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Jiarry  rB.  "Bower,  MfV. 

Pennsylvania 

Jiistory  Collection 


THE  HIGH   LIBRARY 


3  8455  1003  3948  2 


THE     PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN     SOCIETY. 


ON    THE    WAR    PATH. 


Pennsylvania: 

THE  GERMAN  INFLUENCE 

IN    ITS    SETTLEMENT    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


H  Barrative  anfc  Critical  Ibistorp. 


PREPARED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF 

THE   PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN   SOCIETY. 

PART    XV. 

THE  PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN 
IN  THE  FRENCH  AND   INDIAN   WAR 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  SOCIETY 


publication  Committee. 

JCXirS   F.    SACHSE,    LITT.D. 
DAXIEL   W.    XEAD,    M.D. 
HENRY   M.    M.    RICHARDS. 


R- 


Jbenn8Elvanfa*<3erman 


in  tbe 


Jfvencb  anfc  ITnMatt  TlXHar 


A    HISTORICAL    SKETCH 
Part  XV.  of  a  Narrative  and  Critical  History 

PREPARED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF 

The  Pennsylvania-German  Society 


BY 

HENRY  MELCHIOR  MUHLENBERG  RICHARDS 

Late  United  States  Navy 

Secretary  Pennsylvania- German  Society,  Member  //:.-.. 

rania,  Genealogical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  Afa  N 

Etc.,  Etc, — Sons  of  the  Revohttu  >:.  Naval  Ora\    of  the  United  St 
Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars  of  the  United  States,  .'•■ 

Military  Order  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  American  Academy    of  Potiti 
an  J  Sec:.:.  Etc.,  Etc. 


LANCASTER,  PA. 
1905 


I     ' 

EUZ  4  COLLEGE 

EUZABETHTOWN,  PA  17022-2227 


Copyrighted  1905 

BY 

HENRY   M.  M.  RICHARDS 
All  rights  reserved 


Pksi  or 
TuNnr  Ei«  Mimic  Ci 
Iahcaith.  PA. 


^ 

K    Wfi\  V? 

p^F 

PREFATORY   NOTE. 

^■'HE  history  of  the  Pennsyl- 
\M  vania-Germans  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War  is  necessarily,  to  a 
large  extent,  that  of  compilation. 
In  all  such  cases  my  research,  wher- 
ever practicable,  has  extended  back 
to  original  sources.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania Archives  have  been  carefully 
sifted  and  culled;  newspapers  of  the  period  have  been 
treated  in  the  same  manner.  In  the  use  of  all  other  ref- 
erences no  data  has  been  accepted  unless  its  authenticity 
was  of  such  character  that  it  could  be  hardly  questioned. 
Much  also  of  what  has  been  written  is  the  result  of 
painstaking  and  laborious  original  research.  Except  as 
mentioned  in  my  report  to  the  State  Legislature,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  its  Commission  on  the  "  Frontier  Forts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, prior  to  1783,"  it  has  never  been  presented  to  the 
public  before. 

Very  naturally  I  am  under  obligations  to  many  friends 
who  have  rendered  me  great  assistance,  as  well  as  to  other 
friends  from  whose  writings  I  have  not  hesitated  to  bor- 

(5) 


6  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

row  when  necessary.  I  again  thank  them  all  without  at- 
tempting to  enumerate  their  many  names,  as  I  have 
already  discharged  this  obligation  in  my  work  on  "  The 
Frontier  Forts." 

I  would  be  failing  in  duty,  however,  and  lacking  in  cour- 
tesy, were  I  to  neglect,  at  this  time,  to  make  due  and  full 
acknowledgment  to  Julius  F.  Sachse,  Litt.D.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, for  his  valuable  aid  in  the  production  of  the  excellent 
illustrations  which  add  so  much  beauty  to  this  work  and 
give  it  so  much  additional  interest. 

H.  M.  M.  Richards. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Aborigine. 

£JJUCCESS    or    failure    in    the 
e*J     French    and    Indian    War 
rested  so  largely,  if  not  entirely, 
upon  the  aborigine,  that  a  thor- 
ough understanding  of  its   cause 
and  operations  would  not  be  com- 
plete without  some  knowledge  of 
the  Indian  tribes  represented. 
The  operations  of  the  war  were 
confined  especially,  outside  of  Canada,  to  the  Provinces  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  the  home  of  the  great  tribes 
familiarly  known  as  the  Six  Nations  and  the  Delawares. 

Their  history  is  more  or  less  shrouded  in  mystery,  but, 
thanks  to  the  labors  of  the  Moravian,  as  well  as  the 
Jesuit,  missionaries,  many  of  their  traditions  have  been 
preserved,  from  which  we  have  been  able  to  glean  what 
has  now  become  the  most  generally  accepted  belief  in  the 
origin  and  progress  of  the  race  on  this  continent. 

The  great  western  hemisphere  was  probably  first  peo- 
pled from  two  sources.     With  the  dispersion  of  the  na- 

(7) 


8  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

tions  at  the  Tower  of  Babel  came  an  exodus  on  widely 
divergent  lines.  Some  wandered  to  Africa,  others  to  Eu- 
rope, others,  still,  turned  their  faces  to  the  east.  Of  these, 
certain  families  occupied  our  present  Siberia,  and,  in  time, 
from  the  hardship  of  their  lives,  became  more  or  less  de- 
generate; other  tribes  drifted  to  the  more  favorable  clime 
of  Japan  and  the  south,  where  they  became  increasingly 
civilized  and  refined.  In  the  course  of  centuries  some 
hapless  seafaring  members  of  the  latter  chanced  to  find 
their  way,  doubtless  by  force  of  unfortunate  circumstances, 
across  the  ocean  to  Mexico  and  Peru,  whence  originated 
the  civilization  which  surprised  the  followers  of  Cortez 
and  Pizarro.  With  these  our  account  has  nothing  further 
to  do.  Just  as  those  of  the  south,  however,  were  drawn, 
as  though  by  a  magnet,  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World, 
so  the  savage  of  Siberia  gradually  found  his  way  across 
the  narrow  Behring  Strait,  down  the  coast  to  a  land  of 
daily  sunshine  and  warmth,  thence  slowly  across  the  wide 
continent  which  lay  before  him  until,  finally,  another  ocean 
was  reached,  where  he  took  possession,  and,  amongst  the 
meadows  and  forests,  brooks  and  rivers  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  York,  made  his  rude  home. 

All  Indian  tradition  concurs  in  the  belief  that  the  an- 
cestors of  their  people  came  from  the  west. 

The  Lenni  Lenape  (or  the  original  people),  as  they 
called  themselves,  later  better  known  as  the  Delawares, 
from  the  name  of  the  river  which  eventually  became  their 
location,  were,  in  the  distant  past,  a  mighty  nation,  which 
nearly  forty  tribes,  according  to  Heckewelder,  acknowl- 
edged as  their  "grandfathers,"  or  parent  stock.  As  they 
migrated  to  the  east  in  time  they  met  the  Mengwe  (Iro- 
quois) on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  who  had  reached 
it    somewhat    nearer    its    source.      The    Lenape,    having 


The  Aborigine.  9 

thrown  out  their  scouts,  discovered  that  the  land  to  the 
east  of  the  mighty  river  was  inhabited  by  a  powerful  tribe, 
dwelling  in  large  towns  erected  along  the  principal  rivers, 
whose  people  were  of  gigantic  stature.  They  bore  the 
name  of  Allegewi,  whence  the  name  of  Allegheny,  by 
which  the  river  and  mountains  of  their  country  are  now 
known.  Their  towns  were  defended  by  regular  fortifica- 
tions or  intrenchments,  of  earth,  vestiges  of  which  still 
remain  in  a  more  or  less  complete  state  of  preservation. 
A  request  having  been  made  to  them  by  the  Lenape,  for 
permission  to  locate  in  their  vicinity,  it  was  refused,  but 
they  were  told  that  they  might  cross  the  river  and  pass 
through  their  country  to  a  land  further  east.  This  the 
Lenape  proceeded  to  do,  but,  alarmed  by  the  multitudes 
which  they  saw  marching  before  their  eyes,  the  Allegewi 
treacherously  turned  upon  and  massacred  many  of  those 
who  had  gained  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi. 
Fired  by  a  spirit  of  revenge  the  Lenape  eagerly  accepted 
a  proposition  made  them  by  the  Mengwe  to  join  forces, 
conquer  and  divide  the  country  of  their  adversaries.  A 
war  of  many  years  was  begun,  marked  by  great  havoc  and 
devastation,  but  resulting  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Allegewi, 
who  fled  by  way  of  the  Mississippi,  never  to  return. 
Their  ravaged  country  was  apportioned  among  the  con- 
quering allies,  the  Iroquois  choosing  their  homes  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  Lenape  selecting 
the  lands  further  south. 

During  the  many  years  of  peace  which  followed,  the  en- 
terprising hunters  of  the  Lenape  crossed  the  Allegheny 
mountains  and  discovered  the  great  rivers  Susquehanna 
and  Delaware.  They  even  explored  the  Sheyichbi  coun- 
try (New  Jersey)  and  reached  the  Hudson,  to  which  they 
subsequently  gave  the  name  Mohicannittuck  river.      Re- 


io  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

turning  with  the  glowing  accounts  of  the  beautiful  country 
they  had  seen,  its  forests,  game  and  waters,  the  tribe  unan- 
imously decided  that  this  was  the  land  which  the  Great 
Spirit  had  set  apart  for  them,  and  at  once  proceeded  to 
establish  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  principal  rivers 
of  the  east,  making  the  Delaware,  to  which  they  gave  the 
of  Lenape-lVihittuck  (the  river  of  the  Lenape)  the  centre 
of  their  possessions. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Delaware,  of  whom  we  have 
just  spoken,  were  but  a  part  of  the  great  Lenni-Lenape 
tribe.  It  is  said  that  a  portion  remained  behind  along  the 
Mississippi  to  aid  their  people  who,  frightened  at  the  re- 
ception given  them  by  the  Allegewi,  had  fled  to  the  west. 
Of  these  the  smaller  part  stayed  by  the  river  while  the 
remainder  continued  to  reside  beyond  it. 

Those  on  the  Atlantic  coast  became  subdivided  into 
three  tribes — the  Turtle  or  Unamis,  the  Turkey  or  Un- 
alachtgo,  and  the  Wolf  or  Minsi.  The  two  former  in- 
habited the  coast  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Potomac,  set- 
tling in  small  bodies  in  towns  and  villages  upon  the  larger 
streams,  under  chiefs  subordinate  to  the  great  council  of 
the  nation.  The  Minsi,  called  by  the  English  "  Mon- 
seys,"  the  most  warlike  of  the  three  tribes,  dwelt  in  the 
interior,  forming  a  barrier  between  their  nation  and  the 
Mengwe.  They  extended  themselves  from  the  Minisink, 
on  the  Delaware,  where  they  held  their  council  seat,  to  the 
Hudson  on  the  east,  to  the  Susquehanna  on  the  southwest, 
to  the  head  waters  of  the  Delaware  and  Susquehanna 
rivers  on  the  north,  and  to  that  range  of  hills  now  known 
in  New  Jersey  by  the  name  of  the  Muskenecum,  and  by 
those  of  Lehigh  and  Conewago  in  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  year  1698  some  Shawanese  applied  to  the  pro- 
prietary government  for  permission  to  settle  on  the  Con- 


The  Aborigine.  n 

estoga  and  Pequea  creeks,  under  Opessah,  their  principal 
chief,  which  was  granted.  The  most  restless  of  all  the 
Indian  tribes,  by  1728  many  of  these  had  wandered  as  far 
west  as  the  Ohio,  where  in  time  the  entire  nation  settled  on 
the  banks  of  that  river.  During  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  however,  many  of  their  fighting  braves  still  re- 
mained east  and  joined  with  the  Delawares  in  their  mau- 
rauding  forages  on  the  hapless  settlers. 

The  Mengwe,  meanwhile,  hovered  for  some  time  on 
the  borders  of  the  lakes,  with  their  canoes  in  readiness  to 
fly  should  the  Allegewi  return.  Grown  bolder  with  in- 
creasing numbers  they  stretched  themselves  along  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  became,  on  the  north,  near  neighbors  to 
the  Lenape  tribes. 

In  process  of  time  the  Mengwe  and  the  Lenape  became 
enemies.  The  latter  represent  the  former  as  treacherous 
and  cruel,  pursuing  pertinaciously  an  insidious  and  de- 
structive policy  toward  their  more  generous  neighbors. 
Dreading  the  power  of  the  Lenape,  the  Mengwe  resolved 
to  involve  them  in  war  with  their  distant  tribes,  to  reduce 
their  strength.  They  committed  murders  upon  the  mem- 
bers of  one  tribe,  and  induced  the  injured  party  to  believe 
they  were  perpetrated  by  another.  They  stole  into  the 
country  of  the  Delawares,  surprised  them  in  their  hunting 
parties,  slaughtered  the  hunters  and  escaped  with  the 
plunder. 

Each  nation,  or  tribe,  had  a  particular  mark  upon  its 
war  clubs,  which,  left  beside  a  murdered  person,  denoted 
the  aggressor.  The  record  which  now  follows  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Delaware  traditions,  as  related  to  the  Mo- 
ravian missionaries.  I  take  the  liberty  of  giving  it  in  the 
words  of  the  late  Dr.  W.  H.  Egle.  These  traditions 
were  to  the  effect  that  the  Mengwe  perpetrated  a  murder 


12  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

in  the  Cherokee  country,  and  left  with  the  dead  body  a 
war  club  bearing  the  insignia  of  the  Lenape.  The  Chero- 
kees,  in  revenge,  fell  suddenly  upon  the  latter  and  com- 
menced a  long  and  bloody  war.  The  treachery  of  the 
Mengwe  being  at  length  discovered,  the  Delawares  turned 
upon  them  with  the  determination  of  utterly  exterminating 
them.  They  were  the  more  strongly  induced  to  take  this 
resolution,  as  the  cannibal  propensities  of  the  Mengwe,  ac- 
cording to  Heckewelder,  had  reduced  them,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  Delawares,  below  the  rank  of  human  beings. 

Hitherto  each  tribe  of  the  Mengwe  had  acted  under  the 
direction  of  its  particular  chief,  and,  although  the  nation 
could  not  control  the  conduct  of  its  members,  it  was  made 
responsible  for  their  outrages.  Pressed  by  the  Lenape, 
they  resolved  to  form  a  confederation  which  might  enable 
them  better  to  concentrate  their  force  in  war,  and  to  regu- 
late their  affairs  in  peace.  Thannawage,  an  aged  Mo- 
hawk, was  the  projector  of  this  alliance.  Under  his  au- 
spices, five  nations,  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagoes, 
Cayugas  and  Senecas,  formed  a  species  of  republic,  gov- 
erned by  the  united  councils  of  their  aged  and  experienced 
chiefs.  To  these  a  sixth  nation,  the  Tuscaroras,  was 
added  in  17 12.  This  last  originally  dwelt  in  the  western 
parts  of  North  Carolina,  but,  having  formed  a  deep  and 
general  conspiracy  to  exterminate  the  whites,  were  driven 
from  their  country  and  adopted  by  the  Iroquois  con- 
federacy. The  beneficial  effects  of  this  system  early  dis- 
played themselves.  The  Lenape  were  checked,  and  the 
Mengwe,  whose  warlike  disposition  soon  familiarized 
them  with  the  use  of  fire  arms  procured  from  the  Dutch, 
were  enabled  at  the  same  time  to  contend  with  them  and  to 
resist  the  French,  who  now  attempted  the  settlement  of 
Canada  and  the  extension  of  their  conquests  over  a  large 


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The  Aborigine.  13 

portion  of  the  country  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

Hard  pressed  by  these  new  enemies,  the  Iroquois  be- 
came desirous  of  reconciliation  with  their  old  ones,  and,  if 
the  tradition  of  the  Delawares  be  credited,  they  effected 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  strokes  of  policy  which  his- 
tory has  recorded. 

The  mediators  between  the  Indian  nations  at  war  are 
the  women.  The  men,  however  weary  of  contest,  hold  it 
cowardly  and  disgraceful  to  seek  reconciliation.  They 
deem  it  inconsistent  in  a  warrior  to  speak  of  peace  with 
bloody  weapons  in  his  hands.  He  must  maintain  a  deter- 
mined courage,  and  appear  at  all  times  as  ready  and  will- 
ing to  fight  as  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  With 
such  dispositions  Indian  wars  would  be  interminable  if  the 
women  did  not  interfere  and  persuade  the  combatants  to 
bury  the  hatchet  and  make  peace  with  each  other.  On 
these  occasions  the  women  pleaded  their  cause  with  much 
eloquence.  "  Not  a  warrior,"  they  would  say,  "  but 
laments  the  loss  of  a  son,  a  brother,  or  a  friend,  and 
mothers  who  have  borne,  with  cheerfulness,  the  pangs  of 
childbirth,  and  the  anxieties  that  wait  upon  the  infancy 
and  adolescence  of  their  sons,  behold  their  promised  bless- 
ings crushed  in  the  field  of  battle,  or  perishing  at  the 
stake  in  unutterable  torments.  In  the  depth  of  their  grief 
they  curse  their  wretched  existence  and  shudder  at  the  idea 
of  bearing  children."  They  conjured  their  warriors, 
therefore,  by  their  suffering  wives,  their  helpless  children, 
their  homes,  and  their  friends,  to  interchange  forgiveness, 
to  cast  away  their  arms,  and,  smoking  together  the  pipe  of 
amity  and  peace,  to  embrace  as  friends  those  whom  they 
had  learned  to  esteem  as  enemies. 

Prayers  thus  urged  seldom  failed  of  their  desired  effect. 


14  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

The  function  of  the  peacemaker  was  honorable  and  digni- 
fied, and  its  assumption  by  a  courageous  and  powerful  na- 
tion could  not  be  inglorious.  This  station  the  Mengwe 
urged  upon  the  Lenape.  "  They  had  reflected,"  they 
said,  "  upon  the  state  of  the  Indian  race,  and  were  con- 
vinced that  no  means  remained  to  preserve  it  unless  some 
magnanimous  nation  would  assume  the  character  of  the 
woman.  It  could  not  be  given  to  a  weak  and  contempt- 
ible tribe;  such  would  not  be  listened  to;  but  the  Lenape, 
and  their  allies,  would  at  once  possess  influence  and  com- 
mand respect." 

The  facts  upon  which  these  arguments  were  founded 
were  known  to  the  Delawares,  and,  in  a  moment  of  blind 
confidence  in  the  sincerity  of  the  Iroquois,  they  acceded  to 
the  proposition  and  assumed  the  petticoat.  The  ceremony 
of  the  metamorphosis  was  performed,  with  great  rejoic- 
ings, at  Albany,  in  1617,  in  the  presence  of  the  Dutch, 
whom  the  Lenape  charged  with  having  conspired  with  the 
Mengwe  for  their  destruction. 

Having  thus  disarmed  the  Delawares,  the  Iroquois  as- 
sumed over  them  the  rights  of  protection  and  command. 
Still  dreading  their  strength,  however,  they  artfully  in- 
volved them  again  in  war  with  the  Cherokees,  promised 
to  fight  their  battles,  led  them  into  an  ambush  of  their 
foes,  and  deserted  them.  The  Delawares,  at  length,  com- 
prehended the  treachery  of  their  arch  enemy,  and  resolved 
to  resume  their  arms,  and,  being  still  superior  in  numbers, 
to  crush  them,  but  it  was  too  late.  The  Europeans  were 
now  making  their  way  into  the  country  in  every  direction, 
and  gave  ample  employment  to  the  astonished  Lenape. 

The  Mengwe  denied  these  machinations.  They  aver- 
red that  they  conquered  the  Delawares  by  force  of  arms, 
and  made  them  a  subject  people.     And,   though  it  was 


The  Aborigine. 


15 


said  they  were  unable  to  detail  the  circumstances  of  this 
conquest,  it  is  more  rational  to  suppose  it  true  than  that 
a  brave,  numerous,  and  warlike  nation  should  have  volun- 
tarily suffered  themselves  to  be  disarmed  and  enslaved  by 
a  shallow  artifice;  or  that,  discovering  the  fraud  practiced 
upon  them,  they  should  unresistingly  have  submitted  to  its 
consequences.  This  conquest  was  not  an  empty  acquisi- 
tion to  the  Mengwe.  They  claimed  dominion  over  all 
the  lands  occupied  by  the  Delawares,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, their  claims  were  distinctly  acknowledged.  Par- 
ties of  the  Five  Nations  occasionally  occupied  the  Lenape 
country,  and  wandered  over  it  at  all  times  at  their  pleasure. 
Eventually,  in  1756,  Tedyuscung,  the  noted  Delaware 
chief,  seems  to  have  compelled  the  Iroquois  to  acknowl- 
edge the  independence  of  his  tribe,  but  the  claim  of  super- 
iority was  often  afterwards  revived. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine. 


j|^OR  many  years  before  the 
JJ  outbreak  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War  the  hapless  Pennsyl- 
vania-German settlers  were  sleep- 
ing over  a  loaded  mine  filled 
with  inflammable  powder.  Many 
events  and  circumstances  were 
forming  the  fuze  to  which  it 
needed  but  the  spark  of  the  torch 
to  start  a  flame  of  death  and  de- 
struction, the  horror  of  which  even 
we  of  to-day  can  hardly  realize. 

We  are  apt  to  forget  that  not  all  the  hardships  of  pro- 
vincial days  rested  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  white  men. 
The  Indian  had  his  wrongs  as  well.  Even  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where,  above  all  other  colonies,  equity  and  fair- 
dealing  were  the  rule,  there  were  dark  shadows  of  in- 
justice. 

We  must  remember  that  the  Indian  was  a  savage. 
Like  all  untutored  and  uncivilized  people  he  was  not  ac- 
customed to  reason  matters  out  to  a  conclusion,  nor  was 

(16) 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  17 

he  able  to  combat  the  educated  and  experienced  shrewd- 
ness of  the  civilized  man  of  business,  with  weapon  of  like 
character.  He  was  swayed  by  animal  passions  alone. 
He  looked  at  the  surface  of  things  and  felt  that  he  was 
playing  a  losing  game;  all  seemed  to  be  against  him,  and, 
in  his  wrath,  he  saw  no  other  remedy  than  the  ever-fail- 
ing one  of  pitting  muscle  against  brain.  As  a  savage  his 
nature  was  two-fold.  He  was  a  child,  fond  of  every  toy 
upon  which  his  eye  rested,  and  always  ready  to  gratify  his 
sense,  whether  of  appetite  or  sight.  No  wonder  he  eagerly 
reached  out  his  hand  for  the  miserable  trinkets  which  were 
offered  him  for  miles  of  the  fairest  lands  on  God's  foot- 
stool, but  when  his  cheap  musket  was  broken,  his  fish 
hooks  were  lost,  his  match  coat  worn  out,  his  squaw  tired 
of  her  looking  glass  and  colored  beads,  his  vile  whiskey 
drunk  and  his  debauch  over,  with  nothing  left  to  him  but 
his  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  then  his  heart  was  filled 
with  hatred  and  he  only  longed  to  wreak  out  his  vengeance 
on  him  whom  he  thought  had  wronged  him. 

To  the  credit  of  William  Penn  it  must  be  said  that  he 
was  the  one  man  who  ever  treated  the  Indian  with  some 
degree  of  justice.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  times  he 
did  what  was  right.  And  yet  he  drove  a  pretty  good  bar- 
gain when  he  purchased  from  the  Indians  their  lands  in 
the  celebrated  treaty  of  1682,  and  this  they  soon  began  to 
realize.  With  the  advent  of  the  Palatine  settlers  in  the 
Tulpehocken  region,  from  1723  to  1729,  and  their  settle- 
ment on  "  unoccupied  lands,"  came  the  demand  from  the 
Delawares,  on  June  5,  1728,  for  payment  of  the  value  of 
the  ground  from  which  they  were  gradually  being  forced. 
They  were  paid  for  it,  and  were  given  all  they  asked,  but, 
as  the  unprejudiced  reader  scans  the  wording  of  the  deed 
of  1732  which  here  follows,  we  believe  he  will  not  be  sur- 
6 


i8 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


prised  to  hear  that  it  became  one  of  the  things  in  the 
memory  of  the  Indian  over  which  he  did  not  love  to  dwell 
as  he  took  down  his  wigwam  and  turned  his  back  forever 
on  the  lovely  forests,  filled  with  game,  the  beautiful 
streams,  teeming  with  fish,  and  the  sunny  fields  which,  for 
generations  had  been  his  home. 


Indian  Deed  of  1732. 
We,  Sasooan  alias  Allummapis,  Sachem  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill Indians  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania;  Elalapis, 
Ohopamen,  Pesqueetomen,  Mayeemoe,  Partridge,  Teka- 
poaset  alias  Joe,  on  behalf  of  ourselves  and  all  the  other 
Indians  of  the  said  Nation,  for  and  in  consideration  of 
twenty  brass  kettles,  one  Hundred  Strowdwater  Match 
coats  of  two  yards  each,  One  Hundred  Duffel  Ditto,  One 
Hundred  Blankets,  One  Hundred  Yards  of  half  Thicks, 
Sixty  linnen  Shirts,  Twenty  Hatts,  Six  made  Coats,  twelve 
pair  of  Shoos  and  buckles,  Thirty  pair  of  Stockings,  three 
Hundred  pounds  of  Gun  Powder,  Six  Hundred  pounds  of 
Lead,  Twenty  five  Guns,  twelve  Gun  Locks,  fifty  Tommy- 
hocks  or  hatchets,  fifty  planting  houghs,  one  Hundred  & 
twenty  Knives,  Sixty  pair  of  Scissors,  one  Hundred  To- 
bacco Tongs,  Twenty  four  looking  Glasses,  Forty  To- 
bacco Boxes,  one  Thousand  Flints,  five  pounds  of  paint, 
Twenty  four  dozen  of  Gartering,  Six  dozen  of  Ribbon, 
twelve  dozen  of  Rings,  two  Hundred  Awl  blades,  one 
Hundred  pounds  of  Tobacco,  four  Hundred  Tobacco 
Pipes,    Twenty    Gallons    of    Rum    and    fifty    Pounds    in 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  19 

Money,   to  us   in   hand  paid  or  secured  to  be  paid  by 
Thomas  Penn,  Esqr,  one  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  said 
Province,  the  receipt  whereof  we  do  hereby  acknowledge, 
Have  Granted  Bargained  Sold  Released  &  Confirmed  and 
by  these  presents  Do  Grant  Bargain  Sell  Release  and  con- 
firm unto  John  Penn,  the  said  Thomas  Penn  &  Richard 
Penn,  Esqrs,  Proprietors  of  the  said  Province,  all  those 
Tracts  of  Land  or  Lands  lying  on  or  near  the   River 
Schuylkill,  in  the  said  Province,  or  any  of  the  branches 
streams  fountains  or  springs  thereof,  Eastward  or  West- 
ward,  and  all  of  the  Lands  lying   in  or  near  Swamps 
Marshes  fens  or  meadows  the  waters  or  streams  of  which 
flow  into  or  toward  the  said  River  Schuylkill,  situate  lying 
and  being  between  those  Hills  called  Lechaig  Hills  and 
those  called  Keekachtanemin  Hills,  which  cross  the  said 
River    Schuylkill    about    Thirty    miles    above    the    said 
Lechaig  Hills,  and  all  Land  whatsoever  lying  within  the 
said  bounds  and  between  the  branches  of  Delaware  River 
on  the  Eastern  side  of  the  said  Land,  and  the  branches  or 
streams    running   into   the    River   Susquehannah   on    the 
Western  side  of  the  said  Land,  Together  with  all  mines 
Minerals  Quarries  Waters  Rivers  Creeks  Woods  Timber 
&  Trees,  with  all  and  every  the  appurtenances  to  the  here- 
by Granted  Land  and  premises  belonging  or  appertaining, 
To  have  and  To  Hold  the  said  Tract  or  Tracts  of  Land 
Hereditaments  and  premises  hereby  Granted  or  mentioned 
or  intended  to  be  hereby  Granted  (That  is  to  say  all  those 
Lands  situate  lying  and  being  on  the  said  River  Schuylkill 
and  the  branches  thereof,  Between  the  Mountains  called 
Lechaig  to  the  South,  and  the  Hills  or  Mountains  called 
Keekachtanemin  on  the  North,  and  between  the  branches 
of  Delaware  River  on  the  East,  and  the  waters  falling  into 
Susquehanna  River  on  the  West,)  with  all  and  every  their 


20  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Appurtenances,  unto  the  said  John  Penn,  Thomas  Penn 
and  Richard  Penn,  their  Heirs  and  Assigns,  To  the  only 
proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  John  Penn,  Thomas 
Penn  and  Richard  Penn,  their  Heirs  and  Assigns  forever, 
So  that  neither  We  the  said  Sasoonan  alias  Allummapis, 
Elalapis,  Ohopamen,  Pesqueetomen,  Mayeemoe,  Part- 
ridge, Tepakoast  alis  Joe  nor  our  Heirs  nor  any  other 
Person  or  Persons  hereafter  shall  or  may  have  or  claim 
any  Estate  Right  Title  or  Interest  of  in  or  to  the  hereby 
Granted  Land  and  premises  or  any  part  thereof,  But  from 
the  same  shall  be  Excluded  and  forver  debarred  by  these 
presents,  In  Witness  whereof  the  said  Sasoonan  alias 
Allummapis,  Elalapis,  Ohopamen,  Pesqueetomen,  Mayee- 
moe, Partridge,  Tepakoast  alias  Joe  have  hereunto  set 
their  Hands  and  Seals,  at  Stenton,  the  Seventh  day  of 
September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  One  Thousand  Seven 
Hundred  and  thirty  two,  and  in  the  Sixth  year  of  the 
Reign  of  King  George  the  Second  over  Great  Britain,  &c. 
******** 

Of  far  greater  moment  than  what  has  just  been  men- 
tioned, was  the  celebrated  "  Walking  Purchase  "  of 
Northampton  County,  where,  under  the  protection  of  a 
treaty  made  by  him  in  good  faith,  but  unjustly  carried  out 
by  his  white  neighbor,  the  Delaware  Indian  saw  himself 
robbed  of  other  fair  acres  of  his  land.  This  crime  against 
his  nation,  as  he  considered  it,  was  never  forgotten. 

William  Penn  had  purchased  from  Maykeerickkisho 
and  Taughhaughsey,  chiefs  of  the  Northern  Indians  on 
the  Delaware,  "  all  those  lands  lying  and  being  in  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania,  beginning  upon  a  line  formerly 
laid  out  from  a  corner  spruce  tree  by  the  river  Delaware; 
and  from  thence  running  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
west-northwest,  to  a  corner  white  oak  marked  with  the 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  21 

letter  P,  standing  by  the  path  that  leadeth  to  an  Indian 
town  called  Playwickey;  and  from  thence  extending  west- 
ward to  Neshaminy  creek,  from  which  said  line,  the  said 
tract  or  tracts  thereby  granted  doth  extend  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  limits  of  the  said  one 
day  and  a  half's  journey;  and  from  thence  to  the  aforesaid 
river  Delaware ;  and  from  thence  down  the  several  courses 
of  the  said  river  to  the  first  mentioned  spruce  tree,"  etc. 
A  map,  however,  drawn  by  Thomas  Holme,  sometime 
surveyor  of  the  Province,  illustrating  this  historic  walk, 
which,  together  with  other  valuable  documents  bearing  on 
the  transaction,  was  purchased  from  the  heirs  of  the  Penn 
family  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  has, 
once  for  all,  put  to  rest  the  many  erroneous  statements  ex- 
tant in  books  in  reference  to  the  day  and  a  half-day's  walk. 
Setting  out  from  Wrightstown,  on  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 19,  1737,  the  walkers  pursued  a  northerly  course, 
keeping  along  the  old  Durham  road  to  Durham  creek, 
thence  deployed  westerly,  at  about  2  o'clock  p.  m.,  forded 
the  Lehigh  a  half-mile  below  Bethlehem,  thence  walked 
on  in  a  northwesterly  line  through  the  plot  of  the  present 
town  of  Bethlehem,  and  passing  through  the  northeast 
angle  of  Hanover  Township,  Lehigh  County,  into  Allen 
Township,  halted  at  sundown,  not  far  from  the  site  of 
Howell's  mill  on  the  Hockendauqua.  Near  their  place  of 
bivouac  was  an  Indian  town,  at  which  resided  Tishekunk, 
the  counsellor  of  Lappawingoe.  Next  morning,  after 
having  caught  their  horses  which  had  strayed,  they  re- 
sumed the  walk,  and  having  crossed  the  Blue  mountain 
at  the  Lehigh  Water  Gap,  after  the  lapse  of  six  hours  ac- 


22  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

complished  their  task.  The  distance  traveled  did  not  ex- 
ceed sixty  or  sixty-five  miles,  but  the  consummation  of  the 
purchase  was  done  with  a  determination  of  purpose  on  the 
part  of  the  whites  far  exceeding  anything  anticipated  by 
the  Indians.  From  the  northern  extremity  of  the  line 
thus  run  by  the  walk,  Surveyor  Holme  ran  a  line  parallel 
to  the  head  line  of  the  previous  purchase  near  Wrights- 
town,  in  a  northeasterly  direction  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Lackawaxen,  thus  extending  William  Penn's  purchase  of 
1686,  whereby  there  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Pro- 
prietaries, past  all  claim  forever  from  the  side  of  the  In- 
dians, the  upper  portion  of  Bucks,  fully  nine  tenths  of  the 
present  Northampton,  a  large  slice  of  Carbon,  and  the 
fourth  of  Monroe  and  Pike  County  each,  containing  to- 
gether, at  the  lowest  estimate,  an  area  of  twelve  hundred 
square  miles. 

Another  most  just  cause  of  complaint  on  the  part  of 
the  red  men  was  the  traffic  in  rum  kept  up  among  their 
people.  Slaves  as  they  were  to  liquor  they  knew  its  de- 
basing effect  upon  them,  and  would  gladly  have  broken 
away  from  it.  Many  efforts  were  made  to  induce  the 
ruling  powers  to  take  such  action  as  might  prevent  its 
sale  to  them,  and,  in  fact,  some  action  was  taken,  but,  un- 
fortunately, rum  was  too  valuable  an  ally  to  be  lightly 
cast  aside  by  the  whites.  In  fairness  it  must  be  said  that, 
almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  colony,  the  Society  of 
Friends  had  thrown  their  influence  against  the  iniquity  of 
selling  rum  among  the  Indians.  At  one  time  all  such 
traffic  was  forbidden  by  statute.  After  the  death  of  Wil- 
liam Penn  an  increasing  number  of  complaints  came  up, 
from  the  Delawares  and  especially  the  Shawanese,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  unrestrained  traffic  in  liquor  which  unlicensed 
traders  brought  among  them.     Again  and  again  did  the 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  23 

Indians  petition  against  the  trade  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  was  conducted.  Unfortunately,  their  craving  for  drink 
was  so  great  that,  whenever  they  experienced  the  effects  of 
prohibitory  law  they  immediately  begged  that  rum  might 
be  sold  them  again.  It  is  more  than  probable,  however, 
that  these  latter  requests  were,  more  or  less,  inspired  by 
the  traders,  whose  business  was  very  much  impaired  by 
the  loss  of  the  rum  trade.  These  men,  with  their  vile 
liquor,  met  the  young  members  of  the  tribe,  returning 
from  hunting  and  trapping,  and,  by  their  bartering,  rob- 
bed the  old  men,  the  women,  and  the  children  of  the  very 
necessities  of  life.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  carried  on 
that,  in  173 1,  Shikellimy  gave  the  authorities  of  Pennsyl- 
vania to  understand  that  friendly  relations  with  the  Six 
Nations  could  not  exist  unless  the  liquor  trade  with  their 
subjects,  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawanese,  was  regulated. 

However  fairly  the  Indians  may  have  been  treated  by 
Penn,  and  by  the  authorities  after  him,  yet  it  cannot  be 
denied  that,  in  numerous  instances,  besides  being  cheated 
by  the  traders,  they  were  greatly  abused  by  the  settlers, 
who  never  hesitated  to  take  advantage  of  them.  The 
life  of  a  savage  was  held  very  cheaply,  and  still  more  so 
his  property.  Were  this  the  place  for  it  many  pathetic 
and  shameful  instances  might  be  given  in  evidence  of  this 
fact.  All  this  rankled  in  the  hearts  of  the  injured  person, 
and  in  the  memory  of  his  friends,  and,  in  accordance  with 
their  savage  nature,  they  but  waited  the  opportunity  to 
balance  the  scale,  in  their  own  manner,  with  their  white 
neighbors. 

By  a  strange  turn  in  the  wheel  of  fortune,  when  this 
opportunity  came  the  vengeance  fell  upon  the  heads  of  the 
Pennsylvania-German  settlers  on  the  border  land,  who,  of 
all  men,  never  injured  the  Indians  by  deed  or  word,  and 
who,  alone,  were  truly  their  friends. 


24  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

No  matter  how  much  injured,  however,  nor  how 
greatly  wronged,  the  Delaware  Indians  would  have  for- 
given, if  not  forgotten,  and  the  tale  of  blood-shed  in  Penn- 
sylvania, which  I  have  to  relate,  would  never  have  been 
recounted,  had  the  authorities  of  the  Province  cast  in  their 
lot  with  them  instead  of  finally  adhering  to  the  Six  Na- 
tions. It  is  hard  to  realize  the  hatred  which  the  former 
bore  towards  those  who  called  themselves  their  masters. 
The  shame  they  felt,  as  a  conquered  nation,  is  evidenced 
by  the  tradition,  already  related,  which  shows  how  anxious 
they  were  to  explain  away,  in  an  honorable  manner,  the 
cause  of  their  vassalage.  It  was  a  deep  wound  which  the 
proud  Iroquois  kept  rankling. 

As  the  conquerors  and  masters  of  the  Delawares,  the 
Iroquois  claimed  ownership  of  all  the  lands  in  Pennsyl- 
vania which  belonged  to  the  former.  With  the  exodus  of 
the  Germans  from  Schoharie,  in  New  York  Province,  to 
the  Tulpehocken  region  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  further 
increase  of  settlement,  their  eyes  became  opened  to  the 
value  of  their  land  claims  in  that  Province.  The  first  step 
taken,  at  the  great  Onondago  Council,  was  to  send  Shikel- 
limy,  an  Oneida  chief,  to  the  forks  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 
1728,  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  Six  Nations  in  Penn- 
sylvania. He  had  general  oversight  over  the  Delaware 
and  Shawanese  Indians,  which  tribes  were  soon  given  to 
understand  that,  in  their  future  dealings  with  the  Pro- 
prietary Government,  it  would  be  necessary  to  consult  him, 
and  that  all  their  business  must  be  done  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  affairs  of  the  Six  Nations  were  accomplished, 
which  was  through  their  appointed  deputy.  About  1745, 
Shikellimy  was  appointed  to  the  full  vice-gcrency  over 
these  tributary  tribes  with  Shamokin  (the  present  city  of 
Sunbury)   for  his  seat.     He  was  a  noble  specimen  of  the 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  25 

red  man,  shrewd  and  clear  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
interests  of  his  people. 

Because  he  was,  in  every  sense,  a  "  good  Indian,"  much 
interest  was  felt  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  his  grave.  In 
October,  1897,  a  party,  in  search  of  Indian  relics  at  Sun- 
bury,  found  it  in  the  center  of  the  road  which  leads  to  the 
Northumberland  bridge,  about  midway  between  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  bridge  and  the  Hunter  masion,  barely  two 
feet  beneath  the  surface.  The  skeleton  was  in  a  good 
state  of  preservation,  the  skull  still  covered  with  a  mass  of 
long  black  hair,  which,  when  moved,  fell  off  and  crumbled 
to  dust.  Lying  on  the  chest  of  the  Indian  were  a  number 
of  blue  glass  beads,  the  deer  thong  which  held  them  hav- 
ing rotted  away;  beside  the  head  was  a  peculiarly  shaped 
bottle,  empty;  by  the  left  hip,  as  though  carried  in  a 
pocket,  was  an  oval  tobacco  box  made  of  tin  and  but 
slightly  rusted,  containing  a  fishing  line  of  fine  twine,  in 
good  preservation,  some  tobacco,  an  English  penny  and 
half-penny  bearing  the  head  of  George  III ;  beside  the 
body  laid  the  rusty  barrel  of  an  old  horse  pistol,  an  iron 
tomahawk,  a  hunting  knife  of  English  make  with  bone 
handle,  several  thin  copper  bracelets  still  around  the  bony 
wrist,  steel  buttons  of  English  make,  bells  and  dangles  for 
leggings,  three  copper  finger  rings  and  one  of  silver  with 
the  significant  hand-clasp  design.  One  of  the  coins  was 
unquestionably  a  medal,  bearing  on  the  obverse  side  the 
head  of  the  King,  and  on  the  reverse  an  Indian  scene  rep- 
resenting a  warrior  hunting  the  deer  from  behind  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  with  the  sun  beaming  down  upon  him, 
probably  significant  of  English  friendship.  Besides  the 
body  the  grave  contained  the  nails  and  hinges  of  a  coffin, 
the  only  one,  probably,  which  has  been  discovered  in  an 
Indian  burial  ground,  and  convincing,  in  themselves,  as 


26  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  the  fact  that  it  was,  indeed,  the  burial  place  of  Shikel- 
limy. 

The  treaty  of  1732  with  the  Delawares  had  hardly  been 
accomplished  when  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  was 
made  to  realize  that  it  would  become  necessary  to  placate 
the  Six  Nations  by  a  present.  It  was  with  difficulty  he 
succeeded  in  gathering  together  their  representatives,  and 
it  was  not  until  1736  that  the  matter  was  finally  settled. 

Two  weeks  after  this  deed  had  been  signed  another  was 
drawn  covering  all  the  claim  of  the  Six  Nations  to  the  land 
drained  by  the  Delaware  River,  and  south  of  the  Blue 
mountains.  Since  they  had  never,  until  this  date,  laid  any 
specific  claim  to  the  lands  on  the  lower  Delaware  this 
second  deed  becomes  significant.  It  established  the  Iro- 
quois' claim  to  all  the  lands  owned  by  the  Delaware  In- 
dians. 

This  latter  tribe  were  never  willing  to  acknowledge  the 
justice  of  the  so-called  "  Walking  Purchase,"  and  refused 
to  give  up  any  land  contrary  to  their  understanding  of 
the  original  treaty.  To  gain  their  point  the  English,  at  a 
conference  with  the  Six  Nations  held  in  1742,  to  which  the 
Delawares  were  merely  told  they  might  come,  and,  after 
the  usual  presents  were  given  in  payment  of  lands  about 
the  Susquehanna,  complained  of  the  actions  of  the  Dela- 
wares in  refusing  to  vacate  the  land.  It  will  not  take 
much  thought  for  the  reader  to  realize  with  what  feelings 
of  anger  and  bitterness  the  hearts  of  the  Delawares  must 
have  been  filled  as  they  saw  Canassatego,  the  Iroquois 
speaker,  turn  to  the  Governor,  and  heard  him  say: 

"  You  informed  us  of  the  misbehavior  of  our  cousins, 
the  Delawares,  with  respect  to  their  continuing  to  claim 
and  refusing  to  remove  from  some  land  on  the  River  Dela- 
ware, notwithstanding  their  ancestors  had  sold  it  by  deed 


THE     PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY. 


r 


rut  amerikaiu/cliei   •  'afarnem 

r)tr  seine    oCanctileu.fr  '■"''    fiieu  ermalmt. 


A    CONTEMPORARY    GERMAN     ENGRAVING. 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine.  27 

under  their  hands  and  seals  to  the  Proprietors  for  a  valu- 
able consideration,  upwards  of  fifty  years  ago,  and  not- 
withstanding 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,  en- 
forcing your  request  with  a  string  of  wampum.  After- 
wards you  laid  on  the  table  by  Conrad  Weiser  our  own 
letters,  some  of  our  cousins'  letters,  and  the  several  writ- 
ings 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  will  see  your 
request  executed,  we  lay  down  this  string  of  wampum  in 
return  for  yours." 

The  Delawares  were  given  no  opportunity  to  defend 
themselves.  Indeed,  as  soon  as  Canassatego  had  finished 
the  above  address  to  the  Governor,  he  turned  to  the  Dela- 
wares, and,  taking  a  belt  of  wampum  in  his  hand,  spoke  as 
follows : 

"  Cousins:  Let  this  belt  of  wampum  serve  to  chastise 
you;  you  ought  to  be  taken  by  the  hair  of  the  head  and 
shaken  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 


28  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

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  liv- 
ing 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  cloths  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  our  Six  Nations  observe  in  their  sales 
of  land.  On  such  occasions  they  give  public  notice  and 
invite  all  the  Indians  of  their  united  nations,  and  give  them 
a  share  of  the  present  they  receive  for  their  lands.  This 
is  the  behavior  of  the  wise  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  reports  about  our  brethren.  *  *  * 
And  for  all  these  reasons  we  charge  you  to  remove  in- 
stantly, we  don't  give  you  liberty  to  think  about  it.  You 
are  women,  take  the  advice  of  a  wise  man  and  remove  im- 
mediately. You  may  return  to  the  other  side  of  the  Dela- 
ware, where  you  came  from,  but  we  don't  know  whether, 


The  Powder  in  the  Mine. 


29 


considering  how  you  have  demeaned  yourselves,  you  will 
be  permitted  to  live  there,  or  whether  you  have  not  swal- 
lowed that  land  down  your  throats,  as  well  as  the  land  on 
this  side.  We,  therefore,  assign  you  two  places  to  go, — 
either  to  Wyomin  or  Shamokin.  You  may  go  to  either  of 
these  places,  and  then  we  shall  have  you  under  our  eye, 
and  shall  see  how  you  behave.  Don't  deliberate,  but  re- 
move away  and  take  this  belt  of  wampum." 

Conrad  Weiser  interpreted  this  into  English,  and  Cor- 
nelius Spring  turned  the  English  into  the  Delaware  tongue. 
While  this  rebuke  was  still  smarting  on  the  ears  of  the 
Delawares,  Canassatego  taking  up  another  belt  of  wam- 
pum said  to  them : 

"  This  serves  to  forbid  you,  your  children  and  grand- 
children, to  the  latest  posterity,  forever  meddling  in  land 
affairs,  neither  you  nor  any  who  shall  descend  from  you 
are  ever  after  to  presume  to  sell  any  land,  for  which  pur- 
pose you  are  to  preserve  this  string  in  your  memory  of 
what  your  uncles  have  this  day  given  you  in  charge.  We 
have  some  other  business  to  transact  with  our  brethren 
and  therefore  depart  the  Council  and  consider  what  has 
been  said  to  you." 

The  Delawares  sullenly  withdrew  to  brood  over  their 
insult. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent. 
Conrad  Weiser. 


<5' 


OD,  before  whose  eyes 
the  future  lays  as  an 
open  book,  and  whose  plans 
for  the  welfare  of  man  are 
mapped  out  years  in  ad- 
vance, had  set  apart,  from 
the  beginning,  the  continent 
of  America  to  be  a  land  of 
freedom,  where  every  one 
could  worship  him  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience,  and  where  each 
might  dwell  in  his  own  home,  surrounded  by  his  family, 
unmolested  and  in  p^ace.  To  rule  and  govern  such  a  coun- 
try the  Indian,  its  original  discoverer,  was  unfit;  no  more 
fit,  because  the  time  was  not  ripe  for  it,  was  the  Norseman 
who  wandered  to  its  shores  in  the  year  iooo.  But,  when 
the  printing  press  was  beginning  to  spread  knowledge  over 
the  world,  Christopher  Columbus  was  permitted  to  redis- 
cover America,  and  settlement,  of  a  lasting  character,  began. 

(30) 


Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent.  31 

To  the  Spaniard  was  given  the  first  opportunity  to  prove 
his  fitness  for  the  great  work  which  lay  before  him,  but, 
with  his  greed  for  gold,  his  cruel  Inquisition,  and  unmerci- 
ful nature,  he  was  speedily  found  wanting.  There  re- 
mained only,  at  the  period  of  which  we  write,  the  two 
great  rival  nations  of  England  and  France  facing  each 
other,  the  former  with  its  colonies  stretched  along  the 
middle  Atlantic  Coast,  the  latter  occupying  Canada  on  the 
North,  Louisiana  on  the  South,  and  the  Mississippi  River 
in  between.  It  was  a  great  prize  for  which  they  were 
contending  and  France  was  resolved  to  gain  it.  A  series 
of  forts  was  already  in  progress  to  form  the  links  of  a 
binding  chain  which  might  encompass  the  English,  and 
from  which,  as  a  support,  its  forces  might  advance  and 
overwhelm  the  enemy.  Both  sides  saw  the  advantage  to 
be  accrued  and  both  knew  the  dangers  and  difficulties  to 
be  encountered.  With  such  a  vast  extent  of  territory  be- 
fore them,  and  but  a  limited  number  of  troops  at  com- 
mand, the  cooperation  of  the  Indian  became  a  necessity 
and  to  gain  this  every  nerve  was  strained  by  each. 

Above  all  others  the  agent  selected  by  Providence  to 
bring  to  a  happy  conclusion  the  plans  so  wisely  ordained, 
was  Conrad  Weiser,  the  German  Palatine,  a  man  who  has 
done  more  for  the  welfare  of  the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania than  any  other  one,  and  has  received  less  credit  for 
it;  who,  had  he  been  of  English  blood,  would,  long  since, 
have  had  grand  monuments  and  lasting  tablets  reared  to 
his  memory,  but  who  is  just  beginning  to  become  known  to 
the  general  public,  and  whose  monument  is  but  an  humble 
slab  in  an  orchard  of  his  old  homestead. 

Conrad  Weiser,  as  familiarly  known,  but  whose  full 
name  was  John  Conrad  Weiser,  born  November  2,  1696, 
died  July  13,  1760,  was  the  son  of  John  Conrad  Weiser 


32  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

(1660-1746)  and  Anna  Magdalena  Uebele  ( 1666- 
1709).  For  generations  the  family  resided  at  Gross- 
Aspach,  County  of  Backnang,  Duchy  of  Wurtemberg, 
Germany,  where  father  and  son,  of  his  ancestors,  held  the 
honorable  office  of  "  Schuldheisz,"  or  chief  magistrate. 
That  it  was  a  family  of  note  and  standing  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  they  bore  the  following  escutcheon:  "  Per 
fesse,  gules  and  argent,  in  chief  a  swan  of  the  second,  in 
base  three  roses  of  the  first  stalked  and  leaved  vert,"  and, 
for  a  crest,  "  A  swan  as  in  the  arms."  Properly  inter- 
preted it  means  a  shield,  the  upper  half  of  which  was  red, 
the  lower  half  silver;  in  the  upper  half  a  silver  swan,  in 
the  lower  half  three  red  roses  with  green  leaves  and  stalks. 

As  with  many  other  families  of  good  standing  the  reli- 
gious wars  of  Germany  bore  heavily  upon  them.  In 
1693,  the  town  in  which  resided  John  Conrad  Weiser,  Sr., 
with  the  rest  of  the  Palatinate,  was  cruelly  devastated  by 
the  French.  These  aggressions  were  followed  by  pestilence 
and  famine;  then  came  the  terrible  winter  of  1708-09, 
when  birds  perished  on  the  wing,  beasts  in  their  lairs,  and 
mortals  fell  dead  in  the  way.  The  spring  of  1709  found 
30,000  Germans,  who  had  abandoned  their  native  land, 
washed,  like  a  mighty  wave,  along  the  shores  of  England. 

Of  these  was  Weiser,  who,  on  June  24,  1709,  with 
eight  children  (Margaret,  Magdalena,  Sabina,  Conrad, 
George  Frederick,  Christopher  Frederick,  Barbara  and 
John  Frederick),  his  wife  having  but  recently  died  on 
May  1,  1709,  left  Gross-Aspach,  although  then  in  middle 
life.  His  eldest  daughter,  Catharine,  remained  behind 
with  her  husband,  Conrad  Boss,  with  whom  she  had  two 
children. 

As  a  man  of  means  and  honorable  position  it  was  but 
natural  that  he  should  become  a  leader  of  his  people,  and 


Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent.  33 

take  charge  of  the  4,000  emigrants  who  left  for  New 
York  Province  at  the  invitation  of  the  Mohawk  chiefs, 
then  in  the  Indian  embassy  present  at  London. 

The  hardships  of  that  voyage,  and  the  experiences  of  the 
hapless  Germans  in  New  York,  have  already  been  ably 
told  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jacobs  in  a  previous  paper  of  this 
series. 

In  the  midst  of  their  tribulations  at  Livingstone  Manor, 
about  the  close  of  November,  17 13,  Quagnant,  or  Gui- 
nant,  a  chief  of  the  Maquas,  or  Six  Nations,  and  a  friend 
of  Weiser,  whom  he  had  learned  to  know  favorably  dur- 
ing a  visit  to  Albany  on  his  mission  of  negotiation  for 
Schoharie  Valley,  paid  him  a  visit.  Manifesting  a  fondness 
for  the  lad,  Conrad,  he  requested  permission  to  take  him 
to  his  own  people,  to  which  the  father  consented,  knowing 
him  to  be  trustworthy.  Here,  Conrad  says,  he  suffered 
much  from  the  cold  in  the  winter,  and  still  more  from  lack 
of  food  in  the  following  spring,  because  of  the  scarcity 
of  provisions  among  the  Indians.  He  was  frequently 
obliged  to  secrete  himself  for  fear  of  being  murdered 
while  they  were  intoxicated.  He  remained  with  them 
eight  months  during  which  time  he  became  familar  with 
their  language  and  habits. 

In  1720  came  his  marriage  to  Anna  Eve,  a  German 
Christian  and  not  an  Indian  as  some  suppose,  whose  last 
name,  unfortunately,  is  not  known.  The  writer  has  in  his 
possession  what  was  a  handsome  inlaid  box,  her  property, 
which  she  brought  with  her  from  the  Fatherland.  She 
was  born  January  25,  1700  and  died  December  27,  1778, 
and  lies  beside  her  husband,  at  the  Tulpehocken  home- 
stead. Her  tombstone,  being  of  rough-hewn  sand  stone, 
in  time  the  lettering  became  indistinct,  when  an  effort  was 
made  to  recut  the  figures.  In  doing  so  unfortunate  errors 
7 


34  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

were  made  which  will  account  for  printed  discrepancies 
from  dates  above  given. 

In  172 1  Conrad  was  already  taking  a  conspicuous  place 
in  Provincial  affairs  and  "  was  sent  with  a  petition  to  the 
newly  arrived  Governor  Burnet."  For  some  ten  years 
he  stood  between  the  Indians  and  English,  as  well  as  the 
English  and  Germans,  in  all  matters  of  dispute,  until,  in 
1729,  he  left  New  York,  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  settled 
at  Tulpehocken  where  he  built  the  substantial  stone  house 
still  standing,  about  one-half  mile  east  of  Womelsdorf,  Pa. 

It  was  not  intended,  by  Providence,  that  he  should  rest 
here  idly  and  merely  vegetate.  In  173 1  his  friend,  the 
Indian  chief  Shikellimy,  found  him  at  Tulpehocken  and 
prevailed  on  him  to  accompany  him  to  Philadelphia,  where 
Governor  Gordon  quickly  learned  to  know  and  appreciate 
him.  From  the  year  1732,  when  Washington  was  born, 
Conrad  Weiser  was  the  officially  recognized  Interpreter  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  head  of  its  Indian  Bureau,  so  remain- 
ing until  his  death.  He  was  constantly  and  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Many  important 
treaties  were  arranged  and  ratified  by  him,  and,  through 
his  wise  and  philanthropic  policy,  many  bloody  outbreaks 
were  prevented.  His  entire  record  has  ever  been  above 
taint  and  suspicion. 

His  grave  was  visited,  at  various  times,  by  Indians  who 
always  respected  his  memory,  and  many  pilgrimages  have 
been  made  to  it  by  those,  who,  in  after  years,  reaped  the 
fruit  of  his  labors  and  learned  to  appreciate  his  work,  but, 
of  all  these,  the  most  noteworthy,  was  that  of  President 
George  Washington  on  the  morning  of  November    14, 

*793- 

In  the  year  1741  he  was  commissioned  as  a  Justice  of 

the  Peace  for  Lancaster  County,  continuing  in  service  for 


Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent.  35 

many  years,  and,  after  the  erection  of  Berks  County, 
1752,  filling  it  within  that  territory  also.  He  was  the 
first  judge  of  the  Courts  of  Berks  County,  and  president 
judge  from  1752  till  his  death  in  1760. 

On  October  31,  1755  he  was  commissioned  a  Lieut. 
Colonel  by  Governor  Morris,  and  placed  in  command  of 
the  frontier  between  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware 
rivers.  Forts  were  erected  and  garrisoned  by  his  troops, 
the  First  Battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment;  blood- 
shed was  a  thing  of  daily  occurrence;  details  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  people  were  constantly  necessary;  the  sup^ 
plies  of  his  troops  and  his  large  correspondence  must  re- 
ceive untiring  attention ;  more  treaties  were  to  be  arranged, 
and  all  was  done  as  he  only  could  have  done  it;  but,  with 
his  advanced  years,  the  strain  became  too  great,  and,  after 
peace  had  once  more  been  an  accomplished  fact  and  his 
duty  performed,  the  unassuming,  but  none  the  less  great, 
hero  and  patriot  went  to  his  eternal  rest  and  reward  on 
July  13,  1760. 

As  has  already  been  said,  the  necessity  for  an  Indian 
alliance  was  so  apparent,  if  success  were  desired  in  the 
coming  strife,  that  both  English  and  French  spared  no 
efforts  to  that  end.  The  latter  had  already  practically 
secured  the  aid  of  the  Shawanese,  while  the  former, 
through  Colonel  Johnson,  of  New  York,  had  gained  the 
Mohawk  tribe  of  the  Six  Nations,  whose  influence,  how- 
ever, stopped  there.  The  Delawares  on  the  one  hand, 
with  the  Cayugas,  Onondagoes,  Oneidas,  and  remaining 
tribes  of  the  Iroquois  on  the  other  hand,  were  still  waver- 
ing. Deadly  enemies  as  they  were  it  was  impossible  to 
make  friends  of  both;  one  of  the  two  must  be  an  ally  with 
the  certainty  that  the  other  would  become  an  enemy. 
How  should  the  choice  be  made  and  who  was  wise  enough 


36  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  make  it.  There  was  but  one  living  man  who  not  only 
had  the  ability  to  choose,  but  who  had,  in  addition,  the 
power  to  accomplish  desired  results  from  the  choice. 
That  man  was  Conrad  Weiser.  Friend  to  all,  respected 
and  trusted  alike  by  all,  on  his  word  and  decision  hung  the 
destiny  of  a  great  continent.  Under  Providence,  he 
choose  well.  He  knew  the  weakness  of  the  Delawares,  a 
conquered  nation ;  he  knew  the  strength  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions. His  prophetic  eye  looked  into  the  future  and  saw 
there  not  a  mere  Indian  war  but  a  great  struggle  between 
two  great  nations;  he  knew  this  struggle  must  take  place, 
mainly,  in  the  territory  commanded  by  the  Iroquois,  and, 
without  their  assistance,  must  fail  in  favorable  result  to 
the  English.  He  was  not  blind  to  the  fact  that  an  alli- 
ance with  the  Six  Nations  meant,  without  a  shadow  of 
doubt,  the  hostility  of  the  Delawares,  the  deluging  of  his 
own  fair  Pennsylvania  in  blood,  and  the  death  and  de- 
struction, above  all  others,  of  those  who  were  his  own  kith 
and  kin.  But  he  also  knew  that  an  empire  was  at  stake, 
and,  in  full  consciousness  of  the  duty  which  lay  before  him, 
he  closed  his  eyes  to  the  dark  vision  pictured  before  them, 
and  cast  in  his  lot,  as  well  as  that  of  his  adopted  country, 
with  the  Iroquois. 

The  choice  made  there  remained  to  him  the  necessity 
for  consummating  its  spirit.  Naturally  this  only  could  be 
done  by  the  performance  of  some  act  of  favor,  and,  for- 
tunately, the  opportunity  lay  before  him  to  do  so.  It  has 
been  told  how,  in  171 1,  the  Tuscarora  nation,  then  located 
south  of  the  Ohio  River  and  west  of  the  Allegheny  Moun- 
tains, entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  several  neighboring 
tribes  to  fall  upon  the  Carolina  settlers.  The  white  men 
immediately  availed  themselves  of  the  ancient  feud  be- 
tween the  Northern  and  Southern  Indians,  and  formed  an 


Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent.  37 

alliance  with  the  Catawba  and  other  Muskokee  Indians. 
After  severe  fighting,  fifty  Carolinians  and  one  thousand 
Indians  drove  the  Tuscaroras  out  of  their  hunting 
grounds.  The  broken  remnant  of  this  once  famous  na- 
tion retired  to  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  becoming  the 
Sixth  Nation  of  the  great  Iroquois  Confederacy.  From 
that  hour  the  Iroquois  hatred  of  the  Catawba  Indians  be- 
came intense.  Scarcely  a  season  passed  but  several  roving 
bands  of  painted  warriors  followed  the  mountain  valleys 
toward  the  South  to  satiate  their  revenge  with  Southern 
scalps.  As  the  Virginia  settlements  began  to  encroach 
upon  the  Iroquois  war  trails  these  bands  of  Northern 
warriors  annoyed  the  settlers  by  picking  up  a  living  as  they 
passed.  The  Virginians  would  not  submit  to  this  and 
passed  their  famous  ranger  law,  which  provided  for  a 
body  of  rangers  who  were  authorized  to  arrest  all  armed 
bands  of  roving  Indians,  and  take  them  before  the  nearest 
magistrate  for  further  examination,  and,  until  said  In- 
dians could  give  a  satisfactory  account  of  themselves,  they 
were  to  be  lodged  in  the  county  jail.  This  law  further 
provided  that,  if  any  Indians  resisted  or  ran  away,  it  would 
be  entirely  legal  for  the  officers  to  kill  them.  The  effect 
of  such  legislation,  so  different  from  the  pacific  govern- 
ment of  Pennsylvania,  was  to  plunge  Virginia  into  endless 
trouble  with  the  Iroquois.  They  were  extremely  careful 
of  their  behavior  while  passing  through  Pennsylvania,  but, 
when  they  reached  Virginia,  took  every  opportunity  to 
annoy  the  settlers.  This  friction,  in  time,  reached  an 
acute  stage,  bordering  constantly  on  hostilities,  and  ever 
tending  to  drive  the  Iroquois  into  the  arms  of  the  French, 
who  were  but  too  ready  to  embrace  them. 

Beyond  this,  when  the  Delawares  had  been  turned  out 
of  the  house  by  Canassatego  in  1742,  the  shrewd  Iroquois 


38  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

turned  their  attention  to  more  important  business.  They 
claimed  that  both  Maryland  and  Virginia  were  settling  on 
land  owned  by  the  Six  Nations,  land  that  had  never  been 
sold  to  the  white  man.  They  then  asked  that  the  Gover- 
nor of  Pennsylvania  should  intercede  and  demand  pay- 
ment for  damages.  Turning  to  him  they  said:  "That 
country  belongs  to  us  by  right  of  conquest.  We  have 
bought  it  with  our  blood,  and  taken  it  from  our  enemies 
in  fair  war;  and  we  expect  as  owners  of  that  land  to  re- 
ceive such  a  consideration  for  it  as  the  land  is  worth.  We 
desire  you  will  press  him  to  send  us  a  positive  answer;  let 
him  (Governors  of  Virginia  and  Maryland)  say  yes  or 
no;  if  he  says  yes,  we  will  treat  with  him,  if  no,  we  are 
able  to  do  ourselves  justice,  and  we  will  do  it  by  going  to 
take  payment  on  ourselves."  This  was  virtually  a  decla- 
ration of  war  unless  terms  of  their  own  making  were 
complied  with  at  once  by  Virginia  and  Maryland.  To 
meet  their  views  was  no  easy  matter,  but  if  their  views 
were  met,  and  peace  could  be  made  between  them  and  the 
two  southern  states,  the  great  Six  Nations  were  gained  for 
England  and  lost  to  France.  Weiser  knew  this,  and  he 
who  alone  could  solve  the  problem  started  out  to  do  so. 
In  January,  1743,  with  Thomas  McKee,  he  started 
through  the  snow  for  Shamokin,  where,  at  Shikellimy's 
house,  after  a  generous  distribution  of  match-coats,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  the  Indians  to  consent  that  a  delegation, 
with  Shikellimy  at  their  head,  be  sent  at  once  to  Onondago 
to  persuade  the  Six  Nations  to  take  measures  to  meet  the 
Governors  of  Virginia  and  Maryland.  Upon  a  second 
visit  to  Shamokin  he  learned  that  the  deputies  had  re- 
turned and  expressed  the  willingness  of  their  people  to 
have  a  conference.  To  arrange  for  this,  once  more 
Weiser  departed,  this  time  to  Onondago,  where  it  was  de- 


Shaping  the  Destiny  of  a  Continent. 


39 


cided  to  have  a  meeting  in  Lancaster  of  all  parties  at 
issue. 

The  great  treaty  at  Lancaster  was  held  in  1744.  Here 
all  the  vast  knowledge  and  experience  of  Weiser  was 
brought  into  requisition,  and  was  indeed  needed.  After 
the  usual  talks,  and  feasting,  presents  were  distributed  at 
the  right  moment,  and,  finally,  the  desired  and  happy  con- 
clusion reached.  The  Six  Nations  were  placated  and 
won;  the  Delawares  were  thrown  over  and  lost.  Truly 
the  fuse  to  the  powder  was  laid,  the  explosion  now  but 
waited  the  spark  from  the  torch. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Bulwark  of  the  Province. 

ME  have  said  that 
the  selection  of 
Conrad  Weiser,  for  the 
work  before  him,  was 
providential. 

Equally  so  was  the  se- 
lection of  the  men  who 
were  to  be  the  bulwark 
of  the  Province  from 
1755101763.  Had  they 
failed  in  their  duty,  and 
allowed  the  savage  to  pass 
their  boundary,  the  progress  of  civilization  and  develop- 
ment in  Pennsylvania  would  have  been  delayed  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  the  Revolutionary  War  might  never  have  oc- 
curred, and  the  independence  of  the  American  Colonies 
never  accomplished.  Failure  was  impossible.  To  make 
it  impossible  the  oversight  of  Providence  was  necessary. 
It  was  a  work  which  demanded  a  virile  people,  and,  in  the 
light  of  the  present,  illuminating  so  clearly  the  past,  and, 
even  now,  pointing  to  the  fact  that  the  destinies  of  the  en- 

(40) 


The  Bulwark  of  the  Province.  41 

tire  world  are  gradually  being  shaped  by  those  who  are  of 
ancient  Teutonic  blood,  of  whom  the  Anglo-Saxon  race 
form  but  a  part,  important  though  it  be,  is  it  to  be  won- 
dered that  God  chose  the  people  of  the  German  Rhine  to 
defeat  the  savage  onslaught  of  barbarism  in  Pennsylvania 
at  the  time  of  the  French  and  Indian  War?  And  it  was  a 
good  choice.  None  were  better  fitted.  Descendants  of 
generations  of  warriors,  whose  fighting  blood  filled  their 
veins,  they,  themselves,  were  veterans  who  had  just  passed 
through  the  ordeal  of  war  with  France;  weary  of  battle 
and  bloodshed,  their  homes  destroyed,  their  friends  and 
loved  ones  murdered  or  dead,  they  turned  their  faces  to 
America  to  find  a  home  where  they  might  live  in  peace  and 
for  which  their  domestic  natures  longingly  sought;  they 
did  not  come  either  for  gold  or  adventure;  with  conserva- 
tive characteristics,  or,  if  you  please,  stubborn  and  obsti- 
nate, they  were  resolved  that  when  this  home  was  found 
neither  poverty  nor  hardship,  the  power  of  the  king  him- 
self nor  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  of  the  savage, 
should  drive  them  from  it,  and  where  they  first  planted 
their  feet  there  they  still  remain;  they  were  not  traders, 
to  cheat  and  defraud,  but  peaceful  farmers  against  whom 
the  red  men  had  no  wrongs  to  lay;  they,  too,  in  many  in- 
stances fled  from  religious  persecution,  but  they  never 
brought  with  them  the  bigotry  from  which  they  themselves 
escaped;  they  were  content  to  erect  their  churches,  place 
beside  them  their  school  houses,  and,  having  thus  cared 
for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  themselves  and  their  children, 
were  willing  that  their  neighbors  should  enjoy,  unmo- 
lested, the  same  privileges. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  give  an  extended 
account,  or  any  account,  of  the  German  immigration  into 
this  province.     That  has  already  been  done  most  ably. 


