
side of Cayuga inlet, about two miles south of the present Ithaca, Tompkins
County. It contained twenty-five houses. Here also the remnant of the
Tutelo had been placed by the Iroquois after the migration from the South.
See page 55.
Ghonodote, or Peach Town. A town at the site of the present Aurora,
Cayuga County. It was surrounded by immense peach orchards.
Gayuga Gastle. A village of fifteen houses, situated near the site of the
present Union Springs, Cayuga County. In the vicinity were Cayuga Old
740 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Town, a village of thirteen houses, situated in the southeast part of Union
Springs, and Upper Cayuga, a village of fourteen houses, situated near the
present Ledyard, Cayuga County.
Condawhaw, A village on the east side of Senca Lake, at the site of the
present North Hector. Also called Appletown.
French Catherine's Town. This was the town of "Queen Catherine"
Montour, a sister of "Queen Esther" Montour of Wyoming Massacre fame.
The sisters were granddaughters of the famous Madam Montour, and very
likely daughters of French Margaret. French Catherine's town was situated
three or four miles south of the end of Seneca Lake, in Schuyler County.
"Queen Catherine" was the wife of Telenemut, or Thomas Hudson, a Seneca
chief. Sullivan's army spent one day at French Catherine's town destroying
corn and fruit trees.
Gathtsegwarohare. A large Seneca town, located on the east side of
Canaseraga Creek, about two miles above its confluence with the Genesee
River, in Livingston County. In tne vicinity of the town were vast fields of
corn, which it took two thousand troops six hours to destroy, September 14th.
Genesee Castle. A large Seneca town, consisting of one hundred and
twenty-eight houses, located on the west side of the Genesee River, near the
present Leicester, Livingston County. It was the western door of the "Long
House" of the Iroquois Confederation. It was surrounded by vast orchards,
one of which contained 1600 trees, and by vast fields of corn and vegetables.
Some of the ears of corn were twenty-two inches long. The whole army turned
out to destroy the orchards, corn and vegetables, on September 15th. The
former "Genesee Castle" was located a few miles from this town. It stood on
the east side of the Genesee River at the mouth of Canaseraga Creek, and
was called Chenussie. About 1770, it was abandoned and the new "Genesee
Castle" was founded, the Genesee Castle of Sullivan's expedition. However,
when Sullivan arrived in the vicinity of the old town (Chenussie), he was not
aware of the fact that the town had been abandoned, nor did he seem to be
aware of the existence of the town, called Gathtsegwaroharie, (which see),
located two miles farther up Canaseraga Creek. When he arrived at the
Seneca town, called Adjuta (which see), thinking he was near the great Genesee
Castle of which he had heard so much, he sent Lieutenant Thomas Boyd with
a detachment to reconnoitre. Boyd left Adjuta on the evening of September
13th, and, instead of taking the unused path to the abandoned Chenussie,
took the traveled path to Gathtsegwarohare, at which place he arrived in the
early morning of September 14th. He reconnoitered the town, finding that
the enemy had fled therefrom, and then sent back four men to report his
discoveries to General Sullivan. In the meantime, he and the rest of his men
concealed themselves in the woods near the town (Gathtsegwarohare). Soon
four Indians entered the town on horseback, and Boyd sent a party to kill or
capture them. A skirmish ensued in which one Indian was killed and another
wounded. The wounded Indian and the others escaped. Boyd and his men
then set out for Sullivan's camp, and soon fell into the ambush which resulted
in his capture and subsequent torture. See pages 605 and 606.
Genesee Castle was also called Little Beard's Town, for the Seneca chief
of this name. It was the western point of Sullivan's Expedition. While the
army was here, Airs. Lester came to the troops with a child in her arms. Both
had been captured near Nanticoke, Pa., on November 7th, 1778, at the time
her husband was captured and killed See page 563. On the site of Genesee
Castle, the tree is still standing to which Lieutenant Thomas Boyd was tied
during his torture, having been identified by Moses Van Campen. The place
where Boyd was captured is near the present Groveland, Livingston County.
Honeoye. A village of twenty houses, situated at the foot of Lake Honeoye,
about half a mile east of the outlet, in Ontario County.
Kanandaigua. A Seneca town, located near and at the present town of
Canadaigua, Ontario County. It contained twenty-three houses and was
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 741
surrounded by vast corn fields and orchards. Some of the houses were log
and the others were frame, "large and new, pleasantly situated."
Kanawlohalla. A Seneca town, situated where Elmira, Chemung County,
now stands.
Kendaia. A town situated about half a mile from the eastern shore of
Seneca Lake, near the present town of Romulus, Seneca County. Pleasantly
situated, consisting of more than twenty houses, built of hewn logs and some
of the houses well painted. Near the town were large orchards of apples,
peaches and other fruits. Wonderful Indian tombs were at this town, con-
cerning which nearly all the journals of Sullivan's Expedition speak.
When the army was at this town, on September 5th, Luke Sweetland, who
with Joseph Blanchard had been captured near Nanticoke, Pa., on August
24th, 1778, joined the troops, overjoyed to escape from captivity.
Mamacating. Also called Mamacotting, a village at the site of Wurtzboro,
Sullivan County.
Shawhiangto. This village, consisting of twelve houses destroyed by
General Clinton's brigade, was located where Windsor, Broome County, now
stands. It was a Tuscarora village, some members of this tribe having been
permitted to settle here in 1712 by the other Iroquois tribes when the Tus-
caroras sought an asylumn among the then Five Nations.
Skoiyase. A Cayuga village, located where Waterloo, in the northern part
of Seneca County, now stands.
Skannayutenate. A Seneca town, located where the present village of
Canoga, Seneca County, now stands. Red Jacket, or Sagoyewatha, the great
Seneca orator is said to have been born here.
Swahyawanah. A village northeast of the present town of Romulus,
Seneca County.
Altogether, some forty towns of the Iroquois were destroyed by Sullivan's
army and detachments of the same. General Clinton's Brigade, in its march
from Otsego Lake to join Sullivan's main forces at Tioga, destroyed six
Iroquois towns as well as the Scotch Tory settlement, called Albout, located
about five miles above Unadilla, Otsego County.
Caneadea, Horatio Jones, Moses Van Campen, Lieut.
Thomas Boyd, Mary Jemison
The Seneca town, called Caneadea, or Ga-o-ya-de-o (where the Heavens
rest upon the earth), located in the upper Genesee Valley, on the site of the
present town of Caneadea, Alleghany County, N. Y., was the only important
town of the Iroquois to escape the vengeance of Sullivan's army. Between it
and the lower Genesee towns were the almost impenetrable barriers of the
canyon and three falls of the Genesee in what is now Letchworth Park, in
Livingston and Wyoming Counties. In this town was the ancient Caneadea
Council House, now in Letchworth Park.
Of the many captives who ran the gauntlet at Caneadea, no stories have been
more widely published than those of Captain Horatio Jones and Moses Van
Campen. When Jones was a mere youth, he accompanied the expedition of
Captain John Boyd, in 1781, described on page 645, and was captured near
Bedford, Pa. On this occasion, as he was running from his Indian pursuers,
he stumbled and fell. He expected to be tomahawked at once, but, to his
surprise, a warrior gently picked him up, and threw a string of beads around
his neck. Carried to Caneadea, he was compelled to run the gauntlet. His
captor held him back until the other prisoners had started to run the gauntlet,
then pointing to the Council House, the goal of safety, said to him, "Now run
like the devil," at the same time giving him a push. He had almost reached
742 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
the Council House, when a captive in front of him was struck down by a blow
from a tomahawk. Terrified, the boy sprang through an opening in the lines
and fled down a woodland path. As he passed a lodge in which two squaws
were sitting, one of them seized him, dragged him into the lodge, and hid him
under some garments of skins. His pursuers questioned the squaws as to
where the boy had gone, and, misled by their replies, hurried on. When they
had gone, the squaws took him from his place of concealment and brought him
safely to the Council House, where he learned that one of them would be his
adopted mother. She had lost a son in some expedition against the settle-
ments, and had commissioned one of the warriors to bring her a son in his
stead. It was her string of beads which had been thrown about the neck of
Jones when he was captured. By it she recognized him as he fled past her door.
Thus he began his life among the Senecas, later to be made their interpreter by
Washington, as related on page 645.
As related in Chapter XXVT, Moses Van Campen was captured in 1782
and carried to Caneadea, where he ran the gauntlet. Upon his arrival, prepara-
tions for the ordeal were speedily made. At the distance of about forty rods,
stood the Council House, and on each side of the running course were lines of
men and women, armed with hatchets, knives and clubs. There was but slight
chance to escape. When the word to start was given, the captives dashed for-
ward, and Van Campen succeeded in avoiding the many blows aimed at him,
until he saw directly in the path in front of him two young squaws with up-
lifted whips, blocking his way. Leaping into the air, he struck them with his
feet, hurling them to the ground. Falling with them, but quick y arising, he
succeeded in reaching the Council House unharmed.
Lieutenant Nellis, of the British army, led the band of Senecas that captured
Captain John Boyd and Horatio Jones, and also the band of Senecas that
captured Moses Van Campen.
Mighty memories cling around the ancient Council House of Caneadae.
Upon the inner surface of one of the logs, a cross is deeply carved, possibly
the work of one of the intrepid Jesuit fathers. Here many expeditions were
planned against the Catawbas and Cherokees of the South during the long
wars between the Iroquois and these tribes. Here Cornplanter, Red Jacket,
Little Beard, Half Town, Handsome Lake, Tall Chief and many others, great
men of the Senecas, no doubt met in council, and with them Joseph Brant of
the Mohawks. Here many expeditions against the New York and Pennsyl-
vania frontiers were planned, especially after Sullivan's expedition. Here
many a captive was cut down while running the gauntlet, failing to reach the
refuge of the Council House.
As related in Chapter XXVI, Moses Van Campen, shortly prior to 1800,
left Pennsylvania and took up his residence in the Genesee Valley, at what is
now Angelica, a few miles from Caneadea, where he ran the gauntlet. At his
Angelica home, he was visited by many Senecas whom he had known during
his residence on Fishing Creek, Columbia County, Pa., as well as by othres
against whom he had fought in the Revolutionary War. Among these were:
the Seneca chief, Tom Shenap, who, for a quart of whiskey, had taught Van
Campen some things about successful deer hunting; John Mohawk, with whom
he had the desperate encounter when escaping from his first captivity (1780);
and Shongo, whom he had wounded at the battle of Newtown, in Sullivan's
expedition. These Indians were then living at Caneadea.
Caneadea was on the very threshold of the "Long House" of the Iroquois,
or, as they callei thamselves, the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, that is, "People of the
Long House," likening their confederacy to the form of their houses, which
were extended enough, in some cases, to shelter ten or more families. By 1651
these "Romans of America" had conquered the Kah-Kaws or Neutral Nation,
who occupied the territory between the Genesee and Niagara Rivers, and
within five years thereafter had exterminated the Eries, who dwelt still farther
to the West and South, except a small portion of this latter tribe, which
they seem to have taken to the Seneca village at Squakie Hill, near Mt.
Morris, Livingston County, and near the Da-yo-it-ga-o of the Senecas, nean-
ing, "Where the river (the Genesee) issues from the hills."
At the time of the extermination of the Eries, the principal palisaded towns
SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 743
of the Senecas were: To-ti-ac-ton, situated on the outlet of Honeoye Lake,
near the present Honeoye Falls, Monroe County; Gan-da-chi-o-ra-gou,
situated near the present town of Lima, Lvingston County; Gan-da-ga-ro,
in the Township of Victor, and Gan-dou-ga-rae, in that of East Bloomfield.
These two latter towns were not far from the first two, and in all of them the
Jesuit missionaries established their missions as early as 1656. Then, in 1687,
all of these ancient Seneca towns were destroyed by the Marquis de Denon-
ville, whereupon the Senecas gradually drifted southward and westward,
establishing new towns in the valley of the Genesee, which they called Gen-
nis-he-o, meaning the "beautiful valley." Probably at an early date in this
migration to the valley of the Genesee, Caneadea and its Council House were
built. In 1826, the Senecas sold the last of their lands in the Genesee Valley
and parted forever with their title to Caneadea.
At this point, a few words concerning Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, whose
tragic death has already been told. In the summer of 1778, he was with the
American troops in the Schoharie Valley, N. Y., and whil'e there paid court to
Cornelia, the beautiful daughter of Bartholomew Becker. Shortly after Boyd's
death, she gave birth to a daughter, of whom he was the reputed father.
When his regiment was ready to march to join Sullivan's army, the young
woman approached Boyd in a state of mind bordering on madness, and begged
him to marry her before he left the valley. He endeavored to ease her mind
with promises; but doubting the sincerity of his intentions and promises, she
told him "if he went off without marrying her, she hoped he would be cut in
pieces by the Indians. In the midst of this unpleasant scene. Col. Butler
rode up and reprimanded Boyd for his delay, as the troops were ready to
march; and the latter, mortified at being seen by his commander thus im-
portuned by a girl, drew his sword, and threatened to stab her if she did not
instantly leave him." See Doty's "History of Livingston County, New York,"
pages 198 and 199 (the county in which Boyd was tortured). See also Simms'
"History of Schoharie," page 300. Lieutenant Boyd was handsome in face
and form, and his manners were most engaging. If the above account of his
relations with this daughter of the New York frontier is true (and we have no
reason to doubt the veracity of the high authorities we have quoted), it is sad
to think that one so brave should wrong a trusting girl — sad to think that
there should be this stain on his memory.
A final word as to Mary Jemison, "The White Woman of the Genesee,"
who spent seventy years of her life among the Senecas of the valley of the
Genesee. On her way to her new home in the Genesee Valley, in the autumn
of 1762, she rested over night in the Caneadea Council House. After
Sullivan's army left the Genesee Valley, she took up her residence on the
Gardeau (Gardow) flats, near Mt. Morris, where she made her home until
1831. At the treaty of Big Tree, held at what is now Geneseo, Livingston
County, in 1797, her title to 18,000 acres of the Gardeau flats was acknowledged
and confirmed. The dam, which will be constructed near Mt. Morris, will
submerge these fertile flats; but nothing can submerge or blot out the memories
of the mighty and romantic past, which linger in this and other parts of the
beautiful and charming valley of the Genesee — memories of the days when the
Senecas were the rightful lords of this Eden. Hear the words of "The White
Woman of the Genesee," concerning the life and character of the people whom
she steadfastly refused to leave:
"No people can live more happy than the Indians did in times of peace,
before the introduction of spirituous liquors amongst them. Their lives
were a continual round of pleasures. Their wants were few, and easily satis-
fied; and their cares were only for today; the bounds of their calculations for
future comfort not extending to the incalculable uncertainties of tomorrow.
If peace ever dwelt with men, it was in former times, in the recesses from war,
amongst what are now termed barbarians. The moral character of the
Indians was (if I may be allowed the expression) uncontaminated. Their
fidelity was perfect, and became proverbial; they were strictly honest; they
despised deception and falsehood; and chastity was held in high veneration,
and a violation of it was considered sacrilege. They were temperate in their
desires, moderate in their passions, and candid and honorable in the expression
of their sentiments on every subject of importance." (See pages 378 to 381.)
744 SULLIVAN SESQUI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Fate of the Iroquois
In the Revolutionary War, the Iroquois, induced by the British
scalp bounties and thinking they were in duty bound to obey the
command of the British Government, contributed to the aid of
the British at least 1,600 warriors. They "hung like the scythe
of death in the rear of our settlements, and their deeds are in-
scribed with the scalping knife and the tomahawk, in characters
of blood, on the fields of Wyoming and Cherry Valley and on
the banks of the Mohawk," Though Colonel Van Schaick, on
April 21st, 1779, surprised the Onondagas, destroyed their
Capital, provisions and munitions of war, killed twelve warriors
and captured at least thirty more, yet it remained for General
Sullivan's Expedition to break forever the power of the Iroquois.
After this visitation of death and destruction, the Iroquois were
never able to send large bands against the settlements, with the
exception of the band that burned Hannastown and over-ran a
large part of Westmoreland County, Pa., in July, 1782.
Looking with unutterable despair upon the ashes of their
homes and upon their ruined crops of corn, potatoes, squashes,
beans and other vegetables, the Iroquois wended their way to
Fort Niagara, as Sullivan's army left their country. Near the
fort at Niagara, rude huts were built for them. Here, in the
terrible winter following, many of them died of starvation,
freezing and pestilence. Others, who endeavored to spend the
winter in the desolated valley of their former homes, also froze
and starved to death.
In the Treaty of Peace with England, at the close of the Revolu-
tionary War, no stipulation was made concerning the Iroquois.
Consequently they found themselves a conquered people in the
lands of their enemies, who hated them with burning rancor.
The Legislature of New York evinced a disposition to expel them
from the state. But, through the influence of General Washing-
ton and General Schuyler, the Iroquois were saved from total
ruin. At the Treaty of Fort Stanwix (Rome, N. Y.), in October,
1784, reservations were secured to all the Iroquois, except that
portion of the Cayugas which, at the beginning of the Revolution,
fled to Canada and never returned, and except the Mohawks,
who had fled to Canada with Joseph Brant.
APPENDIX C
OFFICERS OF THE COLONIES
OF THE
Delaware before the time of William Penn, and the Governors
of the Province and the Commonwealth from 1681 to 1799
List of the Governors of Pennsylvania
GOVERNORS OF NEW NETHERLAND AND OF THE DUTCH ON
THE DELAWARE
Cornelius Jacobson May — Director 1624-1625
William Van Hulst— Director 1625-1626
Peter Minuit— Governor 1626-1633
David Pieterzen De Vries — Governor 1632-1633
Wouter Van Twiller — Governor 1633-1638
Sir William Kieft— Governor 1638-1647
Peter Stuyvesant — Governor 1647-1664
GOVERNORS OF THE SWEDES ON THE DELAWARE
Peter Minuit 1634-1641
Peter Hollender 1641-1643
John Printz 1643-16^3
John Pappegoya 1653-1654
John Claude Rysingh 1654-1655
DOMINION OF THE DUTCH
Peter Suyvesant — Governor of New Netherland 1655-1664
Andreas Hudde — Commissary 1655-1657
John Paul Jacquet — Director 1655-1657
(The Colony divided into the Colony of the City and the Colony of the
Company, in 1657)
Jacob Alricks — Colony of the City 1657-1659
Alexander D'Hinojossa — Colony of the City 1659-1^3
Georan Van Dyck — Colony of the Company 1657-1658
William Beeckman — Colony of the Company 1658-1663
(The Colony of City and Company United)
Alexander D'Hinojossa 1663-1694
AFTER THE CAPTURE BY THE ENGLISH 1664— UNDER THE DUKE
OF YORK
Colonel Richard Nicholls — Governor 1664-1667
Robert Carr — Deputy Governor 1664-1667
Robert Needham — Commander 1664-1668
Colonel Francis Lovelace — Governor 1667-1673
Captain John Carr — Commander on the Delaware 1668-1673
COLONIES CAPTURED BY THE DUTCH IN 1673
Anthony Colve — Governor of the New Netherlands 1673-1674
Peter Alrichs — Governor on the West Side of Delaware 1673-1674
746 OFFICERS OF THE COLONIES
COLONIES RECAPTURED BY THE ENGLISH 1674
Dominion of the English — Sir Edmund Andros 1674-1681
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT, UNDER WILLIAM PENN— 1681-1693
William Markham — Deputy Governor 1681-1682
William Penn — Proprietor and Governor 1682-1684
The Council — Thomas Lloyd, President 1684-1686
Five Commissioners — Thomas Lloyd, President 1686-1688
John Blackwell— Deputy Governor 1688-1690
The Council — Thomas Lloyd, President 1690-1691
Thomas Lloyd — Deputy Governor of Province 1691-1693
William Markham — Deputy Governor of Territories 1691-1693
Under the Crown of England 1693-1694
Benjamin Fletcher — Governor of New York 1693-1695
William Markham — Deputy Governor 1693-1695
William Penn— Proprietor 1695-1718
William Markham — Deputy Governor 1695-1699
William Penn — Proprietor and Governor 1699-1701
Andrew Hamilton — Deputy Governor 1701-1703
The Council — Edward Shippen, President 1703-1704
John Evans — Governor (Lieutenant) 1704-1709
Charles Gookin — Lieutenant Governor 1709-1717
Sir William Keith — Lieutenant Governor 1717-1718
John, Richard and Thomas Penn — Proprietors 1718-1746
Sir William Keith — Lieutenant Governor 1718-1726
Patrick Gordon — Lieutenant Governor 1726-1736
The Council — James Logan, President 1736-1738
George Thomas — Lieutenant Governor 1738-1746
(John Penn died 1746)
George Thomas — Lieutenant Governor 1746-1747
The Council— Anthony Palmer, President 1747-1748
James Hamilton — Lieutenant Governor 1748-1754
Robert Hunter Morris — Lieutenant Governor 1754-1756
William Denny — Lieutenant Governor 1756-1759
James Hamilton — Lieutenant Governor 1759-1763
John Penn (son of Richard) — Lieutenant Governor 1763-1771
The Council — James Hamilton, President 1771-1771
Richard Penn (brother of John Penn) — Lieutenant Governor 1771-1773
John Penn — Lieutenant Governor 1773-1776
DURING THE REVOLUTION
Chairman of the Committee of Safety — Benjamin Franklin 1776-1777
Presidents of the Supreme Executive Council:
Thomas Wharton, Jr 1777-1778
George Bryan, Acting Vice-President -1778
Joseph Reed 1778-1781
William Moore 1781-1782
John Dickinson 1782-1785
Benjamin Franklin 1785-1788
Thomas Mifflin 1788-1790
GOVERNORS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
Under the Constitution of 1790:
Thomas Mifflin 1790-1799
APPENDIX D
PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN
PENNSYLVANIA
Arranged for Convenient Reference
Adigo, Atiga, Atigue, Attique, etc. See Kittanning.
Adjouquay. This Indian town was located on the North Branch of the
Susquehanna, near the mouth of the Lackawanna, probably near Pittston.
Allaquippa's Town. The principal residence of Queen Allaquippa, a
Seneca, located where the town of McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, now
stands. There was also an Indian town of this or a similar name located near
Bedford, taking its name probably from AUaquipas, tne father of Canachquasy
or Captain New Castle.
Assarugheny. This was a Delaware village, located about two miles north
of the mouth of the Lackawanna River and near the present town of Ransom,
Lackawanna County.
Assunepachla. A Delaware village, afterwards called Frank's Town,
located on the Juniata near HoUidaysburg, Blair County.
Assiwikales. See Sewickley.
Aughwick. An Indian village, founded probably by the Tuscaroras and
located at the mouth of Aughwick Creek, near the present town of Shirleys-
burg, Huntingdon County. Deserted by its Indian inhabitants before George
Croghan moved to it in 1753, it became an important place in the Indian affairs
of Pennsylvania and remained so until the evacuation of Fort Shirley in 1756.
Big Island. The Island in the West Branch of the Susquehanna where
Lock Haven, Clinton County, now stands. It was a favorite meeting place
for the Delawares, the Shawnees and the Iroquois, being at the junction of the
Indian trails leading to the Seneca habitat and from Wyoming and Shamokin
to the Allegheny and Ohio. There were several other islands of this name,
one being at the mouth of the Juniata.
Black Legs Town. This Shawnee town was located at the mouth of
Blacklegs Creek, probably on both sides of the stream, near the site of the
.present town of Saltsburg, Indiana County.
Buckaloons (Buccaloons). A Seneca town at the mouth of Brokenstraw
Creek, at the site of the present town of Irvineton, Warren County. Colonel
Brodhead's battle of August 15, 1779, was not far below this town, and at
this town he constructed a breastwork and left supplies under a guard of
forty soldiers while the main body of his troops pressed on to Conewango
(which see) and other Seneca towns still farther up the Allegheny.
Captain John's Town. A village of the Munsee Clan of Delawares,
located near the site of the present town of Nazareth, Northampton County.
Canadohta. This village was located where the town of Lakeville, Craw-
ford County, now stands.
Canaserage. A Shawnee village, located where the town of Muncy, Lycom-
ing County, now stands.
Candowsa. A village of the Munsee Clan of Delawares, located on the
east shore of the Susquehanna, above the mouth of the Lackawanna and not
far from the line dividing the counties of Lackawanna and Wyoming.
Carantouan. A Susquehanna or Conestoga town, founded prior to 1615
and located at "Spanish Hill," Bradford County, Pa., and not far from the
town of Waverly, New York.
748 PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Gatawissa. A village of Delawares and Conoy, located at the mouth of
Catawissa Creek, which enters the North Branch of the Susquehanna from
the east, in Columbia County. The present town of Catawissa is located on or
near the site of the Indian town. Prior to 1756, the Delaware village, called
Lapachpeton's Town and named for a famous Delaware chief, was situated
near the mouth of Catawissa Creek.
Chenastry or Chenastrys. See Otzinachson and Chillisquaque.
Catfish Camp. The hunting and fishing camp of the Delaware chief,
Tangoocqua, or Cat Fish, located where the town of Washington, Washington
County, now stands.
Chartier's Town. This Shawnee town, founded by the half-breed, Peter
Chartier and the Shawnee chief, Neucheconneh, about 1734, was located near
the site of Tarentum, Allegheny County. It was on both sides of the Allegheny.
It is sometimes called Chartier's Old Town.
Chillisquaque. A large Shawnee town, established about 1728, and located
at the mouth of Chillisquaque Creek, which enters the West Branch of the
Susquehanna from the north, in Northumberland County. The names Chen-
astry and Otzinachson have been applied to this town.
Chinklacamoose. A village established by the Delawares, likely before
1730, during their westward migration, and located where the town of Clear-
field, Clearfield County, now stands. Barbara Leininger and Marie Le Roy
were detained here for a time as prisoners, in the autumn of 1755. In 1757,
Captain Patterson, scouting at the head of a detachment sent by Colonel
Burd, found the town unoccupied. Christian Frederick Post passed through
the village in the autumn of 1758.
Chiningue or Chininque. See Logstown.
Chinkanning. See Tunkhannock.
Clistowackin. A Delaware village on Martin's Creek, in Lower Bethel
Township, Northampton County.
Conejohela or Conejoholo. A town of Shawnee and Conoy Indians,
established prior to 1707 and located on both sides of the Susquehanna. That
part of the town on the east side of the Susquehanna occupied the site of the
present town of Washington Borough, Lancaster County, and was also called
Dekanoaghah. See page 53.
Conoy Town. A town of the Conoy tribe of Indians, located at the mouth
of Conoy Creek, Lancaster County.
Gonestoga. The ancient seat of the Conestogas or Susquehannas, located
about four miles southwest of Millersville, Lancaster County.
Conemaugh or Conemaugh Old Town. A Shawnee and Delaware town,
founded prior to 1731 and located where Johnstown, Cambria County, now
stands. The Indian town, called Keckenepaulin's Town, was not located here,
but near the mouth of the Loyalhanna. See Keckenepaulin's Town. On
October 29, 1731, the trader, Jonah Davenport, made an affidavit before the
Provincial Council in which he said: "On Connemach Creek there are three
Shawneese towns, forty-five families, two hundred men." In this affivadit
he further said that Okawela (Ocowellos) was their chief. (Pa. Archives, Vol.
1, pages 301 and 302.) The three Shawnee towns over which Ocowellos ruled
were Conemaugh and, likely. Black Legs Town and Keckenepaulin's Town
(which see).
Cock Eye's Cabin. A camping place on the Indian trail leading from
Bedford to Shannopin's Town (Pittsburgh), and located probably near Har-
rison City, Westmoreland County.
Coshecton. A Delaware village in Wayne County, near the falls in the
Delaware.
PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA 749
Gonewango. A Seneca village, located at the mouth of the creek of this
name, where the town of Warren, Warren County, now stands.
Gussewago or Gassewago. A village of the Munsee Clan of Delawares,
located where the town of Meadville, Crawford County, now stands.
Gustaloga's Town. A town of Munsee Clan of Delawares, located on
French Creek at the mouth of Deer Creek, in French Creek Township, Mercer
County.
Dekanoagh. See Conejohela.
Deundaga. A Seneca village which stood directly in "the forks of the Ohio,"
at Pittsburgh, the name meaning "the forks."
Diahoga. See Tioga.
Dunning's Sleeping Place. A camp on the trail leading from Bedford to
Pittsburgh, likely at the head of Brush Creek, Westmoreland County.
Friedensthal. See page 130.
Friedenshuetten. See page 130.
Friedensstadt. See page 130.
French Margaret's Town. An Indian town at the mouth of Lycoming
Creek, Lycoming County, a few miles west of the Williamsport station, named
for Margaret Montour, who was either a daughter or a niece of the famous
Madam Montour.
Gnadenhuetten, Pa. See page 130.
Glasswanoge. An Indian village on the west side of Roaring Creek at its
mouth in Montour County.
Gahontoto. An ancient town of the Susquehannas, located at the mouth
of Wyalusing Creek, Bradford County.
Ganagarahhare. An Indian village that stood at or near the mouth of
French Creek, on or near the site of Franklin, Venango County.
Goschgoschunk. A Munsee Delaware village, also called Goshgoshing,
which stood at the mouth of Tionesta Creek, near the present town of Tionesta,
Forest County. Called Cushcushing by Col. Brodhead.
Hickory Town. A Delaware village of the Munsee Clan, situated at the
mouth of Hickory Creek, Forest County.
Ingaren. A Tuscarora village, located at the site of Great Bend, Susque-
hanna County.
Jenuchshadega. A Seneca village which was located on the Allegheny
opposite Gawango, Warren County.
Keckenepaulin's (Kickenapauling's) Town. A Shawnee village, later,
it would seem, occupied by Delawares also, located on the Kiskiminetas, near
the mouth of Loyalhanna Creek, in Westmoreland County. Named after
the Delaware chief, Kickenepaulin. Many historians have confused the loca-
tion of this town with that of Conemaugh (which see). The error arises from
the misplacing of Kickenapauling's Cabin, which was on the Quemahoning,
near Jennerstown, Somerset County. C. F. Post, on his second journey to the
Ohio, left the army of General Forbes at Ligonier, and then came, as he says,
"to the old Shawneese town, called Keckkeknepolin." Being on his way to
the Ohio, he, after leaving Ligonier, would certainly not travel back to Cone-
maugh, now Johnstown, Cambria County. His journal of his second journey
to the Ohio definitely shows the course he traveled.
King Beaver's Town. A Delaware 'village, also called Shingas' Town,
located at the mouth of the Beaver River, in Beaver County.
750 PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Kiskiminetas or Kiskiminetas Town. A Delaware village, located on
the Westmoreland County side of the Kiskimentas River, about seven miles
from its junction with the Allegheny, and a few miles below Vandergrift. A
monument marks its site.
Kittanning. A large and important town of the Delawares, founded
probably as early as 1724 or 1725, located where the town of the same name
on the east bank of the Allegheny, in Armstrong County, now stands. A part
of the town was on the west side of the river. Destroyed by Colonel John
Armstrong and his Scotch- Irish troops from the Cumberland Valley, on
September 8th, 1756, but later rebuilt by the Indians. Kittanning was the
residence of Captain Jacobs for some years prior to his death at the hands of
Colonel Armstrong's troops. Shingas also resided here at times. A chief,
named Captain Hill, of the Turtle Clan of Delawares, resided here in 1731.
Kuskuskies or Kuskuski. A group of Delaware towns whose center
was at or near the site of the city of New Castle, Lawrence County. However,
prior to the coming of the Delawares to this place, the Senecas had a village,
called Kuskuski, at the junction of the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers. See
pages 372 and 373.
Languntouteneunk. The Moravian Delaware village, also called Fried-
ensstadt (city of peace), located on the Beaver River, in Lawrence County,
between the mouths of the Shenago River and Slippery Rock Creek.
Lawpawpitton's (Lapachpiton's) Town. See Catawissa.
Lawunakhannek. A Moravian mission among the Munsee Clan of
Delawares, located a few miles above Goschgoschunk (which see).
Lequepees, Probably Allaquippa's Town.
Letort's Town. The trading post of James Letort, near Shelocta, Indiana
County.
Logan's Town. The village of the celebrated Logan, Chief of the Mingoes,
at the mouth of the Beaver River, in Beaver County.
Logstown. An important town of Shawnees and Delawares, later also of
mongrel Iroquois or Mingoes, established by the Shawnees probably as early
as 1725, and located on the north bank of the Ohio about eighteen miles below
Pittsburgh, just below the present town of Ambridge, Beaver County. It
was burned by Scarouady during Washington's campaign in the summer of
1754 and later rebuilt by the French for their Delaware and Shawnee allies.
Christian Frederick Post, in the journal of his second mission to the Ohio,
describes the town so specifically as to leave no doubt of its location. See
page 370. Logstown was the residence of the Iroquois vice-gerents, Tanac-
harison and Scarouady.
Loyalhanna or Loyalhanning. A Delaware village that stood on the
banks of Loyalhanna Creek and where the town of Ligonier, Westmoreland
County, now stands. Layalhanning means "the middle stream" in the Dela-
ware tongue — "lawel" (middle); "hanna" (a stream); "ing" (locative, at or
at the place of). This stream is midway between the waters of the Ohio and
the Juniata Rivers.
Maghingquechahocking. A town of the Munsee Clan of Delawares,
located at the junction of Conneaut Creek and French Creek, in the southern
part of Crawford County. See pages 585 and 586.
Meniologameka. A Delaware village, located in Eldred Township, in the
southern part of Monroe County.
Murdering Town or Muthering Town. A village on the Connoque-
nessing, a few miles from Evans City, Butler County, as nearly as can be
PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA 751
determined. It was near this place that the hostile Indian fired upon Washing-
ton as he was returning to Virginia from his mission to the French, December
27th, 1753.
Nescopeck or Niskebeckon. A Shawnee village, located on the North
Branch of the Susquehanna, near the mouth of Nescopeck Creek, the site
of the present town of Nescopeck, Luzerne County.
New Kaskaskunk. A Delaware village in the Kuskuskies region, located
at or near where the town of Edinburg, Lawrence County, now stands. Some
authorities give its location at or near New Castle in the same county.
Newtychanning. An Iroquois village on the site of North Towanda,
Bradford County.
Nittabakonck. One of the Indian villages in the region of Philadelphia.
Nutimus Town. This was a Delaware town, named for the Munsee
Delaware chief, Nutimus, and was located a short distance below the mouth
of Nescopeck Creek and near the present town of Nescopeck, Luzerne County.
After being driven from the bounds of the "Walking Purchase" in 1742,
Nutimus and his followers settled here and on the site of the city of Wilkes-
Barre.
Ohesson. A Shawnee village which stood at the site of the present town of
Lewistown, Mififlin County. "Ohesson upon Choniata" (Juniata) was the
residence of the friendly Shawnee chief, Kishacoquillas, from some time prior
to 1731 until his death, in the summer of 1754. Ohesson is sometimes called
Kishacoquillas' Town.
Opasiskunk. An Indian village located probably on the Susquehanna in
the region of Conestoga Creek, Lancaster County.
Oscalui. A Susquehanna or Conestoga village, located at the mouth of
Sugar Creek, Bradford County.
Oskohary. An Indian village at the mouth of Catawissa Creek, Columbia
County, later called Lawpawpitton's Town. See Lawpawpitton's Town and
Catawissa.
Ostonwakin. An Indian village of mixed population, located on both
sides of Loyalsock Creek at its mouth, the site of the present town of Mon-
toursville, Lycoming County, named for Madam Montour, who was one of the
most renowned Indian characters and who lived at this Indian village for many
years.
Otzinachson. A name applied to the lower part of the West Branch of the
Susquehanna.
Paxtang. A Delaware (and later possibly Shawnee, also) village, located
near the mouth of Paxtang Creek, which flows into the Susquehanna at Harris-
burg. The great Delaware chief, Sassoonan or Allumapees, lived here from
some time prior to 1709 until 1718, when he removed to Shamokin (Sunbury).
Connected with the history of Paxtang is the story of John Harris and the
mulberry tree. Coming to the village in 1727, perhaps earlier, at about the
time it was abandoned by the Delawares upon their westward migration, he
established a trading house. A band of Indians, coming from the South,
possibly a band of Iroquois returning from an expedition against the Catawbas,
appeared at his trading house and requested rum. Seeing that they were
already intoxicated, he refused their request, whereupon they bound him to a
mulberry tree, and made preparations to burn him to death. His Negro slave,
Hercules, seeing his terrible plight, ran to "a neighboring tribe" for assistance,
perhaps to the Shawnees at their village on the western side of the Susque-
hanna, at the site of the present town of New Cumberland, Cumberland
County» Hercules returned with the friendly Indians, and they released
Harris, who, out of gratitude to the slave, gave him his freedom. Harris re-
752 PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA
quested that when he died he should be buried under this mulberry tree. His
family objected, and desired that he permit them to bury him in the old bury-
ing ground at Paxtang, whereupon he declared that, if they buried him there,
he would walk back to the mulberry tree. This story was first published in
1828 by Hon. Samuel Breck who had heard it from the lips of Robert Harris,
a son of John Harris. However, there is no reference to this thrilling incident
in any of the letters of John Harris or in any documents relating to the time of
Harris' residence at and near Paxtang. But the lack of documentary evidence
should not cause one to conclude that the story is untrue. It is certainly not
improbable. A painting of the scene is in the State Library of Pennsylvania.
See illustration on the jacket of this book.
Passigachkunk. A Delaware and Seneca town, located on the Cowanes-
que River, Tioga County, probably near the present Knoxville and Academy
Corners.
Pechoquealin. The name of various settlements of Shawnees in Lower
Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and also of the Shawnee
town on the east side of the Delaware. The principal Pechoqealin village on
the west side of the Delaware was at the mouth of Shawnee Run on and op-
posite Shawnee Island in what is now Lower Smithfield Township, Monroe
County.
Pequea. A Shawnee village on the Susquehanna, at the mouth of Pequea
Creek, Lancaster County, the site of the present town of Pequea.
Playwickey or Plawiskey. A town of the Turtle Clan of Delawares, the
residence of the great Delaware chief, Tamanend, located not far from the
present town of Langhorne, Bucks County. The site has been marked by the
Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Colonial Dames.
Pochapuchkug. An Indian town near the Lehigh Water Gap, inhabited
by the Munsee Clan of Delawares. Captain Harris, the father of Teedyuscung,
lived here at the time of the "Walking Purchase."
Punsxutawney. A Delaware village, located on Mahoning Creek, the
site of the present town of Punxsutawney, Jefferson County. Among the
captives who passed through the village, were Marie LeRoy and Barbara
Leininger.
Pymatuning. A Delaware village which was located near the mouth of
Pymatuning Creek, near Clarksboro, Mercer County.
Queen Esther's Town. An Indian town, located opposite the south-
western shore of Tioga Point, Bradford County. Founded about 1772 by
Esther Mountour, granddaughter of the famous Madam Montour and wife
of the Munsee Delaware chief, Eghohowen. This town was destroyed by
by Colonel Hartley in the autumn of 1778. Later Queen Esther settled near
the head of Cayuga Lake, where she died. She is remembered principally on
account of her beating the prisoners to death at "Queen Esther's Rock" or the
"Bloody Rock" at the Wyoming massacre of July 3d, 1778. Her son is said
to have been killed at Exter in the Wyoming Valley a short time before,'
which no doubt led her to take the terrible revenge she did.
Oueonemysing. A town of the Unami or Turtle Clan of Delawares,
located on Brandywine Creek, in the present Birmingham Township, Delaware
County, about three miles south of Chadds Ford.
Ouilutamend or Quialutimack. An Indian village about seven miles
above the mouth of the Lackawanna River and near the present town of Ran-
som, Lackawanna County.
Rique. Possibly the largest town of the Fries, located at or near the site
of the present city of Erie. See page 56.
Sauconk. A Shawnee and Delaware town, located on the Ohio about one
mile below the mouth of the Beaver, in Beaver County.
PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA 753
Sakhauwotung. A Delaware village on the west bank of the Delaware,
near Allen's Ferry, Northampton County.
Seekaughkunt. See Passigachkunt.
Senangelstown. Probably the same as Shannopin's Town (which see).
Sewickley or Sewickley Old Town. A town of the Sewickley Clan of
Shawnees, located at the mouth of Big Sewickley Creek, Westmoreland
County. This village stood near the present town of West Newton. There
was another Shawnee town, called Sewickley, which stood on the north bank
of the Allegheny, below Tarentum, Allegheny County. The Sewickley
Shawnees are described in an affidavit made by Jonah Davenport on October
29, 1731, as "fifty families lately from South Carolina to Potowmack (Poto-
mac), and from thence thither, making 100 men. Aqueloma is their chief."
(Pa. Archives, Vol. 1, pages 301 and 302.)
Shackamaxon. The chief town of the Turtle Clan of Delawares, located
on the Delaware River at Kingston within the limits of Pniladelphia.
Shallyschocking. See Chillisquaque.
Shatnokin. The great Indian capital, located on the Susquehanna, just
below the mouth of the North Branch, the site of the present town of Sunbury,
Northumberland County. Sassoonan or Allumapees, a famous chief of the
Delawares, lived here from 1718 until his death in the autumn of 1747. Also,
Shikellamy, the great vice-regent of the Six Nations, resided here from the
time of his removal from Shikellamy's Town (in 1737 or 1738), located on the
West Branch of tne Susquehanna, about half a mile below the present town
of Milton, until his death, December 17th, 1748.
Shannopin's Town. This was a Delaware town, named for the Delaware
chief, Shannopin, and located on the east bank of the Allegheny about two
miles from its mouth and within the limits of the city of Pittsburgh. The
town was founded as early as 1730.
Shawnee Cabins. A temporary village of the Shawnees, located about a
half mile east of Schellsburg, Bedford County.
Shawnee Flats. A name applied to the broad valley along the Susque-
hanna River below the present Wilkes-Barre, being first applied to the flats
on the west side of the river, where Plymouth, Luzerne County, now stands.
Skehandowa. See Wyoming.
Shenango. A Delaware town, located on the Shenango River, just below
the present town of Sharon, Mercer County.
Sheshequin or Sheshecunnuck. An Indian town, located on the
North Branch of the Susquehanna, the site of the present town of Ulster,
Bradford County. Queen Esther, the most infamous of the Montours, the
wife of Eghohowen, a chief of the Munsee Clan of Delawares, lived here until
about 1772, when she removed six miles north and founded Queen Esther's
Town.
Shikellamy's Town. The residence of Shikellamy, the vice-regent of the
Iroquois from his first coming to the Susquehanna, in 1727, until his removal
to Shamokin (Sunbury) in 1737 or 1738. It was located on the east bank of
the North Branch of the Susquehanna, about half a mile below the present
town of Milton, Northumberland County.
Shingas' Town. A Delaware village, also called King Beaver's Town,
located at the mouth of the Beaver River, in Beaver County.
754 PRINCIPAL INDIAN TOWNS IN PENNSYLVANIA
Standing Stone. The name given the site of the present town of Hunting-
don, Huntingdon County; also the large rock on the west bank of the North
Branch of the Susquehanna, opposite the present Standing Stone, Bradford
County.
Sugar Cabins. The site of the present Fort Lyttleton, Fulton County.
Ten Mile Lick. An important landmark on the trail leading from Franks-
town to the "Forks of the Ohio" and vicinity, located near Spring Church,
Kiskiminetas Township, Armstrong County.
Tioga. An important Indian town, located at Tioga Point, near Athens,
Bradford County, made up of Delawares of the Munsee Clan, Mohicans,
Tutelos and Nanticokes.
Tunkhannock. A Delaware and Nanticoke town, located on or near the
site of the present town of that name, in Wyoming County. Also called
Chinkhanning.
Venango. An Indian village which stood at the mouth of French Creek,
the site of the present town of Franklin, Venango County.
Wapwallopen. An Indian town, located above the mouth of Wapwallopen
Creek, which enters the North Branch of the Susquenanna from the east, in
Luzerne County. It was a Delaware village, also called Wambhallobank and
Opolopona.
Warren's Sleeping Place. The site of the present town of Apollo, Arm-
strong County.
Wechquetank. A Delaware village and Moravian mission on Head's
or Hoeth's Creek, Monroe County.
Wiccaco. The Delaware name for the region south of the old City of
Philadelphia, but now within the city limits, north of Hollander Creek and
along the Delaware River.
Written Rock. The name applied by Celoron to the Indian village where
McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, now stands, which was the residence for a
time of Queen Allaquippa.
Wyalusing. A town of the Munsee Clan of Delawares, located on the
east side of the North Branch of the Susquehanna, about two miles below
the present town of Wyalusing, Bradford County.
Wyoming or Wyoming Town. The Shawnee town, located on the
"Shawnee Flats," the site of the present town of Plymouth, Luzerne County.
The most noted Shawnee chiefs who lived here were Kakowatchky and Paxi-
nosa, before their migration to the Ohio. The name "Wyoming," however,
is applied to all this part of the valley of the North Branch of the Susquehanna.
Here also the great Delaware "King," Teedyuscung, had his residence, and
here he was burned to death, April 16th, 1763.
APPENDIX E
List of Blockhouses Not Mentioned in the
Text of This History
The following ninety blockhouses are not mentioned in the
text of this history, but are set forth at this place in order to add
to the value of the volume as a reference work. However, they
are referred to in the index under "F," the specific sub-head
being: "Forts, Blockhouses and Stations, location of and prin-
cipal events connected with the same."
The locations of many of the blockhouses, erected in Pennsyl-
vania during the Indian wars, have passed away from the memory
of mankind. Even the locations of some of the principal forts
were lost for a number of years. This was true of Fort Allen, at
Herold's (Harrold's), about three miles west of Greensburg,
Westmoreland County, until its location was definitely ascer-
tained through the researches of Rev. W. A. Zundel, of Derry,
Pa., who was bom and reared in that neighborhood. This fort
was erected in the spring of 1774 by the German Lutheran and
German Reformed settlers at Herold's and in the historic Brush
Creek Valley. These sturdy men erected this fort at a time
when most of the settlers of Westmoreland County had fled,
owing to the tyranny of Doctor John Connolly, agent of Lord
Dunmore, and owing to their fear that a bloody Indian war would
devastate the Westmoreland settlements on account of Con-
nolly's aggravating the Shawnees and also on account of the
murder of the aged friendly Delaware, Joseph Wipey. This fort
was the rallying place of not only Colonel Christopher Truby and
his faithful neighbors, but also of all others in Westmoreland
County who joined with the German settlers in resisting Vir-
ginia's claims. It appears that the Pennsylvania court for West-
moreland County held sessions at Fort Allen after Connolly
broke up its sessions at Hannastown. It appears, too, that the
log school house of the historic Old Zion Lutheran Church,
erected near Fort Allen in 1772 by the German settlers in that
neighborhood and in the Brush Creek Valley, was the first school
in Western Pennsylvania.
756 LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES
Many of the author's ancestors, living in the neighborhood of
Fort Allen, suffered at the hands of the Indians; and one of them,
Anna Silvus, was captured by the Indians and spent most of her
youth among them.
The venerable James Truby, of Kittanning, Pa., aged ninety-
four years, a great-grandson of Col. Christopher Truby, com-
mander of Fort Allen, revels in the lore of this historic fort and
the strong men, such as Wendel Ourry, Philip Klingenschmidt^
Peter Altman, Ludwig Otterman, Christopher Herold and George
Bender (the last an ancestor of the author), who were its de-
fenders. He furnished the author with the account of the capture
and rescue of Colonel Truby 's daughter, Mary Ann. She was
captured by the Indians in 1779, and rescued shortly afterward
near where the town of Clarion, Pa., now stands, by her father
and William Jack.
It is gratifying to the author that The Pennsylvania Historical
Commission has marked the site of this fort. If the present
volume will add to the interest that Pennsylvanians should take
in the matter of erecting monuments at important and famous
places in Pennsylvania history, the author will feel that the
immensity of labor in writing "The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania"
was not in vain.
A
Anderson's Blockhouse — Erected in 7778 near where the town of Peters-
burg, Huntingdon County, now stands.
Ashcraft's Blockhouse — Erected in 1774 in what is now Georges Township,
Fayette County.
Aughwick Fort — See Croghan's Fort and Fort Shirley.
B
Babel, Fort— See Fort Northkill.
Bayon's Blockhouse — Erected probably prior to the Revolutionary War
in Cross Creek Township, Washington County.
Beckett's Blockhouse — Erected likely in 1774 somewhere on the Washing-
ton County side of the Monongahela River.
Beeson's Blockhouse — Erected probably in 1774 where Uniontown,
Fayette County, now stands.
Black Legs Blockhouse — Erected in 1780 at "the forks of Black Legs
Creek," Indiana County.
Braybill's Blockhouse — Erected likely during the Post-Revolutionary
Indian uprising, about one mile south of Brownsville, Fayette County.
Bosley's Fort or Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War
where Washingtonville, Montour County, now stands.
LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES 757
"Fort Brink" — A blockhouse erected probably during the French and
Indian War about three miles above Bushkill, Pike County.
Burgett's Blockhouse^Erected about 1780 where Burgettstown, Washing-
ton County, now stands.
Bull Creek Blockhouse— Erected in 1783 at the mouth of Bull Creek, now
Tarentum, Allegheny County.
Campbell's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1 774 in what is now
West Finley Township, Washington County.
Gassell's (Castle's) Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774 just
above the mouth of Little Redstone Creek, Fayette County.