42 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


To  prove,  however,  how  thoroughly  well  fitted  these  peo- 
ple were  for  the  work  before  them,  we  should  be  reminded 
that  many  of  those,  on  whom  the  brunt  of  the  struggle 
fell,  were  the  men  who  came  from  New  York  Province 
and  settled  in  the  Tulpehocken  Region.  Recall,  for  a  mo- 
ment, their  sufferings  in  London  and  on  the  ocean,  their 
terrible  disappointment  in  their  bondage  at  Livingstone 
Manor,  their  subsequent  flight  to  the  wilderness  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  we  can  understand  what  was  their  frame  of 


mind  when,  at  last,  they  had  found  the  homes  they  wanted. 
The  time  came  when  the  government  of  the  Province 
would  fain  have  dislodged  them,  but  did  not  dare  to  do  it, 
and  when  the  Indian  tried  it  he  realized  his  error.  What 
did  they  owe  to  England?  In  one  sense  nothing,  and  yet 
they  became  her  adopted  children,  and  were  loyal  to  her, 
because  they  loved  their  homes.  So,  too,  were  they  most 
loyal  in  the  Revolution,  and  have  been  ever  loyal  since. 
They  fought  for  both  home  and  country. 

Then  there  were  those  who  came  to  the  frontier  by  way 


The  Bulwark  of  the  Province.  43 

of  Philadelphia,  as  a  port  of  entry.  Many  of  these  had 
their  own  individual  and  peculiar  religious  beliefs,  because 
of  which  they  were  constantly  persecuted  in  the  land  of 
their  birth.  Once  in  America,  they  sought  the  quiet  to  be 
found  only  on  the  outer  edge  of  settlement.  Having,  for 
the  first  time,  found  a  place  where  they  might  worship 
God,  unmolested  and  in  their  own  way,  they  did  not  pro- 
pose to  be  driven  away  by  even  the  savage,  though  he  were 
daubed  from  head  to  foot  with  war  paint. 

The  history  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  in  the  more 
settled  part  of  eastern  Pennsylvania,  is  practically  the  his- 
tory of  the  early  German  settlers  in  Pennsylvania.  They 
did  not  do  all  the  fighting,  but  they  did  most  of  it;  of  the 
homes  destroyed  theirs  were  by  far  the  greater  number; 
other  lives  were  lost,  and  others  carried  away  into  cap- 
tivity, but  not  many.  The  strange  anomaly  of  the  whole 
record  lies  in  the  fact,  which  has  already  been  stated,  that, 
of  all  people,  they  alone  always  treated  the  red  man  with 
unfailing  justice.  They  did  far  more  than  that.  Where 
others  went  to  him  with  a  musket  in  one  hand,  and  a  bottle 
of  rum  in  the  other,  they  took  the  Bible. 

Among  the  many  different  settlers  were  the  so-called 
Moravians.  In  the  ninth  century  a  sister  of  the  King  of 
Bulgaria  being  carried  a  prisoner  to  Constantinople,  be- 
came a  Christian,  and  through  her  means,  on  her  return  to 
her  native  land,  a  Christian  church  was  established  in  her 
country,  of  which  the  King  of  Moravia  and  the  Duke  of 
Bohemia  were  members.  A  part  of  these  churches  were 
afterwards  forced  into  the  Roman  Church,  but  a  select 
few  still  refused  to  bow  the  knee  to  Rome.  This  little 
remnant,  adhering  to  the  pure  and  simple  doctrines  of  the 
primitive  church,  suffered  a  variety  of  persecutions  for 
several  centuries,  and  at  last  were  permitted  to  live  in  a 


44  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

wasted  province  on  the  borders  of  Moravia.  Here  they 
established  a  church  in  1457,  on  what  they  deemed  "  the 
Rule  and  Law  of  Christ,"  calling  themselves  at  first  Fra- 
tres  legis  Christi,  Brethren  of  the  Law  of  Christ,  and, 
finally,  Unitas  Fratrum,  or  United  Brethren.  They  were 
a  regular,  sound  and  evangelical  church  a  century  before 
the  reformation  of  Luther,  and  were  in  intimate  com- 
munion with  the  Waldenses,  who  had  been  preserved  un- 
corrupted  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  was  not  the  founder  of  the  Moravian  church,  but 
merely  the  protector  of  its  members,  when  driven  from 
their  native  land.  They  were  allowed  to  settle  in  his 
village  of  Bethelsdorf.  He  assisted  them  to  reorganize 
their  church,  and,  after  fruitless  attempts  to  induce  them 
to  join  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  became  himself  one  of 
them,  and  their  leader  and  guardian,  especially  in  tem- 
poral matters.  When  in  1743  the  Elector  of  Saxony  ex- 
pelled the  United  Brethren,  and  the  followers  of  Schwenk- 
feld,  from  his  dominions,  such  of  them  as  resided  in  the 
Count's  village  of  Bethelsdorf  (in  upper  Lusatia)  since 
1725,  resolved  to  go  to  Georgia,  and  the  Count  under- 
took to  procure  a  free  passage  for  them  from  the  trustees 
of  the  Georgia  colony  residing  in  London.  They  estab- 
lished missions  in  Georgia,  but,  refusing  to  take  up  arms 
in  defense  of  the  colony,  were  obliged  to  leave,  and  sought 
an  asylum  in  the  peaceful  domain  of  William  Penn,  about 
the  years  1739  and  1740.  Rev.  George  Whitfield,  who 
had  labored  in  conjunction  with  them  in  Georgia,  had  be- 
gun the  erection  of  a  large  building  in  the  "  Forks  of  the 
Delaware  "  as  a  school  for  negro  children,  to  which  was 
given  the  name  of  Nazareth.  At  his  request  the  brethren 
undertook  to  finish  the  building,  though  attended  with 
great  danger,  as  the  Indians  refused  to  quit  the  country 


The  Bulwark  of  the  Province. 


45 


^•s 


46  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  threatened  to  murder  them;  they  were  compelled  to 
leave  it  in  1740. 

Bishop  Nischman,  arriving  in  1740,  with  a  company  of 
brethren  and  sisters,  from  Europe,  they  made  purchase  of 
the  present  site  of  Bethlehem.  It  was  then  wild  and 
woody,  at  a  distance  of  eighty  miles  from  the  nearest 
town,  and  only  two  European  houses  stood  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, about  two  miles  up  the  river.  No  other  dwell- 
ings were  to  be  seen  in  the  whole  country,  except  the  scat- 
tering huts  of  the  Indians.  Rev.  Chr.  Henry  Rauch 
assisted  Bishop  Nischman  in  his  labors. 

Some  time  after,  the  Brethren  purchased  "  the  Manor 
of  Nazareth  "  from  Mr.  Whitfield,  finished  the  house, 
and  "  Nazareth  became  by  degrees  a  very  pleasant  settle- 
ment." The  Indians  were  reconciled,  and  permission  was 
obtained  from  the  Six  Nations  for  the  establishment  of  the 
mission. 

The  Moravian  Church  has  ever  been  a  missionary 
church.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1741,  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf  arrived  in  America,  and  in  the  ensuing  summer  of 
1742  visited  Bethlehem.  While  here  he  made  a  mis- 
sionary tour  among  the  villages  of  the  red  men  in  the 
neighborhood,  accompanied  by  his  daughter  Benigna,  and 
several  brethren  and  sisters.  His  tour  was  extended  to 
Tulpehocken,  the  residence  of  Conrad  Weiser,  and  to  the 
Shawanese  and  Delawares  of  Wyoming  and  Shamokin. 
He  returned  to  Europe  in  1743.  It  should  be  said  at  this 
time,  that  Conrad  Weiser  rendered  most  valuable  assist- 
ance in  the  mission  efforts  put  forth  by  the  Brethren.  He 
accompanied  them  on  various  trips,  induced  the  Indians  to 
receive  them  favorably,  did  much  toward  teaching  them 
the  language  and  customs  of  the  aborigine,  and  used  his 
influence  with  the  Government  to  protect  them  on  several 
critical  occasions. 


The  Bulwark  of  the  Province.  47 

Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  continued  to  prosper.  The 
former  became  a  central  and  controlling  station  from 
which  the  Brethren  took  their  instructions  from  the  elders, 
on  their  departure,  from  time  to  time,  for  the  different 
outposts  of  the  mission.  Here  many  believing  Indians 
were  baptized,  and  some  lie  buried.  In  1746  it  was  the 
refuge  of  the  persecuted  Indians  from  Shekomeko,  an  In- 
dian village  bordering  on  Connecticut,  near  the  Stissik 
mountain,  among  whom  the  pious  Christian,  Henry 
Rauch,  had  labored  with  much  success.  This  small 
colony,  settled  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Bethlehem,  was 
called  Frieden-Huetten,  or  Huts  of  Peace.  Subsequently 
they  were  removed  to  the  present  locality  of  Lehighton, 
in  Carbon  County,  and  the  mission  called  Gnaden-Huetten, 
or  Huts  of  Grace.  In  1746  this  had  become  a  very  regu- 
lar and  pleasant  town.  The  church  stood  in  the  valley, 
on  one  side  the  Indian  houses  formed  a  crescent,  upon  a 
rising  ground,  and,  on  the  other  stood  the  house  of  the 
missionaries  and  the  burying  ground.  Indians,  from  dif- 
ferent tribes  were  added  to  the  number  as  fast  as  they  were 
gained  over.  The  missionaries  tilled  their  own  grounds, 
and  every  Indian  family  their  plantation. 

This  land  on  the  Mahoning  being  impoverished,  and 
other  circumstances  requiring  a  change,  the  inhabitants  of 
Gnaden-Huetten  removed  to  the  north  side  of  the  Lehigh. 
The  dwellings  were  removed,  and  a  new  chapel  was  built, 
in  June  1754.  The  place  was  called  New  Gnaden-Huet- 
ten. It  stood  where  Weissport  now  is.  The  dwellings 
were  so  placed  that  the  Mohicans  lived  on  one,  and  the 
Delawares  on  the  other  side  of  the  street.  The  Brethren 
at  Bethlehem  took  the  culture  of  the  old  land  on  the 
Mahoning  upon  themselves,  made  a  plantation  of  it  for 
the  use  of  the  Indian  congregation,  and  converted  the  old 


48  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

chapel  into  a  dwelling,  both  for  the  use  of  those  brethren 
and  sisters  who  had  the  care  of  the  plantations,  and  for 
the  missionaries  passing  on  their  visits  to  the  heathen. 

The  labors  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  extended 
from  the  upper  Lehigh  to  the  Susquehanna,  and,  even- 
tually, to  the  distant  wilds  of  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio 
rivers.  In  this  self-denying  work  were  engaged  Rauch, 
Buettner,  Senseman,  Mack,  Christian  Frederick  Post, 
Heckewelder,  Zeisberger,  Bishop  Nischman,  Bishop  Cam- 
merhoff,  Bishop  Spangenberg,  and  others.  So  frequent 
were  the  visits  of  the  missionaries  and  Christian  Indians  to 
the  Susquehanna,  that  a  beaten  path  was  worn  across  the 
Nescopeck  Mountains  between  Gnaden-Huetten  and 
Wyoming. 

With  the  sole  purpose  of  leading  the  heathen  to  their 
Saviour,  the  godly  men  engaged  in  this  work  little  realized 
how  much  trouble  and  sorrow  their  labors  were  to  bring, 
not  only  upon  themselves  but  upon  their  converts  as  well. 


CHAPTER  V. 


A  Brief  Digression. 


%■ 


HE  writer  cannot  re- 
frain from  digressing, 
at  this  point,  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, to  refer  to  the  oppro- 
brious epithets  which  have 
been,  and  even  yet  continue 
to  be  heaped  upon  the  head 
of  the  Pennsylvania-Ger- 
man, merely  because  his 
tongue,  in  some  cases,  has 
failed  to  pronounce  an  alien 
language  to  suit  the  ideas 
of  his  English  brother,  who, 
not  infrequently,  limps  in  speaking  his  own  mother  tongue, 
and  is  often  entirely  ignorant  of  any  other. 

Fortunately,  we  are  rapidly  approaching  the  day  when 
the  great  and  loyal  services,  which  the  early  German  set- 
tler in  Pennsylvania  rendered  his  adopted  country,  are 
beginning  to  be  appreciated  in  their  true  light.  As  his 
heretofore  hidden  deeds  and  worth  are  continually  brought 
to  the  surface  it  cannot  be  otherwise. 
8  (49) 


5°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Just  prior  to  the  French  and  Indian  war  this  feeling  of 
hostility  to  the  German  element  of  the  Province  became 
more  especially  apparent.  It  was  partly  due  to  the  un- 
reasoning alarm  which  filled  every  one,  an  alarm  which, 
after  all,  was  indeed  justified  because  the  English  ruling 
element,  Quaker  and  otherwise,  were  but  too  well  aware 
of  their  neglect  in  providing  the  necessary  means  of  de- 
fence for  the  very  people  whom  they  maligned,  and  whose 
petitions  for  aid  were  even  then  ringing  in  their  ears. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  October  19, 
I754>  by  tne  Rev.  William  Smith  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  furnished  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Julius 
F.  Sachse,  well  illustrates  what  has  been  said: 

"  As  the  French  are  daily  encroaching  behind  us,  and 
taking  possession  of  the  vast  fruitful  country  upon  the 
Ohio,  they  will  be  able  to  offer  our  Germans  easy  settle- 
ments, which  these  last  will  accept  of,  as  they  are  ignorant 
people  that  know  no  difference  between  French  and  Eng- 
lish government,  being  wanton  with  liberty,  uninstructed 
in  the  use  of  it,  and  placing  all  happiness  in  possessing  a 
large  piece  of  land.  *  *  *  The  Indians  are  all  going  over 
to  the  French  in  these  parts,  because  the  latter,  having 
possession  by  means  of  their  forts,  can  protect  them ;  and 
whenever  they  come  a  little  nearer,  the  Germans  will  sub- 
mit and  go  over  also  for  protection,  caring  for  nothing 
but  to  keep  possession  of  the  estates  they  have  settled." 

Here  is  a  letter  written  by  an  educated  and  generally 
respected  man,  who  made  it  a  point  to  pose  as  the  friend 
of  the  Germans,  who  hob-nobbed  with  both  Weiser  and 
Muhlenberg  to  gain  their  favor,  and  yet  who  entirely 
failed  to  understand  the  people  of  whom  he  wrote  or  else 
did  not  hesitate  to  act  towards  them  with  duplicity.  Is  it 
to  be  wondered  that  Sauer  was  opposed  to  Smith  and  his 


A  Brief  Digression.  51 

educational  plans  concerning  the  Germans?  May  be  not 
have  been  justified  in  his  hostility?  In  the  present  light 
of  history,  showing  us  the  sufferings  of  the  Germans  dur- 
ing the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  their  unswerving 
loyalty  to  a  power  which  was  not  always  as  loyal  to  them, 
how  unjust  the  criticism  of  Dr.  Smith  which  we  have  just 
read.  So,  forsooth,  their  only  aim  was  to  acquire  lands, 
on  which  we  know  they  desired  to  place  their  homes?  Is 
not  that  the  sole  proper  aim  of  mankind  to-day?  What 
is  loyalty  but  the  love  of  home,  which  causes  man  to  fight 
for  the  government  which  protects  him  in  the  untram- 
meled  enjoyment  of  this  home?  The  mercenary  adven- 
turer, who  offers  his  sword  for  the  mere  love  of  warfare, 
is  not  a  patriot.  Dr.  Smith  had  his  own  ideas  of  loyalty, 
but  we  of  to-day  do  not  rank,  as  among  the  patriots  of  this 
country,  the  man  whose  preference  was  the  rather  to  re- 
main in  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain  than  to 
cast  in  his  lot  with  his  countrymen,  who  were  groaning 
under  the  yoke  of  British  thralldom  and  were  endeavoring 
to  cast  it  off  during  our  Revolutionary  War.  On  the  con- 
trary, we  do  extol  the  Pennsylvania-German  who  was 
loyal  to  the  English  Crown,  in  spite  of  his  sufferings  from 
1755  to  1763,  who  was  equally  loyal  to  his  country  in 
1776,  and  who  has  been  ever  loyal  to  it  since  then.  And 
we  respect  this  loyalty  of  the  Pennsylvania-German  the 
more  because  it  was  inspired  by  a  love  of  home. 

Dr.  Smith  was  not  alone  in  speaking  of  the  "  ignorant  " 
Germans.  Dr.  Franklin,  himself,  even  took  occasion  to 
refer  to  them,  at  one  time,  as  "  Palatine  boors,"  but  was 
manly  enough,  later  on,  to  retract.  The  day  is  not  dis- 
tant when  the  Pennsylvania-German  Society  may  have  a 
word  to  say  about  the  part  these  "  ignorant  "  Germans 
have  taken  in  the  educational  development  of  this  Com- 


52  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

monwealth.  When  such  a  day  comes  the  writer  of  this 
prophesies  that  some  will  be  surprised  who  now  hold  pecu- 
liar views  on  that  subject.  At  this  time  it  would  be  out 
of  place  to  dwell  further  on  the  matter,  but  so  much  has 
been,  and  will  be,  said  about  Conrad  Weiser  that  we  can- 
not refrain  from  making  public  an  act  of  his  which  shows 
the  interest  he,  himself,  took  in  the  higher  English  educa- 
tion of  his  own  family,  and,  likewise,  of  his  people.  This 
data  was  recently  discovered  by  Dr.  Julius  F.  Sachse,  and, 
through  his  kindness,  is  given  for  the  first  time. 

The  gradual  evolution  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  interesting.  In  1749  a  subscription  was  set  on 
foot  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  of  Philadelphia,  among 
whom  were  Thomas  Hopkinson,  Tench  Francis,  Richard 
Peters  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  to  establish  an  academy 
and  charitable  school,  which  was  opened  the  following 
year,  for  instruction  in  the  Latin  and  English  languages, 
and  mathematics.  It  was  incorporated  in  1753,  and  the 
proprietaries  endowed  it  with  money  and  lands  amounting 
to  £3,000.  Lindley  Murray,  the  grammarian,  was  a  pupil 
of  this  college.  Rev.  William  Smith  was  appointed  Prin- 
cipal, Rev.  Francis  Allison  Master  of  the  Latin  school. 
The  institution  soon  grew  into  a  college  by  an  act  of 
incorporation  in  1755,  under  the  title  of  the  College, 
Academy  and  Charitable  School  of  Philadelphia.  Rev. 
Dr.  Smith  was  elected  Provost,  and,  the  same  year,  de- 
grees were  conferred  upon  six  pupils,  Rev.  Mr.  Duche, 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Magaw,  Rev.  James  Latta,  Dr.  Hugh 
Williamson,  Francis  Hopkinson  (signer  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence),  and  Mr.  Hall.      In   1764 

the  foundation  of  the  first  medical  school  was  laid  by  a 
course  of  lectures  on  anatomy,  delivered  by  Dr.  William 
Shippen.      His  pupils  numbered  but  ten.     The  next  year 


A  Brief  Digression.  53 

Dr.  John  Morgan  was  associated  with  him  as  Professor 
of  the  Institutes  of  Medicine.  Both  of  these  gentlemen 
were  graduates  at  Edinburgh.  In  1768  Dr.  A.  Kuhn  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Botany;  in  1769  Dr.  B.  Rush  took 
the  Chemical  chair,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Bond  delivered  clin- 
ical lectures  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital.  Thus  was 
organized  what  has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
prominent  medical  schools  in  the  United  States. 

Dr.  Smith,  the  Provost,  was  an  able  and  learned  man 
and  had  been  very  efficient  in  procuring  funds  for  it  in 
Europe;  yet  he  was  suspected  of  being  not  very  favorable 
to  a  separation  from  Great  Britain,  and,  being  strongly 
attached  to  the  Church  of  England,  the  more  ardent 
Whigs,  with  some  of  the  Presbyterians,  who  were  Whigs 
to  a  man,  determined  to  remove  him  from  office,  though 
against  the  judgment  of  the  friends  of  the  Institution. 
The  old  Provincial  charter  was  abrogated,  and  a  new 
institution,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was  chartered 
by  the  State  Legislature  in  1779,  and  endowed  with  the 
property  of  the  old  college,  together  with  the  confiscated 
property  of  tories.  Rev.  Dr.  John  Ewing,  the  senior 
Presbyterian  clergyman  in  the  State,  was  chosen  Provost. 
The  old  college  was  revived,  for  a  short  time,  in  1789,  but 
did  not  long  continue,  and  was  blended,  in  1791,  by  legis- 
lative enactment,  with  the  University. 

The  original  academy  and  college  occupied  the  building 
on  Fourth  Street,  between  Market  and  Arch  Streets, 
erected  by  Whitfield,  and  long  known  as  the  Old  College. 
In  1802  the  University  purchased  the  edifice  on  Ninth, 
between  Market  and  Chestnut  Streets,  erected  for  the  use 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  but  never  occupied 
as  such. 

It  was  just  after  his  return  from  England  that  Dr. 


54  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Smith  presented  a  scheme  for  a  Society  for  the  "  Educa- 
tion of  Germans  in  America,"  and  doubtless  communi- 
cated with  Conrad  Weiser  on  the  subject.  To  such  an 
extent  does  Weiser  seem  to  have  been  interested  in  it  that, 
in  1754,  he,  personally,  entered  his  sons  Samuel  and  Ben- 
jamin as  students  in  the  old  academy  of  that  date.  These 
names  do  not  appear  in  the  Biographical  Catalogue  of 
Matriculates  published  in  1894,  nor  in  the  first  complete 
roll  of  students  entered  in  the  minute  book,  by  order  of 
the  trustees,  March  5,  1757,  but  are  found  in  the  two 
earliest  college  tuition  books,  up  to  and  including  the  year 
1769,  so  there  can  be  no  mistake  about  the  fact.  Most 
likely,  the  outbreak  of  the  French  and  Indian  War  had 
much  to  do  with  the  interruption  of  their  studies,  or 
Weiser  may  even  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  Dr. 
Smith's  scheme,  so  far  as  the  Germans  were  concerned, 
was  not  entirely  devoid  of  hollow  pretense. 

Samuel  Weiser,  tenth  child  of  Conrad,  was  born  April 
23>  1735.  His  will  was  probated  July  8,  1794-  On 
May  28,  1760,  he  married  Judith  Levan. 

He  served  as  captain  in  his  father's  regiment  during  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  on  duty,  principally,  at  Fort 
Henry.  For  a  while  he  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps 
as  Indian  Interpreter,  but  his  knowledge  of  the  language 
was  most  too  limited,  and,  besides,  the  necessity  for  such 
an  office  was  rapidly  passing  away.  He  removed  to  Ma- 
hanoy  Township  of  Northumberland  County,  Penna. 

Benjamin  Weiser,  fourteenth  child  of  Conrad,  was  born 
on  August  12,  1744.  During  the  Revolutionary  War,  in 
1776,  he  was  a  captain  in  the  German  Regiment,  com- 
manded by  Col.  Nicholas  Haussegger.  Later  on  he  was 
pursued  by  the  phantom  of  recovering  on  his  sire's  posses- 
sions in  the  State  of  New  York,  and,  in  a  letter  of  April  2, 


A  Brief  Digression. 


55 


1788,  to  Governor  Simon  Snyder,  refers  to  the  progress 
he  had  made  in  his  claim.  After  the  war  he  resided  at 
Selinsgrove,  and  is  recorded  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for 
Snyder  County  on  January  1,  1778. 

When  the  old  White  Horse  Tavern,  at  Douglassville, 
Berks  County,  was  remodelled  in  1884,  tne  original  mus- 
ter roll  of  the  company  of  Captain  Benjamin  Weiser,  mer- 
chant of  Womelsdorf,  dated  October  3,  1776,  was  found 
in  an  old  closet.  It  is  of  such  interest  and  value  that  we 
cannot  refrain  from  giving  it  to  the  public  at  this  time. 


OFFICERS. 


Captain, 

First  Lieutenant, 

Second  Lieutenant, 

Ensign, 

Sergeants, 


Corporals, 


Drum   and  Fife, 


Adab  Rosenmeisell, 
Michael  Regel, 
Peter  Schiffer, 
John   Bishop, 
George  Frick, 
Jacob   Smith, 
Frederick  Fresher, 
John  Heiser, 
Christopher  Weigel, 
Peter  Toney, 
Martin  Rishell, 
Abraham  Price, 
John   Christman, 


Benjamin  Weiser. 

Jacob  Bower. 

Frederick  Yeiser. 

Jacob  Kreamer. 

Charles  Ghickner, 

Stewart  Herbert, 

John  Benkler, 

Joseph  Miller. 

Nicholas   Waldman, 

George   Price, 

Conrad  Rohn. 

William  Marx,  on  furlough. 


PRIVATES. 
Jacob  Mickley, 
John  Maurst, 
John  Derr, 
Eborhart   Moyer, 
Casper  Kealer, 
Vincent  Williams, 
John  Tudro, 
Frederick  Spire, 
Frederick  William, 
John  Portner, 
Joseph  Mast, 
Henry  Seyfert, 
Adam  Hull, 

John  Razor. 


Michael    Yiesley, 
Joseph  Romig, 
William  Wallman, 
Philip  Werley, 
John  Barnheisell, 
Conrad  Freywitz, 
Baltzer  Newfang, 
John  Henry, 
Peter  Lesher, 
Philip   Killman, 
Benjamin  Servey, 
John   Snyder, 
Jacob  Lorash, 


•  ISI 

11 

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#fe 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Explosion  of  the  Mine. 


z 


HE  spark  to  explode 
the  mine  which  show- 
ered death  and  destruction 
everywhere  around  it,  from 
1755  to  1763,  came  from 
the  defeat  of  Braddock's 
Army. 

While  the  Pennsylvania- 
Germans,  as  such,  were  not 
identified  with  these  opera- 
tions, yet  the  bearing  which 
they  had  upon  the  welfare 
of  the  German  settlers  is  so 
great,  and  so  many  of  these  people  participated  in  the  oc- 
currences of  that  vicinity  a  few  years  later,  that  a  brief 
resume  of  the  facts  connected  with  the  events  in  question 
is  almost  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  whole. 
The  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  signed  October  1,  1748, 
nominally  closed  the  war  between  England  and  France, 

(56) 


The  Explosion  of  the  Mine.  57 

but  failed  to  establish  the  boundaries  between  their  respec- 
tive colonies  in  America. 

The  effort  to  enlarge  their  boundaries  was  constantly  be- 
fore both  parties,  and  each  ever  feared  that  the  other 
might  succeed  to  its  own  detriment. 

The  Ohio  Company  was  an  association  formed  in  Vir- 
ginia, about  the  year  1748,  under  a  royal  grant,  ostensibly 
to  trade  with  the  Indians,  but  that  it  was  intended  to  be 
a  great  barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  the  French, 
is  manifest.  Its  privileges  and  concessions  were  large  and 
ample. 

To  counteract  these  designs  of  the  English,  the  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Canada,  the  Marquis  de  la  Galissoniere, 
in  1749  sent  Celeron  down  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio 
Rivers,  to  take  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of 
the  King  of  France.  His  command  consisted  of  215 
French  and  Canadian  soldiers,  and  55  Indians  of  various 
tribes.  As  they  went  he  buried,  at  various  points,  leaden 
plates,  upon  which  were  inscribed  the  date  and  name  of 
place,  to  assert  nominal  possession. 

In  1752  the  Marquis  du  Quesne  became  Governor- 
General  of  Canada,  and,  early  in  January,  1753,  sent  out 
an  expedition,  consisting  of  three  hundred  men,  under 
command  of  Monsieur  Babeer  (Babier),  who  was  suc- 
ceeded, about  the  end  of  May,  by  Monsieur  Morin,  who 
then  arrived  with  an  additional  force  of  five  hundred 
whites  and  twenty  Indians.  They  built,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Erie,  the  first  fort,  which  was  named 
"  Presqu'  Isle."  Continuing  to  the  site  of  the  present 
village  of  Waterford,  Erie  County,  Pa.,  they  built  a  sec- 
ond fort,  similar  to  the  first  but  smaller,  which  was  named 
LeBoeuf.  The  season  being  then  late  instead  of  erecting 
a  third  fort,  as  was  intended,  they  garrisoned  the  two 
already  completed  and  returned  to  Canada. 


58  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Viewing  with  alarm  these  occurrences  the  Governor  of 
Virginia  sent  George  Washington,  late  in  1753,  to  de- 
mand of  the  French  an  explanation  of  their  designs,  who 
was  told  that  the  matter  would  be  laid  before  the  Gov- 
ernor-General of  Canada  for  reply,  but  that,  in  the  mean- 
time the  French  would  hold  the  country  as  ordered. 

In  January,  1754,  a  company  of  militia  was  authorized 
by  Virginia  to  cooperate  with  the  Ohio  Company  in  their 
occupancy  of  the  territory.  William  Trent  was  commis- 
sioned captain,  John  Frazer,  who  had  his  trading  house  at 
Turtle  Creek  on  the  Monongahela,  after  being  driven 
from  Venango,  was  appointed  Lieutenant,  and  Edward 
Ward  as  Ensign.  They  arrived  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio 
on  February  17th,  and  proceeded  to  lay  out  the  ground 
and  to  have  some  logs  squared  and  laid.  Their  tenure, 
however,  was  short.  In  the  absence  of  both  Captain  and 
Lieutenant,  the  French  suddenly  appeared  in  great  force, 
on  April  16,  1754,  under  Contrecoeur,  and  obliged  sur- 
render. 

With  the  early  spring  the  French  again  began  opera- 
tions, and  built  their  third  fort  at  Lake  Erie,  in  April, 
1754,  which  was  named  Fort  Machault.  The  English 
usually  referred  to  it  as  the  French  fort  at  Venango.  It 
was  not  so  large  a  work  as  either  of  the  other  two. 

This  part  of  the  operations  of  the  French  was,  properly 
speaking,  only  the  preparation  for  what  they  had  in  view; 
the  real  work  was  to  be  done  at  the  confluence  of  the  Alle- 
gheny and  Monongahela  rivers.  Here  they  erected  a 
fortification,  which  was  strengthened  from  time  to  time  as 
danger  of  attack  increased.  This  was  called  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  in  honor  of  their  Governor-General  in  Canada. 

Orders  were  immediately  despatched  by  the  British 
cabinet,  to  the  various  Governors  of  the  Provinces,  direct- 


The  Explosion  of  the  Mine.  59 

ing  them  to  resort  to  force  in  defence  of  their  rights,  and 
to  drive  the  French  from  their  station  on  the  Ohio. 

The  duty  to  carry  on  active  operations  against  the 
French  thus  devolved  upon  Virginia.  Washington,  hav- 
ing been  commissioned  a  Lieut.-Colonel  by  Governor  Din- 
widdie,  was  sent,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  to  take 
command  at  the  Forks  of  the  Ohio,  finish  the  fort  already 
begun  there  by  the  Ohio  Company,  and  to  make  prisoners, 
kill  or  destroy  all  who  interrupted  the  English  settlements. 
With  great  difficulty,  and  against  many  obstacles,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  Great  Meadows,  which  became  the 
subsequent  locality  of  Fort  Necessity.  Learning  that  a 
detachment  of  fifty  of  the  enemy  were  in  his  vicinity  he 
immediately  marched  against  them,  attacked  and  defeated 
them,  in  the  darkness  of  the  morning  of  May  28th,  1754. 
His  prisoners  were  taken  to  the  Great  Meadows  and 
thence  across  the  mountains. 

So  soon  as  the  news  of  this  engagement  had  reached 
Fort  Duquesne  a  strong  party  was  organized  to  advance 
against  Washington,  who  promptly  enlarged  his  entrench- 
ments and  erected  palisades,  naming  his  stockade  "  Fort 
Necessity."  Of  the  fight  which  followed,  against  vastly 
superior  forces,  and  the  heroic  defense  which  was  made, 
followed  by  unavoidable  capitulation,  no  more  need  be 
said,  as  it  is  a  familiar  recital.  At  daybreak,  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  the  garrison  filed  out  of  the  fort,  with 
colors  flying  and  drums  beating,  and  one  swivel  gun.  The 
English  flag  on  the  fort  was  struck  and  the  French  ensign 
took  its  place;  and  when  the  little  army  of  Washington 
had  passed  over  the  mountains  homeward,  the  lilies  of 
France  floated  over  every  fort,  military  post  and  mission 
from  the  Alleghenies  westward  to  the  Mississippi. 

In  anticipation  of  an  early  campaign,  by  the  English 


60  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  Colonists,  the  force  at  Duquesne  was  very  largely  in- 
creased during  the  late  fall  of  1754.  At  one  time  it  is 
probable  there  were  at  least  one  thousand  regular  soldiers 
there  with  several  hundred  Indians  of  various  tribes. 
The  aggressive  campaigns,  however,  which  opened  in 
1755  against  Niagara  and  Crown  Point,  necessitated  the 
retention  in  Canada  of  many  troops,  so  that,  at  the  time 
of  Braddock's  defeat,  the  garrison  consisted  of  but  a  few 
companies  of  regulars,  to  which  were  added  a  considerable 
number  of  Canadians,  and  some  eight  hundred  Indian 
warriors. 

Aggressive  operations  having  been  decided  upon,  on 
November  25,  1754,  Major  General  Edward  Braddock 
was  commissioned  General-in-chief  of  His  Majesty's 
forces  in  North  America.  He  sailed,  on  January  14, 
1755,  from  Cork  for  America,  with  the  Forty- fourth  and 
Forty-eighth  Regiments  of  royal  troops,  each  consisting 
of  five  hundred  men,  one  of  them  commanded  by  Col. 
Dunbar  and  the  other  by  Sir  Peter  Halket.  He  arrived 
at  Alexandria,  in  Virginia,  on  the  20th  of  February. 
With  the  addition  of  provincials  from  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land, and  two  independent  companies  from  New  York, 
he  finally  crossed  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  between  May 
27  and  June  9,  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  two  hundred 
men,  well  armed  and  supplied,  with  a  fine  train  of  artil- 
lery, accompanied  by  some  two  hundred  Indians. 

The  rest  of  the  sad  story  is  not  germane  to  our  subject. 
Bringing  with  him  exaggerated  ideas  of  discipline,  entirely 
inapplicable  to  the  wilderness  into  which  he  was  plunging; 
with  feelings  of  superiority  over  the  colonists,  which  pre- 
vented him  from  taking  well  meant  advice  based  upon  a 
full  knowledge  of  existing  conditions;  advancing  upon  a 
campaign  as  though  it  were  in  the  heart  of  civilized  Eu- 


The  Explosion  of  the  Mine.  61 

rope,  but  one  result  lay  before  him.  Braddock's  Defeat 
has  become  a  byword  in  the  mouth  of  every  American 
school  child.  Of  the  brave  men  who  went  into  battle 
seven  hundred  and  fourteen  were  killed;  sixty-four,  out  of 
eighty-five  officers  were  either  killed  or  wounded;  every 
field  officer,  and  every  one  on  horseback,  except  Colonel 
Washington,  who  had  two  horses  killed  under  him  and 
four  bullets  through  his  coat,  was  either  slain  or  carried 
from  the  field  disabled  by  wounds.  The  loss,  on  the  side 
of  the  French,  and  their  allies,  was  three  officers,  twenty- 
five  soldiers,  Canadians,  or  Indians,  with  about  as  many 
wounded. 

When  the  storm  actually  burst  upon  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania  it  was  found  to  be  totally  unprepared.  This 
condition  was  not  owing  to  lack  of  warning,  nor  for  want 
of  appeal  and  entreaty.  So  early  as  1740  a  petition  was 
forwarded  to  the  King  himself,  requesting  him  to  see  that 
the  Province  was  placed  in  a  proper  state  of  defence.  A 
discussion  of  the  subject  was  kept  up  until  1744,  the  As- 
sembly constantly  claiming  that  there  was  no  need  for 
such  action,  and  the  final  result  was,  as  may  be  anticipated, 
of  no  real  value.  The  only  thing  actually  done,  by  either 
Governor  or  Assembly,  to  save  the  helpless  settlers,  was 
an  appropriation  of  £1,000  by  the  latter,  on  August  22, 
with  which  Fort  Morris,  at  Shippensburg,  and  Fort 
Lowther,  at  Carlisle,  were  erected,  and  a  supply  of  arms 
and  ammunition  purchased,  chiefly  for  use  in  Cumber- 
land, York  and  Lancaster  counties. 

It  is  true  that  on  July  26,  immediately  upon  the  receipt 
at  Philadelphia  of  the  news  of  Braddock's  defeat,  Gov- 
ernor Morris  convened  the  Assembly  and  asked  for  pe- 
cuniary aid.  Two  days  later,  this  was  granted  him  by 
a  bill  entitled,  "An  Act  for  raising  Fifty  thousand  pounds 


62 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


for  the  King's  use  by  a  Tax  of  Twelve  pence  per  pound 
and  twenty  shillings  per  Head,  Yearly  for  two  Years,  on 
all  the  Estates  real  and  personal,  and  Taxables  within  this 


Province."  Here  was  the  difficulty.  A  tax  on  all  prop- 
erty included,  of  course,  the  estates  of  the  proprietaries, 
which  formed  a  very  large  part  of  the  whole.     To  this 


The  Explosion  of  the  Mine.  63 

the  Governor,  acting  in  their  behalf  and  by  their  instruc- 
tions, would  not  agree,  claiming  that  the  lands  were  not 
taxable,  and,  being  unprofitable,  should  not  in  reason  be 
taxed.  The  Assembly,  with  Benjamin  Franklin  as  its 
leader,  thought  differently,  and  each  accused  the  other  of 
insincerity. 

During  the  lengthy  discussion  which  followed,  the  blow 
of  the  savage  actually  fell,  and,  by  November,  the  public 
feeling  had  arisen  to  so  high  a  pitch  that  many  petitions 
and  addresses  were  poured  in  upon  the  Assembly.  Those 
from  the  frontiers  were  sad  beyond  measure,  beseeching 
and  threatening  by  turns.  One,  from  the  citizens  of 
Philadelphia  County,  was  literally  a  demand  for  imme- 
diate action,  not  only  in  the  matter  of  money  but,  espe- 
cially, in  the  establishment  of  a  proper  system  of  defence, 
while  still  another  was  from  the  Quakers,  who  cited  their 
religious  principles,  claimed  their  willingness  to  give  their 
full  share  of  all  that  might  be  needed  for  the  ordinary 
support  of  the  Government,  but  pleaded  for  the  defeat  of 
any  grant  for  purposes  of  war.  Both  parties,  however, 
refused  to  cede  a  single  point,  until,  at  long  last,  on  No- 
vember 24,  a  gift  of  £5,000  was  received  from  the  pro- 
prietaries, sent  by  them  immediately  upon  hearing  of  the 
disaster  to  General  Braddock,  whereupon  the  Assembly 
at  once  passed  an  amended  act  granting  £55,000  while 
exempting  from  taxation  the  proprietary  estates. 

In  connection  with  this,  however,  on  November  25th 
the  Assembly  formulated  and  enacted  a  "  militia  law,"  to 
continue  in  force  until  October  30,  1756.  As  this  largely 
took  the  appointing  power  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernor another  deadlock  occurred,  but,  to  the  credit  of  the 
latter  it  must  be  said  that,  actuated  by  the  sufferings  of 
the   people,   he   relinquished,    for   the   time   at   least,   his 


64  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

claims,  and  promptly  approved  the  bill  in  its  original 
form. 

Although  these  disagreements,  between  Governor  and 
Assembly  kept  cropping  out  constantly,  during  the  entire 
war,  much  to  the  detriment  of  the  Province  and  to  the 
hardship  of  the  soldiers,  yet,  after  the  passage  of  the  Act 
just  named,  a  well-ordered  system  of  defense  was 
promptly  put  into  effect,  of  which  we  will  learn  more 
hereafter. 

At  the  point  which  we  have  now  reached  it  is  well  to 
bear  in  mind  the  fact  that,  by  order  of  their  masters,  the 
Six  Nations,  the  Delaware  Indians  were  forced  to  occupy 
the  territory  some  distance  north  of  the  Blue  Mountains, 
stretching  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Delaware  River, 
having  been  driven  from  their  former  homes.  Their 
principal  villages  were  at  what  was  called  Shamokin,  near 
the  present  city  of  Sunbury,  and  were  strung  along  to  the 
east,  at  various  points  in  the  Wyoming  district.  Natu- 
rally hostilities  started  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Sha- 
mokin. The  opening  shots,  which  were  the  precursors  of 
the  butchery  that  followed,  are  well  described  in  a  letter 
from  Conrad  Weiser,  under  date  of  October  28,  1755, 
which  says:  "Accounts  from  Paxton,  October  20,  that 
some  Indians  had  begun  hostilities  on  the  Susquehanna, 
and  had  killed,  or  drove  away  all  the  inhabitants  settled 
in  the  upper  part  of  Cumberland  County,  at  a  place  called 
Penn's  Creek,  about  four  miles  south  of  Shamokin. 
Twenty-five  persons,  men,  women,  and  children,  killed, 
scalped  and  carried  away  on  the  1 6th  October;  13  killed, 
who  were  men  and  elderly  women,  and  one  child;  the 
rest,  being  young  women  and  children,  carried  away;  a 
house  burnt  up.  On  the  23rd  upwards  of  40  of  the  in- 
habitants  of  Paxton   Creek  went   up   to   bury   the   dead, 


The  Explosion  of  the  Mine. 


65 


but  found  it  done ;  they  went  on  to  Shamokin,  to  visit  the 
friendly  Indians  there;  stayed  there  all  night,  and  in  re- 
turning on  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna,  in  crossing 
the  river  on  the  morning  of  the  25th,  at  Mahanoy  Creek, 
were  fired  upon  by  a  number  of  Indians,  that  lay  in  the 
bushes.  Lost  several  men — they  killed  four  of  the  In- 
dians.    These  Indians  spoke  the  Delaware  tongue." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Swatara  and  Tulpehocken  Massacres. 


js 


HE  news  of  the  Indian  mur- 
ders up  the  Susquehanna 
spread  fast.  Conrad  Weiser  imme- 
diately alarmed  the  Tulpehocken 
neighborhood,  whereupon  the  far- 
mers at  once  gathered  together, 
armed  with  guns,  swords,  axes  or 
pitchforks,  whatever  they  chanced 
to  possess,  until  some  two  hundred 
had  rendezvoused  at  Benjamin 
Spicker's,  near  Stouchsburg,  about 
about  six  miles  above  Womelsdorf.  Then  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Kurtz,  the  Lutheran  pastor  who  resided  about  a  mile 
away,  delivered  an  exhortation  and  prayer,  after  which 
Weiser  divided  the  people  into  companies  of  thirty,  each 
under  command  of  a  captain  selected  by  themselves,  and 
at  once  took  up  his  march  towards  the  Susquehanna,  having 
first  sent  some  fifty  men  to  possess  themselves  of  the  Swa- 
tara Gap,  through  which  it  was  expected  the  enemy  would 

66 


Swatara  and  Tnlpehocken  Massacres.  67 

come,  and  with  them  a  letter  to  Wra.  Parsons  who  hap- 
pened to  be  at  his  plantation. 

Their  numbers  increased  rapidly  on  the  way,  until  they 
arrived  at  Squire  Adam  Read's,  on  the  Swatara  Creek, 
where  they  received  intelligence  of  the  surprise  and  kill- 
ing of  the  settlers,  who,  under  the  leadership  of  Capt.  Mc- 
Kee,  John  Harris  and  others,  had  gone  to  Penn's  Creek 


to  protect  the  people  there  and  bury  the  dead.  This 
seems,  very  naturally,  to  have  dampened  the  ardor  of  the 
party  somewhat,  who  began  to  realize  how  little  could 
be  accomplished  by  them  in  their  present  condition,  and 
how  they  were  foolishly  leaving  their  own  families  unpro- 
tected, so  they  wisely  determined  to  return,  their  way 
back  being  materially  hastened  by  the  rumor  that  five 
hundred  Indians  had  already  made  their  way  through  the 
Swatara  Gap,  and  killed  a  number  of  people. 

In  the  meantime  the  advance  guard  of  farmers,  with 
their  motley  array  of  arms,  met  Mr.  Parsons,  and  he  tells 
us,  in  a  letter  of  October  31,  to  Mr.  Peters  at  Philadel- 
phia, how  he  advised  them  to  make  a  breastwork  of  trees 


68  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

at  the  Swatara  Gap,  with  their  axes,  promising  to  pro- 
cure and  send  them  a  quantity  of  bread  and  ammunition. 
They  got  as  far  as  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where  they 
fired  their  guns  off  in  the  air,  alarming  the  whole  neigh- 
borhood, and  then  came  back  again,  firing  the  entire  way 
to  the  great  terror  of  the  inhabitants.  Other  brave  men, 
inexperienced  and  undisciplined,  have  done  worse  under 
less  trying  circumstances. 

Soon  came  the  news  of  the  murder  of  Henry  Hartman, 
just  over  the  mountains.  As  Mr.  Parsons,  with  a  party, 
were  on  their  way  to  bury  the  body,  they  were  told  of 
two  more  who  had  recently  been  killed  and  scalped,  and 
of  others  who  were  missing.  Having  decently  interred 
the  dead  they  returned.  It  was  a  terrible  time;  the  roads 
were  filled  with  persons  fleeing  from  their  homes,  and 
confusion  reigned  supreme.  In  the  absence  of  provincial 
forts,  the  settlers  began  the  erection  of  stockades,  watch 
towers,  and  the  conversion  of  private  houses  into  places 
of  lefuge.  Among  these  were  Squire  Adam  Read's 
home,  of  which  mention  has  been  made,  Peter  Heydrich's 
home,  near  the  Swatara  Gap,  which,  later,  became  Fort 
Swatara,  and  at  Dietrich  Six's  place  near  Millersburg, 
later  the  site  of  Fort  Henry. 

Of  Peter  Heydrich  it  is  related  that  when,  on  one  occa- 
sion, the  Indians  appeared  in  considerable  numbers,  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  his  neighbors  from  their  own  houses,  he 
took  down  his  drum  and  fife  and  marched  himself  boldly 
into  the  woods  or  thickets,  alternately  beating  the  drum, 
blowing  the  fife,  and  giving  words  of  command  to  an 
imaginary  body  of  troops,  by  which  means  he  managed  to 
keep  the  savages  away  and  also  collect  his  neighbors. 

The  one  man,  who  seemed  best  able  to  cope  with  the 
emergency  was  Conrad  Weiser,  to  whom,  on  October  31, 


Swatara  and  Tulpehocken  Massacres.  69 

1755,    Governor    Morris    wrote    the    following    compli- 
mentary letter. 

"  Sir:  I  have  the  pleasure  of  receiving  your  favor  of 
the  30th  Instant,  and  of  being  thereby  set  right  as  to  the 
Indians  passing  the  mountains  at  Tolheo  (Swatara), 
which  I  am  glad  to  find  was  a  false  alarm.  I  heartily 
commend  your  conduct  and  zeal,  and  hope  you  will  con- 
tinue to  act  with  the  same  Vigor  and  Caution  that  you 
have  already  done,  and  that  you  have  the  greater  au- 
thority, I  have  appointed  you  a  Colonel  by  a  Commission 
herewith. 

"  I  have  not  time  to  give  you  any  Instructions  with  the 
Commission  but  leave  it  to  your  Judgment  and  discretion, 
which  I  know  are  great,  to  do  what  is  most  for  the  safety 
of  the  people  and  service  of  the  Crown." 

At  the  earliest  moment  Weiser  departed  for  Philadel- 
phia to  have  a  consultation  with  the  Governor.  Although 
he  returned  as  soon  as  possible  it  was  only  to  meet  with 
bad  news.  What  happened  cannot  be  better  told  than  in 
the  words  of  his  report  under  date  of  November  19, 
1755,  in  which  he  says: 

"Honoured  Sir: 

"  On  my  return  from  Philadelphia  I  met  in  the  town- 
ship 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.  I  left  the 
Papers  as  they  were  in  the  messengers  Hands,  and  hasted 
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 


70  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  Indians,  and  gave  me  the  following  Relation,  to  witt, 
that  on  Saturday  last  about  4  of  the  Clock,  in  the  After- 
noon, 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  a  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  In- 
dian dropt  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  them- 
selves in  two  Parties.  Some  came  this  way  to  meet  the 
Rest  that  was  going  to  the  Watch,  and  killed  some  of 
them,  so  that  six  of  our  men  were  killed  that  Day,  and 
a  few  wounded.  The  Night  following  the  Enemy  at- 
tacked 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  Deli- 
gence  and  Conduct  was  timely  put  out  again,  So  Thos. 
Bower,  with  his  Family,  went  off  that  night  to  his  neigh- 
bour, Daniel  Schneider,  who  came  to  his  assistance.  By 
8   of  Ye   Clock   Parties  came   up   from  Tulpenhacon   & 


Swatara  and  Tulpehocken  Massacres.  71 

Heidelberg.  The  first  Party  saw  four  Indians  running 
off.  They  had  some  Prisoners  whom  they  scalped  im- 
mediately, three  children  lay  scalped  yet  alive,  one  died 
since,  the  other  two  are  like  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  Im- 
mediately. Either  our  party  did  not  care  to  fight  them 
if  they  could  avoid  it,  or  (which  is  most  likely)  the  In- 
dians were  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  Womelsdorf-Author)  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  Condition.  I  must  stand  my 
Ground  or  my  neighbours  will  all  go  away,  and  leave  their 
Habitations  to  be  destroyed  by  the  Enemy  or  our  own 


72  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

People.     This  is  enough  of  such  melancholy  Account  for 
this  Time.     I  beg  leave  to  conclude  who  am, 

Sir, 
Your  very  obedient 

"  Conrad  Weiser. 
"  Heidelberg,  in  Berks 

"  County,  November  19th,  1755. 
11  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. 

"  To  Governour  Morris:  " 

The  excitement  among  the  settlers  can  readily  be  im- 
agined, as  well  as  their  anger  against  the  Indians.  It  so 
happened  that,  on  his  return  from  Philadelphia,  Weiser 
was  escorting  several  friendly  Indians,  on  their  return  to 
Shamokin.  The  presence  of  these  red  skins  at  Tulpe- 
hocken  came  near  being  too  much  for  the  unreasoning 
people  of  the  locality.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  Weiser 
succeeded  in  spiriting  them  away,  and  even  in  saving  his 
own  life.  His  experience,  in  that  direction,  is  given  in 
another  letter  to  the  Governor  which  followed  imme- 
diately on  the  heels  of  his  first  one: 

"  May  it  please  the  Governor: 

11  That  night  after  my  Arrival  from  Philadelphia, 
Emanuel  Carpenter  and  Simon  Adam  Kuhn,  Esq'rs,  came 
to  my  House,  and  lodged  with  me.  They  acquainted  me 
that  a  meeting  was  appointed  (of  the  People  of  Tulpen- 
hacon  &  Heidleberg  and  adjacent  places)  in  Tulpenhacon 
Township  at  Benjamin  Spicker's  early  next  morning.  I 
made  all  the  hast  with  the  Indians  I  could,  and  gave  them 


Swatara  and  Tulpehocken  Massacres.  73 

a  Letter  to  Thos.  McKee,  to  furnish  them  with  neces- 
saries for  their  journey.  Scarujude  had  no  Creature  to 
ride  on.  I  gave  him  one.  Before  I  could  get  down  with 
the  Indians  3  or  4  Men  came  from  Benja.  Spicker's  to 
warn  the  Indians  not  to  go  that  way,  for  the  People  were 
so  enraged  against  all  the  Indians,  &  would  kill  them  with- 
out Distinction,  I  went  with  them;  so  did  the  Gentlemen 
before  named.  When  we  came  near  Benjamin  Spicker's 
I  saw  about  400  or  500  men,  and  there  was  a  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  we  not  kill  them ! 
Why  are  our  Hands  so  tied?  I  got  the  Indians  to  the 
House  with  much  adoe,  where  I  treated  them  with  a  small 
Dram,  and  so  parted  in  Love  and  Friendship.  Capt'n 
Diefenback  undertook  to  conduct  them  (with  five  other 
men)  to  Susquehannah.  After  this  a  sort  of  a  Counsel  of 
warr  was  held  by  the  officers  present,  the  before  named 
and  other  Freeholders.  It  was  agreed  that  150  men 
should  be  raised  immediately  to  serve  as  outscouts,  and  as 
Guards  at  Certain  Places  under  the  Kittitany  Hills  for 
40  Days.  That  those  so  raised  to  have  2  Shillings  a 
Day,  &  2  Pound  of  Bread,  2  Pounds  of  Beaff  and  a  Jill 
of  Rum,  and  Powder  &  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  they  would  have  (be  they 
Friends  or  Enemies),  from  the  Governor.  I  told  them 
I  had  no  such  power  from  the  Governor  nor  Assembly. 
They  begun  some  to  Curse  the  Governor;  some  the  As- 
sembly; called  me  a  Traitor  of  the  Country  who  held  with 
the  Indians,  and  must  have  known  this  murder  before 
hand.     I  sat  in  the  House  by  a  Lowe  window,  some  of  my 


74  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

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  Comon  People  From  Lancaster  County  were 
the  worst.  The  wages  they  said  was  a  Trifle  and  said 
some  Body  pocketed  the  Rest,  and  they  would  resent  it. 
Some  Body  had  put  it  into  their  Head  that  I  had  it  in  my 
Power  to  give  them  as  much  as  I  pleased.  I  was  in 
Danger  of  being  Shot  to  Death.  In  the  mean  Time  a 
great  smoke  arose  under  Tulpenhacon  Mountain,  with  the 
news  following  that  the  Indians  had  committed  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  with- 
out 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.  There  is  no  Doings  with  the 
People  without  a  Law  or  Regulation  by  the  Governor  and 
Assembly.  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. 

"  I  am, 
11  Sir, 

11  Your  most  obedient." 

There  was  no  intention,  however,  on  the  part  of  Weiser, 
to  rest  quietly  and  allow  matters  to  take  their  own  course. 
He  promptly  called  together  several  of  the  prominent 
men  of  the  locality  for  consultation.  In  the  absence  of 
any  action  by  the  government,  worthy  of  mention,  and 
without  means  of  their  own  for  defense,  their  first  duty 
seemed  to  be  to  spur  on  the  former  to  do  something,  and 


Swatara  and   Tulpehocken  Massacres.  75 

do  it  in  a  systematic  way.     Therefore,  on  November  24 
the  following  statement  was  forwarded : 

"  Honoured  Sir: 

"  We  the  Subscribers  thereof,  being  met  together  to 
think  on  means  how  to  withstand  our  cruel  Indian  Enemy, 
thought  fit  to  acquaint  your  Honour  of  the  miserable 
Condition  the  Back  Inhabitants  of  these  parts  are  in : 

"  (1st)  Since  the  last  cruel  murder  committed  by  the 
Enemy  most  of  the  People  of  Tulpenhacon  have  left  their 
Habitation;  Those  in  Heidelberg  moves  their  effects. 
Bethel  Township  is  entirely  deserted. 

"  (2d)  There  is  no  Order  among  the  People;  one  cries 
one  Thing,  and  another  another  Thing.  They  want  to 
force  us  to  make  a  Law,  that  they  should  have  a  Reward 
for  every  Indian  which  they  kill;  They  demand  such  a 
Law  of  us,  with  their  Guns  Cocked,  pointing  it  towards  us. 

"  (3d)  The  People  are  so  incensed,  not  only  against 
our  cruel  Enemy  the  Indians,  but  also  (we  beg  leave  to 
inform  you  Honour)  against  the  Governor  and  Assembly, 
that  we  are  afeared  they  will  go  down  in  a  Body  to 
Philadelphia  and  comit  the  vilest  Outrages.  They  say 
they  will  rather  be  hanged  than  to  be  butchered  by  the 
Indians,  as  some  of  their  Neighbours  have  been  lately, 
and  the  Poverty  that  some  are  in  is  very  great. 

"  (4)  Yesterday  we  sent  out  about  Seventy  men  to  the 
mountains  to  take  Possession  of  several  Houses,  and  to 
range  the  Woods  along  the  mountain  in  Berks  County, 
on  the  west  Side  of  Schuylkill.  The  same  Number  are 
sent  to  the  back  Parts  of  Lancaster  County,  we  Promised 
them  two  Shillings  a  Day,  two  Pounds  of  Bread,  two 
Pound  of  Beaff,  and  a  Jill  of  Rum  a  Day,  and  Ammuni- 
tion, and  that  for  forty  Days,  or  till  we  shall  receive  your 


76  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Honours  Order.  We  persuaded  ourselves  Your  Honour 
will  not  leave  us  in  the  Lurch;  We  must  have  done  such 
a  Thing  or  else  leave  our  Habitation.  If  no  worse;  and 
all  this  would  not  do,  we  and  others  of  the  Freeholders 
have  been  obliged  to  promise  them  a  Reward  of  four 
Pistoles  for  every  Enemy  Indian  man  they  should  kill. 
Many  things  more  we  could  mention  but  we  don't  care  to 
Trouble  your  Honour  any  Farther,  do  therefore  conclude, 
and  beg  leave  to  Subscribe  ourselves, 
"  Honoured  Sir, 
"  Your  very  humble  Servants, 

"  Conrad  Weiser 
"  Emanuel  Carpenter 
"  Adam  Simon  Kuhn 
"  P.  S.     I  cannot  forbear  to  acquaint  your  Honour  of 
a  certain  Circumstance  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,  when  they  were 
fired  upon  by  two  Indians  very  nigh,  but  hit  only  the  man 
upon  his  Breast,  though  not  Dangerously.  They,  the  In- 
dians, then  came  with  their  Tomhacks,  Knocked  the  wo- 
man 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  far,  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  Indians  trod  on  her  neck  and  tore  off 
her  scalp.     The  children   then   run;   four  of  them  were 


Swatara  and   Tulpehocken  Massacres.  77 

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. 

"I  am 

"  Honoured  Sir, 
"  Your  obedient, 

"  C.  Weiser 

"  I  intend  to  send  a  wagon  down  to  Philadelphia  for 
Blankets  and  other  necessaries  for  the  People,  on  their 
Guard  under  the  mountain,  and  I  hope  it  will  be  then  in 
your  Honour's  Power  to  supply  us." 

The  Governor  was  fully  aroused  by  these  horrible 
atrocities,  and  endeavored  to  perform  his  duty.  It  would 
be  unjust  to  him  were  we  not,  in  concluding  this  record, 
to  recite  a  portion  of  his  letter  of  November  27  to  General 
Shirley,  as  follows: 

"  Dear  Sir: 

"Since  writing  the  Letter  Herewith  I  have  received  In- 
telligence that  the  Indians  have  cross'd  the  Sasquehanna, 
and  fallen  upon  the  inhabitants  to  the  Southward  of  the 
mountains  at  and  near  a  place  called  Tulpilhockin,  about 
sixty  miles  from  here,  where  they  had,  when  the  express 
came  away,  Burnt  several  houses  and  killed  such  of  the 
inhabitants  as  could  not  escape  from  them.  The  settle- 
ment they  are  now  destroying  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
Province,  the  Lands  are  very  Rich  and  well  improved. 


78  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

My  Assembly  have  now  been  sitting  ever  since  the  3d 
Instant,  but  have  done  nothing  for  the  defence  of  the 
Province,  nor  raised  any  supplys.  The  Bill  they  have 
proposed  for  that  purpose,  being  of  the  same  kind  of  one 
I  had  before  refused  to  pass  and  which  they  know  I  have 
no  power  by  my  Commission  to  pass  it.  Such  a  Conduct 
while  the  Country  is  bleeding,  seems  to  me  to  merit  the 
severest  censure." 


*Vfc««^- 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Regina,  the  German  Captive. 


v 


'HE  events  just  related 
were  but  a  part  of  the 
terrible  occurrences  in  the 
Tulpehocken  region  during 
che  fall  of  1755.  Among 
those  hitherto  unrecorded,  is 
one  told  by  the  Hon.  D.  C. 
Henning,  of  Pottsville,  who 
received  it  from  Daniel  Ney, 
a  resident  of  Summit  Station 
in  Schuylkill  County,  and 
over  eighty  years  of  age  at 
the  time.  Mr.  Ney's  great-grandfather  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  locality.  His  grandfather  and  grand- 
uncle,  Michael,  were  both  youths  at  the  time  when  the  inci- 
dent occurred.  One  day,  in  the  fall,  the  two  brothers 
drove  to  the  woods,  along  the  mountain,  with  a  team  and 
skeleton  wagon,  to  take  home  a  load  of  fire  wood  for  the 
winter,  which  they  had  previously  cut  and  prepared. 
Michael  rode  on  one  of  the  horses  while  his  brother  was 
seated  on  the  wagon.     When  they  reached  the  place  for 

(79) 


80  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

loading,  two  Indians  sprang  out  from  the  bushes  and 
each  attacked  his  intended  victim.  During  the  scuffle  that 
ensued  the  Indian,  who  had  attacked  Michael,  was  being 
worsted,  and  the  other,  who  had  attacked  the  relator's 
grandfather,  seeing  this,  dealt  his  victim  a  stunning  blow 
on  the  head,  knocking  him  insensible  for  the  time;  he  then 
went  to  the  assistance  of  the  other,  and  the  two  together 
killed  Michael.  Meanwhile  the  grandfather  regained 
consciousness,  but,  finding  himself  unable  to  do  anything, 
he  feigned  death.  After  the  savages  were  satisfied  that 
they  had  despatched  Michael,  they  turned  their  attention 
to  the  other,  but  finding  him,  likewise,  dead,  as  they  sup- 
posed, they  concluded  to  hide  the  bodies.  They  then 
scalped  Michael,  bound  his  hands  and  feet,  stretched  him 
on  a  pole,  carried  him  away  a  little  distance,  and  buried 
him  in  some  leaves.  The  other,  as  soon  as  their  backs 
were  turned  in  this  rude  obsequy  to  the  dead,  crept  away 
and  was  soon  on  his  feet  and  running  for  his  life  towards 
home.  So  fearful  was  he  that  they  had  likewise  killed 
all  his  people  at  home,  and  that  the  Indians  might  return 
to  the  house,  that  he  hid  himself  away  in  some  hay  at  the 
barn.  After  remaining  there  a  long  while  he  stole  stealth- 
ily to  the  house,  where,  to  his  surprise  and  joy,  he  found 
the  others  all  alive,  but  had  a  sad  tale  to  tell  them.  The 
alarm  was  sounded,  and  the  neighbors  formed  a  posse, 
who  found  the  body  of  Michael,  but  the  Indians  had  fled. 
They  followed  their  trail  to  the  crest  of  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains, but  the  dangers  attending  the  pursuit  were  too  great 
for  them  to  go  any  further.  The  wound  inflicted  on  the 
survivor  was  a  deep  tomahawk  cut  on  the  head,  but  he 
was  healed,  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  and  left  a  large  pos- 
terity behind  him. 

As  early  as  1750  a  small  settlement  of  Germans  was 


Regina,  the  German  Captive. 


81 


made  at  Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill  County.  They  were  prac- 
tically the  first  to  occupy  that  locality.  At  the  period  of 
which  we  are  writing  sparse  settlements  had  been  made 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  town  of  Pine  Grove,  and  else- 
where, both  east  and  west.  Among  these  was  George 
Everhart,  his  wife  and  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  who 
had  cleared  for  himself  some  land,  and  built  on  it  a  home, 


near  what  is  now  Pine  Grove.  As  the  Indian  depreda- 
tions spread  eastward  from  the  Swatara  Gap  they  quickly 
reached  him.  Everhart  was  slain  and  scalped,  together 
with  his  wife  and  all  their  children  save  little  Margaret, 
then  but  six  years  of  age,  who  was  a  witness  to  the  brutal 
butchery  that  made  her  an  orphan,  friendless  and  home- 
less, for  what  they  failed  to  accomplish  with  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife  was  wrought  with  the  torch.  Prob- 
ably the  attractiveness  of  her  person  had  spared  her  life, 
only  to  be  led  to  a  hopeless  captivity.  Happily,  in  time, 
she  was  rescued  by  Colonel  Bouquet  and  returned  to  her 
friends.  She  was  married,  on  February  8,  177 1,  to  John 
Sallada  and  became  the  ancestress  of  a  large  posterity. 


82  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

The  most  pathetic  of  all  tales  is  the  comparatively  well 
known  one  of  Regina,  the  German  captive,  so  called.  It 
has  been  told  in  many  different  forms,  and  with  many 
poetical  embellishments.  If  for  no  other  reason,  it  will 
bear  telling  again,  and,  in  truth,  the  story  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania-Germans in  the  French  and  Indian  War  would  be 
incomplete  without  it. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  case  is  obtained  from  the  letter 
of  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  which  appears 
in  the  Hallische  Nachrichten,  and  of  which  the  following 
translation  from  the  German  has  been  made  by  the  Rev. 
J.  W.  Early,  of  Reading,  Pa. 

The  Translation. 

Rev.  Mr.  Muhlenberg's  Account  of  Remarkable  Inci- 
dents in  his  Administration  of  the  Pastor's  Office.  Hall. 
N.,  Vol.  2,  pp.  445-493- 

The  Twenty-sixth  Incident  (case),  Hall.  N.,  old  ed., 
1029,  Vol.  11,  p.  479  ff. 

In  February,  1765,  a  widow  and  her  adult  daughter 
from  Rev.  Kurtz's  congregation  came  to  (see  me).  This 
visit  cheered  me  very  much  because  of  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  The  widow  spoken  of  was  a  native 
of  the  old  and  renowned  Imperial  City,  Reutlingen,  in  the 
Duchy  of  Wuertemburg,  and  her  deceased  husband  (was 
born)  about  twelve  miles  from  Tuebingen.  Before  the 
war  broke  out  in  this  country,  they,  with  their  small  fam- 
ily of  children,  came  hither  and  sought  a  home  in  the 
interior  of  Pennsylvania  about  one  hundred  miles  from 
Philadelphia.  The  father  was  already  advanced  in  years 
and  too  feeble  to  endure  hard  labor,  but  endeavored  to 
instruct  his  children  in  the  Word  of  God,  because  in  the 
thinly  settled  country  districts  few  schools  are  to  be  found, 
or  none  at  all. 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  83 

Braddock's  Defeat. 
In  the  summer  of  the  year  1755  the  English  general 
Braddock  with  his  army  was  defeated  by  the  French  and 
the  hostile  Indians  in  the  wilderness,  because  the  English 
fought  according  to  European  methods  and  the  Indians 
after  the  American.  Immediately  thereupon  the  hostile 
savages  invaded  the  remote  districts  of  Pennsylvania  and 
butchered  the  scattered  and  defenceless  inhabitants,  con- 
sisting mostly  of  poor  German  families,  dragging  their 
children  through  the  trackless  wilderness  into  captivity  in 
their  huts  and  caves.  October  16,  1755,  this  fate  also 
befell  the  above  named  Christian  family,  together  with  a 
number  of  our  brethren  in  the  faith.  The  mother,  the 
widow  now  still  living,  and  one  of  the  sons,  had  gone  to 
a  mill  a  few  miles  distant,  to  secure  the  grinding  of  some 
grain ;  the  father,  together  with  the  oldest  son  and  the  two 
little  daughters,  remained  at  home.  The  savages  sud- 
denly fell  upon  them  (the  house),  slaying  the  father  and 
the  son  in  their  usual  barbarous  manner.  But  they  spared 
the  two  little  girls,  Barbara,  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
Regina,  going  on  ten,  bound  them,  and  dragged  them  aside 
into  the  forest,  leaving  several  Indians  to  guard  the  chil- 
dren. Within  a  few  days  the  others  (Indians)  continued 
to  bring  an  additional  number  of  captive  children  together. 

Flight  of  the  Mother. 
After  the  mother  and  son  returned  home  from  the  mill, 
and  found  everything  burned  and  in  ruins,  they  fled  further 
inland  (down)  to  Rev.  Pastor  Kurtz's  congregation.  The 
savages  now  having  brought  a  good  number  of  children, 
some  of  them  set  out  with  them  (the  children)  towards 
their  own  country,  not  by  the  usually  travelled  paths,  but 
through  rough  and  unsettled  sections,  so  that  they  might 


84  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

not  be  taken  from  them.  The  larger  children  were  com- 
pelled to  carry  the  smaller  ones,  who  were  strapped  to  their 
backs.  Now  they  pursued  their  tiresome  journey,  bare- 
footed, over  brushes,  stones,  briars,  undergrowth  (copse), 
through  mire  and  swamps.  Some  children's  feet  were 
worn  to  the  quick,  laying  bare  the  bones  and  tendons,  so 
that  they  thought  they  must  die  because  of  the  agony  and 
the  sufferings  which  they  endured.  But  they  were  urged 
on  mercilessly.  In  going  through  the  brushes  and  thickets 
their  clothing  was  torn  into  shreds  and  at  last  fell  from 
them  altogether.  When  they  finally  reached  the  country 
inhabited  by  the  savages  they  were  divided  among  them, 
one  being  given  to  a  family  here  and  another  to  another 
several  miles  further  on.  It  is  the  custom  among  these 
people,  if  perchance  parents  are  deprived  of  their  children 
in  war,  that  they  are  replaced  by  captives  taken  by  them. 

End  of  Regina's  Journey. 
When  they  had  now  proceeded  about  four  hundred  Eng- 
lish miles  the  younger  ten-year-old  daughter,  Regina,  was 
separated  from  her  sister,  Barbara,  who  had  been  handed 
over  (to  her  family)  and  was  compelled  to  go  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  further,  with  a  two-year-old  child,  which 
she  was  compelled  to  carry,  strapped  to  her  back.  Finally 
Regina  also  reached  the  end  of  her  journey,  and,  together 
with  the  child  which  she  was  carrying,  was  given  over  to 
an  old  ill-tempered  Indian  squaw,  who  had  but  one  son 
as  her  support,  to  be  her  slave  for  life.  But  he  (the  son) 
oft  times  did  not  return  home  for  a  week  or  even  a  longer 
period,  and  so  neglected  (to  provide  for)  his  mother.  In 
consequence  of  this  the  old  woman  demanded  that  Regina 
should  provide  sustenance,  or  be  put  to  death.  The  little 
helpless  infant  also  clung  to  Regina  and  looked  to  her  for 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  85 

comfort.  They  were  entirely  destitute  of  clothing,  and  the 
supply  of  provisions  was  very  scant.  When  the  worthless 
son  was  not  at  home  Regina  was  expected  to  see  to  every- 
thing if  she  did  not  wish  to  be  scolded  and  beaten  by  the 
old  hag  (Woelfin).  It  was,  therefore,  necessary  for  her 
to  drag  together  the  wood  by  which  they  were  warmed. 
When  the  ground  was  open  she  looked  for  and  dug  up 
all  manner  of  wild  roots,  e.  g.,  artichokes,  garlic,  etc.,  and 
gathered  the  tender  bark  of  trees  and  vegetables  to  pre- 
serve the  family  alive.  When  there  was  frost  in  the 
ground  she  hunted  all  kinds  of  living  creatures,  such  as 
wild  rats,  field  mice,  and  other  animals  which  she  was  able 
to  capture,  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger. 

For  Nine  Long  Years. 

For  more  than  nine  years,  she,  together  with  the  other 
little  girl,  was  compelled  to  continue  in  this  mode  of  life, 
not  knowing  whether  she  should  ever  return  again. 

Through  the  first  terrible  calamity,  when  she  was  de- 
prived of  her  father,  mother,  brothers  and  sister,  she  was 
naturally  benumbed.  In  the  long  journey,  with  its  attend- 
ant cruelties,  the  deprivation  of  all  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  at  the  hands  of  the  savages — in  continued  fears 
and  the  very  shadow  of  death,  there  was  still  room  for 
reflection,  and  she  could  not  do  more  than  preserve  an 
animal  existence.  When,  however,  this  miserable  mode 
of  existence  had  become  second  nature,  and  the  powers  of 
the  soul  were  again  brought  into  activity,  the  prayers,  the 
passages  of  Scripture  and  the  sacred  hymns  which  she 
had  learned  from  her  parents,  became  her  chief  delight. 
These  divine  truths  were  developed  in  her  soul  as  a  seed 
which  begins  to  grow,  sending  its  roots  downward  and 
the  shoots  upward,  when  the  genial  warmth  of  the  sun 


86  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

causes  the  earth  to  produce  life.  Thus  the  Word  of  God, 
learned  by  her,  gradually  expanded  into  life,  and  in  her 
tribulation  brought  peace,  rest  and  comfort  to  her  heart. 
The  miserable  mode  of  living  was  a  good  assistant  and 
means  of  restraint  to  curb  the  sinful  flesh  and  its  growing 
desires  and  the  Word  of  God  implanted  in  her  tender 
youth  could  so  much  the  more  readily  promote  the  growth 
of  the  inner  life.  She  stated  that  during  the  period  of 
her  captivity  she  had  offered  her  prayers  on  bended  knees, 
under  the  trees,  numberless  times,  with  the  child  beside 
her,  uniting  in  the  prayer.  Upon  almost  every  occasion 
during  the  later  years  she  had  a  faint  assurance  and  a 
gleam  of  hope  that  she  would  be  released  from  captivity 
and  brought  back  to  Christian  people. 

Two  Consoling  Hymns. 

Among  other  things  the  two  following  hymns  had  been 
and  still  were  a  constant  source  of  comfort  to  her:  viz., 
"Jesus  Evermore  I  Love,"  and  "Alone,  and  Yet  Not  Alone 
Am  I."  When  finally,  during  the  year  just  passed,  the 
fierce  savages  were  put  to  flight,  and  their  homes  attacked, 
especially  by  the  prudent  and  brave  Colonel  Bouquet  and 
his  victorious  army,  and  were  compelled  to  sue  for  peace, 
and  to  deliver  their  Christian  captives,  Regina  and  her 
foster  child  were  released  with  others. 

This  was  a  remarkable  event,  viz.,  as  a  large  number 
of  captives  were  brought  to  Colonel  Bouquet  in  the  midst 
of  the  trackless  wilderness,  the  larger  part  being  without 
any  clothing,  a  beneficent  charity  was  manifested,  not  only 
by  the  Colonel  himself,  but  also  by  his  people,  in  that  they 
cut  off  the  flaps  of  their  coats  and  waistcoats,  and  cut  up 
their  blankets  and  so  on  to  cover  the  absolute  nakedness 
of  the  poor  creatures,   it  being  in  the  midst  of  winter. 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY. 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  87 

Then  the  kindhearted  Colonel  Bouquet  first  brought  the 
larger  party  of  former  captives  from  the  country  of  the 
savages  to  the  English  forts  on  the  Ohio  River  known  as 
Ft.  Pitt.  There  the  same  spirit  of  sympathy  and  human- 
ity was  manifested  by  the  (soldiers  of)  garrison.  What- 
ever each  one  could  spare  of  his  scanty  supply  of  food  and 
clothing  was  bestowed  upon  these  fellow-creatures  to  cover 
their  nakedness,  to  protect  them  against  the  cold,  and  to 
satisfy  their  hunger.  This  manifestation  of  human  sym- 
pathy and  its  effects  were  certainly  pleasant  to  contemplate. 
For  whoever  could  find  anything  superfluous  in  the  line  of 
clothing  or  covering  brought  it  forward:  e.  g.,  flaps,  capes, 
sleeves,  pockets,  collars,  etc.,  not  absolutely  needed — extra 
lengths  of  blankets,  shirts,  or  cravats,  etc.  The  officers 
vied  with  the  rank  and  file  of  common  soldiers  in  cutting 
and  sewing.  First  to  clothe  their  male  fellow-creatures 
and  afterwards  to  close  up  and  patch  their  own  garments. 

Brought  to  Carlisle. 
From  Ft.  Pitt  the  crowd  (army)  of  those  rescued  was 
finally  brought  into  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  to  a  vil- 
lage named  Carlisle.  Notice  was  given  in  all  the  papers 
that  whoever  had  lost  friends,  relatives,  husband,  wife  or 
children,  should  be  on  hand  and  claim  their  own  (by 
proper  signs).  Accordingly  the  above-mentioned  poor 
widow  with  her  only  yet  remaining  son  journeyed  thither. 
She  asked  the  Commissioners  for  her  little  daughter,  Re- 
gina, describing  her  as  she  was  when  between  nine  and  ten 
years  of  age.  But  she  could  find  no  one  resembling  her 
among  the  crowd.  For  Regina  now  was  more  than 
eighteen  years  of  age,  fully  grown  to  womanhood,  stout, 
with  the  bearing  of  an  Indian,  and  speaking  the  language 
of  the  savages.     The   Commissioners  asked  the  mother 


88  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

whether  she  could  not  designate  some  characteristic  by 
which  her  daughter  might  be  known.  The  mother  re- 
plied in  German:  That  her  daughter  frequently  sang  the 
hymn  "  Jesus  I  Love  Evermore,"  and  "Alone,  and  Yet 
Not  Alone  Am  I  in  My  Dread  Solitude." 

Regina  is  Restored. 

Hardly  had  the  widow  said  this  when  Regina  sprang 
from  among  the  others  and  repeated  the  Creed,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  hymns  named.  Finally  the  mother  and 
daughter  fell  upon  each  other's  neck  shedding  tears  of 
joy.  The  mother  with  her  daughter  whom  she  had  again 
found  hastened  to  return  home.  The  little  girl  for  whom 
Regina  had  cared,  kept  looking  on  and  repeated  the 
things  which  Regina  had  repeated.  But  no  one  could  be 
found  who  recognized  her  as  their  own  child.  Hence  it 
was  thought  that  probably  her  parents  had  been  mur- 
dered. But  she  was  not  willing  to  leave  her  foster  mother 
and  clung  affectionately  to  Regina  so  that  she  could  not 
be  kept  back. 

Pleads  for  the  Book. 

This  happened  at  Carlisle,  December  31,  1764.  In 
February,  1765,  the  widow  with  her  daughter  came  to 
me,  saying  that  since  her  return  her  daughter  had  contin- 
ually pled  for  the  book  in  which  the  Lord  Jesus  speaks  so 
kindly  to  men  and  they  were  permitted  to  speak  to  him — 
meaning  thereby  the  Bible  and  the  hymn-book.  For  this 
purpose  they  had  come  this  distance  of  i,ixty  or  seventy 
miles.  A  chest  (or  box)  of  Bibles  had  been  sent  in  with 
the  newly  arrived  ministers,  Voight  and  Krug,  and  I  cheer- 
fully gave  them  one,  together  with  money  for  the  purpose 
of  a  hymn-book.  As  soon  as  she  had  taken  the  Bible — 
with  evident  pleasure — I  told  her  to  open  it  and  to  read 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  89 

to  me  what  first  met  her  eye.  She  opened  it  at  the  First 
Chapter  of  Tobit  and  read  the  second  verse  intelligibly 
and  impressively,  viz.,  "  The  same  was  also  taken  prisoner 
in  the  time  of  Talmanasser  (Emmeneser)  King  of  Assyria, 
and  although  prisoner  among  strangers,  yet  did  he  not 
depart  from  the  Word  of  the  Lord."  (This  is  a  transla- 
tion of  Muhlenberg's  quotation  from  the  German  Bible 
and  not  a  quotation  from  our  English  verse.) 

Regina's  Wonderful  Memory. 

To  me  it  seemed  remarkable  that  she  who  had  not 
seen  a  German  book  for  nine  years,  and  had  not  read  a 
single  syllable  during  that  time,  yet  had  not  forgotten 
how  to  read,  but  could  do  it  as  well  as  when  she  was  taken 
from  her  parents  and  carried  into  captivity  in  her  tenth 
year.  She  could  still  understand  German  pretty  well  but 
could  not  express  herself  in  it  because  in  regard  to  matters 
of  every  day  life,  the  Indian  language  had  now  become  her 
mother  tongue. 

This  again  shows  how  necessary,  profitable  and  advan- 
tageous are  those  schools  in  which  the  true  Christian  doc- 
trine and  the  example  of  Christ  are  impressed  upon  the 
minds  of  the  young,  and  implanted  in  their  hearts.  Were 
the  sainted  Luther  still  living  and  should  he  hear  that  a 
child  from  Reutlingen,  a  free  city,  which  in  1530  stood  up 
so  faithfully  for  the  Augsburg  Confession,  had  maintained 
its  spiritual  life  through  the  pure  Word  of  God  in  this  far- 
distant  wilderness,  he  would  again  heartily  praise  and 
glorify  God,  confidently  and  trustfully  singing  again: 
"The  Word  they  shall  still  let  remain,  and  not  a  spark 
have  for  it." 

The  following  four  verses  are  taken  from  the  touching 
hymn  which  united  mother  and  child: 


90  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"Allein  und  doch  nicht  ganz  alleine, 
Bin  ich   in  meiner  einsamkeit, 
Dann  vvaun  ich  ganz  verlassen  scheine, 

Vertreibt  mir  Jesus  selbst  die  'zeit, 
Ich  bin  bey  ihm,  und  er  bey  mir, 
So  Kommt  mirs  gar  nicht  einsam  fur." 

"  Komm   ich   zur   welt,    man   redt  von   sachen, 
So  nur  auf  eitelkeit  gericht, 
Da  muss  sich  lassen  der  verlachen, 

Der  etwas  von  dem  hummel  spricht, 
Drum  wiinsch  ich  lieber  ganz  allein, 
AIs  bey  der  welt  ohn  Gott  zu  seyn." 

"  Verkehrte  konnen   leicht  verkehren? 
Wer  greiffet  pech  ohn  kleben  an? 
Wie  solt  ich  daun  dahin  begehren 

Wo  man   Gott  bold  vergessen  Kann? 
Gesellschaft,  die  verdachtig  scheint 
Und  ofters  nach  dem  fall  beweint." 


"  Wer  wolte  dann  nun  nicht  erkennen 
Das  ich  stets  in  gesellschaft  bin? 
Und  will  die  welt  mich  einsam  nennen 

So  thu  sie  es  nur  immerhin, 
G'nug,  das  bey  mir,  waun  ich  allein 
Gott  und  viel  tausend  engel  seyn." 


"  Alone,  and  yet  not  all  alone 

Am  I,  in  solitude  though  drear, 

For  when  no  one  seems  me  to  own, 
My  Jesus  will  himself  be  near, 

I  am  with  Him  and  He  with  me 

I  therefore  cannot  lonely  be." 

"Seek  I  the  world?  of  things  they  speak, 

Which  are  on  vanity  intent, 
Here  he  is  scorned  and  spurned  as  weak 

Where  mind  on  heavenly  things  is  bent, 
I  rather  would  my  lone  way  plod, 
Than  share  the  world  without  my  God." 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  91 

"  With  ease  do  perverts  perverts  make, 
Who  handles  pitch  his  hands  will  soil, 
Why  then  should  I  with  those  partake 

Who  of  His  honor  God  despoil? 
Society  which  we  suspect, 
We  often  afterwards  reject." 

***** 

"  Who  will  not  with  candor  own, 
I  have  companions  all  I  crave? 
And  will   the  world  still  deem  me  lone? 

Then  let  it  thus  forever  rave. 
Enough!    I've  God  and  angel's  host, 
Whose  number  can  its  thousands  boast." 


Because  of  the  interest  attached  to  this  narrative,  the 
location  of  the  scene  of  the  tragedy  has  been  sought  by 
various  persons.  It  was  generally  supposed  to  have  oc- 
curred on  the  northern  confines  of  the  present  Lebanon 
County. 

At  the  request  of  the  Lebanon  County  Historical  So- 
ciety the  writer  of  this  read  before  its  members,  on  April 
21,  1 90 1,  a  paper  bearing  upon  the  part,  taken  by  what 
is  now  Lebanon  County,  in  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
in  the  course  of  which  mention  was  made  of  Regina.  In 
December  of  the  same  year,  the  following  item  appeared 
in  one  of  the  daily  papers: 

"A  movement  has  been  started  in  lower  Schuylkill 
County  for  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  Regina  Hart- 
man,  the  heroine  of  a  pathetic  story  familiar  to  all. 

"  The  ruins  of  the  Hartman  home  are  one  of  the  land- 
marks near  Orwigsburg.  Regina  Hartman  and  her 
mother  are  buried  in  Christ  Lutheran  cemetery,  near 
Stouchsburg." 

It  was  claimed  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  John 
Hartman,  born  June  20,  17 10. 


92  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

This  at  once  created  somewhat  of  excitement  among  the 
good  people  in  Lebanon  County.  Especially  interested 
and  active  in  the  work  of  trying  to  get  at  the  true  facts 
of  the  case  was  Dr.  S.  P.  Heilman,  the  efficient  Secretary 
of  the  Lebanon  County  Historical  Society.  At  his  solici- 
tation the  writer  was  requested  to  give  his  opinion  on  the 
subject,  which  he  did  in  the  following  reply: 

Letter  as  to  Location. 
"  Dr.  S.  P.  Heilman,  Secretary, 

"  Lebanon  County  Historical  Society. 

"My  Dear  Sir: — I  have  read,  with  much  interest,  your 
favor  of  December   12,    1901,   concerning  the  proposed 
memorial    to    be    erected    near    Orwigsburg,    Schuylkill 
County,  to  Regina  Hartman,  the  Indian  captive. 

"  It  is  very  difficult  to  express  an  authentic  opinion  on 
this  subject  as  there  is  a  dearth  of  all  necessary  data.  The 
Hartmans  were  but  a  poor  German  family,  of  no  promi- 
nence whatever.  Had  it  not  been  that  the  widow  was 
thrown  in  contact  with  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlen- 
berg it  is  quite  sure  their  name  would  not  have  appeared 
on  the  page  of  history,  despite  their  sad  experience  which 
only  resembled  that  of  many  others  who  went  down  to 
unknown  graves  at  the  same  time. 

"  In  the  Hallische  Nachrichten,  page  1029,  old  edition, 
Muhlenberg  tells  how  the  widow  Hartman,  accompanied 
by  her  restored  daughter,  Regina,  called  on  him,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1765,  to  procure  a  Bible  and  hymn  book.  He  was 
so  struck  with  their  pathetic  story  that  he  narrates,  in  de- 
tail, how  they  emigrated  from  Reutlingen,  Wurtemberg, 
to  America,  and  settled  on  the  frontier  some  hundred  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  at  a  place  where  they  had  neighbors 
of  the  same  faith  and  nationality  as  their  own.     Here,  on 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  93 

October  16,  1755,  while  the  wife  and  one  son  had  gone 
to  the  mill,  the  Indians  murdered  her  husband  and  other 
son,  destroyed  the  house  by  fire  and  dragged  the  daughters, 
Barbara  and  Regina,  into  captivity.  Muhlenberg  adds 
that  the  widow  then  'came  further  down  to  Rev.  Kurtz's 
congregation'  (at  Stouchsburg) ,  where  she  felt  herself  to 
be  in  safety.  Then  follows  an  account  of  the  finding  and 
restoration  of  Regina,  with  which  we  are  all  familiar. 

"As  Muhlenberg's  record  comes  from  the  lips  of  Mrs. 
Hartman  herself  we  must  consider  it  authentic.  At  the 
same  time  we  must  remember  that  he  wrote  thus  to  the 
Halle  fathers  not  to  narrate  an  historical  fact  but  to  state 
the  spiritual  condition  of  Regina  who,  with  her  mother, 
came  weary  miles  to  get  the  book  which,  as  the  girl  ex- 
pressed it,  gave  God's  words  to  us,  and  that  other  book 
which  would  tell  her  how  to  talk  to  God  in  return.  No- 
where in  his  letter  does  he  give  the  first  names  of  either 
father  or  sons,  nor  does  he  tell  definitely  where  they  origi- 
nally located,  except  as  given  above. 

"  There  can  be  hardly  any  question  that  all  the  authentic 
writings  which  have  appeared  concerning  Regina  have 
come,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  Muhlenberg's  record. 
If  so,  the  writers,  of  course,  knew  no  more  about  the  sub- 
ject than  did  Muhlenberg.  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Hart- 
man's  first  name  was  John,  and  that  one  of  the  sons  was 
named  Christian,  but,  before  admitting  this  as  a  fact,  I 
should  want  to  be  confronted  with  undoubted  proofs.  In 
the  same  way,  Orwigsburg  may  readily  say  that  the  family 
came  from  its  locality,  but  I  am  most  curious  to  know  on 
what  unquestioned  data  this  claim  is  based. 

"  I  am  aware  that  the  Rev.  R.  Weiser,  in  his  interesting 
story,  states  that  much  of  his  data  was  obtained  orally, 
having  been  transmitted  by  his  grandmother  to  him  when 


94  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

he  was  a  little  boy.  His  whole  book,  however,  indicates 
that  he  has  drawn  very  fully  upon  his  imagination  and,  in 
no  case,  does  any  sufficient  evidence  seem  to  be  adduced  to 
cover  various  important  statements  made. 

"  It  is  a  fact  that  a  small  settlement  of  Germans  was 
made  near  Orwigsburg  as  early  as  1750,  and  that  they 
were  among  the  many  sufferers  during  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  It  may  even  be  that  a  John  Hartman  was 
one  of  their  number  who  was  murdered  at  that  time,  and 
yet  I  cannot  help  but  think  that  the  weight  of  evidence  is 
against  their  claim  in  this  instance. 

"  In  the  first  place,  Rupp,  in  his  '  History  of  Berks  and 
Lebanon  Counties,'  says  that  the  family  settled  on  the 
frontier  of  the  present  Lebanon  County.  We  know  that 
Mr.  Rupp  was  a  careful  and  accurate  historian,  and  his 
statement  is  worthy  of  some  credence  at  least,  especially  as 
no  one  else,  up  to  this  time,  has  proven  otherwise. 

11  In  the  next  place,  we  can  say,  positively,  that  there  is 
no  record  of  the  hostile  Indians  having  reached  the  locality 
of  Orwigsburg  until  November,  or  even  December,  1755, 
while  many  murders  were  committed  in  and  around  Swa- 
tara  Gap  during  October,  and  Muhlenberg  says  the  family 
were  killed  on  October  16. 

"  Then,  again,  we  have  a  cotemporary  record  of  the 
murder  of  Henry  Hartman,  in  October,  who  lived  just 
beyond  the  Swatara  Gap.  Those  who  went  to  bury  him 
make  no  mention  of  his  family,  or  a  murdered  son,  and  as 
they  found  his  body  lying  on  the  floor  of  his  home  the 
house  could  hardly  have  been  destroyed  by  fire.  I  do  not 
claim  that  this  was  the  father  of  Regina,  although  the  date 
and  name  are  strangely  coincident,  but  certainly  here  did 
live  a  Hartman  family  who  may  have  had  namesakes 
near  by. 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  95 

"And  lastly,  we  are  told  that  the  widow  fled  'further 
down'  to  where  Rev.  Kurtz  had  his  congregation  in  the 
Tulpehocken  region.  This  is  exactly  where  all  the  refu- 
gees fled  who  came  through  the  Swatara  Gap.  It  was 
their  natural  refuge.  Had  the  Hartman  family  lived  near 
Orwigsburg  they  would  have  fled  either  through  the  Gap 
at  Port  Clinton,  or  have  crossed  the  mountains  at  Fort 
Franklin,  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  towards  the  Lehigh 
River.  In  that  case  their  natural  refuge  would  have  been 
either  Albany  township  of  Berks  County,  or  Reading  itself. 

"Of  course,  to  a  certain  extent  this  is  all  conjecture,  and 
yet,  to  my  mind,  it  is  good  reasoning.  It  seems  to  me  it 
leaves  the  balance  of  proof  in  favor  of  Lebanon  County, 
and  calls  for  undoubted  facts  and  data  from  Orwigsburg 
before  yielding  the  palm  to  them.  It  would  be  a  source 
of  great  regret  should  they  erect  a  monument  to  Regina 
Hartman  too  hastily,  bringing  possible  reproach  upon 
themselves,  and  causing  a  possible  perversion  of  true 
history. 

"  I  would  suggest  that  this  matter  be  brought  before  the 
Lebanon  County  Historical  Society,  at  its  coming  meeting, 
and  that  authority  be  then  given  its  secretary  to  enter  into 
correspondence  with  the  proper  persons  at  Orwigsburg 
with  a  view  of  ascertaining  from  whence  they  obtain  such 
undoubted  data  as  to  warrant  them  in  taking  their  pro- 
posed action.  "  Sincerely  yours, 

"  H.  M.  M.  Richards." 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion  the  matter  was 
brought  before  the  Lebanon  County  Historical  Society,  and 
its  secretary  requested  to  investigate  in  the  direction  men- 
tioned. Every  effort  was  made  to  open  up  a  correspon- 
dence on  the  subject  with  the  authorities  at  Orwigsburg, 


96  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

but  the  efforts  only  resulted  in  failure,  as  no  reply  was 
received  to  any  of  the  communications  sent,  nor  could  it  be 
ascertained  who  was  responsible  for  the  statements  made 
in  the  newspapers. 

To  what  was  then  written  I  take  the  liberty  of  adding 
that  Muhlenberg  distinctly  says  "  the  father  was  already 
advanced  in  years  and  too  feeble  to  endure  hard  labor," 
which  could  hardly  apply  to  a  man  like  John  Hartman, 
who  was  born  June  20,  17 10,  and  would  then  have  been 
but  forty-five  years  of  age. 

While  no  reply  was  received  from  Orwigsburg  at  the 
time,  yet,  on  February  20,  1903,  the  following  appeared 
in  the  Orwigsburg  News,  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  H.  A. 
Weller,  which  is  certainly  deserving  of  careful  attention. 
It  must  be  admitted  that,  to  refute  what  he  says,  would 
seem  to  be  difficult,  but  we  are  willing  to  leave  this  most 
interesting  subject  to  the  public  for  its  verdict,  after  the 
succeeding  chapter  has  been  read. 

"Editor  Orwigsburg  News: — Where  did  the  tragedy 
which  resulted  in  the  pathetic  historical  story  of  'Regina, 
the  German  Captive'  occur? 

"  This  question  of  provincial  local  history  has  again  been 
agitated  by  the  claims  published  in  one  of  the  later  num- 
bers of  the  valued  publications  of  the  Lebanon  County 
Historical  Society;  and  since  I  have  seen  no  authentic  gen- 
eral publication  of  the  evidences  which  establish  the  locus 
of  this  history  at  Orwigsburg,  it  may  be  of  interest  if  not 
of  value  to  relate  the  same  in  your  columns. 

"Disclaiming  all  desire  for  controversy  or  criticism; 
moved  alone  by  a  purpose  to  see  historical  facts  established 
upon  the  best  attainable  evidences,  rather  than  upon  '  infer- 
ences,' we  call  attention  to  the  historical  error  of  said  so- 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  97 

ciety  arising,  no  doubt,  from  a  confusion  of  names  and 
places  so  far  as  relates  to  the  residence  of  the  family  of 
Johannes  Hartmann  at  the  time  of  the  massacre  of  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  and  the  captivity  of  their  little  Regina. 
'  This  reply  is  challenged  by  an  article  on  the  subject 
from  the  pen  of  its  estimable  secretary,  Dr.  S.  P.  Heilman, 
published  in  the  general  publication  of  the  Lebanon  County 
Historical  Society,  and  a  supporting  article  in  the  same 
publication  from  the  facile  pen  of  that  usually  painstaking 
and  considerate  authority  in  matters  of  local  history,  Mr. 
H.  M.  M.  Richards,  in  which  the  long  ceded  claims  of 
Orwigsburg,  Schuylkill  County,  Pa.,  as  the  place  of  the 
tragedy  in  the  Hartman  family,  October  16,  1755,  are 
called  into  question,  and  an  attempt  made  by  '  inferences  ' 
and  'probabilities'  to  show  that  the  occurrence  to  which  the 
Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  from  the  lips  of  the 
mother  of  Regina  Hartmann  testifies  in  Hallische  Nach- 
richten,  1029  (Mann's  edition,  Vol.  II.,  p.  479)  and  from 
the  pathetic  incidents  connected  therewith,  as  related  to 
him  in  boyhood  days  by  his  grandmother,  the  Rev.  R. 
Weiser,  in  1856,  published  an  embellished  narrative  of 
'Regina,  the  German  Captive,'  took  place  in  the  vicinity 
of  Swatara  Gap,  in  Lebanon  County,  Pa. 

"  In  advancing  these  claims  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
writer  of  the  chief  article  for  the  Historical  Society,  espe- 
cially, bases  his  statements  of  fact  largely  upon  admitted 
'  inferences  '  and  '  presumed  '  probabilities  to  establish  evi- 
dence of  an  historical  fact,  a  questionable  practice  always, 
to  say  the  least,  where  history  and  its  incidents  are  to  be 
written.  In  this  they  have  unfortunately  fallen  into  the 
same  error  which  some  years  since  trapped  some  of  the 
local  historians  of  the  vicinity  of  Bern,  in  Berks  County, 
Pa.,  by  an  instinct  of  pardonable  pride,  to  claim  that  the 


98  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Hartman  tragedy  was  enacted  near  the  Schuylkill  Gap,  in 
the  Blue  Mountains,  southward  from  where  is  now  Port 
Clinton,  Pa.,  and  which  bore  traces  of  probability  as  strong 
at  least  as  those  of  the  claimants  for  Lebanon  County. 

"  Wanting  better  historical  evidence  we  might  let  the 
claimants  from  Berks  and  Lebanon  Counties  dispute  this 
matter  out,  and  their  claims  of  probability  were  equally 
warranted  by  inferences  with  a  slight  advantage  perchance 
to  Lebanon,  arising  from  the  established  fact  that  an  In- 
dian massacre  did  occur  in  the  vicinity  of  Swatara  Gap 
about  the  same  time  (Penna.  Archives)  ;  and  Conrad 
Weiser  mentions  among  others,  the  residence  of  a  man 
named  Hartman  in  that  locality  at  the  time,  who  could  not 
be  found  after  the  massacre. 

"But  why  take  valuable  space  in  an  attempt  to  refute 
claims  of  a  mere  'probability'  or  to  answer  and  debate  'in- 
ferences' which,  for  lack  of  better  historical  data,  led  the 
Historical  Society  to  accept  and  publish  the  papers  above 
referred  to  as  establishing  history?  Suffice  it  to  submit  a 
simple  statement  of  a  few  established  facts,  and  note  a  few 
of  the  sources  of  information  that  have  for  years  been 
accepted  as  sufficient  evidence  to  establish  the  fact  that  this 
tragedy  and  its  incidents  really  did  occur  in  Schuylkill 
(then  Berks)  County,  where  Orwigsburg  now  is. 

"1.  The  report  of  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg 
(Hallische  Nachrichten,  1029),  that  Johannes  Hartmann 
and  his  family  had  made  their  home  '  in  northern  Berks, 
about  one  hundred  miles  distant  from  Philadelphia.' 
This  unsupported,  might  equally  apply  to  the  claims  of 
the  writers  for  Lebanon  County. 

"  2.  The  statement  of  Rev.  R.  Weiser,  in  '  Regina,  the 
German  Captive,'  that  his  grandmother,  then  residing  at 
Womelsdorf,  Pa.,  had  often  related  the  story  of  the  trag- 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  99 

edy  which  befell  the  Hartmann  family,  and  the  pathetic 
incident  of  the  captivity  and  return  of  Regina,  which  he 
later  embellished  and  caused  to  be  published;  and  always 
had  his  relator  mentioned  Orwigsburg  as  the  place  where 
the  massacre  occurred.  This,  unsupported,  might  well 
be  confuted  by  Rev.  Weiser's  own  later  statement  that  he 
had  no  certain  or  circumstantial  information  as  to  the  locus. 
"  3.  The  records  of  Zion's  Church,  in  West  Brunswick 
Township,  one  and  a  half  miles  distant  southeastwardly 
from  Orwigsburg,  and  spoken  historically  as  '  Die  Zion's 
Kirche,  ueber  den  Blauen  Bergen,  on  der  Skoolkil  in 
Berks  '  (vid.  Lutheran  Observer,  Vol.  LIX,  No.  2,  p.  3), 
relate  how  in  the  '  fall  '  of  the  year  1755 — the  settlers 
having  just  finished  building  and  dedicating  their  first  '  log 
church  '  during  the  summer — '  The  wild  heathen  of  the 
wilderness  '  came  upon  the  communities  in  this  section  with 
tomahawk,  gun  and  fire,  massacreing  the  people  and  laying 
their  homes  in  ashes.  It  was  at  this  time  that  their  '  log 
church,'  where  Zion's  Church  now  stands,  was  burned  to 
the  ground;  and  history  speaks  of  the  flight  of  those  who 
could  escape  across  the  Blue  Mountains  in  Maxatawny 
and  Bern  Townships,  Berks  County,  as  '  the  skedaddle.' 
These  ancient  records  have  never  been  disputed,  though, 
it  is  true,  Muhlenberg  made  no  report  of  the  existence  of 
this  church  to  Halle,  which  is  readily  accounted  for  when 
the  fact  is  considered  that  the  pastor  who  assisted  these 
early  settlers  was  one  of  those  not  in  affiliation  with  the 
work  of  the  Pioneer  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
usually  termed  '  vagabond  preachers  who  stir  the  water 
for  the  loaves  and  fishes.'  Be  this  as  it  may,  accurate  and 
accepted  accounts  of  the  building,  dedication,  and  destruc- 
tion of  that  first  '  log  church  '  were  recorded  when  after 
1  the  skedaddle  '  of  the  fall  and  winter  of  1755,  the  sur- 


ioo  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

vivors  of  those  horrors  returned  and  rebuilt  their  church 
on  the  same  spot;  and  this  record,  some  of  it  only  frag- 
mentary now,  is  still  in  the  archives  of  the  church.  Unfor- 
tunately for  our  immediate  purpose  the  membership  rec- 
ord, if  any  existed  in  1755,  has  been  lost,  but  what  is  there 
is  sufficient  to  all  seekers  for  historical  data  to  establish 
the  fact  that  '  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1755  '  a  frightful 
massacre  by  the  wild  Indians  was  enacted  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  present  town  of  Orwigsburg. 

"  4.  In  the  printed  memoirs  of  Father  Daniel  Deibert 
(born  1802),  published  at  Schuylkill  Haven,  Pa.,  1884, 
there  is  a  succinct  account  of  how  his  grandfather,  Wil- 
helm  Deibert  (Deiver),  who  came  with  his  parents  to 
America,  landing  at  Philadelphia,  when  Wilhelm  was 
three  years  old,  and  resided  with  them  later  in  their  '  set- 
tlement '  in  Bern  Township,  Berks  County,  Pa.,  together 
with  his  brother  Michael  Deibert,  when  they  had  grown 
up,  came  to  Manheim  Township  (now  Schuylkill  County), 
and  in  the  year  1744,  '  took  up  '  300  acres  of  land  in  the 
present  North  Manheim  Township,  on  the  road  leading 
from  Schuylkill  Haven  to  Landingville,  where  are  now  the 
farms  of  Edward  Peale  and  John  Filbert,  respectively, 
about  two  miles  southwestwardly  from  Orwigsburg. 
How,  afterwards,  his  own  father,  John,  bought  144  acres 
of  land  in  said  township,  at  the  place  just  westward  from 
Orwigsburg,  where  is  now  the  James  Deibert  homestead. 
Incidentally  telling  how  when  Daniel,  the  writer,  was  a 
child  four  or  five  years  old,  his  father  and  mother  were 
clearing  land,  and  used  to  take  the  cradle  along  and  the 
three  children  into  the  woods,  and  '  I,  the  oldest,  would 
keep  the  locusts  from  the  cradle  where  the  baby  rested.' 
(Let  it  be  noted  that  this  was  next  to  or  near  the  former 
Hartmann  plantation.)      At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  says 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  101 

the  writer,  'I  worked  for  my  Uncle  George  Deibert,  for 
six  dollars  per  month,  living  with  him  at  the  time;  he  was 
sick  at  the  time  and  died  while  I  was  there.  My  grand- 
father Deibert  was  living  with  him  at  that  time.  He 
worked  at  weaving  then.  He  told  me  many  stories  about 
the  Indians,  how  they  molested  them  when  they  first  set- 
tled here.' 

And,  now,  quoting  from  this  volume  of  the  '  Story  of 
the  life  of  Daniel  Deibert,'  let  another  render  the  account 
of  the  family  of  Johannes  Hartmann,  at  Orwigsburg: 
1  Nearly  at  the  same  time,  or  a  few  years  earlier  than  my 
grandfather  settled  here  in  Schuylkill  County,  a  German 
family  by  the  name  of  Hartmann  came  from  Europe  and 
settled  at  the  place  where  Orwigsburg  now  stands.  The 
family  consisted  of  the  parents  and  four  children,  two  boys 
and  two  girls.  They  were  a  pious  and  god-fearing  family. 
They  went  to  work  and  prospered  well.  One  day,  in  the 
fall  of  1755,  Hartmann  and  his  eldest  son  were  to  finish 
their  sowing.  Mrs.  Hartmann  and  the  youngest  son  went 
to  the  mill  to  get  some  grist  done,  but  little  they  thought 
that  this  should  be  the  last  time  that  they  should  see  each 
other  in  this  world.  At  noon,  when  they  were  eating 
dinner,  a  band  of  Indians  came,  fifteen  in  number,  and 
killed  Hartmann  and  his  eldest  son;  plundered  the  house, 
then  set  it  on  fire.  The  two  girls  they  took  along  as 
victims.  Towards  evening  when  Mrs.  Hartmann  came 
home  she  found  her  buildings  all  in  ashes.  They  burned 
the  bodies  of  Hartmann  and  his  son ;  even  the  dog,  they 
threw  him  into  the  flames  and  burned  him.  The  two  girls, 
as  above  mentioned,  they  took  along,  and  another  little 
girl,  only  about  three  years  old,  that  they  took  along  as 
victim  from  a  family  named  Smith.  They  murdered  the 
father  of  that  family  in  the  morning,  the  same  day  they 


102  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

came  to  Hartmann's;  the  girls  they  took  along  bare-foot, 
and  soon  their  feet  got  sore  that  they  could  hardly  walk 
any  more;  the  oldest  of  the  girls  got  sick  and  could  go  no 
farther,  then  they  killed  her  with  the  tomahawk.  The 
other  two  girls,  they  wrapped  their  feet  with  old  cloth 
and  took  them  along  to  their  camp.  Mrs.  Hartmann  was 
very  much  troubled  about  her  husband  and  children ;  some 
hunters  found  the  body  of  the  eldest  daughter  and  buried 
her.  She  could  comfort  herself  better  over  them  that  were 
dead  than  over  the  one  she  knew  was  among  the  Indians. 
She  was  a  praying  and  God-fearing  woman,  and  prayed 
God  that  He  would  restore  the  child  to  her  again ;  but  the 
years  passed  on  and  sometimes  she  heard  that  children 
were  taken  from  the  Indians,  then  she  went  to  see  whether 
she  could  find  her  lost  daughter.  One  time  she  went  as 
far  as  Pittsburg,  but  all  in  vain.  So  nine  long  and  dreary 
years  passed  away,  and  she  prayed  to  God  for  her  lost 
daughter.  One  day  a  man  brought  her  a  message  that  a 
great  many  children  were  taken  from  the  Indians  and  they 
were  in  the  care  of  Colonel  Boquet  at  Carlisle.  As  soon 
as  she  heard  it  she  expected  to  find  her  long  lost  daughter 
there,  so  she  started  for  Carlisle;  when  she  came  there  the 
children  were  all  presented  to  her  but  she  could  not  rec- 
ognize one  that  might  be  her  daughter;  so  she  spoke  to 
some  of  them  but  got  no  answer,  for  they  could  only  speak 
the  Indian  language.  With  a  heavy  heart  she  thought 
she  had  to  go  home  again  without  her  daughter.  The 
Colonel  asked  her  whether  she  could  sing  a  German  hymn 
they  used  to  sing  in  their  family  at  home.  Then  she  com- 
menced and  sang  the  hymn :  "Allein  und  doch  nicht  ganz 
allein  bin  ich,"  meaning  in  English,  "Alone  and  yet  not 
all  alone  am  I."  Then  a  grown  up  girl  sprang  to  her,  fell 
around  her  neck  and  kissed  her,  and  recognized  her  as  her 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  103 

dear  mother.  No  pen  can  describe  the  joy  when  they  rec- 
ognized each  other  again.  What  a  blessing  it  is  when 
parents  sing  and  pray  in  their  families  with  their  children. 
Near  Landingville,  at  the  farm  now  owned  by  Daniel 
Heim,  the  Indians  also  took  a  sister  of  Martin  Woerner 
along  '  as  a  victim,'  etc. 

"  Speaking  of  the  '  skeedaddle  '  of  the  settlers,  Daniel 
Deibert  says:  '  My  grandfather  and  his  brother,  Michael, 
had  to  flee  over  the  Blue  Mountains  to  their  father's  home. 
They  buried  their  implements  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Schuylkill  River  in  the  woods,  that  the  Indians  could  not 
get  them ;  but  when  they  came  back  they  did  not  find  them 
any  more,  and  they  did  not  find  them  till  the  Schuylkill 
Canal  was  made,  then  they  dug  them  out.' 

"Among  the  other  accounts  of  Indian  maraudings  in 
those  fearful  years,  1755-65,  Daniel  Deibert  also  men- 
tions the  murder  of  the  family  of  John  Finscher,  a  year 
later  than  the  massacre  of  Hartmann  and  his  son,  George. 
This  might  not  be  germane  here  but  for  the  establishment 
of  the  fact  that  it  was  to  John  Finscher's  mill,  at  where 
is  now  Schuylkill  Haven,  that  Mrs.  Hartmann  had  gone 
with  her  little  son,  Christian,  on  that  eventful  day  when 
Hammaoslu  (the  tiger's  claw)  led  his  savage  band  down 
upon  the  peace  of  her  heart  and  home,  and  Pottowasnos 
(the  boat  pusher)  carried  the  shrieking  children  into  the 
forest  journey  of  their  awful  captivity.  (Vid.  Penna. 
Archives,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  30  and  36,  for  account  of  Captain 
John  Morgan  and  James  Reed,  Esq.,  in  re  the  murder  of 
Finscher  Family.) 

"  Captain  D.  C.  Henning,  in  his  '  Tales  of  the  Blue 
Mountains'  (1897),  well  said  that  'the  antiquarian  of 
the  future  in  following  the  trail  of  civilization  and  of  em- 
pire on  its  westward  way  will  linger  long  among  these 


104  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

mountains  of  Schuylkill  County  and  find  a  field  for  thought 
and  wonderment,'  and,  we  venture  to  add,  not  the  least 
of  the  tales  of  the  first  thousand  battle  grounds  that  mark 
the  wake  of  the  irresistible  campaign  of  the  westward 
march  will  be  that  of  the  valley  next  beyond  the  Blue 
Mountains  in  Pennsylvania  and  its  cross-valley — the 
Schuylkill — where  the  savage  red-man,  stirred  to  the  quick 
by  the  memory  of  their  chiefs  being  made  drunken  and 
cheated  and  taken  advantage  of  in  purchases  of  land,  and 
aroused  to  a  hope  of  redress  when  the  proud  Braddock 
had  fallen  in  July,  1755,  made  a  stand  yet  scarce  recog- 
nized in  history;  and  around  the  vicinity  of  that  old  '  Red 
Church  '  (Zion's),  the  future  historian  will  find  the  deeds 
enacted,  like  the  massacre  of  Hartmann,  and  the  nobility 
of  fortitude  born  like  that  in  the  breast  of  Magdalena 
Hartmann,  that  roused  lethargic  pulses  to  quicken  with 
the  fire  that  relentlessly  pursued  and  inch  by  inch  drove  the 
savage  '  wild  heathen  of  the  forest  '  beyond  the  confines 
of  the  State.  And,  it  may  have  been  prayers  like  those 
nine-year-long  cries  of  a  widowed  mother,  that  caused 
heaven  to  prosper  the  world-famed  battle  cry  of  '  West- 
ward, Ho ! '  which  rose  lambent  over  the  ashes  of  pioneers 
such  as  these  in  the  valley  '  ueber  den  Blauen  Bergen  an  der 
Skoolkyll  in  Berks.' 

"  It  is  not  meet  that  I  lengthen  this  paper;  for  my  pur- 
pose is  only  to  bid  other  historical  searchers  to  examine  the 
evidences;  first,  from  the  mouth  of  Magdalena  Hartmann, 
by  the  pen  of  Muhlenberg,  that  the  tragedy  really  oc- 
curred; second,  not  to  cast  aside  the  evidences  of  the  mas- 
sacre which  really  occurred  in  this  county  about  Orwigs- 
burg  in  1 755—1 765,  as  authenticated  by  the  records  of  the 
first  church  in  the  valley  next  beyond  the  mountains  as 
well  as  the  historical  archives  of  the  State;  and,  third,  to 


Regina,  the  German  Captive.  105 

inform  themselves  whether  there  may  not  be  corroborative 
evidence  like  that  of  the  Deiberts,  who  were  the  next  door 
neighbors  of  Johannes  Hartmann  and  his  family,  before 
they  accept  as  conclusive  of  error  the  statement  of  a  writer 
who  while  he  asserts  that  he  had  no  conclusive  proof  or 
circumstantial  evidence,  yet  his  grandmother  (who,  by  the 
way,  knew  Magdalena  Hartmann  personally  in  her  later 
years)  had  told  him  the  story  of  Regina  and  the  home  in 
Orwigsburg. 

"  Let  the  searcher  for  historic  truth  come  and  sit  with 
us  on  the  edge  of  the  well  that  springs  where  stands  the 
great  old  pine  tree  with  its  corona  of  a  few  branches  high 
in  the  air,  about  a  block  or  square  northward  from  where 
the  spire  of  St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church  also  points  upward 
to  the  throne  of  Him  who  heard  and  answered  Magdalena 
Hartmann's  prayers  for  the  safe  return  of  Regina;  and, 
as  we  sit,  we  will  dip  and  drink  deep  a  cooling  draught 
from  the  crystal  sparkling  spring,  while  in  vision  entranced 
we  look  and  see  once  again  the  ending  search  of  nine  long 
years,  and  behold  the  released  captive  Sawquehanna  (White 
Lilly,  Regina's  Indian  name)  half  dispirited  by  surround- 
ing strangeness  come  over  the  hills  from  Carlisle  with  her 
mother  at  one  hand  and  her  Koloska  (the  Short-legged 
Bear,  Indian  name  of  Susan  Smith,  her  companion  in  cap- 
tivity) at  the  other,  until  rising  over  the  crest  of  the  last 
hill  that  overlooks  this  sacred  spot,  the  conscious  revela- 
tion bursts  upon  the  memory-curtained  mind,  as  with  hand 
uplifted  and  face  lit  up,  she  cries:  '  Washock!  Washock!' 
the  green  tree !  the  green  tree !  where  she  and  her  sister 
and  mother  had  spent  many  happy  hours  in  early  child- 
hood. Then  the  weary  heart  of  the  captive  remembered 
and  realized  that  it  was  at  home  with  mother.  And  when 
the  witchery  of  that  historic  spot  with  its  halo  of  the  story 


io6 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


of  Regina  shall  hold  us  bound  a  moment  longer  ere  it  van- 
ishes, we  shall  be  convinced  that  '  the  wine  of  sacrifice  was 
not  poured  in  vain  when  it  was  poured  to  preserve  that 
heritage  that  cost  our  forefathers  and  our  motherhood  the 
fearful  price  they  paid  for  it.' 

"  Cordially  yours, 

"  H.  A.  Weller." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger. 

♦fT*  AVING  told  in  full  the 

wMmJ  story  of  Regina,  the 
German  captive,  as  it  has  been 
given  the  public  for  many 
years,  with  all  the  pros  and 
cons  bearing  upon  its  loca- 
tion, it  might  be  supposed 
that  no  more  could  be  said 
on  the  subject,  and  yet  what 
follows  is  the  most  interest- 
ing part  of  the  tale,  as,  for 
the  first  time,  it  gives  us  the  real  name  of  Regina,  the 
real  location  of  the  family,  and  the  true  facts  of  the  case, 
from  the  lips  of  one  of  the  actors  in  the  tragedy. 

The  writer  had  from  childhood  heard  that  the  family 
name  of  Regina  was  Hartman.  In  time  this  name  became 
so  familiarly  impressed  upon  his  memory  that  he  no  longer 
questioned  its  correctness.  It  is  only  another  evidence  of 
the  fact,  which  has  before  this  presented  itself  to  him,  that 
the  historian  has  no  right  to  take  anything  for  granted. 
It  is  his  business  to  ascertain  the  truth.  While  carefully 
searching  the  Pennsylvania  Archives,  quite  recently,  he 
was  more  than  astonished,  upon  reading  the  narrative 
about  to  be  given,  to  notice  that  it  referred  to  Regina  and 

(107) 


108  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

her  sister,  that  the  name  was  not  Hartman  at  all,  but, 
instead,  Leininger,  and  that  the  family  was  located  near 
the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Selinsgrove,  at  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna.  It  so  completely  upset  all 
preconceived  beliefs  on  the  subject  that  an  investigation 
followed  at  once.  When  this  was  carefully  made,  all  was 
clear  enough.  Reference  to  Muhlenberg's  letter  will  show 
that  he  does  not  give  the  family  name  of  the  widow  and 
her  daughter;  in  addition  to  that  we  know  the  massacre 
took  place  on  October  16,  1755,  the  very  day  of  the  mas- 
sacre at  Penn's  Creek,  the  first  which  occurred  anywhere, 
and  some  time  before  those  of  Swatara,  Tulpehocken  or 
Orwigsbnrg. 

THE 
NARRATIVE 

OF 

MARIE   LE   ROY 

AND 

BARBARA    LEININGER 

WHO   SPENT  THREE   AND   ONE-HALF  YEARS   AS   PRISONERS   AMONG  THE   INDIANS, 
AND  ARRIVED   SAFELY   IN  THIS  CITY  ON  THE   SIXTH   OF   MAY. 

WRITTEN  AND  PRINTED  AS   DICTATED  BY  THEM 

PHILADELPHIA 

PRINTED  AND  FOR  SALE  IN  THE  GERMAN  PRINTING  OFFICE 

SIX    PENCE    PER   COPY 

MDCCLIX 

It  is  needless  to  say  that,  in  the  light  of  this  evidence, 
even  the  apparently  accurate  data  of  Rev.  H.  A.  Weller 
cannot  stand.  Both  Orwigsburg  and  Lebanon  County 
will  be  forced  to  resign  their  claims,  and  we  must  all  learn 
the  story  anew. 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  109 

We  will  only  add  that  our  narrative  shows  the  interest- 
ing fact  that  Barbara  was  not  tomahawked  on  her  way  to 
captivity,  as  has  been  stated  and  supposed,  but  that,  once 
more,  Muhlenberg  is  correct  in  saying  that  she  "  was  com- 
pelled to  go  more  than  one  hundred  miles  further,"  when 
the  sisters  were  parted,  and  Regina  lost  all  trace  of  her. 

Historical  Note. 
At  the  Albany  Treaty,  July  6,  1754,  the  Six  Nations 
conveyed  to  Thomas  and  Richard  Penn  a  purchase,  the 
northern  limit  of  which  was  to  start  one  mile  above  the 
mouth  of  Penn's  Creek,  where  Selinsgrove  now  stands 
and  run  "  north-west  and  by  west  as  far  as  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania  extends."  This  line,  protracted  on  the 
map,  bisects  Limestone  Township,  Union  County,  and,  if 
run  on  the  ground,  would  probably  pass  through  the  very 
tract  of  land  taken  up  by  Jean  Jaques  le  Roy  (father  of 
Marie) ,  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Hon.  Isaac  Slenker,  in 
that  township.  The  Indians  alleged  afterwards  (Weiser's 
"  Journal  of  the  Conference  at  Aughwick,"  September, 
1754)  that  they  did  not  understand  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass, and  if  the  line  was  run  so  as  to  include  the  West 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  they  would  never  agree  to  it. 
Settlers  nevertheless  pushed  their  way  up  Penn's  Creek, 
and  the  Proprietaries,  with  their  understanding  of  the  line, 
issued  warrants  for  surveys  along  Penn's  Creek,  in  Buffalo 
Valley,  and  at  least  twenty-five  families  had  settled  on 
there  as  early  as  1754.  The  Indians,  emboldened  by  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  July  9,  1755,  determined  to  clear  out  these 
settlers,  and  did  it  so  effectually,  by  the  massacre  related, 
that  no  settlers  ventured  upon  the  bloody  ground  until 
after  the  purchase  of  1768.  In  1770  when  Jesse  Lukens 
resurveyed  the  line  of  the  le  Roy  tract  he  notes  in  his  field- 


no 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


book  that  he  passed  le  Roy's  bake  oven  near  the  spring, 
on  what  is  now  the  Slenker  farm.  The  original  narra- 
tive, now  to  follow,  was  given  in  German ;  the  translation 
is  by  Bishop  Edmund  de  Schweinitz,  of  Bethlehem,  the 
spelling  of  the  Indian  and  other  proper  names,  being  re- 
tained according  to  the  original. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Narrative  of  Marie  le  Roy  and  Barbara 
Leininger. 

Jm^ARIE  LE  ROY  was  born 
X.II*/  at  Brondrut,  in  Switzer- 
land. About  five1  years  ago  she 
arrived,  with  her  parents,  in  this 
country.  They  settled  fifteen  miles 
from  Fort  Schamockin.2  Half  a 
mile  from  their  plantation  lived 
Barbara  Leininger  and  her  par- 
ents who  came  to  Pennsylvania 
from  Reutlingen,  about  ten  years  ago. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  16th  of  October,  1755, 
while  le  Roy's  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  Marie  le  Roy's 
father  with  tomahawks.  Her  brother  defended  himself 
desperately,  for  a  time,  but  was,  at  last,  overpowered.  The 
Indians  did  not  kill  him,  but  took  him  prisoner,  together 

1  November  22,  1752,  Rupp's  Collection,  page  297. 

2  i.  e.,  Fort  Augusta,  now  Sunbury. 

(Ill) 


ii2  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

with  Marie  le  Roy  and  a  little  girl,  who  was  staying 
with  the  family.  Thereupon  they  plundered  the  home- 
stead 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.  They  then  kindled  another  fire,  not 
far  from  the  house.  While  sitting  around  it,  a  neighbor 
of  le  Roy  named  Bastian  happened  to  pass  by  on  horse- 
back.    He  was  immediately  shot  down  and  scalped. 

Two  of  the  Indians  now  went  to  the  house  of  Barbara 
Leininger,  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. 
Then  they  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.  There  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  re- 
turned with  nine  scalps  and  five  prisoners. 

On  the  third  day  the  whole  band  came  together  and 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger. 


"3 


divided  the  spoils.  In  addition  to  large  quantities  of  pro- 
visions, 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.  Of  this  cir- 
cumstance Barbara  Leininger  took  advantage  and  tried  to 


escape.  But  she  was  almost  immediately  recaptured,  and 
condemned  to  be  burned  alive.  The  savages  gave  her  a 
French  Bible,  which  they  had  taken  from  le  Roy's  house, 
in  order  that  she  might  prepare  for  death;  and,  when  she 
told  them  that  she  could  not  understand  it,  they  gave  her 


ii4  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

a  German  Bible.  Thereupon  they  made  a  large  pile  of 
wood  and  set  it  on  fire,  intending  to  put  her  into  the  midst 
of  it.  But  a  young  Indian  begged  so  earnestly  for  her  life 
that  she  was  pardoned,  after  having  promised  not  to 
attempt  to  escape  again,  and  to  stop  her  crying. 

The  next  day  the  whole  troop  was  divided  into  two 
bands,  the  one  marching  in  the  direction  of  the  Ohio,  the 
other,  in  which  we  were  with  Galasko,  to  Jenkiklamuhs,3 
a  Delaware  town  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Susquehanna. 
There  we  staid  ten  days,  and  then  proceeded  to  Punckso- 
tonay,4  or  Eschentowb.  Marie  le  Roy's  brother  was 
forced  to  remain  at  Jenkiklamuhs. 

After  having  rested  for  five  days  at  Puncksotonay,  we 
took  our  way  to  Kittanny.  As  this  was  to  be  the  place  of 
our  permanent  abode,  we  here  received  our  welcome,  ac- 
cording to  Indian  custom.  It  consisted  of  three  blows 
each,  on  the  back.  They  were,  however,  administered 
with  great  mercy.  Indeed,  we  concluded  that  we  were 
beaten  merely  in  order  to  keep  up  an  ancient  usage,  and 
not  with  the  intention  of  injuring  us.  The  month  of  De- 
cember was  the  time  of  our  arrival,  and  we  remained  at 
Kittanny  until  the  month  of  September,  1756. 

The  Indians  gave  us  enough  to  do.  We  had  to  tan 
leather,  to  make  shoes  (moccasins),  to  clear  land,  to  plant 
corn,  to  cut  down  trees  and  build  huts,  to  wash  and  cook. 
The  want  of  provisions,  however,  caused  us  the  greatest 
sufferings.  During  all  the  time  that  we  were  at  Kittanny 
we  had  neither  lard  nor  salt;  and  sometimes  we  were 
forced  to  live  on  acorns,  roots,  grass  and  bark.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  world  to  make  this  new  sort  of  food 
palatable  excepting  hunger  itself. 

*  Chinklacamoose,  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Clearfield. 

*  Punxsutawny,   in  Jefferson   County. 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  115 

In  the  month  of  September  Col.  Armstrong  arrived 
with  his  men  and  attacked  Kittanny  Town.  Both  of  us 
happened  to  be  in  that  part  of  it  which  lies  on  the  other 
(right)  side  of  the  river  (Alleghany).  We  were  imme- 
diately conveyed  ten  miles  farther  into  the  interior,  in 
order  that  we  might  have  no  chance  of  trying,  on  this 
occasion,  to  escape.  The  savages  threatened  to  kill  us. 
If  the  English  had  advanced,  this  might  have  happened. 
For,  at  that  time,  the  Indians  were  greatly  in  dread  of  Col. 
Armstrong's  corps.  After  the  English  had  withdrawn, 
we  were  again  brought  back  to  Kittanny,  which  town  had 
been  burned  to  the  ground. 

There  we  had  the  mournful  opportunity  of  witnessing 
the  cruel  end  of  an  English  woman,  who  had  attempted  to 
flee  out  of  her  captivity  and  to  return  to  the  settlements 
with  Col.  Armstrong.  Having  been  recaptured  by  the 
savages,  and  brought  back  to  Kittanny,  she  was  put  to 
death  in  an  unheard-of  way.  First,  they  scalped  her;  next, 
they  laid  burning  splinters  of  wood,  here  and  there,  upon 
her  body ;  and  then  they  cut  off  her  ears  and  fingers,  forcing 
them  into  her  mouth  so  that  she  had  to  swallow  them. 
Amidst  such  torments,  this  woman  lived  from  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  until  toward  sunset  when  a  French  officer 
took  compassion  on  her,  and  put  her  out  of  her  misery. 

An  English  soldier,  on  the  contrary,  named  John  , 

who  escaped  from  prison  at  Lancaster,  and  joined  the 
French,  had  a  piece  of  flesh  cut  from  her  body,  and  ate  it. 
When  she  was  dead,  the  Indians  chopped  her  in  two, 
through  the  middle,  and  let  her  be  until  the  dogs  came 
and  devoured  her. 

Three  days  later  an  Englishman  was  brought  in  who 
had  likewise  attempted  to  escape  with  Col.  Armstrong, 
and  burned  alive  in  the  same  village.     His  torments,  how- 


n6  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

ever,  continued  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  him  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. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  what  an  impression  such  fearful 
instances  of  cruelty  make  upon  the  mind  of  a  poor  captive. 
Does  he  attempt  to  escape  from  the  savages,  he  knows  in 
advance  that,  if  retaken,  he  will  be  roasted  alive.  Hence 
he  must  compare  two  evils,  namely,  either  to  remain  among 
them  a  prisoner  forever,  or  to  die  a  cruel  death.  Is  he 
fully  resolved  to  endure  the  latter,  then  he  may  run  away 
with  a  brave  heart. 

Soon  after  these  occurrences  we  were  brought  to  Fort 
Duquesne,  where  we  remained  for  about  two  months.  We 
worked  for  the  French,  and  our  Indian  master  drew  our 
wages.  In  this  place.,  thank  God,  we  could  again  eat 
bread.  Half  a  pound  was  given  us  daily.  We  might 
have  had  bacon,  too,  but  we  took  none  of  it,  for  it  was  not 
good.  In  some  respects  we  were  better  off  than  in  the 
Indian  towns;  we  could  not,  however,  abide  the  French. 
They  tried  hard  to  induce  us  to  forsake  the  Indians  and 
stay  with  them,  making  us  various  favorable  offers.  But 
we  believed  that  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  remain  among 
the  Indians,  inasmuch  as  they  would  be  more  likely  to 
make  peace  with  the  English  than  the  French,  and  inas- 
much as  there  would  be  more  ways  open  for  flight  in  the 
forest  than  in  a  fort.  Consequently  we  declined  the  offers 
of  the   French   and   accompanied   our   Indian   master   to 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  117 

Sackum,5  where  we  spent  the  winter,  keeping  house  for 
the  savages,  who  were  continually  on  the  chase.  In  the 
spring  we  were  taken  to  Kaschkaschkung,6  an  Indian  town 
on  the  Beaver  Creek.  There  we  again  had  to  clear  the 
plantations  of  the  Indian  nobles,  after  the  German  fashion, 
to  plant  corn,  and  to  do  other  hard  work  of  every  kind. 
We  remained  at  this  place  for  about  a  year  and  a  half. 

After  having,  in  the  past  three  years,  seen  no  one  of  our 
own  flesh  and  blood,  except  those  unhappy  beings  who, 
like  ourselves,  were  bearing  the  yoke  of  the  heaviest 
slavery,  we  had  the  unexpected  pleasure  of  meeting  with 
a  German,  who  was  not  a  captive,  but  free,  and  who,  as 
we  heard,  had  been  sent  into  this  neighborhood  to  nego- 
tiate a  peace  between  the  English  and  the  natives.  His 
name  was  Frederick  Post.  We  and  all  the  other  prisoners 
heartily  wished  him  success  and  God's  blessing  upon  his 
undertaking.  We  were,  however,  not  allowed  to  speak 
with  him.  The  Indians  gave  us  plainly  to  understand 
that  any  attempt  to  do  this  would  be  taken  amiss.  He 
himself,  by  the  reserve  with  which  he  treated  us,  let  us  see 
that  this  was  not  the  time  to  talk  over  our  afflictions.  But 
we  were  greatly  alarmed  on  his  account.  For  the  French 
told  us  that,  if  they  caught  him,  they  would  roast  him  alive 
for  five  days,  and  many  Indians  declared  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  get  safely  through,  that  he  was  destined 
for  death. 

Last  summer  the  French  and  Indians  were  defeated  by 

6  Sakunk,  outlet  of  the  Big  Beaver  into  the  Ohio,  a  point  well  known  to 
all  the  Indians;  their  rendezvous  in  the  French  wars,  etc.  Post  in  his 
Journal,  under  date  of  August  20,  1758,  records  his  experience  at  Sakunk, 
(Reichel).  See  Post's  Journal,  Pennsylvania  Archives,  O.  S.  Vol.  3,  page 
527. 

"Kaskaskunk,  near  the  junction  of  the  Shenango  and  Mahoning,  in 
Lawrence  County. 


n8  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  English  in  a  battle  fought  at  Loyal-Hannon,  or  Fort 
Ligonier.  This  caused  the  utmost  consternation  among 
the  natives.  They  brought  their  wives  and  children  from 
Lockstown,7  Sackum,  Schomingo,  Mamalty,  Kaschkasch- 
kung,  and  other  places  in  that  neighborhood,  to  Mosch- 
kingo,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther  west. 
Before  leaving,  however,  they  destroyed  their  crops,  and 
burned  everything  which  they  could  not  carry  with  them. 
We  had  to  go  along,  and  staid  at  Moschkingo8  the  whole 
winter. 

In  February  Barbara  Leininger  agreed  with  an  English- 
man named  David  Breckenreach  (Breckenridge) ,  to  es- 
cape, and  gave  her  comrade,  Marie  le  Roy,  notice  of  their 
intentions.  On  account  of  the  severe  season  of  the  year, 
and  the  long  journey  which  lay  before  them,  Marie 
strongly  advised  her  to  relinquish  the  project,  suggesting 
that  it  should  be  postponed  until  spring,  when  the  weather 
would  be  milder,  and  promising  to  accompany  her  at  that 
time. 

On  the  last  day  of  February  nearly  all  the  Indians  left 
Moschkingo,  and  proceeded  to  Pittsburgh  to  sell  pelts. 
Meanwhile  their  women  traveled  ten  miles  up  the  country 
to  gather  roots  and  we  accompanied  them.  Two  men 
went  along  as  a  guard.  It  was  our  earnest  hope  that  the 
opportunity  for  flight,  so  long  desired,  had  now  come. 
Accordingly,  Barbara  Leininger  pretended  to  be  sick,  so 
that  she  might  be  allowed  to  put  up  a  hut  for  herself  alone. 
On  the  fourteenth  of  March  Marie  le  Roy  was  sent  back 
to  the  town  in  order  to  fetch  two  young  dogs  which  had 
been  left  there;  and,  on  the  same  day,  Barbara  Leininger 


7  Loggstown,     on     the     Ohio,     eight     miles     above     Beaver. — Weiser's 
Journal. 

8  Muskingum. 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  119 

came  out  of  her  hut  and  visited  a  German  woman,  ten  miles 

from  Moschkingo.     This  woman's  name  is  Mary  , 

and  she  is  the  wife  of  a  miller  from  the  South  Branch.9 
She  had  made  every  preparation  to  accompany  us  on  our 
flight;  but  Barabra  found  that  she  had  in  the  meanwhile 
become  lame,  and  could  not  think  of  going  along.  She, 
however,  gave  Barbara  the  provisions  which  she  had 
stored,  namely,  two  pounds  of  dried  meat,  a  quart  of  corn, 
and  four  pounds  of  sugar.  Besides,  she  presented  her 
with  pelts  for  moccasins.  Moreover,  she  advised  a  young 
Englishman,  Owen  Gibson,  to  flee  with  us  two  girls. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  March,  in  the  evening,  Gibson 
reached  Barbara  Leininger's  hut,  and,  at  ten  o'clock,  our 
whole  party,  consisting  of  us  two  girls,  Gibson  and  David 
Breckenreach,  left  Moschkingo.  This  town  lies  on  a  river  in 
the  country  of  the  Dellamottinoes.  We  had  to  pass  many 
huts  inhabited  by  the  savages,  and  knew  that  there  were 
at  least  sixteen  dogs  with  them.  In  the  merciful  provi- 
dence of  God  not  a  single  one  of  these  dogs  barked. 
Their  barking  would  at  once  have  betrayed  us  and  frus- 
trated our  designs. 

It  is  hard  to  describe  the  anxious  fears  of  a  poor  woman 
under  such  circumstances.  The  extreme  probability  that 
the  Indians  would  pursue  and  recapture  us,  was  as  two 
to  one  compared  with  the  dim  hope  that,  perhaps,  we 
would  get  through  in  safety.  But,  even  if  we  escaped  the 
Indians,  how  would  we  ever  succeed  in  passing  through 
the  wilderness,  unacquainted  with  a  single  path  or  trad, 
without  a  guide,  and  helpless,  half  naked,  broken  down 
by  more  than  three  years  of  hard  slavery,  hungry  and 
scarcely  any  food,  the  season  wet  and  cold,  and  many  rivers 
and  streams  to  cross?     Under  such  circumstances  to  de- 


'*.  e., 


South  Branch  of  the  Potomac. 


120  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

pend  upon  one's  own  sagacity  would  be  the  worst  of  follies. 
If  one  could  not  believe  that  there  is  a  God,  who  helps 
and  saves  from  death,  one 'had  better  let  running  away 
alone. 

We  safely  reached  the  river  (Muskingum).  Here  the 
first  thought  in  all  our  minds  was,  O !  that  we  were  safely 
across!  And  Barbara  Leininger,  in  particular  recalling 
ejaculatory  prayers  from  an  old  hymn,  which  she  had 
learned  in  her  youth,  put  them  together,  to  suit  our  present 
circumstances,  something  in  the  following  style : 

0  bring  us  safely  across  the  river! 

1  fear  I  cry,  yea  my  soul  doth  quiver. 
The  worst  afflictions  are  now  before  me, 
Where'er  I  turn  nought  but  death  do  I  see. 
Alas,  what  great  hardships  are  yet  in  store 
In  the  wilderness  wide,  beyond  that  shore ! 
It  has  neither  water,  nor  meat,  nor  bread, 

But  each  new  morning  something  new  to  dread. 