Conwell's Blockhouse — Erected in 1774 near the present village of Mer-
rittstown, Fayette County.
Craig's Blockhouse — See Shields' Fort.
Crawford's Blockhouse — Erected in May, 1774, by Valentine Crawford,
brother of Col. William Crawford, near the present town of Perryopolis,
Fayette County.
Graft's Blockhouse — Erected in 1774 about one mile northwest of the
present village of Merrittstown, Fayette County. Also sometimes called
Patterson's Blockhouse.
Clark's Blockhouse — Erected about 1790 near the mouth of Plum Creek,
in the southeastern part of Armstrong County.
Claypoole's Blockhouse — Erected about 1791 on the east bank of the
Allegheny just above the present town of Ford City, Armstrong County.
Crum's Blockhouse — Erected about 1779 in Barree Township, Huntingdon
County.
D
Decker's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as the French and Indian
War, in the southeastern part of Pike County.
Deshler's Blockhouse — The stone residence of Adam Deshler, erected
prior to 1760 on the north bank of Coplay Creek, about three miles northwest
of Catasauqua, Northampton County, and later fortified.
Dickey's Blockhouse — Erected about 1763, in Cumberland County, about
ten miles east of the Susquehanna and on the south side of the Blue Hills.
Dinstnore's Blockhouse — Erected about 1794 in what is now Canton
Township, Washington County.
Downey's Blockhouse — Erected probably in 1774 somewhere in Wash-
ington County, probably in Cross Creek Township.
Dunn's Blockhouse — Erected probably in 1774, in Donegal Township,
Washington County, near the West Virginia line.
Fort Durkee — Erected by Connecticut settlers in what is now the city of
Wilkes-Barre, in the spring of 7769.
Enoch's Blockhouse — Erected about 1770 in Amwell Township, Washing-
ton County.
758 LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES
Enlow's Blockhouse — Erected in 1775 in East Finley Township, Washing-
ton County.
Elder's Blockhouse — Erected in 1886 in what is now Young Township,
Indiana County.
Ferguson's Blockhouse — "Supposed to have been erected in 1774 near
the present site of Carlisle Springs," Cumberland County. — Frontier Forts of
Pennsylvania.
Freeport Blockhouse — Erected about 1793 where the town of Freeport
Armstrong County, now stands.
Gaddis' Blockhouse — Erected probably in 1774 in what is now Georges
Township, Fayette County.
Green's Blockhouse — Erected about 1790 or 1791 where the town of
Rosston, Armstrong County, now stands.
H
Fort Hartsog — Erected in 1778 near the site of the present town of Markles-
burg, Huntingdon County.
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Perry County) — Erected probably as early as
Pontiac's War.
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Snyder County) — Erected probably as early as
Pontiac's War, in what is now Middle Creek Township, Snyder County.
Hoagland's Blockhouse — Erected about 1780 in what is now Smith Town-
ship, Washington County.
Hupp's Blockhouse — Erected likely as early as 1769 in what is now East
Bethlehem Township, Washington County.
Inyard's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War in what is
now West Wheatfield Township, Indiana County.
Lamb's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774 somewhere in
what is now Hopewell Township, Washington County.
Lead Mine Fort — Erected in 1778 in what is now Tyrone Township, Blair
County. Also called Fort Roberdeau.
Lockry's Blockhouse — Erected in April, 1781 by Col. Archibald Lochry,
County Lieutenant of Westmoreland County, in what is now Unity Township,
Westmoreland County. (Pa. Archives, Vol. 9, page 79.)
Lowrey's Blockhouse — Erected about 1778, in Canoe Valley, in Catherine
Township, Blair County. The murder of Mrs. Matthew Dean and her children,
described on page 537, took place not far from this Blockhouse.
Lucas' Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774 in what is now
Nicholson Township, in the southwestern part of Fayette County.
Lytle's Blockhouse — Erected very likely during the Revolutionary War,
in Porter Township, Huntingdon County.
LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES 759
M
Marshel's (Marshall's) Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary
War in what is now Cross Creek Township, Washington County, by James
Marshel, County Lieutenant of Washington County.
Mason's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774, near Mason-
town, Fayette County.
Marchand's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774 in what is
now Hempfield and about four miles west of Greensburg, Westmoreland
County.
Mead's Blockhouse — Erected in the summer of 1794 where the town of
Meadville, Crawford County, now stands. See pages 696, 697. Among the
early settlers in the vicinity of Mead's Blockhouse, was Frederick Baum, whose
eight-year-old daughter, Barbara, was captured by the Indians in the spring of
1783, near Burnt Cabins, Fulton County, but was released by an aged Indian
to whom she had often given bread and other food when he resided near her
home.
Minteer's Fort or Blockhouse — Erected in the spring of 1774, near the
Youghiogheny River and Jacobs' Creek, Fayette County.
Martin's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War in what is
now West Providence Township, Bedford County.
Mill Creek Fort — Erected in 1772 at the mouth of Mill Creek, now within
the limits of the city of Wilkes-Barre.
Mc
McDowell's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War in or
near what is now the village of Madison, Hempfield Township, Westmoreland
County.
McCoy's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774 in South Union
Township, Fayette County.
McDonald's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War, at
least prior to April, 1782, where the town of McDonald, Washington County,
now stands. ("Washington- Irvine Correspondence," pages 298 and 299.)
McCartney's Blockhouse — Erected probably in the latter years of the
Revolutionary War, in what is now Buffington Township, Indiana County.
McConaughy's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War,
near the junction of Two Lick Creek and Cherry Run, Indiana County.
Shortly before the erection of this blockhouse, John White and Andrew Simpson
were attacked by Indians near the mouth of Black Lick Creek, Indiana County,
while on their way to warn a settlement below of danger. Simpson was killed,
but White escaped with a broken arm.
McAlvey's Blockhouse — Erected about 1778, on Standing Stone Creek,
in Jackson Township, Huntingdon County.
McCallister's Blockhouse — Erected probably in 1763 or 1764, in the
northwestern corner of Cumberland County.
McComb's Blockhouse — Erected probably during Pontiac's War, at or
near Doubling Gap, Cumberland County.
O
Ogden's Fort — A fort which was located where Mill Creek Fort (which see)
was later built.
760 LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES
Pearse's Blockhouse — Erected probably as early as 1774, in North Union
Township, about four miles from Uniontown, Fayette County.
Patterson's Blockhouse — See Craft's Blockhouse.
Piper's Blockhouse — Erected about 1777, in Hopewell Township, Bedford
County, about six miles northwest of the present town of Everett.
Potter's Blockhouse — Erected in 1777 by Colonel James Potter, near the
present borough of Centre Hall, Centre County. This blockhouse is some-
times referred to as the "Old" or "Upper" Fort in Penn's Valley. Captain
Finley's engagement, mentioned on page 542, took place not far from this fort.
Pomroy or Pomeroy's Fort or Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolu-
tionary War by Colonel James Pomroy, about a mile from Barr's Fort in the
Derry settlement and about half a mile from Millwood Station on the main
line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in Westmoreland County. During the raid
in Westmoreland County in the spring of 1781, mentioned on page 634, Colonel
Pomroy, on April 1st, was at work in his field with several of his hired men,
when they were fired upon by Indians and one of the men was killed. Pomroy
then fled to his blockhouse, while two of his men fled to Fort Barr and related
what had occurred; whereupon James Barr and James Wilson mounted their
horses and left Fort Barr to go to Pomroy's assistance. From a hilltop near
Pomroy's house, they saw several Indians skulking about the house. Barr
and Wilson left their horses and dashed into the Pomroy house unharmed.
They found that Pomroy and his wife, Hannah, had been making a gallant
defense of their home for several hours. They had hidden their children
under the heavy oak floor, and then went to the loft, where Pomroy, using
two rifles, fired at the Indians, while his wife loaded the weapons and handed
them to him, meanwhile frequently taking liberal "pinches of snuff." Upon
the arrival of Barr and Wilson, the Indians fled. The white persons then went
to Fort Barr. On the following day, Colonel Archibald Lochry, with a de-
tachment of militia, visited the Pomroy house. He found that the blockhouse
had been broken open and its contents carried off. He also found in the field
the dead body of Pomroy's hired man. Another hired man, who fled, was
never heard of again. (See Col. Archibald Lochry's letter of April 2nd to Col.
Brodhead in Penna. Archives, Vol. 9, page 51.)
R
Riffle's Blockhouse — Erected about 1779, in Nicholson Township, Fayette
County.
Robinson's Blockhouse — Erected about 1781 in what is now Conemaugh
Township, Indiana County.
Rook's Blockhouse — See Rugh's Blockhouse.
Roller's Blockhouse — Erected during the Revolutionary War, at the head
of Sinking Valley, Blair County. See last paragraph on page 644.
Fort Roberdeau — See Lead Mine Fort.
S
Fort Schwartz — Erected during the Revolutionary War, on the east bank
of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, about a mile above the present town
of Milton, Northumberland County.
Six's Blockhouse — See Dietrick Six's Fort.
Spark's Blockhouse — Erected about the beginning of the Revolutionary
War, in Perry Township, Fayette County.
Schuylkill Fort — See Fort Lebanon.
LIST OF BLOCKHOUSES 761
Striker's Blockhouses — Two blockhouses, erected about three hundred
yards apart, during the Revolutionary War, in what is now Buffalo Township,
Washington County.
Stokely's Blockhouse — Erected probably before the Revolutionary War,
on Big Sewickley Creek, about half a mile from Waltz' Mill, Westmoreland
County. A man, named Chambers, was captured near this blockhouse during
the Revolution, and returned after several years of captivity.
Taylor's Blockhouse — Erected probably during the Revolutionary War,
where the village of Taylorstown, Washington County, now stands.
Thompson's Blockhouse — Erected in 1790, in Rayne Township, about
six miles northeast of the present town of Indiana, Indiana County.
Turner's Blockhouse — Erected probably during the Revolutionary War,
in what is now Robinson Township, Washington County.
W
Walker's Blockhouse — Erected probably during the Revolutionary War,
in what is now Donegal Township, Washington County.
Wallower's Blockhouse — Erected probably during the Revolutionary
War, in what is now Donegal Township, Washington County.
Williamson's Blockhouse — Erected about 1776 by Col. David Williamson,
leader at the Gnadenhuetten (Ohio) Massacre. This blockhouse was located
a few miles northwest of the present village of Taylorstown, Washington
County.
Wilson's Blockhouse — Erected in the Derry settlement, about a mile
northeast of New Derry, Westmoreland County, during the Revolutionary
War, by Major James Wilson. See Pomroy's Blockhouse, above, for account
of Major Wilson's experiences. There was also a Wilson's Blockhouse, in
Washington County, probably in Donegal Township and about twelve miles
from the Ohio River, erected likely during the Revolutionary War.
Woodruff's Blockhouse — Erected probably during the Revolutionary
War, in the southern part of Amwell Township, Washington County. It
was built on an Indian mound, where many bones and relics were found in
later years.
Wright's Blockhouse — Erected as early as 1782 somewhere in Washington
County, probably in East Finley or West Finley Township. (See Penna.
Archives, Sixth Series, Vol. 2, page 257). The records of the Supreme Execu-
tive Council show an order drawn on the State Treasurer, on March 21st,
1783, in favor of Matthew Ritchie for twenty-five pounds to be paid by him
to Alexander Wright, of Wright's Blockhouse, Washington County, and
William Minor, the same being reward for two Indian scalps.
ZoUarsville Fort — This seems to have been an Indian earthwork, erected
in the far, dim past in what is now West Bethlehem Township, Washington
County. Many bones and Indian relics have been found at this place. Earle
R. Forrest, in his "History of Washington County," says that when he visited
the place on October 5th, 1924, a section of the earthwork could be traced.
INDEX
Readers who wish to use this history for local reference, will find, under the various
counties in the index, the principal local events during the Indian wars and uprisings.
Attention is also called to the fact that, under "F" (sub-head, "Forts, Blockhouses
and Stations, location of and principal events connected with same"), will be found the
locations of about two hundred and seventy-five forts, blockhouses and other places
of refuge and defense, in use during the Indian wars and uprisings in Pennsylvania.
Abandoned expeditions, the, 679, 680.
Abercrombie, Gen. James, appointed
commander-in-chief, 355, 356.
Abbot, John, killed, 555.
Abbot, Rachel, her child killed by Glik-
kikan who repents, 654.
Adams County; events in during French
and Indian War, 378, 381.
Adario, great Huron chief, quoted, 26, 27.
Adjouquay (see Appendix D).
Adjuta (see Appendix B).
Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 177.
Adolphus, Gustavus, king of Sweden, plans
Swedish colony on the Delaware, 59.
Akansea, history of, 57.
Allen, Fort (Westmoreland County), 498,
505, 574, 486, 634, 635, 669, 755, 756.
Allen, Fort (Carbon County), 253, 255,
256, 323.
Allen, Fort (Washington County), 497.
Allen family, attack on, 618.
AUaquippa, Queen (see Queen Allaquippa).
(See also Allaquippa's Town in Appen-
dix D.)
Algonquin family, tribes composing, 34.
Albert, Frantz, killed, 285.
Alexander, Robert, killed, 563.
Allegheny County; events in during Celo-
ron's expedition, 138, 139; events in
during Washington's mission to the
French and his campaign of 1754,
145, 146, 150, 152 to 154; events in
during French and Indian War, 186
to 190, 194, 362, 367, 370 to 372, 400
to 402; events in during Pontiac's War,
418 to 424, 448, 478; events in during
Lord Dunmore's War, 489, 490, 493;
events in during Revolutionary War,
527 to 529, 535, 568 to 571, 575, 578,
581, 584, 608 to 610, 627, 636, 639, 652,
653, 658, 671, 672; events in during
Post-Revolutionary Uprising, 691, 693,
710, 711. (See also Bouquet's expedi-
tion, Forbes' expedition. Fort Pitt, Fort
Duquesne, etc.)
Allemangle, murders in, 345.
Allen Township Presbyterian Church, 457.
Allison, James, 681.
Allison, John, 223.
Allumapees (see Sassoonan).
Amherst, Sir Jeffrey, appointed com-
mander-in-chief of British forces in
America, 423; suggests to Col. Bouquet
that Indians be inoculated with small-
pox, 423, 424, 439.
Amos, Teedyuscung's son, 258.
Andaggy-Jungquagh, chief of the Cones-
togas, 83.
Anderson, William, killed, 431.
Anderson, William, attack on, 587.
Anderson's Blockhouse, location of (see
Appendix E.)
Antes, Col. John Henry, 520.
Antes Creek, 520.
Antes, Fort, 520, 558.
Anders family, members of, killed, 241.
Arbuckle, Captain Matthew, 504.
Archer, Elizabeth, killed, 293.
Armstrong, Lieutenant Edward, killed,
295.
Armstrong, Jack, killed, 125; Jack's
Narrows named for, 125.
Armstrong, Mrs. James, 264.
Armstrong, Fort, 584, 585.
Armstrong, Colonel John, describes in-
vasion of Great and Little Coves and
Conolloways, 219; destroys Kittanning,
304 to 314; pursues Indians, 435, 436;
his letter concerning the murder of the
Conestogas, 467; his expedition against
Great Island in Pontiac's War, 452;
raises English flag over ruins of Fort
Duquesne, 401.
Armstrong County, events in during the
French and Indian War, Chapter XIII;
events in during the Revolutionary War,
512 to 514, 530, 584; events in during
Post-Revolutionary uprising, 694, 695,
702, 703, 705, 706, 707, 708.
Ashcraft's Blockhouse, location of (see
Appendix E).
Assarughney (see Appendix D). (Also
page 279.)
Assinnissink, 241.
Asswikales Clan of Shawnees, 47.
Assunepachla (see Appendix D).
Adigo, Atiga, Atique, etc. (see Kittanning).
Atkins, Edmund, 329, 390.
INDEX
763
Augsburg Confession, 61.
Atlee, Samuel J., 687.
"Augusta Regiment," 254.
Auburn, 301; Logan, chief of the Mingoes
born at, 490.
Aughwick, 173, 179, 204 (see also Appen-
dix D).
Augusta, Fort, 253, 254, 294, 461, 487,
522, 559, 597.
Aughwick Fort (see Crogan's Fort and
Fort Shirley).
B
Babel, Fort (see Fort Northkill).
Bald Eagle, kills James Brady, 544 to 546;
killed by Captain Samuel Brady, 573 to
577.
Bald Eagle (not the chief killed by Samuel
Brady), murder of, 289.
Bailey, William, captured, 688.
Baldwin, Sergeant Thomas, 677.
Bane, Captain Joseph in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Barr, Fort, 532, 518.
Barefoot or Hochitqgete, 32.
Bard, Richard, capture of family of, 381 to
383.
Barton, Rev. Thomas, describes massacres,
264.
Bashore, John Michael, killed, 543.
Baskins, Robert, killed, 289.
Baskinsville, 289.
Bassler, Rev. Gottlieb, baptizes Samuel
Mohawk, 710
Baum, Barbara, capture and release of (see
Mead's Blockhouse in Appendix E).
Bauman, John, killed, 255.
Bayon's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Bayard, Colonel Stephen, erects Fort
Armstrong, 584, 585; advises General
Irvine of murders, 680.
Beatty, killed, 349.
Beaver County, events in during Celoron's
expedition, 138, 139; events in during
Washington's mission to the French and
his campaign of 1754, 146, 167 ; events in
during the French and Indian War, 361,
369; events in during the Revolutionary
War, 571, 577, 584, 609; events in during
Post-Revolutionary uprising, 582, 691.
Beaver Dams, 305.
Beeman's Blockhouse, 497.
Beeler, Fort, 497.
Beeson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Bedford County, events in during the
French and Indian War, 393; events in
during Pontiac's War, 431, 441; events
in during the Revolutionary War, 623 to
625, 645, 522 to 526.
Bedford, Fort, 428 to 430.
Beeson, Captain John in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Beckett's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Bell, Samuel, attack on, 248.
Belt of Wampum, 276.
Benham, Robert, 536.
Benjamin and Brown families, attack on,
520, 521.
Bennett, Thomas, 611.
Berks County, events in during the French
and Indian War, 234 to 237, 269, 272,
285, 300 to 302, 346, 347, 349, 383;
events in during Pontiac's War, 453, 454.
Berry, Captain, killed, 540.
Bethlehem, founded, 129, 130.
Bezallion, Peter, 82.
Bickel, Henry, killed, 643.
Big Cat, 628, 652, 697.
Big Foot, his fight with Andrew Poe, 631,
632.
Big Island, 48 (see also Appendix D).
Big Tree, 693; sketch of, 556.
Biggs, Captain John in Crawford's expedi-
tion, 659.
Bilderback, Captain Charles in Crawford's
expedition, 659.
Bingham's Fort, 261 ; captured by Indians,
286.
Blacksnake, 581.
Black Eagle, 699.
Black Legs Town (see Appendix D).
Black Legs Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Black Lick Creek, murders on, 516.
Black Minquas, 57.
Black Prince, 129.
Blair, James, killed, 273.
Blair, William, killed, 352.
Blair County, events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 519, 526, 529 to 531, 537,
538, 623, 624, 644, 645.
Blane, Lieutenant Archibald, 424.
Blanchard, Captain Jeremiah, 551.
Blanchard, Joseph, captured, 555.
Blanket Hill, 312, 513.
Blockhouses, stations and forts, distinc-
tion between 254 (see also Forts and
Blockhouses).
Bloody Rock, 550.
Bloody Spring, murder at, 294.
Blue Jacket, leads Shawnees at Harmar's
defeat, 692; leads Shawnees at St.
Clair's defeat, 699; leads Shawnees at
battle of Fallen Timbers, 713; sketch of,
715.
Blue Rock, 31.
Boatman, Mrs. Claudius, killed, 675.
Boemper, Christian, killed, 263.
Boggs, Lydia, captured, 681.
Boice, Wison, family of captured, 681.
Boone, Daniel at Braddock's defeat, 198,
199.
Boone, Fort, 696.
Boone, Captain Hawkins, 596.
Bosley's Fort (see Appendix E).
764
INDEX
Bounties for Indian scalps, Pennsylvania
offers during French and Indian War,
281 to 283; Pennsylvania offers during
Pontiac's War, 472, 473; Pennsylvania
offers during Revolutionary War 625,
626.
Bounties for American scalps, British give
their Indian allies during Revolutionary
War, 506 to 509.
Boscawen, Admiral, 356
Bouquet, Colonel Henry, sketch of 388;
in General Forbes' campaign against
Fort Duquesne, Chapter XVII; defeats
Indians at Battle of Bushy Run, 439 to
449; expedition of, to the Tuscarawas
and Muskingum, 475 to 482.
Bower, Thomas, attack on home of, 235.
Boyd, Captain John, capture and other
experiences of, 645.
Boyd, Lieutenant Thomas, cruel death of,
605, 606 (see also Adjuta, Caneadea and
Genesee Castle in Appendix B).
Boyd, Rhoda, escapes from Col. Bouquet
and returns to Indians, 482.
Boyd, William, killed, 273.
Boyer family, attack on, 293.
Bozarth, Mrs. Experience, prowess of, 586,
587.
Brackenridge, H. H., 662; defends Ma-
machtaga, 671; mentions Walker atroc-
ity, 672.
Braddock, General Edward, arrives in
Virginia, 177; campaign of. Chapter VI;
defeated at Battle of the Monongahela,
187 to 191; death of, 193; faults of, 200
to 202; effects of defeat of, 199, 200;
his conversation with Franklin, 178; his
Indian allies, 179 to 181; grave of, 193.
Bradford County, events in during French
and Indian War, 321; events in during
Revolutionary War, 562, 599, 612, 613.
Bradstreet, Col. John, expedition of, 475;
makes peace with Delawares and
Shawnees at Presqu' Isle, 477; Colonel
Bouquet disregards action of in making
peace with Delawares and Shawnees,
477.
Brady, Fort, 594.
Brady, James, murder of, 544 to 546.
Brady, Captain John, murder of, 573.
Brady, Captain Samuel, appointed leader
of scouts, 573; his vow, 546, 574
murder of his brother, James, 544 to 546
murder of his father, Captain John, 573
kills Bald Eagle, 573 to 577; other ex-
ploits of, 577 to 582; tried for killing of
Indians, 582; receives rewards for Indian
scalps, 626; scouting with Phouts, 635;
his famous leap, 579, 580; death of, 582.
Brant, Joseph, sketch of, 556, 557; at
battle of Minisink, 598, 599; opposes
General Sullivan's advance, 602; am-
bushes Col. Lochry, 637, 638; leads
Indians at St. Clair's defeat, 699.
Braybill's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Breastwork Hill, 394.
Breitenbach's Blockhouse, 213, 261.
Brickell, John, capture of, 697, 698.
Brink, Fort (see Appendix E).
Brinton, John, in Crawford's expedition,
659.
Brison, James, 668.
British agents, cause Post- Revolutionary
uprising of Indians, 688.
British scalp bounties in Revolutionary
War, 506 to 509, 643.
Brodhead family, attack on, 244.
Brodhead, Col. (later Gen.) Daniel, takes
command of Fort Pitt, succeeding Gen.
Mcintosh, 572; leads Eighth Penn.
Regt., 566 to 568; at treaty of alliance
with Delawares, 568 to 570; his expedi-
tion against the Senecas and Munsee
Clan of Delawares, 584 to 586; goes to
relief of settlers on the West Branch,
561; destroys Coshocton, 627 to 630;
did kill prisoners at Coshocton, 629;
given Indian name by friendly Dela-
wares, 639; opposes and then assists
Gen. Clark's draft, 636; succeeded in
command of Fort Pitt by Gen. Irvine,
639.
Brosius, Sebastian, killed, 237.
Brown, Basil, 536.
Brown, Coleman, killed, 496.
Brown, Enoch, murder of him and his
pupils, 473, 474.
Brown, Jane, 690.
Brown, John, 690.
Brown and Benjamin families, attack on,
520, 521.
Brown's Fort, murders near, 297 (see also
261).
Brownlee, Lieutenant, 610; murder of, 667.
Bruce, Captain William, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Brule, Estienne, 31.
Brush Creek, settlers on murdered, 486;
settlers on oppose Virginia's claim, 486;
settlers on petition Gen. Irvine, 664;
massacre at Philip Klingensmith's in
settlement on, 635 ; attack on Walthour's
blockhouse in settlement on, 637, 638;
settlement on attacked during Hannas-
town raid, 667; raid on during 1781, 657,
658 (see also 695).
Buccaloons or Buckaloon, 410 (see also
Appendix D).
Buchanan, Arthur, 296.
Buckongahelas, warns Moravian Dela-
wares, 651; leads Delawares at St.
Clair's defeat, 699; leads Delawares at
Battle of Fallen Timbers, 713; sketch of,
715.
INDEX
765
Bull Creek Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Bull, Captain, son ^^f Teedyuscung, in-
vades Northampton County, 459; in-
vades Wyoming Valley, 459 to 462;
captured, 476.