Yet  little  sorrow  would  hunger  me  cost 

If  I  could  flee  from  the  savage  host, 

Which  murders  and  fights  and  burns  far  and  wide, 

While  Satan  himself  is  array'd  on  its  side, 

Should  on  us  fall  one  of  its  cruel  bands 

Then   help   us   Great  God,   and  stretch  out  Thy  hands. 

In  Thee  will  we  trust,  be  Thou  ever  near, 

Art  Thou  our  Joshua,  we  need  not  fear. 

Presently  we  found  a  raft  left  by  the  Indians.  Thank- 
ing God  that  He  had  himself  prepared  a  way  for  us  across 
these  first  waters,  we  got  on  board  and  pushed  off.  But 
we  were  carried  almost  a  mile  down  the  river  before  we 
could  reach  the  other  side.  There  our  journey  began  in 
good  earnest.  Full  of  anxiety  and  fear,  we  fairly  ran  that 
whole  night  and  all  next  day,  when  we  lay  down  to  rest 
without  venturing  to  kindle  a  fire.  Early  the  next  morn- 
ing Owen  Gibson  fired  at  a  bear.     The  animal  fell,  but, 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  121 

when  he  ran  with  his  tomahawk  to  kill  it,  it  jumped  up 
and  bit  him  in  the  feet,  leaving  three  wounds.  We  all 
hastened  to  his  assistance.  The  bear  escaped  into  narrow 
holes  among  the  rocks,  where  we  could  not  follow.  On 
the  third  day,  however,  Owen  Gibson  shot  a  deer.  We 
cut  off  the  hind  quarters  and  roasted  them  at  night.  The 
next  morning  he  again  shot  a  deer,  which  furnished  us 
with  food  for  that  day.  In  the  evening  we  got  to  the 
Ohio  at  last,  having  made  a  circuit  of  over  one  hundred 
miles  in  order  to  reach  it. 

About  midnight  the  two  Englishmen  rose  and  began  to 
work  at  a  raft,  which  was  finished  by  morning.  We  got 
on  board  and  safely  crossed  the  river.  From  the  signs 
which  the  Indians  had  there  put  up  we  saw  that  we  were 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne. 
After  a  brief  consultation  we  resolved,  heedless  of  path 
or  trail,  to  travel  straight  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun. 
This  we  did  for  seven  days.  On  the  seventh  we  found 
that  we  had  reached  the  Little  Beaver  Creek,  and  were 
about  fifty  miles  from  Pittsburgh. 

And  now,  that  we  imagined  ourselves  so  near  the  end 
of  all  our  troubles  and  misery,  a  whole  host  of  mishaps 
came  upon  us.  Our  provisions  were  at  an  end;  Barbara 
Leininger  fell  into  the  water  and  was  nearly  drowned; 
and,  worst  misfortune  of  all,  Owen  Gibson  lost  his  flint 
and  steel.  Hence  we  had  to  spend  four  nights  without 
fire,  amidst  rain  and  snow. 

On  the  last  day  of  March  we  came  to  a  river,  Alloquepy,10 
about  three  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  Here  we  made  a 
raft,  which,  however,  proved  to  be  too  light  to  carry  us 
across.  It  threatened  to  sink,  and  Marie  le  Roy  fell  off 
and  narrowly  escaped  drowning.     We  had  to  put  back, 

10  Chartiers'  creek. 


122  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  let  one  of  our  men  convey  one  of  us  across  at  a  time. 
In  this  way  we  reached  the  Monongahella  River,  on  the 
other  side  of  Pittsburgh,  the  same  evening. 

Upon  our  calling  for  help,  Col.  Mercer  immediately 
sent  out  a  boat  to  bring  us  to  the  Fort.  At  first,  how- 
ever, the  crew  created  many  difficulties  about  taking  us 
on  board.  They  thought  we  were  Indians,  and  wanted 
us  to  spend  the  night  where  we  were,  saying  they  would 
fetch  us  in  the  morning.  When  we  had  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing them  that  we  were  English  prisoners,  who  had 
escaped  from  the  Indians,  and  that  we  were  wet  and  cold 
and  hungry,  they  brought  us  over.  There  was  an  Indian 
with  the  soldiers  in  the  boat.  He  asked  us  whether  we 
could  speak  good  Indian.  Marie  le  Roy  said  she  could 
speak  it.  Thereupon  he  inquired,  Why  she  had  run  away? 
She  replied  that  her  Indian  mother  had  been  so  cross  and 
had  scolded  her  so  constantly,  that  she  could  not  stay  with 
her  any  longer.  This  answer  did  not  please  him;  never- 
theless, doing  as  courtiers  do,  he  said:  He  was  very  glad 
we  had  safely  reached  the  Fort. 

It  was  in  the  night  from  the  last  of  March  to  the  first 
of  April  that  we  came  to  Pittsburgh.  Most  heartily  did 
we  thank  God  in  heaven  for  all  the  mercy  which  he  showed 
us,  for  His  gracious  support  in  our  weary  captivity,  for 
the  courage  which  he  gave  us  to  undertake  our  flight,  and 
to  surmount  all  the  many  hardships  it  brought  us,  for 
letting  us  find  the  road  which  we  did  not  know,  and  of 
which  He  alone  could  know  that  on  it  we  would  meet 
neither  danger  nor  enemy,  and  for  finally  bringing  us  to 
Pittsburgh  to  our  countrymen  in  safety. 

Colonel  Mercer  helped  and  aided  us  in  every  way  which 
lay  in  his  power.  Whatever  was  on  hand  and  calculated 
to  refresh  us  was  offered  in  the  most  friendly  manner. 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  123 

The  Colonel  ordered  for  each  of  us  a  new  chemise,  a  pet- 
ticoat, a  pair  of  stockings,  garters,  and  a  knife.  After 
having  spent  a  day  at  Pittsburgh,  we  went,  with  a  detach- 
ment under  command  of  Lieutenant  Mile,11  to  Fort  Ligo- 
nier.  There  the  lieutenant  presented  each  of  us  with  a 
blanket.  On  the  fifteenth  we  left  Fort  Ligonier,  under 
protection  of  Captain  Weiser12  and  Lieutenant  Atly,13 
for  Fort  Bedford,  where  we  arrived  in  the  evening  of  the 
sixteenth,  and  remained  a  week.  Thence  provided  with 
passports  by  Lieutenant  Geiger,  we  traveled  in  wagons 
to  Harris'  Ferry  and  from  there,  afoot,  by  way  of  Lan- 
caster, to  Philadelphia.  Owen  Gibson  remained  at  Fort 
Bedford,  and  David  Breckenreach  at  Lancaster.  We 
two  girls  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  Sunday,  the  sixth 
of  May. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  chief  reason  why  we  have 
given  the  foregoing  narrative  to  the  public.  It  is  not 
done  in  order  to  render  our  own  sufferings  and  humble 
history  famous,  but  rather  in  order  to  serve  the  inhabitants 
of  this  country,  by  making  them  acquainted  with  the  names 
and  circumstances  of  those  prisoners  whom  we  met,  at 
the  various  places  where  we  were,  in  the  course  of  our 
captivity.  Their  parents,  brothers,  sisters,  and  other  rela- 
tions will,  no  doubt,  be  glad  to  hear  that  their  nearest  kith 
and  kin  are  still  in  the  land  of  the  living  and  that  they  may 
hence  entertain  some  hope  of  seeing  them  again  in  their 
own  homes,  if  God  permit. 

Marie  Basket  is  at  Kaschkaschkung.  She  was  taken 
prisoner  on  the  Susquehanna,  where  her  husband  was 
killed.  She  has  two  sons.  The  younger  is  with  his 
mother;  the  elder  is  in  a  distant  Indian  town. 

"Lieutenant  Samuel  Miles. 

12  Captain  Samuel  Weiser,  tenth  child  of  Colonel  Conrad  Weiser. 

"Lieutenant  Samuel  J.  Atlee. 


124  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Mary  Basket's  sister, — her  name  is  Nancy  Basket, — 
is  at  Sackum. 

Mary,  Caroline  and  Catharine  Haeth,14  three 
sisters,  from  the  Blue  Mountains. 

Anne  Gray,  who  was  captured  at  Fort  Gransville,15  is 
at  Kaschkaschkung.  We  saw  her  daughter,  but  she  has 
been  taken  farther  west  by  the  Indians. 

John  Weissman,  a  young  unmarried  Englishman 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  is  now  at  Moschkingo.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  captured  on  the  South  Branch. 

Sarah  Boy,  David  Boy,  Rhode  Boy,  Thomas  Boy, 
and  James  Boy,  five  children.  The  youngest  is  about 
five  or  six  years  old;  Sarah,  the  oldest,  is  about  fifteen  or 
sixteen  years  of  age.  Three  years  ago  they  were  captured 
in  Virginia. 

Nancy  and  Johanna  Dacherty,  two  sisters,  aged 
about  ten  and  six  years,  captured  at  Conococheague,  and 
now  in  Kaschkaschkung. 

Eve  Isaacs,  William  Isaacs,  and  Catherine 
Isaacs.  Eve  is  a  widow  and  has  a  child  of  about  four 
years  with  her.  Her  husband  was  killed  by  the  Indians. 
William  is  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
Catharine  about  twelve.  They  are  Germans.  Eve  and 
her  child,  together  with  Catharine,  are  in  Kaschkaschkung; 
William  in  Moschkingo.  They  were  captured  on  the 
South  Branch. 

Henry  Seiffart,  Elizabeth  Seiffart,  George 
Seiffart,  Catharine  Sieffart  and  Maria  Seiffart, 
brothers  and  sisters,  Germans,  captured  about  thirteen 
months  ago,  at  Southport,  in  Virginia,  are  now  at  Kasch- 
kaschkung and  Moschkingo. 

"From  Northampton  county   (Reichel). 

"Fort  Granville,  one  mile  west  of  Levvistown,  on  the  Juniata. 


The  Narrative  of  Barbara  Leininger.  125 

Betty  Rogers,  an  unmarried  woman,  with  five  or  six 
brothers  and  sisters,  of  whom  the  youngest  is  about  four 
years  old,  captured,  three  and  a  half  years  ago,  on  the 
South  Branch. 

Betty  Frick,  a  girl  about  twenty-two  years  old,  cap- 
tured three  years  ago  in  Virginia,  now  in  Kaschkaschkung. 

Fanny  Flardy,  from  Virginia,  married  to  a  French- 
man. Her  daughter,  seven  or  eight  years  old,  is  at  Kasch- 
kaschkung. 

Anna  Brielinger,16  wife  of  a  German  smith  from 
Schomoko,  now  at  Kaschkaschkung. 

Peter  Lixe's  two  sons,17  John  and  William,  German 
children  from  Schomoko,  now  in  Kitahohing. 

An  old  Englishman,  or  Irishman,  whose  surname  we 
did  not  know,  but  whose  Christian  name  is  Dan,  a  cooper, 
captured  on  the  Susquehanna,  now  in  Kaschkaschkung. 
His  wife  and  children  are  said  to  be  in  this  country. 

Elizabeth,  a  young  English  woman,  captured  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  Justice  Gulebret's18  place,  on  the 
Schwatara.  Her  child  which  she  took  along  is  dead. 
Her  husband  and  other  children  are  said  to  be  living  some- 
where in  this  country.     She  is  at  Kaschkaschkung. 

Marie  Peck,  a  German  woman,  captured  two  and  a 
half  years  ago,  in  Maryland.  Her  husband  and  children 
are  said  to  be  living  somewhere  in  this  country. 

Margaret  Brown,  a  German  single  woman,  captured 
on  the  South  Branch,  in  Virginia,  now  in  the  country  of 
the  Oschaschi,  a  powerful  nation,  living,  it  is  said,  in  a 
land  where  there  is  no  timber. 


ia  Wife  of  Jacob  Brielinger,  whose  improvement  was  on  Penn's  creek, 
two  miles  below  New  Berlin,  in  Union  county. 

17  Peter  Lick  from  Penn's  creek,  near  New  Berlin. 

18  Galbraith. 


126 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


Mary  Ann  Villars,  from  French  Switzerland,  a  girl 
of  fifteen  years,  was  captured  with  Marie  le  Roy,  has  a 
sister  and  brother  living  near  Lancaster. 

Sally  Wood,  a  single  woman,  aged  eighteen  or  nine- 
teen years,  captured  in  Virginia,  three  and  a  half  years  ago, 
now  in  Sackum. 

Two  young  men,  brothers,  named  Ixon,  the  one  about 
twenty,  the  other  about  fifteen  years  old,  at  Kaschkasch- 
kung.     Their  mother  was  sold  to  the  French. 

Mary  Lory  and  James  Lory,  brother  and  sister,  the 
first  about  fourteen,  the  second  about  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  old,  captured  three  years  ago,  at  Fort  Granville. 

Mary  Taylor,  an  English  woman,  captured  at  Fort 
Granville,  together  with  a  girl  named  Margaret. 

Margaret,  the  girl  captured  with  the  foregoing. 

We  became  acquainted  with  many  other  captives,  men, 
women  and  children,  in  various  Indian  towns,  but  do  not 
know,  or  cannot  remember  their  names.  We  are,  how- 
ever, heartily  willing  to  give  to  all  such  as  have,  or  believe 
to  have,  connections  among  the  Indians,  any  further  infor- 
mation which  may  lie  within  our  power.  We  intend  to 
go  from  here  to  Lancaster,  where  we  may  easily  be  found. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

The  Moravian  Massacres. 

*^*HE  Moravians  were  deserv- 
^^  ing  of  especial  commisera- 
tion. Not  only  did  they  suffer 
greatly  from  the  attacks  of  hostile 
Indians,  but  their  lives,  and  those 
of  their  converts,  were  in  danger 
from  hostile  white  men. 
It  has  been  said  already  that  their 
mission  work  was  almost  entirely  among  the  aborigines,  and 
became  so  successful  that  they  were  enabled  to  gather  into 
small  villages  many  converts.  Just  prior  to  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  unfriendly  Indians  made  more  or  less  frequent 
visits  to  their  christianized  brethren,  and  made  every  effort 
to  gain  them  over  to  their  cause.  Being  human,  doubtless 
some  were  so  gained  and  departed  for  the  hostile  ren- 
dezvous; others  possibly  left  from  fear.  Some  of  these 
were,  in  time,  recognized  among  the  marauders,  and  im- 

(127) 


128  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

mediately  the  cry  went  forth  that  the  Moravians  were 
but  training  the  Indians  for  French  service  and,  by  infer- 
ence, in  league  with  the  enemy.  Then  again,  speaking  a 
tongue  foreign  to  that  of  their  Irish  and  English  neigh- 
bors, who  were  out  of  sympathy  with  them  and  their  work, 
when  massacre  and  death  followed  each  other  in  rapid 
succession,  and  all  were  possessed  with  unreasoning  fear 
or  hatred,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that,  to  their  eyes,  all 
Indians  looked  alike  and  they  but  sought  how  to  exter- 
minate them;  nor  need  it  cause  surprise  to  learn  that  those 
who  harbored  any  of  the  race  were  looked  upon  with  more 
than  suspicion. 

Though  written  somewhat  later  than  the  period  when 
occurred  the  outbreak,  it  is  well  to  read,  at  this  time,  the 
letter  of  July  31,  1758,  from  Bishop  Jos.  Spangenberg  to 
Richard  Peters,  Secretary  of  the  Province,  which  certainly 
carries  with  it  conviction : 

"Mr.  Richard  Peters: 

"Sir, — I  humbly  thank  You  for  giving  me  an  Account 
of  Mr.  Smith's  Information,  viz't,  That  he,  being  a  Pris- 
oner in  the  French  Countries,  saw  there  the  Moravian 
Indians  go  and  come  most  every  week,  &c. 

"  Give  me  leave  to  observe,  first,  that  a  Moravian  In- 
dian is  a  Sideroxylon.  Moravia  is  no  Religion,  but  a 
certain  country.  But  I  suppose  he  means  either  some  In- 
dians who  once  have  lived  at  Gnadenhiitten,  or  he  means 
Indians  who  were  coming  from  Bethlehem. 

"If  he  calls  them  who  once  lived  at  Gnadenhiitten, 
Moravian  Indians,  he  may  have  seen  such  amongst  the 
French.  For  several  Indians,  who  once  lived  at  Gnaden- 
hiitten, went  up  to  live  at  the  Susquehannah,  before  we 
had  any  wars,  and  have  been  involved  in  them,  some  with, 
some  against  their  will. 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  129 

"  If  he  means  Indians  who  came  from  Bethlehem,  I 
suppose  he  was  not  mistaken  either.  For  when  Governor 
Morris  issued  a  Proclamation,  setting  forth  a  Cessation  of 
Arms  on  this  side  Susquehannah,  numbers  of  Indians  came 
to  Bethlehem,  stayed  there  some  Time,  went  off  again, 
and  returned  at  Pleasure.  The  Brethren  acquainted  the 
Governor  with  it,  not  only  by  Letters,  but  also  by  Two 
Deputies,  earnestly  requesting  and  intreating  that  the  said 
Indians  might  be  ordered  to  be  somewhere  else.  For 
Bethlehem  was  become  a  Frontier  Place,  and  in  continual 
Danger  of  being  set  on  Fire  and  cut  off  cruelly  by  their 
very  Guests.  But  the  Government  had  weighty  Reasons 
for  leaving  the  Indians  at  Bethlehem,  and  when  once  they 
were  removed  to  Easton  for  bringing  them  back  again  to 
Bethlehem. 

"  But  if  Mr.  Smith  means  by  Moravian  Indians  those 
Indians  Families  who,  when  the  war  broke  out,  and  our 
People  were  cruelly  murdered  on  the  Mahoney,  fled  to 
Bethlehem,  and  gave  themselves  under  English  Protection, 
which  also  was  granted  them,  and  who  afterwards  had 
their  Houses  at  Gnadenhiitten  burnt,  their  Provisions  de- 
stroyed and  their  Horses  carried  away,  he  is  certainly 
mistaken.  For  these  very  same  Indians  were,  as  well  as  all 
other  men  in  Bethlehem,  constantly  employed  in  the  Time 
of  War,  in  Keeping  Watch,  &c,  and  kept  about  Bethlehem 
for  fear  of  being  hurted  by  others,  or  of  frightening  them. 
And  when  Peace  was  a  making  they  were  our  Watchmen 
in  the  Harvest  Time,  or  they  set  themselves  to  work, 
which  is  so  notorious  that,  on  Occasion,  one  could  bring 
One  Hundred  Evidences  to  prove  it.  After  Peace  was 
made,  they  have  ventured  out  a  hunting  again,  but  did 
not  go  further  than  just  behind  the  Blue  Mountains,  except 
one  or  another  of  them  were  sent  as  Messengers  from  the 
13 


130  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Government.  But  with  Respect  to  any  Imputation  that 
may  ly  on  our  characters,  as  if  we  were  on  any  Account 
carrying  on  a  political,  or  any  other  Correspondence  with 
the  French,  I  do  declare  that  there  is  no  such  Thing;  and 
if  either  Mr.  Smith,  or  anybody  else,  is  of  Opinion  that 
any  one  of  us  had  a  Hand  in  a  Correspondence  with  the 
French,  or  that  any  one  of  us  even  had  known  of  the 
Indians  going  to  them,  or  coming  from  them,  further  than 
what  we  immediately  have  communicated  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  Province,  He  is  certainly  mistaken. 

"  I  am,  Sir, 
"Your  most  humble  Ser't 

"Jos.  Spangenberg." 

The  missionary  operations  of  the  Moravians  had  ex- 
tended far  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Bethlehem. 
Not  only  had  they  established  the  mission  of  Gnaden- 
hiitten  on  the  Lehigh  River,  but  successful  work  was  under 
way  among  the  small  remnant  of  Conestoga  Indians, 
located  peacefully  on  the  land  allotted  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment, a  few  miles  distant  from  Lancaster,  of  whose  sad 
fate  we  will  hear  more  later  on,  also  among  the  Indians 
about  Shamokin,  and,  indeed,  among  all  those  in  the 
Wyoming  district. 

The  outbreak  of  the  war  bore  most  heavily  upon  these 
converts  in  especial.  The  whites  looked  upon  them  with 
evil  eyes,  and  the  hostile  Indians  made  every  effort  to  entice 
them  from  their  proper  allegiance.  In  addition  to  peril 
of  this  sort  came  the  need  of  the  mere  necessities  of  life. 
True  to  their  Christian  faith  and  duty,  and  regardless  of 
danger  to  themselves,  the  Moravian  missionaries  pushed 
out  into  the  wilderness  to  their  aid,  even  when  they  saw 
the  sky  black  with  threatening  clouds  and  knew  that  the 
storm  might  break  at  any  moment. 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  131 

I  now  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  the  words  of  Bishop 
J.  Mortimer  Levering,  taken  from  his  "  History  of  Beth- 
lehem," in  giving  an  account  of  the  occurrences  which  led 
to  the  sad  massacre  of  the  Moravians  at  Gnadenhutten, 
because  they  are  the  result  of  years  of  research  among  the 
valuable  cotemporaneous  documents  on  file  in  the  Mora- 
vian Archives  at  Bethlehem.     He  says : 

"  Zeisberger  and  Seidel  pushed  on,  far  up  the  Susque- 
hanna, to  procure  some  food  for  this  famishing  little  flock 
of  '  straying  sheep '  and  the  faithful  shepherd  who  was 
watching  them  at  the  hourly  risk  of  his  life.  They  made 
this  effort  not  only  as  an  act  of  humanity,  but  to  impress 
the  Indians  with  the  conviction  that  their  needs  would  be 
cared  for  if  they  remained  together  with  Post  and  listened 
to  his  counsel.  In  reply  to  the  message  from  Bethlehem, 
suggesting  that  he  had  better  abandon  his  effort  on  account 
of  the  great  peril,  Post  wrote,  the  middle  of  July,  that  '  he 
did  not  propose  to  yield  to  the  powers  of  darkness  and 
the  evil  spirits  to  whom  he  was  a  hindrance,  unless  they 
expelled  him  by  force.' 

"  Having  brought  their  few  bags  of  corn  safely  to  Post 
and  the  little  band  he  was  yet  holding,  Zeisberger  and  his 
companion  continued  their  tour  among  the  Indians  at 
various  places,  in  spite  of  the  disturbed  conditions  of 
things.  While  on  this  tour  they  heard  of  the  first  savage 
outbreak,  October  16,  1755,  on  Penn's  Creeek,  near  Sha- 
mokin,  where  more  than  twenty  persons  were  killed  or 
captured.  They  turned  their  faces  homeward  the  latter 
part  of  October,  warned  by  Paxnous,  who  informed  them 
of  that  first  blow  struck  by  the  savages.  From  Gnaden- 
huetten,  where  they  found  everything  quiet  and  peaceful, 
they  proceeded  to  the  Delaware  Gap,  having  intended  to 
traverse  the  region  beyond,  to  the  north  and  east,  more 


132  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

extensively.  There  they  encountered  a  large  company  of 
militia-men  who  were  much  agitated  by  the  reports  they 
had  heard,  and  plied  the  missionaries  with  questions. 
They  and  people  in  the  vicinity  had  also  heard  of  the 
alleged  letter  from  a  French  officer — a  rascally  forgery — 
published  in  the  newspapers  setting  forth  that  the  Mora- 
vians and  their  Indians  were  allies  of  the  French,  aiding 
their  movements.  This  wicked  trick,  producing  impres- 
sions that  could  not  be  followed  up  wherever  the  report 
spread  with  disproof  or  even  authoritative  denial,  had 
borne  its  fruits  among  the  people  up  the  Delaware;  and 
the  impression  of  these  calumnies  was  in  the  minds  of 
some  men  who  came  to  the  Bethlehem  mill  from  that 
neighborhood  in  the  course  of  the  autumn. 

"Zeisberger  and  Seidel  reached  Bethlehem  in  the  night 
of  November  2.  They  at  once  reported  to  Justice  Hors- 
field  all  that  they  had  learned  about  the  beginning  of  hos- 
tilities by  the  savages,  and  their  statements  were  imme- 
diately forwarded  by  special  messenger  to  the  Governor 
and  Assembly;  also  the  statements  of  George  Biebing- 
hausen,  who,  the  previous  day,  arrived  from  Allemaengel, 
not  very  far  from  Gnadenhuetten — a  Moravian  station 
in  the  present  Lynn  Township  of  Lehigh  County — that 
the  people  there  were  panic-stricken  by  rumors  of  an 
Indian  raid,  and  that  thirty  persons  had  fled  from  their 
homes  and  taken  refuge  together  in  the  Moravian  school 
and  meeting-house.  On  November  14,  Henry  Frey  and 
Anton  Schmidt  set  out  from  Bethlehem  for  Shamokin  to 
rescue  the  missionary  and  master-smith,  Marcus  Kiefer, 
who  had  not,  like  his  two  companions,  the  missionary 
Godfrey  Roessler  and  the  blacksmith  Peter  Wesa,  made 
good  his  escape.  These  rescuers  turned  back  at  Tulpe- 
hocken,  where  all  was  in  a  state  of  terror,  for  they  were 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  133 

assured  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  proceed.  The 
panic  at  Allemaengel  had  not  been  without  reason.  Fol- 
lowing upon  a  second  raid  made  by  the  savages  at  the 
beginning  of  November,  at  the  great  cove  in  the  present 
Franklin  County,  the  Tulpehocken  neighborhood  was  vis- 
ited by  skulking  forerunners  at  this  time,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 16,  the  first  outbreak  east  of  the  Susquehanna  occurred, 
when  murderous  gangs  swooped  down  upon  the  farmers 
on  the  Swatara  and  Tulpehocken  Creeks,  killing  thirteen 
persons  and  destroying  much  property.  Thus  the  reign 
of  terror  opened  in  the  region  in  which  the  savage  raids 
were  to  be  generaled  by  Teedyuscung.  He  had  risen  to 
the  honor — suspected  by  many  to  have  been  quite  unau- 
thorized— of  having  himself  called  '  King  of  the  Dela- 
wares.'  The  outrages  west  of  the  Susquehanna  were 
under  the  direction  of  Shingas,  '  the  terrible,'  a  brother 
of  Tamaqua. 

"  On  November  6  Henry  Frey  started  again,  accom- 
panied by  the  missionary  John  Jacob  Schmick,  for  Wyom- 
ing, hoping  to  reach  Shamokin  by  that  route  and  find 
Kiefer.  They  returned  on  the  thirteenth  and  reported 
him  safe.  He  had  gotten  away  from  Shamokin,  and,  six 
miles  from  there,  met  two  Indians  whom  Paxnous  had  dis- 
patched to  the  place  to  rescue  him.  One  of  them  was  the 
son  of  the  old  chief  and  the  other  was  a  son  of  the  Mohican 
Abraham.  He  had,  meanwhile,  been  protected  by  John 
Shikellimy,  or  Thachnechtoris,  son  of  the  famous  chief,  old 
Shikellimy.  He  escorted  him  safely  to  Gnadenhuetten, 
from  which  place  they  arrived  at  Bethlehem,  November 
16.  With  the  arrival  of  these  three  men  from  Shamokin 
began  the  flight  from  various  directions  and  distances  to 
Bethlehem  as  a  city  of  refuge.  At  one  of  the  evening 
services  during  those  weeks,  Spangenberg  took  occasion 


134  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  admonish  two  different  kinds  of  people.  On  the  one 
hand,  he  urged  those  who  were  becoming  timid  and  uneasy 
to  remain  calm  and  clear-headed  and  to  be  '  strong  in  the 
Lord.'  On  the  other  hand,  some  who,  with  perhaps  a 
slight  symptom  of  bravado,  were  disposed  to  over-estimate 
their  security  and,  without  realizing  the  peril  that  really 
existed,  to  make  light  of  the  trepidation  manifested  by 
people  of  the  neighborhood  who  came  to  Bethlehem,  were 
admonished  that  they  should  appreciate  the  cause  these 
scattered  settlers  had  for  being  alarmed,  sympathize  with 
them  and  try  to  encourage  them. 

"  On  November  20  came  the  first  company  of  fright- 
ened people  from  the  Saucon  Valley,  who  had  heard  re- 
ports of  the  approach  of  hostile  Indians.  Some  of  them 
were  given  quarters  for  the  night  at  the  Crown  Inn.  That 
night  guards  were  quietly  stationed  at  three  approaches 
to  the  town,  not  in  fear  of  a  surprise  by  Indians  at  this 
time,  but  as  a  precaution  against  a  panic  that  might  be 
created  in  the  town  by  a  possible  inrush  of  terror-stricken 
people,  sounding  an  alarm.  The  next  day  a  company  of 
persons  who  had  been  at  Gnadenhuetten  returned,  bring- 
ing a  letter  from  the  missionary  Martin  Mack.  He,  with 
Shebosh  and  the  missionaries  Grube  and  Schmick,  was 
stationed  with  the  Indian  congregation  at  its  new  quarters 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Lehigh,  New  Gnadenhuetten,  where 
the  more  satisfactory  tract  of  land  had  been  purchased 
for  the  Indians.  As  previously  stated,  the  other  men  and 
women  connected  with  the  industries  of  that  settlement, 
and  engaged  in  the  study  of  Indian  languages,  occupied 
the  mission  houses  of  the  original  village  on  the  west  side. 
In  that  letter  Mack  wrote  that  the  entire  neighborhood 
was  in  a  state  of  excitement  on  account  of  the  French 
Indians,  that  many  of  the  settlers  had  fled  to  Allemaengel 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  135 

and  that  some  of  those  Indians  were  trying  to  create  a 
panic  and  stampede  among  the  Gnadenhuetten  Indians, 
but  that  the  most  of  the  men  were  off  hunting.  He  quoted 
in  his  letter  the  sayings  of  several  of  the  sturdiest  Christian 
men  among  the  Indians  at  Gnadenhuetten,  in  reference  to 
the  critical  situation,  their  expressions  of  trust  in  the 
Saviour,  if  the  worst  should  come,  and  their  declaration 
that  they  would  cling  together  and,  if  so  it  must  be,  die 
together.  This  letter  from  Mack  was  read  to  the  congre- 
gation at  Bethlehem  by  Spangenberg  on  the  evening  of 
that  day,  November  21,  and  the  next  day  was  communi- 
cated to  Parsons  at  Easton  by  Horsfield,  as  the  first  note 
of  danger  for  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  While  this 
little  band  of  converts  were  thus  giving  expression  to 
Christian  resignation  and  considering  the  likelihood  of 
their  being  murdered  by  the  '  French  Indians '  when  all 
efforts  to  draw  them  away  proved  fruitless,  the  latter  were 
planning  to  not  only  do  this,  but  also  to  wreak  vengeance 
upon  their  missionaries,  to  whose  influence  they  ascribed 
the  steadfastness  of  the  Gnadenhuetten  Indians  in  with- 
standing every  attempt  to  cajole,  bribe  or  bully  them  into 
joining  the  conspiracy.  At  the  same  time,  men  from  the 
Irish  settlement  were  coming  into  Bethlehem  with  reports 
of  how  the  people  feared  being  suddenly  fallen  upon  by 
those  same  inoffensive  Indians  at  the  mission;  how  some 
were  planning  to  destroy  the  mission  as  a  measure  of  self- 
defense,  and  how  there  was  talk  among  some  Jerseymen 
of  even  taking  revenge  by  raising  troops  of  rangers  to 
move  upon  Bethlehem,  the  supposed  harbor  of  French 
allies,  white  and  Indian,  and  storage  place  of  arms  and 
ammunition  for  the  savages.  What  human  power  of 
word  or  deed  could  rectify  such  an  awful  complication  as 
this  with  hundreds   of  lives  jeopardized   in   its   mazes? 


136  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

How  was  it  possible  to  convince  such  men  in  the  panic 
of  the  time,  with  this  belief  about  the  Moravians  firmly 
fixed  in  their  minds  for  years,  that  they  were  completely 
and  terribly  mistaken.  What  was  to  save  Bethlehem 
when  the  storm  should  break?  Earnest,  well-disposed 
men  came  and  asked  why  is  it  that  your  people  rest  quietly 
and  do  not  seem  to  be  afraid?  Tell  us,  and  explain  this 
mystery,  if  you  have  not  an  understanding  with  the  French 
and  with  the  blood-thirsty  hordes  in  their  service.  Span- 
genberg  simply  answered :  '  The  people  are  quiet  because 
they  set  their  hope  in  their  God,  knowing  no  refuge  under 
such  circumstances  but  in  Him;  and  as  He  has  counted  all 
the  hairs  on  our  heads,  not  one  of  them  shall  be  permitted 
to  fall  without  His  will.'  He  felt  that  a  time  had  come 
for  the  Moravians  to  supremely  demonstrate  that  they 
believed  what  they  professed  and  taught  and  to  let  God 
take  care  of  the  result.  It  is  recorded  how  one  went  away 
convinced  of  the  truth  and  begged  permission  to  bring  his 
family  to  Bethlehem  if  the  time  came  when  they  must  flee. 
"  Even  some  who  had  been  sure  that  the  Moravians 
were  on  terms  of  understanding  with  the  French  and  the 
murderous  savages,  were  open  to  conviction  to  the  con- 
trary, right  in  the  panic  of  those  days,  when  it  was  not 
easy  to  reason  with  excited  men.  The  next  day,  Sunday, 
November  23,  when,  in  storm  and  rain,  scores  of  families 
were  fleeing  from  their  homes  between  Bethlehem  and 
Gnadenhuetten,  and  not  only  expression  of  fear  and  dis- 
trust, but  even  maledictions  were  heard  among  persons 
gathered  at  Easton,  who  spoke  of  the  Indians  harbored 
by  the  Moravians,  David  Zeisberger,  who  was  at  the 
country-seat  in  the  interest  of  certain  peaceable  Indians  of 
Wyoming  who  desired  same  kind  of  a  safe  conduct  to 
Philadelphia  to  deliver  a  message  to  the  Governor,  ren- 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  137 

dered  an  opportune  service.  He  had  an  interview  there 
with  a  number  of  men  from  New  Jersey,  who  were  among 
those  who  had  been  firmly  persuaded  of  the  treachery  of 
the  Moravians  and  their  Indians,  and  had  been  drawn  to 
Easton  by  the  publication  of  Horsfield's  message  to  Par- 
sons. Their  comment  upon  his  statements  and  explana- 
tions was :  '  This  is  the  first  sensible  account  of  the  case 
we  have  heard,  and  even  if  the  Brethren  will  not  take  up 
arms  they  can  secure  their  own  lives  (against  mobs  of 
avenging  white  men)  by  giving  out  reliable  information.' 
The  policy  of  silence  usually  pursued  by  the  Brethren 
mystified  many.  While,  in  the  main,  it  was  undoubtedly 
the  best,  it  had  its  limits,  and  possibly  they  carried  it  too 
far.  Plain,  blunt  men,  such  as  those  Jerseymen  probably 
were,  do  not  take  kindly  to  an  imperturbable  silence  when 
they  are  wanting  to  know  the  truth  of  a  matter  about 
which  their  minds  are  exercised.  And  yet,  the  sublime 
conviction  that  the  case  could  best  be  left  in  the  hands 
of  God,  for  the  results  to  work  out  and  the  truth  to  appear 
in  His  way,  was  vindicated  in  the  end. 

"  There  was  much  anxiety  at  this  time  about  that  stout- 
hearted ranger  of  the  missionary  force,  Frederick  Post, 
who  had  been  defying  '  the  powers  of  darkness '  in  his 
lonely  hut  in  the  Wyoming  wilderness;  for  now  it  was 
known  that  in  that  region  those  powers  were  holding  grim 
carnival,  and  no  white  man  could  live  there.  He  knew, 
however,  when  the  moment  had  come  beyond  which  it 
would  be  sheer  folly  for  him  to  remain.  He  had  acquired 
much  of  the  Indian  instinct  and  method  in  his  movements. 
Suddenly,  when  two  strange  Indians  with  questionable 
motives  were  endeavoring  to  find  him,  he  had  disappeared 
without  a  word  to  any  one  as  to  where  he  was  going.  This 
was  all  that  was  known  about  him  at  Bethlehem — reported 


138  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

from  trustworthy  sources — until  November  22,  when  it 
was  learned  that  he  had  safely  reached  Dansbury,  the 
Brodhead  settlement,  where  at  this  time  Jasper  Payne  was 
stationed.  Payne  was  the  last  who  administered  in  the 
little  church  built  there  under  the  special  patronage  of 
Justice  Daniel  Brodhead,  who  had  died  at  Bethlehem  in 
July.  It  was  dedicated  May  19,  1753.  Payne  and  Post, 
like  so  many  people  of  the  neighborhood,  had  to  flee  from 
the  place  in  December  and  the  little  church  was  burned  to 
the  ground  by  the  savages.  Post  reached  Bethlehem  on 
November  25. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  that  dismal,  rainy  Sunday,  Novem- 
ber 23,  upwards  of  seventy  armed  and  mounted  men  from 
New  Jersey  suddenly  arrived  at  the  Crown  Inn,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  Bethlehem,  as  the  talk  of  some 
had  been  shortly  before,  but  to  offer  their  services  in  de- 
fense of  the  place  and  of  the  Irish  settlement,  as  there 
might  be  need;  very  positive  expectation  of  an  intended 
attack  by  the  savages  having  been  awakened  through  the 
spread  of  Mack's  letter  beyond  the  Delaware.  Justice 
Horsfield  informed  them  that  there  was  not  thought  to 
be  any  immediate  peril  at  Bethlehem,  and  officially  ar- 
ranged for  them  to  remain  at  the  Crown  over  night,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  consternation  that  would  be  caused 
by  their  sudden  appearance  in  the  streets  of  Bethlehem. 
The  nerves  of  invalids  and  of  timid  women  were  consid- 
ered and  the  greatest  care  was  being  taken  to  prevent  all 
knowledge  of  the  terrors  of  the  time  from  reaching  the 
children,  both  at  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth. 

"  November  24  was  a  day  of  noise  and  confusion  such 
as  had  never  been  experienced  at  Bethlehem,  with  sights 
that  seemed  very  strange  in  its  quiet  streets.  All  day 
armed  men  marched  through  from  different  parts  of  New 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  139 

Jersey  and  some  of  the  lower  neighborhoods  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  horseback  and  afoot,  with  drums  and  flags,  in- 
tending to  scour  the  woods  in  the  direction  of  Gnaden- 
huetten  in  search  of  hostile  Indians.  It  was  hoped  that 
some  detachments  of  the  murderous  hordes  might  be  en- 
countered and  repulsed  and  their  further  advance  thus  be 
checked.  David  Zeisberger,  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
militia  captains,  mounted  a  horse  and  started  for  Gnaden- 
huetten  ahead  of  the  rangers,  to  deliver  Horsfield's  mes- 
sage to  Mack  in  reference  to  the  desired  convoy  to  Beth- 
lehem, to  inform  the  Indian  congregation  of  this  expedi- 
tion and  instruct  them  to  remain  quietly  in  their  houses, 
so  that  they  would  not  be  found  outside  in  the  woods  and 
mistaken  for  savages.  He  was  stopped  on  the  way  by  a 
company  of  excited  Irishmen,  who  took  it  for  granted  that 
he  was  bound  for  the  hostile  camps  to  give  the  alarm  to 
the  '  French  Indians '  and  frustrate  the  purpose  of  the 
militia-men,  and  thought  that  they  had  at  last  caught  one 
of  the  Moravian  traitors  in  the  very  act.  Zeisberger's 
coolness  and  tact,  which  seemed  never  to  forsake  him  in 
any  emergency,  together  with  that  impressive  power  of 
conscious  innocence  which  often  turns  the  sentiments,  even 
of  the  most  bitter  and  excited  men,  served  him  well,  as  it 
had  before  and  later  did  in  far  more  critical  straits.  He 
was  finally  permitted  to  ride  on,  but  the  detention  involved 
great  peril  for  the  Indian  congregation. 

"  Evening  was  coming  on  when  he  reached  the  mission. 
Having  delivered  his  letters  to  Mack,  he  immediately 
turned  his  course  to  the  river,  to  cross  before  it  became 
quite  dark,  intending  to  rest  over  night  at  the  establish- 
ment on  the  Mahoning,  on  the  other  side,  after  delivering 
his  messages  there.  He  had  heard  gun-shots  west  of  the 
river  as  he  approached  the  mission,  but  did  not  suspect 


14°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

anything  amiss,  for,  with  squads  of  militia  now  traversing 
the  woods  and  occasionally  firing  signals  to  other  bands, 
this  was  not  a  particularly  startling  sound  that  day.  Sud- 
denly a  piteous  cry  from  the  other  shore  came  to  the  mis- 
sionaries on  the  east  side  who  had  just  taken  leave  of 
Zeisberger.  Shebosh  instantly  pushed  a  canoe  into  the 
water  and  directly  returned,  bringing  Joachim  Sensemann 
and  George  Partsch,  with  the  horrible  tidings  that  the 
savages  had  fallen  upon  the  settlement,  and,  as  they  sup- 
posed, murdered  the  rest  of  the  household.  Then  the 
rising  flames  began  to  light  up  the  gloaming  with  a  sick- 
ening evidence  of  the  fiendish  work  that  was  being  done. 
Zeisberger  had  meanwhile  slowly  made  his  way  to  the 
ford,  and  was  crossing  the  stream.  The  nearer  noise  of 
the  splashing  water  and  the  crack  of  the  stones  under  his 
horse's  hoofs  prevented  him  from  hearing  the  shooting 
and  yelling  of  the  savages,  broken  by  the  thick  underbrush 
of  the  river-bank  and  the  bluff  beyond,  which  also  con- 
cealed from  him  the  light  of  the  starting  flames.  Mack 
called  to  him  several  times  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  but 
did  not  succeed  in  attracting  his  attention  until  he  had 
reached  the  other  side.  A  moment  he  paused  and  with 
dismay  took  in  the  awful  situation,  just  as  young  Joseph 
Sturgis,  who  had  escaped  with  a  slight  wound  on  his  face, 
rushed  gasping  down  the  river.  Turning  about  he  forded 
back  to  the  east  side.  There  a  consultation  was  held  in 
the  anxious  suspense  of  the  hour.  The  Indians,  who  gath- 
ered about  Martin  Mack  in  terror  asking  what  they  should 
do — many  of  the  younger  men  were  yet  off  on  their  fall 
hunt — were  advised  by  him  to  quietly  disperse  and  con- 
ceal themselves  in  the  thick  woods;  for  it  was  taken  for 
granted  that  an  attack  upon  the  buildings  on  that  side 
would  soon  follow.  Sturgis  had  slipped  away  into  the 
forest. 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  141 

"Zeisberger  gathered  what  particulars  could  be  given 
him  by  Sensemann  and  Partsch,  and,  with  these  and 
Mack's  official  message  set  out  in  the  darkness  to  make 
his  way  with  all  the  speed  his  tired  horse  could  command, 
back  to  Bethlehem.  His  dreary  midnight  ride  was  broken 
by  a  brief  interview  with  some  of  the  militia  rangers  of 
the  previous  day  whom  he  met  on  the  road.  He  told 
them  what  had  taken  place,  and  their  first  impression  was 
expressed  in  the  declaration  that  this  appalling  fate  of  the 
Moravians  at  Gnadenhuetten  proved  their  innocence  of 
complicity  with  the  savages  in  the  interest  of  the  French. 
Thus  he  could  carry  back,  with  his  tale  of  woe,  also  the 
first  evidence  of  good  to  come  out  of  this  great  evil.  He 
had  not  many  details  to  report.  The  household  of  sixteen 
persons,  fifteen  adults  and  one  infant,  excepting  two  who 
were  not  well — Sensemann's  wife,  who  had  remained  in 
the  room  set  apart  for  the  women,  and  Peter  Worbas, 
single,  who  was  in  another  building  in  which  the  unmar- 
ried men  had  their  quarters — were  gathered  at  the  table 
in  the  general  dwelling  and  guest-house,  partaking  of  their 
evening  meal.  The  barking  of  the  dogs  and  a  sound 
as  of  persons  approaching  the  premises,  led  Sensemann, 
who  was  steward,  to  go  out  for  the  purpose  of  locking 
the  doors  of  the  main  building  in  which  the  chapel  was, 
and  making  things  secure  for  the  night.  He  saw  no  one, 
and  entered  the  building.  Hardly  had  he  struck  a  light, 
when  he  heard  a  loud  report  of  firearms.  He,  like  Zeis- 
berger, thought  the  shooting  was  done  by  a  company  of 
militia  who  had  passed  several  hours  before,  and  were 
expected  back  to  spend  the  night  there,  and  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  it.  Having  locked  the  door,  he  started  to  return 
to  where  the  others  were,  when  he  was  met  by  Partsch, 
who  announced  that  Indians  had  rushed  upon  the  house 


142  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  were  shooting  at  the  inmates,  and  that  he  had  escaped 
through  a  window.  Sensemann  proposed  that  they  make 
an  effort  to  rescue  the  women,  and  they  turned  towards 
the  house,  but  it  was  entirely  surrounded  by  the  savage 
troop  and  they,  being  unarmed,  could  do  nothing  more 
than  make  their  escape  and  sound  an  alarm  at  the  mission, 
east  of  the  Lehigh.  The  setting  fire  to  the  house  followed 
after  they  fled  and  the  presumption  with  which  Zeisberger 
started  for  Bethlehem  was  that  all,  excepting  these  two 
men  and  young  Joseph  Sturgis,  whom  he  had  seen,  had 
perished  by  the  bullets  or  tomahawks  of  the  murderers  or 
in  the  flames.  At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-fifth  he  reached  Bethlehem,  aroused  Bishop  Span- 
genberg  and  told  him  the  horrible  story.  Whether  any 
others  were  immediately  informed  of  it  does  not  appear 
in  the  narratives.  A  messenger  was  sent  to  Parsons  at 
Easton  about  two  hours  later. 

"  In  the  early  dawn  of  that  sad  November  morning  the 
people  of  Bethlehem  were  summoned  by  the  ringing  of 
the  bell,  to  morning  prayer  as  usual,  this  being  the  first 
thing  each  day.  Spangenberg  had,  according  to  custom, 
opened  the  book  of  daily  texts  to  see  what  the  watchword 
of  the  day  was,  and  he  found  a  peculiar  significance  in  it 
that  gave  him  a  starting-point  from  which  to  begin  the 
service  and  the  morning  words  to  the  people  in  the  usual 
manner,  preparatory  to  breaking  the  mournful  news. 
'Joseph  *  *  *  made  himself  strange  unto  them  and 
spake  roughly  unto  them.'10  And  his  brethren,  not  rec- 
ognizing him  under  the  temporary  disguise  of  this  harsh 
exterior,  said  to  Jacob  their  father,  'the  man  spake 
roughly  unto  us.'  Thus,  said  Spangenberg,  our  Lord 
sometimes    deals    roughly   with   us    and    makes    Himself 

18  Genesis  42:  7  and  30. 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  143 

strange,  but  we  know  His  heart.20  A  peculiar  impression 
was  felt — an  apprehension  of  something  momentous — as 
he  looked  about  the  congregation,  and  his  voice  quivered 
with  pent-up  emotion.  Then  the  announcement  of  the 
tragedy  was  made  and  tearful  supplications  went  up  to 
the  darkly  veiled  throne  of  grace.  Many  a  one's  early 
meal  was  left  untouched  in  Bethlehem  that  morning,  and 
the  day  was  one  of  mourning.  Another  thing  Spangen- 
berg  said  at  that  morning  service :  '  Our  neighborhood  can 
now  see  that  the  Brethren  are  not  allied  with  the  French, 
for  we  have  been  in  such  danger  for  several  days  of 
being  fallen  upon  by  a  mob  that  they  have  quite  openly 
said,  "  before  we  move  upon  the  enemy,  we  must  not  leave 
one  stone  upon  another  in  Bethlehem."  The  Justice,  our 
Brother  Horsfield,  has  been  a  real  martyr,  for  he  could  not 
convince  all  of  the  people  that  our  remaining  so  quiet  in 
the  midst  of  the  tumult  that  fills  the  whole  land  did  not 
signify  that  we  had  an  understanding  with  the  French.' 

"Those  slain  on  the  Mahoning  were  verily  martyrs, 
destined  in  the  mysterious  ways  of  God,  who  'made  Him- 
self strange  unto  them  and  spake  roughly  unto  them,'  to 
bear  the  convicting  testimony  to  men  who  refused  to  be 
convinced  by  lesser  proof.  In  some  sense  and  degree, 
their  blood  was  vicarious  blood.  It  had  to  wash  out  the 
cruel  calumny  which  excited  prejudice,  incapable  of  under- 
standing the  Moravians,  persisted  in  writing  on  the  bul- 
letin board  of  public  sensation,  and  it  became  the  sprinkled 
blood  on  the  lintels  and  door-posts  of  Bethlehem  to  stay 
the  destroying  hand  of  men,  maddened  by  the  fiendish 
atrocities  perpetrated  upon  their  homes,  who  might  other- 
wise have  taken  vengeance  upon  the  Moravians  as  friends 

20 "  Der  Mann  stellt  sich  hart,  aber  wir  kennen  sein  Herz."  This  last 
clause  was  the  line  of  a  hymn-verse  accompanying  the  text  in  the  book. 


144  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  the  Indians.  When  the  murderous  hand  of  the  sav- 
ages was  to  be  lifted  against  Bethlehem,  God  stayed  that 
hand,  for  He  had  chosen  the  place  as  a  city  of  refuge 
to  which  many  who  escaped  might  flee  from  the  fields, 
where  one  was  taken  and  another  left.  The  most  obtuse 
mind  could  be  expected  to  comprehend,  when  the  massacre 
on  the  Mahoning  became  known,  that  the  savages  would 
not  fall  upon  those  who  were  secretly  working  with  them, 
and  murder  them.  They  thus  took  revenge  upon  the 
Moravians  for  standing  in  their  way  with  that  settlement 
at  the  mountain  gate-way,  and  foiling  their  attempts  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of  those  converts.  After  this,  the 
repetition  of  the  old  slander — and,  although  common  opin- 
ion among  suspecting  masses  was  suddenly  and  powerfully 
changed,  it  was  repeated  by  some,  even  after  this — could 
no  longer  be  charitably  ascribed  to  mere  ignorance  about 
the  Moravians.     It  now  became  criminal  malice. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  day,  on  that  twenty-fifth  of  No- 
vember, one  after  another  arrived  from  the  scene  of  car- 
nage, like  the  messengers  of  Job  coming  in  to  tell  of  the 
ruin  wrought  where  Satan's  hand  was  permitted  to  fall. 
From  one  after  the  other,  further  particulars  were  learned. 
About  seven  o'clock  the  first  fugitive  arrived;  Peter 
Worbas,  who  at  first  had  watched  the  horrible  scenes  from 
the  room  of  the  single  men  in  another  building.  Although 
ill,  he  had  trudged  the  long  distance  to  Bethlehem  afoot. 
He  could  not  tell  much  more  than  was  known.  He  saw 
one  of  the  women  flee  to  the  cellar,  outside  the  house,  and 
back  into  the  '  sisters  room,'  pursued  by  a  savage  with 
uplifted  tomahawk.  He  heard  the  heart-rending  screams 
of  an  infant  amid  the  crackling  of  the  flames.  For  some 
time  he  was  a  prisoner,  a  guard  being  posted  at  the  door. 
A  shout  from  the  other  savages  diverting  the  attention  of 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  145 

his  guard,  he  leaped  from  the  window  towards  the  Mahon- 
ing and  fled.  On  the  way  to  Bethlehem  he  heard  of  the 
escape  of  Sturgis.  Anton  Schmidt  and  Marcus  Kiefer, 
who,  at  Shamokin,  had  become  veterans  in  facing  the 
dangers  of  savage  surroundings,  were  soon  dispatched  to 
Gnadenhuetten  to  ascertain  how  matters  stood  there,  and 
to  take  a  message  from  Justice  Horsfield  to  the  militia 
gathered  at  that  point,  stating  that  provisions  would  be 
sent  them  if  needed.  Spangenberg,  meanwhile,  went  to 
Nazareth  to  make  the  sorrowful  announcement  there,  and 
institute  the  first  steps  towards  guarding  against  a  surprise 
by  the  savages.  There,  when  he  undertook  to  speak  again 
of  what  had  taken  place,  his  composure  forsook  him.  He 
broke  down  under  the  strain  and  for  a  while  could  only 
weep. 

"  In  the  afternoon  Sensemann  came,  bringing  about 
thirty  of  the  Gnadenhuetten  Indians,  all  completely  ex- 
hausted by  their  hard  experiences.  While  making  his  way 
through  the  woods  towards  Bethlehem,  he  came  upon  this 
little  band  cowering  in  their  place  of  concealment,  and 
brought  them  along.  All  that  Sensemann  could  relate  was 
already  known  through  Zeisberger. 

"Later  in  the  day  Martin  Mack  arrived  with  his  wife, 
Grube  and  his  wife,  Schmick  and  Joseph  Powell  and  his 
wife,  who  had  been  temporarily  at  the  station  on  the  east 
side,  and  more  of  the  fugitive  Indians.  Mack  was  almost 
broken-hearted.  Gnadenhuetten  had  been  very  dear  to 
him.  He  had  devoted  himself  to  that  mission  from  the  be- 
ginning with  all  his  heart,  and  he  felt  as  a  father  towards  the 
converts  who  were  singularly  attached  to  him.  The  colony 
of  men  and  women  who  occupied  the  original  buildings,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  had  trusted  his  counsel  and  lead- 
ership when  the  time  of  peril  came.     He  had  encouraged 

14 


146  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

them  to  stand  quietly  and  manfully  at  their  post.  They 
had  done  so,  and  now  they  had  fallen  at  that  post,  and  he 
was  spared.  He  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow.  The 
entire  Indian  congregation  of  seventy  persons  gradually 
found  their  way  to  Bethlehem.  Here  they  were  sheltered 
in  the  '  Indian  house '  and  were  cared  for,  regardless  of 
the  risk  their  presence  might  entail  upon  Bethlehem  when 
the  unreasoning  excitement  of  some  in  whose  eyes  all  In- 
dians were  alike,  was  stirred  anew  by  the  discovery  that 
they  were  housed  there.  It  put  a  strain  even  upon  the 
confidence  and  good  will  of  some  of  the  Bethlehem  people, 
under  the  poignant  grief  they  felt  for  the  awful  fate  that 
had  befallen  their  brethren  and  sisters  on  the  Mahoning; 
all  on  account  of  Indians  and  at  the  hands  of  Indians;  and 
under  the  growing  dread  of  an  attack  upon  Bethlehem, 
which  might  the  more  quickly  be  provoked  by  the  presence 
of  these  people  whom  the  savages  were  now  bent  upon 
killing,  since  they  could  not  entice  them.  It  even  became 
necessary  for  Spangenberg,  a  few  weeks  later,  to  plead 
with  such  openly,  to  not  permit  aversion  and  bitterness  to 
possess  their  hearts  towards  these  poor  creatures  snatched 
as  a  brand  from  the  burning;  the  remaining  fruit  of  many 
labors,  prayers  and  tears. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  November  26,  Partsch  and  his 
wife  Susanna  reached  Bethlehem.  It  was  not  known 
whether  he  had  escaped  or  not  after  he  and  Susanna 
parted,  and  his  wife  was  supposed  to  be,  of  course,  among 
the  victims.  Young  Sturgis  came  with  them.  They 
brought  the  fullest  details  of  the  horrible  massacre.  After 
Sensemann  had  gone  out  to  lock  the  door,  as  related  by 
him,  the  barking  of  the  dogs  increased,  and  footsteps  were 
heard  about  the  house.  Sturgis,  followed  by  several  of 
the  other  men,  arose  from  the  table  and  opened  the  door, 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  147 

supposing  that  the  expected  militia  men  were  coming. 
There,  before  the  door,  stood  some  of  the  murderous  sav- 
ages ready  for  the  attack.  Instantly  they  fired,  and  Mar- 
tin Nitschmann  fell  dead,  while  a  bullet  grazed  the  face 
of  Joseph  Sturgis  who  was  nearest  to  the  door.  Another 
volley  quickly  followed,  and  John  Lesley,  John  Gatter- 
meyer  and  Martin  Presser  fell.  Presser,  as  was  discov- 
ered some  months  later,  was  not  instantly  killed,  but  was 
able  to  creep  from  the  house  and  find  his  way  to  the  woods 
nearby,  where  he  succumbed  to  his  wound.21 

"Martin  Nitschmann's  wife, Susanna, was  next  wounded 
by  a  ball.  She  was  seen  to  fall  and  her  cry,  '  O  brethren ! 
brethren !  help  me ! '  was  heard.  That  was  the  last  then 
known  of  her,  and  it  was  supposed  that  she  had  perished 
by  a  tomahawk  or  in  the  flames.  She  was  evidently 
dragged  out  of  the  house  when  the  remaining  inmates  fled 
to  the  garret,  and,  as  was  afterwards  learned,  she  was 
taken  captive  by  the  murderers.22 

21  April  29,  1756,  Stephen  Blum,  who  had  carried  an  order  from  Gov- 
ernor to  Captain  Carl  Volck,  Commandant  of  Fort  Allen,  built  where  the 
New  Gnadenhuetten  of  the  Indians  had  been,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  the  site  of  Weissport — Volck  was  a  member  of  the  Moravian  con- 
gregation at  Allemaengel — returned  to  Bethlehem  and  reported  that  the 
previous  week  the  soldiers  had  found  a  corpse  in  a  dense  thicket  at  the 
"  sand  spring,"  not  scalped  but  shot  in  the  right  side,  and  that  the  man 
had  died  lying  upon  his  back  with  his  hands  folded.  The  Captain  had 
the  body  buried  by  the  militia,  and  sang  as  a  committal  service  the  verse: 
Sein'  Augen,  Seinen  Mund,  Den  Leib  fur  uns  verwund't,  etc.  (from  the 
Easter  Morning  Litany).  The  body  was  identified  by  the  clothing  as 
that  of  Presser. 

22  July  19,  1756,  her  fate  was  publicly  announced  at  Bethlehem  when 
reliable  information  brought  by  Joachim,  a  baptized  Indian,  who  had 
been  up  on  the  Susquehanna,  confirmed  previous  reports.  She  was  taken 
first  to  Wyoming  by  the  savages,  and  almost  perished  from  cold  on  the 
way.  There  several  of  the  colony  of  baptized  Indians,  who  had  with- 
drawn the  previous  year  from  Gnadenhuetten,  and  were  living  there  yet 
in  the  turmoil,  recognized  her  as  a  Moravian  sister.     The  first  was  Sarah, 


148  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  Those  who  succeeded  in  reaching  the  dormitory  in  the 
garret  closed  and  secured  the  trap-door,  so  that  their  pur- 
suers could  not  force  it  open.  This  remnant  of  the  house- 
hold were  Gottlieb  Anders,  his  wife  Johanna  Christina 
and  their  infant  daughter  Johanna;  Susanna  Louisa,  wife 
of  George  Partsch;  Anna  Catherine,  wife  of  Joachim 
Sensemann ;  George  Christian  Fabricius,  George  Schwei- 
gert  and  Joseph  Sturgis.  Sensemann's  wife  sank  down 
upon  the  edge  of  a  bed  and  simply  exclaimed,  '  Dear 
Saviour,  this  is  what  I  expected ! '  The  wife  of  Anders, 
with  her  wailing  infant  wrapped  in  her  apron  and  clasped 
to  her  breast,  expressed  only  a  mother's  anguish  for  her 
child.  There  they  passed  an  awful  quarter  of  an  hour, 
listening  to  the  yells  of  the  savage  troop  and  the  shots 
fired  at  random  through  the  window,  the  roof  and  the 
floor.  One  and  another  of  the  prisoners  screamed  for  help 
at  intervals,  in  the  faint  hope  that  rescuers  might  approach 
and  hear  that  they  were  yet  alive.  Then  there  was  a  lull 
in  the  shooting;  the  yells  ceased  for  a  brief  space,  and  no 
one  was  seen  by  those  who  peered  out  of  the  garret  win- 
dow. For  the  moment  the  attention  of  the  demons  was 
absorbed  in  their  final  most  fiendish  plan.  Soon  the  crack- 
ling of  the  flames  told  the  victims  what  they  might  now 
expect.  Sturgis  seized  this  opportunity  to  leap  from  the 
window,  landed  safely  and  got  away.     Susanna  Partsch 

the  wife  of  Abraham  the  Mohican,  who  threw  up  her  hands  in  consterna- 
tion when  she  saw  her.  Another  woman,  Abigail,  wife  of  Benjamin,  was 
permitted  to  care  for  her  wants  in  her  own  hut,  until  her  brutal  captor 
dragged  her  off  to  Tioga.  There  she  passed  her  days  in  constant  weep- 
ing and  sank  into  a  dazed  condition  of  deep  melancholy;  Joachim  saw 
her  and  spoke  with  her,  and  had  definite  information  of  her  death  at 
Tioga.  The  Indian  who  led  the  attack  on  the  Mahoning  and  took  posses- 
sion of  her  as  his  prize,  was  killed  in  August,  1757,  by  another  Indian 
under  the  accusation  of  having  acted  as  a  French  spy  at  the  treaty  in 
Eastern. 


The  Moravian  Massacres.  149 

immediately  followed  him  and  also  escaped.  The  third 
and  last  to  make  the  attempt  was  Fabricius,  as  appeared 
from  the  discoveries  made  the  next  day.  The  window 
was  now  again  watched,  and  he  did  not  escape.  The  re- 
maining four  with  the  little  child  evidently  perished  in  the 
flames. 

Susanna  Partsch  was  unfamiliar  with  the  surroundings, 
having  been  at  the  place  a  week  only,  and  did  not  know 
which  way  to  take  in  the  darkness.  She  secreted  herself 
for  some  time  behind  a  tree,  at  an  elevated  spot  near  the 
main  building,  where  she  could  watch  the  movements  of 
the  murderers.  She  saw  them  set  fire  to  one  building  after 
another;  first,  the  barn,  then  the  kitchen  and  bakery,  then 
the  single  men's  dwelling,  after  that  the  store  and  last  of 
all,  with  some  difficulty,  the  main  building  containing  the 
chapel — the  Gemeinhaus.  The  store  was  first  looted,  then 
all  eatables  found  in  kitchen,  bakery  and  spring-house  were 
collected  and  the  savages  had  a  feast  by  the  light  of  the 
conflagration.  There  were  estimated  to  be  about  twelve 
of  them.  About  midnight,  as  nearly  as  the  trembling 
watcher  could  judge,  they  gathered  up  the  plunder  secured 
in  the  store  and  set  out  towards  Wyoming.  Then  this 
almost  distracted  woman,  left  alone  at  the  desolate  place, 
made  her  way  down  to  the  river  where  she  came  to  a  large 
hollow  tree  within  which  she  took  refuge  until  daylight, 
when  rescuers  arrived. 

"  Partsch  had  found  his  way  during  the  night  to  a  house 
in  the  Blue  Mountains,  where  he  fell  in  with  Sturgis. 
Early  in  the  morning  they  returned  to  the  Mahoning  with 
some  rangers.  He  was  nerved  by  a  presentiment  that  his 
wife  had  escaped.  When  they  got  across  the  Lehigh, 
they  suddenly  came  upon  her,  crouched  in  her  place  of  con- 
cealment, almost  benumbed  with  cold  and  fright.     They 


150  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

went  on  to  explore  the  scene  of  desolation.  All  the  build- 
ings were  burned  down,  and  the  charred  remains  of  some 
who  had  there  perished  could  be  seen  but  not  distinguished. 
Outside,  in  the  square,  they  came  upon  the  body  of  Fab- 
ricius,  pierced  with  bullets,  scalped  and  mutilated,  and 
watched  over  by  the  only  living  friend  that  remained  at 
the  spot,  his  dog.  The  savages,  after  finishing  their 
atrocious  work,  left  a  blanket  with  a  hat  and  a  knife  stuck 
through  them  on  a  stump,  as  a  defiant  warning  of  more  of 
the  like  to  follow.  Exhausted  and  sickened,  Partsch  and 
his  wife  and  Sturgis  set  out  on  their  sorrowful  journey 
to  Bethlehem. 

"Amid  the  deserted  cabins  on  the  east  side,  only  Shebosh 
remained  a  while  to  watch  for  any  members  of  the  Indian 
congregation  who  might  yet  be  hiding  near-by  and,  seeing 
him  there,  might  venture  to  approach.  On  November 
27,  Anton  Schmidt  returned  from  the  Mahoning  where, 
with  the  assistance  of  some  neighbors,  he  had  hastily  made 
a  coffin  in  which  he  placed  the  body  of  Fabricius,  with 
such  charred  remains  of  the  others  as  he  could  collect,  and 
buried  it  in  a  corner  of  the  garden,  where  the  little  ceme- 
tery of  the  place  had  been  opened."23 


23  The  foregoing  narrative  is  compiled  from  a  careful  collation  of  all 
extant  original  accounts,  correcting  inaccuracies  of  some  of  the  many 
printed  accounts,  supplying  some  points  lacking  in  others,  and  giving  all 
the  authentic  particulars  that  would  be  found  by  examining  all  of  them. 
This  massacre  ended  Indian  mission  work  there.  The  place  lay  neglected 
until  1771,  when  it  became  the  center  of  a  white  congregation,  composed 
of  members  of  the  two  defunct  congregations  and  Sichem,  Dutchess 
County,  N.  Y.,  the  region  of  the  original  Indian  mission  which  furnished 
the  nucleus  of  Gnadenhuetten  in  1746.  In  1783  the  first  recorded  formal 
attention  was  paid  to  the  grave  of  these  martyrs,  when  that  white  con- 
gregation gathered  around  it  to  observe  the  Easter  matins.  In  1786,  the 
Rev.  John  Frederick  Moehring,  minister  there,  addressed  the  executive  au- 
thorities   at    Bethlehem   in    reference   to   placing   a   memorial    stone   on    the 


The  Moravian  Massacres. 


i5i 


spot — a  thing  spoken  of  before.  Finally,  on  December  10,  1788,  the  slab 
that  yet  lies  there,  with  its  simple  but  impressive  inscriptions  was  placed 
on  the  grave.  The  monument  at  the  head  of  it  was  provided  through  the 
exertions  of  descendants  of  Martin  and  Susanna  Nitschmann,  and  set  in 
place,  August  7,  1848,  the  centennial  anniversary  of  the  first  Indian  inter- 
ment at  Gnadenhuetten.  The  credit  for  again  rescuing  the  sacred  spot 
from  oblivion,  more  than  thirty  years  after  the  dissolution  of  the  white 
congregation  of  Gnadenhuetten,  belongs  mainly  to  the  late  Joseph  Leibert, 
of  Bethlehem,  whose  wife  was  a  granddaughter  of  the  Nitschmanns. 

With  the  biographical  sketches  of  those  martyrs  appended  to  the  Beth- 
lehem diary  for  November,  1755,  is  a  parentation  or  elegy  in  Latin,  by 
Christian  Wedsted,  the  companion  of  the  gifted  Fabricius,  who  went  with 
him  to  Gnadenhuetten,  June  28,  1754,  to  study  Indian  languages.  The 
composition  is  entitled: 

In  Fratres  Sororesque 

beatae  memoriae 

quos  ut  sacrificium  pro  nobis 

Salvator  noster  Deusque,  T.  O.  M. 

Sibi   Mahoniae  offerri   passus  est, 

Die  XXIV,  Nov.,  c  |  d  |  dec  |  v. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses. 


XL' 


'HE  seat  of  the  Mo- 
ravian Economy  was 
at  Bethlehem,  whence  ema- 
nated all  their  mission  en- 
terprise. Their  Christian 
work,  however,  was  not 
confined  to  the  savage  alone ; 
they  cared  well  for  their 
own.  There  were  the  little 
ones,  helpless  and  alone,  to 
be  looked  out  for;  single 
sisters  needed  protection; 
single  brethren  had  their  own  especial  duties;  the  way- 
farer demanded  their  hospitality ;  flour  needed  to  be  ground 
and  provisions  secured,  and  for  all  these  things  various 
localities  were  to  be  settled  and  buildings  erected  thereon. 
The  whole  formed  an  Economy,  which  was  a  veritable 
hive  of  industry.  To  tell  how  it  was  defended  during  the 
war  I  propose  to  deal  with  each  separate  place  in  detail. 

(•52) 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  153 

The  remaining  weeks  of  the  year  1755,  after  the  mas- 
sacre at  Gnadenhuetten,  were  a  period  of  much  anxiety 
at  Bethlehem,  and  those  who  were  at  the  head  of  affairs, 
and  responsible  for  the  policy  and  measures  adopted,  were 
under  a  severe  strain.  Each  succeeding  day  revealed, 
more  clearly,  the  great  peril  in  which  the  settlement,  with 
the  stations  on  the  Nazareth  land,  stood,  especially  the 
most  exposed  outposts,  Friedensthal  and  the  Rose  Inn. 
At  these  Moravian  places  the  dam  would  have  to  be  built 
to  hold  back  the  devastating  flood,  if  it  was  not  to  rush 
down  unhindered  over  the  entire  lower  country.  Between 
this  point  and  Philadelphia  there  was  not  another  place 
at  which  a  sufficient  population  could  be  concentrated, 
with  the  same  degree  of  order  and  self-possession,  of  unity 
and  discipline,  to  make  a  stand  and  present  a  front  against 
the  savage  on-rush.  Above  these  places  no  power  or  even 
show  of  resistance  remained.  There  was  no  rallying 
ground  for  the  people,  no  spot  at  which  there  was  even 
enough  of  a  compact  mass  of  buildings  to  suggest  the 
centering  of  any  strength.  When  the  reign  of  terror 
opened  along  the  Blue  Mountains,  the  people,  who  es- 
caped, rushed,  utterly  demoralized  and  panic-stricken, 
down  the  country,  and  the  Moravian  places  were  the  first 
at  which  there  seemed  enough  prospect  of  being  able  to 
stand,  to  make  it  worth  while  to  stop.  Therefore,  the 
extreme  importance  of  baffling  the  savages  at  these  points, 
which  had  now  become  the  frontier  posts,  was  realized. 
At  Easton  there  was  less,  at  that  time,  to  inspire  confi- 
dence among  the  panic-stricken  refugees  from  the  upper 
country,  or  to  offer  resistance.  If  the  savages  broke 
through  the  Moravian  lines,  there  seemed  to  be  nothing 
left,  as  some  expressed  it,  but  to  "  rush  on  before  them 
into  the  sea,  for  the  water  was  preferable  to  the  toma- 


154  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

hawk,  the  scalping-knife  and  the  torch."  And  yet  there 
were,  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak,  probably  not  fifty  guns 
among  all  the  Moravians  at  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth 
combined.  Some  of  the  Moravian  wood-men  and  farmers 
went  hunting  occasionally,  not  for  sport — they  had  no 
time  for  that — but  to  supplement  their  provision-store  in 
seasons  of  scarcity;  and  guns  were  sometimes  taken  along 
on  journeys  through  the  forest  to  secure  needed  food. 
Beyond  this  they  had  no  use  for  firearms. 

The  people  from  the  mountains  who  fled  to  the  Mora- 
vians for  refuge  did  not  come  supplied  with  arms  and 
ammunition.  They  came  empty  handed,  hungry,  many  of 
them  half  naked,  men  without  coats  or  hats,  women  and 
children  who  had  rushed  from  their  beds  at  dead  of  night, 
many  with  only  the  clothing  in  which  they  slept  and  blan- 
kets or  quilts  hastily  thrown  around  them,  some  bare- 
footed. These  people  knew,  furthermore,  that  the  Mora- 
vians were  "  not  fighting  people,"  that  they  deprecated 
warfare  and  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  military  drill. 
It  was  the  talk  of  the  country,  and  many  a  jest  on  the  sub- 
ject at  their  expense,  had  excited  merriment  around  the 
fires  of  back-woods  cabins,  even  while  the  wicked  stories 
about  their  secreting  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  use  of 
the  "  French  Indians  "  were  discussed,  without  appreciat- 
ing the  inconsistency  of  laying  these  incongruous  things  to 
their  charge  at  the  same  time. 

Though  trained,  as  they  were,  to  peaceful  thoughts  and 
employments,  with  the  necessities  of  their  neighbors  before 
them,  and  all  the  facts,  which  have  been  stated,  staring 
them  in  the  face,  their  duties  were  apparent,  and,  without 
hesitation,  they  proceeded  to  perform  them. 

For  a  description  of  the  Moravian  defenses  the  writer 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  155 

is  especially  indebted  to  the  material  collated  by  the  late 
Rev.  William  C.  Reichel. 

Nazareth  Stockade. 

While  at  Bethlehem  itself  armed  men  were  stationed  at 
various  outposts,  and  defenses  of  a  certain  character  pro- 
vided, yet  the  main  line  of  Moravian  stockades  and  de- 
fenses occupied  the  more  advanced  position  called  the 
"  Barony  of  Nazareth,"  comprising  Nazareth,  Gnaden- 
thal,  or  Vale  of  Grace,  Christian's  Spring,  Friedensthal, 
or  Vale  of  Peace,  and  the  Rose  Inn. 

At  Nazareth  the  "Whitefield  House"  is  the  central 
point  of  interest,  and  the  one  directly  applicable  to  this 
article,  as  it  was  this  building  which  became  the  Nazareth 
Stockade. 

On  May  3,  1740,  George  Whitefield,  the  founder  of 
Calvinistic  Methodism,  agreed  with  William  Allen,  of 
Philadelphia,  for  5,000  acres  of  land  in  the  forks  of  the 
Delaware,  the  name  given  to  all  the  country  between  the 
Lehigh  and  Delaware  rivers,  and  including  the  whole 
county  of  Northampton.  The  price  paid  was  £2,200 
sterling.  On  this  was  to  be  erected  a  school  for  negroes, 
and  a  Methodist  settlement  to  be  founded.  The  tract  was 
called  "  Nazareth."  The  Delaware  Indians,  who  had  a 
village  on  the  same  land  at  this  time,  called  it  "  Welag- 
amika,"  signifying  "rich  soil." 

Among  the  fellow  passengers  of  Whitefield,  from 
Georgia  to  Philadelphia  in  April,  1740,  was  Peter  Boeh- 
ler,  and  the  remnant  of  the  Moravian  colonists  of  the 
former  Province.  With  him  arrangements  were  made  to 
erect  the  building.  Taking  with  him  the  brethren,  Boeh- 
ler  at  once  started  for  Nazareth  and  went  to  work,  but, 
by  the  first  week  in  September,  the  walls  of  the  school  were 


156  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

no  higher  than  the  door  sill,  and  £300  had  already  been 
expended.  Various  things  prevented  progress  in  the  work, 
until  the  spring  of  1741,  when  Whitefield  became  pecu- 
niarily embarrassed,  and,  during  the  same  summer,  con- 
sented to  sell  the  entire  tract  to  Bishop  Spangenberg  of 
the  Moravian  Church.  The  deed  of  sale  was  executed 
July  17,  1741. 

On  December  2,  1741,  Count  Zinzendorf  landed  at 
New  York.  In  the  summer  of  1742  he  instituted  pro- 
ceedings for  the  removal  of  the  Indians  on  the  property, 
but  was  not  successful  until  the  middle  of  December  when 
the  brethren  found  themselves,  at  last,  the  sole  possessors 
of  their  two  log-houses  with  garden  adjacent,  and  the  stone 
walls  of  the  ill-fated  and  unfinished  school. 

Meanwhile  Zinzendorf  abroad,  in  the  summer  of  1743, 
was  busy  fitting  out  a  second  colony  of  brethren  and  sisters, 
one  portion  of  which  he  designed  to  locate  at  Nazareth. 
When  intelligence  of  this  fact  reached  Bethlehem,  in  the 
second  week  of  September,  masons  were  sent  up  imme- 
diately thereafter,  on  the  eighteenth,  to  resume  work  on 
the  "stone-house"  (so-called),  and  hasten  it  to  comple- 
tion. Two  years,  therefore,  had  fully  elapsed  since  the 
trowel  had  last  rung  on  the  limestones  of  this  now  vener- 
able pile.  By  the  close  of  the  year  the  work  was  done, 
and,  on  the  second  of  January,  1744,  it  was  occupied  by 
thirty-three  couples,  members  of  the  colony  that  had  been 
imported  on  the  "  Little  Strength,"  Captain  Garrison,  in 
the  previous  November.  The  building  contained  eleven 
dwelling  rooms,  three  large  rooms  or  halls,  and  two  cellars. 

In  1745,  the  first  of  the  group  of  buildings,  at  the  im- 
provement called  by  later  generations  "  Old  Nazareth," 
was  built.  Thither  the  adult  inmates  of  the  "  Stone 
House"  were  gradually  removed,   and  the  building  set 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  157 

apart  for  the  children  of  the  settlement,  and  for  a  "  board- 
ing school  for  girls." 

On  January  7,  1749,  fifty-six  infants,  varying  in  age 
from  fifteen  months  to  five  years,  with  their  attendants 
and  instructors  (widows  and  single  sisters)  removed  from 
Bethlehem  into  the  "  Stone  House "  which,  henceforth, 
was  called  the  "  Nursery." 

The  Indian  War  broke  in  rudely  upon  the  quiet  of  the 
"home  of  little  ones,"  and  when  the  savages  came  down 
into  the  settlements  in  the  autumn  of  1755,  it  was  thought 
prudent  to  remove  the  nurslings  and  the  pupils  of  the 
boarding  school  to  Bethlehem. 

It  then  became  a  place  of  refuge  for  settlers  from  the 
frontier.  In  December,  1755,  sentry  boxes  were  erected 
near  the  principal  buildings  of  old  Nazareth.  They  were 
made  of  green  logs  having  the  chinks  filled  with  clay,  and 
so  considered  as  practically  fire-proof.  In  each  of  these  four 
men  watched  at  night.  While  Capt.  Isaac  Wayne's  com- 
pany were  on  duty  at  Nazareth  these  sentries  were  de- 
tailed from  his  command.  In  February,  1756,  a  stockade 
was  erected  around  the  cattle  yard,  and  on  May  26,  1756, 
was  begun  a  trench  for  the  palisades  to  be  erected  around 
the  Whitefield  House,  and  two  log  houses  adjacent.  This 
stockade  was  236  by  170  feet  and  10  feet  high,  being 
flanked  by  sentry  boxes  in  which  sentries  were  constantly 
on  duty,  not  less  than  eight  men  constituting  a  watch.  To 
celebrate  the  completion  of  their  work,  the  brethren  met, 
on  June  4,  in  a  Love  Feast.  The  timber  for  this  stockade 
was  cut  in  April,  prior  to  its  erection. 

After  the  Indian  War  the  Whitefield  House  was  occu- 
pied by  various  families  as  a  domicile,  but  has  now  been 
rescued  from  the  decay  incident  to  neglect,  and  become 
the  headquarters  of  the  Moravian  Historical  Society.     It 


158  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

is  a  large  antique  edifice,  built  of  limestone,  with  a  hip 
roof,  and  has  in  front,  between  the  stories,  a  brick  band 
with  crank-shaped  ends,  similar  to  those  in  many  old 
houses  in  Philadelphia.  This  band  marks  the  limits  of 
Whitefield's  labors. 

It  stands  in  "  Old  Nazareth  "  which  shows  plainly  the 
ravages  of  time.  In  177 1  "New  Nazareth"  was  laid 
out  around  Nazareth  Hall,  and  grew  apace  until  it  became 
the  principal  place  in  the  "  Barony,"  now  the  borough 
of  Nazareth.  The  Whitefield,  or  Ephrata,  House  is 
southeast  from  Nazareth  Hall,  and  on  what  is  now  the 
southeast  corner  of  Centre  Street.  Of  this  Rev.  Reichel 
says:  "There  was  a  time,  within  our  memory,  when  it 
stood  back  from  the  dusty  street,  and  when  its  approach 
from  the  highway  was  by  a  stile,  which,  being  crossed,  led 
you  under  the  shade  of  embowering  trees  to  the  carpet  of 
green  that  spread  out,  invitingly,  on  the  sunny  side  of  its 
gray  limestone  walls." 

The  massacre  at  Gnadenhuetten  was  quickly  followed 
by  those  nearer  the  Delaware,  to  be  related  in  turn.  Then 
came  the  flight  of  the  luckless  inhabitants  across  the  moun- 
tains, in  all  conditions  of  wretchedness.  Then  it  was  that 
the  old  Whitefield  House  opened  its  doors,  and  received 
the  poor  refugees,  until  on  January  29,  1756,  it  held  253, 
many  of  them  children. 

The  gravity  of  the  position,  at  the  outbreak  of  hostili- 
ties, was  so  great  that  the  Government  felt  constrained  to 
give  assistance  to  the  Moravians  in  their  defence  of  Naza- 
reth. The  first  regular  officer  stationed  there  was  Capt. 
Wayne,  of  Chester  County.  The  following  orders  were 
sent  him  by  Governor  Morris,  on  January  3,  1756,  who 
was  then  at  Reading  and  had  just  received  news  of  the 
destruction  of  Gnadenhuetten  and  murder  of  Capt.  Hay's 
soldiers: 


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The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  159 

"  Cap.  Wayne  :  You  are  upon  your  return  from  De- 
pue's  to  Halt  with  your  Company  at  Nazareth,  and  there 
to  remain  until  further  orders,  taking  care  all  the  while 
you  are  there  to  keep  your  company  in  good  order,  and 
to  post  them  in  such  a  manner  as  most  Effectually  to  guard 
and  secure  that  place  against  any  attack;  and  if  you  should 
be  past  Nazareth  when  you  receive  these  orders,  you  are 
then  to  return  thither,  and  remain  there,  posting  your  men 
as  above  you  are  directed. 

"  You  are,  as  soon  as  you  can,  to  augment  your  company 
with  the  number  of  twenty  men,  each  man  to  find  himself 
with  a  gun  and  a  Blanket,  for  the  use  of  which  a  reason- 
able allowance  will  be  made  by  the  Government.  And, 
in  making  this  augmentation  you  are  to  take  care  to  keep 
an  exact  account  of  the  time  when  each  man  enters  himself 
with  you,  so  that  you  may  be  enabled  to  make  a  proper 
return  to  me  upon  oath. 

"  You  are  to  inform  the  men  of  your  company  and  such 
of  the  other  company  as  you  shall  Joyn  or  have  occasion 
to  send  to,  that  They  shall  receive  a  reward  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  forty  Pieces  of  Eight  for  every  Indian  they 
shall  Kill  &  scalp  in  any  action  they  may  have  with  them, 
which  I  hereby  promise  to  pay  upon  producing  the  scalps. 

"As  there  may  be  occasion  for  the  immediate  use  of  your 
Company  in  another  part  of  the  country,  you  are  to  Hold 
Yourself  in  readiness  to  march  upon  an  Hour's  warning." 

His  stay  at  Nazareth  was  but  short.  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin very  shortly  after  took  charge  of  the  direction  of  affairs. 
The  twenty  men  of  McLaughlin's  company,  who  came 
with  him,  were  ordered  to  remain  at  Nazareth  while 
Wayne's  fresh  troops  were  sent,  as  a  convoy  with  provis- 
ions, to  the  soldiers  who  were  busily  erecting  forts  near  the 


160  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Delaware  River.  Other  troops  were  there  at  various 
times,  but  the  organization  of  the  brethren  themselves  was 
so  complete  as  to  do  away  with  the  necessity  for  them. 

The  Stockaded  Mill  at  Friedensthal. 

One  mile  northeast  from  the  old  stone  Whitefield,  or 
Ephrata,  House,  at  Nazareth,  stood  the  mill  which  the 
brethren  had  erected  on  the  banks  of  the  Bushkill  Creek, 
and  which  they  named  "  Friedensthal,"  or  the  "  Vale  of 
Peace."  This  was  also  stockaded  and  played  its  part  in 
the  terrible  drama  of  the  times.  It  was  in  what  is  now 
Palmer  township  of  Northampton  County. 

The  matter  of  converting  their  grain  into  flour  had  be- 
come a  serious  matter  to  the  brethren  at  Nazareth  already 
in  1749.  It  is  true  a  mill  had  been  erected  at  Christian's 
Spring,  in  1747,  about  one  mile  to  the  south  of  west  from 
Nazareth,  on  the  Monocasy  Creek,  of  which  the  lower 
story  was  a  grist  and  the  upper  story  a  saw  mill,  but  this 
was  of  very  limited  capacity.  Nearly  all  the  grain,  there- 
fore, had  to  be  transported  annually  to  Bethlehem  at  great 
loss  of  time  and  money. 

It  was  resolved,  therefore,  to  erect  a  second  mill,  and, 
on  October  28,  1749,  John  Nitschmann  and  Henry  Antes, 
both  from  Bethlehem  and  men  of  experience,  came  to  Naz- 
areth to  select  a  desirable  site.  Failing  to  find  what  they 
wanted  on  the  Monocasy  Creek,  within  the  precincts  of 
the  Barony,  they  turned  their  footsteps  eastward  and, 
coming  to  the  banks  of  the  charming  stream,  which  the 
Van  Bogarts  from  Esopus  named  "  Bushkill,"  and  which 
the  Scotch-Irish  called  "  Lefevre's  Creek,"  after  John 
Lefevre,  whose  meadows,  distant  a  short  mile  to  the  south, 
were  irrigated  by  its  waters,  they  selected  the  spot  which 
was  afterwards  named  "  Friedensthal."     This  tract,  com- 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.         161 

prising  324  acres,  was  also  the  property  of  William  Allen, 
of  Philadelphia.  Negotiations  with  him  for  its  purchase 
were  finally  concluded  on  January  3,  1750,  the  considera- 
tion being  £324,  lawful  money  of  the  Province. 

Immediately  the  brethren  commenced  to  clear  the  land, 
and  the  mill  building,  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Antes, 
was  started.  In  the  second  week  of  August,  1750,  this 
was  completed  and  in  running  order.  It  was  located  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  creek,  about  one  hundred  yards  north 
of  the  spot  on  which  its  successor  stands,  and  was  a  sub- 
stantial limestone  structure  with  a  frontage  of  34  feet 
towards  the  south,  and  a  depth  of  48  feet  and  had  four 
rooms.  It  was  furnished  with  an  overshot  water-wheel 
and  one  run  of  stones,  which  were  cut  by  Peter  May  in 
his  quarry  on  the  Neshaminy  and  were  delivered  at  the 
"Kill"  at  a  cost  of  £9  10s.  currency.  The  mill  irons 
were  wrought  at  the  iron  works  of  Messrs.  Wra.  Logan 
&  Co.,  Durham. 

On  August  21,  1750,  the  new  mill  was  inaugurated  in 
its  career  of  usefulness.  The  dwelling,  or  farmhouse, 
meanwhile,  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  carpenters,  being, 
in  fact,  not  ready  for  occupancy  until  the  spring  of  175 1. 
It  stood  directly  east  of  the  mill,  was  built  of  logs,  32  x  20 
feet,  was  two  stories  high,  and  had  four  apartments.  A 
flaring  frame  barn  and  three  annexes,  one  for  the  horses, 
one  for  the  cows,  and  one  for  the  sheep,  with  a  total 
frontage  of  88  feet  towards  the  south,  and  a  depth  of  30 
feet,  eventually  flanked  the  dwelling  on  the  east. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  Wurtembergers  and 
others,  with  their  wives,  who  were  the  tillers  of  the  soil, 
herdsmen  and  keepers  of  the  sheep : 

John  Stall  ( 1751)  with  Anna,  his  wife,  from  Oettin- 
gen,  husbandman,  subsequently,  for  many  years,  saw- 
miller  at  Bethlehem  and  host  of  "  The  Crown." 


162  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Ludwig  Stotz,  a  Wurtemberger  from  Lauffen,  hus- 
bandman, and  Johanna,  his  wife. 

Peter  Gotje  (1754-1755),  from  Holstein,  Cord- 
wainer,  and  Barbara,  his  wife  (born  17 16  at  St.  Marga- 
retta,  Holstein;  died  March,  1798). 

John  Andrew  Kremser,  and  Christina,  his  wife,  some- 
time heads  of  the  bureau  of  agriculture,  and  members  of 
the  Economy  from  1753  to  1767;  outliving  it,  therefore, 
by  three  years,  when  in  February  of  1767  the  old  Silesian 
husbandman  died  in  harness  in  the  farm  house.  He  was 
the  father  of  John  Kremser,  the  landlord  of  the  Naza- 
reth Inn,  the  second  "  Rose,"  in  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

Matthew  Hancke,  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  super- 
intended the  farm  between  1756  and  1763.  In  1764  the 
Hanckes  were  settled  at  Gnadenthal  (born  1707  in  Upper 
Silesia,  died  January,  1785,  at  Nazareth). 

Other  members  of  the  Friedensthal  Economy,  husband- 
men and  handicraftsmen,  in  the  interval  between  1754 
and  1764,  were  the  following: 

Peter  Mordick  (1754),  a  Holsteiner,  born  17 16, 
died  May,  1783  (at  Nazareth) ,  and  Magdalene,  his  wife. 

Paul  Fritsche,  from  Moravia,  Carpenter,  and  Ro- 
sina,  his  wife. 

Matthew  Witke,  from  Moravia,  and  Ann  Mary, 
his  wife. 

George  Crist,  from  Moravia,  and  Ann  Mary,  his 
wife. 

George  Volck  (1758),  of  the  Volcks  of  Allemangel, 
on  the  springs  of  Antelauna,  in  old  Berks,  but  a  native  of 
Diiinstein,  near  the  erst  imperial  city  of  Worms,  and 

Tobias  Demuth,  a  youth  of  sixteen  summers,  last  from 
Allemangel. 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  163 

We  have  heard  how  the  stream  of  refugees  from  the 
north  and  northeast  flowed  into  and  past  Nazareth,  and, 
like  a  river  overflowing  its  banks,  inundated  that  Barony. 
On  January  29,  1756,  there  were  at  Nazareth  253,  at 
Gnadenthal  52,  at  Christian's  Spririg  48,  at  the  "Rose" 
21,  and  75  at  Friedensthal.  Of  this  number  226  were 
children. 

In  the  annals  of  Friedensthal  Economy,  the  first  arrival 
of  fugitives  is  chronicled  on  the  thirteenth  of  December, 
1755,  and  special  mention  made  of  a  poor  Palatine  who 
had  barely  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  murdering  sav- 
ages near  Hoeth's.  It  was  late  in  the  night  when  word 
was  brought  to  him  that  Hoeth's  had  been  cut  off.  There 
was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost,  so  taking  his  helpless  wife 
upon  his  shoulders,  as  she  lay  in  bed  (she  had  but  lately 
given  birth  to  an  infant)  he  fled  for  his  life.  On  the 
twenty-first  a  fugitive  brought  the  report  to  the  farm  that 
the  following  night  had  been  fixed  upon  by  the  Indians 
for  a  simultaneous  attack  upon  the  five  plantations  on  the 
Barony.  Brother  Nathaniel  Seidle,  of  Bethlehem,  who, 
so  to  say,  was  in  command  at  the  "  upper  places  "  since  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities,  with  his  headquarters  at  Christ- 
ian's Spring,  thereupon  took  precautionary  steps  to  avert 
a  surprise,  and,  there  being  two  companies  of  riflemen  at 
Nazareth,  he  posted  Lieut.  Brown,  of  Capt.  Sol.  Jenning's 
company  of  Ulster-Scots,  with  eighteen  men  at  Friedens- 
thal. There  was,  however,  no  need  of  their  presence,  or, 
possibly,  because  of  their  presence  the  enemy  desisted  from 
attack. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  January  a  company  of  refugees  at 
Bethlehem  set  out  for  the  mountains  to  look  after  their 
farms  and  cattle.  Among  them  was  Christian  Boemper, 
a  son  of  Abraham  Boemper,  of  Bethlehem,  silversmith, 


164  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  son-in-law  of  Frederick  Hoeth.  With  him  was  Adam 
Hold,  his  servant,  a  redemptioner.  The  party,  and  some 
soldiers  who  escorted  them,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Indians,  near  Schupp's  mill,  Hold  alone  escaping  with  a 
severe  flesh  wound  in  the  arm,  which  eventually  cost  him 
the  loss  of  that  limb.  The  killed,  according  to  Capt. 
Trump,  were  Christian  Boemper,  Felty  Hold,  Michael 
Hold,  Laurence  Knuckle,  and  four  privates  of  his  com- 
pany, then  stationed  at  Fort  Hamilton  (Stroudsburg). 
Andrew  Kremser,  in  a  letter,  dated  Friedensthal,  January 
22,  alludes  to  this  sad  affair,  and  gives  the  following  addi- 
tional information :  "  Yesterday  there  came  to  us  three  men 
from  the  mountain,  whose  parents  are  here  with  us.  They 
report  that  the  bodies  of  the  eight  were  found  and  buried 
by  the  soldiers.  Christian  Boemper's  body  was  stripped 
quite  naked — of  Culver  they  knew  nothing.  Our  dogs 
make  a  great  noise  every  night  till  12  o'oclock,  and  run 
towards  the  island,  which  is  very  bushy;  and  not  without 
ground,  I  am  inclined  to  suspect." 

John  Hold,  here  mentioned,  was  a  native  of  Hanau  on 
the  French  border,  where  he  was  born  September,  1737. 
He  was  taken  to  Bethlehem,  where,  on  January  29,  Dr. 
John  M.  Otto  amputated  the  arm.  He  recovered  and,  in 
January,  1767,  removed  to  Christian's  Spring.  Despite 
the  loss  of  his  arm,  he  was  an  expert  axeman.  He  was 
a  short,  thick-set  man,  and  was  always  accompanied  by 
two  dogs  when  he  went  to  Nazareth.     He  died  in  1802. 

A  person  named  Mulhausen,  a  Palatine,  while  breaking 
flax  on  the  farm  of  Philip  Bossert,  in  Lower  Smithfield, 
was  shot  through  the  body  by  an  unseen  Indian,  receiving 
a  wound  which,  it  was  feared,  would  prove  mortal.  One 
of  Bossert's  sons  running  out  of  the  house  on  the  report 
of  the  gun,  was  shot  by  the  enemy  in  several  places,  and 


%s 


w  x 


o  i 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  165 

soon  died.  Hereupon  old  Philip  appeared  on  the  scene 
of  action,  and  exchanged  shots  with  one  of  the  attacking 
party,  striking  him  in  the  small  of  the  back,  a  reception 
that  sent  the  savage  off  "howling."  He  himself,  how- 
ever, received  a  flesh  wound  in  the  arm.  At  this  juncture 
some  of  Bossert's  neighbors  came  to  the  rescue  and  the 
five  remaining  Indians  made  off.  Mulhausen  was  taken 
to  Friedensthal  mill  for  treatment,  at  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Otto,  but  the  poor  man  was  beyond  help,  and,  on  the  third, 
he  breathed  his  last. 

On  the  ninth  of  March  the  commander-in-chief  at  the 
"  upper  places  "  called  a  council  of  war  at  Friedensthal,  at 
which  it  was  resolved  to  stand  vigilantly  on  the  defensive, 
and  to  stockade  the  place.  As  there  was  no  time  to  lose, 
timber  for  the  piles  was  commenced  to  be  felled  on  the 
third  day  after  the  council,  and,  before  the  expiration  of 
the  month,  the  Friedensthalers,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
young  men  of  Christian's  Spring,  had  completed  the  work. 
It  enclosed  the  mill,  the  dwelling,  the  barn  and  the  stabling 
over  the  way. 

On  June  25,  1756,  Commissary  Jas.  Young  visited  this 
stockade  and  reports  as  follows: 

"At  3  P.  M.  Sett  out  from  the  Wind  Gap  for  Easton, 
ab't  half  way  past  by  Nazareth  Mill,  Round  which  is  a 
Large  but  Slight  Stoccade  ab't  400  ft.  one  way,  and  250 
the  other,  with  Logg  houses  at  the  Corners  for  Bastions." 

On  August  24,  1756,  the  shingled  roof  of  the  dwelling 
took  fire  from  sparks  from  the  bake  oven,  and  had  not 
Lefevre's  people  lent  helping  hands  the  entire  settlement 
would  probably  have  been  laid  in  ashes. 

The  Rev.  Reichel  relates  an  interesting  tradition  given 
him  by  the  venerable  Philip  Boerstler,  whom  he  visited 
in  the  spring  of  1871 : 


1 66  The  Pennsyhania-Gerjjian  Society. 

"  There,"  said  Philip,  "  at  the  base  of  that  limestone 
ridge,  which  bounds  the  meadows  on  the  south,  ran  a 
trail  between  Old  Nazareth  and  Friedensthal,  and  on  that 
trail  one  of  our  ministering  brethren,  in  the  times  of  the 
Indian  War,  escaped  with  his  life  from  the  deadly  aim  of 
an  Indian's  rifle  as  by  a  miracle.  It  was  the  custom  of 
our  brethren  to  make  the  tour  of  the  settlements  on  the 
tract,  dispensing  words  of  cheer  or  ghostly  comfort  to 
men  whose  hearts  were  failing  them  amid  the  harrowing 
uncertainties  in  which  they  lived.  Thrice  had  the  passing 
evangelist  been  marked  by  the  lurking  savage  in  his  covert 
on  the  ridge,  and  thrice  did  the  painted  brave  pass  his 
fingers  across  the  notches  in  his  tally,  which  reminded  him 
that  there  was  but  one  scalp  lacking,  of  the  needed  twelve, 
to  insure  him  a  captainship  in  his  clan.  The  love  of 
glory  fired  the  dusky  warrior's  bosom,  but  he  hesitated  to 
perpetrate  the  foul  deed,  for,  in  his  intended  victim,  he 
recognized  the  man  whom  he  had  once  heard  speaking 
words  of  peace  and  mercy  and  forgiveness,  in  the  turreted 
little  chapel  on  the  Mahoning.  But,  when  the  coveted 
prize  was  within  his  view  for  the  fourth  time,  casting  from 
him  the  remembrance  of  better  things,  and  calling  upon 
the  Evil  One  to  smite  him  a  paralytic,  should  he  quail  in 
taking  aim,  the  frenzied  Delaware  drew  a  deadly  bead 
upon  his  brother,  and  almost  saw  himself  a  chieftain — 
when,  lo!  his  rifle  fell  to  the  earth,  and  the  brawny  limbs 
and  the  keen  sight  lost  their  cunning  for  those  of  an 
impotent."  "And  what  was  the  subsequent  fate  of  this 
so  marvelously  thwarted  savage?  "  I  asked.  "  He  became 
a  convert,"  replied  Philip,  "  and  a  helper  at  the  mission." 
"And  did  you  learn  the  evangelist's  name?"  I  questioned. 
Said  Philip,  "  It  was  Fries  or  Grube,  I  believe." 

The  precautions  taken  to  secure   Friedensthal  from  a 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  167 

surprise  on  the  part  of  the  savages  were  kept  up,  uninter- 
mittingly,  until  1758. 

In  the  third  week  of  March,  1757,  the  stewards  of  the 
"  upper  places  "  were  cautioned  to  keep  vigilant  watch — to 
reset  the  shutters  on  the  houses,  and  to  secure  the  gates 
of  the  stockade  with  strong  fastenings.  There  was  cer- 
tainly need  of  this  vigilance  for,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
March,  the  Delawares,  who  were  residing  in  an  apartment 
of  Nazareth  Hall  (then  not  fully  completed)  reported 
finding,  not  a  stone's  throw  from  the  house,  suspended 
from  a  sapling  in  the  woods,  an  Indian  token,  wrought 
from  swan's  feathers,  such  as  served  to  mark  the  chosen 
site  of  a  rendezvous  for  warriors,  when  about  to  strike  a 
blow. 

By  this  time,  however,  it  had  been  decreed  that  the 
setting  of  watches  might  no  longer  be  done  without  the 
Governor's  special  leave.  Warden  Schropp  accordingly 
wrote  Governor  Denny  for  the  necessary  permission,  which 
was  promptly  accorded,  and  six  commissions  sent  to  cap- 
tains of  watches,  as  follows : 

1.  To  George  Klein  and  John  Ortlieb,  for  Bethlehem. 

2.  To  Godfried  Schwarz,  in  Christian's  Brunn. 

3.  To  Abram  Hessler,  in  Gnadenthal. 

4.  To  Nicholas  Shaffer,  in  Nazareth. 

5.  To  Philip  Trenston,  in  Friedensthal. 

6.  To  Henry  Fry,  to  be  chief  captain,  or  overseer,  of 
Christian's  Brunn,  Gnadenthal,  Nazareth  and  Friedens- 
thal. 

In  April  the  savages  were  again  at  work  in  the  town- 
ships of  Lehigh  and  Allen,  and  a  petition  for  military  pro- 
tection presented  to  the  Governor,  in  behalf  of  the  people, 
by  Frederick  Altemus,  James  Kennedy  and  others.  So  it 
came  to  pass  that,  in  the  first  week  of  May,  the  mill  was 


168  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

once  more  filled  with  fugitives.  It  was  one  of  this  number 
who  brought  the  sad  intelligence  that  Webb's  place  had 
been  burned  last  Sunday,  by  some  Indians  led  on  by  a 
Frenchman.  Webb's  wife,  Abraham  Miller's  widow,  and 
her  son  Abraham,  were  taken  prisoners.  This  statement 
was  confirmed,  a  few  weeks  later,  by  the  lad,  who  had 
effected  his  escape. 

On  August  22,  of  the  same  year,  Warden  Schropp  re- 
ported to  the  Governor,  "  In  Friedensthal  mill  they  all 
have  arms,  and  are  constantly  on  the  guard  and  watch  by 
turns." 

At  the  time  Commissary  Young  visited  the  stockade,  in 
June,  1756,  or,  at  least,  in  that  month,  Captain  Inslee, 
Ensign  Inslee,  and  twenty-four  men,  were  stationed  in  the 
mill. 

With  the  peace  of  1758  came  tranquility  until  the  out- 
break of  the  savages  in  1763.  Once  more  then  were  the 
palisades  placed  in  position,  and  again  did  the  brethren 
take  up  their  arms  and  stand  guard,  only  to  lay  them  aside 
in  a  short  time,  never  more  to  take  them  up. 

On  the  twentieth  of  April,  1771,  the  Vale  of  Peace 
passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Moravian  brethren  into 
that  of  strangers,  being  sold  to  Samuel  Huber,  of  War- 
wick Township,  Lancaster  County,  for  $2,000,  Pennsyl- 
vania currency. 

About  1840  the  demolition  of  the  old  mill  was  com- 
pleted, no  vestige  of  it  remaining  except  the  well  in  the 
barnyard. 

The  present  mill  was  built  in  1794  by  Jacob  Eyerie,  of 

Nazareth. 

Gnadenthal. 

Next  in  age  to  old  Nazareth  itself  was  Gnadenthal, 
founded  in  1745,  one  year  after  "the  Nazareth  farm," 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.         169 

from  which  it  was  distant  two  miles,  west  by  north. 
Nestling,  as  it  did,  in  a  hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  ridge 
which  traverses  the  great  tract  from  east  to  west,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  evidences  of  the  Creator's  bounty, 
it  was  well  called  the  "  Vale  of  Grace." 

In  the  autumn  of  1753,  just  prior  to  the  times  of  which 
we  are  writing,  there  was  a  great  gathering  of  the  head 
men  of  the  Moravian  Church  at  Lindsey  House,  in  the 
metropolitan  suburbs  of  Chelsea,  Kensington  Division  of 
the  Hundred  of  Ossulstone,  Middlesex  O.  E.,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  into  the  financial  circumstances  of 
their  society,  which  then  was  on  the  verge  of  disastrous 
bankruptcy. 

From  the  report,  on  that  occasion  submitted  by  the  five 
representatives  of  the  American  Province  of  the  Brethren's 
Unity,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  Bishop  Spangenberg,  we 
glean  the  following  facts  as  to  the  composition  of  the 
Gnadenthal  settlement. 

Value. 

1.  A  Dwelling-house,  with  Brick  walls  and  a  tiled  Roof  51 

feet  long  by  30  feet  broad,  two  stories  high  besides  the 
Garret  Story,  containeth  10  dwelling  Rooms,  2  Halls, 
1    cellar £300 

2.  A  House  with  Brick  walls,  36  feet  long  by  22  feet  in 

Breadth,  with  4  Rooms  and  1  cellar 200 

3.  A   work-shop    10 

4.  A  walled  Cow-house,  72  feet  long  by  50  feet  in  Breadth..  180 

5.  A  Sheep-house  10 

6.  A  Cow-house,  50  feet  long  by  20  feet  broad 25 

7.  Horse  Stables,  20  by  16  feet 10 

8.  A  second  Sheep-house  30  by  20  feet 10 

9.  A  Milk-house  and  a  Wash-house 10 

10.  A  Barn,  40  by  20  feet 10 

£765 


170  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

All  the  minor  buildings  gradually  sprang  up  about  the 
main  and  central  buildings  of  the  plot,  from  the  turret  of 
whose  red-tiled  roof  a  bell  sounded  faintly  down  the  peace- 
ful vale,  thrice  on  every  day  of  the  year,  summoning  its 
devout  people  to  the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

The  outbreak  of  hostilities  in  the  fall  of  1755  found 
Gnadenthal  a  happy  and  prosperous  settlement.  The 
stream  of  fugitives  from  the  frontiers  began  pouring  into 
the  "  Barony "  immediately  after,  until  on  January  29, 
1756,  Gnadenthal,  which  had  become  literally  a  "Vale  of 
Grace,"  was  sheltering  52  of  these  sufferers  within  its  hos- 
pitable walls.  The  need  of  defensive  operations  was  at 
once  apparent,  and,  on  January  22,  1756,  a  stockade  was 
commenced.  The  date  of  its  completion,  and  its  appear- 
ance, are  not  given,  neither  is  there  any  record  of  its  occu- 
pancy by  Provincial  troops.  It  was  doubtless  similar  to 
that  of  Friedensthal,  and  was,  unquestionably,  guarded  by 
its  own  people,  assisted  in  time  of  need  by  detachments  of 
the  brethren  from  the  neighboring  settlement  at  Christian's 
Spring. 

We  have  already  seen  that,  in  1757,  Governor  Denny 
issued,  among  others,  a  commission  as  captain  of  a  watch 
to  Abram  Hessler  in  Gnadenthal. 

During  these  perilous  times  the  farm,  or  grange,  was  in 
charge  of  John  Nicholas  Weinland,  who  removed  thence 
from  "The  Rose,"  and  assumed  control  in  1756.  Mr. 
Weinland  and  Phillippina,  his  wife  (a  daughter  of  the 
patriarch  George  Loesch  of  Gernsheim,  near  Worms,  in 
the  Palatinate,  who  lived  to  be  ninety-two  years  of  age, 
and  to  see  gathered  around  him  fifty  grandchildren  and 
fifty  great-grandchildren),  came  from  Thuringenland, 
Saxe-Meiningen.  He  was  a  musician,  as  well  as  a  farmer. 
It  is  related  of  him  that,  while  on  a  visit  to  Bethlehem, 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.  171 

his  love  of  music  induced  him  to  enter  a  hall  in  which  he 
heard  some  amateur  musicians  rehearsing.  His  intrusion, 
of  course,  arrested  their  attention,  but,  in  his  rustic  garb, 
with  whip  in  hand,  he  sat  down,  in  no  wise  disconcerted. 
Shortly  after  one  of  the  performers  stepped  down  from 
the  platform  to  twit  the  countryman,  but  the  latter  was 
too  artless  to  see  the  point  of  his  jokes.  On  being  asked, 
Weinland  replied  that  he  loved  music  and  sometimes  prac- 
ticed it.  This  created  merriment,  and  it  was  at  once  sug- 
gested that  he  give  them  a  specimen  of  his  skill.  A  violon- 
cello was  handed  him,  a  music  stand  placed  in  front  of  him, 
and  on  it  the  music  laid,  upside  down.  However,  none 
abashed,  our  worthy  farmer  allowed  the  sheet  to  remain 
on  the  stand  as  it  had  been  placed  there,  and  then  played 
it  perfectly. 

Christian's  Spring. 

The  settlement  at  Christian's  Spring  comes  next,  in 
order  of  time,  to  that  of  Gnadenthal,  which  it  adjoins  on 
the  southwest,  being  separated  from  its  buildings  by  the 
ridge  previously  mentioned.  It  was  begun  in  1747.  Here 
the  waters  of  the  Monocasy  were  made  to  turn  the  over- 
shot wheel  of  a  grist  and  saw  mill,  and,  after  the  erection 
of  dwellings  and  stables,  of  a  smith  shop  and  a  brewery, 
the  settlement  was  complete.  Men  marveled  much  at  the 
quaintness  of  its  houses,  quartered  and  brick-nogged,  hip- 
roofed  and  tiled;  they  marveled  much,  too,  at  the  quaint- 
ness of  the  brotherhood,  which,  for  almost  half  a  century, 
divided  its  time  between  the  management  of  the  mills  and 
the  raising  of  horses  and  cattle.  It  was  named  Albrecht's 
Spring  at  first,  subsequently,  however,  Christian's  Spring, 
in  remembrance  of  Christian  Renatus,  a  son  of  Count 
Zinzendorf. 

From  the  same  report  mentioned  in  connection  with 


172  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Gnadenthal  I   find  the   following  details  concerning  the 
buildings  which  composed  this  grange: 

Value. 

1.  A  House  of  47  feet  long  by  30  feet  in  Breadth,  two  Stories 

high,  with  5  Rooms,  1  Hall,  1  cellar  and  1  Fore-house.  .£200 

2.  A  new  Brick  house,  36  feet  long  by  28  feet,  three  Stories 

high,  with  8  Rooms,  1  Kitchen  and  a  Bake-House 200 

3.  A  Smith  Shop,  40  by  21  feet 30 

4.  A  Saw-mill   and   Miller's  house 150 

5.  A  coal-shop  and  Stable 5 

6.  A  walled  Brew  house,  with  a  vaulted  cellar  and  Grainary 

50  by  30  feet 230 

7.  A  Cow-house  of  quartering  and  Brick-nogged,  70  by  30 

feet    90 

8.  A  Barn,  75  feet  long,  36  feet  broad,  16  feet  high 75 

£980 

A  peculiarity  about  Christian's  Spring  was  the  fact  that, 
during  the  interval  between  December,  of  1749,  and  April, 
1796,  this  farm  was  the  seat  of  an  Economy  of  unmarried 
men  known  in  Moravian  parlance  as  "The  Single  Brethren's 
Economy  at  Christian's  Spring."  Therefore,  during  the 
Indian  depredations,  about  nine-tenths  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  place  were  men,  unburdened  by  the  care  and  protec- 
tion of  wives  and  little  ones.  This,  at  once,  placed  them 
in  a  position  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  other  set- 
tlements. They  not  only  needed  no  especial  protection  for 
themselves,  but  were  always  in  a  position  to  go  to  the  assist- 
ance of  others,  which  they  cheerfully  did.  I  can  find  no 
record  of  the  erection  of  a  stockade  at  Christian's  Spring. 
So  many  of  its  principal  buildings  being  either  of  stone  or 
brick,  it  became  only  necessary  to  set  a  watch  and  provide 
temporary  shutters  for  the  upper  windows  of  the  main 
buildings  to  insure  against  any  possibility  of  capture,  sur- 
prise or  destruction  by  fire. 

Here,  too,  the  ever  hospitable  doors  of  the  Brethren 


The  Moravian  Economy  and  Defenses.         173 

were  thrown  open  to  accommodate  the  refugees  of  Jan- 
uary, 1756,  of  whom  48  were  sheltered  and  cared  for 
within  them. 

At  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  Brother  Nathaniel  Seidel, 
of  Bethlehem  (afterwards  a  bishop),  was  in  command  of 
the  "Upper  Places."  He  made  his  headquarters  at 
Christian's  Spring.  It  is  related  of  him,  on  one  occasion, 
that  as  he  was  starting  for  Bethlehem,  on  foot,  and  had 
gone  probably  a  mile  from  the  settlement,  he  detected  three 
Indians  in  hiding  who  were  trying  to  capture  him.  Being 
fleet  of  foot  he  managed  to  escape  by  dodging  between  the 
trees,  and  finally  regained  the  Spring. 

It  was  at  this  place,  also,  that  Zeisberger,  the  renowned 
Indian  missionary,  finished  the  compilation  of  his  well- 
known  Indian  dictionary — from  the  letter  W  to  the  end. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Rose  Inn. 

^*HE  youngest  sister  of  the 
^^  family  was  a  bustling  and 
cheerful  public  inn,  with  the 
beautiful  name  of  "Rose.  It  was 
distant  about  one  and  one-fourth 
miles  north  by  east  from  Old 
Nazareth.  The  story  of  its 
birth  and  existence  is  interesting. 
In  175 1  there  came  orders 
from  the  head  men  of  the 
church  in  the  old  country,  for  the  laying  out  of  a  vil- 
lage on  some  eligible  spot  within  the  limits  of  the  Nazareth 
domain.  It  was  to  be  like  the  Moravian  village  in  Ger- 
many. Bishop  Spangenberg  accordingly  selected,  and  had 
surveyed  into  a  town  plot,  a  parcel  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  adjacent  to  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
modern  borough  of  Nazareth.  The  survey  was  actually 
commenced  on  the  third  day  of  January,  1752,  prepara- 
tions were  made  looking  to  the  erection  of  dwellings  on 
the  opening  of  spring,  and  the  name  Gnadenstadt — "  The 
City  of  Grace  " — was  given  to  the  projected  town.     On 

(•74) 


The  Rose  Inn.  175 

January  10  Brother  Nathaniel  (Seidel)  escorted  the 
masons  and  carpenters,  forty  hands  in  all,  from  Bethlehem 
to  Christian's  Spring.  They  were  received  at  Nazareth 
with  sound  of  trumpets  as  a  welcome.  The  masons  were 
led  to  the  stone  quarry  and  the  carpenters  began  to  fell 
trees.  At  an  early  date  a  small  log  house  was  completed 
on  the  site  of  the  new  town,  and  then  the  further  building 
of  Gnadenstadt  was  indefinitely  postponed.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  Nazareth,  whom  it  was  proposed  to  transfer 
thither,  were  not  willing  to  give  up  the  poetry  and  freedom 
of  an  Economy  for  the  prose  and  restrictions  of  a  muni- 
cipium.  The  small  log  house  stood  vacant  until  in  May, 
1760,  when  it  was  occupied  by  John  George  Claus,  a 
native  of  Alsace,  and  Mary  Catharine,  born  Kuehn,  his 
wife.  In  the  autumn  of  1761  Gottlieb  Demuth,  from 
Radelsdorf,  Bohemia  (formerly  an  inhabitant  of  Geor- 
gia) ,  took  up  a  lot  a  quarter  of  a  mile  south  from  the  Inn, 
and  blocked  up  a  house.  In  this  way  the  building  of 
Gnadenstadt  was  gradually  resumed,  and  the  place  grew; 
but  in  June,  1762,  it  received  the  name  of  Schoeneck,  i.  e., 
"  Pretty  Corner,"  and  so  it  continued. 

One  other  building  was  originally  erected,  a  rather  im- 
posing looking  frame  mansion  of  two  stories,  our  Inn,  and 
as  it  was  the  first  house  of  entertainment  for  the  "Tract," 
or  "  The  Barony,"  as  it  was  called,  its  erection  deserves 
more  minute  mention. 

On  February  2,  1752,  John  Jacob  Loesch  and  Carl 
Shultze,  residents  of  Bethlehem,  were  instructed  by  the 
authorities  "  to  draft  an  Inn  or  Tavern  House,  such  as 
would  be  suitable  to  erect  behind  Nazareth  for  the  conve- 
nience of  the  workmen  of  Gnadenstadt,  and  also  for  the 
entertainment  of  strangers,  said  house  to  be  thirty-five  by 
thirty  feet,  to  be  furthermore  quartered,  brick-nogged  and 


176  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

snugly  weather-boarded,  with  a  yard  looking  North  and 
a  garden  looking  South."  A  site  for  this  important  ac- 
cessory was  selected  on  a  tract  of  two  hundred  and  forty- 
one  acres  of  land,  which  had  been  surveyed  to  the  Mora- 
vians, some  time  previous,  by  Nicholas  Scull,  and  which 
touched  the  head  line  of  the  Barony.  Here  the  Inn  was 
staked  off,  its  cellar  dug  deep  down  into  the  cool  slate,  and, 
on  March  27,  the  first  stone  of  the  foundation  laid  by 
Bishop  Spangenberg,  assisted  by  Warden  Schropp,  of 
Nazareth,  Gottlieb  Pezold,  of  Bethlehem,  and  others. 
Although  work  was  carried  on  as  actively  as  possible,  yet 
it  was  autumn  before  the  caravansary  was  completed.  It 
contained  seven  rooms,  one  kitchen  and  a  cellar.  Subse- 
quently a  stable  of  stone,  thirty-two  by  twenty-six  feet,  and 
a  spring  house  of  logs,  were  built.  It  was  first  occupied, 
on  September  15,  by  John  Frederick  Schaub,  a  native  of 
Zurich,  Switzerland,  cooper,  and  Divert  Mary,  his  wife, 
who  covenanted  to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  landlord 
blamelessly,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  to  him,  an- 
nually of  £10,  lawful  money  of  Pennsylvania. 

Standing,  as  it  did,  on  the  great  Minisink  road  that, 
since  1746,  led  from  the  farms  and  settlements  dotting 
both  shores  of  the  Upper  Delaware  down  to  the  populous 
portions  of  the  counties,  and  to  the  great  capital  itself,  its 
portals  soon  opened  to  many  a  weary  traveler  who  speedily 
found  rest  and  good  cheer  within.  It  was  on  August  6, 
1754,  during  the  above  incumbency,  that  the  sign  was 
charged  with  a  full  blown  scarlet  rose.  Hence,  and  ever 
afterwards,  the  house  was  known  as  "  Der  Gasthof  zur 
Rose"— "Die  Rose"— "The  Rose." 

Rev.  Reichel  very  pleasantly  says:  "Now  this  floral 
appellation  was  bestowed  upon  the  lonely  hospice  not  be- 
cause its  surcoat  was  dyed  deep  in  Spanish  red,  not  because 


The  Rose  Inn.  177 

it  was  hoped  that,  in  its  presence,  the  surrounding  wilder- 
ness of  scrub-oak  and  stunted  pines  would  blossom  like 
the  queen  of  flowers,  but  in  order  to  keep  in  lively  remem- 
brance a  point  in  history — in  so  far  as  when  John  Penn, 
Thomas  Penn  and  Richard  Penn  released  to  Letitia 
Aubrey,  of  London,  their  half-sister,  gentlewoman,  the 
five  thousand  acres  of  land  that  had  been  confirmed  to 
his  trusty  friend,  Sir  John  Flagg,  for  her  sole  use  and 
behoof,  by  William  Penn,  Sr.,  late  Proprietary  and  Chief 
Governor  of  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  by  the  name 
of  William  Penn,  of  Worminghurst,  in  the  County  of 
Sussex,  Esquire,  it  was  done  on  the  condition  of  her  yield- 
ing and  paying  therefor  One  Red  Rose,  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  June  yearly  if  the  same  should  be  demanded, 
in  full  for  all  services,  customs  and  rents." 

Schaub,  his  wife  and  son  Johnny,  the  first  child  of  white 
parents  born  at  Nazareth,  bade  a  reluctant  farewell  to 
"The  Rose"  on  August  14,  1754.  John  Nicholas  Wein- 
land,  his  successor,  mentioned  in  connection  with  Gnaden- 
thal,  administered  its  concerns  until  the  eleventh  of  De- 
cember following.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  fury  of  the 
Indian  War  fell  upon  its  neighborhood  during  the  incum- 
bency of  Albrecht  Klotz,  last  from  Tulpehocken,  but  a 
native  of  Hohenlohe,  in  the  lower  Palatinate,  blacksmith, 
and  Ann  Margaret,  born  Rieth,  his  wife,  born  in  Scoharie, 
a  daughter  of  old  Michael  Rieth.  Associated  with  him 
were  Christian  Stotz,  from  Laufen,  Wurtemberg,  farmer, 
and  Ann,  born  Herr,  his  wife  (they,  with  three  children, 
had  emigrated  to  the  Province  in  1750) ,  last  from  Gnaden- 
thal.  They  came  in  1755,  and  attended  to  the  farming. 
Joseph,  a  negro,  from  the  Gold  Coast,  who,  since  March 
5,  1753,  had  been  acting  as  hostler,  returned  to  Bethlehem, 
with  his  Indian  wife,  Charity,  at  this  critical  period. 
16 


178  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

On  November  1,  1755,  sixty  thousand  people  perished 
at  Lisbon  in  the  great  earthquake.  A  curious  and  inter- 
esting extract  from  the  Moravian  Chronicles,  over  which 
scientists  may  puzzle,  if  they  see  fit,  states  that,  in  the  early 
morning  of  the  eighteenth  of  said  month,  there  was  heard 
on  the  Barony,  with  a  star-lit  sky  overhead,  a  sound  as 
of  a  rushing  wind  and  of  the  booming  of  distant  siege 
guns,  and  whilst  the  sleepers  in  their  beds  at  the  Inn 
rocked,  as  do  mariners  in  hammocks  out  at  sea,  the  doors 
in  "  The  Rose  "  swung  on  their  hinges  and  stood  open. 

The  part  taken  by  our  hostelrie  in  the  Indian  War  was 
of  a  peculiar  and  two-fold  nature.  In  the  first  place  it 
was  par  excellence,  a  "  house  of  refuge."  At  the  northern 
and  most  advanced  point  of  the  Barony  and  on  the  high 
road  communicating  with  the  devastated  regions,  it  be- 
came the  gateway  which  admitted  the  harassed  sufferer, 
and  those  he  loved,  to  safety.  On  the  other  hand  it  was 
through  this  same  gate  the  soldiers  marched  to  protect 
their  friends  and  repel  the  invader,  and  it  was  here  they 
found  for  a  while  a  comfortable  resting  place,  either  when 
on  their  way  to  the  front,  or  upon  their  return  from  the 
scene  of  hostilities.  It  was  but  seldom  its  doors  did  not 
resound  to  the  knock  of  the  refugee,  and  possibly  even 
less  seldom  they  did  not  open  to  admit  bodies  of  armed 
men.  Indeed,  its  position  of  importance  as  a  public  house 
and,  in  addition,  as  an  outpost  of  the  Barony,  demanded 
the  frequent  presence  of  a  guard.  When,  on  rare  occa- 
sions, it  did  not  shelter  detachments  of  Provincial  troops, 
brethren  from  Christian's  Spring  were  detailed,  in  time 
of  need,  for  that  duty.  So,  then,  besides  being  "  a  house 
of  refuge  "  it  was  also  "  a  fort." 

On  November  25,  1755,  upwards  of  sixty  terrified  men, 
women  and  children,  from  the  districts  on  the  north,  adja- 
cent to  the  Barony,  thronged  through  the  doorway  of  the 


The  Rose  Inn.  179 

Moravian  inn,  clamorous  for  shelter  and  for  protection 
from  the  murdering  Indians.  Among  them  were  the 
Clevels,  from  the  banks  of  the  romantic  Bushkill,  the 
Steckers  (whose  seedling  apple  is  in  high  esteem  to  this 
day),  the  Germantons,  the  Koehlers,  the  Klaeses,  and  the 
Kostenboders,  all  from  the  plains  of  upper  Northampton. 
By  December  17,  1755,  according  to  an  official  enumera- 
tion, there  were  two  hundred  refugees  billeted  at  Nazareth 
and  in  the  Ephrata  House,  and  one  hundred  at  the  other 
settlements  on  the  tract.  On  January  29,  1756,  as  pre- 
viously mentioned,  there  were  253  at  Nazareth  and  196  at 
the  other  settlements,  of  which  226  were  children.  At 
this  time  21  were  quartered  at  "The  Rose."  It  was  as 
promiscuous  an  assemblage  as  ever  had  been  gathered  in  so 
short  a  time,  embracing,  as  it  did,  men  of  divers  nationali- 
ties and  creeds,  and  women  of  divers  tongues.  There  were 
the  Eisenmanns,  the  Geislys,  the  Hecks,  the  Hesses,  the 
Heisses,  the  Heimanns,  the  HofTmans,  the  Hueds  or 
Huths,  the  Kunkles,  the  Schielses,  the  Serfases,  the  Syl- 
vases,  and  the  Weisers,  all  from  Contented  Valley;  the 
Culvers  and  the  Joneses  from  McMichael's  Creek,  the 
Brewsters,  the  Countrymans,  and  the  Hillmans,  from 
Dansbury — and  many  others. 

Its  occupation  as  a  military  post  covered  the  interval, 
especially,  between  November  26,  1755,  and  February  20, 
1756,  a  most  trying  period  of  the  hostilities.  On  the 
evening  of  November  26  a  company  of  Saucon  rangers, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Laubach  (the  Laubachs  were 
settled,  prior  to  1740,  on  a  branch  of  the  Saucon  Creek, 
called  Laubach's  Creek  to  this  day),  halted  at  the  inn,  lit 
their  camp-fires  in  the  orchard,  and  bivouacked  for  the 
night.  Having  scoured  the  neighboring  woods  next  day, 
to  no  purpose,  on  their  return  to  "  The  Rose  "  there  came 
intelligence  of  the  enemy's  presence  in  the  gap  in  the  moun- 


180  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

tain,  whereupon  they  broke  up  camp  at  dusk,  and,  by  the 
friendly  light  of  the  full  moon,  set  out  in  pursuit.      Mean- 
while,   two  detachments   of   mounted   men   had   arrived. 
These,  however,  failed  to  recognize  any  necessity  for  their 
presence  and  so,  after  having  dined,  they  departed.     On 
December  14,  Captains  Jennings  and  Doll,  at  the  head 
of  their  respective   commands,  passed   "  The   Rose "   en 
route  for  the  scene  of  the  last  disaster  at  Hoeth's,  under 
orders  to  search  for  and  bury  the  dead.      Five  days  later, 
on  their  return   from  this   dangerous  duty,   they  posted 
Lieut.  Brown,  with  eighteen  men,  at  the  inn,  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  Moravian  settlements;  and  well  it  was  they 
did  so,  for  that  very  night  there  were  indications  of  sav- 
ages lurking  within  gunshot  of  its  doors.      Captain  Jen- 
nings was  the  same  Solomon  Jennings  who,  at  sunrise  on 
September  19,  1737,  set  out  with  Edward  Marshall  and 
James  Yeates,  from  John  Chapman's  corner  at  Wrights- 
town,  to  walk  for  a  wager,  and  to  walk  off  lands  for  the 
Penns  in  the  celebrated  "  Walking  Purchase,"  but  who, 
on  arriving  at  a  point  two  miles  north  of  the  Tohickon, 
about  eleven  o'clock  the  same  morning,  desisted  from  the 
contest.      Falling  back  into  the  curious  crowd  that   fol- 
lowed in  the  wake  of  the  walkers,  Jennings  parted  com- 
pany at  the  forks  of  Lehigh  (at  the  head  of  the  Bethlehem 
Iron   Company's  island),  and  struck  into  the  path  that 
led  to  his  farm,  situate  about  two  miles  higher  up  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river.    Here  he  died,  February  17,  1757. 
On  December  21,  Captain  Craig,  with  a  detachment  of 
Ulster-Scots,  from  their  seats  on  the  Monocasy  and  the 
springs  of  Calisucks,  arrived  in  order  to  assure  himself 
of  the  safety  of  his   Moravian   neighbors,   who,   it  was 
rumored,  had  been  cut  off  by  the  enemy.     Next  followed 
Captain  Trump  and  Captain  Ashton  with  their  companies 
of  provincials,  from  the  seat  of  justice  in  a  remote  corner 


The  Rose  Inn.  181 

of  the  county,  hard  by  the  Jerseys,  their  destination  being 
Smithfield,  and  their  errand  the  erection  of  a  blockhouse 
within  its  limits.  This  was  on  December  26,  and  the  last 
movement  of  the  military  past  "  The  Rose  "  in  the  year 

1755. 

In  the  first  month  of  1756,  however,  the  halls  of  the 

hostelrie  again  echoed  to  the  tramp  of  martial  feet,  and 
perhaps  never  more  loudly  than  during  the  occupation  of 
the  Nazareth  tract  by  Captain  Isaac  Wayne,  of  Franklin's 
command,  in  the  interval  between  January  5  and  15.  In 
the  ensuing  weeks  there  was  constant  intercourse  between 
Nazareth  and  the  men  of  war  in  Smithfield,  detachments 
of  Trump's  men  coming  down  from  Fort  Hamilton  to 
convey  supplies  of  bread,  baked  at  stated  periods  in  the 
large  family  oven  in  the  Barony,  to  their  hungry  comrades. 
But,  on  February  17,  our  good  landlord,  Albrecht  Klatz, 
was  perhaps  more  sorely  tried  than  on  any  previous  occa- 
sion, when  he  was  obliged  to  billet  sixty  soldiers  who  were 
clamoring  for  bed  and  board  at  the  already  crowded  inn. 
The  following  entries  from  the  accounts  of  the  tavern 

are  very  interesting : 

1756. 

January  26.  To  Smithy  at  Christian's  Spring  for  sundry 

work    £  3  •  4 

February  5.  To  meals  furnished  Capt.  Ashton's  Company.      1.  4 

February  14.  To  25  men's  eating  and  drinking,  in  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Anthony  Miller 1.10 

February   18.  To  31   men's  breakfast  of   Capt.  Trump's 

company    1 5-<> 

February  19.  To  meals  furnished  Capt.  Arndt's  company, 

in  command  of  Ensign  Nicholas  Conrad no 

February    19.    To    meals    and    drams    furnished    Capt. 

Wetherhold's    company 1 5 

February  23.  To   700  lbs.   bread   delivered   to   Capt.   W. 

Craig   in    Nazareth 4-7-6 

March   26.  To  200  lbs.   bread   delivered   in   Nazareth   to 

Capt.    Wetherhold *•  5 

£14.10 


182  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Gottlieb  Senseman  was  baker-general  at  Nazareth. 

After  this  the  presence  of  the  military  at  "  The  Rose  " 
became  less  frequent,  and  gradually,  though  not  uninter- 
ruptedly, its  history's  stream  returned  into  its  former  more 
peaceful  channel.  Were  it  a  part  of  this  work  it  would 
be  interesting  to  tell  of  its  remaining  landlords,  as  well  as 
to  dwell  on  a  few  of  those  who  enjoyed  its  hospitality. 
The  only  remaining  occurrence,  however,  which  admits 
of  notice,  was  the  visit,  on  September  18  and  19,  1757,  of 
Jacob  Volck,  Lewis  Jung  and  three  Indians,  who  had 
been  sent  by  Teedyuscung  to  Joseph  Kellar's  place,  to  see 
if  any  of  his  liege  subjects  had  been  implicated  in  the  cap- 
ture of  the  latter's  wife  near  Tead's  blockhouse,  on  Sep- 
tember 16.  This  was  under  the  incumbency  of  Hartmann 
Verdriers,  the  fifth  landlord,  and  his  wife,  Catharine,  born 
Bender,  who  occupied  it  August  20,  1756. 

After  various  further  alarms  and  guard  mountings, 
various  visits  of  Indians  and  authorities  of  the  Province, 
during  the  efforts  made  to  bring  about  a  treaty  of  peace, 
and  various  vicissitudes,  incident  to  all  similar  buildings, 
it  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  its  last  landlord,  John 
Lischer,  who,  with  his  wife,  Mary  Catharine,  adminis- 
tered its  affairs  from  April  20,  1765,  until  March  30, 
1772.  With  his  retirement  it  ceased  to  be  an  inn,  having 
been  sold,  in  1 77 1,  to  Dorst  Alteman,  a  native  of  the 
Canton  of  Berne,  Switzerland,  but,  prior  to  1761,  an  in- 
habitant of  Lancaster  County.  It  then  passed  through 
various  hands  until  the  spring  of  1858,  when  the  old 
hostelrie  was  doomed  to  destruction.  Its  chimneys  were 
torn  down,  its  roof  was  removed,  its  floors  torn  up.  Some 
of  the  boards,  which  survived  the  wreck,  were  used  to 
cover  the  gables  of  the  tenant  house  which  then  stood  on 
its  site. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River. 

^"HE  murderous  forays  of  the 
^^  savages,  which  began  in 
October,  1755,  near  their  head- 
quarters at  Shamokin,had  spread, 
by  December  to  the  eastern  lim- 
its of  the  province,  when  they 
reached  the  Minisink  region  and 
embraced  that  entire  locality. 
On  the  night  of  December  10 
the  Hoeth  family  was  almost  exterminated.  They  lived 
on  the  Poco  Poco  Creek,  later  known,  because  of  this 
murder,  as  Hoeth's  Creek,  and  now  as  Big  Creek,  a  trib- 
utary of  the  Lehigh  River  above  Weissport.  The  tragedy 
occurred  in  the  near  vicinity  of  where  Fort  Norris  was 
afterwards  built. 

By  daylight  of  the  next  morning  the  Culvers,  McMich- 
aels  and  other  families  were  attacked,  murders  committed 
and  property  destroyed.  They  then  made  an  assault  on 
Brodhead's  house,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Brodhead  Creek, 
not  far  distant  from  where  Stroudsburg  now  stands,  but, 
fortunately,  were  beaten  off.  Among  the  sons,  who  aided 
in  this  defense,  was,  doubtless,  the  one  who  was  afterwards 
distinguished  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  subsequent  Indian 
wars,  as  General  Brodhead.     He  had  command  of  Fort 

(183) 


184  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Pitt  about  the  year  1780,  and,  previous  to  that,  had  charge 
of  a  garrison  on  the  West  Branch.  He  was  particularly 
noted  for  his  intrepidity  and  success  in  heading  small  par- 
ties of  frontier  men  against  the  Indians. 

On  December  12,  1755,  Justice  Timothy  Horsfield 
wrote  the  Governor  from  Bethlehem,  inclosing  "  a  faithful 
Translation  of  two  Original  German  letters  to  the  Rev- 
erend Mr.  Spangenberg,  which  are  just  now  come  to  hand, 
&  which  will  inform  your  Honour  of  the  particulars  which 
I  have  to  lay  before  you;  Your  Honour  will  thereby  see 
what  Circumstances  we  are  in  in  these  parts.  I  would 
also  just  mention  to  your  Honour  that  the  bearer  brings 
along  with  him  some  pieces  of  arms  which  fail  in  the  using, 
and  which  makes  the  people  afraid  to  take  them  in  hand. 
I  pray  your  Honour  will  take  it  into  your  further  Consid- 
eration &  give  us  all  the  assistance  that  lays  in  your  power." 

The  following  was  one  of  the  above  letters  to  Bishop 
Spangenberg: 

"Nazareth,  nth  December,  1755. 

11  Mr.  Bizman  who  just  now  came  from  the  Blue  Moun- 
tain, &  is  the  bearer  of  this  Letter  will  tell  you  that  there 
is  a  number  of  200  Indians  about  Brodhead's  Plantation, 
they  have  destroyed  most  all  the  Plantations  thereabouts, 
and  Killed  several  families  at  Hoeth's.  You  will  be  so 
kind  and  acquaint  Mr.  Horsfield  directly  of  it,  that  he  may 
send  a  Messenger  to  Philadelphia  &  let  all  our  Neighbors 
know  what  he  have  to  expect,  and  that  they  may  come  to 
our  assistance.  "  Nathaniel/' 

And  this  was  the  other: 

"An  hour  ago  came  Mr.  Glotz  and  told  us  that  the  10th 
Instant  in  the  night  Hoeth's  Family  were  killed  by  the 
Indians,  except  his  Son  &  the  Smith,  who  made  their  Es- 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  185 

cape,  and  the  houses  burnt  down.  Just  now  came  old  Mr. 
Hartman,  with  his  Family,  who  also  escaped  and  they  say 
that  all  the  neighborhood  of  the  above  mentioned  Hoeth's, 
viz't:  Brodhead's,  Culver's,  McMichael's,  &  all  Houses 
and  Families  thereabouts  were  attacked  by  the  Indians  at 
Daylight  and  burnt  down  by  them. 

"  Mr.  Culver's  and  Hartman's  Family  are  come  to  us 
with  our  Waggons  &  lodge  partly  here  in  Nazareth,  partly 
in  the  Tavern.  Our  Waggons,  which  were  to  fetch  some 
Corn,  were  met  by  Culvers  3  miles  this  Side  his  House,  and 
when  they  heard  this  shocking  news  they  resolved  to  return 
&  to  carry  these  poor  People  to  Nazareth.  They  say  also 
that  the  number  of  Indians  is  about  Two  Hundred.  We 
want  to  hear  your  good  advice  what  to  do  in  this  present 
Situation  &  Circumstances,  and  desire  if  possible  your 
asistance.  »«  Graff." 