Burd, Fort (Fort Redstone), 404.
Burd Road, 178.
Burd, Col. James, 178, 355, 398, 461.
Burgett's Blockhouse (see Appendix Ej.
Burnett, killed, 633, 634.
Burns, Patrick, 219.
Burman, Nicholas, killed, 257.
Burnt Cabins, 121.
Bushy Run, battle of, 439 to 449.
Busse's Fort, 253.
Butler County , Washington passes through
on mission to the French, 146, 148, 149;
events in during French and Indian War,
367 ; events in during Revolutionary War
585; events in during Post-Revolution-
ary uprising, 703; Wigton family mur-
dered in, 710.
Butler, Col. John, leads British and Tories
at Wyoming massacre, 546, 550; op-
poses General Sullivan, 602; enlists
Iroquois in British service, 506.
Butler, General Richard, comments of, on
cause of Lord Dunmore's War, 493, 494;
at Fort Mcintosh treaty and purchase,
688; killed at St. Clair's defeat, 318, 319,
701.
Butler, Captain Walter, son of Col. John,
opposes General Sullivan, 602.
Butler, Col. Zebulon, commands Ameri-
cans at Wyoming massacre, 550, 554;
again defends Wyoming Valley, 588,
589.
Byerly, Andrew, flees with family to Fort
Ligonier, 424, 425; in battle of Bushy
Run, 442, 443.
Byerly 's Station, 442.
Cady, Abel, killed, 520.
Calhoun, Thomas, tells of murder of
traders at outbreak of Pontiac's War,
420.
Cambria County, events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 530, 531.
Cameron County, events in during Revo-
lutionary War, 645.
Camerhof, Bishop, 360.
Campanius, Rev. John, translates Martin
Luther's Catechism, 62.
Campbell, Alexander, killed, 691.
Campbell, Rev. Alexander, 690.
Campbell, Charles, captured, 516, 517.
Campbell, Mrs., killed, 517.
Campbell, Michael, killed, 539.
Campbell, Robert, house of attacked, 431.
Campbell, Captain, at battle of Bushy
Run, 439 to 449.
Campbell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Camp Charlotte, 500.
Camp Monacatoocha, 184.
Canachquasy (Captain New Castle),
peace efforts of, 321, 322; death of, 331.
Canadasaga (see Appendix B).
Canassatego, orders Delawares from
bounds of Walking Purchase, 114 to 116.
Canaserage (see Appendix D).
Candel, Rudolf, killed, 237.
Candowsa (see Appendix D).
Caneadea (see Appendix B).
Canoe Place, 686.
Canoe Valley, 537.
Captain Bull (see Bull, Captain).
Captain Jack, a mythical character, 181,
182.
"Captain Jack, the Scout," McKnight's,
referred to, 182.
Captain Pipe, succeeds Custaloga, 414;
defends Moravian missionaries, 630;
burns Col. William Crawford at the
stake, 661; meets Major Ephraim
Douglass on latter's peace mission, 682;
town of, 682; at treaty of alliance with
Delawares, 568 to 570.
Carantouan, 30.
Carbon County, events in during French
and Indian War, 241, 242, 244, 245, 255;
events in during Pontiac's War, 456;
events in during Revolutionary War,
619.
Carlisle, 223; refuges at during Pontiac's
War, 430, 438, 440.
Carnahan, John, killed, 515.
Carnahan's Blockhouse, attack on, 515,
516; Lochry's expedition assembles at,
636.
Carter, John, killed, 706.
Carter, Sarah, 704.
Carleton, Sir Guy, puts end to British
scalp bounties, 679.
Carpenter, John, captured, 647.
Carr, Captain, killed, 563.
Cassell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Cartlidge, Edmund, 25.
Casnet, Captain Joseph, 672.
Cassewago (see Cussewago).
Castleman, William, 631.
Catawissa, 47, 52 (see also Appendix D).
Catawbas, 82, 86, 87, 88, 110, 150; assist
Pennsylvania, 249; they and Cherokees
attack Delawares and Shawnees, 337.
Catawba Indian Trail, 184.
Catherine's Town, 602.
Catfish (Washington), persons killed by
Indians near, 680.
Catfish Camp (Washington) (see Appendix
D).
Catfish, a Delaware Chief (see Catfish
Camp in Appendix D).
Caulkins Creek, 462.
766
INDEX
Cayuga Castle (see Appendix B).
Cayugas, member of Iroquois Confedera-
tion, 38.
Celeron's expedition, 137 to 139.
Centre County, events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 542.
Chambers, Fort, 228.
Chambers, Col. Benjamin, describes in-
vasion of Coves and Conolloways, 218.
Chambers, James, captured, 635.
Chambers, James, killed, 618.
Chambers, William, killed, 273.
Champlain, 30.
Chapman, Asa, 678.
Character, Indian, 18 to 22, 381, 743.
Chartier, Peter, protects Shawnee mur-
derers, 92; deserts to the French, 127;
sketch of, 127, 128.
Chartier's Old Town, 127, 367 (see Appen-
dix D).
Chartiers Creek, 494.
Chemung, 562 (see Appendix B).
Chenastry or Chenastrys (see Appendix
D). (Also page 47.)
Chenussic (see Appendix B).
Cherry, John, 631.
Cherry, Fort, 497, 631.
Cherokees, 86, 88, 110, 150; driven from
the Ohio Valley, 45, 331; alliance of
secured by Atkins, 329; assist Pennsyl-
vania, 249; they and Catawbas attack
Delawares and Shawnees, 337 (see also
357,358).
Chillasquaque, 49 (see also Appendix D).
Chilloway, Job, interpreter at alliance
with Delawares, 569; sketch of, 569.
Chinkanning (see Tunkhannock). (See
also Appendix D).
Chinklacamoose, 206, 299; Captain Pat-
terson's expedition against, 355 (see also
Appendix D).
Choharo (see Appendix B).
Christina, Queen of Sweden, 59.
Christina, Fort, 60.
Christ Lutheran Church, 237.
Christianity, Swedes convert Delawares
to, 62.
Christian's Spring, 261.
Christie, Ensign John, in command of
Fort Presqu' Isle, 415.
Christy, Rev. Adward, 649.
Chondote (see Appendix B).
Chugnut, 280.
Civility, Chief, 88, 89.
Clans of Delawares, 36, 37.
Clark, Col. (later Gen.) George Rogers,
he and his followers "declare war" on
Shawnees, 489, 490; captures Col.
Henry Hamilton, the "hair-buyer," 507,
535; first expedition of, 535; draft of for
expedition against Detroit, 635, 636; fail-
ure of expedition of against Detroit, 638.
Clark, William, 221.
Clarion County, events in during French
and Indian War, 360; events in during
Revolutionary War, 576, 642.
Claypoole's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Clayton, Major Asher, invades Wyoming
Valley, 461.
Clear Fields, 312.
Clearfield County, events in during
French and Indian War, 299, 355.
Clemens, Miss, 673.
CUnton, DeWitt, quoted, 43, 44.
Clinton, Gen. James, 600, 602 (see also
Appendix B).
Clinton County, events in during French
and Indian War, 299, 365; events in
during Revolutionary War, 541, 559,
617.
Clistowackin (see Appendix D).
Cluggage, Major Robert, 623.
Cochran, Robert, killed, 286.
Cock Eye's Cabin (see Appendix D).
Coe's Station, 704.
Cola, killed, 237.
Colman, Nicholas, killed, 255.
Coleman, Michael and Thomas, 519.
Columbia County, events in during the
Revolutionary War, 562, 593, 614 to 616.
Conciliation of the Senecas in 1790, 692,
693.
Condawhaw (see Appendix B).
Conejehela or Conejoholo (see Appendix
D).
Conemaugh Old Town (see Appendix D).
Conestoga, 33 (see also Appendix D).
Conestogas, murdered by "Paxtang (or
Paxton) Boys," 33, 463 to 469.
Conestogas, history of, 28 to 33; murdered
by settlers from Paxtang, 33, 463 to
469.
Confederation of Iroquois formed, 38, 39.
Confluence (see Turkey Foot).
Congruity, Eve Ourry buried at, 668.
Connecticut settlers, massacre of, 459 to
462.
Connecticut, claims of to Wyoming Valley,
377.
Conner, John, 672.
Conococheague Valley, devastated, 292.
Conodoquinet Manor, 98.
Connejaghera, 53 (see Conejehela).
Conihunto (see Appendix B).
Connellsville, 489.
Conolloways, invasion of, 218 to 223.
Connolly, Dr. John, takes command of
Fort Pitt, 488, 489; active in bringing
on Lord Dunmore's War, 490, 493;
succeeded by General Edward Hand as
commander of Fort Pitt, 527; flees from
Pittsburgh, 512.
Conoy, history of, 53.
Conoy Town, 53.
INDEX
767
Contrecoeuer, Captain, takes possession
of Forks of the Ohio, 152 to 154; erects
Fort Duquesne, 154.
Conwell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Cook, Col. Edward, deplores Gnaden-
huetten massacre, 652; assembles militia
at Hannastown, 667.
Cook, George, 705.
Cook, Lieut. John captured, 645.
Corbly atrocity, 656, 657.
Corbly, Rev. John, 656, 657.
Coreorgonel (see Appendix B).
Corlear, 101.
Cornplanter, probably not at Braddock's
defeat, 191, 643; appears before Penn-
sylvania Council and President Wash-
ington, 693; his relatives killed, 693; not
in battle with Col. Brodhead's troops,
585; quoted as to British scalp bounties,
643; sketch of, 716, 717.
Cornstalk, same as Tamenebuck, 128;
asks that Chartier's Shawnees be for-
given, 128; peace efforts of in Lord
Dunmore's War, 492 to 499; commands
Shawnees at battle of Point Pleasant,
498, 499; murder of, 503, 504.
Coshecton (see Appendix D).
Coshiston massacre, 566.
Cousins, William, 706.
Councils (see Treaties and Councils).
Covenhoven, Robert 540, 559, 560, 561.
Cox, Gabriel, 636.
Coxe, John and Richard, capture of, 266
to 269.
Coxe's Fort, 497.
Coycacolenne, 25.
Craft's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Craik, Dr. James, 159, 189.
Craig, Captain Isaac, 636.
Craig, Lieut. Samuel, fate of, 518.
Craig's Blockhouse (see Shields' Fort).
Craig's "History of Pittsburgh," error in
regarding Col. Brodhead, 629.
Grain, Lieut., 644.
Cresap, Capt. Michael, 490, 491; blamed
for killing Logan's family, 496.
Cramer, 505.
Crawford, Fort, 573.
Crawford, John in Col. Lochry's expedi-
tion, 638; in expedition of his father.
Col. William Crawford, 660, 662.
Crawford, Colonel William, at treaty of
alliance with Delawares, 568 to 570;
helps raise troops for Coscocton cam-
paign, 627; expedition of against
Sandusky, 659 to 664; torture of, 661,
662 (see also page 491).
Crawford County, events in during French
and Indian War, 146, 147; events in
during Post-Revolutionary Uprising,
696, 697.
Crawford, Valentine, 491.
Crawford's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Croghan, George, suggests present to
Indians of Ohio Valley, 131; goes to
Logstown with Pennsylvania's present,
132; purchases first lands ever sold a
white man by the Indians of the Ohio
Valley, 139; in Washington's campaign
of 1754; at Virginia treaty at Logstown,
140, 141; placed in charge of Indian
affairs in Pennsylvania by Sir William
Johnson, 333; at Grand Council at
Easton, 373 to 377; loses his office as
Indian agent, 510, 511; testimony of, as
to faithfulness of Indians to their agree-
ments, 411, 412; sketch of, 168 to 170.
Croghan's Fort, 204, 276, 308 (see Fort
Shirley).
Cross Creek, 587.
Cross' Fort, 353.
Croushores, John, killed, 348.
Crowe family, murder of, 688, 689.
Crozier, James, 704.
Crozier, Mary Ann, 704.
Cruelty, Indian, no greater than that of
the white man, 20, 195, 196, 485, 463 to
469.
Cruikshank, Andrew, 666, 667.
Crum's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Culbertson, Capt. Alexander, killed, 273.
Culbertson, John, killed, 293.
Culmore, Mrs. Philip, killed, 300.
Cumberland County, events in during
French and Indian War, 247, 248, 276
to 279, 285, 289 to 292, 351 to 353;
events in during Pontiac's War, 430 to
438, 440, 441; events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 531, 567, 624.
Cunningham, Susan King, killed, 474.
Cussewago (see Appendix D). (Also
pages 147, 414.)
Custaloga, sketch of, 412 to 414; holds
councils with Col. Bouquet, 479.
Custaloga's Town, 147, 414 (see Appendix
D).
D
Danner, killed, 346.
Darke, Col., at St. Clair's defeat, 700.
Darmes, Mr., killed, 641.
Dauphin Countv, events in during French
and Indian War, 271, 297, 298, 333,
349; events in during Revolutionary
War, 560.
Davenport, Jonas, 314.
Davis' Blockhouse, 261.
Davis, James and his son killed near Fort
Walthour, 680.
Davis, James, family of murdered in
Greene County, 688, 689.
Davy, the lame Indian, 657, 658.
Dean, Mr., murder of, 285.
768
INDEX
Dean, Matthew, his wife and children
killed, 537.
Decker's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Dehgewanus, Indian name for Mary
Jemison, 378.
Dekanoagah, 53 (see Appendix D).
Dekanawida, 39.
Delancy, Governor, 177.
Delawares, clans of, 36, 37; traditional
history of; subjugated by Iroquois,
38 to 42; westward migration of, 42, 43;
relations of with the Swedes and William
Penn, Chapter III; protest rum traffic,
25; defrauded by "Walking Purchase,"
110 to 118; go over to the French, 200,
203; first invasion of, Chapter VII;
councils and treaties with during French
and Indian War, Chapters XIV and
XVI; join Pontiac's Uprising, 412, 413;
treaty of alliance with during Revolu-
tionary War, 568 to 570; Coshocton
Council of votes to espouse British
cause, 627; power of finally broken by
battle of Fallen Timbers, 713; sign
treaty of Greenville, 713, 714.
Delaware George, holds councils with
Post, 361, 363.
Delaware Jo, sent by Croghan on mission
to the Ohio, 276, 277.
Den, Sergeant Leonard, killed, 343.
Denison, Col., at Wyoming Massacre, 550.
Denny, Governor William, supersedes
Gov. Morris, 304; issues proclamation
suspending hostilites, 333; attends Lan-
caster Conference, 334; sends C. F.
Post on great peace missions. Chapter
XVI; at grand Council at Easton, 373 to
377.
Denny, Major, journal of, 706.
Deshler's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Deundaga (see Appendix D).
De Peyster, Major, succeeds Col. Hamil-
ton, the "hair-buyer," 630; acquits
Moravian missionaries, 630; assists
Major Ephraim Douglass' peace mis-
sion, 683.
De Vetri, M., attacks Bouquet's camp on
Loyalhanna, 397 to 399.
De Villiers, M., advances against Wash-
ington, 161; forces Washington to sur-
render at Fort Necessity, 162 to 167.
Dick, Thomas, family of, captured, 702.
Dickey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Dieppel, Lawrence, attack on, 285.
Dietrick Six's plantation, 234.
Dietrick Six's Fort, 261.
Dillow, John, captured, 673.
Dillow, Matthew, killed, 673.
Dillow's Fort, 673.
Dinwiddle, Gov., his opinion of English
traders, 23; sends Washington on mis-
sion to the French, 144, 145.
Dinsmore's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Dismal Swamp, 553.
Diseases, Indian, 22.
Dispute between Gov. Morris and As-
sembly, 251, 252.
Doddridge's "Notes," error in regarding
Col. Brodhead, 629.
Doddridge's Fort, 497.
Dodds, Governor, 177.
Dodge, Lieut. Jonathan, 456.
Doll's Blockhouse, 261.
Domain of Iroquois, 43.
Donaldson, Robert, killed, 542.
Donehoo, Dr. Geo. P., quoted, 81, 117,
167, 467.
Donnelly, Francis, killed, 514.
Dorrance, Col. George, killed at Wyoming
Massacre, 550.
Downey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Douglass, Major Ephraim, peace mission
of, 681 to 684.
Downing, Capt. Timothy in Crawford's
expedition, 659.
Doyle, Samuel, 692, 693.
Dunkard Creek, murders near, 495.
Dunbar, Colonel, follows Braddock, 182;
his retreat, 192, 193, 199, 203, 204.
Dunbar's Camp, 191.
Dunmore, Fort, 489.
Dunmore's War, Chapter XXII; causes
of, 488 to 495; effects of, 494, 495, 499;
Roosevelt's "Winning of the West"
fails to grasp effects of, 495.
Dunning, Sheriff, pursues Indians, 434.
Dunning's Sleeping Place (see Appendix
D).
Dunn's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Dunquat, 631.
Dupu, Fort, 252.
Duquesne, Fort, erected, 154; Braddock's
campaign against. Chapter VI; capture
of by General Forbes, 400 to 402;
French contemplate recapture of, 403.
Durham, Mrs. Margaret Wilson, 561.
Durkee, Fort (see Appendix E).
Dutch Company, 59.
Dutch, Indian policy of, 63.
Dysart, Mrs., killed, 475.
£
Easton, important councils at, with
Teedyscung and other Indians, 322, 323,
325 to 329, 338 to 342, 375 to 378, 511.
Eckerlin tragedy, 353, 354.
Ecuyer, Capt. Simon, in command of Fort
Pitt at outbreak of Pontiac's War, 418,
419; attempts to inoculate Indians with
small-pox, 424.
Edgerton, Thomas, captured, 654.
Edgington,Thomas(seeEdgerton, Thomas).
Egle's "History of Pennsylvania," quoted,
430, 431, 432, 434, 435, 619.
INDEX
769
Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, assembles
at Kittanning, 512; marches to join
Washington's army, 512; marches back
to Western Pennsylvania, 566 to 568.
"Ein Feste Burg," 237.
Elder, Rev. (Col.) John, pioneer Presby-
terian minister, 211, 460, 261, 464, 466.
Elder's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Elliott, Charles, 433.
Elliott, John, 433.
Elliott, Joseph, 676.
Elliott, Matthew, deserts Americans, 529.
Ellinipisco, murdered, 504.
Emrick, David, killed, 642.
Enoch's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Enslow, Andrew, killed, 352.
Enlow's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Erie, 56.
Erie County, events in during French and
Indian War, 146, 147; events in during
Pontiac's War,- 414, 417, 477; events in
during Post-Revolutionary Uprising,
709, 710, 714, 715.
Eries, history of, 56, 57.
Etzweiler, George, killed, 618.
Evans, Governor John, 82 to 85.
Evans City, Washington marker near, 148,
149.
Everett, 393.
Everett, Fort, 261, 300, 302.
Everhart family, murder of, 240.
Ewing, Catherine, captured, 673.
Ewing, Charles M., 672.
Ewing, James, attack on blockhouse of,
671, 672.
Ewing's Blockhouse, 671, 672.
Ewing, Col. Geo. W., 565.
Fabricius, George, killed, 241.
Family life, Indian, 19.
Faithfulness, Indian, 20, 411, 412.
Farmer, Edward, 82.
Fayette County, Washington passes
through on mission to French, 145, 150;
Washington's campaign of 1754 in, 154
to 167; events in during Braddock's
campaign. Chapter VI; events in during
French and Indian War, 404; events
in during Dunmore's War, 489, 497, 492,
498, 499; events in during Revolutionary
War, 535, 636. (As pointed out by
Hon. James Veech, in his "Monongahela
of Old," Fayette County, after the close
of the French and Indian War, was
freer from Indian raids than Greene,
Washington and Westmoreland Coun-
ties.)
Female captives, treatment of by Indians,
20, 381.
Fetter, Fort, 519.
Ferguson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fife, Capt. William, in Crawford's expedi-
tion, 659.
Fin Castle, Fort, location of, 499 (see also
Fort Henry (W. Va.)).
Fincher family, murder of, 453.
Fincastle, Fort, 499.
Fink, John, killed, 647.
Finlay, John, killed, 352.
Finley, Ebenezer, 531, 532.
Finley, Rev. James, 531.
Finley, Rev. J. B., Methodist missionary
among the Wyandots, 632.
Findley, Hon. William, 193.
Fisher, Jacob, killed, 633.
Fish Carrier, a Seneca chief, 693.
Five Nations (see Iroquois).
Fleming, Andrew, killed, 547.
Fleming, Lieut. Richard, in Lochry's
expedition, 638.
Fleming, Robert, killed, 542.
Fleming, William, his son killed, 222.
Flying Cloud, a Seneca chief, 696.
Forbes, General John, his expedition
against Fort Duquesne, Chapter XVII;
his Indian allies, 390; troops composing
his army, 389; the route followed by
his army, 390 to 393; succeeded by
General John Stanwix, 402.
Forbes Road, its course described, 390 to
393.
Ford, Captain, at St. Clair's defeat, 699.
Foreman's or Froman's Fort, 494.
Forty Fort, 551.
Forest County, events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 585.
Forrest's "History of Washington County,"
quoted, 634, 650.
Forts, Pennsylvania erects chain of, 252,
253 (see also 261, 262).
Forts, Blockhouses, distinction between
252.
Forts, Blockhouses and Stations, Lo-
cation of and Principal Events
Connected With Same:
Fort Allen (Carbon County), location of,
253; massacre of militia near, 253, 256;
other events near, 456, 457, 616.
Fort Allen (Westmoreland County), loca-
tion of, 498, 669; massacres near, 574,
634, 635; petition of settlers at, 505 664;'
school house at (see first page of Ap-
pendix E).
Fort Allen (Washington County), location
of, 497.
Fort Allison, location of, 224.
Fort Antes, location of and events at,
520, 558.
Anderson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
770
INDEX
Fort Armstrong, location of and events at,
584, 585.
Ashcraft's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Augusta, location of and events at,
253, 299, 461, 487, 522, 559, 561, 590,
594, 597, 294, 679.
Bayon's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Beeler, location of, 497.
Fort Barr, location and events at, 518, 532.
Beelar's Fort, location of, 497.
Fort Beeman (Beeman's Blockhouse), lo-
cation of, 497.
Beckett's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Bedford, location of, 393; siege of,
428, 430; other events at, 441, 522.
Beeson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Bingham, location of and capture of,
286; rebuilt, 432.
Black Legs Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Boone, location of and events at, 596.
Bosley's Fort (see Appendix E).
Fort Brady, location of and events at, 594.
Braybill's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Breitenbach's Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Fort Brink (see Appendix E).
Brown's Fort, location of, 261; massacres
near, 297, 298.
Bull Creek Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Burgett's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Burd (Fort Redstone), location of,
404.
Busse's Fort, location of, 253.
Byerly's Station, location of, 442.
Campbell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Carnahan's Blockhouse, location of, 513;
attack on, 515; Lochry's expedition
assembles at, 636.
Cassell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Chambers, location of, 228.
Fort Cherry, location of and events at,
497,631.
Fort Christina, location of, 60.
Clark's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Conwell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Coe's Station, location of, 704.
Claypoole's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Coxe's Fort, location of, 497.
Craft's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Craig's Blockhouse (see Shield's Fort).
Fort Crawford, location of, 573.
Crawford's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Cross' Fort, location of, 353.
Crum's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Cumberland, location of and Brad-
dock at, 177, 178.
Croghan's Fort, location of, 204; events at,
276, 308 (see also Fort Shirley).
Davis' Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Decker's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Deshler's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Dickey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Dickenson (see Fort Wyoming).
Dietrick Six's Fort, location of, 261;
events at, 234.
Dillow's Fort, location of and events at,
673.
Dinsmore's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Doddridge's Fort, location of, 497.
Doll's Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Downey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Dunmore (name given Fort Pitt),
489.
Dunn's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Dupui, location of, 252; events near,
343.
Fort Durkee (see Appendix E).
Fort Duquesne, location of, 154; Brad-
dock's campaign against. Chapter VI;
captured by Gen. Forbes, 400 to 402.
Enoch's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Elder's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Enlow's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Erie (see Fort Presqu' Isle).
Fort Everett, location of, 261; massacres
near, 300, 302.
Ewing's Blockhouse, location of and events
at, 671, 672.
Fort Fayette, location of, 711.
Fort Fetter, location of, 519; events near,
519, 623, 624.
Ferguson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Fincastle, location of, 499 (see also
Fort Henry, W. Va.).
Foreman's or Froman's Fort, location of,
494; events at, 494.
Forty Fort, location of and surrender of,
551.
Fort Franklin (Schuylkill County), loca-
tion of, 253.
Fort Franklin (Venango County), (erected
in spring of 1787 by Capt. Jonathan
Hart with a detachment of U. S.
troops.) (See also page 709.)
Freeport Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Freeland, location of, 590; captured,
595 to 598.
Garard's Fort, location of, 497.
Fort Granville, location of, 253; capture
of 595 to 598.
Gaddis' Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Greenville, location of and treaty at,
711, 713, 714.
Green's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Gilson (see Fort Barr).
Fort Halifax, location of, 253.
Fort Hamilton (Pa.), location of, 253;
(Ohio), location of, 698.
Hannastown Fort, location of, 665; attack
on, 665 to 671.
Fort Hand, location of, 515, 574; attack
on, 583.
Fort Hartsog (see Appendix E).
Fort Harmar, location of and treaty at,
688 (see also 711).
INDEX
771
Hards' Blockhouse (John), 211, 212.
Harper's Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Perry County)
(see Appendix E).
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Snyder County)
(see Appendix E).
Fort Henry (Pa.), location of, 253; massa-
cres near, 300, 302 (W. Va.); location of,
499 (see also Fort Fincastle).
Hess' Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Hoagland's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Holliday, location and events near,
537, 623, 624.
Fort Horn, location of, 521.
Hupp's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Hunter, location of, 253.
Fort Hyndshaw, location of, 260.
Inyard's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Jackson's Fort, location of, 497.
Fort Jefferson, location of, 698.
Fort Jenkins (Columbia County), location
of and events at, 562, 593.
Fort Jenkins (Luzerne County), location
of and capture of, 550.
Juniata Crossing, fort at, 428.
Kepple's Blockhouse, location of and
events at, 669.
Kern's Stockade (see Trucker's Stockade).
Klingensmith's Blockhouse, location of
and massacre at, 634, 635.
Lamb's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Laurens, location of and events at,
571.
Lead Mine Fort (Fort Roberdean) (see
Appendix E).
Fort Lebanon, location of, 253; massacres
near, 300, 302.
Fort Lehigh, location of, 261; massacre
near, 293.
Fort Le Boeuf, location of, 147; capture of,
416, 417.
Fort Ligonier, location of, 394; siege of,
424 to 428; other events at, 397, 399,
442, 532, 583.
Lindley's Fort, location of, 497.
Fort Loudon, location of, 253; starting
point of Forbes' Road, 393.
Fort Lyttleton or Littleton, location of,
253; Forbes at 393.
Lochry's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Lowther, location of, 253; Col.
Bouquet at, 440.
Lowrey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Lucas' Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Lytle's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Machault, location of, 146.
Martin's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Manada, location of 253.
Marchand's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Markle's Blockhouse, location of, 637.
Marshel's (Marshall's) Blockhouse (see
Appendix E).
Mason's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Mead's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Menninger, location of, 561.
Miller's Blockhouse, location of, 633;
attack on, 654.
Miller's Station, location of and events
at, 666, 667.
Fort Miami, location of, 713.
Milliken's Fort, location of, 497.
Minteer's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Montgomery (Fort Rice), (North-
umberland County), location of, 594;
attack on, 619.
Moorehead's Blockhouse, location of, 709.
Fort Morris, location of, 253. (There was
also a Fort Morris on Sandy Creek, a
few miles from Uniontown, where many
refugees gathered during Lord Dun-
more's War).
Fort Muncy, location of, 538; destroyed
and rebuilt, 616.
Fort McClure, location of, 616.
Fort McCord, location of and capture of,
273, 274.
McCormick's Fort (Huntingdon County),
location of and events near, 673.
McCormick's Fort, location of, 351.
Fort McDowell, location of, 253; events
near, 267.
McFarland's Fort, location of, 497.
Fort Mcintosh, location of, 571; purchase
and treaty at, 687, 688.
McKee's Fort, location of, 261.
Nazareth Stockades, location of, 261.
Fort Necessity, location of and Washing-
ton's surrender at, 162 to 167.
Norris' Blockhouse, location of, 497.
Fort Norris, location of, 253.
Fort Northkill, location of, 253; massacres
near, 300, 302, 347, 383.
Fort Palmer, location of, 517; massacres
near, 263, 264.
Fort Patterson, location of, 253; massacres
near, 263, 264 (see also Pomfret Castle,
page 266). (There was another Fort
Patterson, also called Craft's Fort,
erected in 1774, near Merritstown,
Fayette County).
Fort Penn, location of, 253.
Peelor's Blockhouse, location of, 696.
Fort Pitt, location and erection of, 403,
404; siege of, 418 to 424; relief of by
Col. Bouquet, 448; name changed to
Fort Dunmore, 489; commanders of
during Revolutionary War, 527, 529,
572, 639; treaties and councils at with
the Indians, 409, 410, 483, 509, 510,
568 to 570.
Pomfret Castle, 266.
Pomroy's Fort or Blockhouse (see Appen-
dix E).
Fort Preservation (see Fort Ligonier).
772
INDEX
Fort Presqu' Isle, location of, 141; capture
of, 414 to 417.
Proctor's Fort, location of, 498.
Ralston's Fort, location of, 261.
Rort Randolph, location of and events at,
527, 573.
Rayburn's Blockhouse, location of and
events near, 658.
Read's Blockhouse, location of, 261;
massacre near, 383.
Fort Reed (Lock Haven), 547.
Fort Reed (see Hannastown Fort, page
665).
Reed's Station, location of, 702.
Fort Recovery, location of and events at,
700, 711, 712.
Fort Redstone (see Fort Burd).
Reynolds' Blockhouse, location of, 497.
Fort Rice (Fort Montgomery, Northum-
berland County), location of, 594;
attack on, 619.
Fort Rice (Washington County), location
and attack on, 673, 674.
Riffle's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Robeson (see Fort Robinson).
Fort Robinson (Dauphin County), loca-
tion of, 261.
Fort Robinson (Perry County), location
of, 261; massacres near, 265, 289.
Robinson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Roberdean (see Lead Mine Fort).
Roney's Blockhouse, location of, 691.
Rook's Blockhouse (see Rugh's Block-
house).
Roller's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Rosencran's Blockhouse, location of, 552.
Rugh's Blockhouse, location of and events
at, 668.
Fort Run (a stream), murders near, 705,
706.
Ryerson's Fort, location of, 497; events
near, 689, 690.
Schuylkill Fort (see Fort Lebanon).
Shawnee, Fort, 552.
Shields' Fort, location of, 498; events at,
518.
Fort Schwartz (see Appendix E).
Fort Shirley, location of, 253; threatened,
296 (see Croghan's Fort).
Six's Fort (see Dietrick Six's Fort).
Fort Shippen, location of, 498 (see Proc-
tor's Fort).
Fort Smith, location and murders near,
298.
Snyder's Stockade, location of, 261.
Spark's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Spycker's or Spicker's Stockade, location
of, 261.
Squaw Fort, 183.
Fort Standing Stone, location of and
massacre near, 514, 515.
Steel's Stockade (Rev. John Steel's)
location of, 223. iiB*t»
Fort Stanwix, location of and purchases
and treaties at, 484, 685.
Stewart's Blockhouse, location of, 552.
Stokely's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Stony Creek, post at, 428.
Striker's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Swan, location of, 497.
Fort Swatara, location of, 253; massacres
near, 297, 298.
Fort Swearingen, location of and events
at, 684.
Taylor's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Teeter's Fort, location of, 498.
Thompson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Trent, location of, 153.
Trucker's Stockade, location of, 261.
Turner's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Ulrich's Fort, location of, 261.
Fort Van Meter, location of, 497.
Fort Vance, location of and Gnaden-
huetten (Ohio) Massacre planned at,
648.
Fort Venango, location of, 146; capture of,
416 to 418.
Walker's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Wallace, location of, 516; events at,
516, 531, 532.
Wallis' Fort, location of, 561.
Fort Wallenpaupack, location of and
events near, 557.
Wallower's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Fort Washington, location of, 691; Gen.
Harmar at, 691; Gen. St. Clair at, 698;
Gen. Wayne at, 711.
Fort Wayne, location of, 711.
Wells' Fort, location of, 690.
Fort Wheeler, location of and attack on,
615.
Wilkes-Barre Fort, location of, 551.
Fort William, location of, 253.
Williams' Blockhouse, location of, 534.
Williamson's Blockhouse (see Appendix
E).
Wind Gap, fort at, 262.
Wilson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Wintermoot's Fort, location of and sur-
render of, 550.
Woodruff's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Wolf's Fort, location of, 673.
Wright's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Zeller's Blockhouse, location of, 261.
Fort Wyoming and other Wyoming forts,
location and events at, 550, 599.
ZoUarsville, Indian fort at (see Appendix
E).
Foster, John, Jr., killed, 618.
Fossit, Thomas, claims to have killed
General Braddock, 194.
Franklin, Arnold, captured, 644.
INDEX
773
Franklin, Benjamin, erects forts, 252,
259, 260; makes official report of erect-
ing forts, 260; his list of British atroci-
ties during the Revolutionary War,
508; furnishes wagons for Braddock,
178; warns Braddock, 178.
Franklin County, events in during French
and Indian War, Chapter VIII, 266,
267, 273, 287, 288, 289 to 292, 351,
352, 353, 366, 383; events in during
Pontiac's War, 470 to 475.
Franklin, Fort (Schuylkill County), 253.
Franklin, Roswell, Jr., captured, 644.
Franklin, Lieut. Roswell, his family
captured, 677.
Frantz family tragedy (about six miles
from Fort Henry, Berks County), 383.
Frantz family tragedy (Westmoreland
County), 670, 671.
Frazer, John, a Paxtang trader, 141, 146.
Frederick, C. W., 298.
Frederick, Noah, killed and sons cap-
tured, 297.
Frederick et al. vs. Gray, 287.
Freeland, Fort, 590, 595 to 598.
Freeland, Elias, killed, 594.
Freeman settlement attacked, 667.
Freeland, Jacob, Jr., killed, 594.
Freeport Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
French, emissaries of, on the Susquehanna
as early as 1707, 85, 86; emissaries of,
on the Allegheny and Ohio as early as
1727, 97, 98, 131; French on the Alle-
gheny and Ohio sympathize with Dela-
wares coming to these parts after their
expulsion from bounds of the "Walking
Purchase" and eventually win them to
the French interest, 117; basis of the
French claim to the Ohio Valley, 117;
Peter Chartier leads Shawnees to the
French interest, 127, 128; fear that
Muskokee Confederation would join the
French, 129; Celoron lays formal claim
to the Allegheny and Ohio in behalf of
the French, 137 to 139; French advance
in force to the valleys of the Allegheny
and Ohio, and erect forts, 141, 146, 154;
Tanacharison protests, in behalf of the
Six Nations, against French advance
into the valleys of the Ohio and Alle-
gheny, 141 to 144; Captain William
Trent's mission to the French, 144;
Washington's mission to the French,
144 to 151; French occupy the Forks
of the Ohio, 152 to 154; Indian policy
of the French, 407; French agents help
bring on Pontiac's War, 407; contem-
plate recapturing Fort Duquesne, 403.
(See also under Fort Duquesne, Brad-
dock's campaign, Washington's cam-
paign of 1754, Celoron 's expedition.
Forbes' campaign, Tanacharison, Wash-
ington, etc.)
French Catherine's Town (see Appendix
French Jacob's mill, skirmish at, 618.
French, Col. John, 85; holds councils at
Conestoga, 88, 89.
French Margaret's Town (see Appendix
D).
Friedenshuetten, 130 (see Appendix D).
Friedensstadt, 130 (see Appendix D).
Friedensthal, 261 (see Appendix D).
"Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania," quoted,
214, 346, 432.
Fulton County, events in during French
and Indian War, Chapter VIII.
G
Gaddis' Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Gaddis, Thomas, in Crawford's expedition,
659.
Gage, Gen., 198.
Gahontoto, 31 (see also Appendix D).
Galaway, Joseph, 334.
Galbraith, James, helps to remove squat-
ters from lands not purchased from
Indians, 121.
Galloway, Elizabeth, killed, 222.
Ganagarahhare (see Appendix D).
Ganawese (see Conoy).
Ganiatario, 39.
Gardeau or Gardow (see Hickatoo).
Gardeau or Gardow Flats (see sketch of
Mary Jemison, pages 378 to 381, and
Mary Jemison in Appendix B).
Garard's Fort, 497.
Garret, Major, at Wyoming Massacre,
550.
Gates, Gen. (see Appendix B).
Gathsegwarohare (see Appendix B).
Gattermeyer, John, murder of, 241.
Geisinger, Peter, killed, 347.
Gelelemend (see Killbuck).
Gentarenton, 57.
George's Creek, 489.
"German Captive," 214, 215, 216.
German Regiment, defends Wyoming
Valley, 589.
German settlers, fair treatment of Indians
by, 208, 209; first attack after Brad-
dock's defeat made upon, 204 to 209;
refuse to settle on Ohio Company's
lands, 139; oppose Virginia's claims,
486.
Ghesoant, 90.
Gibson, Captain, garrisons Fort Recovery,
711.
Gibson, George, goes to New Orleans for
powder, 514.
Gibson, James, famous remonstrance of,
468.
774
INDEX
Gibson, Col. John, translates Logan's
speech, 500; at treaty of alliance with
Delawares, 568; protects friendly Dela-
wares, 653; sketch of, 502.
Gibson, Chief Justice John Bannister, 514.
Gibson, William, killed, 352.
"Gibson's Lambs," expedition of, to New
Orleans for powder, 514.
Gift, Jacob, killed, 591.
Gilbert, Benjamin, capture of family of,
619 to 623.
Giles, Susan, killed, 286.
Gilson, Henry, killed, 222.
Girty, Ann, killed by Kerr, 320.
Girty, George, at Lochry's massacre, 638;
sketch of, 317 to 320; an underling of
Col. Henry Hamilton, the "hair-
buyer," 320.
Girty, James, sketch of, 317 to 320;
deserts to Shawnees, 569; an underling
of Col. Henry Hamilton, the "hair-
buyer," 320.
Girty, Simon, Sr., an Irish trader, father
of Geroge, James, Simon and Thomas,
121; sketch of, 317.
Girty, Simon, Jr., deserts the Americans,
529; letter of, concerning Brodhead's
destruction of Coshocton, 629; at Col.
Crawford's defeat, 318, 661; at St.
Clair's defeat, 318, 319; sketch of, 317
to 320; an underling of Col. Henry
Hamilton, the "hair-buyer," 320.
Girty, Thomas, sketch of, 317 to 320.
Gist, Christopher, Washington's guide, 144
to 150; in Washington's campaign of
1754, 156; sketch of, 171, 172.
Gist's Plantation, Washington advances
to, 160.
Glass, Mrs., captured, 690.
Glasswanoge (see Appendix D).
Glikikan, killed at Gnadenhuetten mass-
acre, 650; sketch of, 653, 654.
Gnadenhuetten (Pa.), 130; massacre of
militia near, 255 (see also Appendix D).
Gnadenhuetten (Ohio), massacre of Mora-
vian Delawares by Col. David William-
son's militia, 647 to 652.
Gnadenthal, 261.
Godcharles, Frederic A., quoted, 250, 251,
599.
Gooch, Gov., 110.
Gordon, Gov. Patrick, 92, 93, 94, 96, 98.
Gordon, Lieut., in command of Fort
Venango, 417, 418; tortured, 418.
Goshgoshunk (see Appendix D). (See
also page 130).
Goss, Philip, killed, 563.
Graham, Arthur, killed, 691.
Graham, John, killed, 433.
Grand Council at Easton, 373 to 377.
Grant's Defeat, 395 to 397.
Granville, Fort, capture of, 294 to 296.
Great Cove, invasion of, 218 to 225.
Great Crossings, location of, 155, 178.
Great Island, 298; Armstrong's expedition
against, 452 (see also Big Island, in
Appendix D).
Great Meadows, location of, 156; Wash-
ington surrenders at, 162 to 167;
Washington's love for, 167.
Great Moon, Delaware name for Col.
Brodhead, 639.
Great Runaway, 558 to 561.
Great Treaty of Penn with Delawares,
71 to 73; copy of lost, by Chief Killbuck,
73, 652.
Greathouse, Daniel, murders Logan's
family, 491.
Green's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Greencastle, massacre of school children
near, 473.
Greene County, events in during French
and Indian War, 353; events in during
Lord Dunmore's War, 495 to 497;
events in during Revolutionary War,
656, 657, 586, 587; events in during
Post-Revolutionary Uprising, 688, 689,
690.
Greenville, Fort, location of and treaty of,
signed, 711, 713, 714.
Gregg, Andrew, 694.
Gregg, William, killed, 697.
Groshong, Peter, skirmish near mill of,
618.
Grove, Peter, 581, 616.
Grove, Michael, 640, 616.
Guilford, John, killed, 537.
Gundryman, Andreas, killed, 343.
Guthrie, Mrs. Elizabeth, 667.
Guthrie, John, 669; in Lochry's expedi-
tion, 638.
Guyasuta, at defeat of Major Grant,
395; holds Councils with Col. Bouquet,
479; at Council at Fort Pitt, May 9th
1768; burns Hannastown, 663 to 671;
a witness at trial of Capt. Samuel
Brady, 582; sketch of 414.
H
Haines children, murder of, 575.
Hale, Ruth, killed, 473.
"Half King" (see Tanacharison).
Half Town, a Seneca chief, accompanies
Cornplanter to Philadelphia, 693; pro-
tects settlers, 697.
Halifax, Fort, 253.
Halket, Sir Peter, death of, 188; his skele-
ton found, 197, 198.
Hall, Rev. David, 707.
Hambright, Capt. John, expedition of,
299, 300.
Hamilton, Fort (Pa.), 253; (Ohio), 698.
INDEX
775
Hamilton, Gov. James, 23, 138, 142;
sends Croghan and Montour to Logs-
town, 152; acknowledges title to Ohio
Valley to be in Iroquois, 408.
Hamilton, Hance, tells of capture of Mc-
Cord's Fort, 273.
Hamilton, Sir Henry, the "hair-buyer,"
gives Indians rewards for American
scalps, 506, 507; sends war parties
against the American frontier, 506, 507;
captured by Col. George Rogers Clark,
507, 535.
Hamilton, John, 644.
Hammond, Lebbeus, 611.
Hanna, Jennie, 667.
Hanna, Mrs. Robert, 667.
Hanna, Robert, 665.
Hanna's "Wilderness Trail," quoted, 182.
Hannastown Fort, 665.
Hannastown Resolutions, 671.
Hannastown, destruction of, 665 to 671.
Hannastown settlers attempt to kill
friendly Indians, 610.
Hand, Fort, 583, 515.
Hand, General Edward, succeeds Captain
John Neville in command of Fort Pitt,
527; endeavors to recruit army, 518;
"squaw campaign" of, 527 to 529; is
succeeded by Gen. Mcintosh, 529; in
Sullivan's expedition, 602 (see also
Appendix B).
Hand Book of American Indians, quoted,
43.
Handschue, Jacob, killed, 285.
Hanover settlement attacked, 643, 677.
Hans Jacob, son of Teedyuscung, 358.
Harbison, John, 702 to 705.
Harbison, Massa, capture and terrible
experiences of, 702 to 705.
Hardin, Captain John, 573, 585; in Brod-
head's expedition, 585; in Crawford's
expedition, 659; opposes Gen. Clark's
draft, 636; in Gen. Harmar's expedition,
691.
Harding, Benjamin, killed, 549.
Harding, Stuckley, killed, 549.
Harding family, members of, killed, 549.
Harkins, William, 672.
Harman family, attack on, 534.
Harman, Fort, treaty of, 688, 711.
Harmar, Gen. Josiah, defeat of, 691, 692.
Harper's Blockhouse, 261.
Harris, John, 536; attack on, 209 to 211
(see also Paxtang in Appendix D).
Harris' Ferry, 122; council at, 333.
Harris' Fort or Blockhouse, 211, 212.
Harrison City, battle of Bushy Run near,
449.
Harrison, President William Henry,
quoted, 41.
Harrold's (Herold's), German settlers at
petition Governor Penn, 505 (see also
664); first school in Western Pennsyl-
vania at (see first page of Appendix E).
Hart, Ruth, killed, 474.
Hartsog, Fort (see Appendix E).
Hartley, Colonel Thomas, expedition of,
561 to 563.
Hartman, John, 214.
Haselet, Capt. John, 366, 367.
Hathawekela Clan of Shawnees, 47.
Hawkins, Elizabeth, captured, 633, 634.
Hawkins, William, captured and killed,
633, 634.
Hays, Col. Christopher, opposes Gen.
Clark's draft, 636.
Hays, Capt. William, killed, 367, 400.
Hebron Church, 345.
Heckewelder, Rev. John, quoted, 18 to
23, 38 to 40, 74; writes Brodhead that
Delaware Council espouses British
cause, 627.
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Perry County)
(see Appendix E).
Hendrick's Blockhouse (Snyder County)
(see Appendix E).
Henley, Frederick, killed, 298.
Henderson, Allen, killed, 352.
Henderson, John, 689.
Hendricks, a Mohawk chief, 175.
Henry, Fort (Pa.), 253.
Henry, Fort (W. Va.), 527.
Henry (Heinrich), Frederick, attack on
family of, 574.
Henry, John, 672.
Hess' Blockhouse, 261.
Hess, Hans Adam, killed, 257.
Hess, Peter, killed, 257.
Hetrick, Christian, killed, 643.
Heydrich, Peter, 302.
Hiawatha, confused with Manabozho by
Schoolcraft and Longfellow, 39.
Hickatoo, a Seneca Chief, husband of Mary
Jemison, 378 to 381; at capture of Fort
Freeland, 597.
Hickman, Thomas, a friendly Delaware,
accompanies Post, 365, 366; murdered
by a white man, 365.
Hickory Town (see Appendix D).
Hicks, killed, 222.
Hicks, Barbara, 313.
Hill, Harry, 695.
Hill, John, capture of, 670.
Hoagland, Capt. John, in Crawford's
expedition, 659.
Hoagland's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Hochitogete of Barefoot, 32.
Hocksey, — , killed, 555.
Hoeth family, attack on, 243.
Hold, Felty, killed, 263.
Hold, Michael, killed, 263.
Holliday, Adam, his children killed, 537.
HoUiday, Fort, 537.
HoUidaysburg, 305.
Honeoye (see Appendix B).
776
INDEX
Hood, Capt. Andrew, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Hood, Margaret, 313.
Hookstown, Andrew Poe buried at, 632.
Hoops, Adam, describes invasion of Great
and Little Coves and Conolloways, 219,
220.
Hopoca (see Captain Pipe).
Horn, Fort, 521.
Horner, Jane, killed, 457.
Horsefield, Timothy, 301.
Howe, Lord, 356.
Howe's "Historical Collections of Ohio,"
error in regarding Col. Brodhead, 629.
Hunter, Fort, 252.
Hubler, Frantz, attack on family of, 454.
Huffnagle, Michael, defends Hannastown
fort, 665, to 671.
Hulings, Marcus, 94.
Hunter, Samuel, killed, 382.
Hunter, Col. Samuel, 522, 590, 594, 597,
625, 626, 675.
Hunter's Mill, 211.
Huntingdon County, events in during
French and Indian War, 223, 265, 305;
events in during Revolutionary War,
514, 515, 623, 624, 625, 645.
Hupp, Ann, courage of, 655, 656.
Hupp, Daniel, 655, 656.
Hupp, Frank, killed, 633.
Hupp, John, Sr., killed, 655.
Hupp, Philip, 655.
Hupp's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Indian character and religion. Chapter I.
Indian family life, 19.
Indian cruelty, no greater than that of the
white man, 20, 195, 196, 485, 463 to
469, 647 to 652, 718.
Indian degradation brought about by the
white man's rum and vices, 22 to 27.
Indian faithfulness, 20, 411, 412.
Indian God Rock, 137.
Indian Grave Hill, 42.
Indian love for native land, 17.
Indian pride, 21.
Indian policy; of the Swedes, 61 to 65;
of William Penn, 69 to 73, 80, 81;
of the Puritans, 65 to 68; of the Dutch,
63.
Indian respect for females, 20, 381, 743.
Indian Towns in Pennsylvania (see
Appendix D).
Indiana County, events in during French
and Indian War, 305; events in during
Revolutionary War, 516, 517, 530, 531,
512, 513; events in during Post-Revolu-
tionary Uprising, 696, 709.
Ingaren (see Appendix D).
Inman family, members of killed, 552.
Iroquois, history of, 35, 38 to 45; con-
federation of, 38, 39, 52; domain of,
43 to 45; their title to lands on the
Ohio recognized, 408; angered at
British at beginning of Pontiac's War,
413; overwhelming majority of, assist
the British in Revolutionary War, 506;
land sales of, 106 to 110, 123, 124,
135 to 137, 172 to 175, 484, 685, 686.
Ironcutter, John, 485.
Iwaagenst, Tuscarora ambassador, 51.