Upon  arrival  at  places  of  safety  the  survivors  of  the 
massacre  were  called  upon  to  make  affidavit  as  to  occur- 
rences in  which  they  had  been  actors. 

One  of  them  seems  to  have  crossed  over  into  New  Jer- 
sey, where  his  deposition  was  taken  at  Phillipsburg,  as  per 
the  following  communication : 

11  Colonel: 

"  Joseph  Stout  received  one  Express  this  morning  by  a 
young  man  from  that  place,  where  John  Carmeckle  & 
Brodhead  lives  back  of  Samuel  Dupues,  where  they  were 
attacked  Yesterday  about  1 1  o'clock,  where  the  Barn  & 
Barracks  was  on  fire,  &  heard  the  Guns  a  firing  (for  Brod- 
head had  Barracaded  his  House),  &  there  was  several 
People  Killed,  &  I  fled  to  Jno.  Anderson  for  help;  &  as 
near  as  I  could  think  there  was  an  hundred  Enemy  that 


186  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

appeared  to  me,  and  was  in  White  People's  clothing — only 
a  few  Match  Coats. 

"Sworn  before  me  this  12th  day  of  December,   1755. 

"Henry  Cole." 
11  Col.  Stout: 

"  I  desire  you  would  come  up  directly  with  your  Regi- 
ment till  you  and  I  see  if  we  can  Save  our  Country.  Your 
Compliance  will  oblige  your  real  friend 

"John  Anderson. 
"  Philips  Burgh." 

The  following  deposition  was  taken  before  Wm.  Par- 
sons, at  Easton: 

"The  1 2th  Day  of  December,  1755,  Personally  ap- 
peared 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  & 
declare  that  last  Wednesday  about  6  of  the  clock,  after- 
noon, a  Company  of  Indians  about  5  in  Number  attacked 
the  House  of  Frederick  Heath,  about  12  miles  Eastward 
from  Gnadenhiitten  on  Pocho  Pocho  Creek.  That  the 
family  being  at  Supper  the  Indians  shot  into  the  House  & 
wounded  a  woman ;  at  the  next  shot  they  killed  Frederick 
Hoeth  himself,  &  shot  several  times  more,  whereupon  all 
ran  out  of  the  House  that  could.  The  Indians  imme- 
diately 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  otherwise  in- 
humanly. They  killed  and  Scalped  a  Daughter,  and  he 
thinks  that  three  other  Children  who  were  of  the  Family 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  187 

were  burnt.  Three  of  Hoeth's  Daughters  are  missing 
with  another  Woman,  who  are  supposed  to  be  carried  off. 
In  the  action  one  Indian  was  killed  &  another  wounded; 
and  further  this  Deponent  saith  not. 

"John  Michael  Hute 

"  Sworn  at  Easton,  the  day  and  Year  said,  Before  me 

"Wm.  Parsons." 

The  next  deposition,  also  made  before  Mr.  Parsons, 
bears  more  directly  upon  the  events  which  transpired  near 
Brodhead's : 

"The  12th  Day  of  December,  1755,  Personally  ap- 
peared before  me,  William  Parsons,  one  of  his  Majesty's 
Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of  Northampton, 
John  McMichael,  Henry  Dysert,  James  Tidd  &  Job  Bake- 
horn,  Jr.,  who  being  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists 
of  Almighty  God,  did  depose  and  declare,  that  Yesterday 
about  3  of  the  clock,  afternoon,  two  Indian  Men  came 
from  towards  Brodhead's  House,  who  fired  at  these  De- 
ponents and  several  others,  who  returned  the  fire  and  made 
the  Indians  turn  off.  And  the  said  Deponents,  James 
Tidd  and  Job  Bakehorn,  further  said,  that  as  they  were 
going  round  the  Stock  Yard  of  the  said  McMichael,  where 
they  all  were,  they  saw,  as  they  verily  believe,  at  least  4 
Indians  on  their  knees  about  twenty  perches  from  the 
Stock  Yard,  who  fired  at  the  Deponents.  And  these  De- 
ponents further  say  that  they  were  engaged  in  manner 
aforesaid  with  the  Indians  at  least  three  Quarters  of  an 
hour.  And  these  Deponents,  John  McMichael  and  Henry 
Dysert  further  say,  that  they  saw  the  Barn  of  the  said 
Brodhead's  on  fire  about  nine  of  the  clock  in  the  morning, 
which  continued  Burning  till  they  left  the  House,  being 


1 88  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

about  4,  afternoon,  and  that  they  heard  shooting  and 
crying  at  Brodhead's  House  almost  the  whole  Day,  and 
that  when  they  left  McMichael's  House  the  Dwelling 
House  of  said  Broadhead  was  yet  unburnt,  being,  as  they 
supposed,  defended  by  the  People  within  it.  And  the 
Deponents,  James  Tidd  &  Job  Bakehorn,  further  say,  that 
they  did  not  come  to  McMichael's  House  till  about  3  in  the 
afternoon,  when  they  could  see  the  Barn  and  Barracks  of 
the  said  Broadhead's  on  fire.  And  these  Deponents  further 
say  that  they  did  not  see  any  one  Killed  on  either  side,  but 
James  Garlanthouse,  one  of  their  company,  was  shot 
through  the  Hand  &  Arm ;  and  further  these  Deponents 
say  not."  "The  mark  of 

"Jno.  McMichael. 
"The  mark  of 

"Henry  H.  Dysert. 
"The  mark  of 

"James     X     Tidd. 

"  Job  Bacorn. 
"  Sworn  at  Easton  the  Day  and  Year  aforesaid  Before  me 

"Will'm  Parsons." 

The  alarming  condition  of  affairs  bore  heavily  upon  the 
little  town  of  Easton.  Too  weak  to  care  for  themselves 
the  following  appeal  was  made  by  Mr.  Parsons  to  James 
Hamilton  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had  just  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  to  take  charge  of  the  defensive 
operations  about  to  be  inaugurated. 

"Easton,  December  15th,  1755. 
"Honoured  Sirs: 

"  I  make  bold  to  trouble  You  once  more,  and  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  it  may  be  the  last  time.  The  Settlers  on  this 
side  of  the  mountain  all  along  the  River  side,  are  actually 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  189 

removed,  and  we  are  now  the  Frontier  of  this  part  of  the 
Country.  Our  poor  people  of  this  Town  have  quite  ex- 
pended their  little  substance  &  are  quite  wearied  out  with 
watching,  and  were  all  along  in  hopes  the  Government 
would  have  taken  some  measures  for  their  Relief  &  for 
the  security  of  the  Town.  But  now  seeing  themselves  as 
well  as  the  Town  neglected,  they  are  moving  away  as  fast 
as  they  can.  So  that  if  we  have  not  help  nor  no  orders 
from  the  Commissioners  to  use  means  to  get  help  in  a  day 
or  two,  we  shall  every  one  of  us  be  obliged  to  leave  the 
Town  &  all  we  have  in  it  to  the  fury  of  the  Enemy,  who 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  are  lurking  about  within  sight 
of  us.  Besides  the  Losses  which  I  have  reason  to  sustain 
in  this  general  Calamity,  I  have  expended  what  little  stock 
of  Cash  I  had,  in  Publick  Services,  so  that  I  am  obliged  to 
send  this  by  a  private  hand,  not  being  able  to  pay  a  person 
to  go  express  with  it.  Pray  do  something  or  give  some 
order  for  our  speedy  relief,  or  the  whole  country  will  be 
entirely  ruined.  If  you  had  but  given  Encouragements 
to  some  Persons  that  you  could  have  confided  in,  for  their 
Employing  people  just  for  our  present  Defence,  till  you 
could  have  agreed  on  a  general  Plan,  all  this  part  of  the 
Country  might  have  been  saved  which  is  now  entirely  lost, 
&  the  Enemy  are  still  perpetrating  further  and  further, 
and  if  immediate  measures  are  not  taken,  they  will  very 
soon  be  within  sight  of  Philada.  This  is  my  real  opinion 
for  all  the  country  is  flying  before  them  and  no  means  are 
employed  to  stop  them. 

"  I  am,   Honoured  Sirs,  Your  most  obedient  humble 
Servant.  "Wm.  Parsons/' 

On  New  Year's  Day  of  1756  an  attack  was  made  on  the 
house  of  Henry  Hess,  the  details  of  which  are  given  in 


190  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

an  examination  of  Henry  Hess,  a  nephew,  aged  nineteen 
years,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  and  was  one  of  those 
brought  back  by  the  Indians  during  the  Conference  at 
Easton  in  November,  1756: 

"  This  Examination  saith  that  on  New  Year's  day  last 
he  was  at  his  Unckles,  Henry  Hess's  Plantation  in  the  said 
Township  of  Lower  Smithfield,  and  that  his  Father,  Peter 
Hess,  Nicholas  Coleman,  and  one  Gotlieb,  a  laborer,  were 
there  likewise.  That  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
they  were  surprised  by  a  party  of  Twenty-five  Indians, 
headed  by  Teedyuscung,  among  whom  were  several  of 
those  now  in  Town,  viz.  Peter  Harrison,  Samuel  Evans, 
Christian,  Tom  Evans,  that  they  Killed  the  said  Nicholas 
Coleman  and  Gotlieb,  and  took  his  Father  &  himself  Pris- 
oners, set  fire  to  the  Stable,  hunted  up  the  horses  and  took 
three  of  them.  Then  the  Indians  went  over  the  second 
Blue  Mountains,  and  overtook  five  Indians  with  two  Pris- 
oners, Leonard  and  William  Weeser,  and  a  little  after  this 
they  kill  this  Examinant's  Father,  Peter  Hess,  in  his  pres- 
ence, scalped  him  and  took  off  all  his  cloaths.  The  In- 
dians, who  were  thirty  in  number,  in  ye  evening  before  it 
was  dark,  stopped  &  kindled  a  Fire  in  the  woods,  first 
tying  him  and  the  two  Weesers  with  ropes  and  fastening 
them  to  a  tree,  in  which  manner  they  remained  all  night, 
Tho'  it  was  extremely  cold,  the  coldest  night  as  He  thinks 
in  this  whole  year.  Some  or  other  of  the  Indians  were 
awake  all  night,  it  being  as  they  said  too  cold  to  sleep. 
They  seemed  to  be  under  no  apprehension  of  being  pur- 
sued, for  they  set  no  watch.  As  soon  as  day  broke  they 
set  off  traveling  but  slowly,  and  the  next  day  they  came 
to  Wyomish,  an  Indian  town  on  the  Susquehannah,  and 
finding  no  Indians  there,   this  Examinant  understanding 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  191 

afterwards  that  the  Indians  who  used  to  live  there  had 
removed  to  Tacounich  for  fear  of  being  attacked,  they 
proceeded  on  their  journey  &  came  the  next  day  to  the 
Town  where  were  about  one  hundred  Indians,  men,  women 
&  children.  This  Examinant  further  saith,  that  after 
the  severe  weather  was  abated,  all  the  Indians  quitted 
Tacounich  and  removed  to  Diahogo,  distant  as  he  thinks 
fifty  miles,  situate  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayuga  Branch, 
where  they  staid  till  Planting  time,  and  then  some  of  them 
went  to  a  place  up  the  Cayuga  Branch  near  its  head,  called 
Little  Shingle,  where  they  planted  corn,  and  lived  there 
till  they  set  off  for  this  Treaty.  During  this  Examinant's 
stay  with  them  small  parties  of  five  or  six  warriors  went 
to  war,  and  returned  with  some  Scalps  &  Prisoners  which 
they  said  they  had  taken  at  Allemingle  and  Minisinks. 
This  Examinant  says  further  that  they  would  frequently 
say  in  their  discourses  all  the  country  of  Pennsylvania  did 
belong  to  them,  &  the  Governors  were  always  buying  their 
lands  from  them  but  did  not  pay  them  for  it.  That 
Teedyuscung  was  frequently  in  conversation  with  a  negro 
man,  a  Runaway,  whose  Master  lived  some  where  above 
Samuel  Depuys,  and  he  overheard  Teedyuscung  advising 
him  to  go  among  the  Inhabitants,  &  talk  with  the  negros, 
&  persuade  them  to  kill  their  Masters,  which  if  they  would 
do  he  would  be  in  the  woods  ready  to  receive  any  negros 
y't  would  murder  their  Masters  &  they  might  live  well  with 
the  Indians.  This  Examinant  saith,  that  he  saw  some 
English  Prisoners  at  different  places  up  the  Cayuga  Branch, 
and  particularly  one  Hunt,  a  Boy,  as  he  thinks,  of  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years,  who  was  taken  near  Paulius  Kiln  in  Jer- 
sey, that  he  had  not  seen  him  after  Teedyuscung's  Return 

to  Diahogo  on  his  first  journey." 

his 
Henry    X     Hess. 
mark 


192  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

The  examination  of  Leonard  Weeser,  mentioned  by 
Henry  Hess,  aged  twenty  years,  taken  before  the  Gov- 
ernor on  November  9,  1756,  was  to  the  following  effect: 

"This  Examinant  says  that  on  the  31st  Dec'r  last  he 
was  at  his  Father's  House  beyond  the  mountains,  in  Smith- 
field  Township,  Northampton  County,  w'th  his  Father, 
his  Bro'r  William  &  Hans  Adam  Hess;  That  Thirty  In- 
dians from  Wyomink  surrounded  them  as  they  were  at 
work,  killed  his  Father  &  Hans  Adam  Hess  and  took  this 
Examinant  &  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  other's  Name  he  knew  not, 
&  took  Peter  Hess  &  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  &  a  Barrack  of  wheat,  Kill'd 
ye  Cattle  &  Horses  &  Sheep,  &  destroyed  all  they  could. 
Thro'  ye  Swamp  they  went  directly  to  Wyomink,  where 
they  stayed  only  two  days  &  then  went  up  the  river  to 
Diahoga,  where  they  stayed  till  the  Planting  Time,  &  from 
there  they  went  to  little  Passeeca,  and  Indian  Town,  up  the 
Cayuga  Branch,  &  there  they  stayed  till  they  brought  him 
down.  Among  the  Indians  who  made  this  attack  &  took 
him  prisoner  were  Teedyuscung  alias  Gideon  alias  Honest 
John,  &  three  of  his  Sons,  Amos  &  Jacob,  ye  other's  name 
he  knew  not.  Jacobus  &  his  Sons,  Samuel  Evans  & 
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 
&  they  were  never  paid  for  it,  and  this  they  frequently 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  193 

gave  as  a  reason  for  their  conduct.  The  King's  Son 
Amos  took  him,  this  Examinant,  &  immediately  gave  him 
over  to  his  Father.  He  says  that  they  cou'd  not  carry  all 
the  Goods,  y't  were  given  them  when  last  here,  &  the 
King  sent  to  his  wife  to  send  him  some  Indians  to  assist 
him  to  carry  the  Goods,  &  she  ordered  him  to  go  with  some 
Indians  to  the  old  man  &  coming  where  the  Goods  lay, 
ab't  18  miles  on  the  other  side  of  Fort  Allen,  he  stayed 
while  Sam  Evans  went  to  the  Fort  to  tell  Teedyuscung  that 
said  Indians  were  with  ye  Goods  &  this  Examinant  with 
them,  &  this  being  told  ye  white  People,  Mr.  Parsons  sent 
two  soldiers  to  ye  place  where  the  Goods  were  &  brought 
him  down  with  them,  and  he  has  stayed  in  Northampton 
County  ever  since.  This  Examinant  saw  at  Diahogo  a 
Boy  of  Henry  Christmans,  who  lived  near  Fort  Norris,  & 
one  Daniel  William's  wife  &  five  children,  Ben  Feed's  wife 
&  three  children;  a  woman,  ye  wife  of  a  Smith,  who  lived 
with  Frederick  Head,  &  three  children ;  a  woman  taken  at 
Cushictunk,  a  Boy  of  Hunt's  who  lived  in  Jersey,  near 
Canlin's  Kiln  &  a  negro  man;  a  Boy  taken  about  4  miles 
from  Head's,  called  Nicholas  Kainsein,  all  of  which  were 
Prisoners  with  the  Indians  at  Diahoga  &  Passeeca,  and 
were  taken  by  the  Delaware  Indians;  that  Teedyuscung 
did  not  go  against  the  English  after  this  Examinant  was 
taken,  Tho'  His  sons  did;  That  the  King  called  all  the 
Indians  together,  &  they  made  up  ye  number  of  Eighty 
Five,  viz:  from  Diahoga  and  Passeeca,  &  another  Indian 
Town ;  That  Provisions  were  very  scarce ;  That  they  went 
frequently  out  in  parties  ag't  ye  English;  That  he  never 
saw  any  French  or  other  Indians  among  them  as  he 
Knows  of."  his 

Leonard    X    Weeser. 
mark 
17 


194  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Two  cotemporaneous  letters  have  been  found,  bearing 
on  the  horrible  scenes  of  which  we  have  related  but  a  few 
incidents,  which,  though  brief,  are  of  interest.  One  of 
them,  dated  December  18,  1755,  says  "that  a  party  of 
Indians  had  gathered  behind  the  Blue  Mountains  to  the 
number  of  200,  and  had  burned  the  greater  part  of  the 
buildings,  and  killed  upwards  of  a  hundred  of  the  inhab- 
itants." 

The  other,  dated  the  twentieth  of  December,  reads  as 
follows : 

"  The  barbarous  and  bloody  scenes  which  is  now  open 
in  the  upper  parts  of  Northampton  County,  is  the  most 
lamentable  that  perhaps  ever  appeared.  There  may  be 
seen  horror  and  desolation;  populous  settlements  deserted; 
villages  laid  in  ashes;  men,  women  and  children  massacred, 
some  found  in  the  woods  very  nauseous  for  want  of  inter- 
ment, some  just  reeking  from  the  hands  of  their  savage 
slaughterers,  and  some  hacked  and  covered  all  over  with 
wounds." 

To  this  latter  epistle  was  annexed  a  list  of  seventy-eight 
persons  killed,  and  more  than  forty  settlements  burned, 
which,  most  unfortunately,  has  gone  astray  and  cannot,  at 
this  time,  be  recorded. 

Our  tale  of  the  slaughter  which  took  place  prior  to  the 
systematic  operations  for  defense,  undertaken  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, cannot  be  better  brought  to  a  close  than  by  quot- 
ing "A  Brief  Narrative  of  the  Incursions  and  Ravages 
of  the  French  &  Indians  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania," 
which  was  presented  by  the  Secretary  to  the  Provincial 
Council  at  its  meeting  held  in  Philadelphia  on  December 
29,  1755,  as  a  succinct  summary  of  events  to  that  period. 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  195 

"Octr  1 8th,  1755,  a  party  of  Indians  fell  upon  the  In- 
habitants on  Mahanahy  Creek  that  runs  into  the  river 
Susquehannah  about  five  miles'  Lower  than  the  Great  Fork 
made  by  the  Junction  of  the  two  main  Branches  of  that 
river,  killed  and  carried  off  twenty-five  persons  &  burnt 
and  destroyed  their  Buildings  and  improvements,  and  the 
whole  settlement  was  deserted. 

"  23rd.  Forty-six  of  the  Inhabitants  on  Susquehannah 
went  to  Shamokin  to  enquire  of  the  Indians  there  who 
they  were  who  had  so  cruelly  fallen  upon  and  ruined  the 
Settlements  on  Mahanahy  Creek,  but  as  they  were  repass- 
ing Mahanahy  Creek  on  their  return  from  Shamokin  they 
1  were  fired  upon  by  some  Indians  who  lay  in  Ambush,  and 
four  were  Killed,  four  drowned,  &  the  rest  put  to  flight, 
on  which  all  the  Settlements  between  Shamokin  &  Hunter's 
mill  for  the  space  of  50  miles  along  the  River  Susque- 
hannah were  deserted. 

"31st.  An  Indian  Trader  and  two  other  men  in  the 
Tuscarora  Valley  were  killed  by  Indians,  and  their  Houses, 
&ca  burnt,  on  which  most  of  the  Settlers  fled  and  aban- 
doned their  Plantations. 

"  Novmr  2nd.  The  Settlemts  in  the  Great  Cove  attacked, 
their  Houses  burnt,  six  Persons  murdered  and  seventeen 
carried  away,  and  the  whole  broke  up  and  destroy'd. 

"  3rd.  Two  women  are  carried  away  from  Conegochege 
by  the  Indians,  &  the  same  day  the  Canalaways  and  little 
Cove,  two  other  considerable  Settlemts  were  attacked  by 
them,  their  Houses  burnt,  &  the  whole  Settlements  deserted. 
"  1 6th.  A  Party  of  Indians  crossed  the  Susquehannah 
and  fell  upon  the  County  of  Berks,  murdered  13  Persons, 
burnt  a  great  number  of  Houses,  destroyed  vast  quantities 
of  Cattle,  Grain,  and  Fodder,  and  laid  waste  a  large  extent 
of  Country. 


196  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  21st.  A  fine  Settlement  of  Moravians,  called  Gnaden- 
hiitten,  situate  in  Northampton  County,  on  the  West 
Branch  of  the  river  Delaware,  was  attack'd,  six  of  them 
killed,  and  their  Dwelling  Houses,  meeting  house,  and  all 
their  Outhouses  burnt  to  Ashes,  with  all  the  Grain,  Hay, 
Horses,  and  upwards  of  forty  head  of  fat  Cattle  that  were 
under  cover. 

"  Decmr  During  all  this  Month  the  Indians  have  been 
burning  and  destroying  all  before  them  in  the  County  of 
Northampton,  and  have  already  burnt  fifty  Houses  here, 
murdered  above  one  hundred  Persons,  &  are  still  contin- 
uing their  Ravages,  Murders  and  Devastations,  &  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 
Directions  of  French  officers,  have  fixed  their  head  Quar- 
ters within  the  Borders  of  that  county  for  the  better  secur- 
ity of  their  Prisoners  and  Plunder. 

"  This  is  a  brief  account  of  the  progress  of  these  Sav- 
ages since  the  Eighteenth  day  of  October,  on  which  day 
was  committed  the  first  Inroad  ever  made  by  Indians  upon 
this  Province  since  its  first  Settlement,  and  in  consequence 
here  of  all  our  Frontier  Country,  which  extends  from  the 
River  Patowmac  to  the  River  Delaware,  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length  and  between  twenty  and 
thirty  in  breadth  but  not  fully  settled,  has  been  entirely 
deserted,  the  Houses  and  improvements  reduced  to  Ashes, 
the  Cattle,  Horses,  Grain,  Goods,  &  Effects  of  the  Inhab- 
itants either  destroyed,  burned,  or  carried  off  by  the  In- 
dians, whilst  the  poor  Planters,  with  their  wives,  children 
and  servants,  who  could  get  away,  being  without  arms  or 
any  kind  of  Defence  have  been  obliged  in  this  severe  sea- 
son of  the  Year  to  abandon  their  Habitations  naked  and 


The  Outbreak  Near  the  Delaware  River.  197 

without  any  support  and  throw  themselves  on  the  Charity 
of  the  other  Inhabitants  within  the  interior  Parts  of  the 
Province,  upon  whom  they  are  very  heavy  Burthen. 

"  Such  shocking  Descriptions  are  given  by  those  who 
have  escaped  of  the  horrid  Cruelties  and  indecencies  com- 
mitted 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  Consternation  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. 

"All  our  accounts  agree  in  this  that  the  French,  since 
the  defeat  of  General  Braddock,  have  gained  over  to  their 
Interest  the  Delawares,  Shawonese,  and  many  other  Indian 
Nations  formerly  in  our  Alliance,  and  on  whom,  thro' 
fear  and  their  large  promises  of  Rewards  for  Scalps  and 
assurances  of  reinstating  them  in  the  Possession  of  the 
lands  they  have  sold  to  the  English,  they  have  prevailed 
to  take  up  Arms  against  us,  and  to  join  heartily  with 
them  in  the  execution  of  the  ground  they  have  been  long 
meditating  of  obtaining,  the  possession  of  all  the  Country 
between  the  river  Ohio  and  the  river  Susquehannah,  and 
to  secure  that  possession  by  building  a  strong  Fort  at 
Shamokin,  which  by  its  so  advantageous  situation  at  the 
Conflux  of  the  two  main  Branches  of  Susquehannah  (one 
whereof  interlocks  with  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  the 
other  heads  in  the  Center  of  the  Country  of  the  Six  Na- 
tions) will  command  and  make  the  French  entire  Masters 
of  all  that  extensive,  rich  and  fertile  Country  and  of  all 
the  Trade  with  the  Indians.  And  from  whence  they  can 
at  pleasure  enter  and  annoy  our  Territories,  and  put  an 


198 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


effectual  stop  to  the  future  extention  of  our  Settlements  on 
that  Quarter,  not  to  mention  the  many  other  obvious  mis- 
chiefs and  fatal  Consequences  that  must  attend  their  having 
a  Fort  at  Shamokin. 

"  Note. — Some  Fachines  have  been  lately  discovered 
floating  down  the  River  Susquehannah  a  little  below  Sha- 
mokin, by  which,  as  the  Indians  were  never  known  to  use 
Fachines,  it  is  conjectured  the  French  have  begun  and  are 
actually  building  a  Fort  at  that  most  important  place." 


CHAPTER   XV. 

The  Powell  List  of  Sufferers. 

^fl* HANKS  to  the  careful  research 

IfeU      and   kind    attention    of    Dr. 

Julius  F.  Sachse  and  Dr.  John  W. 

Jordan,  of  the  Historical  Society  of 

Pennsylvania,  and  to  said  society  for 

the  use  of  its  manuscript,  the  writer 

is  able  to  make  public  the  following 

most  valuable  list  of  refugees  to  the 

Moravian  Settlements,  in  the  winter  of  1756,  who  were 

cared  for  by  the  brethren.     The  list  itself  is  preceded  by 

a  letter  of  Bishop  Joseph  Spangenberg,  of  the  Moravian 

Church,    fully   explanatory   of    it   and   vouching   for   its 

authenticity. 

The  Letter. 

"Mv  Dear  Friend  Anthony:  Please  to  remember,  that 
I  once  wrote  you  in  that  hard  Winter,  when  more  than 
six  Hundred  Men,  Women  and  Children,  in  their  utmost 

099) 


200  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Distress,  came  to  the  Brethren's  Settlements,  in  the  Forks 
of  Delaware,  to  find  there  a  Shelter,  and  some  Relief  in 
their  Wants  and  Nakedness;  Many  of  them  having  had 
their  houses,  Barns,  Cattle  and  all  burnt  and  destroyed 
by  the  Savages  and  just  having  saved  their  Life. 

"  You  was  so  kind,  to  communicate  my  Letter  to  some 
Friends,  and  they  moved  with  Compassion,  sent  up  some 
goods,  Cloaths,  etc.,  to  relieve  the  said  unhappy  Sufferers; 
with  Orders,  that  those,  who  had  lost  all  they  had  at 
Gnadenhiitten  should  by  no  Means  be  excluded  from  par- 
taking of  the  said  Charities. 

"  I  upon  that,  not  being  able  my  self  to  make  the  Dis- 
tribution thereof,  went  to  one  of  the  Magistrates  of  this 
County  residing  in  Bethlehem,  and  desired  him,  to  appoint 
some  Persons  of  a  noted  good  Character,  and  to  give  them 
the  Charge  of  a  prudent  and  faithful  Distribution  of  the 
just  mentioned  Charities;  such  Things  of  that  Nature 
requiring  great  Exactness,  that  they  may  appear  just  and 
right,  when  examined  into,  before  all  the  World,  so  as 
they  are  done  in  the  Eyes  of  the  Lord. 

"  Mr.  Horsfield,  upon  this  my  Request,  appointed 
Joseph  Powel,  Samuel's  Brother,  to  take  the  said  Matter 
into  Hand  with  the  help  of  some  other  Brethren,  who 
were  to  assist  him,  and  He  was  advised  first,  to  inquire 
into  the  Circumstances  of  each  Family,  to  take  down  the 
Number  of  their  Children,  to  find  out  what  Losses  they 
had  met  with,  and  what  were  their  Wants  and  Necessities; 
and  then  to  look  over  the  List  of  all  the  Goods  He  had 
received,  and  to  make  a  proper  Distribution,  giving  them 
most,  who  had  lost  most,  and  wanted  most,  and  giving 
them  less,  who  had  something  left  unto  them,  and  could 
help  themselves  yet. 

"He  faithfully  did  so,  to  the  best  of  his  Ability  (and 


3" 


Al 


si 


■^ 


^t^ 


^a&&$!8 


^3w 


?- 


^ 


^     r  'V   ^   5        ^     S   NK$  o 


^ 


^8 


N 


fc$!*^*« 


Jg^ 


,<>^ 
0^% 


I    \    i 


Ji 


•«§v 


1 


«v 


^    ^  ^  ^ 


1 


*j 


Jfc? 


*S  ;t  N£ 

ill        I 


is 


The  Powell  List  of  Sufferers.  201 

He  is  a  Valuable  Man)  and  kept  an  Account  of  all  things, 
making  Himself  Debtor  for  all,  He  had  received,  and 
Creditor  for  all,  He  had  given  to  the  poor  Refugees, 
taking  at  the  same  Time  Receipts  for  all,  He  gave  out; 
when  this  could  be  done;  for  in  some  Triflings  it  could 
not  be. 

"When  afterwards  the  said  Joseph  Powel  was  moving 
to  Oblong,  in  Dutches  County,  Newyork  Government, 
where  He  at  present  preaches  the  Gospel  with  Blessing; 
he  had  first  all  his  Accounts  enter'd  into  a  Book,  which  He 
put  into  the  Hands  of  a  Magistrate  of  this  County,  to  be 
inspected  by  any  one,  who  has  Reason  to  ask  for  it;  viz: 
into  the  Hands  of  Timothy  Horsefields,  Esqrs. 

"  Now  I  hear,  that  some  unkind  People  have  spoken 
ill  of  the  Brethren,  as  if  they  had  not  dealt  faithfully  with 
the  said  Charities;  and  that  some  of  the  Friends  have 
spoken  in  the  same  Way.     It  is  pity. 

"  If  I  remember  right,  this  is  not  the  first  Time,  that  I 
let  you  know,  how  we  have  acted  in  the  said  Circum- 
stances; desiring  you,  to  acquaint  all  the  Benefactors  with 
it.  I  hope,  you  have  done  so,  but  who  can  help  against 
a  wicked  Tongue  ? 

"  However,  my  Dear  Friend,  give  me  Leave  to  ask 
one  favour  of  you,  viz. 

"  Please  to  lay  this  my  Letter  before  the  Benefactors, 
who  sent  up  the  said  Charities  for  the  poor  Refugees? 

"  Please  to  ask  them,  for  Goodness  sake,  to  send  up  two 
or  three  Deputies,  to  inspect  the  said  Accounts  of  Joseph 
Powels,  and  to  examine  them. 

"  This  I  hope  will  be  the  best  way  to  satisfy  every  Body, 
who  is  suspicious  about  it;  when  He  hath  a  Mind  to  be 
satisfied  with  the  Truth. 

"As  for  the  Rest  of  the  People,  who  don't  care  what 


202  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

they  say  wether  right  or  wrong,  wether  true  or  false, 
wether  good  or  bad;  I  think,  we  should  beat  the  Air,  in 
trying  to  set  them  to  rights. 

"  I  have  thought  some  Times;  wether  the  said  Accounts 
should  not  be  published?  But  considering  that  the  Names 
of  poor  honest  people  must  be  exposed  to  the  public  ( :  and 
many  poor  honest  people  would  rather  suffer  the  greatest 
Hardships  then  see  themselves  in  their  Poverty  exposed) 
in  so  doing,  have  thought  it  best,  to  leave  it  in  Mr.  Horse- 
field's  hands,  for  the  use  of  all,  who  want  to  see  it.  When 
once  it  comes  in  that  way,  that  it  is  rather  a  Shame  for  a 
Christian  to  be  rich,  then  to  be  poor  (for  our  Master  was 
poor  in  the  World)  I  then  will  alter  my  Opinion. 

"  Thy  affectionate 
"Br.  Sp." 
"Bethlehem,  June  10 

"I757-" 


No.  3. 

1755 


Decr 


MEAL. 


1756 
Jan^ 


5 
Febr*  12 


Received. 

From  sundry  People 
recd  in  Nazareth  21 
Bush3  Rye  Meal 
at    37    ft)  "3    Bushl 

make 

Sam1   Folck    in    great 

Swamp 

Hanickel     in    Cushe- 

hoppen 


11. 


Frencon  Township  ^ 
Chrn  Meyer 

Shippach  ^  Valentin 
Hussiger 

Saccon   Township    ^ 
Bale  Lawr 

Lower  D°.   $  Gratius 
Lark 

The  Friends  in   Wor 
cester 

The  Friends  in  ^1 
Lower  Saccon  I 
Township  ^  John  f 
Nich9  Full J 

Carried  forward 


11. 


777 


150 


382 
736 
422 
217 


2239 


1705 


1756 
Jannr 


2148 


1757 


3944 


8626 


Febr? 


March   1 


Disbursed. 

To  25  Families  in  Num 
ber  105  in  Bethlehem.. 
D° 

Peter  Kofman 

D° 

D.  M.  Lane&  Family 
D° 


28 


-9 


D°. 
D°. 
D°. 


II. 


5° 
4° 
48 

3-1 
109 

36 

45 
35 
4° 


11. 


Wm  Camel  &  Family 

MarnDewalt&  D° 

Nich8  Bexer 

Adam  Gramlich 

Frh  Segle 

Wm  Stover 

Leonhard  Beyer 

Peter  Tull 

Dan1  Mathew 

Anna  Lindamon 

Henry  Garster 

Peter  Conrad 

Adam  Gramlich 

Nick8  Bexer 

John  Bartley 

Ana  Barba  Freyeher. 

John  Ecker 

D° 

Ulrich  Rhode , 

David  Maclen 

John  Becker 

Marg.  Saxon 

David  Weisser 

Antt  Catha  Nyhardt.. 

Jacob  Haley 

Christ0  Jake  

D° 

Johanna  Rone 

J.  George  Beck 

D° 


Jacob  Nyhardt 

John    Hen?    Costen- 

bader 

Elias  Humel 

Sus  Rhode 

MicWKlass 

Jasper  Plile 

Peter  Adelman 

James  Mally 

David  Maclen 


Sundry  People  dd  in 

Nazareth '313 

Ana  Mara  Saxon 40 

D° 47 

D° 45 

D° 1  42 

40 
40 
40 
40 
60 
60 
20 
70 
40 

3" 
40 
40 

4" 
80 
IOO 
50 
15 
45 
50 
37 
40 
40 

74 
50 
50 

5° 

46 

4" 

60 

100 


437 


1974 


Carried  forward  360  241 1 


No    14 


WOOLEN  STUFF. 


1755 
Decr    30 


Received. 


1756 
Jan'?    12 


-9 


From  Friends   in   Philadel- 
phia   

1  Piece  Half  Thick 

3  Remnant  of  D° 

Printed  Flanell 

RedD° 

Blue  Linsev  Woolsey.. 

Strip4  D° ... 

Kersey 

Stuff." 

4  P8   Red   &    1    Poe   blew 
Half  Thick 

2  P8  strip4  1  Pce  white  3  P8 
red  Flanell 

4  P8  colourd  Cotton 

1  Pce  D° 

Narrow  gray  Cloth 

Stripd  Flannell 


1  Piece  Blew    Strowds 

Coloured   Cloth 

Narrow  blew  Cloth  .... 

Flowred  Flanell 

Sarge  

2P3  blew  half  Thicks... 
1  Pce  strip4  Flannell 


yds 


202b 


Yds 


1755 


3° 
9 

2# 

44 
150 

2 
6% 

630 

4 

3 

4 

2 
60 
35 


Decr    3 1 


760^ 


1756 
Janrr 


[Disbursed. 


To  Georg  Pulkhard  &  Wife 
half  Thicks 

striped  Linsev  Woolsey... 

Ephraim  Colver  & 
Family  blew  Strip'1 
Flannell 

Nap  Cloth 

Strip*  Flanell 

Stuff 

Blew  Cotton  Nap  Cloth.... 

Red  Flannel 

Red  Half  Thicks 

Printed  Flanell 

Red  D° 

Strip11  D° 

wh ite  D° 

Frd  Jones  &  Family  blew 
strip1  Flannell 

Blew  half  Thicks 

Narrow  Kersey  Cloth 

Blew  Cotton  Nap  Cloth.... 

Blew  Linsey  Woolsey 

Half  Thicks 

Stuff 

Red  Flanell 

Printed  D° 

Stripd  D° 

white  D° 


John  Hillman  Printed 
Flanell 

Red  Blew  &  Strip4  D°... 

Half  Thicks 

Blew  Cotton  Nap  Cloth 

Stuff 

Henry  Countryman  & 
Family 

Cotton  Nap  Cloth 

Half  Thicks 

Red  Half  Thicks 

Red  Flannell 

Strip4  D° 

Printed  D° 

Strip4  Stuff 


David  Brubaker  &  Wife 

Red  Flannell 

Strip4  D° 

Printed  D° 

Cotton  Nap  Cloth 

half  Thicks 

,0lienCOlger1Cotton 
JohAdHtiedh[NfpCloth 

Nich*  Huedh    J  btutt  

Nich"  Rhode  Strowds 

Half  Thicks 

Nich'  Sholl  &  Family 
Half  Thicks 

Flannell 

John  Slagel  Strip4  Flan- 
nell  

White  D" 

Red  D° 

Nap  Cloth 

George  [asp*  I  Iise  Cotton 
Nap  Cloth 

Red  Flannel  

Fred*   Garmentown   Half 

Thick* 

Mich1    Keents    &    Fam" 

Red  half  Thicks 

white  Flannel 


Yd* 


6/2 


1/2 
5X 
i% 

11 

6 

ioyi 

4 
3 

6% 

iH 

lA 
VA 
8 

4X 
13/2 
11 

8X 

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6 
139 

29X 

15 
17 

7 


6 

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Carried  forward 310J2 


238^ 

U 

1 
3 
3 

15'; 
9 

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3 

k 

-u 

iX 


No.   16. 


GARMENTS. 


1756 


Disbursed. 


Brought  forward 

Tanrr    14T0  Elias  Hammil 

Joseph  Keller 

David  MagLane 

Indians  blew  and  white  flannal 

Christian  Klein 

Johan  Peterson 

Hartsbel  Greear  sundry  old  Cloth's  & 

Frederick  Braeker 

Anna  Hootin,  for  her  2  Sons 

Jaspr  Bleyly's  Wife,  an  antient  Woman 

25I     Joh.  Runkits  &  Family 

26      Salomon  Davis  &c 

Febr?     1      Georg  Woolf 

2      Joh.  Beck 

|     Christian  Jake  &  Family 

Jacob  Haley 

Jacob  Sickle  sundry  old  Garments  and 

Simon  Rufner  1.  Petticoate,  Breeches  and. 

Joh .  Strawl 

Joh.  Ecker  &  Family 

Nich1  Klein 

Joh.  Christian  Andrea 

Edmond  Dall 

Martin  Trible 

Nichs  Schneider  and  Family 

Jos.  Kannaday  d°  

ThosNail  d°  

Frederick  Germantown 

Wm  Cannaday 

David  Housman 

Tho9  Beer 

Dan.  Matthews  &  Family 

Mich.  Glass  d°  

Mich.  Fabian  d°  

Joh9  Bartol  d°  

Peter  Izenmon 

Georg  Beck 

Jacob  Sheal 

Sam1  Shaw  and  Family 

Ludn?Jong  d°  

Freder.  West 

Mich.  Cryen 

Jacob  Kepple 

Mary  Dewalt  and  Family 

Eva  Funck 

Isach.    Senseman 

Worbas 

Partsch 

Sturgeons 

Jaspr  Payne 

Jos .  Powel 

Nich8  Rexer 

Adam  Kramlich 

John  Bartley 

Richd  Brosser 

Loren z  Nulf e 

Joh.  Becker 

David  Wifer 

Joh.  Georg  Beck 

Theodora  an  Indian  Girl •• 


99 
2 


iS 


136 


50 


157 


No.  16. 


GARMENTS. 


n  <  I  co  •=« !  w  1  w 

»    2    o    S    c-  2 


1755 


Disbursed. 


Decern  br  31  To  Georg  Pu  Ik  hard  &  Wife.. 
Ephraim  Colver  Si  Family 
Fr8  Jones  d° 

John  Hillman  d° 

Henry  Countryman   d° 


1756 
Jan" 


'4 


David  Bruster  &  Wife 

Joh.  lac.  Olgerden,  Joh.  Adam  Huedh,  Nichs  Heath. 

Nichs  Robt  &  Family 

Nich8  Sholl  d°       

John  Slagel 

Frederick  Germantown 

Mich.  Shook 

Mich.  Keents 

Phil  Searfass  &  Family 

Georg  Jaspr  Hise 

Frederick  Nagle 

Joh.  Shitterlin 

Jaspr  Devvalt 

Mich  Cains 

Henry  Dele 

Margr1  Walker 

Jacob  Hilckart 

Lowrance  Hartman  and  Family 

Peter  Hofman  d°  

Freder.  Nagle  d°  

Peter  Toll  d°  

Ulrich  Rhode 

Matthew  Shaefer 

Mary  Laycock 

Freder .  Altemor s 

Joh.  Kiegler 

Nich8  Rhode ■ 

a  poor  Man  who  went  to  search  for  the  Indians 

George  Miller 

Henrich  Hummel 

Joh.  Lindermans  Wife 

Peter  Conrad  and  Family 

An  Indian  Woman 

Peter  Daniel  and  Family 

Hannikel  Mile 

Wm  Aouber 

Henry  Bleilv 

Henry  Gabe'r  &  Wife 

Joh.  Henry  Costenbader 

Jacob  Neihard  &  Family 

Char8  Benington  A:  Family 

Joh.  Jerem1  Ore&  Wife.... 

Hannikel  Michel  d°  

Phil.  Ilighman 

Henry  France  d°  

Walter  Miller  d"  


P    n 

o 


Carried  Forward. 


if.  W 

f  5' 


2     1  99    5     1  So 


202'1 


ill 

1B/TM   Mli 

BiHL* 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  Eckerlin  Tragedy  and  Pennsylvania-German 

Mystics. 


z 


HE  story  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  fate  of  the 
Eckerlin  (Eckerling)  broth- 
ers, Pennsylvania -German 
mystics,  in  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  is  so  unique  as 
to  deserve  separate  notice. 

The  narrative,  as  given  in 
"The  German  Sectarians  of 
Pennsylvania,"  Vol.  III.,  by 
Julius  F.  Sachse,  Litt.D.,  is 
most  interesting,  and  it  is  to 
him  the  writer  is  indebted  for  the  data  of  which  he  has 
made  use. 

The  brothers,  four  in  number,  Samuel,  Emanuel  (died 
on  January  15,  1781) ,  Israel  (born  1705)  and  Gabriel, 
were  Alsatians  by  birth,  the  sons  of  Michael  Eckerlin, 
and  were  baptized  and  brought  up  in  the  Lutheran  faith. 

(203) 


204  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

The  father  was  a  reputable  burgher  of  Strasburg,  who 
followed  the  trade  of  cap-making,  and  was  a  man  of  good 
repute  in  both  church  and  community.  For  some  time  he 
served  as  Rathsherr  or  Councillor. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  Col- 
legium Pietatis  and  Philadelphian  Society  was  formed  in 
Strasburg,  the  leading  spirit  of  which  was  one  Johann 
Heinrich  Krafft,  a  shoemaker  by  trade  but  who  now  posed 
as  a  schoolmaster  and  expounder  of  mysticism.  In  this 
Michael  Eckerlin  soon  became  interested  and  a  promi- 
nent member,  to  the  neglect  of  his  church  services  and 
duties. 

It  was  not  long  before  Krafft  was  forced,  by  the  author- 
ities to  cease  his  ministrations,  under  penalty  of  expulsion 
from  the  city.  His  house  was  closed  but  Eckerlin  was 
persuaded  to  stealthily  resume  the  meetings  in  his  own 
house,  having  been  first  induced  to  take  to  wife  (being 
then  a  widower)  the  maid  servant  of  Krafft,  a  woman  of 
the  Reformed  faith  who  was  strongly  impregnated  with 
the  fanaticism  of  her  late  master.  Under  her  tutelage  he 
became  so  enrapt  with  the  heterodox  speculations  that  he 
even  presided  at  the  gatherings,  in  the  absence  of  Krafft, 
and  always  offered  up  the  opening  prayer.  When  this 
became  known  to  the  authorities  an  official  visitation  was 
made  to  the  Eckerlin  house,  by  Pfarrer  Iller  who  sur- 
prised the  Collegium  in  full  swing.  A  trial  was  held, 
and,  on  March  i,  1701,  both  Krafft  and  Eckerlin  were 
convicted.  The  former  was  banished,  the  latter  was  de- 
prived of  his  office  as  Rathsherr  and  ordered  to  abstain, 
in  the  future,  from  any  such  Conventicula  under  pain  of 
similar  expulsion. 

A  few  years  later  the  Eckerlin  family  left  Strasburg  and 
journeyed  to  Schwarzenau,  where  Michael  died,  when  the 


The  Eckerlin   Tragedy.  205 

widow  and  four  sons,  together  with  Samuel's  wife,  emi- 
grated to  Pennsylvania,  which  place  they  reached  some 
time  during  1725.  Immediately  upon  their  arrival,  the 
widow  Eckerlin,  who  was  a  person  of  some  means,  sought 
the  mystical  "  Hermits  on  the  Ridge,"  and,  upon  their 
advice,  bought  a  plantation  near  Germantown,  of  which 
she  forthwith  took  possession.  The  building  being  some- 
what out  of  order,  a  stonemason,  named  Heinrich  Miller, 
was  called  in  to  make  the  necessary  repairs,  and,  before 
he  had  finished  the  work,  Israel  Eckerlin  was  indentured 
to  him  for  a  period  of  two  years,  without  any  written  in- 
denture. His  master  was  a  God-fearing  man  and  had 
experienced  an  awakening  in  this  country. 

During  the  sojourn  of  the  Eckerlin  family  upon  their 
farm  Michael  Wohlfarth  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  their 
hospitable  home.  Israel  states  that,  upon  such  occasions, 
his  mother  and  Wohlfarth  were  apt  to  prolong  their  talks 
far  into  the  night,  the  theme  being  the  state  of  true 
Christianity.  Shortly  after  one  of  these  visits  Israel  and 
his  master  came  to  Conrad  Matthias  to  do  some  work, 
when  he  advised  both,  if  they  wanted  to  better  their  spir- 
itual condition,  to  leave  Germantown  and  go  to  Conestoga, 
where  the  people  lived  in  great  simplicity.  This  so  pleased 
master  and  man  that  they  journeyed  to  the  Conestoga  Val- 
ley in  August,  1727,  and  there  wrought  at  their  trade. 
For  a  time  they  adhered  to  the  Mennonites,  whose  sim- 
plicity of  dress  pleased  them  more  than  their  mode  of 
worship.  Shortly  after,  the  two  men  attended  one  of 
Beissel's  meetings  where  they  were  surprised  to  find  pres- 
ent an  old  Schwarzenau  Dunker,  Abraham  Duboy,  who, 
after  the  meeting,  asked  Beissel  and  Wohlfarth  to  adopt 
young  Eckerlin,  so  that  he  should  not  be  neglected. 
"  Thus,"  Israel  writes,  "  in  this  manner  I  came  to  the 
congregation." 


206  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

About  1730  the  widow  Eckerlin,  and  the  youngest  son, 
Gabriel,  came  to  the  Conestoga  Valley,  and  were  shortly 
after  joined  by  Samuel  and  his  wife  Catharina.  The 
widow  died  soon  after  her  arrival.  By  1733-34  all  the 
brothers  were  at  the  settlement  on  the  Cocalico,  and  were 
instrumental  in  organizing  the  devotees  into  a  semi- 
monastic  community.  All  four  became  active  revivalists 
and  exhorters,  and,  at  the  same  time,  combined  a  remark- 
able executive  ability  with  commercial  shrewdness.  They 
were  the  real  factors  of  progress  in  the  institution.  Israel 
became  known  as  Brother  Onesimus,  Samuel  as  Jephune, 
Gabriel  as  Jotham,  and  Michael  as  Elimelech.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  Ephrata  community  show  that  Catharina,  wife 
of  Samuel  (Jephune)  "fell  asleep  in  the  Lord"  in  1733, 
and  that  Michael  Wohlfarth  (Brother  Agonius)  died 
May  20,  1741. 

Upon  the  death  of  Agonius,  Brother  Onesimus  became 
the  first  regular  prior  of  the  community,  and  second  in 
authority.  Interesting  as  it  might  be  to  do  so,  we  dare 
not  take  the  time  to  show  how  Beissel  became  jealous  of 
the  growing  prominence  of  the  Eckerlins  and  how  he 
planned  to  accomplish  their  overthrow.  It  is  enough  to 
say  that  he  succeeded,  and  that,  on  September  4,  1745, 
Onesimus,  who  had  been  deposed,  with  Jephune  and 
Brother  Timotheus  (Alexander  Mack),  were  forced  to 
leave  the  Zion  on  the  Cocalico,  and  journeyed,  in  a  south- 
westerly direction,  for  four  hundred  miles,  until  they 
reached  the  New  River  in  Virginia,  where  they  settled. 
Three  weeks  later,  Jotham,  who  had  been  made  Prior  in 
his  brother's  place,  was  also  deposed  from  office,  and  lived  in 
his  cell  in  the  convent  Kedar  as  a  common  brother.  On  the 
fifteenth  day  of  the  tenth  month  Elimelech,  who  still  held 
the  office  of  the  priesthood,  was  deposed  from  both  Soli- 


The  Eckerlin   Tragedy.  207 

tary  and  Secular  Congregation,  and  took  up  his  home  in 
the  deserted  Berghaus,  where,  on  the  twenty-third  he  was 
joined  by  Jotham,  who  had  been  ordered  out  of  Kedar. 
On  the  twenty-seventh,  some  hours  before  break  of  day, 
Elimelech  left  Ephrata  and  took  up  a  hermit's  life  about 
a  mile  above  Zoar  (Reamstown).  When,  on  September 
4,  1745,  Onesimus,  Jephune  (Alexander  Mack)  Ephraim 
(Jacob  Hohnly),  and  several  followers,  left  the  Kloster, 
and  journeyed  towards  Virginia,  their  object  was  to  bury 
themselves  in  the  wilderness  and  to  keep  their  destination 
secret.  The  route  they  took  led  them  to  the  valley  of 
the  New  River,  where  they  finally  decided  upon  a  site 
for  their  future  home  in  what  are  now  Montgomery  and 
Pulaski  counties.  For  neighbors  they  had,  besides  the 
Indians,  merely  a  few  pioneers,  trappers  and  outlaws. 
Cabins  were  built  without  delay,  and  before  the  severe 
weather  set  in,  the  little  village  was  completed.  Upon  the 
first  Sabbath  a  devout  service  was  held,  and  the  place  was 
named  Mahanaim. 

Here  they  were  joined  by  Jotham,  and,  later,  reinforced 
by  other  accessions  from  both  Ephrata  and  Germantown, 
with  which  places  regular  communications  had  been  grad- 
ually opened  up.  Of  the  original  party  Timotheus  was 
the  first  to  return  to  Pennsylvania.  It  is  related  that,  on 
a  certain  night,  he  had  a  vivid  dream,  in  which  it  was 
revealed  to  him  that  the  Indians  were  about  to  burn  their 
hermitage,  murder  some  and  lead  others  into  captivity 
(which  was  realized  a  decade  later) .  He  left  Mahanaim 
some  time  in  1747,  or  early  in  1748,  and  was  soon  fol- 
lowed by  Brother  Ephram,  who  died  in  Philadelphia  in 
1748.  After  a  sojourn  at  Mahanaim  of  five  years,  One- 
simus and  Jotham  concluded  to  revisit  the  scenes  of  their 
former  activity,  Jephune  remaining  at  the  New  River. 


208  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

It  was  on  February  23,  1750,  the  little  caravan,  led  by 
the  two  brothers,  arrived  in  the  Conestoga  Valley.  A 
halt  was  made  at  the  house  of  one  of  the  Sabbatarian  con- 
gregation, and  word  of  their  arrival  sent  to  the  Kloster. 
A  meeting  of  the  brotherhood  was  at  once  convened  in 
the  great  Saal  by  Beissel,  and  two  of  the  brethren  were 
sent  as  delegates  to  welcome  them  back  to  their  old  home, 
and  offer  them  the  hospitality  of  the  Kloster.  This  was 
accepted,  and  they  were  received  with  great  joy.  So 
greatly  were  the  two  brothers  moved  by  this  cordial  recep- 
tion that  they  not  only  decided  to  live  with  the  brethren 
once  more  but  also  to  deposit  all  their  acquired  property  in 
the  treasury  of  the  community,  and,  shortly,  started  on 
their  return  to  obtain  Jephune's  consent  and  arrange  ac- 
cordingly. 

So  anxious  was  Onesimus  that  he  left  the  New  River 
in  advance  of  the  others,  reaching  Ephrata  on  April  25, 
1750.  Unfortunately,  once  more  the  old  troubles  broke 
out,  and  Jephune  arrived  in  the  fall,  with  the  family  goods, 
only  to  learn  that  his  brother  had  again  left  the  Kloster 
and  had  gone  to  the  house  of  Jacob  Sontag,  one  of  the 
secular  congregation. 

The  determination  was  quickly  reached  to  return  to 
the  wilderness,  so,  having  disposed  of  their  furs  for  other 
goods,  the  brothers  wended,  anew,  their  way  to  Virginia, 
this  time  selecting  for  their  home  a  location  some  eight  or 
ten  miles  below  the  present  Morgantown,  county  seat  of 
Monongahela  County,  West  Virginia,  near  the  mouth  of 
a  creek  emptying  into  the  Monongahela  River,  where  they 
were  enabled,  the  first  year,  to  raise  a  crop  of  grain  and 
culinary  vegetables  sufficient  for  their  use,  while  the  rifle 
of  Gabriel  and  rod  of  Samuel  furnished  them  with  an 
abundance  of  meat  and  fish.     Their  clothing  was  made 


The  Eckerlin   Tragedy.  209 

chiefly  from  the  skins  of  wild  animals  and  easily  procured. 

Here  they  lived,  for  some  years,  in  the  midst  of  the 
Delaware  Indians,  at  peace  with  all  the  world.  As  Alsa- 
tians, conversant  with  the  French  language,  they  gave  no 
thought  to  the  active  preparations  of  the  French  soldiers 
for  war,  nor  to  the  forts  which  were  building  upon  the 
western  frontier;  beloved  by  the  local  Indians,  with  whom 
Samuel  was  a  great  favorite  because  of  the  services  which 
he  rendered  them  as  a  surgeon  and  physician,  they  had  no 
cause  for  fear  from  that  source.  Israel  was  busy,  day  and 
night,  with  his  mystic  speculations,  while  Gabriel  was  en- 
gaged in  hunting  and  Samuel  in  curing  the  peltries,  of 
which  piles  of  bearskins  served  as  their  couch  by  night, 
while,  in  one  corner  of  the  cabin,  was  a  mass  of  skins, 
which  could  not  have  been  bought  for  a  hundred  pounds 
sterling.  Their  chief  assistant  was  a  redemption  servant, 
one  Johann  Schilling,  while  Daniel  Hendricks  was  the 
cook  of  the  party.  Regular  visits  were  made  by  Samuel, 
the  business  man,  to  Winchester  and  other  frontier  towns, 
where,  on  several  occasions  he  was  apprehended  and  im- 
prisoned as  a  French  spy,  and  was  only  released  at  the 
intercession  of  the  Governor. 

As  the  Indian  troubles  increased  and  the  horrors  of  a 
border  war  became  more  and  more  imminent,  and  as  the 
settlement  was  near  the  warpath  of  the  hostile  Indians, 
their  Delaware  friends  notified  Samuel  that  it  was  unsafe 
for  them  to  remain  longer  in  their  exposed  position,  so  they 
moved  their  camp  to  a  favorable  location  upon  their  tract 
on  the  Cheat  River.  This  clearing  became  known  as 
Dunker's  Bottom.  For  some  time  they  remained  here 
unmolested.  Towards  the  close  of  August,  1757,  Samuel 
started  upon  one  of  his  perennial  trading  trips  to  the  Vir- 
ginia settlements,   after  the  harvest  had  been  gathered. 


210  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Upon  his  return  he  was  stopped  at  Fort  Pleasant,  on  the 
South  Branch,  where  he  was  accused  of  being  a  spy  and  in 
confederacy  with  the  Indians.  In  vain  he  explained  and 
protested  his  innocence;  it  was  only  after  an  appeal  to 
the  Governor  that  he  was  released  and  allowed  to  start 
upon  his  homeward  journey,  accompanied  by  a  squad  of 
soldiers  who  were  ordered  to  follow  him  to  his  camp  on 
the  Cheat  River. 

When  the  little  cavalcade  was  within  a  day's  march  of 
the  Dunker  Camp  a  tragic  scene  was  enacted  there.  Led 
by  a  French  priest  a  party  of  Indians  surrounded  the  house. 
Being  discovered  by  one  of  the  servants,  who  gave  the 
alarm,  an  attack,  was  made.  Schilling  and  Jotham  were 
quickly  captured.  Onesimus,  who  was  engaged  in  writing 
a  polemic  to  Ephrata,  would  neither  defend  himself  nor 
attempt  to  escape,  he  having  absolute  faith  in  divine  pro- 
tection. His  faith,  in  this  case,  was  of  but  little  avail,  as 
he  was  seized  and  met  with  the  same  fate  as  his  brother. 
The  other  members  of  the  household  were  killed  and 
scalped,  while  the  two  brothers  and  Schilling  were  held  as 
captives.  The  cabins  were  then  pilfered  and  burned. 
Twelve,  of  the  twenty-eight  or  more  horses  owned  by  the 
brothers,  were  loaded  with  plunder;  the  rest  were  killed. 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,"  says  Dr.  Sachse,  "  this  raid  upon 
the  Eckerlin  settlement  was  not  a  military  nor  political 
one,  but  was  executed  purely  through  religious  motives, 
the  object  being  the  extermination  of  a  heretical  commu- 
nity within  the  bounds  of  the  French  territory.  This  is 
the  only  known  case  of  religious  persecution  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  clergy  in  provincial  Pennsylvania." 

The  sight  that  met  Jephune  and  his  party  was  a  surprise, 
and  ample  proof  of  the  truth  of  his  assertions.  The  cabins 
were  in  ashes,  a  smouldering  ruin;  the  half-decaying  and 


The  Eckerlin   Tragedy.  211 

mutilated  bodies  of  the  murdered  Dunkers,  and  the  car- 
casses of  the  beasts,  were  seen  strewn  about;  while  the 
hoops  on  which  the  scalps  had  been  dried  were  still  there, 
and  the  ruthless  hand  of  desolation  visible  everywhere. 

The  soldiers  buried  the  remains  and  Jephune,  after 
taking  a  sorrowful  farewell  of  the  sad  scene,  ignorant  of 
the  fate  of  his  brothers,  returned  with  the  party  to  the 
South  Branch,  no  longer  a  prisoner  or  suspected  spy. 

The  fate  of  the  three  prisoners  was,  for  a  long  time, 
shrouded  in  mystery.  Nothing  definite  was  known,  though 
there  were  rumors  that  they  were  alive  and  held  as  pris- 
oners by  the  French  clericals,  either  in  Canada  or  France. 
While  in  this  state  of  uncertainty  Jephune  left  no  stone 
unturned  to  learn  of  their  fate  and  to  secure  their  release 
if  alive.  It  was  not  until  after  a  lapse  of  three  years  and 
several  months,  after  the  escape  and  return  of  Johann 
Schilling,  that  the  veil  was  partially  lifted  and  the  particu- 
lars of  their  fate  became  known. 

After  their  capture  by  the  Indians,  and  the  destruction 
of  the  settlement,  the  French  leader  of  the  party  started 
for  Fort  Duquesne,  making  a  wide  detour  for  fear  the 
English  would  overtake  them  and  deprive  them  of  their 
valuable  prizes.  It  was  not  until  the  seventh  day  after 
the  massacre  that  they  arrived  in  sight  of  the  fort,  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  During  the  march  the 
two  brothers  were  kept  securely  bound  and  were  given  but 
little  to  eat.  Schilling  was  left  free  and  well  fed.  All 
attempts  to  relieve  the  wants  of  his  former  masters  were 
severely  punished  by  the  captors. 

Arriving  at  the  end  of  their  journey,  they  were  first 
ordered  to  cut  off  their  long  beards.  They  were  then 
stripped  of  their  clothing,  put  into  a  canoe  and  headed 
for  the  fort.     When  near  the  shore  they  were  thrown  into 


212  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  water  and  pelted  with  stones  by  both  the  French  and 
Indians  on  the  shore.  Both  brothers  were  insensible 
when  dragged  out  of  the  water.  This  the  French  fiends 
called  their  baptism.  To  further  aggravate  their  suffer- 
ings, and  to  please  the  assembled  French,  one  of  the 
Indians  scalped  Jotham. 

Upon  their  delivery  into  the  fort  they  were  not  entered 
as  prisoners  of  war,  but  of  the  church,  and  as  dangerous 
heretics.  The  commanding  officer,  being  a  soldier  and 
of  a  more  humane  disposition,  when  he  learned  of  the  treat- 
ment, ordered  his  men  to  cease  these  barbarities  so  long 
as  the  prisoners  were  under  his  charge,  and  directed  that 
they  be  left  to  him  for  the  time  being.  Each  Indian  re- 
ceived a  blanket  and  pair  of  leggings  as  his  share  of  the 
raid.     Schilling  was  kept  by  the  savages  as  their  slave. 

At  the  request  of  the  clericals  in  the  fort  the  two  brothers 
were  sent,  under  a  strong  guard,  to  Montreal,  where  they 
were  placed  in  a  Jesuit  institution  as  dangerous  heretics, 
all  intercourse  with  the  outside  world  being  forbidden. 
Thence  they  were  sent  to  Quebec,  where  they  suffered  from 
hunger,  confinement  and  disease.  Eventually,  they  were 
sent  to  France,  where,  it  is  said,  they  died  as  prisoners  in  a 
monastery.  Others  say  they  died  at  sea.  According  to 
the  Chronicon: 

"They  indeed  arrived  there  (France)  but  both  afflicted 
with  a  distemper  which  also  transported  them  to  eternity. 
The  prior,  Onesimus,  when  he  felt  his  end  approaching, 
had  himself  received  as  a  member  of  an  order  of  monks 
of  the  Roman  Church,  which  is  the  more  credible,  as  he 
had  always  entertained  a  particular  esteem  for  friars. 
They  gave  him  the  tonsure  and  afterwards  called  him 
'Bon  Chretien'  (Good  Christian).  Soon  after  both 
brothers  departed  this  life." 


The  Eckerlin   Tragedy.  213 

There  is,  however,  nothing  to  prove  the  truth  of  the 
above  statement.  It  was  not  until  seven  years  after  their 
capture  that  definite  rumors  reached  Ephrata  as  to  the  fate 
of  the  two  brothers.  Jephune  at  once  wrote  a  letter  of 
inquiry  to  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  was  then  in  France, 
which  letter  is  among  the  Franklin  correspondence  now  in 
possession  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society. 

Many  cases  are  upon  record  where  German  settlers  on 
the  Virginia  frontiers  fell  victims  to  the  fury  of  the  sav- 
ages. In  the  year  1758,  a  party  of  Indians  penetrated 
the  Mill  Creek  Country,  nine  miles  south  of  Woodstock, 
and  after  committing  some  murders,  carried  off  no  less 
than  forty-eight  persons  into  captivity,  all  of  whom  were 
Germans. 

Beside  the  Eckerlins  there  was  another  member  of  the 
Ephrata  Brotherhood  whose  earthly  career  was  ended  by 
the  tomahawk  of  the  savage.  This  was  Heinrich  Zinn, 
who  left  the  Kloster  shortly  after  the  Eckerlins  and  went 
to  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  He  was  living  at  the  time  with 
a  family  named  Bingamann,  near  the  present  site  of  New 
Market.  When  the  Indians  attacked  the  house  a  deter- 
mined defense  was  made  by  Bingamann,  who  was  both 
stout  and  active.  He  laid  low  two  of  the  savages;  accord- 
ing to  another  account  he  killed  five.  The  barbarians  suc- 
ceeded, however,  in  slaughtering  his  wife  and  children, 
together  with  the  peaceful  Zinn.  Bingamann  escaped, 
with  several  wounds  from  which  he  finally  recovered. 

As  the  war  clouds  thickened  during  the  Pontiac  out- 
break, and  the  danger  appeared  threatening,  the  celibate 
colony,  consisting  of  twenty-six  persons,  came  to  Pennsyl- 
vania and  distributed  themselves  between  Ephrata  and 
Germantown.  Among  these  refugees  were  the  Kolbs  and 
Luthers  who  became  the  surviving  celibates  of  the  Ephrata 
Kloster. 


214 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


After  the  Indian  troubles  were  settled,  and  the  danger 
over,  a  number  of  the  Ephrata  celibates  and  Germantown 
Dunkers  returned  to  the  Shenandoah.  Others  took  up 
lots  in  the  new  town  of  Stovertown  (Strasburg)  and 
erected  mills  and  potteries  in  the  vicinity. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Preparations  for  Defense. 


m 


HEN  we  consider  that  abso- 
lutely no  attempt  was  made 
to  prepare  in  advance,  for  the  sav- 
age outbreak  which  started  in  the 
fall  of  1755,  we  can  imagine  in  what 
a  chaotic  condition  everything  was 
when  the  blow  once  fell.  The  set- 
tlers, without  arms  or  organization, 
defended  themselves  as  best  they 
could,  but  their  best  was  of  no  prac- 
tical avail,  and  we  have  read  of  the 
slaughter  and  destruction  which  fol- 
lowed, as  well  as  of  the  fugitives  who,  for  a  time,  filled 
the  country  as  they  fled  from  the  blackened  ruins  of 
their  homes. 

Naturally,  the  first  thought  to  suggest  itself,  as  the  most 
speedy  remedy  for  the  evil,  was  the  hasty  formation  of 
independent  companies  for  short  terms  of  service.  Ac- 
cordingly, many  such  companies  were  organized,  some  of 
which  have  already  been  mentioned.     As  their  service  was 

(215) 


216  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  so  little  value,  and  for  so  brief  a  time,  no  attempt  will 
be  made  to  dwell  on  the  subject.  Merely  as  a  matter  of 
interest  we  may  say  that,  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  Cap- 
tain McKee  was  actively  engaged;  between  the  Susque- 
hanna and  the  Schuylkill  rivers  we  find  the  territory  covered 
by  Captain  Adam  Read,  living  on  the  Swatara  Creek,  and 
Captain  Peter  Heydrick,  near  the  Swatara  Gap,  besides 
the  great  work  done  by  Conrad  Weiser  and  his  family; 
the  two  Captains  Wetterholt  ranged  the  district  on  both 
sides  of  the  Lehigh  River;  around  the  Moravian  settle- 
ments, and  as  far  as  the  Delaware  River,  we  find  Captains 
Wayne,  Hays,  Jenning,  McLaughlin  and  Van  Etten. 
Many  of  these  companies,  however,  were  quickly  reorgan- 
ized, and  incorporated  into  the  Provincial  Regiment  then 
formed,  about  which  we  will  hear,  more  fully,  later  on. 

I  have  selected  a  couple  sample  "Articles  of  Agree- 
ment," entered  into  by  members  of  these  short  term  bodies, 
which  I  give,  herewith,  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader. 

"Articles  of  Agreement  of  Captain  McLaughlin's 
Company,  1755. 

"Easton,  29  Decr,  1755. 
"  Sir: 

"We  the  Subscribers  do  hereby  engage  ourselves  to 
serve  as  Soldiers  in  His  Majesty's  Service  under  the  Com- 
mand of  Captain  James  McLaughlin,  for  the  space  of 
Two  Months,  and  whoever  of  us  shall  desert  or  prove 
cowardly  in  time  of  action,  or  disobedient  to  our  officers, 
shall  forfeit  his  Pay.  This  agreement  we  make  in  Con- 
sideration of  being  allowed  at  the  rate  of  Six  Dollars  per 
Months,  Arms,  Ammunition,  Blankets,  Provisions  and  a 
Gill  of  Rum  per  day  for  each  man.  The  Blanket,  Arms 
and  Ammunition  left  to  be  returned  when  we  are  dis- 
charged from  the  Service." 


The  Preparations  for  Defense.  217 

"Agreement  Capt.  Van  Etten's  Company. 

"Jany  12th,  1756. 

"We,  the  Subscribers,  do  hereby  engage  ourselves  to 
Serve  as  Soldier's  in  his  Majesty's  Service,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  John  Vanetta  for  the  Space  of  one 
month,  and  whoever  of  us  shall  get  drunk,  desert,  or  prove 
cowardly  in  Time  of  Action,  or  disobedient  to  our  Officers, 
shall  forfeit  his  Pay.  This  agreement  we  make  in  Con- 
sideration of  being  allow'd  at  the  rate  of  Six  Dollars  per 
month,  Wages,  One  Dolar  for  the  Use  of  a  Gun  and 
Blanket,  to  each  man  who  shall  furnish  himself  with  them, 
and  the  Provisions  and  Rum  mentioned  in  a  Paper  here- 
unto annex'd." 

This  obligation  was  signed  by  nearly  fifty  soldiers, 
whose  names,  unfortunately,  are  not  now  obtainable. 

In  justice  to  the  fair  name  of  Pennsylvania,  than  which 
no  other  state,  province,  or  colony  has  ever  been  more 
patriotic  or  loyal,  it  is  but  right  for  us  to  remember,  at 
this  point,  that  much  of  the  blame,  which  is  due  for  the 
want  of  defensive  preparation,  and  for  the  want  of  har- 
mony between  the  Executive  and  the  Assembly,  was  not 
owing  to  a  lack  of  sympathy  for  the  hapless  settlers,  on 
the  frontiers,  but  to  the  peculiar  religious  belief  of  many 
of  those  who  made  up  the  dominant  part  of  the  popula- 
tion, which  caused  them  to  abstain  from  participation,  of 
any  sort,  in  what  pertained  to  war  or  bloodshed.  Once 
the  danger  was  really  at  hand,  however,  action  was  at  once 
taken,  late  though  it  may  have  been,  and  a  carefully  pre- 
pared system  of  defense  arranged. 

The  better  to  understand  what  was  needed  for  this  pur- 
pose we  must  not  overlook  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  hos- 
tilities which  were  actively  carried  on.  Though  called 
"The  French  and  Indian  War,"  so  far  as  Pennsylvania 


218  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

was  concerned,  and  especially  the  more  closely  settled  por- 
tion of  it,  in  which  we  are  particularly  interested,  it  was, 
more  truthfully,  an  "  Indian  War"  alone,  and  carried  on 
entirely  after  the  Indian  fashion.  The  attacks  were  not 
made  by  disciplined  troops  in  large  bodies,  or  in  any  num- 
bers combined,  but  small  parties  of  savages,  from  three 
to  ten  or  twenty,  would  creep  noiselessly  past  alert  and 
watchful  sentries,  and  suddenly  fall  upon  their  unsuspect- 
ing victims,  just  as  suddenly  disappearing  after  their  hor- 
rible work  had  been  completed,  long  before  the  alarm 
could  be  spread  and  the  most  active  troops  overtake  them. 
This  required  a  peculiar  system  of  defense,  necessitat- 
ing, practically,  the  inclosing  of  the  populous  part  of  the 
Province  within  one  immense  barricade,  or  fence.  To 
that  end  a  continuous  line  of  forts  was  established,  from 
ten  to  twenty  miles  apart,  beginning  near  the  Maryland 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania  and  extending  as  far  north  as 
•Lewistown,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Susquehanna  River, 
and  along  the  Blue  Mountains,  from  Harrisburg  to 
Stroudsburg,  on  the  Delaware  River,  to  the  east  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna. Owing  to  the  more  scattered  nature  of  the 
settled  localities  west  of  the  river  the  stockades  were  not 
there  placed  with  the  regular  continuity  of  those  along  the 
Blue  Range,  but,  rather,  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of 
the  people. 

All  these  forts  were  garrisoned  by  detachments  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Regiment,  and  served  as  headquarters  from 
which  squads  issued  regularly  to  range  the  country.  Along 
the  mountain,  between  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware 
Rivers,  these  patrols  were  made  daily,  thus  keeping  up  a 
constant  intercourse  between  the  various  forts. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  which  was,  in  fact,  a  line  of 
defense,  and  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  prevent  the 


The  Preparations  for  Defense.  219 

marauding  parties  of  savages  from  penetrating  into  the 
settlements,  Fort  Augusta  was  established  at  Shamokin 
(Sunbury),  as  an  advance  post,  to  forestall  the  anticipated 
efforts  of  the  French  to  occupy  that  commanding  position, 
and  as  a  nucleus,  if  need  be,  for  offensive  operations 
against  the  Delawares  to  the  north  of  the  Blue  Mountains. 
As  a  base  of  supplies  for  this  outpost  Fort  Halifax  was 
built  in  Dauphin  County,  and,  for  the  same  purpose, 
to  a  great  extent,  Fort  Hunter  was  located  just  above 
Harrisburg. 

Almost  without  exception  these  forts  were  composed  of 
a  stockade  of  heavy  planks,  inclosing  a  space  of  greater  or 
lesser  extent,  on  which  were  built  from  one  to  four  log- 
houses  as  bastions  to  the  stockade,  which  served  as  quar- 
ters, etc.,  for  the  troops,  and,  very  frequently  were  occu- 
pied by  refugee  settlers  who  constantly  fled  to  them  for 
protection.  The  block-houses  and  stockades  were  pierced 
with  loop-holes  for  musketry  firing,  and,  in  the  case  of 
the  larger  and  more  substantial  defenses,  where  the  stock- 
ades were  of  considerable  height,  a  platform  was  built 
around  the  interior  of  the  fence  from  which  the  firing  took 
place. 

It  would  be  but  natural  to  infer,  from  a  consideration 
of  this  well-planned  system  of  defense,  that  safety  was, 
at  last,  insured  the  hapless  settler.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
this  was  far  from  the  case.  As  we  read  of  the  harrowing 
scenes,  which  constantly  occurred,  we  would  be  almost 
prompted  to  say  that  the  people  were  but  little  better  off 
than  before.  To  be  sure  they  did  have  these  places  of 
refuge,  and  without  doubt  the  presence  of  the  soldiers  did 
have  a  restraining  effect  upon  the  Indians;  it  is  equally 
true  that  no  better  system  of  defense  could  have  been 
adopted,  and  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  bravery 


220  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  the  troops,  as  well  as  to  the  conscientious  performance 
of  their  duty,  yet,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  vigilance  of 
the  bravest  sentinel,  in  spite  of  the  most  thorough  ranging 
of  the  most  capable  officer,  the  savage  noiselessly  crept 
past  and  through  the  lines,  to  wreak  vengeance,  satiate  his 
passions,  and  hurry  away  once  more,  leaving  behind  him 
but  the  blackened  ruins  of  homes,  with  the  dead  bodies 
of  their  inmates  for  the  soldiers  to  gaze  upon  when  they 
reached  the  scene  of  action  after  using  the  utmost  dispatch. 

This  necessitated,  then,  the  establishment  and  use  of 
subsidiary  places  of  defense,  especially  during  the  har- 
vest time  when  guards  were  needed  to  protect  the  farmers 
while  gathering  their  grain.  These  comprised,  generally, 
private  houses,  of  a  substantial  character,  which  were  suit- 
ably located,  and  around  which  there  was  often  built  the 
usual  stockade.  At  times,  when  such  buildings  were  not 
available,  block-houses  were  erected  by  the  people.  All 
of  these  auxiliary  defenses  were  likewise  garrisoned  by 
provincial  troops,  as  occasion  demanded. 

Even  this  did  not,  at  times,  meet  all  requirements. 
There  were  not  enough  soldiers  obtainable  for  all  places. 
With  widely  scattered  plantations,  in  time  of  sudden  forays 
there  was  no  opportunity  given  to  reach  either  an  estab- 
lished fort,  or  even  a  subsidiary  defense,  so  that  the  settlers 
were  obliged  to  select,  here  and  there  from  among  their 
own  homes,  "  houses  of  refuge,"  which  were  pierced  for 
musketry,  or  otherwise  arranged  for  defense. 

For  the  garrisoning  of  these  various  forts  and  houses, 
and  for  such  other  operations  as  were  necessary,  the  Gov- 
ernment organized  a  regiment  of  troops,  called  the  "  Penn- 
sylvania Regiment,"  of  which  the  Governor,  himself,  was, 
ex-officio,  colonel  and  commander-in-chief.  It  was  di- 
vided   into    three    battalions,    the    First    Battalion,    com- 


The  Preparations  for  Defense.  221 

manded  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Conrad  Weiser,  consisting 
of  ten  companies  and  some  five  hundred  men,  who  guarded 
the  territory  along  the  Blue  Range,  between  the  Susque- 
hanna and  Delaware  rivers;  the  Second  Battalion,  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  John  Armstrong,  eight  companies,  four 
hundred  men,  in  charge  of  the  district  west  of  the  Susque- 
hanna, and  the  Third  Battalion,  Colonel  William  Clapham 
(April,  1756),  eight  companies,  four  hundred  men,  which 
was  called  the  "Augusta  Regiment "  because  of  its  loca- 
tion in  and  about  Fort  Augusta. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  regiment  the  term  of  enlist- 
ment did  not  exceed  one  year,  but  this  time  was  speedily 
lengthened  to  an  enlistment  of  three  years.  As  the  war 
progressed,  and  more  aggressive  operations  were  under- 
taken, various  companies  and  parts  of  the  several  bat- 
talions were  transferred  from  one  point  to  another,  as 
will  appear  later  on. 

The  list  of  government  forts,  in  the  regular  line  of 
defense,  is  as  follows : 

Fort  Lowther,  built  1753,  Carlisle,  Cumberland  County. 

Fort  Morris,  built  1755,  Shippensburg,  Cumberland 
County. 

Fort  Shirley,  built  1755,  Shirleysburg,  Huntingdon 
County. 

Fort  Granville,  built  1755,  Lewistown,  Mifflin  County. 

Fort  Loudoun,  built  1756,  Loudoun,  Franklin  County. 

Fort  Lyttleton,  built  1756,  Sugars  Cabins,  Fulton 
County  (southern  part) . 

Fort  Augusta,  built  1756,  Sunbury,  Northumberland 
County. 

Fort  Halifax,  built  1756,  Halifax,  Dauphin  County. 

Fort  Hunter,  built  1756,  Rockville,  Dauphin  County. 

Fort  Manada,  built  1756,  Manada  Gap,  Dauphin 
County. 


222  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Fort  Swatara,  built  1756,  Swatara  Gap,  Lebanon 
County. 

Fort  Henry,  built  1756,  Millersburg,  Berks  County. 

Fort  Northkill,  built  1756,  Strausstown,  Berks  County. 

Fort  Lebanon,  built  1756,  Auburn,  Schuylkill  County. 

Fort  Franklin,  built  1756,  Snydersville,  Schuylkill 
County. 

Fort  Everett,  built  1756,  Lynnport,  Lehigh  County. 

Fort  Allen,  built  1756,  Weissport,  Carbon  County. 

Fort  Norris,  built  1756,  Kresgeville,  Monroe  County. 

Fort  Hamilton,  built  1756,  Stroudsburg,  Monroe 
County. 

Fort  Hyndshaw,  built  1756,  Bushkill,  Monroe  County. 

Each  defense,  whether  regular  or  subsidiary,  will  be 
taken  up  separately,  and  its  record  given.  Those  along 
the  Blue  Range,  which  are  especially  germane  to  our 
subject,  will  be  treated  fully,  while  those  north  of  the 
mountains,  and  west  of  the  Susquehanna,  will  be  touched 
upon  more  lightly. 

Various  rolls  are  in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.  A  number  of 
them  refer  to  the  militia  of  the  "  lower  counties,"  Phila- 
delphia County  in  especial,  who  saw  no  active  service.  In 
other  cases  the  provincial  establishment  is  given  from  one 
year  to  another,  thereby  repeating  names  of  officers.  I 
have  selected  certain  lists,  which  bear  especially  upon  our 
subject  and  which,  at  the  same  time,  give  the  reader  much 
information  in  connection  with  it,  which  should  serve  to 
make  clear  the  incidents  and  facts  related  herein.  I  be- 
lieve them  to  be  all  that  may  be  needed  for  our  purpose. 
They  are  given  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 
Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War. 

Officers  of  the  Provincial  Service, 

1755- 
^*  HESE  refer  especially  to  what 
\&      I  have  called  the  short  term 
independent  companies. 

Lieutenant  Colonels. 
James  Burd, 
Benjamin  Chambers, 
Conrad  Weiser. 
Timothy  Horsfield, 

Major. 
William  Parsons. 

Captains. 
George  Croghan,  "  at  Aughwick." 
Alexander  Culbertson,  "  Lurgan  twp.,  Cumb.  Co." 
Rev.  John  Steel,  "  at  McDowell's  Mill." 
Christian  Busse. 
Hans  Hamilton. 

Jacob  Morgan,  "  Forks  of  Schuylkill." 
James  Wright. 

William  Trent,  "  mouth  of  Conegochege." 

(223) 


224  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Isaac  Wayne,  "  at  Nazareth." 

James  McLaughlin. 

Frederick  Smith,  "  at  Tolehaio  &  Monody." 

Jonas  Seely. 

Adam  Reed,  "  on  Susquehanna." 

John  Van  Etten,  "  Upper  Smithfield,  North'n  Co. 

Craig,  "  Lehigh  twp.,  North'n  Co." 

Trexler,  "  Lyn  &  Heidleberg  twp.,  North'n  Co." 

Nicholas  Wetherholt.    ' 

Charles  Foulk,  "  at  Gnadenhutten." 

Jacob  Orndt,  "  at  Gnadenhutten." 

Thomas  McKee,  "  at  Hunter's  Mills." 

James  Patterson. 

Rev.  Thomas  Barton. 

Adam  Hoopes  (commissary). 

Dr.  Mercer,  "  at  Fort  Shirley." 

Lieutenants. 

Davis,  William  Spearing, 

James  Hyndshaw,  James  Hays. 

A  List  of  the  off'rs  in  the  Province  Pay,  with  the 
Dates  of  their  Commissions   (1756-7). 

Commissary  General  of  Musters. 
Elisha  Saltar,  March  28,   1756. 
First  Battalion. 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Conrad  Weiser,  May  5,  1756. 
Major,  William  Parsons,  May  14,  1756. 
Captain,  Conrad  Weiser  (L.  C),  May  5,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  Samuel  Weiser,  Capt.  Lieut.,  July  3,  1756. 
Ensign,  Henry  Geiger,  December  20,  1755. 
Captain,  William  Parsons,  (M)  May  14,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  Jacob  Wetterholt,  December  20,  1755,  left 
out  in  the  new  regulation,  December,  1757. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  225 

Ensign,  Martin  Everhart,  December  20,  1755,  left  out 
in  the  new  regulation,  December,  1757. 

Captain,  Frederick  Smith,  November  14,  1755. 
Lieutenant,  Anthony  Mill,  December  29,  1755. 
Ensign,  Nicholas  Conrad,  December  29,  1755. 
Captain,  Jacob  Morgan,  December  5,  1755. 
Lieutenant,  Andrew  Engle,  January  5,  1756. 
Ensign,  Jacob  Kern,  January  5,  1756. 
Cap  tain,  John  Nicholas  Wetterholt,  December  21, 1755. 
Lieutenant,  James  Hyndshaw,  January  12,  1756. 
Ensign,  Daniel  Harry,  January  26,   1756;  left  out  in 
the  new  regulation,  December,  1757. 

Captain,  Christian  Busse,  January  5,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  Samuel  Humphreys,  January  25,  1756. 
Ensign,  William  Johnson,  March  12,  1756. 

Captain,  Jacob  Orndt,  April  19,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  Philip  Marsloff,  April  27,  1756;  left  out  in 
the  new  regulation,  December,  1757. 

Ensign,  Jacob  Krieder,  May  19,  1756. 

Captain,  John  Van  Etten,  May,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Allen,  May  19,  1756. 

Ensign,  Jacob  Snyder. 

Sergeant,  Color,  John  Van  Etten,  Jun. 

Sergeant,  Leonard  Derr. 

Captain,  George  Reynolds,  May  17,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Philip  Weiser,  July  3,  1756. 

Captain,  James  Patterson. 

Lieutenant,  Hugh  Crawford. 

Ensign,  Thomas  Smallman. 

Captain,  Charles  Foulk. 

Lieutenant,  Michael  Beltz. 

Sergeant,  John  White. 

Sergeant,  Dewalt  Bossing. 

Corporal,  Christian  Weirick. 


226  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Privates. 
Michael  Laury,  Killian  Long. 

Second  Battalion. 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  John  Armstrong,  May  n,   1756. 

Surgeon,  Dr.  Jamison;  killed  by  the  Indians  near  Mc- 
Cord's  Fort,  April,  1756. 

Commissary  of  Provisions ,  Adams  Hoopes. 

Captain,  John  Armstrong,  January,  1756;  Lieutenant 
Colonel.     Wounded  at  Kittanning,  September  7,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Robert  Callender,  (Captain  Lieutenant), 
January  16,  1756. 

Ensign,  James  Potter,  February  17,  1756. 

Privates. 
Caruthers,  Jas.,  wounded  at  K. 
Forster,  Thomas,  wounded  at  K. 
McCormick,  John,  killed  at  K. 
Power,  Thomas,  killed  at  K. 
Strickland,  James,  wounded  at  K. 
Captain,  Hance  Hamilton,  January  16,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  William  Thompson,  January  16,  1756. 
Ensign,  John  Prentice,  May  22,  1756. 
Sergeant,  William  McDowell. 
Private,  Kelly,  John,  killed  at  K. 
Captain,  John  Potter,  February  17,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  William  Armstrong,  May  10,  1756. 
Ensign,  James  Potter,  April  17,  1756,  wounded  at  K. 

Privates. 

Douglass,  Andrew,  wounded  at  K. 

Corkem,  James,  captured  by  the  Indians,  November, 
1756. 

Cornwall,  William,  captured  by  the  Indians,  November, 
1756. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  227 

McCafferty,  Bartholomew,  killed  near  McDowell's 
Fort,  November,  1756. 

McDonald,  James,  killed  near  McDowell's  Fort,  No- 
vember, 1756. 

McDonald,  William,  killed  near  McDowell's  Fort,  No- 
vember, 1756. 

McQuoid,  Anthony,  killed  near  McDowell's  Fort,  No- 
vember, 1756. 

Captain,  Hugh  Mercer, 'March  6,  1756,  wounded  at  K. 

Lieutenant,  James  Jayes,  May  22,  1756. 

Ensign,  William  Lyon,  May  22,  1756,  resigned. 

Ensign,  John  Scott,  July,  1756,  wounded  at  K. 

Privates. 
Baker,  John,  killed  at  Kittanning. 
Burke,  Thomas.24 
Carrigan,  Bryan,  killed  at  K. 
Fitzgibbins,  Richard,  wounded  at  K. 
Kilpatrick,  Dennis,  killed  at  K. 
McCartney,  John,  killed  at  K. 
McGinnis,  Cornelius,  killed  at  K. 
Minskey,  Emanuel.24 
Morrow,  Robert.24 
Mullen,  Patrick,  killed  at  K. 
Pendergrass,  Philip.24 
Phillips,  Francis.24 
Taylor,  John.24 

Thompson,  Theophilus,  killed  at  K. 
Captain,  George  Armstrong,  May  22,  1756. 
Lieutenant,  James  Hogg,  May,  1756,  killed  at  K. 
Ensign,  Nathaniel  Cartland,  May  22,  1756;  left  out  in 
the  new  regulation,  December,  1757. 

24  Missing  at  the  capture  of  Kittanning. 


228  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Privates. 

Anderson,  James,  killed  at  K. 

Appleby,  George.24 

Baker,  William.24 

Camplin,  Thomas,  wounded  at  K. 

Findley,  William,  wounded  at  K. 

Ferral,  John,  wounded  at  K. 

Grissy,  Anthony.24 

Higgins,  James,  killed  at  K. 

Hunter,  William.24 

Lasson,  John,  killed  at  K. 

Lewis,  John.24 

O'Brien,  Edward,  killed  at  K. 

O'Neal,  Charles,  wounded  at  K. 

Robinson,  Robert,  wounded  at  K. 

Stringer,  Holdcraft,  killed  at  K. 

Swan,  Thomas.24 

Captain,  Edward  Ward,  May  22,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Edward  Armstrong,  May  22,  1756;  killed 
at  the  capture  and  burning  of  Fort  Granville,  July  30, 
1756. 

Ensign,  John  Lowdon,  April  19,  1756,  "living  at  Sus- 
quehanna." 

Privates. 

Bratton,  Ephraim,  wounded  at  K. 

Chambers,  Samuel.24 

Daunahow,  Lawrence.24 

Myers,  Patrick.24 

Welch,  William,  killed  at  K. 

Captain,  Rev.  John  Steel,  March  25,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  James  Holliday,  March  25,  1756. 

Ensign,  Archibald  Irwin,  April,  1756. 

Private,  Cannaberry,  Terence.24 

24  Missing  at  the  capture  of  Kittanning. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  229 

Captain,  Alexander  Culbertson;  killed  by  the  Indians 
near  McCord's  Fort,  April,  1756. 

Captain,  Joseph  Montgomery,  October  5,  1756. 
Ensign,  Thomas  Smallman,  May  22,  1756. 

Third  Battalion. 

(Third  Battalion  (known  as  Augusta  Regiment) .  "  In 
1756,  I  again  entered  the  service  as  a  Sergeant,  in  Capt. 
Thomas  Lloyd's  company,  and  at  my  arrival  at  John  Har- 
ris' (now  Harrisburg),  where  the  Battalion  which  was 
intended  to  march  against  the  Indians  at  Shamokin,  ren- 
dezvouzed  under  the  immediate  command  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Province,  Robert  Hunter  Morris,  I  was  se- 
lected to  attend  the  Commander-in-Chief  as  Orderly-Ser- 
geant, in  which  capacity  I  continued  until  a  day  or  two 
before  the  Governor  left,  when  he  was  pleased  to  give  me 
an  Ensign's  commission.  As  soon  as  the  troops  were  col- 
lected and  properly  equipped,  we  marched  for  Shamokin. 
We  crossed  the  Susquehanna  and  marched  on  the  west  side 
thereof,  until  we  came  opposite  to  where  the  town  of  Sun- 
bury  now  stands,  where  we  crossed  over  in  Batteaux.  In 
building  the  fort  at  Shamokin,  Capt.  Levi  Trump  and 
myself  had  charge  of  the  workmen,  and  after  it  was 
finished  our  Battalion  remained  there  in  garrison  until  the 
year  1758." — Miles  manuscript.) 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  William  Clapham,  March  29,1756. 

Major,  James  Burd,  April  24,  1756. 

Adjutant,  Asher  Clayton,  May  24,  1756. 

Aid-de-Camp,  Thomas  Lloyd,  April  2,  1756. 

Commissary  of  Provisions,  Peter  Bard. 

Waggon  Master,  &c.,  Robert  Irwin,  April  12,  1756. 


230  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Captain,  William  Clapham,  March  29,  1756;  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel. 

Lieutenant,  Levi  Trump,  April  3,  1756. 

Ensign,  John  Mears,  April  20,  1756. 

Captain,  Thomas  Lloyd,  April  2,  1756;  Aid-de-Camp. 

Lieutenant,  Patrick  Davis  (Davies),  April  4,  1756. 

Ensign,  Samuel  J.  Atlee,  April  23,  1756. 

Captain,  Joseph  Shippen,  April  3,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Charles  Garraway,  April  15,  1756. 

Ensign,  Charles  Brodhead,  April  29,  1756. 

Captain,  Patrick  Work,  April  22,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Daniel  Clark,  May  1,  1756. 

Ensign,  William  Patterson,  May  14,  1756. 

Captain,  James  Burd,  April  24,  1756;  Major. 

Lieutenant,  William  Anderson,  May  10,  1756. 

Ensign,  John  Morgan,  May  24,  1756. 

Captain,  Elisha  Saltar,  May  11,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  Asher  Clayton,  May  24,  1756;  Adjutant. 

Ensign,  Samuel  Miles,  May  24,  1756;  to  Lieutenant, 
August  21,  1756. 

Ensign,  Alexander  McKee. 

Captain,  David  Jameson,  May  1,  1756. 

Lieutenant,  William  Clapham,  Jr.,  August  20,  1756. 

Ensign,  Joseph  Scott,  May  24,  1756. 

Captain,  John  Hambright,  June  12,   1756. 

Lieutenant,  William  Plunkett. 

Ensign,  Patrick  Allison,  June  25,  1756. 

Captain,  Nathaniel  Miles. 

Lieutenant,  Bryan. 

Ensign, Johnson. 

Sergeant, McCurdy. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  231 

Men  of  Captain  Jamison's  Company  Killed  or 

Wounded  Near  McCord's  Fort,  April  2,  1756. 
(Franklin  County,  a  few  miles  N.  W.  of  Loudoun,  Pa.) 

Barnett,  John,  killed. 

Campbell,  James. 

Chambers,  William,  killed. 

Gutton,  Matthew. 

Hunter,  William. 

James,  Henry. 

McDonald,  John. 

Mackey,  Daniel,  killed. 

Pierce,  James,  killed. 

Reynolds,  John,  killed. 

Reynolds,  William. 

Robertson,  James  (tailor),  killed. 

Robertson,  James  (weaver),  killed- 

Station  of  the  Provincial  Forces;  June,  1756. 
Reading,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Weiser's  company. 
Fort  at  North  Kill,  Lieutenant  Engle,  Sergeant  and  16 
men  of  Captain  Jacob  Morgan's  company^ 

Fort  Lebanon,  Captain  Morgan's  militia  detachment. 
Fort  Henry,  Captain  Christian  Busse. 
Fort  Allen,  at  Gnadenhutten,  Lieutenant  Jacob  Meas 
with  25  men  of  Captain  Chas.  Foulk's  company. 
Fort  N orris,  Captain  Jacob  Orndt  and  21  men. 
{Hyndshaw  Fort),  Lieutenant  James  Hyndshaw,   of 
Captain  Wetterholt's  company. 

Wind  Gap,  Ensign  Daniel  Harry,  of  Captain  Wetter- 
holt's  company. 

Nazareth  Mill,  Captain  Enslee,  Ensign  Enslee  and  24 

men. 

Lehigh  Gap,  north  side,  Sergeant  and  8  men. 


232  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Fort  Hamilton,  Lieutenant and  15  men. 

Dupue's,  Captain  Wetterholt's  company. 

Harris's,  Sergeant and  12  men. 

Hunter's  Fort,  Ensign  Johnson  and  24  men. 
McKee's  Store,  Ensign  Mears  and  24  men. 
Fort  Halifax,  Captain  Nathaniel  Miles  and  30  men. 

Captain  Frederick  Smith's  Company. 

"In  the  Hole,"  at  the  Moravian  House,  8  men. 

11  Fort  tinder  the  Hill,"  24  men. 

"Manity  (Manada)  Fort,"  Lieutenant  Miller  and  16 
men.  Jacob  Ellis  and  James  Brown  killed  by  Indians, 
August  6,  1756. 

Captain  Christian  Busse's  Company. 
"At  Bernard  Friedli's,  next  to  the  Moravians,"  10  men. 
"At  Casper  Snebelie's,"  8  men. 
"At  Daniel  Shue's  or  Peter  Kolp's,"  6  men. 

Names  of  the  Officers  in  the  Pay  of  the  Province 
of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  Dates  of  their 
Commissions,  their  Companies,  and  Where 
Posted;  December,  1757. 
The  Governor,  Hon.  William  Denny,  Colonel. 
Lieutenant,  Asher  Clayton,  December  1,  1757;  Captain 
Lieutenant. 

Alexander  McKee. 
Ensign,  Joseph  Falsoner,  December  7,  1757. 

(Late  Clapham's  company,  Fort  Augusta.) 
Captain,  Conrad  Weiser,  December  1,  1757  ;  Lieutenant 
Colonel. 

Samuel  Weiser. 
Lieutenant,  Samuel  Allen,  December  2,  1757. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  233 

Ensign,  Edward  Biddle,  December  3,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  John  Armstrong,  December  2,  1757;  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel. 

Lieutenant,  James  Potter,  December  4,  1757. 

Ensign,  Stiltzer,  December,   1757. 

Martin  Heidler. 

(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  James  Burd,  December  3,  1757;  Major. 
Lieutenant,  William  Patterson,  December  12,  1757. 
Ensign,  Thomas  Hays,  December  2,  1757. 
Caleb  Gray  don,  December,  1757. 
(Fort  Augusta.) 

Captain,  Hugh  Mercer,  December  4,  1757  ;  Major. 
Lieutenant,  Thomas  Smallman,  December  5,  1757. 
Ensign,  Robert  Anderson,  December  5,  1757. 
(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Christian  Busse,  December  5,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Jacob  Kerns,  December  23,  1757  ;  Adjutant. 
Ensign,  George  Craighead,  December  8,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Hance  Hamilton,  December  6,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Jacob  Snyder,  December  13,  1757. 
Ensign,  Hugh  Crawford,  March  II,  1758. 
(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Thomas  Lloyd,  December  7,  1757  (February 

22,  1758). 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Miles,  December  14,  1757. 
Ensign,  Adam  Henry,  December  6,  1757. 
(Fort  Augusta.) 


234  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Captain,  Joseph  Shippen,  December  8,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Joseph  Scott,  December  15,  1757. 
Ensign,  Henry  Haller,  December  12,  1757. 
(Fort  Augusta.) 

Captain,  David  Jamison,  December  9,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  William  Reynolds,  December  19,  1757. 

Ensign, Gardner,  March  10  (1758). 

(Fort  Augusta.) 

Captain,  Jacob  Orndt,  December  10,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  James  Hays,  December  3,  1757. 
Ensign,  Joseph  Quicksell,  December  9,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Patrick  Work,  December  11,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Samuel  J.  Atlee,  December  7,  1757. 
Ensign,  Caleb  Graydon,  December  13,  1757. 
(Fort  Augusta.) 

Captain,  George  Armstrong,  December  12,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  John  Prentice,  December  6,  1757. 
Ensign,  Francis  Johnston,  December  15,   1757;  trans- 
ferred. 

James  Pollock,  January  4  (1758). 
(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Edward  Ward,  December  13,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Henry  Geiger,  December  21,  1757. 
Ensign,  Joseph  Armstrong,  February  22  (1758). 
(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  John  Hambright,  December  14,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Patrick  Allison,  December  16,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Morgan,  December  1,  1757. 
(Fort  Augusta.) 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  235 

Captain,  Robert  Callender,  December  15,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Thomas  Hutchins,  December  18,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Philip  De  Haas. 

(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  James  Patterson,  December  16,   1757. 
Lieutenant,  Nicholas  Conrad,  December  22,  1757. 
Ensign,  Edmund  Matthews,  March  14  (1758). 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Levi  Trump,  December  17,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Charles  Brodhead,  December  8,  1757. 
Ensign,  Jacob  Morgan,  Jun.,  March  12  (1758). 
(Fort  Augusta.) 

Captain,  Jacob  Morgan,  December  18,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Samuel  Humphreys,  December  11,  1757. 
Ensign,  Joseph  Armstrong,  Jun.,  February  22  (1758). 

Daniel  Harry,  December  6,  1757. 
Sergeant,  Robert  Smith. 

Edmund  Matthews. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,    John    Nicholas   Wetherholt,    December    19, 

1757* 

Lieutenant,  James  Laughrey,  December  20,  1757. 

Ensign,  John  Lyttle,  December  11,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Samuel  Weiser,  December  20,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  James  Hyndshaw,  December  10,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Kennedy,  December  13,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  William  Thompson,  December  21,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  William  Lyon,  December  6,  1757. 
Ensign,  Thomas  Hayes,  December  2,  1757. 
(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 


236  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Captain,  Patrick  Davis,  December  22,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Andrew  Engle,  December  9,  1757. 
Ensign,  James  Hughes,  December  4,  1757. 
William  Work,  March  15   (1758). 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Charles  Garraway,  December  23,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Alexander  McKee,  December  17,  1757. 
Ensign,  James  Hughes,  December  4,  1757. 
(Eastward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  William  Armstrong,  December  24,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  William  Blyth,  December  24,  1757. 
Ensign,  Francis  Johnston. 

(Westward  of  Susquehanna.) 

Muster  Roll  of  all  the  Men  who  have  Enlisted 
for  the  Space  of  Three  Years  of  the  Com- 
pany  UNDER   THE    COMMAND   OF    CAPTAIN 

John  Nicholas  Weatherholt,  Sta- 
tioned in  Heydelberg  Township, 
Northampton  County,  for 
Months  of  March  and 
April,  1758. 
(Name,  age,  where  born,  date  of  enlistment  and  occu- 
pation.) 
Captain,  John  Nicholas  Weatherholt,  34,  Ger.,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1755. 

Lieutenant,  James  Laughrey,  December  20,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Lytle,  December  11,  1757. 
Surgeon,  Jacob  Streader,  33,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Drummer,  Leonard  Hayshill,  36,  Ger.,   December  4, 

1757- 

Fifer,  John  Kaup,  25,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  237 

Sergeants,  Cass,  Peter,  26,  Ger.,  September   1,   1757, 
shipper. 

Wassum,   Conrad,  39,   Ger.,   September   1, 

1757- 
Corporals,  Acre,  Henry,  23,  Penna.,  September  1,  1757. 
Lutz,  John,  25,  Ger.,  September  1,   1757, 
tailor. 

Privates. 

Althain,  Nicholas,  24,  Ger.,  January  1,  1758. 

Billik,  Frederick,  19,  Penn'a,  September  1,  1757. 

Bowman,  Christian,  22,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 

Brining,  Philip,  27,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 

Brown,  George,  23,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757,  butcher. 

Buckhamer,  John,  25,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 

Crantlemeyer,  Philip,  21,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 

Creekery  (Gregory),  George,  16,  Penn'a,  September  1, 

1757- 

Dadson,  Richard,  24,  Penn'a,  November  28,  1757. 

Deatenberger,  Henry,  36,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Deatry,  Nicholas,  18,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Dormeyer,  Jacob,  23,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Everhard,  Conrad,  23,  Ger.,  October  13,  1757,  weaver. 
Flaek,  John,  25,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Fisher,  Matthias,  20,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Fry  del,  Christopher,  24,  Ger.,  February  7,  1758. 
George,  Adam,  17,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Gips,  Nicholas,  20,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Granshaar,  John,  21,  Ger.,  December  5,  1757,  house- 
carpenter. 

Henry,  George,  35,  Ger.,  October  25,  1757. 
Husley,  Jacob,  23,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Kline,  John,  24,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 


238  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Kline,  Philip,  34,  Ger.,  June  14,  1757. 
Koch,  William,  25,  Penn'a,  September  6,  1757. 
Laughry,  Dennis,  20,  Ir.,  February  1,   1758. 
Lieser,  Frederick,  19,  Ger.,  June  21,  1757. 
Miller,  Nicholas,  17,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Miller,  Peter,  22,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Neifert,  Jacob,  21,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Paul,  Nicholas,  21,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Preis,  John  George,  21,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Reag,  Peter,  37,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757,  baker. 
Reifel,  Jacob,  23,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757,  carpenter. 
Road,  Godfried,  26,  Ger.,  September  6,  1757,  blue-dyer. 
Road,  Jacob,  23,  Penn'a,  September  6,  1757. 
Rost,  Henry,  23,  Ger.,  February  15,  1758. 
Sealner,  John,  35,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Shenk,  Jacob,  20,  Ger.,  November  6,  1757. 
Shmaus,  Conrad,  22,  Ger.,  Sept.  1,  1757. 
Stahl,  George,  23,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Steap,  Peter,  22,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757. 
Stouter,  Casper,  25,  Ger.,  September  1,   1757,  fiddler. 
Weyerbacher,  John,  30,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757,  tailor. 
Wurtenberg,  Michael,,  22,  Ger.,  December  1,  1757. 
Yoder,  Jacob,  22,  Penn'a,  November  6,  1757,  saddler. 
Zips,  Joseph,  20,  Ger.,  September  1,  1757,  tailor. 

The  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  Consisting  of  Three 
Battalions,  the  Honourable  William  Denny, 
Esquire,  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania,  Colonel- 
in-Chief;  1758. 
Brevet  I /untenant  Colonel,  Joseph  Shippen. 
Commissary    of    the    Musters    and    Paymaster,    James 
Young. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  239 

Surgeon,  John  Bond,  at  Fort  Augusta,  May  11,  1758. 
Chaplain,  Rev.  Thomas  Barton,  June  11,  1758. 
Wagon  Master,  Robert  Irwin. 

Deputy  Wagon  Master,  Mordecai  Thompson,  of  Ches- 
ter County. 

First  Battalion. 

Colonel  Commandant,  John  Armstrong,  May  27,  1758. 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  Hance  Hamilton,  May  31,  1758. 
Patrick  Work,  March,  1759. 

Major,  Jacob  Orndt,  June  2,  1758. 

Surgeon,  John  (Thomas)  Blair,  December  2,  1757. 

Chaplain,  Charles  Beatty,  June  9,  1758. 

Adjutant,  John  Philip  de  Haas,  April  30,  1758. 

Robert  Anderson,  December  5,  1757  ;  to  First 
Lieutenant  April  30,  1758. 

Quarter  Master,  Thomas  Smallman,  May  5,  1758. 

Captain,  The  Hon'ble  William  Denny,  Esquire. 

Captain  Lieutenant,  Samuel  Allen,  January  9,  1758. 

Ensign,  James  Hughes,  December  4,  1757;  promoted 
to  Lieutenant  March  17,  1759. 

Ensign,  James  Piper,  from  Captain  Byers'  Company, 
March  18,  1759  (late  Smith's  Company  east  of  Susque- 
hanna) . 

Captain,  John  Armstrong,  December  2,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  James  Potter,  December  4,  1757  ;  promoted 
to  Captain  February  17,  1759. 

Ensign,  Fred'k  Van  Hombach,  April  2,  1758. 
(West  of  Susquehanna.) 

Captain,  Hugh  Mercer,  December  4,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  Thomas  Smallman,  December  5,  1757;  to 
Captain,  vice  Work,  March,  1759 

Ensign,  Robert  Anderson,  December  5,1757;  promoted 
to  Lieutenant,  March  17,  1759. 


240  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Ensign,  Andrew  Wackerberg,  March  19,  1757. 
Captain,  Hance  Hamilton,  December  6,  1757. 
Lieutenant,   Jacob   Snaidor    (Sneider),    December    13, 
1757;  resigned  April  12,  1759. 
Ensign,  Hugh  Crawford,  March  11,  1758. 
(At  Fort  Bedford,  April  12,   1759.) 

Captain,  George  Armstrong,  December  12,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  John  Prentice,  December  6,  1757;  to  Cap- 
tain, vice  Garraway,  March,  1759. 

Ensign,  John  Lyttle,  December  11,  1757. 
Captain,  Edward  Ward,  December  13,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Henry  Geiger,  December  21,  1757. 
Ensign,  James  Pollock,  January  4,  1758. 

Casper  Stadtler,  March  20,  1759. 
Captain,  Robert  Callender,  December  15,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Thomas  Hutchins,  December  18,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Philip  de  Haas,  January  3,  1758. 
Captain,  James  Patterson,  December  16,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Nicholas  Conrad,  December  22,   1757. 
Ensign,  Edmund  Mathews,  March  14,  1757. 
Captain,    John    Nicholas    Wetterholt,    December    19, 

1757- 

Lieutenant,  James  Laughrey,  December  20,  1757;  re- 
signed March  17,  1759. 

Lieutenant,  Robert  Anderson,  from  Ensign,  March  18, 

1759- 

Ensign,  Joseph  Armstrong,  February  22,  1758. 

Jacob  Orndt,  March  21,  1759. 

Captain,  William  Thompson,  December  21,  1757;  re- 
signed February  17, 1759. 

Captain,  James  Potter,  from  Lieutenant,  February  17, 
1759- 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  241 

Lieutenant,  William  Lyon,  December  6,  1757;  resigned 
March  17,  1759. 

Lieutenant,  Edward  Biddle,  from  Ensign,  February  1, 

1759- 

Ensign,  Thomas  Hayes,  December  2,  1757. 

Captain,  Patrick  Davis,  December  22,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  Charles  Brodhead,  December  8,   1757;  to 
Captain,  vice  Busse,  March,  1759. 

Ensign,  William  Work,  March  15,  1758. 
Captain,  Charles  Garraway,  December  23,  1757. 

John  Prentice,  from  Lieutenant,  March,  1759. 
Lieutenant,  James  Hyndshaw,  December  10,  1757. 
Ensign,  John  Kennedy,  December  13,  1757. 
Captain,  William  Armstrong,  December  24,  1757. 
Lieutenant,  William  Blyth,  December  24,  1757. 
Ensign,  Conrad  Bucher,  April  1,  1758. 
Captain,  Richard  Walker,  April  24,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  John  Craig,  April  24,  1758. 
Ensign,  Robert  Crawford,  April  24,  1758. 
Captain,  David  Hunter,  April  25,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  Andrew  Finley,  April  25,  1758. 
Ensign,  William  Hadden,  April  25,  1758. 
Captain,  John  McKnight,  April  26,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  Davis  McAllister,  April  26,  1758. 
Ensign,  Archibald  Lochry,  April  26,  1758. 

Troop  of  Light  Horse. 
Captain,  William  Thompson,  May  1,  1758. 
First  Lieutenant,  Robert  Anderson,  April  30,  1758. 
Second  Lieutenant,  John  Lyttle,  May  1,  1758. 

Second  Battalion. 
("In  the  year  1758,  the  expedition  against  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  now  Pittsburg,  was  undertaken,  and  our  Battalion 
20 


242  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

joined  the  British  Army  at  Carlisle.  At  this  time  Capt. 
Lloyd  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lt.  Col.,  but 
retained  his  company  of  which  I  had  the  command  as 
Capt.  Lieutenant,  and  was  left  some  time  in  command  of 
the  garrison  at  Shippensburg.  On  my  marching  from 
thence  with  a  brigade  of  wagons  under  my  charge,  at 
Chambers'  about  eleven  miles  from  Shippensburg,  the 
men  mutinied,  and  were  preparing  to  march,  but  by  my 
reasoning  with  them  and  at  the  same  time  threatening 
them,  the  most  of  them  consented  to  resume  their  march 
to  Fort  Loudon,  where  Lieut.  Scott  was  with  eight  or  ten 
months'  pay.  While  the  army  lay  at  Ligonier,  we  were 
attacked  by  a  body  of  French  and  Indians,  and  I  was 
wounded  in  the  foot  by  a  spent  ball.  In  November  of  this 
year  (Nov.  25),  the  Army  took  possession  of  Fort  Du- 
quesne,  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Forbes,  a  poor  ema- 
ciated old  man  who,  for  the  most  part  of  our  march  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  in  a  horse  litter.  In  the  year  1759, 
I  was  stationed  at  Ligonier,  and  had  25  men  picked  out 
of  the  two  battalions  under  my  command,  &c." — Miles' 
manuscript.) 

Colonel  Commandant,  James  Burd,  May  28,  1758. 

Lieutenant  Colonel,  Thomas  Lloyd,  May  30,  1758. 

Major,  David  Jamison,  June  3,  1758. 

Joseph  Shippen,  December,  1758. 

Surgeon,  John  Morgan,  December  1,  1757. 

Chaplain,  John  Steel,  December  1,  1757. 
Hector  Allison,  March,  1759. 

Adjutant,  Jacob  Kern,  December  23,  1757. 

Quarter-Master,  Asher  Clayton,  June  8,  1758. 

Commissary,  Peter  Bard. 

Cadet,  Joseph  Hassey. 

Captain,  James  Burd,  December  3,  1757 ;  to  Colonel. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  243 

Lieutenant,  James  Hayes,  December  3,  1757;  wounded 
at  Grant's  defeat  near  Fort  Duquesne,  September  14, 
1758;  resigned  November  13,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Caleb  Graydon,  from  Ensign,  November 

13.  1758- 

Ensign,  Caleb  Graydon,  December  2,  1757;  to  Lieu- 
tenant, November  13,  1758. 

Ensign,  George  Price,  March  17,  1759. 

Captain,  Thomas  Lloyd,  December  7,  1757;  to  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Miles,  December  14,  1757. 

Ensign,  Adam  Henry,  December  6,  1757. 

Captain,  Christian  Busse,  December  5,  1757. 

Charles  Brodhead,  from  Lieutenant,  March, 

1759  (?)■ 

Lieutenant,  Jacob  Kerns,  December  23,  1757  ;  Adjutant. 

Ensign,  George  Craighead,  December  8,  1757. 

Captain,  Joseph  Shippen,  December  8,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  Joseph  Scott,  December  15,  1757. 

Ensign,  Henry  Haller,  December  12,  1757;  reported 
"  missing  "  at  Grant's  defeat  near  Fort  Duquesne,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1758. 

Captain,  Patrick  Work,  December  11,  1757. 

Thomas   Smallman,    from   Lieutenant,    First 
Battalion,  March,  1759. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  J.  Atlee,  December  7,  1757;  to 
Captain,  vice  Weiser,  March,  1759. 

Ensign,  John  Baird,  March  13,  1758. 

Captain,  Jacob  Orndt,  December  10,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  William  Patterson,  December  3,  1757. 

Ensign,  Joseph  Quicksell,  December  9,  1757. 

Captain,  David  Jamison,  December  9,  1757. 


244  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Lieutenant,  William  Reynolds,  December  19,  1757; 
wounded  at  Grant's  defeat  near  Fort  Duquesne,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1758;  resigned  March  17,  1759. 

Lieutenant,  James  Hughes,   from  Ensign,   March   17, 

1759- 

Ensign,  Francis  Johnston,  December  10,  1757. 

Captain,  John  Hambright,  December  14,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  Patrick  Allison,  December  16,  1757. 

Ensign,  Martin  Heidler,  March  16,  1758. 

Captain,  Levi  Trump,  December  17,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  John  Morgan,  April  1,  1758. 

Ensign,  Jacob  Morgan,  Jun.,  March  12,  1758. 

Captain,  Jacob  Morgan,  December  18,  1757. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Humphreys,  December  11,  1757. 

Ensign,  Daniel  Harry,  December  6,  1757;  resigned 
March  17,  1759. 

Ensign,  Samuel  Montgomery,  March  17,  1759. 

Captain,  Samuel  Weiser,  December  20,  1757. 

Samuel   J.   Atlee,    from   Lieutenant,    March, 

1759- 
Lieutenant,  William  Clapham,  January  9,  1758. 

Ensign,  Edward  Biddle,  December  3,  1757;  to  Lieu- 
tenant, February  1,  1759. 

Ensign, Clayton,  March  17,  1759. 

Captain,  Asher  Clayton,  January  9,  1758;  wounded  at 
Grant's  defeat  near  Fort  Duquesne,  September  14,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Alexander  McKee,  December  17,  1757. 

Ensign,  Joseph  Falconer,  December,  1757. 

Captain,  John  Byers,  April  27,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Ezekiel  Dunning,  April  27,  1758. 

Ensign,  James  Piper,  April  27,  1758  ;  to  Ensign  of  Cap- 
tain Denny's  Company,  March  18,  1759. 

Captain,  John  Haslett,  April  28,  1758. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  245 

Lieutenant,  William  Clinton,  April  28,  1758. 

Ensign,  Robert  Bines,  April  28,  1758. 

Captain,  John  Singleton,  April  29,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  John  Emmitt,  April  29,  1758,  Chester 
County. 

Ensign,  John  Jones,  April  29,  1758. 

Captain,  Robert  Eastburn,  April  30,  1758;  "Prisoner 
at  Canada." 

Lieutenant,  Josiah  Davenport,  April  30,  1758. 

Ensign,  George  Price,  April  30,  1758  ;  to  Captain  Burd's 
Company,  March  17,  1759. 

Troop  of  Light  Horse. 
Captain,  John  Hambright,  May  2,  1758. 
First  Lieutenant,  Patrick  Allison,  May  2,  1758. 
Second  Lieutenant,  William  Clapham,  May  2,  1758. 

Third  Battalion. 
Colonel  Commandant,  Hugh  Mercer,  May  29,  1758. 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  Patrick  Work,  June  1,  1758. 
Major,  George  Armstrong,  June  4,  1758. 
Surgeon,  Robert  Bines,  May  9,  1758. 
Chaplain,  Andrew  Bay,  July,  1758. 
Adjutant,  James  Ewing,  June  7,  1758. 
Quarter-Master,  Thomas  Hutchins,  June  7,  1758. 
Sergeant-Major,  Samuel  Culbertson. 
Captain,  Robert  Boyd,  May  1,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  Daniel  Boyd,  May  1,  1758. 
Ensign,  James  Culbertson,  May  1,  1758. 
Captain,  John  Blackwood,  May  2,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  William  Johnson,  May  2,  1758. 
Ensign,  Thomas  Godfrey,  May  2,  1758. 
Captain,  James  Sharp,  May  3,  1758. 
Lieutenant,  Sir  Collingwood  Flemming,  B't.,  May  3, 
1758. 


246  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Ensign,  Samuel  Lindsey,  May  3,  1758. 

Captain,  Adam  Read,  May  4,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  John  Simpson,  May  4,  1758. 

Ensign,  Hugh  Hall,  May  4,  1758,  "  of  a  reputable  and 
good  Family  in  Lancaster  County." 

Captain,  Samuel  Nelson,  May  5,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Nathaniel  Patterson,  May  5,  1758. 

Ensign,  John  Nelson,  May  5,  1758. 

Captain,  John  Montgomery,  May  7,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  William  Maclay,  May  7,  1758. 

Ensign,  John  Haddon,  June  6,  1758. 

Captain,  George  Ashton,  May  8,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Cromwell  Pierce,  May  8,  1758. 

Ensign,  Andrew  Wilkey,  to  Captain  Ward's  Company, 
March  17,  1759. 

Captain,  Charles  McClung,  May  9,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Patrick  Craighead,  May  9,   1758. 

Ensign,  Matthew  Patten,  May  9,  1758. 

Captain,  Robert  McPherson,  May  10,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  James  Ewing,  May  10,  1758;  to  Adjutant, 
June  7,  1758. 

Ensign,  Peter  Meem,  May  10,  1758. 

Captain,  Paul  Jackson,  May  11,  1758;  "Professor  of 
the  Latin  tongue  in  the  Academy." 

Lieutenant,  John  White,  May  11,  1758. 

Ensign,  Eleazer  Davenport,  May  11,  1758. 

Captain,  John  Bull,  May  12,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Price,  May  12,  1758. 

Ensign,  Charles  Van  Warnsdorff,  May  12,  1758  (sta- 
tioned at  Fort  Allen,  June,  1758). 

Captain,  William  Biles,  May  14,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Abraham  Williamson,  May  14,  1785. 

Ensign,  Samuel  Jones,  May  14,  1758. 


Some  Service  Rolls  of  the  War.  247 

Captain,  Archibald  McGrew,  May  15,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Alexander  McKean,  May  15,  1758. 

Ensign,  James  Armstrong,  May  15,  1758. 

Captain,  Thomas  Hamilton,  May  16,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Victor  King,  May  16,  1758. 

Ensign,  William  McDowell,  May  16,  1758;  "Was  a 
Sergeant  in  Capt.  Hance  Hamilton's  Company,  at  the 
capture  of  Kittanning." 

Captain,  Ludowick  Stone,  May  17,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Hugh  Conyngham,  May  25,  1758. 

Ensign,  Samuel  Montgomery,  May  17,  1758. 
Charles  Van  Warnsdorff. 

Captain,  John  Clark,  May  18,  1758. 

Lieutenant,  Samuel  Postlewaite,  May  18,  1758. 

Ensign,  George  Ashton,  Jun.,  May  18,  1758. 
New  Levies — May,  1758. 
Captains: 

John  Allison, 

Job  Rushton, 

Thomas  Smith, 

Alexander  Graydon, 

James  Hyndshaw, 

William  Biles  (Bucks  County), 

Thomas  Armour  (York  County). 
Lieutenants: 

Moses  Irwin, 

George  McCulloch, 

James  Leeper, 

Benjamin  Smith, 

Stephen  Cochran, 

James  Lewis. 
Ensigns : 

James  Maxwell, 

John  Kirkpatrick. 


248  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

The  writer  has  felt  that  the  number  of  these  lists  should 
not  be  unduly  extended,  and  has,  therefore,  inserted  those 
which,  more  especially,  may  aid  the  student  of  the  French 
and  Indian  War  in  following  the  course  of  events.  He 
has  not  attempted  to  make  an  exhibit  of  the  names  of  those 
of  German  blood  who  were  armed  participants  in  the  war, 
as  that,  in  itself,  would  be  quite  an  undertaking,  and  would 
extend  far  beyond  the  space  allotted  him.  He  merely 
wishes  to  add,  in  concluding  this  chapter,  that  many  Ger- 
man names  are  to  be  found  in  nearly  every  company  of  the 
provincial  service,  whose  rolls  are  given,  showing  that, 
even  in  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  the  Pennsylvania- 
German  was  an  actor  in  all  the  scenes  of  the  war,  and 
that,  outside  of  the  mere  occurrences  in  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  Province,  he  did  his  full  duty  in  every  other  part  of  it. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
Fort  Augusta. 


XL' 


HE  most  extensive  de- 
fense erected  by  the 
Provincial  Government 
during  the  French  and  In- 
dian War,  was  that  at  Sha- 
mokin,  the  site  of  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Sunbury,  and 
called  "  Fort  Augusta." 
Located  at  the  "  Forks  of 
the  Susquehanna,"  one  of 
whose  branches  rises  in  one  of  the  lesser  lakes  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  the  other  overlapping  some  of  the  branches 
of  the  Allegheny  River,  with  both  joining  each  other  at  a 
point  which  was  then  adjacent  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
hostile  Delaware  Indians,  it  became  a  most  commanding 
position  to  occupy.  The  French  were  quick  to  appreciate 
its  strategic  importance,  and  early  organized  an  expedition 
to  occupy  the  location. 

(249) 


250  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Warned  of  this  fact,  and  urged  by  those  Indians  at 
Shamokin,  who  were  still  under  the  influence  of  the  Six 
Nations,  and,  therefore,  friendly  to  the  English,  to  erect 
"  a  strong  house  "  for  their  defense,  as  well  as  for  the 
safety  of  the  Province,  Governor  Morris,  somewhat  tar- 
dily took  steps  necessary  for  the  purpose.  After  consid- 
erable delay  in  securing  the  consent  of  the  Royal  Commis- 
sioners, and  in  obtaining  the  needed  funds  from  the  Assem- 
bly, Colonel  William  Clapham  was  directed  to  recruit  a 
regiment  of  four  hundred  men,  proceed  to  Shamokin  and 
there  build  a  fort  in  accordance  with  plans  furnished  him. 

To  anticipate  somewhat  it  may  be  here  said  that,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  the  Indians  stated  to  the  English  that  a 
party  of  French  and  Indians  left  the  lake  country,  in  the 
fall  of  1756,  to  establish  themselves  at  Shamokin,  bringing 
along  three  small  brass  cannon.  Striking  the  head  waters 
of  the  Susquehanna  (West  Branch),  they  descended  by 
water  to  about  the  mouth  of  Loyal  Sock  Creek,  where, 
landing,  they  sent  a  reconnoitering  party  to  the  top  of  the 
Blue  Hill  overlooking  the  forks  and  Fort  Augusta,  then 
partially  built.  Seeing  the  advancement  of  the  fort,  and 
the  number  of  men  guarding  it,  they  considered  it  impru- 
dent to  attack  and  so  reported  to  the  main  body,  who, 
after  consultation,  decided  to  return;  as  the  water  was 
falling,  finding  themselves  encumbered  with  their  cannon, 
they  threw  them  in  the  deep  pot  hole,  or  eddy,  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  old  time  race  ground  island,  which  has  been 
known  as  the  "  Cannon  Hole  "  ever  since. 

On  April  7,  1756,  Colonel  Clapham  was  directed  to 
make  Hunter's  Mill,  six  miles  above  Harrisburg,  as  the 
place  of  rendezvous  for  his  regiment  then  forming.  By 
June  he  had  reached  McKee's  house  up  the  Susquehanna, 
from  whence  he  marched  to  Armstrong's,  later  the  site  of 
Fort  Halifax. 


Fort  Augusta.  251 

The  following  letter  to  Governor  Morris  will  report 
more  fully  his  progress: 

Camp  at  Armstrong's,  June  nth,  1756. 
Sir:  I  do  myself  the  Pleasure  to  inform  your  Honor, 
that  on  Saturday  last,  I  march'd  from  McKee's  Store  with 
Five  Companys  and  Eighteen  Battoes  &  Canoes  loaded, 
and  arrived  here  the  next  afternoon;  at  which  Time,  I 
receivd  the  Favor  of  your  Honors  Kind  Letter.     Before 
I  left  that  Place,  I  detached  Serjeant  McCurdy  wth  Twelve 
men,  to  remain  in  garrison  at  Harris's,  and  receive  and 
stow  carefully  whatever  Provisions,   Stores,  &c,  arrivd. 
I  have  also  station'd  a  Party  of  Twenty  Four  Men,  under 
the  command  of  Mr.  Johnson,  at  Hunters  Fort,  with  or- 
ders to  defend  that  Post  and  the  Neighborhood,  and  to 
escort  any  Provisions  that  should  come  to  him  up  to  Mc- 
Kees  Store.     As  we  could  not  move  with  the  whole  Body, 
for  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of  Battoes  to  transport  the 
Provisions,  Stores,  and  Tools,  I  have  directed  Major  Burd 
to  erect  Bastions  at  opposite  Corners,  and  to  remain  in 
camp  at  McKees  Store,  till  we  can  remove  all  the  Pro- 
visions and  Stores  up  to  this  Place,  and  when  he  decamps 
to  leave  Mr.  Attlee  to  defend  the  Post,  and  convey  any 
Battoes  that  may  afterwards  be  destined  for  this  Place. 

The  River  is  now  very  low,  and  daily  falling  insomuch 
that  it  was  with  great  Difficulty  we  got  the  Battoes  through 
the  Shoals  and  Falls  at  Juniata  Hill,  most  of  them  having 
grounded,  tho'  laden  with  no  more  than  Four  Barrels  of 
Pork,  and  a  few  light  Things ;  there  I  was  convinced  from 
Experience,  that  the  Battoe  Service  is  what  the  Soldiers  in 
general  are  utterly  incapable  of,  and  what  very  few  of 
them  have  been  accustomed  to,  I  shall  for  this  Reason, 
be  obliged  to  hire  a  number  of  men  better  acquainted  with 


252 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society, 


No.  I.  Wru. 

No.  Z.Orncv(sQuAKTCPS20t4vteet. 

NO.  3,  COLONEL'S  QUAK'tKi  18x30 rt£T. 
MO.  +.  flARRACKi  25  »30  f  I ET 

rto.  5.  flArtRACKJ  ••  •  ••     •• 

Mo.  6.  -  .  ••       •  *  •    - 

/Yp.  7.    •»     ••        »•  »      •• 
ho.  8.  561DIZRS  »AfWAC)(S23*30FECT. 
Mo.  9.  BARKAWiZS'Aontr. 
No.  to.  Maoazme. 


PI,AN   OH    FORT   AUGUSTA. 


Fort  Augusta.  253 

that  Branch  of  Business,  and  shall  want  money  and  Rum 
for  that  Purpose.  The  money  you  left  with  me  for  con- 
tingent Charges,  I  have  already  paid  to  these  I  have  hired, 
as  they  have  wives  and  children  to  support  at  Home, 
which,  if  they  are  not  paid  weekly,  will  oblige  them  to 
quit  the  Service;  the  Vouchers  for  the  payment  of  that 
money,  I  shall  send  your  Honor  by  the  next  opportunity, 
half  of  the  sum  being  left  with  Major  Burd  for  that  use, 
who  is  not  yet  come  up. 

As  I  find  this  far  the  most  convenient  Place  on  the  River, 
between  Harris's  and  Shamokin,  for  a  Magazine,  on  ac- 
count of  its  good  natural  Situation,  its  Situation  above  the 
Juniata  Falls,  the  vast  Plenty  of  Pine  Timber  at  Hand, 
its  nearness  to  Shamokin,  and  a  Saw  within  a  Quarter  of 
a  mile,  I  have  concluded  to  erect  a  Fort  here,  according 
to  the  Plan  inclosed,  and  for  that  Purpose,  we  have  already 
cutt  and  squard  200,  and  hawld  to  the  Spot  80  Logs,  each 
about  30  feet  long,  and  make  some  Progress  in  laying 
them ;  but  as  our  long  Stay  here  may  be  attended  wth  many 
Inconveniencys,  and  men  may  be  hird  in  the  neighborhood 
at  a  reasonable  Rate,  sufficient,  under  the  Guard  of  an 
officer  and  Thirty  Men,  to  finish  the  Fort  in  a  Fortnight 
after  the  Logs  are  all  hawld,  it  appears  more  prudent  to 
do  so,  than  to  retard  the  march  of  the  Troops  at  this  Sea- 
son ;  on  that  account,  I  perceive  we  shall  be  obliged  to  cross 
the  River  about  a  mile  and  a  half  above  this,  so  that  any 
Place  higher  up  on  this  side  the  River  would  be  improper 
for  a  magazine.  I  have  directed  Henry  to  do  everything 
with  regard  to  the  Pennsylvania  arms,  agreeable  to  your 
Instructions,  and  am  well  pleas'd  to  hear  of  the  Arrival 
of  the  200  English  arms  and  Blankets  at  McKees  Store, 
but  I  observe  your  Honor  has  barely  calculated  the  arms 
for  400  men,  whereas,  exclusive  of  that  number  in  the  Reg- 


254  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

iment  there  are  the  Garrisons  at  Harris's,  Hunters,  and 
McKees,  besides  the  officers  and  Volunteers  who  are  with- 
out arms. 

We  have  now  twenty  Battoes  finished,  and  two  Canoes, 
which  are  all  busily  employ'd  in  bringing  up  the  Provisions, 
&c,  they  have  made  Five  Trips  already  up  to  McKees 
Store,  and  two  to  this  Place,  and  are  now  absent  on  a  third. 

Ten  of  the  Ship  Carpenters  arrivd  here  yesterday  from 
Harris's  by  my  order,  to  which  I  was  induced,  by  the  fol- 
lowing Reasons,  the  want  of  a  proper  officer  at  Harris's 
to  superintend  them,  and  the  necessity  of  Mr.  Erwins 
Horses,  which  may  supply  Logs  for  the  Fort  and  Timber 
for  them  at  the  same  Time.  I  find  Rum  to  be  an  article 
extremely  necessary  in  this  Service,  have  but  a  small  Quan- 
tity of  it  in  Store,  and  am  in  daily  Expectation  of  a  further 
Supply. 

On  the  3d  and  5th  instant,  I  detached  two  different 
partys  of  Scouts  to  reconnoitre  Shamokin  and  the  Route 
thither,  and  on  the  Eighth,  in  the  morning,  was  agreeably 
surprized  to  see  a  Canoe  coming  down  the  River  with  a 
red  Flag,  on  board  of  which  was  an  Indian  chief  of  the 
Iroquois  Nation,  and  his  Son,  charg'd  with  a  message  and 
Belt  of  Wampum  from  the  Six  Nations,  for  the  Particu- 
lars of  whose  Intelligence,  I  refer  your  Honor  to  the 
Papers  particularly  relative  to  that  Subject,  and  shall  only 
add,  that  a  Cayauga  Indian  was  dispatch'd  at  the  Time, 
with  this  Man,  butt  being  deterr'd  by  the  Reports  of  John 
Shikalamy  and  the  Fellow  who  escap'd  afterwards  from 
McKees  Son,  remain'd  at  Choconatte  above  Wioming,  and 
left  his  companions  to  prosecute  the  Journey  without  him. 

The  courier  who  brings  this  was  hir'd  on  Purpose,  and 
detain'd  by  me  till  the  Conference  with  the  Indian  was 
concluded. 


THE     PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY. 


FORT    AUGUSTA. 

REMAINS    OF    OLD     MAGAZINE     AND     HEADQUARTERS    OF     COMMANDANT. 


Fort  Augusta.  255 

Since  our  comeing  here,  we  have  daily  the  Satisfaction 
of  seeing  the  People  return  to  their  deserted  Habitations 
on  the  River,  and  have  offered  them  all  the  Encouragement 
and  assistance  which  Humanity  and  our  Duty  to  the  Ser- 
vice requires. 

I  must  beg  leave  to  assure  your  Honor,  that  no  motives 
shall  influence  me  to  deviate  from  that  Regard  which  I 
owe  to  the  good  of  the  Service  and  your  Honors  Instruc- 
tions, and  that  I  am  very  respectfully, 

Your  Honors  most  obedient  humble  Svt. 
By  the  Colonels  Command,  Willm  Clapham. 

T.  Lloyd,  aid  de  Camp. 

Progress  on  the  new  fort  went  along  but  slowly.  On 
December  8  Colonel  James  Burd  arrived  and  took  charge 
of  the  work,  at  which  time  he  found  that  nothing  had  been 
done  for  some  while,  and  much  was  in  an  unfinished  con- 
dition. So  far  as  the  weather  permitted  the  work  was 
pushed  along  constantly,  but  it  was  not  until  towards  the 
close  of  the  following  year  that  all  was  accomplished. 

The  defense  speedily  became  too  strong  to  be  in  danger 
of  attack  and  capture.  Its  history,  therefore,  is  more  or 
less  uneventful.  On  February  26,  1757,  a  party,  sent  to 
bring  in  stores,  was  surprised  and  two  of  their  number 
killed;  at  various  times  scouting  parties  scoured  the  whole 
neighborhood,  and  even  extended  their  investigations  to 
a  considerable  distance,  and,  all  the  while,  the  usual  rou- 
tine of  work  and  duty  was  actively  carried  on.  During 
the  Revolutionary  War  Fort  Augusta  again  became  the 
center  of  great  activity,  but  its  interesting  history  of  that 
period  does  not  belong  to  this  subject.  It  stood  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  now  enterprising  town  of  Sunbury,  and, 
when  completed,  mounted  at  least  twelve  cannon  and  two 


256  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

swivels,  quite  a  formidable  armament  for  the  time  and 
place,  together  with  seven  blunderbusses. 

Fort  Halifax. 

Fort  Halifax  was  located  at  the  mouth  of  Armstrong 
Creek  about  half  a  mile  above  the  present  town  of  Hali- 
fax, in  Dauphin  County. 

Of  its  shape  and  construction  we  have  already  had  an 
account,  in  the  letter  just  given  from  Colonel  Clapham 
to  the  Governor.  In  his  advance  up  the  Susquehanna 
towards  Shamokin  he  found  it  difficult  and  slow  work  to 
transport,  in  batteaux,  his  supplies  of  all  descriptions.  In 
addition,  his  march  into  a  hostile  country  demanded  a 
base  of  supply  for  the  comparatively  large  number  of  men 
who  accompanied  him.  For  that  purpose  McKees  Store 
was  first  occupied  and  stockaded  and,  further  up,  Fort 
Halifax  was  erected  near  the  home  of  Robert  Armstrong, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  locality,  who  was  found  there 
by  the  Moravian  missionaries  when  passing  by  in  1746. 
To  the  north  of  the  creek  lived,  later,  Simon  Girty,  the 
outlaw's  father,  who  removed  thence,  with  his  family, 
after  having  been  driven  out  of  the  Shearman's  Creek 
settlement. 

At  various  times  it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  use 
of  Fort  Halifax,  not  being  needed  as  a  place  of  defense 
and  being  of  constantly  less  value  as  a  magazine  of  sup- 
plies, which  latter  were  taken  direct  to  Fort  Augusta  from 
Fort  Hunter,  but  it  was  kept  up,  in  a  desultory  manner, 
until  1763  when  it  was  finally  dismantled. 

Fort  Hunter. 
Six  miles  north  of  Harrisburg,  at  the  junction  of  Fish- 
ing Creek  and  the  Susquehanna  River,  surrounded  by  beau- 


Fort  Augusta.  257 

tiful  scenery,  stood  Fort  Hunter,  some  two  and  one-half 
miles  below  the  present  romantic  village  of  Dauphin,  and 
about  one-half  mile  above  that  of  Rockville. 