Irvine, General William, takes command
of Fort Pitt, succeeding Col. Daniel
Brodhead, 639; absent at Carlisle when
friendly Delawares were attacked, 633;
investigates Gnadenhuetten Massacre,
633; turns Davy, a Delaware, over to
Brush Creek settlers to be tried, 657,
658; declines to lead expedition against
Sandusky, 659; Brush Creek settlers'
petition to, 664; strengthens Fort Pitt,
665; chosen to lead expedition, later
abandoned, against Wyandots, 679.
Jack, Captain, a mythical character, 181,
182.
Jack, Captain Patrick, distinguished from
"the mythical Captain Jack, the Wild
Hunter of the Juniata," 182.
Jack, Sheriff Matthew, warns settlers of
Hannastown raid, 665, 668.
Jack's Narrows, named for Jack Arm-
strong, 125.
Jackson, William, captured, 563.
Jachebus, a Delaware chief, massacres
Moravians, 241 to 243.
Jacobs, Captain, a Delaware chief, killed
at destruction of Kittanning, 307;
sketch of, 296, 297.
Jacobs' Cabin, 184, 297.
Jacobs' Creek, 489.
Jagrea, 276.
Jameson, John, killed, 678.
Jamison, William, killed, 555.
Jeffries, Stephen, killed, 431.
Jefferson County, events in during French
and Indian War, 361, 365 (see also
Punxsutawney, in Appendix D).
Jemison, Mary, "The White Woman of the
Genessee," capture and sketch of, 378
to 381; statement of concerning life
and character of the Indians (see Mary
Jemison in Appendix B).
Jennings, Solomon, 112.
Jenuchshadega (see Appendix D).
Jesuit Missionaries, 117.
Jesuit Relation, referred to, 56, 57.
John, Captain, a Delaware, 117.
John, Doctor, a friendly Delaware, murder
of family of, 407.
INDEX
777
Johnson, Francis, 687.
Johnson Hall, 476.
Johnson, Mrs. 436.
Johnson, Sir Guy, enlists Iroquois in
British service, 506.
Johnson, Sir John, flees to Canada and
forms Royal Greens (see Inception of
Sullivan's Expedition in Appendix B
troops of, invade Wyoming, 550).
Johnson, Sir William, 280, 321, 322
displeased with Pennsylvania's declara-
tion of war against Delawares, 283
exertions of, to keep entire Iroquois
Confederation from joining in Pontiac's
War, 413; appoints his distant relative,
George Croghan, deputy Indian agent,
170.
Joncaire, Chabert, 138.
Joncaire, Philip, 138.
Johnny, Captain, or Straight Arm, a
Delaware chief, 639.
Jumonville, slain, 157 to 159.
Juniata Crossing, post at, 428.
Juniata County, events in during French
and Indian War, 253, 263 to 266, 286,
287; events in during Pontiac's War,
430 to 438; events in during Revolu-
tionary War, 514, 515.
Juniata Valley, squatters in, 121; inva-
sions of, 263 to 266, 430 to 438.
Kakowatcheky, a Shawnee chief, 49, 93,
102.
Kanandaigua (see Appendix B).
Kanawlohalla (see Appendix B).
Kannygoodk, 90.
Keckenepaulin, holds councils with Post,
364.
Keckenepaulin 's Town, 367 (see Appendix
D).
Keith, Governor William, 86, 87. 90, 91.
Kekelappan, 106.
Kekeuscung (Kittiuskund), holds councils
with Post, 368; helps to kill Col. William
Clapham, 419; killed at battle of Bushy
Run, 449.
Kekionga (see Omee).
Kelly, Col. John, 592, 593, 641.
Kendaia (see Appendix B).
Kepple, Michael, 669.
Kepple's Blockhouse, 669.
Kern's Stockade (see Trucker's Stockade).
Kerr, David, kills Ann Girty, 320.
Kerr, William, killed, 273.
Kerrell, Hugh, killed, 293.
Keys, — , killed, 555.
Kickenapaulin (see Keckenapaulin).
Kickenapaulin's Town (see Keckena-
paulin's Town).
Killams, attack on, 589, 590.
Killbuck, holds councils with Post, 364;
at treaty of alliance with Delawares,
568 to 570; confers Delaware name on
Col. Brodhead, 639; absent when Cos-
hocton Delaware Council votes to
espouse British cause, 627; lost wampum
of Penn's Great Treaty when attacked
on Killbuck's or Smoky Island, 73, 652.
Killbuck's or Smoky Island, 73, 652, 370.
Kimbles, attack on, 589, 590.
King Beaver, a brother of Shingas and
Pisquetomen, 217; captures Bingham's
Fort, 286, 287; holds councils with Post,
363, 368; holds Councils with Col.
Bouquet, 479; at various councils at
Fort Pitt, 409, 410, 483, 484; returns
white prisoners to Lancaster, 404, 405 ;
warns traders, 420.
King Beaver's Town (see Appendix D).
King, Mary (see Marie Le Roy).
King, Mrs. William, killed, 539.
King George's War, 126.
Kinner, Peter, 706.
Kirkpatrick, James, attack on home of,
694, 695.
Kirkpatrick, John, killed.
Kishacoquillas, a friendly Shawnee Chief,
296.
Kishacoquillas' Town (see Ohesson, Ap-
pendix D).
Kiskiminetas Old Town, 367 (see Appen-
dix D).
Kittanning, founded, 42, 43; destroyed by
Col. Armstrong, 304 to 314; Eighth
Penna. Regiment assembles at, 512;
Andrew McFarlane captured at, 512;
Barbara Leininger and Marie Le Roy
captives at, 313, 314; the Girtys
captives at, 317; John Turner tortured
at, 317; Col. Smith's battle near, 519;
Fort Armstrong erected near, 584,
585; capture of Fergus Moorehead
near, 513; Guyasuta's forces pass near,
665; murders near, 513, 705, 706 (see
also Appendix D).
Kittanning Point, 519.
Kittanning Indian Trail, 305.
Kittatinny Mountains, 120.
Kittiuskund (see Kekeuscung).
Klader, Captain, 619.
Klein, Christian, killed, 343.
Klinesmith, Baltzer, killed, 618; his
daughters captured, 618, 619.
Kling, Mans, 60.
Klingensmith's, Philip, massacre at, 634,
635.
Klingensmith's Blockhouse, 635.
Kluck family, attack on, 272.
Knight, Dr. John, in Crawford's expedi-
tion, 659; terrible experiences of, 662.
Knox family, capture of, 224, 227.
Knuckel, Laurence, killed, 263.
778
INDEX
Kobel family, murder of, 239, 240.
Kuskuskies, 132; sketch of, 372, 373 (see
also Appendix D).
Kurtz, Rev. J. N., a Lutheran clergyman,
212, 237.
Kustaloga (see Custaloga).
Kustaloga's Town (see Custaloga's Town).
La Belle Riviere, meaning of, 315.
Lancaster, Council at, 333 to 337; treaties
at, 121 to 126, 404, 405.
Lancaster County, events in during French
and Indian War, 333 to 337; events in
during Pontiac's War, 463 to 469.
Lamb's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Lanctot, Godfrey, peace mission of, 618.
Land Purchases (see Purchases of Land).
Lafayette, at Fort Mcintosh purchase and
treaty, 687.
La Force, in campaign against Virginia,
156.
Langhorne, 111.
Languntouteneunk (see Appendix D).
Lapachpeton's (Langhpaughpitton's)
Town (see Appendix D).
Larned tragedy, 644.
Laughlin, Randall, captured, 516.
Laughlin's Mill, burned and murders
near, 608.
Laurens, Fort, 569.
Lawrence County, events in during French
and Indian War, 360 to 369; events in
during Revolutionary War, 528, 529,
580.
Lawunakhannek, 653, 654 (see Appendix
D).
Lead Mine Fort (Fort Roberdean) (see
Appendix E),
League of Iroquois, formed, 38, 39, 52;
attitude of, toward Americans in
Revolutionary War, 506 (see Iroquois).
Leason, John, killed, 273.
Lebanon, Fort, 253.
Lebanon County, events in during French
and Indian War, 234 to 237, 300 to 302,
345, 346, 349, 383.
Lee, killed, 674.
Lee, Major John, massacre at home of,
674 to 676.
Lee, Robert, 675, 676.
Lee, Thomas, 676.
Lefler, Capt. Jacob, 627.
Leet, Major Daniel, assists Gen. Clark's
draft, 636; in Crawford's expedition,
659.
Leet, Captain William, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Lehigh County, events in during French
and Indian War, 261, 302; events in
during Pontiac's War, 458; events in,
during Revolutionary War, 599.
Le Boeuf, Fort, 416.
Lehigh Gap, fort at, 261.
Leinberger, John, killed, 237.
Leininger, Barbara, capture of, 206 to
209, 214, 215, 216, 313, 362 (see German
Captive and Regina, the German Cap-
tive).
Leininger, Regina, 215, 216 (see German
Captive and Regina, the German
Captive).
Lenape (see Delawares).
Lenni-Lenape (see Delawares).
Le Roy, Marie, capture of, 206 to 209,
214, 215, 216, 313, 362.
Le Tort, James, 307.
Le Tort's Town (see Appendix D).
Lequepees (see Appendix D).
Lepley, Michael, killed, 591.
Lesly, John Frederick, killed, 241.
Lester, Mr., captured, 563.
Lewis, Major (later Gen.) Andrew, at
Grant's defeat, 395; at treaty of al-
liance with Delawares, 568 to 570; at
battle of Point Pleasant, 498, 499.
Lewistown, 294.
Ligonier, Fort, 394, 366, 397, 399.
Lincoln, Abraham, 94, 95.
Lincoln, Gen. Benjamin, 683.
Lincoln, Mordecai, great-great-grand-
father of President Lincoln, appointed
member of important commission, 94.
Link, Jonathan, captured, 633, 634.
Linn, William, goes to New Orleans for
powder.
Little Abraham, 336.
Little Cove, invasion of, 218 to 223.
Little Crossings, 155, 182.
Little Eagle, 503.
Little Meadows, 182.
Little Turtle, leads Miamis in Harmar's
defeat, 692; leads Miamis in St. Clair's
defeat, 699; advises making peace with
Americans, 712; leads Miamis at battle
of Fallen Timbers, 713; sketch of, 715.
Littleton or Lyttleton, Fort, 253.
Lockry's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Lochry, Col. Archibald, 634; his unfor-
tunate expedition and death, 635 to
638.
Logan, Alexander, killed, 436.
Logan, Captain, a friendly Delaware, 531.
Logan, Chief of the Mingoes, son of
Shikellamy, 134; his family murdered,
490 to 492; he takes revenge, 495 to
497; his famous speech, 499 to 501; his
death, 501.
Logan, Secretary James, 25, 83, 100; op-
poses declaration of war against the
Delawares, 283.
Logan's Mill, 353.
Logan's Valley, 531.
INDEX
779
Logstown, location of, 45, 370; Croghan
at, 132, 139; Weiser at, 132, 133;
Celoron at, 138; Virginia treaty at,
139 to 141; Montour at, 140; Washing-
ton at, 146; burned, 167; rebuilt, 167
(see also Appendix D).
Long, John A., capture of, 337.
Longfellow, confuses Hiawatha with
Manabozho, 39.
"Long Knives," origin of the term, 502.
Lord Dunmore's War Chapter XXII;
causes of, 488 to 495; Roosevelt's
"Winning of the West" fails to grasp
eflfects of, 495.
Loskiel, Bishop, quoted, 649.
Loudon's "Indian Narratives," quoted,
264.
Loudon, Fort, 253.
Loudon, Lord, recalled as commander-in-
chief, 355.
Love, Mrs., 668.
Lower Shawnee Town, 128.
Lowrey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Lowther, Fort, 253.
Loyalhanna (Loyalhanning), 366; attack
on Col. Bouquet's camp on, 397 to 399;
attack on Washington near, 399 (see
also Appendix D).
Loyparcowah, 24, 25.
Loyalsock Creek, massacre near, 540.
Lucas' Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Ludlow Station, 698.
Luther's catechism, translated into Dela-
ware by Rev. Capanius, 62.
Lutheran Church of New Sweden, 61, 62.
Lutzen, battle of, 59.
Luzerne County, events in, during French
and Indian War, 209, 210, 246; events
in, during Pontiac's War, 459 to 462,
469; events in, during Revolutionary
War, 549 to 557, 588, 589, 611, 612,
614, 599, 601, 643, 644.
Lycans, Andrew, attack on, 271.
Lycoming County, events in, during
Revolutionary War, 548, 561, 520, 573,
594, 616.
Lycoming Creek massacre near, 538 to
540.
Lyon family, attack on, 657, 658, 684.
Lyon, Eli, captured, 657, 658, 680.
Lyon, James, captured, 657, 658, 680.
Lyon, Mary, 656, 657, 658, 680.
Lyon, Robert, captured, 678.
Lyon, Thomas, killed, 657, 658, 680.
Lytle's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
M
Machaloha, 106.
Machalut, Fort, erected, 146.
Mackey atrocity, 349 to 351.
Maclay, William, 560, 597, 598, 687.
Maclean, Gen. Allen, 683.
Maghingquechahocking, 586 (see Appen-
dix D).
Maghingua Keeshuck, Delaware name for
Col. Brodhead, 639.
Mahatango Creek, 266.
Mahoning Creek, 575.
Mahoning River, 528.
Maiden Foot, 427, 428.
Malott, Catherine, becomes wife of Simon
Girty, 608.
Mamacating (see Appendix B).
Mamachtaga, hanging of, 671.
Manabozho, Longfellow's error relating
to, 39.
Manada, Fort, 253.
Manor of Condoguinet, 98.
Manson, William, killed, 352.
Maquas, 39 (see Iroquois).
Marchand's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Markham, William, 69.
Markle, Gaspard, 637.
Markle's Blockhouse, 637.
Marriages, Indian, 19.
Marshall's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Marshel, James, County Lieutenant of
Washington County, 636.
Marshall, Edward, 111, 112.
Martin family, John, capture of, 224 to
227.
Martin, John, 224 to 227.
Martin, Jamet, 224 to 227.
Martin, Mary, 224 to 227.
Martin, James, 224 to 227.
Martin, William, 224 to 227.
Martin, John, killed, 352.
Martin, Joseph, killed, 287.
Martin, Mr. and Mrs., killed, 678.
Martin's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Maryland, purchases land from Iroquois
at Lancaster treaty of 1744, 123.
Mason's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Masters, William, killed, 334.
Mather, Cotton, attitude of towards
Indians, 66; letter of, concerning
William Penn, 68.
Mather, Increase, attitude of, concerning
Indians, 66.
Mattahorn, 60, 63.
Mauch Chunk, 112.
Mauer, Philip, killed, 302.
Mayhkeerickkishsho, 110.
Mead's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Mead's settlement, attack on, 696, 697.
Mead, Darius, killed, 697.
Means family, experiences of, with In-
dians, 427, 428.
Means, Mary, 427, 428.
Means, Sarah, 532, 533.
Meeker, Major, 598.
Meginnes' "History of the West Branch,"
quoted, 643.
Menninger, Fort, 561.
780
INDEX
Mengwe, 34, 35 (see Iroquois).
Meniologameka (see Appendix D).
Mercer, Capt. (later Gen.) Hugh, at
Braddocks defeat, 198; at destruction
of Kittanning, 307, 315, 316; sketch of,
315, 316.
Mercersburg, 316.
Mercer County, 316, 414 (see Pymatuning
in Appendix D).
Mickley, John Jacob, attack on family of,
458, 459.
Miami, Fort, location of, 713.
Middle Creek, 485.
Middle Presbyterian Church, 669.
Miess, John George, killed, 285.
Mifflin, Governor, conciliates Senecas 693,
694.
Mifflin, John, 284.
Mifflin County, events in during French
and Indian War, 294, 295.
Miles, James, killed, 594.
Milesburg, 548.
Milford, 590.
Mill Creek Fort (see Appendix E).
Mill Creek Presbyterian Church, Andrew
Poe buried at, 632.
Miller, Alexander, killed, 352.
Miller, David, killed, 433.
Miller, Frederick, 655.
Miller, George, 694.
Miller, Captain John Jacob, captured, 633,
634.
Miller, Captain Jacob, Sr., killed, 655.
Miller, Captain Jacob, Jr., 655.
Miller, Captain John, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Miller, Lieutenant, 324.
Miller, Zephaniah, killed, 520.
Miller's Blockhouse (Washington County),
attack on, 654, 655.
Miller's Station (Westmoreland County),
attack on, 666, 667.
Milliken's Fort, 497.
Mingo, 39.
Mingo Bottom, 648, 659.
Mingoes, the exterm defined, 278, 279.
Mingoes, Logan, Chief of, 134, 490 to 492,
495 to 497, 499, 501.
Minisink, battle of, 598, 599.
Minisink Lands, 113.
Minquas, 28.
Minquas Kill, 59
Minteer's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Minuit, Peter, 59.
Mio-qua-coo-na-caw, 714 (see Red Pole).
Miranda, George, 25.
Mitchell, Charles, captured, 695.
Mitchell, James, 352.
Mitchell, Joseph, killed, 352.
Mitchell, William, killed, 352.
Mitchell, Mrs., killed, 695.
Mitchelltree, Hugh, attack on home of, 263.
Mohawk, Samuel, murders Wigton family,
710.
Mohawks, one of the allied Iroquois tribes,
38.
Mohicans or Mahicans, 34, 37, 40.
Monckton, Gen. Robert, succeeds Gen.
Stanwix, 403.
Monongahela City, Lochry's expedition
crosses Monongahela River at, 637.
Monroe County, events in, during French
and Indian War, 244, 245, 255 to 257,
343, 344; events in, during Pontiac's
War, 470.
Montgomery, Fort (Fort Rice, Northum-
berland County), 594, 619.
Montour, Andrew, 129, 450, 476; sketch of,
168 to 172.
Montour, Catherine (see French Catner-
ine's Town, in Appendix B).
Montour, Esther, at Wyoming Massacre,
550, 551 (see "Queen Esther" and Queen
Esther's Town).
Montour, John, 595.
Montour, Madam, 170 (see also reference
under Queen Esther's Town and French
Catherine's Town).
Montour County, events in, during
Revolutionary War, 619, 594 (see also
under Columbia and Northumberland
Counties).
Moore, James, killed, 537.
Moorehead, Fergus, captured, 513, 514.
Moorehead, Hon. Warren K., quoted, 195.
Moorehead's Blockhouse, 709.
Moravians, missions of, among the In-
dians, 129, 130, 630, 639, 647 to 654.
Moravian Delawares, removed to Phila-
delphia for protection, 455, 456; massa-
cred at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio, 647 to
654.
Moravian Missionaries, massacred in
Carbon County, 241 to 243.
Morgan, Gen. Daniel, 198 (see also
Appendix B).
Morgan, Col. George, appointed Indian
agent by Continental Congress, 510;
at treaty of alliance with Delawares,
568, 570.
Morgan, Col. Jacob, 300.
Morris, Governor, holds councils with
Scarouady, 231 to 234; his dispute with
the Assembly, 251, 252; visits the
frontier, 255; conference of, with
Teedyuscung, 322, 323; superseded by
Gov. Denny, 304.
Morris, Capt. Roger, 188.
Morris, Fort, 253. (There was also a Fort
Morris erected several miles from Union-
town on Sandy Creek, in 1774).
Morrison, Captain, attack on, 555.
Morrison, Capt., troops of, attacked, 555.
Mound Builders, 34, 35.
INDEX
781
Mount, Moses, 611.
Mount Braddock, 160, 171, 183.
Mount Pleasant, 184.
Muddy Creek, 495, 657.
Muhlenberg, Rev. H. M., 214, 269.
Muhlenberg, Gen. Peter, 100.
Muncy Creek Hill, battle of, 450.
Muncy, Fort, 538, 616.
Munsee or Wolf Clan of Delawares, 36
(see Delawares, Clans of).
Murdering Town, 148 (see also Appendix
D).
Murray, Col. James, 678.
Musemeelin, kills Jack Armstrong, 125,
126.
Muskokee Confederation, 129.
Myers' Blockhouse, 680.
Myers, Frederick, killed, 347.
Myerstown, 213.
Mc
McAlreey's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
McCafferty, Bartholomew, killed, 292.
McCallister's Blockhouse (see Appendix
E).
McCartney's Blockhouse (see Appendix
McCandless, William, sons of killed, 610.
McCaulay's Mill, 224.
McLaughlin, Samuel, killed, 618.
McClean's Redoubt, 394.
McClellan, David, killed, 222.
McClelland, Capt. John, 636; in Craw-
ford's expedition, 659.
McCleery, John, killed, 691.
McCluker's Gap, 291.
McClure, Francis, killed, 495.
McClure, Fort, 616.
McCombs' Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
McConaughy's Blockhouse (see Appendix
E).
McCoy's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
McCord, Ann, 313.
McCord, John, 313.
McCord, George, 434.
McCord, Fort, capture of, 273, 274.
McCormick, Fort, 351.
McCormick's Fort (Huntingdon County),
location of, and events near, 673.
McCormick, Miss, captured, 673.
McCracken, John, killed, 352.
McCuUough, Archie, 473, 474.
McCuUough, John and James, capture of,
287, 288, 474.
McDonald, Major Angus, 498, 499.
McDonald, Capt., at Grant's defeat, 395.
McDonald, William, killed, 292.
McDonald's Blockhouse (see Appendix
E).
McDowal, Daniel, 678.
McDowel's Mill, massacre near, 292.
McDowell, Fort, 253, 267.
McDowell's Tavern, 383.
McDowell's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
McFarland's Fort, 497.
McFarlane, Andrew, capture of, 512, 513.
McGeehan, Capt. Duncan, in Crawford's
expedition, 659.
Mcintosh family, murder of, 690, 691.
Mcintosh, Gen. Lachlan, takes command
of Fort Pitt, succeeding Gen. Hand,
529; at treaty of alliance with Dela-
wares, 569; erects Fort Mcintosh and
advances to the Tuscarawas, 570 to
572; succeeded by Col. Daniel Brod-
head, 572.
Mcintosh, Fort, 571; purchase and treaty
at, 687, 688.
Mclntyre, his fight with Indians, 609.
McKee Capt. Alexander, deserts Ameri-
cans, 529; at St. Clair's defeat, 699.
McKee, Capt. James A., member of com-
mittee to erect Washington marker, 149.
McKee, Thomas, 211, 238.
McKee's Fort, 261.
McKees Rocks, 153.
McKeesport, 150, 185.
McKinney, Thomas, killed, 286.
McKnight, Assemblyman James, capture
of, 590.
McKnight, Mr., killed, 591.
McKnight, Mrs. James, 561.
McMahon, Major William, defeats Brit-
ish, Detroit militia and Indians at Fort
Recovery, 711, 712.
McManiny, Daniel, killed, 382.
McMullin, William, killed, 247.
McQuoid, Anthony, killed, 292.
McSwane (McSwine), Hugh, captured,
248.
McVey, Mrs., captured, 670.
N
Nanowland, Delaware friend of Capt.
Samuel Brady, 575; in Coshocton
campaign, 627; murdered by Scotch
Irish militia, 652.
Nanticokes, history and villages of, 54, 55.
Nave, Jacob, attack on, 538.
Nazareth, Munsee Delaware village near,
36; stockades at, 261; refugees at, 244,
261.
Necessity, Fort, Washington surrenders
at, 162 to 167.
Nemacolin Indian Trail, 155.
Nescopeck, 166 (see Appendix D).
Nettawatwees (see New Comer).
Neville, Capt. John, takes command of
Fort Pitt, 527; succeeded by Gen.
Edward Hand, 527.
New Comer, "King of the Delawares,"
defeated by Col. Bouquet, 484; friendly
to Americans in Revolutionary War,
510, 569, 640.
782
INDEX
New Berlin, Penn's Creek Massacre near,
204.
Newtown, battle of in Gen. Sullivan's
expedition, 602.
New Kaskunk, 653 (see Appendix D).
New Sweden, history of, 59 to 65; Indian
policy of, 61 to 65; influence of, 65, 67.
Newtychanning (see Appendix D).
Ney, Michael, killed, 240.
Nicely, Adam, 696.
Nicely, Jacob, capture of, 695, 696.
Nicholas, Edward, killed, 263.
Nicholson, Adam, killed, 264.
Nicholson tragedy, 290.
Nickas, a Mohawk Chief, 375.
Nicole, early French trader on the Susque-
hanna, 85, 86.
Nitschman, Martin, killed, 241.
Nitschman, Susanna, capture and death
of, 241, 242.
Nimwha, Shawnee Chief, holds councils
with Col. Bouquet, 480; attends treaty
of alliance of Delawares with U. S., 569.
Nordman's Kill, 40.
Norris' Blockhouse, 497.
Norris, Fort, 253.
Northern and Southern Indians, troubles
between, 86, 129.
Northampton County, events in, during
French and Indian War, 244, 256, 261,
263, 322 to 331, 338 to 342, 373 to 377;
events in, during Pontiac's War, 454,
456, 457; events in, during Revolu-
tionary War, 599, 604 (see also Appendix
B).
Northumberland, battle near, 451.
Northumberland County, events in, dur-
ing French and Indian War, 211, 212,
294, 299; events in, during Pontiac's
War, 450, 451; events in, during Revolu-
tionary War, 546, 559, 560, 561, 590
591, 594 to 597, 619, 641 to 645, 678.
Northkill, Fort, 253; massacres near, 300,
302.
Northwest Territority, formed, 688; Gen.
Arthur St. Clair Governor of, 688.
Nutimus, Munsee Delaware chief, forced
to leave bounds of Walking Purchase,
116.
Nutimus' Town, 116 (see Appendix D).
O
Ogagradarisha, 299.
Ogden's Fort (see Appendix E).
Ogle, Captain John, 627.
Ohesson (see Appendix D).
Ohio, meaning of, 315.
Ohio Company, grant of, 139; endeavors
to persuade Germans to settle on its
lands, 139.
Ohio Valley, Indian tribes in, 58, 132, 133;
Croghan's and Weiser's embassy to
Indians of, 131, 133; Virginia's claim to,
124, 139 to 141; title to, recognized as
being in Iroquois, 408.
Old Britain (La Memoiselle), 138.
Omee, 691.
Onas, Delaware name for William Penn,
97.
Oneidan, Dennis, killed, 351.
Oneidas, one of the tribes of the Iroquois
Confederation, 38.
Onondaga Castle, 43.
Onondagas, one of the tribes of the Iro-
quois Confederation, 38.
Onontejo, 101.
Opakeita, 49.
Opaketchwa, 49.
Opasiskunk (see Appendix D).
Opessah, 46.
Orchard Camp, place of Gen. Braddock's
death, 183.
Oretyagh, complains of rum traffic, 24.
Orme, Capt. Robert, one of Gen. Brad-
dock's aides, 188.
Oscalui (see Appendix D).
Osten, Henry, capture of, 367.
Ostonwackin (see Appendix D).
Oskohary (see Appendix D).
Orwigsburg, 215.
Otseningo, 280.
Otto, Dr. John Matthew, 342.
Otzinachson (see Appendix D).
Ourry (Uhrig), Eve, saves Hannastown
Fort, 667, 668.
Ourry (Uhrig), Captain Wendell, in com-
mand of Fort Bedford at outbreak of
Pontiac's War, 426, 428 (see also page
505).
Owegy, 279, 280.
Owens, David, murders his Indian wife
and children with hope of scalp boun-
ties, 471; is Col. Bouquet's interpreter,
471, 479.
Oxenstierna, Chancellor Axel, 61.
Pachgantschihilas, a Delaware Chief (see
Buckongahelas).
Packanke, a Delaware Chief, 654.
Painter, Jacob, killed, 273.
Palatines, on Tulpehocken lands, 95, 96.
Palmer's Fort, 517, 518; murders near,
518, 263, 264.
Panther, an Indian chief, killed, 582.
Paradisudden, 59.
Paris, Captain, brings Cherokees and
Catawbas to assist Pennsylvania, 337.
Parker, Amos, killed, 563.
Parker, Sergeant Michael, killed, 606.
Parker, William, 681.
INDEX
783
Parks, William, killed, 656.
Parsons, Major, 324.
Parsons, William, 212.
Passigachkunk (see Appendix D).
Patterson, Captain James, 266.
Patterson, Captain William, 266.
Patterson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Patterson's Fort, 253; massacres near,
263, 264 (see also Pomfret Castle).
(There was another Patterson's Fort,
also called Craft's Fort. This latter
was erected in the spring of 1774, near
Merrittstown, Fayette County).
Paul, James, settlers take refuge at home
of, 702.
Pawling, John, 94.
Paxinosa, a friendly Shawnee Chief, 49;
rescues Moravian missionaries, 210; at
third council with Teedyuscung, 338;
goes to the Ohio, 338.
Paxtang, location of, 48 (see also Appen-
dix D).
"Paxtang" (Paxton) Boys," massacre
Conestogas, 463 to 469; march on to
Philadelphia, 467 to 469.
Paxtang Presbyterian Church, 463.
Peake, Pressly, captured and killed, 633,
634.
Peake, Priscilla, escapes to Wolf's Fort
after being scalped, 673.
Pearse's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Pechoquealin, location of, 47 (see Appen-
dix D).
Peelor, David, killed, 696.
Peelor's Blockhouse, 696.
Peer, David, killed, 222.
Pence, Peter, 640.
Penn, Governor John, welcomed by
Conestogas shortly before their murder
by Scotch-Irish settlers from Paxtang,
464; succeeds Governor Hamilton, 475;
signs proclamation offering reward for
Indian scalps, 472.
Penn, Thomas, 103; his connection with
the fraudulent "Walking Purchase,"
110 to 118.
Penn, William, coming of , 68; Rev. Cotton
Mather's letter concerning, 68; Indian
policy of , 69 to 81; land purchases of,
from the Indians, 69; his "Great Treaty"
with Tamanend, 71 to 73; his two so-
journs in his Province, 75; his treaty
with Shawnees, Conoy, Susquehannas
and Iroquois, 76 to 79; Indians bid
farewell to, 79; death of, 81; influence of,
among the Indians, 80, 81; Indian name
of, 75.
Penn, Fort, location of, 253.
Pennsylvania History, glory of early, 67, 68.
Pentecost, Col. Dorsey, assists Gen.
Clark's draft, 636; letter of, to President
Moore, 648.
Pequea, location of, 46 (see also Appendix
D).
Pequots, massacre of, 66.
Perkins, John, killed, 563.
Perry, Col. James, letter of, concerning
massacre at Philip Klingensmith's, 634,
635.
Perry, Samuel, killed, 293.
Perry County, events in, during French
and Indian War, 263 to 266, 289 to
292; events in, during Pontiac's War,
430 to 438.
Peters, Richard, 340.
Phillips, Captain William, he and his
rangers massacred, 623 to 625.
Phouts, scouting of, with Capt. Samuel
Brady, 635.
Pickering, Col. Timothy, conciliates
Senecas, 693.
Pike, Abraham, 612.
Pike County, events in, during Indian
wars, 250, 251, 557, 558, 566, 589, 590,
596, 644.
Pine Creek (Lycoming County), murder of
friendly Senecas on, 692, 693; Indian
name for, 686, 687 (see Tyadaghton).
Pine Creek (Allegheny County), 141.
"Pioneer Life," referred to, 643.
Piper, Col. John, 623, 624.
Piper's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Piscataway (see Conoy).
Pisquetomen, a Delaware Chief, 639; a
companion of Post, 639; on peace
mission, 360, 363, 364; a brother of
King Beaver and Shingas, 217.
Pitt, Fort, location and erection of, 403,
404; siege of, 418 to 424; relief of, by
Col. Bouquet, 448; name changed to
Fort Dunmore by Connolly, 489; com-
manders of, during Revolutionary War,
527, 529, 572, 639; councils and treaties
at, with Indians, 409, 410, 483, 509,
510, 568 to 570.
Pitt, William, becomes Prime Minister,
355; opposes British alliance with
Indians and giving Indians rewards for
American scalps during Revolutionary
War, 507, 508.
Pittsburgh, naming of, 370; size of, at
outbreak of Pontiac's War, 418; Indians
kill white persons within two miles of, as
late as June 30th, 1789, 691; Red Pole,
Shawnee Chief, buried at, 714; route of
march of General Fobes' army in, 393
(see also Fort Duquesne, Fort Pitt,
Col. Henry Bouquet, Col. Daniel Brod-
head, etc.. Gen. John Forbes, etc.).
Playwicky or Playwiskey, residence of
Tamanend, 111 (see Appendix D).
Plunkett, Col. William, 561.
Plumstead, William, 251.
784
INDEX
Pochapuchkug (see Appendix D).
Poe, Adam, 631.
Foe, Andrew, his fight with Big Foot, 631,
632.
Foint Fleasant, battle of, 498, 499.
Fomfret Castle, 266.
Fomroy's Fort (see Appendix E).
Fomroy, Col. James (see Fomroy's Fort
in Appendix E).
Fontiac, probably not at Braddock's
defeat, 191; sketch of, 412 to 414.
"Fontiac's Conspiracy," a misnomer, 407,
412.
Fontiac's War, Indian tribes engaged in,
407; causes of, 407 to 413; events in,
Chapters XVIII, XIX, XX and XXI.
Forter, Mrs., prowess of, 645, 646.
Fost, Christian Frederick, sketch of,
360, 372; great peace missions of, Chap-
ter XVI; death of, 372.
Fost- Revolutionary Indian Uprising, case
of, 688.
Potter, Gen. James, 542.
Potter, John, 219, 220, 305.
Potter, Lieut., killed, 381.
Potter's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Power, Rev. James, 669.
Preservation, Fort (see Fort Ligonier).
Fresqui' Isle Fort, 141; captured, 414 to
417.
Presser, Martin, killed, 241.
Price, Ensign, in command of Fort Le
Boeuf, 416.
Pride, Indian, 21.
Printz, 61, 62.
Proctor, Fort, 498 (see Fort Shippen).
Proctor, Col. John's First Battalion of
Westmoreland County, 671, 498.
Proctor, Col. Thomas, 602.
Protests against rum traffic, Indians', 23
to 26.
Fumpshire, Joseph, 328.
Punxsutawney, 42 (see Appendix D).
Purchases of Land, by the Swedes from
the Indians, 60; by William Penn, 69,
70, 106, 107; purchase of Tulpehocken
lands from Sassoonan, 91, 95, 96;
purchase of Springettsbury Manor, 91,
92; purchase at treaty of 1736, 106 to
110; the fraudulent "Walking Purchase"
of 1737, 110 to 118; purchase at the
Lancaster treaty of 1744, 123, 124;
purchase at the treaty of 1749, 135 to
137; the Albany Purchase of 1754,
172 to 175; Port Stanwix Purchase of
November 5th, 1768, or the "New
Purchase," 484; the Fort Stanwix
Purchase of October 3d, 1784, 685, 686;
the Fort Mcintosh Purchase of Janu-
ary, 1785, 687, 688; George Croghan's
purchase from Tanacharison and Sca-
rouady, 139.
Puritan clergymen, attitude of towards
Indians, 66.
Puritans, Indian policy of, 50, 65 to 68;
intolerance and bigotry of, 66, 67.
Fymatuning, Indian town (see Appendix
D).
Quakers, attitude of, at beginning of
French and Indian War, 204, 252, 321;
attitude of, in Fontiac's War, 469.
Queen Allaquippa, meets Celoron, 138;
meets Washington, 150; with Washing-
ton's forces at the Great Meadows,
160; death of, 174.
Queen Canatowa, of the Conestogas, 89.
Queen Esther, 550, 562.
Queen Esther's Town, 562 (see also Appen-
dix D).
Queonemysing (see Appendix D).
Quick, Tom, the Indian killer, sketch of,
250, 251.
Quilutamend (see Appendix D).
Quitapahilla Creek, massacre on, 346.
R
Raccoon Creek, 587, massacre on, 607.
Ralston's Fort, 261.
Ramsey, Betty, killed, 291.
Randolph, Fort, 527, 573.
Rankin's Mill, 224.
Rankin, Capt. Thomas, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Rankin, William, 631.
Rattlesnake Flag, 671.
Rayburn's Blockhouse, location of and
events at, 659.
Raznor, killed, 674.
Rea, Miss, prowess of, 670.
Read, Adam, 298.
Read's Blockhouse, 261; massacre near,
383.
Reardon Run, massacre on, 607.
Rebault, killed, 644.
Recovery, Fort, 700, 711, 712.
Red Bank Creek, Capt. Samuel Brady's
skirmish near, 575 to 577.
Red Hawk, 480.
Red Jacket, at Wyoming Massacre, 556;
sketch of, 556; meets Colonels Pickering
and Spalding, 693.
Red Pole, a Shawnee Chief, death of , 714.
Redstone, Fort (see Fort Burd).
Reed, Capt. David, in Crawford's expedi-
tion, 659.
Reed, Fort (Lock Haven), 547.
Reed, Fort, 665 (see Hannastown Fort).
Reed, George, killed, 532, 533.
Reed, James, 211.
Reed, Rebecca, 532, 533.
Reed's Station, 702.
INDEX
785
Regina, the German Captive, 214 to 216.
Reichelsdorfer, Frederick, murder of
daughters of, 269 to 271.
Religion, Indian, 17 to 18.
Rewalt, John, attack on, 271.
Reynolds, John, killed, 273.
Reynolds, William, attack on family of,
587.
Reynolds' Blockhouse, 497.
Rice, Fort (Washington County), attack
on, 573.
Rice, Fort (Fort Montgomery, Northum-
berland County), 594; attack on, 619.
Richards, Captain H. M. M., quoted as to
identity of Regina, the German Captive,
215, 216.
Richardson, William, killed, 516.
Richey, Myrtle W., 610.
Riffle's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Richfield, 266.
Rique, location of, 56 (see Appendix D).
Ritchie, Capt. Craig, in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Ritchie, Manhew (see Wright's Blockhouse
in Appendix E).
"River Indians," 30.
Roberdean, Fort (see Lead Mine Fort).
Robeson, Fort (see Robinson, Fort).
Robinson, Rev. John, 66.
Robinson, Fort (Dauphin County), 261;
(Perry County), 261; massacres near,
265, 289.
Robinson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Robinson, Mrs., killed, 289.
Robinson, Robert, "Narrative" of, 432,
433.
Robinson's Run, murders near, 609.
Robinson, Samuel, killed, 656.
Robinson, William, fatally wounded, 433.
Robinson, William, captured in Dunmore's
War, 496.
Rock Fort Camp, 183.
Rodgers, Capt. David, fatal voyage of,
535, 536.
Rogers, Jonah, 612.
Roller's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Roller, Jacob, killed, 644.
Roney's Blockhouse, 691.
Rook's Blockhouse (see Rugh's Block-
house).
Roose, Abraham, massacre of family of,
702.
Roosevelt's "Winning of the West,"
referred to, 317, 495.
Rose, Polycarpus, 46.
Rosencran's Blockhouse, 552.
Ross, killed, 645.
Ross, Capt. Ezekiel, in Crawford's expe-
dition, 659.
Ross, Lieut., in Crawford's expedition,
659.
Ross, Nancy, killed, 706.
Rote, George and Rody, captured, 642.
Rothe (Roth), John, Moravian Mission-
ary, accompanies Moravian Delawares
to Philadelphia, 455; he and John
Etwein lead Moravian Delawares from
Wyalusing on the Susquehanna to
Friedensstadt on the Beaver, 130.
Rowe, Jacob, 655.
Royal Americans, the term defined, 388;
in General Forbes' expedition against
Fort Duquesne, 387; Col. Henry Bou-
quet most noted officer of, 388; take
possession of French Forts, 403; garri-
son Forts Presqu' Isle, Le Boeuf,
Venango and Pitt, 414 to 419; with
Bouquet at battle of Bushy Run, 439.
447.
Royle^ Capt. Benjamin, 627.
Rugh, Michael, 668.
Rugh's Blockhouse, 668.
Rum, effects of, on Indians, 22 to 26;
proclamation against, 132.
Rush, Robert, killed, 352.
Russell, James, home of attacked, 470.
Rutledge, Ralph, killed, 709, 710.
Ryerson's Fort or Station, 497; events
near, 689, 690.
Saint Tammany, 74.
Sakhauwetung (see Appendix D).
Salem, Moravian mission on the Tus-
carawas, 627.
Salt Lick Camp, 184.
Samoset, 65.
Sample, Mr. and Mrs. John, killed, 592.
Sassoonan, his deed of release, 91; sells
Tulpehocken lands, 95, 96; kills Shacka-
tawlin, 97; death of, 97.
Satagaruyes, 39.
Sauconk, location of, 47 (see also Appen-
dix D).
Savage, John, killed, 223.
Sayhoppy, 110.
Scalp Bounties; Pennsylvania offers, dur-
ing French and Indian War, 281 to 283;
Pennsylvania offers, during Pontiac's
War, 472, 473; Pennsylvania oflfers,
during Revolutionary War, 625, 626;
British give Indians rewards for Amer-
ican scalps during Revolutionary War,
506 to 509, 643; Puritan's of New Eng-
land give rewards for scalps of Indians,
irrespective of age or sex, 66.
Scarouady, appointed vice-gerent over
Shawnees of Ohio Valley, 45; protests
rum traffic, 26; meets Weiser at Logs-
town, 133; sells land to George Crog-
han, 139; in Washington's campaign of
1754, 158; protests Albany Purchase of
1754, 175, 176; succeeds Tanacharison
786
INDEX
as "Half King," 133, 180; in Braddock's
campaign, 180; his opinion of Braddock,
201; threatens to go to the French,
231 to 233; in danger from settlers on his
mission to the Six Nations, 237 to 239;
death of, 385.
Schellsburg, 393.
Schoenbrun, 650.
Schoharie Valley, 95.
Schoolcraft, 34.
Schupp's Mill, massacre near, 263.
Schuylkill Fort (see Fort Lebanon).
Schuylkill County, events in, during
French and Indian War, 240, 300 to 302.
Schwartz, Fort (see Appendix E).
Schweigert, George, killed, 241.
Scott, John, Jr., 688.
Scotch-Irish, attitude of towards In-
dians, 467, 469, 647 to 653.
Seat of Iroquois, location of, 43.
Seekaughkunt (see Appendix D).
Selinsgrove, Penn's Creek Massacre near,
204, 205.
Senangelstown (see Appendix D).
Senecas, one of the tribes of the Iroquois
Confederation, 38; join in Pontiac's
War, 413.
Seneca George, 276.
Seneca George, Jr., murder of, 486, 487.
Senseman, Anna Catherine, murder of,
241.
Settlements on Indian lands, 95, 96, 119,
120, 121, 228, 229, 481 to 484.
Sevna, 89.
Sewickley Clan of Shawnees, 47.
Sewickley Creek, 300.
Sewickley Town, location of, 47 (see
Appendix D).
Shackamaxon, location of, 37; Penn's
"Great Treaty" at, 71 to 73 (see Ap-
pendix D).
Shackatawlin, murder of, 97.
"Shades of Death," 553.
Shannon, Capt. Samuel, in Lochry's ex-
pedition, 637.
Shannopin, a Delaware Chief, 145.
Shannopin's Town, location of, 145 (see
Appendix D).
Shaver, Peter, killed, 223.
Shaver's Creek, murders near, 223, 514.
Shaw, David, 668.
Shaw, Margaret, fatally wounded at
Hannastown, 666.
Shamokin, great Indian capital, location
of, 45, 53 (see also Appendix D).
Shamokin, Daniel, accompanies and plots
against Post, 360, 362; invades Juniata
Valley during Pontiac's War, 430.
Sharp, Captain Andrew, fatal wounding
of and attack on party of, 706 to 709.
Shawnees, history of, 45 to 50; come to
Pennsylvania, 46; migrate from Eastern
to Western Pennsylvania, 47, 48; re-
fuse to return to Eastern Pennsylvania,
97, 98, 103, 104; go over to the French,
200, 203; protest rum traffic, 24, 25.
Shawnee Cabins, 47 (see Appendix D).
Shawnee Flats, 47 (see Appendix D).
Shawnee, Fort, location of, 552.
Shawnee, John, a friendly chief, sketch of,
542.
Shawnee Run, 46.
Shaweygila Clan of Shawnees, 47 (see
Sewickley Clan of Shawnees).
Shawhiangto (see Appendix B).
Shearer, Hugh, Sr., captured, 610.
Shearer, Hugh, killed, 609.
Shearer, Robert, killed, 609.
Shebosh, young, a Moravian Delaware
killed at Gnadenhuetten (Ohio) mass-
acre, 648.
Shenango, location of, 207 (see Appendix
Shenap, an Indian Chief, 641, 678.
Sherman's Valley, invasion of, during
Pontiac's War, 430 to 438.
Sheshequin or Sheshecunnunk, 562 (see
Appendix D).
Shikellamy, great Iroquois vice-gerent,
sent to the Forks of the Susquehanna,
45; sent to Onondaga by Gov. Gordon
to arrange for a treaty to bring the
Six Nations into closer touch with
Pennsylvania, 98; introduces Conrad
Weiser to Gov. Gordon and the Pro-
vincial Council as "an adopted son of
the Mohawk Nation," 98, 99; delivers
ultimatum on rum traffic, 24, 97;
at treaty of 1732, 100 to 103; at treaty
of 1736, 104 to 110; he and Conrad
Weiser cause change in Indian policy
of Pennsylvania, 109; accompanies
Weiser to Onondaga to arrange peace
between Iroquois and Catawbas, 110;
at treaty of 1742, 119 to 121; accom-
panies Weiser to Onondaga to arrange
for treaty between Virginia and the
Six Nations, resulting in the Lancaster
treaty of 1744, 122; at Lancaster treaty
of 1744, 121 to 126; accompanies Weiser
to Onondaga in an effort to arrange
peace between Six Nations and Cataw-
bas and other Southern Indians, 129;
death of, 133 to 135.
Shields' Fort, location of, and events at,
498, 518.
Shikellamy 's Town (near Milton, Pa.) (see
Appendix D).
Shingas' Old Town (see Appendix D).
Shingas, appointed "King of the Dela-
wares," 141; burns McCord's Fort,
273, 274; invades the Coves and Conol-
INDEX
787
loways, Chapter VII; raids various
settlements, 217, 267, 305; holds coun-
cils with Post, 363, 368, 369, 371, 409;
holds various councils with Pennsyl-
vania authorities at Fort Pitt, 409, 410;
holds council with Col. Bouquet at
beginning of siege of Fort Pitt, 421;
possibly in command of Indians at
battle of Bushy Run, 449; sketch of,
217, 218; kind to prisoners, 218; a
brother of King Beaver and Pisqueto-
men, 217.
Shippen, Fort, 498 (see Proctor's Fort).
Shippensburg, refugees at, during Pon-
tiac's War, 430, 438, 441.
Shirleysburg, 173; Croghan's Fort at,
276 (see Croghan's Fort and Fort
Shirley).
Shirley, Fort, location of, 253; Col. John
Armstrong marches from, against Kit-
tanning, 305; threatened, 296.
Sideling Hill, battle at, 273 (see page 291).
Silver Heels, 276.
Simcae, Lake, 30.
Simon, Andrew and Michael, captured, 609.
Simpson, Andrew, killed (see McCon-
aughy's Blockhouse in Appendix E).
Sinking Spring Valley, Tories in, 529,
530.
Six's Blockhouse (see Dietrick Six's Fort).
Six Nations (see Iroquois).
Skehandowana, location of, 49 (see
Appendix D).
Skoiyase (see Appendix B).
Slavery, Puritans sell Indians into, 66.
Slippery Rock Creek, Delaware name for,
586; Col. Brodhead's troops cross and
name, 586.
Sloan, James, captured, 695.
Sloan, Captain John, 695.
Sloan, Nancy, captured, 695.
Slocum, Frances, "Lost Sister of Wyom-
ing," 563 to 568.
Slover, John, guide in Crawford's expedi-
tion; terrible experiences of, 662, 663.
Small-pox, attempt to inoculate Indians
with, 423, 424.
Smith, Captain John, meets the Susque-
hannas and holds councils with them,
28, 29.
Smith, Col. James, describes torture of
prisoners at Fort after Braddock's
defeat, 194,195; activities of in French
and Indian War, 452; defends West-
moreland frontier in Revolutionary
War, 519.
Smith, Col. Matthew, leader of "Paxton
Boys" in massacre of Conestogas, 463;
famous remonstrance of, 468; describes
Great Runaway, 560.
Smith, Mrs. Peter, killed, 539.
Smith, widow, mill of, burned by Indians,
594.
Smith, Fort, location of and murders near,
298.
Smith's "History of Armstrong County,"
quoted, 707 to 709.
Smoky or Killbuck's Island, location of,
370; friendly Dela wares attacked on,
652, 653.
Snodgrass, killed, 539.
Snyder, Fort, 261.
Snyder County, events in during French
and Indian War, 204 to 205; events in,
during Pontiac's War, 484 to 486;
events in, during Revolutionary War,
543, 640.
Soan, Peter, killed, 343, 344.
Somer field, 155.
Solomon, Capt., captured, 641.
Southern and Northern Indians, troubles
between, 86, 129.
Spalding, Col. Simon, conciliates Senecas,
693.
Spangenberg, Moravian Bishop, 129.
Spanish Hill, 30.
Spark's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Spicer, William, family of, killed and
captured, 495.
Spicer, the renegade, 689.
Spitler, John, killed, 237.
Spottswood, Governor, 90.
Spring, Casper, killed, 237.
Springer, Lieut. Uriah, 610.
Springettsbury Manor, 91.
Spruce Hill, 431.
Squatters on Indian lands, 95, 96, 119,
120, 121, 228, 229, 481 to 484.
Spycker's or Spicker's Stockade, 261.
Squanto, 65.
Squaw Fort, 183.
St. Clair, Major-General Arthur, com-
ments of, concerning Dr. John Conolly's
actions being a prime cause of Lord
Dunmore's War, 493; letter of, concern-
ing the murder of the friendly Dela-
ware, Joseph Wipey, 505; appointed
Governor of the Northwest and holds
treaty with Western Indians at Fort
Harmar, 688; leads army against
western tribes, 698 to 701; last days and
death of, 701.
St. Pierre, commander of French forces,
147.
Stample, Peter, killed, 298.
Standing Stone, massacre near, 514, 515
(see Appendix D).
Standing Stone, Fort, 514, 515.
Stanford, Jacob, family of, killed, 541.
Stanwix, Gen. John, succeeds Gen. John
Forbes, 402; succeeded by Gen. Monck-
ton, 403.
788
INDEX
Stanwix, Fort, treaty and purchase of,
Nov. 5th, 1768, at, called the "New
Purchase," 484; treaty and purchase
of, October 3d, 1784, at, 685, 686.
Stations, Blockhouses and Forts, dis-
tinction between, 254.
Steel, Rev. John, pioneer Presbyterian
minister, pursues Indians who invaded
Coves and ConoUoways, 219, 220; a
captain in Col. Armstrong's expedition
against Kittanning, 305; a chaplain in
Gen. Forbes' expedition against Fort
Duquesne, 389; sketch of, 223, 224.
Steel's Stockade (Rev. John's), location of,
223.
Steel, Isaac, escape of, during Hannastown
raid, 670.
Stenton, 105.
Sterrett's Mill, 594.
Sterrett, Ralph, story of, 432.
Stevenson, John, captured, 654.
Stevenson, Robert, killed, 352.
Stewart, Isaac, captured, 475.
Stewart, Lazarus, leads "Paxton Boys"
in murder of Conestogas, 465.
Stewart's Crossing, location of, 183.
Stewart's Blockhouse, location of, 552.
Still, Isaac, 373.
Stimble, Isaac, killed, 475.
Stobo, Robert, sketch of, 168.
Stock family, attack on, 640.
Stockertown, 342.
Stockely's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Stokely, Capt. Thomas, in Lochry's
expedition, 638.
Stoner, Katy, 675.
Stoops, Jennie, rescued by Capt. Samuel
Brady, 581, 608
Stony Creek, post at, 428.
Storm, Catherine, attacked, 643.
Storm, David, killed, 643.
Straight Arm (see Captain Johnny).
Stouchsburg, 212.
Strieker's Blockhouses (see Appendix E).
Stroh, John, 640.
Studebaker, Elizabeth, escapes from Col.
Bouquet and returns to Indians, 482.
Stump, Frederick, murders ten Indians,
484 to 486.
Stump's Run, 485.
Sugar Cabins, location of, 253 (see Ap-
pendix D).
Sugar Loaf Massacre, 614, 619.
Sullivan, Major-General John, complains
of Pennsylvania's failure to furnish
number of troops promised, 597; ex-
pedition of against the Six Nations 599
to 606 (see Appendix B for additional
details of his expedition against the
Six Nations and for sketch of his life).
Susquehannas, history of, 28 to 33.
Susquehanna lands, history of, 106, 107.
Susquehannocks (see Susquehannas).
Swahyawanah (see Appendix B).
Swaine, Charles, 204.
Swan, Fort, 497.
Swatara and Tulpehocken Massacres, 234
to 237.
Swatara, Fort, 253; massacres near, 297,
298.
Swearingen, Duke, captured, 684.
Swearingen, Fort, location of, 684.
Swearingen, Van, 573, 579, 582.
Swedes on the Delaware, 30; purchase
lands from Susquehannas, 30; purchase
lands from Delawares, 60; just Indian
policy of, 61 to 65; convert Delawares to
Christianity, 62; influence of, 65, 67.
Sweetland, Luke, captured, 555.
Tagashata, a Seneca Chief, 375.
Taghahjute (spe Logan, Chief of the
Mingoes).
Talligewi (see AUigewi).
Tamenbuck (see Cornstalk).
Tamanend, sells land to William Penn, 69,
70; holds "Great Treaty" with William
Penn, 71 to 73; sketch of, 73 to 75.
Tammany (see Tamanend).
Tanacharison, the "Half-King," appointed
vice-regent, 45; sells lartds to George
Croghan, 139; accompanies Washington
on mission to the French, 146,147;
forbids French to advance, 143, 144;
meets Weiser at Logstown, 133; sees
French occupy the Forks of the Ohio
153; in Washington's campaign of 1754,
156 to 160; at Virginia treaty at Logs-
town where he appoints Shingas "King
of the Delawares," 141; given English
namp, 159, 160; at slaying of Jumonville,
157 to 159; complains of Washington,
174; protests Albany Purchase, 173 to
176; death of, 176; succeeded by Sca-
rouady as "Half King," 133, 180.
Tate, Edward, 674.
Tate, John, killed, 643.
Tatemy, Moses Fonda, a Delaware Chief,
117, 118; sketch of, 342.
Tatemy, William, son of Moses, 118;
murder of, 342.
Taughhoughsey, 110.
Tawanda (see Appendix D).
Tawandaemenk (see Appendix D).
Tawena, Chief of the Conestogas, 91.
Taylor's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Tecaughretango, 397.
Tecumseth, at St. Clair's defeat, 699.
Teedyuscung, the Delaware "King,"
sketch of, 262, 263; invades Monroe
County, 256; 257, 258; persuaded by
Canachquasy to "bury the hatchet,"
INDEX
789
322; first council with, at Easton, 322,
323; second council with, at Easton,
325, 326; charges that Delawares were
cheated out of the lands by fraudulent
"Walking Purchase," 326; asks that
friendly Indians not be compelled to
take up arms, 333; message of, to the
Lancaster Council of May, 1757, 335;
third council with, at Easton, 338;
made drunk by Colonial agents in
order to prevent his championing the
cause of the wronged Delawares, 338;
renews charge of fraud concerning
"Walking Purchase," 339; requests
benefits of civilization, 339, 340; de-
mands that murderer of the friendly
Delaware, William Tatemy, be pun-
ished, 342; suggests peace mission to
Western Delawares, later carried out by
Post, 356, 357; at Grand Council at
Easton, 373 to 378; humiliated by Iro-
quois chiefs, 375, 376; death of, 469.
Teeter's Fort, location of, 498.
Ten Mile Creek, Chief Logan kills settlers
near, 495; murders on, in Revolutionary
War, 609.
Ten Mile Lick (see Appendix D).
Teonnotein, Tuscarora ambassador, 51.
Terrence, Adam, 209.
Terrutawaren, Tuscarora ambassador, 51.
Thanksgiving, First American National,
680.
Thannawage, helps form Iroquois Con-
federation, 39.
Thirty Years War, 59.
Thomson, Charles, 357; at third council
with Teedyuscung, 341.
Thompson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Thompson, Capt. James, captured, 641.
Thompsontown, massacres near, 263, 264.
Thomas, Governor, at Lancaster treaty,
121 to 126.
Tinicum (see Chapter III and Appendix
D).
Tioga, location of, 262 (see Appendix D).
Tionesta, 130.
Toganawita, helps form Iroquois Con-
federation, 39.
Togahayon, helps form Iroquois Confed-
eration, 39.
Tome, Philip, quoted, 643.
Tongue, William, 85.
Tories; in Sinking Spring Valley, 529, 530;
Tories flee from Pittsburgh, 529;
Tories at Wyoming Massacre, 549 to
555.
Tortures, Indian; probably learned from
Spanish explorers, 195, 196; did not
exceed those of white men in days of
religious persecutions, 196.
Traders, general character of, 23, 26.
Treaties and Councils; William Penn's
"Great Treaty" with Tamanend, 71 to
73; William Penn's treaty with Shaw-
nees, Susquehannas, Conoys and Iro-
quois, 76 to 79; Great Councils at
Conestoga, 83, 86 to 88, 89 to 91;
treaty of 1732, 97 to 104; treaty of
1736, 104 to 110; treaty of 1742, 119 to
121; Shawnee treaty of 1739, 118
Lancaster treaty of 1744, 121 to 126
Albany treaty of October, 1745, 129
treaty of 1749, 135 to 137; Virginia
treaty at Logstown, 139 to 141; Car-
lisle Council of October, 1753, 142 to 144;
Winchester treaty of September, 1753,
142; Albany treaty of 1754, 172, 173,
175, 408; Carlisle Council of January,
1756, 276 to 279; first council with
Teedyuscung at Easton, 322, 323; second
council with Teedyuscung at Easton,
325, 326; council at Harris' Ferry in
April, 1757, 333; Lancaster Council
of May, 1757, 333 to 337; third council
with Teedyuscung at Easton, 338 to
342; Post's councils and treaty with
Western Delawares, 359 to 372; Grand
Council at Easton, 373 to 377; Col.
Bouquet's council with chiefs of the
Delawares at Pittsburgh, December
4th and 5th, 1758, 409; Col. Hugh
Mercer's council with chiefs of Iro-
quois, Shawnees and Delawares at Fort
Pitt, January 3d, 1759, 409; General
Forbes' council with chiefs from the
Allegheny, at Philadelphia, February,
9th, 1759, 409, 410; council with chiefs
of Iroquois, Delawares, Shawnees and
Wyandots at Fort Pitt, July 5th to 9th,
1759, 410; General Monckton's council
with Delawares, Shawnees, Ottawas and
Wyandots at Fort Pitt, August 12th,
1760, 410; Lancaster treaty of August,
1762, 404, 405, 410, 411; preliminary
treaty of peace between England and
France, November 3d, 1762, 411; treaty
of Paris, February 10th, 1763, 411;
treaty or proclamation ending Pontiac's
War in Pennsylvania, 482; great council
at Fort Pitt, May 9th, 1768, relative to
whites settling on lands of the Indians,
483; Fort Stanwix treaty of November,
1768, 484; treaty ending Lord Dun-
more's War, 499; council with western
Indians at Fort Pitt in October, 1775,
509; British treaty with Iroquois at
Fort Niagara in May, 1776, 506;
council with Iroquois and others at
Easton in January, 1777, 510; treaty
of alliance between the Delawares and
the United States, 568 to 570; Fort
Stanwix treaty of October 3d, 1784,
685, 686; Fort Mcintosh treaty of
790
INDEX
January, 1785, 687, 688; Fort Harmar
treaty of January, 1789, 588; treaty of
Greenville, 713, 714.
Trent, Fort, location and capture of, 153,
154.
Trent, Capt. William, mission of, to the
French, 144; starts to erect Fort
Trent, 153.
Tripp, Isaac, captured, 555.
Truby, Col. Christopher, 505, 635, 664
(see Fort Allen, Appendix E).
Truby, Mary Ann, daughter of Col.
Christopher Truby, capture and rescue
of (see second page of Appendix E, and
page 635).
Truby, James (see second page of Ap-
pendix E).
Trucker's Stockade, location of, 261.
Trump, Adam, killed, 346.
Tuesten, Colonel, 592.
Tull family, massacre of, 522, 523.
Tulpehocken and Swatara massacres, 234
to 237.
Tulpehocken Valley, settled by Palatines,
95.
Tunkhannock or Chinkannig, 599 (see
Appendix D).
Turkey or Unalachtigo Clan of Delawares,
37 (see Delawares, Clans of).
Turkey Foot, 156, 392 (see Appendix D).
Turkey Hill, 31.
Turner, step-father of Simon, James,
George and Thomas Girty, torture of,
295, 317.
Turner's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Turtle or Unami Clan of Delawares, 37
(see Delawares, Clans of).
Turtle Heart, a Delaware chief; holds
council with Captain Ecuyer, 420, 421;
Captain Ecuyer attempts to inoculate him
with small-pox, 424; holds councils with
Col. Bouquet, 479.
Tuscarora ambassadors, 51.
Tuscaroras, history of, 50 to 53; migrate
from the South and join Iroquois Con-
federation, 39, 50 to 53.
Tuscarora Valley, invasion of during
Pontiac's War, 430 to 439.
Tutelo, history of, 55, 56.
Tyadaghton, Indian name for Pine Creek
(Lycoming County), 685, 686, 687.
U
Ulery family, attack on, 533, 534.
Ulrich's Fort, location of, 261.
Umbelicamence (see Appendix D).
Unalachtigo or Turkey Clan of Delawares,
37 (see Delawares, Clans of).
Unami or Turtle Clan of Delawares, 37
(see Delawares, Clans of).
Unhappy Jake, son of Shikellamy, 134.
Union County, events in during French
and Indian War, 204 to 209; events in
during Revolutionary War, 543, 560,
592, 618, 641, 642, 674 to 676.
Unity Presbyterian Church, 393, 669.
Upson, Asa, killed, 612.
Ury, Christopher, 235.
Utley family killed, 563.
Van Braam, Major Jacob, accompanies
Washington on mission to the French,
144 to 151; in Washington's campaign
of 1754, 163, 164, 165; sketch of, 168.
Vanbuskirke, Mrs., killed, 582.
Van Campen, Moses, captured and makes
his escape, 612, 613; other exploits of,
615 to 617; again captured and experi-
ences of, 617 (see Appendix B).
Vance's Fort, Gnadenhuetten (Ohio)
Massacre planned at, 648.
Van Dyke, Henry, 592.
Van Gundy, Christian, 592.
Van Horn, Cornelius, captured, 697.
Vaugh, Simon, killed, 541.
Van Meter, Fort, location of, 497.
Venango, location of, 146 (see Appendix
D).
Venango, Fort, 146; captured, 416 to 418.
Venango County, events in, during Wash-
ington's mission to the French, 146,
147; events in during French and In-
dian War, 360, 403; events in during
Pontiac's War, 416, 417; events in
during Revolutionary War, 586; events
in, during Post- Revolutionary uprising,
709.
Vices brought to Indians, 22.
Vincent family, captured, 597.
Vincent, Isaac, killed, 594.
Virginia, purchases lands from Iroquois
at Lancaster treaty of 1744, 124;
Virginia's claims to the Ohio Valley,
139, 140; Virginia's treaty at Logstown,
139 to 141; Virginia Council quoted as
to Col. Henry Hamilton the "hair-
buyer," 507.
W
Wakatomica, location of, 480.
Walhauer (see Walthour).
Walker, Benjamin, 692.
Waller, Gabriel, attack on family of, 671,
672.
Walker, Henry, 692.
Walker, Isaac, 672.
Walker, John, killed, 675.
Walker, Joseph, 692.
Walker, Mrs., captured, 680.
Walker, William, killed, 351.
INDEX
791
Walker's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
"Walking Purchase," history of, 110 to
118; Delawares driven from bounds of,
113 to 118; one of the main causes of
the Delawares' taking up arms against
Pennsylvania during the French and
Indian War, 117; Dr. George P. Done-
hoo quoted as to results of, 117.
Wallace, Dr. J. C, 714.
Wallace, Richard, quarter-master in
Lochry's expedition, 638.
Wallace, Robert, family captured and
wife and baby later killed, 647.
Wallace, Fort, location of, 516; events at,
516,531,532.
Wallenpaupack Creek, valley of, invaded,
557, 558.
Wallenpaupack, Fort, location of and
events near, 557.
Wallis' Fort, location of, 561.
Wallower's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Walthour, Christopher, 657, 658.
Walthour's Stockade, persons killed and
captured near and attack on, 657, 658,
680, 681.
Walum Olum, 34, 35.
Wamp, an Indian, killed by Capt. Samuel
Brady, 582.
Wapwallopen (see Appendix D).
Warren County, events in, during Revolu-
tionary War, 585.
Warren's Sleeping Place (see Appendix D).
Washington County, events in, during
Lord Dunmore's War, 495 to 497;
events in, during Revolutionary War,
535, 579, 587, 607 to 610, 631, 632, 633,
634, 636, 637, 639, 647, 648, 654, 655,
656, 673, 674, 680, 681, 659; events in,
during Post-Revolutionary uprising,
688, 689, 690, 691.
Washington, George, his mission to the
French, 144 to 151; narrowly escapes
death at hands of hostile Indian, 148,
149; monument erected on approximate
spot where Indian attempted to kill him,
149; his campaign of 1754, 154 to 167;
his engagement with Jumonville, 157 to
159; accused of having "assassinated"
Jumonville, 163 to 165; erects Fort
Necessity, 162; surrenders at Fort
Necessity, 162 to 167; Tanacharison
complains of, 174; in Braddock's
campaign and defeat, Chapter VI,
189, 192; in Forbes' campaign against
Fort Pitt, Chapter XVII; opposes
Col. Bouquet, 391; his engagement near
Ligonier, 399, 400; sends Col. Brod-
head against the Senecas and Munsee
Clan of Delawares, 584 to 586; sends
Gen. Sullivan against the Six Nations,
599 to 606, Appendix B; anger at Gen.
St. Clair's defeat, 700; his interview
with Cornplanter, 593; his interview
with Red Jacket, 556; his tribute to
Conrad Weiser, 100.
Washington, Fort, location of, 691, 698.
Washington, Augustine and Lawrence,
leading men in Ohio Company, 133.
Watson, James, killed, 247.
Watson, Patrick, killed, 619.
Watsonville, 590.
Wayne, General Anthony, leads army
against Western Indians, 710 to 715;
arrives at Pittsburgh, 710, 711; trains
army at Legionville, 711; leads army to
Fort Washington, 711; defeats Western
tribes at battle of Fallen Timbers, 712,
713; compels Western Indians to sign
Treaty of Greenville, 713, 714; death of,
714, 715.
Wayne County, events in, during Pontiac's
War, 462.
Waynesburg, 495.
Fort Wayne, location of, 711.
Webster, Joseph, family of capture, 594.
Wechquetank (see Appendix D).
Weeks family, killed, 552.
Weiser, Conrad, sketch of, 98 to 100;
quoted as to traders and rum traffic,
26; introduced by Shikellamy at Gov.
Gordon and Provincial Council as
"an adopted son of the Mohawk Na-
tion," 98, 99; at treaty of 1732, 97 to
103; at treaty of 1736, 104 to 110;
he and Shikellamy cause change in the
Indian policy of Pennsylvania, 109;
sent to seat of Iroquois Confederation
at Onondaga, 110, 122, 129; at treaty
of 1742, 119 to 121; at Lancaster treaty
of 1744, 121 to 126; at Albany treaty
of 1754, 172; plans defense of the
Province and is given commission as
Colonel, 212, 213; in danger from settlers
237 to 239; Tanacharison complains to,
concerning Washington, 174; at Car-
lisle conference of October, 1753, 142;
in command of First Battalion of
Pennsylvania Regiment, 253, 254; re-
ports Swatara and Tulpehocken mass-
acres, 235, 236, 239; opposes offering
bounties for Indian scalps, 283; helps to
remove squatters, 121; at first council
with Teedyuscung, 322 to 325 ; at second
council with Teedyuscung, 325 to 331;
at third council with Teedyuscung, 338
to 342; waning influence of, 330, 331;
at Grand Council at Easton, 373 to 377;
Washington's tribute to, 100.
Weiser, Frederick (son of Conrad), 236,
487.
Weiser, Frederick (not a son of Conrad),
killed, 285.
Weiser, Samuel (son of Conrad), 207.
Wells, attack on, 523 to 525.
792
INDEX
Wells' Fort, location of, 690.
Weltner, Col., his German Regiment, 594.
Wenro, history of, 57.
Weschachachapochka, Delaware name for
Slippery Rock Creek, 586.
West Branch of Susquehanna, expedition
up, in, 1756, 299, 300. (For various
events on both West Branch and North
Branch, consult index and Chrono-
logical table).
Westmoreland County; events in during
French and Indian War, 184, 185, 366,
367, 397 to 399; events in during Pon-
tiac's War, 424 to 428, 439 to 449, 486;
events in during Lord Dunmore's
War, 493, 498, 505; events in during
Revolutionary War, 515 to 519, 531 to
535, 567, 574, 575, 582 to 584, 607, 634,
635, 636, 657, 658, 664 to 671, 680,
681; events in during Post- Revolu-
tionary Uprising, 694 to 697, 702.
Weston, John, leader of Tories, killed,
529, 530.
West Newton, Lochry's expedition crosses
Youghiogheny at, 637.
Wetterhold, Captain Jacob, 348, 349;
killed, 456, 457.
Wetzel, Louis (Lewis), 674.
Wheeler, Fort, location of, and attack in,
615.
Whitacre, James, 63 L
White, Captain, 697.
White Deer Creek, 592.
White, Mrs., 667.
White Eyes, Delaware chief, holds coun-
cils with Col. Bouquet, 479; at council
at Fort Pitt, 484; peace efforts of, in
Lord Dunmore's War, 494, 495; makes
alliance with Americans in Revolu-
tionary War, 568 to 570; death of, 572.
White, William, killed, 430.
"White Woman of the Genesee" (see
Mary Jemison).
Wicaco (see Appendix D).
Wiconisco Valley, 271.
Wigton, James, murder of family of, 710.
Will's Creek, 39.
"Wild Hunter of the Juniata" (Captain
Jack), a mythical character, 181, 182.
"Wild Hunter of the Juniata" ("Captain
Jack"), a mythical character, 181, 182.
Wilderness Club House, redoubt near,
394.
Wiley, John, killed, 352.
Wilkes-Barre, Fort, location of, 551, 552.
Wilkins, John, 704.
Willawanna (see Appendix D).
Williams, Isaac, killed, 555.
Williams' Blockhouse, location of, 534.
Williamson, killed, 641.
William, Fort, location of. 253.
Williamson, Col. David, leads expedition
that massacred Moravian Delawares
at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio, 647 to 652;
in Col. Crawford's expedition, 659 to
663.
Williamson, Peter, captured, 246.
Williamson's Blockhouse (see Appendix
E);
Wilkinson, Col. James, sends detachment
to scene of St. Clair's defeat, 700.
Williamson tragedy, 290.
Williard, Mr., killed, 657; daughter of
captured and later killed, 657, 658;
Mary, wife, of, demands murderer, 657,
658.
Wilson, Col. Benjamin, 499.
Wilson, William, peace mission of, during
Revolutionary War, 510.
Wilson's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Winchester treaty, 142.
Wind Gap Fort, 262.
Wingenund, a Delaware chief, appealed
to, by Col. Crawford, 661.
Winnichack, king of the Conoy, 89.
"Winning of the West," Roosevelt's,
referred to, 317, 495.
Winters, William, attack on, 541.
Winter moot's Fort, location and surrender
of, 550.
Wipey, Joseph, aged friendly Delaware,
murder of, 504, 505.
Wolf, killed, 237.
Wolf or Munsee Clan of Delawares, 36
(see Delawares, Clans of).
Wolf's Fort, location of, 673.
Wolfsburg, 393.
Womelsdorf, Conrad Weiser's home near,
98, 99.
Women, Indian treatment of, 20, 381.
Woodruff's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Woods, George, captured, 286; surveys
Pittsburgh's streets, 287.
Woods, Mr. and Mrs. John, killed, 293.
Woocomber, family, murdered, 265.
Wopatha (see Opessah).
Wright's Blockhouse (see Appendix E).
Wright, John, 92.
Wright, Thomas, horrified at massacre of
Conestogas, 469.
Written Rock (see Appendix D).
Wuench, Felix, killed, 285.
Wyalusing, location of, 130 (see Appendix
D).
Wyllys, Major, killed in Harmar's defeat,
692.
Wyoming, Indian town, location of, 49
(see Appendix D).
Wyoming, first massacre of (in Pontiac's
War), 459 to 462.
Wyoming Massacre of July 3d, 1778, 549
to 557.
INDEX
793
Wyoming Valley, invaded in autumn of
1778, 562, to 568; invaded in spring
of 1779, 588, 589; invaded in spring of
1780, 611, 612.
Fort Wyoming and other forts in vicinity,
location and events at, 550, 599.
Yager, Martin, killed, 348.
Yates, James, 111, 112.
Yellow Creek, 490, 492.
Yoroonwago (see Appendix D).
Young, Margaret, captured, 641.
Z
Zanes, the, 674.
Zane, Jonathan, guide in Crawford's ex-
pedition, 659.
Zeisberger, Rev. David, Moravian mission-
ary, 31, 241, 242.
Zeislof family, attack on, 272.
Zellers, Christine, prowess of, 302, 303.
Zinzendorf, Count, Moravian missionary,
134.
Zion Lutheran Church, 574, 664; first
school in western Pennsylvania at (see
first page of Appendix E).
Zippora, Indian woman, murdered, 454,
455.
Zollarsville Indian Fort (see Appendix E).
Zundel, Rev. W. A., his "History of Old
Zion Lutheran Church," quoted, 574.
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