Its  situation  "  where  the  Blue  Hills  cross  the  Susque- 
hanna "  gave  it  command  of  the  passage  around  the  same 
into  the  settled  districts.  When,  therefore,  the  first  raid 
of  the  savages  was  made,  and  the  murders  at  Penn's  Creek 
committed  on  October  16,  1755,  the  settlers  of  the  vicinity 
at  once  made  preparations  to  defend  themselves  and  to 
stay  the  advance  of  the  Indians.  A  stockade  was  erected, 
but  its  exact  locality  is  unknown ;  it  may  have  been  at  Hun- 
ter's Mill  itself,  about  five  hundred  yards  up  the  creek  from 
its  mouth,  where  now  stands  the  mill  owned  by  Abr.  Ream, 
or  it  may  have  been  where  stood  the  fort.  The  latter  is 
more  probable,  and  it  is  likely  that  the  soldiers,  who  came 
to  garrison  the  place,  merely  completed  what  had  been 
already  begun. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  a  blockhouse,  surrounded 
by  a  stockade,  standing  on  a  narrow  elevation  of  gravel 
and  boulders  about  forty  feet  high,  distant  some  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  from  the  Susquehanna  River,  which  is 
here  nearly  seven-eighths  of  a  mile  wide.  Its  site  is  now 
occupied  by  a  substantial  stone  house.  In  the  rear  of  the 
barn,  now  standing,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  pike  from 
the  fort,  were  formerly  erected  barracks  for  the  better 
accommodation  of  the  soldiers  forming  the  garrison,  and 
recruits  gathered  from  other  points.  A  house  and  barn 
occupy  the  site  of  Hunter's  house  and  barn. 

Its  history  begins  with  the  order  sent  Adam  Read,  on 
January  10,  1756,  to  detach  twenty-five  men  from  his 
company,  then  guarding  the  frontier  along  the  mountains, 
and  send  them,  under  command  of  a  suitable  officer,  to 
Hunter's  mill,  which  detachment,  however,  was  relieved, 


258 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


1'% 


\ 


P£NN.  Ct^^ 


Fort  Augusta.  259 

towards  the  end  of  the  month,  by  Captain  Thomas  McKee 
and  thirty  men,  who  was  directed  to  either  complete  the 
fort  then  in  existence  or  erect  one  at  a  more  suitable  place. 
The  result  was  the  defense  which  we  are  describing. 
With  the  organization  and  advance  of  Colonel  Clapham's 
"Augusta  Regiment,"  Fort  Hunter  became,  at  once,  an 
important  station.  Here  was  the  rendezvous  of  the 
troops ;  here  the  batteaux  were  congregated ;  here  all  sup- 
plies were  collected;  and,  so  long  as  the  operations  at  Sha- 
mokin  continued,  so  long  was  it  a  scene  of  great  activity. 

On  March  14,  1757,  Lord  Loudoun  arrived  at  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  remained  two  weeks,  in  consultation  with 
Governor  Denny.  As  a  result  of  the  conference  on  the 
defense  of  the  Province,  at  which  were  present  Colonel 
Clapham,  with  Lieutenant  Colonels  Weiser  and  Arm- 
strong, amongst  other  things  it  was  decided  that  four 
hundred  men  should  be  kept  at  Fort  Augusta,  and  the 
works  there  completed ;  that  one  hundred  men  should  con- 
stitute the  garrison  of  Fort  Halifax,  and  that  Fort  Hunter 
should  be  demolished,  only  fifty  men  being  retained  there 
temporarily  until  the  removal  of  the  magazine  of  supplies, 
which  was  to  take  place  as  soon  as  possible.  The  long 
frontier  of  the  Blue  Range,  between  the  Susquehanna  and 
the  Delaware,  was  to  be  defended  by  Colonel  Weiser's 
Battalion  and  the  forts  reduced  to  three  in  number. 

This  at  once  caused  great  consternation  among  the  set- 
tlers, and  brought  from  them  an  earnest  appeal  for  its 
continuance,  which  was  strongly  endorsed  by  Commissary 
Young,  who  personally  explained  to  the  Governor  and 
Council  the  excellent  situation  of  Fort  Hunter  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  Fort  Halifax,  of  which  he  said:  "  That 
it  is  a  very  bad  Situation,  being  built  beyond  Two  Ranges 
of  Hills,  and  nobody  living  near  it,  none  could  be  pro- 


260  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

tected  by  it;  that  it  is  no  Station  for  Battoe  parties,  having 
no  Command  of  the  Channel,  which  runs  close  on  the 
Western  Shore,  and  is  besides  covered  with  a  large  Island 
between  the  Channel  and  Fort,  so  that  numbers  of  the 
Enemy  may,  even  in  the  day  time,  run  down  the  River 
without  being  seen  by  that  Garrison." 

The  result  was  not  only  the  continuance  but  the  strength- 
ening of  Fort  Hunter.  In  July,  1758,  Captain  G.  Price 
was  left  in  it  by  General  Forbes,  during  his  advance,  with 
orders  to  make  still  further  repairs,  and  to  place  it  in 
proper  shape  for  use  once  more  as  a  base  of  supplies. 

The  record  of  this  fort  is  not  only  that  of  a  supply 
magazine  and  rendezvous,  but  it  was,  besides,  a  true  place 
of  defense  whose  garrison  was  constantly  occupied  in 
watching  their  savage  foe.  In  the  beginning  of  October, 
1757,  a  man  was  killed  and  scalped  within  twenty  rods 
of  Hunter's  barn,  of  which  incident  Captain  Busse,  then 
in  command,  makes  the  following  report: 

Hunter's  Fort,  the  3d  October,  1757. 
May  it  Please  Your  Honour: 

In  my  Coming  Back  from  Rainging  allong  the  Frun- 
tears  on  Saturday  the  first  Instant,  I  Heard  that  the  Day 
Before,  Twelve  Indians  wore  seen  not  fare  off  from  hear, 
as  it  was  Leat,  and  not  Knowing  their  Further  Strength, 
I  thought  To  Go  at  Day  Braek  nixt  morning  with  as  many 
Soldiers  and  Battowe-men  as  I  could  get.  But  In  a  short 
Time  we  Heard  a  Gun  fire  off,  and  Running  Deirectly  To 
the  Spot,  found  the  Dead  Boddey  of  one  William  Martin, 
who  went  into  the  woods  to  Pick  up  Chestnuts  where  the 
Indians  was  lying  in  ambush.  I  ordered  all  the  men  to 
Run  into  the  woods,  and  we  Rainged  till  it  Grew  Quite 
Dark;  the  Continual  Rain  that  Has  Been  Sins,  Has  Hin- 


Fort  Augusta.  261 

dered  my  following  them ;  there  was  a  number  of  the  in- 
habitants Came  Here  to  assist  in  following  them,  but  the 
wether  prevented.  There  ware  onley  3  Indians  onley  Seen 
By  Some  people,  who  ware  Siting  Before  the  Dore  of 
Mister  Hunter,  and  they  say,  that  all  was  Don  In  Less 
than  four  minutes ;  that  same  night,  I  warned  the  Inhabi- 
tants to  Be  upon  their  Guards,  and  in  the  morning,  I 
Rainged  on  this  side  the  mounton  the  nixt  Day.  But  my 
men  Being  few  in  Number,  By  Rason  of  their  Being  four- 
teen of  them  sick,  I  could  Not  be  Long  from  the  Gar- 
rison ;  and  it  seems  yet  probable  To  me,  that  there  is  Great 
Numbers  of  the  Enimy  Indians  on  this  River.  The  Town- 
ships of  Paxton  and  Derry  Have  agreed  to  keep  a  Guard 
for  Some  Time  in  the  frunteer  Houses,  from  Monaday  to 
Susquehannah,  and  Expects  that  your  Honour  will  be 
pleased  to  Reinforse  this  Detachment.  If  thease  Town- 
ships should  Break  up,  the  Communication  Between  Fort 
Augusta  and  the  Inhabitants  would  Be  Greatley  Endain- 
gered. 

I  am,  with  Greatest  Respect, 
Your  Honours, 
most  obedient  Humble  Servant, 

Christian  Busse. 

Captain  James  Patterson,  who  was  later  in  command 
at  Fort  Hunter,  sent,  on  January  10,  1758,  to  Governor 
Denny,  the  following  interesting  extracts  from  his  Journal 
of  duties,  performed  at  that  place  from  December  5,  1757, 
to  date: 

Fort  Hunter,  Janry  ye  10th,  1758. 

I  took  with  19  men  &  ranged  from  this  Fort  as  far  as 
Robinson's  Fort  (at  Manada  Gap),  where  I  lodged,  Keep- 
ing a  guard  of  six  men  &  one  Corporal  on  centry  that 


262  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

night.  The  sixth  day  I  marched  towards  Hunter's  Fort, 
ranging  along  the  mountain  foot  very  diligently  till  I  came 
to  the  Fort  that  evening,  my  men  being  so  afflicted  with 
sickness  I  could  not  send  out  till  the  eighth  day,  Lieu't 
Allen,  with  14  men,  went  to  Range  for  three  days.  On 
the  1 2th  day  Lieu't  Allen,  with  Eighteen  men  &  one  Ser- 
jeant ranged  along  the  mountain  about  14  miles  from  this 
Fort,  where  he  met  Cap't  Lieu't  Weiser  and  his  party  & 
returned  back  towards  this  Fort  the  next  day  &  came  to  it 
that  night.  The  fifteenth,  Lieu't  Allen,  with  18  men, 
Kept  along  the  Frontier  till  the  25th  &  came  to  this  Fort 
that  night.  Hearing  of  Indians  harbouring  about  Juniatta, 
on  the  28th  of  December,  I  took  15  men  with  me  up  the 
Creek,  and  about  14  miles  from  the  mouth  of  it  I  found 
fresh  tracks  of  Indians  on  both  sides  of  the  creek  &  fol- 
lowed the  tracks  about  four  miles  up  the  said  Creek,  where 
I  lost  the  tracks,  But  I  still  Kept  up  the  creek  'till  I  gott 
up  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  said  Creek, 
where  I  encamped  that  night.  The  Indians  I  found  were 
round  me  all  the  night,  for  my  Dogg  made  several  attacks 
towards  the  Woods  as  if  he  saw  the  Enemy  and  still  run 
Back  to  the  Centry.  On  the  3rd  of  January  I  returned 
down  the  Creek  in  some  canoes  that  I  found  on  said  Creek, 
and  when  I  came  about  nine  miles  down  I  espied  about  20 
Indians  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Creek  to  where  I  was. 
They  seemed  to  gett  themselves  in  order  to  fire  upon  the 
men  that  were  in  Canoes.  I  immediately  ordered  them  all 
out  but  two  men  that  let  the  Canoes  float  close  under  the 
shore,  and  kept  the  Land  in  readiness  to  fire  upon  the 
Enemy,  as  soon  as  they  moved  out  of  the  place  where  they 
lay  in  Ambush,  but  I  could  see  no  more  of  them.  On  the 
5th  day  of  January  I  came  to  this  Fort.  On  the  sixth  day 
I  sent  a  Serjeant  &  Corporal  with  15  men  along  the  Fron- 


Fort  Augusta.  263 

tiers  of  Paxton  and  Maunadys,  about  fourteen  miles  from 
this  Fort,  and  on  the  seventh  day  they  returned  back  to 
said  Fort.  On  their  march  one  of  the  Soldiers  espied  two 
Indians  Just  by  one  of  the  Frontier  plantations;  the  Sol- 
diers gave  the  Serjeant  notice  and  the  Serjeant  Kept  on  his 
course,  as  if  he  had  not  Known  anything  of  the  Indians, 
till  he  gott  some  Bushes  between  the  party  &  the  Indians 
and  then  gott  round  the  place  where  the  Indians  were  seen, 
but  they  happening  to  see  the  party  run  off,  when  our  party 
came  to  the  place  they  saw  the  Tracks  of  the  Indians  plain 
where  they  run  off.  As  I  am  recruiting  to  fill  up  my 
Comp'y  again,  and  my  recruits  are  not  all  qualified  as  yet, 
it  is  not  in  my  power  to  send  y'r  Hon'r  a  Roll  of  my 
Comp'y,  but  expect  in  a  few  days  to  be  in  Capacity  of 
doing  it.  As  I  am  insensible  there  are  Enemy  Indians 
upon  the  Coast,  I  thought  it  fitting  to  send  y'r  Hon'r  this 

Journal,  &  remain, 

Y'r  Honour's  Most  obedient 
humble  Servant 

James  Patterson. 

The  Harris  Stockade. 

The  nucleus,  or  central  point,  of  all  the  defenses  was 
the  old  log  house  which  formed  the  home  and  trading  post 
of  John  Harris,  Sr.,  at  the  present  city  of  Harrisburg. 

While  more  especially  a  trader  he  was  also  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  agriculture.  It  is  said  of  him  that  "  he  was 
the  first  person  who  introduced  the  plough  on  the  Susque- 
hanna," and,  moreover,  that  "  he  was  as  honest  a  man  as 
ever  broke  bread."  In  1705  he  built  his  log  house  on  the 
lower  bank  of  the  river,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
two  hundred  feet  below  the  spot  where  now  repose  his 
remains.     A  well,  dug  by  him,  still  exists  about  one  hun- 


264  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

dred  feet  east  of  his  grave.  It  was  covered  over  about 
1850,  but  its  site  was  distinguished  by  a  small  circular 
mound  of  earth.  It  was  the  typical  log  cabin  of  the  early 
settler,  with  its  huge  chimneys,  though  somewhat  more  pre- 
tentious in  size,  with  which  was  connected  a  long  range  of 
sheds,  which  were  sometimes  literally  filled  with  skins  and 
furs,  either  obtained  by  himself  in  traffic  with  the  Indians 
or  stored  there  by  Indian  traders  who  brought  them  from 
the  western  country. 

Near  this  house  stood  a  large  mulberry  tree  to  which 
he  was  bound  by  a  party  of  drunken  Indians,  to  whom  he 
had  refused  more  rum,  and  who  were  only  prevented  from 
burning  him  to  death  by  a  number  of  more  friendly  In- 
dians who  had  crossed  the  river,  and,  after  a  struggle,  suc- 
ceeded in  accomplishing  a  timely  rescue.  When  he  died 
in  1748,  his  remains  were  interred,  at  his  own  request, 
beneath  the  shadow  of  this  memorable  tree.  The  stump 
of  this  tree  has  been  preserved,  to  the  present  time,  in  an 
inclosure  near  the  bridge  of  the  Cumberland  Valley  Rail- 
road opposite  Mulberry  Street. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  bearing  the  same  name, 
John  Harris,  who  was  born  in  the  old  house  in  1726,  and 
was  a  most  energetic  and  influential  man.  It  was  he  who 
founded  the  city  of  Harrisburg,  upon  the  site  of  what, 
for  three-quarters  of  a  century,  was  known  as  Harris' 
Ferry.  About  1766-69  he  built  a  large  stone  house  on 
Front  Street  below  Mulberry  which  supplanted  the  log 
structure. 

It  was  the  old  home,  however,  which  occupied  the  scene 
during  the  occurrences  of  the  war.  When  the  massacre 
at  Penn's  Creek  took  place  on  October  16,  1755,  Harris 
was  prominently  identified  with  the  relief  party  which  went 
to  the  front.      We  have  already  seen  under  what  discour- 


Fort  Augusta.  265 

aging  conditions  this  party  returned.  Without  any  pros- 
pects of  help  from  the  government,  and  in  daily  expec- 
tation of  the  appearance  of  the  enemy,  he  promptly  cut 
loop-holes  in  the  building,  threw  a  substantial  stockade 
around  it,  and  otherwise  placed  it  in  condition  for  defense. 
During  the  entire  war  the  Harris'  Stockade  was  a  place 
of  continued  activity.  Its  central  position  made  it  a  con- 
venient rendezvous  for  governmental  authorities,  regi- 
mental officers  and  troops  in  general;  it  sheltered  many 
sick  who  were  sent  to  the  rear;  at  times  it  held  securely 
prisoners  taken  at  the  front;  its  capacious  cellars  and  out- 
houses became  storage  rooms  for  the  supplies  of  the  bat- 
talions beyond,  and  there  were  but  few,  of  any  description, 
who,  in  their  going  and  coming,  did  not  have  occasion  to 
seek  the  shelter  of  its  hospitable  roof. 

Fort  Lowther. 

This  fort  was  located  in  Cumberland  County.  It  stood 
"  On  High  Street  between  Hanover  and  Pitt  Streets,  oppo- 
site Lot  No.  one  hundred,  and  the  house  of  the  late  Gen- 
eral Lamberton  occupied  a  part  of  the  ground,  being  in 
what  is  now  the  most  populous  part  of  the  town." 

Cumberland  County  was  originally  settled  by  the  Scotch- 
Irish,  but  these  people  gradually  removed  further  west  and 
were  supplanted  by  the  Germans,  many  of  whom  already 
occupied  the  territory  during  the  French  and  Indian  War 
and  were  equal  participants  in  its  struggles  and  horrors. 

Soon  after  the  defeat  of  the  Virginia  troops,  and  the 
capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity,  July  4,  1754,  the  imminent 
danger  of  being  surprised  by  the  Indians  was  apparent  to 
the  settlers  in  the  valley  and  Governor  Hamilton  was  peti- 
tioned for  protection.  When  the  defeat  of  General  Brad- 
dock  followed,  the  next  year,  once  more  the  Governor 


266  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


^VE     ORIGINALLY      AROUND      THE      S0f/ 


S.HANOVER 
STREET. 


WESTERN       HALF 

OF 

PUBLIC      SQUARE. 

LAI  0    OUT    IN    17SI, 


L 


rt.    HANOVER 

«M *■ 

STREET. 


SITE  AND  PLAN   OF   FORT  LOWTHER. 


Fort  Augusta. 


267 


SITE  OF  FORT  LOWTHER. 


268  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

(Morris)  was  petitioned  to  supply  the  necessary  means  of 
defense.  The  result  was  the  tardy  but  eventual  establish- 
ment of  the  chain  of  forts  which  included  the  one  under 
consideration. 

It  was  at  Fort  Lowther  that  Governor  Morris  was  sta- 
tioned on  June  5,  1755,  to  be  near  Braddock's  forces,  for 
the  rendering  of  such  assistance  as  might  be  required,  and, 
while  here,  he  received  the  last  letter  ever  written  by  that 
officer. 

The  fort  was  gradually  completed  and  continually 
strengthened,  becoming  a  quite  important  position,  being 
occupied  not  only  by  detachments  of  the  provincial  bat- 
talions but,  frequently,  by  troops  from  the  royal  regiments, 
especially  when,  during  the  later  years,  offensive  opera- 
tions were  undertaken  against  the  savages. 

Its  history  of  massacres  and  destruction  was  similar  to 
that  of  all  the  other  frontier  stations.  Among  the  suf- 
ferers was  one  who  revenged  himself  terribly  upon  the 
savages.  He  was  a  white  man,  known  as  Captain  Jack, 
the  "black  hunter,"  the  "black  rifle,"  the  "wild  hunter 
of  Juniata,"  the  "  black  hunter  of  the  forest."  Some 
years  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  entered  the  woods 
with  a  few  enterprising  companions,  built  his  cabin,  cleared 
a  little  land,  and  supplied  his  needs  by  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing. He  was  happy  because  he  had  no  care.  One  even- 
ing, on  his  return  home,  he  found  his  cabin  burnt,  his  wife 
and  children  murdered.  From  that  moment  he  forsook 
civilized  man,  lived  in  caves,  protected  the  frontier  inhab- 
itants from  the  Indians,  and  seized  every  opportunity  for 
revenge  that  offered.  He  was  a  terror  to  the  red  man; 
a  protector  to  the  white.  On  one  occasion,  near  Juniata, 
in  the  middle  of  a  dark  night,  a  family  was  suddenly 
awakened  by  the  report  of  a  gun.      Rushing  from  their 


Fort  Augusta.  269 

cabin,  by  the  glimmering  light  of  their  chimney  they  saw 
an  Indian  fall  to  rise  no  more.  The  open  door  exposed  to 
view  "the  wild  hunter."  "  I  saved  your  lives,"  he  cried, 
then  turned  away  and  was  soon  buried  in  the  gloom  of 
night.  He  never  shot  without  good  cause.  His  look 
was  as  unerring  as  his  aim.  He  formed  an  association  to 
defend  the  settlers  against  savage  aggressions,  which,  on 
a  given  signal,  would  unite.  Their  exploits  were  heard 
of  in  1756,  on  the  Conococheague  and  Juniata.  He  was 
sometimes  called  "the  Half  Indian,"  and  Colonel  Arm- 
strong, in  a  letter  to  the  Governor,  says :  "  The  company 
under  the  command  of  the  Half  Indian,  having  left  the 
Great  Cove,  the  Indians  took  advantage  and  murdered 
many."  He  also,  through  Colonel  Croghan,  proffered  his 
aid  to  Braddock.  "  He  will  march  with  his  hunters,"  says 
the  Colonel;  "they  are  dressed  in  hunting  shirts,  moc- 
casins, etc.,  are  well  armed,  and  are  equally  regardless  of 
heat  or  cold.  They  require  no  shelter  for  the  night,  they 
ask  no  pay."  The  real  name  of  this  mysterious  personage 
has  never  been  ascertained.  It  is  supposed  that  he  gave 
the  name  to  "  Jack's  Mountain  "  an  enduring  and  appro- 
priate monument. 

In  1764  more  than  four  hundred  unfortunate  captives, 
who  had  been  released  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  were  brought 
to  Carlisle  where  many  of  them  were  restored  to  their 
overjoyed  relatives. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

Fort  Morris. 


r 


OLLOWING  the  line  of  de- 
fenses to  the  south  we  come 
to  the  next  one  located  at  the  site  of 
the  present  town  of  Shippensburg. 
Some  confusion  has  existed  with  re- 
gard to  this  fort.  The  records  speak 
of  Fort  Morris  and,  at  other  places, 
of  Fort  Franklin.  It  is  claimed  by 
some  that  two  defenses  existed  close 
to  each  other,  each  of  a  different 
name,  while  others  state  that  the  two 
names  both  belong  to  the  same  place, 
which  is  probably  correct. 

On  November  2,  1755,  Major  James  Burd  writes  from 
Shippensburg:  "We  have  one  hundred  men  working  at 
Fort  Morris,  with  heart  and  hand,  every  day.  The  town 
is  full  of  people,  five  or  six  families  in  a  house,  in  great 

(270) 


Fort  Morris.  271 

want  of  arms  and  ammunition;  but,  with  what  we  have 
we  are  determined  to  give  the  enemy  as  warm  a  reception 
as  we  can.  Some  of  our  people  have  been  taken  pris- 
oners, but  have  made  their  escape,  and  came  into  us  this 
morning.   .   .   ." 

It  was  built  on  a  rocky  hill,  at  the  western  end  of  the 
town.  The  brick  school-house  standing  there,  erected 
about  i860,  is  within  the  boundary  of  the  fort,  the  founda- 
tion of  a  part  of  which  can  still  be  traced.  The  walls 
were  about  two  feet  in  thickness  and  were  of  stone  taken 
from  a  quarry  a  few  yards  west  of  where  it  stood.  They 
were  very  substantially  built,  of  small  stone  joined  together 
by  mortar  which  became  as  hard  as  cement.  In  them 
were  openings  several  feet  from  the  ground.  The  roof, 
together  with  all  the  timber  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
building  has  been  removed  years  before  1821.  The  por- 
tion of  the  wall,  which  remained  at  that  time,  was  torn 
down  in  1836  by  a  party  engaged  in  a  drunken  frolic. 

On  July  18,  1757,  six  men  were  killed,  or  taken  away, 
near  Shippensburg,  while  reaping  in  John  Cesney's  field. 
The  following  day,  not  far  from  Shippensburg,  in  Joseph 
Stevenson's  harvest  field,  the  savages  butchered  inhumanly 
nine  men,  carrying  off  three  women  and  one  boy.  July 
27,  Mr.  McKisson  was  wounded,  and  his  son  taken  from 
the  South  Mountain.  A  letter,  dated  Carlisle,  Septem- 
ber 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.  A  much  longer  list  of  the  names 
of  slain  and  captured  might  be  added. 

In  the  summer  of  176 1,  and  later,  many  fled  for  shelter 
and  protection  to  Shippensburg,  Carlisle,  and  the  lower  end 
of  the  county.  In  July,  1763,  1,384  of  the  poor,  distressed, 
back  inhabitants  took  refuge  at  Shippensburg.     Of  this 


272  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

number  there  were  301  men,  345  women  and  738  children, 
many  of  whom  had  to  lie  in  barns,  stables,  cellars  and 
under  leaky  roofs,  the  dwelling  houses  being  all  crowded. 
In  the  lower  end  of  the  county  every  house,  every  barn  and 
every  stable  was  crowded  with  miserable  refugees,  who, 
having  lost  their  horses,  their  cattle,  their  harvest,  were 
reduced  from  independence  and  happiness  to  abject  beg- 
gary and  despair.  The  streets  and  roads  were  filled  with 
people ;  the  men  distracted  with  grief  for  their  losses ;  and 
the  desire  for  revenge  more  poignantly  excited  by  the 
disconsolate  females  and  bereaved  children  who  wailed 
around  them.  In  the  woods,  for  miles  on  both  sides  of 
the  Susquehanna,  many  families,  with  their  cattle,  sought 
shelter,  being  unable  to  find  it  in  towns. 

Between  Fort  Morris,  at  Shippensburg,  and  the  next 
provincial  defense,  Fort  Loudoun,  stands  the  present  town 
of  Chambersburg,  whose  connection  with  the  war  was  too 
prominent  to  be  passed  over  entirely.  It  seems  to  be  a 
matter  of  dispute  as  to  the  time  when  the  Chambers  settled 
on  the  Conococheague.  It  is  not  probable  that  Joseph 
and  Benjamin  Chambers  located  at  the  Falling  Spring 
earlier  than  1730.  They  had  previously  built  at  Fort 
Hunter,  on  the  Susquehanna,  but,  an  accidental  fire  con- 
suming their  mill  on  the  Fishing  Creek,  they  wandered 
westward,  finally  locating  at  the  point  named,  erecting  a 
log  house,  and  eventually,  a  saw  and  grist  mill. 

After  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  for  the  further  security 
of  his  family  and  neighbors,  Colonel  Benjamin  Chambers 
erected,  where  the  town  of  Chambersburg  now  stands,  a 
large  stone  dwelling-house,  surrounded  by  the  water  from 
Falling  Spring,  which,  for  protection  against  fire,  was 
roofed  with  lead.  The  dwellings  and  mills  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  stockade  fort,  which,  with  the  aid  of  fire- 


Fort  Morris.  273 

arms,  a  blunderbuss  and  swivel,  was  so  formidable  to  the 
Indian  parties,  passing  through  the  country,  that  it  was  but 
seldom  assailed,  and  no  one  sheltered  by  it  was  either  killed 
or  wounded. 

The  savage  depredations  of  the  Indian  soon  became  ter- 
rible. Benjamin  Chambers,  writing  from  Falling  Spring, 
on  Sunday  morning,  November  2,  1755,  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  county  of  Cumberland,  says :  "  If 
you  intend  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  your  neighbors,  you 
need  wait  no  longer  for  the  certainty  of  the  news.  The 
Great  Cove  is  destroyed.  James  Campbell  left  his  com- 
pany 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." 

A  few  days  after  Great  Cove  had  been  laid  waste,  and 
forty-seven  persons,  out  of  ninety-three  settlers,  were  killed 
or  taken  captive,  the  merciless  Indians  burnt  the  house  of 
widow  Cox,  near  McDowell's  Mill,  in  Cumberland  (now 
Franklin)  County7,  and  carried  off  her  two  sons  and  another 
man.  In  February,  1756,  two  brothers,  Richard  and  John 
Craig,  were  taken  by  nine  Delaware  Indians  from  a  plan- 
tation two  miles  from  McDowell's  Mill.  At  the  same 
time  a  party  made  marauding  incursions  into  Peter's  Town- 
ship. They  were  discovered,  on  Sunday  evening,  by  one 
Alexander,  near  the  house  of  Thomas  Barr.  Although 
pursued  he  escaped  and  alarmed  the  fort  at  McDowell's 
Mill.  Early  on  Monday  morning,  a  party  of  fourteen 
men  of  Captain  Croghan's  command,  who  were  at  the 
mill,  and  about  twelve  other  young  men,  set  off  to  watch 
the  movements  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  circuitous  route 


274  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  take  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  while  the  soldiers  attacked 
in  front.  The  impetuosity  of  the  soldiers,  however,  de- 
feated the  plan.  Scarce  had  they  got  within  gun-shot 
when  they  fired  upon  the  Indians,  who  were  standing 
around  the  fire,  and  killed  several  of  them  at  the  first  dis- 
charge. The  savages  returned  fire,  killing  one  of  the  sol- 
diers and  compelling  the  rest  to  retreat.  The  party  of 
young  men,  hearing  the  report  of  fire-arms  hastened  up, 
and,  finding  the  Indians  on  the  ground  which  the  soldiers 
had  occupied,  fired  upon  them  with  effect,  but,  concluding 
the  soldiers  had  fled,  or  were  slain,  they  also  retreated. 
One  of  their  number,  Barr's  son,  was  wounded,  and  would 
have  perished  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,  the  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.  Their  design,  however,  was  discovered  by  two 
German  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  Indians,  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  re- 
treat they  met  five  men  from  Mr.  Hoop's,  riding  to  the 
mill,  of  whom  they  killed  one  and  wounded  another  se- 
verely. The  sergeant  at  the  fort,  having  lost  two  of  his 
men,  declined  to  follow  the  enemy  until  his  commander, 


Fort  Morris.  275 

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  March  2,  Mr.  Crawford,  with  fifty  men,  went 
in  quest  of  the  enemy,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  his  search. 

In  April,  1756,  McCord's  fort  on  the  Conococheague, 
was  burnt  by  the  Indians,  and  twenty-seven  persons  were 
killed  or  captured.  William  Mitchell,  an  inhabitant  of 
Conococheague,  had  collected  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  allowed  them  to  continue  for  some  time,  till 
they  got  out  in  the  open  field,  when  they  secured  the  guns, 
and  killed,  or  captured,  every  one.  On  August  27,  1756, 
there  was  a  great  slaughter,  wherein  thirty-nine  persons 
were  killed  near  the  mouth  of  the  Conococheague  Creek. 
Early  in  the  following  November  some  Indians  were  but 
a  few  miles  from  McDowell's  Mill,  where  they  killed  four 
soldiers,  carried  off  Captain  James  Corkem  and  one  man, 
killed  six  of  the  inhabitants  and  captured  six  children. 

On  April  23,  1757,  John  Martin  and  William  Blair 
were  killed,  and  Patrick  McClelland  wounded,  who  died 
of  his  wounds,  near  Maxwell's  Fort;  May  12,  John  Mar- 
tin and  Andrew  Paul,  both  old  men,  were  captured;  June 
24,  Alexander  Miller  was  killed,  and  two  of  his  daughters, 
from  Conococheague;  July  27,  Mr.  McKissen  wounded, 
and  his  two  sons  captured,  at  the  South  Mountain;  August 
15,  William  Mauson  and  his  son  killed  near  Cross's  Fort; 
September  26,  Robert  Rush  and  John  McCracken,  with 
others,  killed  and  taken  captive  near  Chambersburg;  No- 
vember 9,  John  Woods,  his  wife  and  mother-in-law  and 
John  Archer's  wife,  were  killed,  four  children  taken  and 
nine  killed,  near  McDowell's  Fort;  May  21,  1758,  Joseph 


276  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Gallady  was  killed,  his  wife  and  one  child  taken  captive. 
On  July  26,  1764,  the  Indians  murdered  a  schoolmaster, 
named  Brown,  about  three  miles  north  of  Green  Castle, 
killed  ten  small  children,  and  scalped  and  left  for  dead  a 
young  lad,  x^rchibald  lYlcCullough,  who  recovered  and 
lived  for  many  years.  Bard,  in  his  "  Narrative  of  Cap- 
tivity," says,  "  It  was  remarkable  that,  with  few  excep- 
tions, the  scholars  were  much  averse  to  going  to  school 
that  morning."  The  account  given  by  McCullough  is 
that  two  of  the  scholars  informed  Mr.  Brown  that,  on 
their  way,  they  had  seen  Indians.  The  master,  however, 
paid  no  attention  to  what  had  been  told  him,  but  ordered 
them  to  their  books.  Soon  afterwards  two  old  Indians 
and  a  boy  rushed  up  to  the  door.  The  master  seeing 
them,  begged  the  Indians  to  take  his  life  and  spare  the 
children,  but,  unfeelingly,  the  two  old  Indians  stood  at  the 
door  while  the  boy  entered  the  building  and,  with  a  piece 
of  wood  in  the  form  of  an  Indian  maul,  killed  the  master 
and  scholars,  after  which  all  of  them  were  scalped. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Frontier  Forts. 

Fort  Loudoun. 
^T'HIS  fort  was  located 
vU  about  one  mile  dis- 
tant from  the  present  town 
of  Loudoun,  in  Franklin 
County.  It  was  erected  by 
Colonel  Armstrong  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  and 
situated  about  two  miles 
southwest  from  Parnell's 
J  Knob,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  West  Branch  of  the 
Conococheague  Creek,  where  Nathan  Patton  lived.  The 
village  of  Loudoun  stands  about  one  mile  west  of  the 
old  fort.  There  are  still  some  faint  indications  outside 
of  the  yard,  showing  where  it  was  built.  The  first  in- 
tention was  to  locate  the  defense  at  Barr's,  near  Mc- 
Dowell's Mill,  but  this  place  was  abandoned  because  the 
soil  was  considered  too  strong  and  heavy. 

Before  the  wagon  roads  were  made  it  was  a  great  point 
of  departure  for  pack-horse  trains  for  Bedford,  Fort  Cum- 

(277) 


278 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


berland  and  Pittsburgh.  Sir  John  Sinclair,  quartermaster 
general  of  General  Braddock,  moved  much  of  his  supplies 
by  that  route,  and  had  one  of  his  principal  magazines  at 


Frontier  Forts.  279 

McDowell's.  After  Braddock's  defeat  a  large  part  of  his 
dispirited  and  destitute  troops  returned  by  the  same  route, 
and  were  quartered  at  Shippensburg  and  Carlisle.  Later, 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  built  a  broad  wagon  road 
from  Fort  Loudoun  westward,  which  General  Forbes,  Col- 
onel Bouquet,  and  others  used  in  their  several  expeditions. 

Such  progress  was  made  on  the  fort,  that,  on  December 
22,  1756,  Mr.  Stevens  wrote,  "  The  public  stores  are  safely 
removed  from  McDowell's  Mill  to  Fort  Loudoun — the 
barracks  for  the  soldiers  are  built  and  some  proficiency 
made  in  the  stockade,  the  finishing  of  which  will  doubtless 
be  retarded  by  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  Yester- 
day the  escort  of  one  hundred  men  returned  from  Lyttle- 
ton,  who  left  the  cattle,  etc.,  safe  there,  and  to-day  will 
begin  to  dig  a  cellar  in  the  new  fort.  The  logs  and  roof 
of  a  new  house  having  there  been  erected  by  Patton  before 
the  Indians  burned  his  old  one,  we  shall  first  appraise  this 
house  and  then  take  the  benefit  of  it,  either  for  officers' 
barracks  or  a  store  house  for  provisions." 

The  first  intention  of  Colonel  Armstrong  was  to  call 
it  "  Pomfret  Castle,"  but  it  was  named  after  Lord  Lou- 
doun, who  arrived  on  the  previous  July  23rd,  as  general 
and  commander-in-chief  of  all  His  Majesty's  forces  in 
North  America. 

Fort  Lyttleton. 
In  Fulton  County  a  private  stockade  was  erected,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  on  the  farm 
latterly  owned  by  James  Kendall,  on  the  spot  occupied  by 
the  dwelling,  two  miles  south  of  McConnellsburg;  another 
in  the  southern  end  of  the  county,  on  the  farm  latterly 
owned  by  Major  George  Chesnut,  which  was  used  as  a 
place  of  refuge;  while  Fort  Lyttleton,  one  of  the  chain 


280  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  government  defenses,  was  located  in  the  northern  end 
of  the  county.  It  stood  at  Sugar  Cabins,  some  twenty 
miles  south  of  Fort  Shirley,  at  Aughwick;  of  it  Governor 
Morris  says,  February  9,  1756,  in  a  letter  to  General 
Shirley:  "It  stands  upon  the  new  road  opened  by  this 
Province  towards  the  Ohio,  and  about  twenty  miles  from 
the  settlements,  and  I  have  called  it  Fort  Lyttleton,  in 
honor  of  my  friend  George.  This  fort  will  not  only  pro- 
tect the  inhabitants  in  that  part  of  the  Province,  but  being 
upon  a  road  that,  within  a  few  miles,  joins  General  Brad- 
dock's  road,  it  will  prevent  the  march  of  any  regulars  into 
the  Province,  and  at  the  same  time  serve  as  an  advance 
post  or  magazine  in  case  of  an  attempt  to  the  westward. 
For  these  reasons  I  have  caused  it  to  be  built  in  a  regular 
form,  so  that  it  may,  in  a  little  time  and  at  a  small  expense, 
be  so  strengthened  as  to  hold  out  against  cannon." 

When  the  unfortunate  capture  and  destruction  of  Mc- 
Cord's  Stockade  occurred,  April,  1756,  Hance  Hamilton, 
then  in  command  at  Fort  Lyttleton,  wrote  to  Captain 
Potter,  under  date  of  April  4,  1756,  at  8  o'clock  p.  m.  : 

"  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  engagement,  many  of 
both  parties  killed  and  many  wounded,  the  number  un- 
known. 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,  supposing  Doctor  Jamison  is  killed  or  mortally 
wounded  in  the  expedition.  He  being  not  returned,  there- 
fore,  desire  you  will  send  an  express,   immediately,   for 


Frontier  Forts.  281 

Doctor  Prentice  to  Carlisle,  we  imagining  Doctor  Mercer 
cannot  leave  the  fort  under  the  circumstances  the  fort  is 
under." 

At  about  the  same  time,  Captain  Hamilton  sent  some 
Cherokee  Indians,  who  were  with  him  in  the  king's  pay, 
to  search  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains  to  see  if  there 
were  any  signs  of  Indians  on  that  route.  This  party  came 
upon  Captain  Mercer  unable  to  rise;  they  gave  him  food 
and  carried  him  to  Fort  Lyttleton  on  an  improvised 
stretcher. 

Fort  Shirley. 

In  a  line  due  north  from  Fort  Lyttleton,  distant  about 
twenty  miles,  stood  Fort  Shirley,  another  provincial  de- 
fense, in  Huntingdon  County,  on  or  near  the  banks  of 
the  Aughwick  Creek,  flowing  northward  into  the  Juniata 
River,  and  not  many  miles  distant  from  that  river  to  the 
southward.  Its  location  was  within  the  limits  of  the 
present  borough  of  Shirleysburg,  on  the  east  side  of  it 
about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  Aughwick  Creek,  where 
now  stands  the  Shirleysburg  Female  Seminary.  When 
Governor  Morris  made  his  inspection  of  the  frontiers  in 
December,  1755,  to  arrange  a  system  of  defense,  he  de- 
cided upon  this  spot  because:  "  This  stands  near  the  great 
path  used  by  the  Indians  and  Indian  traders,  to  and  from 
the  Ohio,  and  consequently  the  easiest  way  of  access  for 
the  Indians  into  the  settlements  of  this  Province." 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  government  fort,  and 
so  soon  as  the  first  outbreak  of  the  savages  had  taken  place, 
when  death  and  destruction  was  everywhere,  Captain 
Croghan  had  already  built  a  stockade,  the  beginning  of 
November,  1755,  at  Aughwick,  and  said:  "I  have  about 
forty  men  with  me  here,  but  how  long  I  shall  be  able  to 
keep  it,  I  really  can't  tell."     It  is  altogether  probable  that 


282  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

this  stockade  was  improved  and  enlarged,  becoming  the 
Fort  Shirley  of  which  we  are  writing.  Captain  Croghan 
continued  in  command  of  it  until  the  latter  part  of  March, 
1756,  some  little  time  after  its  completion.  He  was  re- 
lieved by  Captain  Hugh  Mercer. 

In  July,  1756,  the  Indians  from  Kittanning,  under 
Chiefs  Shingas  and  Jacobs,  captured  and  burned  Fort 
Granville.  Later  in  the  season  they  prepared  for  new 
incursions  and  an  attack  on  Fort  Shirley.  This,  however, 
was  prevented  by  the  determination  of  the  Government  to 
strike  the  first  blow.  An  expedition  was  organized,  under 
Colonel  John  Armstrong,  for  the  destruction  of  the 
enemy's  headquarters,  which  rendezvoused  at  Fort  Shirley 
and  marched  from  thence,  on  August  30,  1756,  against 
Kittanning,  an  account  of  which  will  be  given  in  due  time. 

Unfortunately,  the  location  and  construction  of  Fort 
Shirley  prevented  it  from  being  easily  defended.  With 
regard  to  this  matter  Colonel  Armstrong  wrote  to  Gover- 
nor Morris,  from  Carlisle,  on  August  20th,  as  follows: 
"As  Fort  Shirley  is  not  easily  defended,  and  their  water 
may  be  taken  possession  of  by  the  enemy,  it  running  at 
the  foot  of  a  high  bank  eastward  of  the  fort  and  no  well 
dug,  I  am  of  opinion,  from  its  remote  situation,  that  it 
cannot  serve  the  country  in  the  present  circumstances,  and 
if  attacked,  I  doubt  will  be  taken  if  not  strongly  garri- 
soned, but  extremities  excepted.  I  cannot  evacuate  this 
without  your  Honour's  orders." 

On  October  15,  1756,  Governor  Denny  announced  to 
the  Council  at  Philadelphia  that  Fort  Shirley  had  been 
evacuated  by  his  order. 

Fort  Granville. 
This  fort  stood  about  a  mile  west  of  the  present  Lewis- 
town,  Mifflin  County,  immediately  on  the  north  side  of  the 


Frontier  Forts. 


283 


284  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Juniata  River,  and  westward  from  where  the  Kishaco- 
quillas  Creek  empties  its  waters  into  the  Juniata  about  the 
distance  of  one  mile.  The  course  of  the  old  Pennsylvania 
Canal,  in  time,  ran  through  its  site,  practically  obliterating 
it.  We  are  told:  "It  was  selected  because  it  commands 
a  narrow  pass  where  the  Juniata  River  falls  through  the 
mountains,  which  is  so  circumstanced  that  a  few  men  can 
maintain  it  against  a  great  enemy,  as  the  rocks  are  very 
high  on  each  side  and  less  than  a  gun-shot  from  below." 

Some  time  prior  to  the  war  this  locality  was  settled  by 
Arthur  Buchanan,  his  two  sons  and  three  other  families. 
His  first  step  was  to  call  upon  the  Indians  and  signify  his 
intention  to  purchase  lands.  Their  head  chief  was  Cap- 
tain Jacobs,  so  named  by  Buchanan  because  of  his  close 
resemblance  to  a  burly  German  in  Cumberland  County, 
whose  connection  with  the  war  will  especially  appear  in 
the  account  of  Colonel  Armstrong's  expedition  against 
Kittanning.  At  first  the  Indians  were  unwilling  to  sell, 
but,  being  liberally  plied  with  liquor,  finally  decided  to 
do  so.  What  was  paid  for  the  land  has  not  been  divulged, 
but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  price  consisted  of  the 
contents  of  the  rum  keg,  a  few  trinkets  and  some  tobacco. 

On  July  22,  1756,  some  sixty  savages  appeared  before 
Fort  Granville  and  challenged  the  garrison  to  a  fight, 
which,  however,  was  declined  because  of  the  weakness  of 
the  force.  The  Indians  fired  at  and  wounded  one  man, 
who  had  been  a  short  way  from  the  fort,  but  who  man- 
aged to  get  into  it  safely;  after  this  they  divided  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 
party  made  Hugh  Carroll  and  his  family  prisoners. 

On  July  30,    1756,  Captain  Edward  Ward,  the  com- 


Frontier  Forts.  285 

mandant,  marched  from  the  fort,  with  a  detachment  com- 
prising a  large  part  of  the  garrison,  for  Tuscarora  Valley, 
where  they  were  needed  to  guard  the  settlers  while  har- 
vesting their  grain.  The  stockade  was  left  in  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Edward  Armstrong.  The  Indians,  knowing 
the  weakness  of  the  garrison,  immediately  surrounded  the 
fort  and  began  an  attack  upon  it,  which  they  continued,  in 
their  skulking  manner,  through  the  afternoon  and  follow- 
ing night,  but  without  inflicting  much  damage.  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, 
Lieutenant  Armstrong,  and  one  private  soldier,  and  wound- 
ing three  others. 

They  then  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort  and  gar- 
rison, promising  to  spare  their  lives  if  the  demand  was 
acceded  to.  Upon  this,  a  man  named  John  Turner,  pre- 
viously a  resident  in  the  Buffalo  Valley,  opened  the  gates 
and  the  besiegers  at  once  entered  and  took  possession,  cap- 
turing, as  prisoners,  twenty-two  men,  three  women  and  a 
number  of  children.  The  fort  was  burned  by  Chief 
Jacobs,  under  orders  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  Kittanning,  the  Indian 
rendezvous,  all  the  prisoners  were  cruelly  treated,  and 
Turner,  the  man  who  had  opened  the  gate  to  the  savages, 
suffered  the  cruel  death  by  burning  at  the  stake,  enduring 


286  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

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  was  torn  from  his  head  and  burning  splinters  were 
stuck  in  his  flesh,  until,  at  last,  an  Indian  boy,  who  was 
held  up  for  the  purpose,  sank  a  hatchet  in  the  brain  of  the 
victim  and  so  released  him  from  his  agony. 

Colonel  Armstrong,  in  writing  to  Governor  Morris, 
from  Carlisle,  on  August  20,  1756,  gives  the  following 
statement  of  Peter  Walker,  an  escaped  prisoner: 

"  This  McDowell  told  Walker  they  designed  very  soon 
to  attack  Fort  Shirley  with  four  hundred  men.  Captain 
Jacobs  said  he  would  take  any  fort  that  would  catch  fire, 
and  would  make  peace  with  the  English  when  they  had 
learned  him  to  make  gunpowder.  McDowell  told  Walker 
they  had  two  Indians  killed  in  the  engagement;  but  Cap- 
tains Armstrong  and  Ward,  whom  I  ordered  on  their 
march  to  Fort  Shirley  to  examine  everything  at  Granville 
and  send  a  list  of  what  remained  among  the  ruins,  assures 
me  that  they  found  some  parts  of  eight  of  the  enemy  burnt, 
in  two  different  places,  the  joints  of  them  being  scarcely 
separated;  and  part  of  their  shirts  found  through  which 
there  were  bullet  holes.  To  secrete  these  from  the  pris- 
oners was  doubtless  the  reason  why  the  French  officer 
marched  our  people  some  distance  from  the  fort  before  he 
gave  orders  to  burn  the  barracks,  &c.  Walker  says  that 
some  of  the  Germans  flagged  very  much  on  the  second  day, 
and  that  the  lieutenant  behaved  with  the  greatest  bravery 
to  the  last,  despising  all  the  terrors  and  threats  of  the 
enemy  whereby  they  often  urged  him  to  surrender.  Though 
he  had  been  near  two  days  without  water,  but  little  ammu- 
nition left,  the  fort  on  fire  and  the  enemy  situate  within 
twelve  or  fourteen  yards  of  the   fort  under  the  natural 


Frontier  Forts.  287 

bank,  he  was  as  far  from  yielding  as  when  at  first  attacked. 
A  Frenchman  in  our  service,  fearful  of  being  burned  up, 
asked  leave  of  the  lieutenant  to  treat  with  his  countrymen 
in  the  French  language.  The  lieutenant  answered  '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  extin- 
guished; but  he  soon  after  received  the  fatal  shot." 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  following  deposition  was 
made,  later,  by  John  Hogan,  another  escaped  prisoner, 
before  Colonel  Armstrong : 

"  Cumberland  County,  June  1st,  1757,  before  me,  John 
Armstrong,  Esquire,  one  of  his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the 
Peace  for  the  county  of  Cumberland  aforesaid,  came  John 
Hogan,  late  a  soldier  belonging  to  Capt.  Edward  Ward's 
company  of  Foot  in  the  pay  of  the  Province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  declares  and  says  that  on  or  about  the  first  day 
of  August  he  with  several  others  was  taken  prisoner  at 
Fort  Granville  by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians — consist- 
ing of  one  hundred  Indians  and  fifty  French — who  took 
him  and  the  rest  of  the  prisoners  to  Kittanning,  where  they 
were  about  three  hours,  at  which  time  John  Turner,  one 
of  the  prisoners,  was  burnt.  They  were  then  taken  down 
the  river  to  Fort  Duquesne  where  they  were  a  few  hours ; 
the  French  and  Indians  not  agreeing;  when  they  proceeded 
to  Logstown  where  he  continued  until  he  made  his  escape. 
And  this  deponent  further  says  that  the  Indians  sold  a 
prisoner  to  the  French  for  which  they  received  a  nine- 
gallon  keg  of  brandy.  The  deponent  states  that  he  and 
George  Hily,  another  prisoner,  considered  this  a  good  time 
to  escape,  because  it  was  customary  for  the  Indians  on 
such  occasions  to  get  drunk  and  have  a  frolic,  which  they 


288 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


did,  whereupon  they  set  off  and  brought  with  them  Martin 
Borrowelly,  another  prisoner,  and  arrived  at  the  south 
branch  of  the  Potomac  in  three  weeks  from  the  time  of 
their  escape.  Sworn  at  Carlisle  the  first  day  of  June, 
1757,  before 

"  John  Armstrong." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Story  of  Manada. 


IT 


Manada  Fort. 

N  returning  to  the  defenses 
east   of   the    Susquehanna 
we   reach  those  along  the  Blue 
Range,  where  nearly  all  the  set- 
tlers were  of  German  blood. 

The  first  in  order,  from  Fort 
Hunter,  were  the  ones  at  Ma- 
nada Gap,  some  twelve  miles 
distant.  They  were  three  in  number,  one  of  which  only 
was  erected  by  the  Government. 

At  this  point  in  the  Blue  Range  the  mountains  are 
broken  up  into  a  series  of  ranges,  known  as  the  First 
Mountain,  the  Second,  Third,  Fourth,  Peter's  Mountain, 
etc.  Manada  Gap  is  the  narrow  passage  in  the  First 
Mountain  where  the  Manada  Creek,  formed  between  it 
and  the  Second  Mountain,  has  forced  its  way  through,  on 
its  journey  towards  its  larger  sister,  the  Swatara  Creek. 

(289) 


290  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Right  at  this  entrance  stands,  to-day,  the  grist  mill  of  Mr. 
Jacob  Early,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Robinson  mill,  which 
occupied  land  belonging,  at  one  time,  to  Timothy  Green. 
The  original  Robinson's  Mill  was  a  stone  structure,  which, 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  had  been  pierced  with  loop- 
holes and  served,  admirably,  as  a  place  of  refuge  before 
the  advent  of  provincial  troops  and  a  provincial  fort.  It 
was  from  this  building,  called  "  Robeson's  Fort,"  that, 
one  day,  a  lad  standing  at  a  corner  window,  while  watch- 
ing some  of  the  men  dressing  meat,  noticed  the  approach 
of  an  Indian  who  was  endeavoring  to  conceal  himself 
behind  a  green  bush,  and  who  fled  when  discovered  and 
fired  upon. 

Excellent  in  itself  as  a  place  of  defense,  the  mill  was 
too  close  to  the  mountain  to  be  conveniently  located  as  a 
place  of  refuge  and  protection  for  the  settlers,  whose  dwell- 
ings were  generally  more  distant  from  the  Gap  proper. 
Therefore,  with  the  formation  of  a  regular  military  estab- 
lishment by  the  Province,  Captain  Smith,  who  on  January 
26,  1756,  had  relieved  Captain  Adam  Read  and  his  militia 
company,  was  order  to  take  a  detachment  of  his  company, 
proceed  to  Manada  Gap,  and  there  either  strengthen  the 
old  stockade  of  the  settlers,  or  erect  a  new  one,  as  he 
might  see  fit.  This  would  indicate  that  the  people  had 
already  made  some  progress  on  a  stockade  of  their  own, 
at  a  suitable  place.  It  is  more  than  likely  that  Captain 
Smith  occupied  and  completed  it.  It  stood  on  what  is 
now  the  property  of  William  Rhoads,  at  the  west  end  of 
the  field  on  which  the  house  is  built,  and  some  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  below  the  Gap.  About  one-half  mile  to  the 
southeast  is  the  Methodist  meeting  house,  and,  probably 
an  equal  distance  to  the  southwest,  the  Manada  Furnace. 
No  trace  of  the  fort  remains,  nor  any  knowledge  of  its 


The  Story  of  Manada.  291 

appearance,  but  it  doubtless  consisted  merely  of  one  block- 
house surrounded  by  a  stockade. 

The  third  defense,  known  as  "Brown's  Fort"  was 
merely  a  private  house,  garrisoned  by  a  squad  of  Captain 
Smith's  company  during  the  harvest  season  of  1756.  It 
was  a  stone  building  which  stood  close  to  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  on  the  main  road  between  Fort  Swatara,  Ma- 
nada Fort  and  Manada  Gap,  about  one  and  three-quarter 
miles  east  from  Manada  Fort.  Part  of  the  walls  of  the 
building  are  still  in  existence. 

Another  location  of  interest  in  the  neighborhood  is  the 
home  of  Adam  Read.  As  Justice  of  the  Peace  he  was 
very  prominent;  his  house  became  the  rallying  point  of 
the  settlers  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  at  which  time  he 
was  commissioned  a  captain,  and  guarded  the  frontier  until 
relieved  by  the  provincial  troops.  It  stood  on  Read's 
Creek,  just  above  its  mouth,  which  empties  into  the  Swa- 
tara Creek  some  one  and  a  quarter  miles  southeast  from 
the  village  of  Harper's.  It  was  at  this  latter  place,  where 
the  Swatara  makes  a  sharp  bend  to  the  north,  that  Adam 
Harper  settled  himself  at  an  early  period,  at  which  was 
then  the  most  western  location  in  the  county.  He  was 
surrounded  by  Indians,  who  had  a  string  of  wigwams 
hard  by  his  home.  He  kept  the  first  public  house  in  all 
that  region  of  country,  and  the  place  is  still  known  as 
"Harper's  Tavern."  Not  half  a  mile  distant  from  it, 
in  1756,  the  Indians  killed  five  or  six  persons.  A  woman, 
a  sister  of  Major  Leidig,  was  scalped  by  the  Indians,  but 
survived  the  barbarous  act  and  lived  for  years  afterwards. 

About  two  miles  distant  from  Harper's,  and  one  and  a 
half  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Mt.  Nebo,  caves  are  still 
to  be  found  along  the  banks  of  the  Swatara  Creek  which, 
local  tradition  unites  in  saying,  were  used  by  the  settlers 
as  places  of  refuge  from  the  Indians. 


292 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


With  this  understanding  of  localities  and  locations  we 
are  prepared  to  read  some  of  the  incidents  pertaining  to 
the  war. 


""■"•LA M^^imf '>iim\t  ^  '»  v 


%«/%#'  /;//f 


0°  0 


&« 


,l'UCl 


w\^  * 


t>' 


SITE  OF   FORTS   AT   MANADA   GAP. 


In  August,  1756,  a  soldier,  named  Jacob  Ellis,  belong- 
ing to  Captain  Smith's  company,  was  stationed  at  Brown's 
Fort.  He  lived  just  within  Manada  Gap,  and  as  his 
wheat  was  ripe  he  was  anxious  to  harvest.  Having  pre- 
vailed upon  his  officer  to  give  him  an  escort  of  ten  men, 


The  Story  of  Manada.  293 

during  the  early  morning  of  August  6,  they  proceeded  to 
his  home  and  started  to  work.  Unfortunately,  they  kept 
a  poor  lookout,  so  that,  about  10  A.  M.,  after  they  had 
reaped  down  the  field  and  were  about  ready  to  begin  at 
the  head  once  more,  they  were  surprised  by  three  Indians, 
who  had  crept  up  to  the  fence  at  their  backs,  and  who 
opened  fire  upon  them,  killing  the  corporal  outright  and 
wounding  a  soldier  who  was  standing  beside  him  with  a 
gun  in  one  hand  and  a  bottle  in  the  other,  so  that  his  left 
arm  was  broken  in  two  places  and  his  gun  fell  to  the 
ground.  Seeing  that  the  men  had  piled  their  guns  at  a 
large  tree  half-way  down  the  field,  the  Indians  rushed  into 
their  midst,  uttering  terrible  cries  and  war-whoops.  The 
soldiers  at  once  ran  for  their  arms,  and,  as  one  of  the 
savages,  who  had  left  his  gun  on  the  other  side  of  the 
fence,  was  hastening  to  secure  that  of  the  wounded  man, 
he  was  shot  by  three  who  stood  behind  the  tree  before  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  kill  his  victim.  Pandemonium 
reigned  supreme  for  a  short  time,  but  the  Indians  finally 
fled,  being  outnumbered.  One  of  them  ran  between  two 
soldiers,  both  of  whom  fired  at  him  but  missed  him ;  another 
was  wounded  but  also  managed  to  get  away.  As  they  left 
the  field  they  fired  one  gun  and  gave  a  halloa. 

The  soldiers,  having  hid  the  man  who  was  killed,  went 
back  to  the  fort  and  then  found  that  James  Brown  who 
lived  in  the  house,  was  missing.  The  lieutenant  went 
from  Manada  Fort,  with  more  men,  and  brought  in  the 
dead  body  but  could  find  no  trace  of  Brown.  Adam 
Read,  hearing  the  noise  of  the  firing  at  his  home,  went 
up,  with  some  neighbors,  the  next  morning,  to  see  if  he 
could  render  any  assistance.  Captain  Smith,  being  noti- 
fied of  the  occurrence,  also  came  up  from  Fort  Swatara  the 
same  morning.     In  the  meantime  the  body  of  the  missing 


294  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

man  had  been  found.     He  was  killed  by  the  last  shot  fired 
by  the  Indians,  and  had  been  scalped. 

In  October,  1756,  Adam  Read  wrote  to  the  Provincial 
Council  the  following  letter,  setting  forth  the  condition 
of  affairs  at  that  time,  and  pleading  for  assistance: 

"Friends  and  Fellow  Subjects: 

"  I  send  you,  in  a  few  lines,  the  maloncholly  condition 
of  the  Frontiers  of  this  Country;  last  Tuesday  the  12  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  Rifle  Gun  &ca,  it  being  but  two 
short  miles  from  Captain  Smith's  Fort,  at  Swatawro  Gap, 
and  a  little  better  than  two  from  my  House. 

"  Last  Saturday  Evening  an  Indian  came  to  the  House 
of  Philip  Robeson,  carrying  a  Green  Bush  before  him,  said 
Robeson's  Son  being  on  the  Corner  of  his  Fort  watching 
others  that  was  dressing  flech  by  him,  the  Indian  per- 
ceiving that  he  was  observed  fled;  the  watchman  fired  but 
missed  him;  this  being  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from 
Manady  Fort;  and  Yesterday  Morning,  two  miles  from 
Smith's  Fort,  at  Swatawro,  in  Bethel  Township,  as  Jacob 
Fornival  was  going  from  the  house  of  Jacob  Meyler  to 
his  own,  was  fird  upon  by  two  Indians  and  wounded,  but 
escaped  with  his  life,  and  a  little  after,  in  the  said  Town- 
ship, as  Frederick  Henley  and  Peter  Stample  was  carrying 
away  their  Goods  in  waggons  was  met  by  a  parcel  of  In- 
dians 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  Eland  as  yet,  but  that  the  Indians  was  continuing 


The  Story  of  Manada.  295 

their  Murders.  The  Frontiers  is  employed  in  nothing 
but  carrying  off  their  Effects,  so  that  some  miles  is  now 
waist.  We  are  willing,  but  not  able  without  help;  You 
are  able  if  you  be  willing  (that  is  Including  the  lower 
parts  of  the  Country)  to  give  us  such  assistance  as  will 
enable  us  to  redeem  our  waist  Land;  You  may  depend  on 
it  that  without  Assistance  we  in  a  few  days  will  be  on  the 
wrong  side  of  you,  for  I  am  now  a  Frontier,  and  I  fear 
that  the  Morrow  Night  I  will  be  left  some  miles.  Gen- 
tlemen, consider  what  you  will  do,  and  not  be  long  about 
it,  and  let  not  the  world  say  that  we  die  as  fools  dyed. 
Our  Hands  is  not  tied,  but  let  us  exert  ourselves  and  do 
something  for  the  Honour  of  our  Country  and  preserva- 
tion of  our  Fellow  Subjects;  I  hope  you  will  communicate 
our  Grievances  to  the  lower  parts  of  our  Country,  for 
surely  they  will  send  us  some  help  if  they  understand  our 
Grievances.  I  wou'd  have  gone  down  myself,  but  dare 
not,  my  Family  is  in  such  Danger.  I  expect  an  Answer 
by  the  Bearer,  if  Possible. 

"  I  am,  Gentlemen,  Your  very  humble  Servant, 

"Adam  Read. 

"  Before  sending  this  away  I  have  just  rec'd  information 
that  there  is  seven  Killed  &  five  Children  Scalped  a  Live, 
but  not  the  Account  of  their  names." 

The  following  interesting  incident  is  related  by  Dr.  Egle 
in  his  "History  of  Dauphin  County": 

"The  Barnetts  and  their  immediate  neighbors  erected 
a  block  house  in  proximity  to  Col.  Green's  Mill  (Robin- 
sons, now  Earlys  Mill  on  land  of  Timothy  Green)  on 
the  Manada,  for  the  better  safety  of  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren, while  they  cultivated  their  farms  in  groups,  one  or 


296  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

two  standing  as  sentinels.  In  the  year  1757  there  was 
at  work  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Barnett  a  small  group,  one 
of  which  was  an  estimable  man  named  Mackey.  News 
came  with  flying  speed  that  their  wives  and  children  were 
all  murdered  at  the  block  house  by  the  Indians.  Prepa- 
ration was  made  immediately  to  repair  to  the  scene  of 
horror.  While  Mr.  Barnett  with  all  possible  haste  was 
getting  ready  his  horse,  he  requested  Mackey  to  examine 
his  rifle  to  see  that  it  was  in  order.  Everything  right 
they  all  mounted  their  horses  rifle  in  hand,  and  gallopped 
off,  taking  a  near  way  to  the  block  house.  A  party  of 
Indians  lying  in  ambush  rose  and  fired  at  Mr.  Barnett, 
who  was  foremost,  and  broke  his  right  arm.  His  rifle 
dropped;  an  Indian  snatched  it  up  and  shot  Mr.  Mackey 
through  the  heart.  He  fell  at  their  feet,  and  one  secured 
his  scalp.  Mr.  Barnett's  father,  who  was  in  the  rear 
of  his  company,  turned  back,  but  was  pursued  by  the  In- 
dians, and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Barnett'e  noble  and  high  spirited  horse,  which 
the  Indians  greatly  wished  to  possess,  carried  him  swiftly 
out  of  the  enemy's  reach,  but,  becoming  weak  and  faint 
from  the  loss  of  blood,  he  fell  to  the  ground  and  lay  for  a 
considerable  time  unable  to  rise.  At  length,  by  a  great 
effort,  he  crept  to  a  buckwheat  field,  where  he  concealed 
himself  until  the  Indians  had  retired  from  the  immediate 
vicinity,  and  then,  raising  a  signal,  he  was  soon  perceived 
by  a  neighbor  who,  after  hesitating  for  some  time  for  fear 
of  the  Indians,  came  to  his  relief.  Surgical  aid  was  pro- 
cured, and  his  broken  arm  bound  up,  but  the  anxiety  of  his 
mind  respecting  his  family  was  a  heavy  burden  which 
agonized  his  soul,  and  not  until  the  next  day  did  he  hear 
that  they  were  safe,  with  the  exception  of  his  eldest  son, 
then  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  whom  the  Indians  had 


The  Story  of  Manada.  297 

taken  prisoner,  together  with  a  son  of  Mackey's  about 
the  same  age.  The  savages  on  learning  that  one  of  their 
captives  was  a  son  of  Mackey,  whom  they  had  just  killed, 
compelled  him  to  stretch  his  father's  scalp  and  this  heart- 
rending, soul-sickening  office  he  was  obliged  to  perform  in 
sight  of  the  mangled  body  of  his  father. 

"  The  Indians  escaped  with  the  two  boys  westward, 
and,  for  a  time,  Mackey's  son  carried  his  father's  scalp, 
which  he  would  often  stroke  with  his  little  hand  and  say 
'  my  father's  pretty  hair.' 

"  Mr.  Barnett  lay  languishing  on  a  sick-bed,  his  case 
doubtful  for  a  length  of  time,  but,  having  a  strong  consti- 
tution, he,  at  last,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  revived, 
losing  about  four  inches  of  a  bone  near  the  elbow  of  his 
right  arm. 

"  But  who  can  tell  the  intense  feeling  of  bitterness 
which  filled  the  mind  and  absorbed  the  thoughts  of  him 
and  his  tender  sensitive  companion,  their  beloved  child 
traversing  the  wilderness,  a  prisoner  with  a  savage  people, 
exposed  to  cold  and  hunger  and  subject  to  their  wanton 
cruelty?  Who  can  tell  of  their  sleepless  nights,  the  anx- 
ious days,  prolonged  through  long,  weary  months  and 
years;  their  fervent  prayers,  their  bitter  tears,  and  en- 
feebled health? 

"  The  prospect  of  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  with  the 
return  of  prisoners,  at  length  brought  a  gleam  of  joy  to 
the  stricken  hearts  of  these  parents.  Accordingly,  Mr. 
Barnett  left  his  family  behind  and  set  off  with  Col.  Croghan 
and  a  body  of  five  hundred  '  regulars '  who  were  destined 
to  Fort  Pitt  for  that  purpose.  Their  baggage  and  pro- 
visions conveyed  on  pack  horses,  they  made  their  way  over 
the  mountains  with  the  greatest  difficulty.  When  they 
arrived  at  their  place  of  destination  Col.  Croghan  made 


298  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

strict  inquiry  concerning  the  fate  of  the  little  captives. 
After  much  fruitless  search,  he  was  informed  that  a  squaw, 
who  had  lost  a  son,  had  adopted  the  son  of  Mr.  Barnett 
and  was  very  unwilling  to  part  with  him,  and  he,  believing 
his  father  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians,  had  become  rec- 
onciled to  his  fate,  and  was  much  attached  to  his  Indian 
mother. 

"  Mr.  Barnett  remained  with  the  troops  for  some  time 
without  obtaining  or  even  seeing  his  son.  Fears  began  to 
be  entertained  at  Fort  Pitt  of  starvation.  Surrounded  by 
multitude  of  savages,  there  seemed  little  prospect  of  re- 
lief, and,  to  add  to  the  despondency,  a  scouting  party 
returned  with  the  distressing  news  that  the  expected  pro- 
visions, which  were  on  the  way  to  their  relief,  were  taken 
by  the  Indians.  They  almost  despaired, — five  hundred 
men  in  a  picket  fort  on  the  wild  banks  of  the  Allegheny 
River  without  provisions.  The  thought  was  dreadful. 
They  became  reduced  to  one  milch  cow  each  day,  for  five 
days,  killed  and  divided  among  the  five  hundred.  The 
three  following  days  they  had  nothing.  To  their  great  joy, 
on  the  evening  of  the  third  provisions  arrived.  Every 
sunken,  pale,  despairing  countenance  gathered  brightness, 
but,  owing  to  its  imprudent  use,  which  the  officers  could 
not  prevent,  many  died. 

"  While  the  treaty  was  pending  many  were  killed  by 
the  Indians,  who  were  continually  prowling  around  the 
fort.  One  day  Mr.  Barnett  wished  a  drink  of  water  from 
Grant's  Spring  (this  spring  is  near  Grant  Street,  in  the 
city  of  Pittsburgh,  known  to  most  of  the  older  inhabi- 
tants) ;  he  took  his  'camp-kettle'  and  proceeded  a  few 
steps,  when  he  suddenly  thought  the  adventure  might  cost 
him  his  life,  and  turned  back;  immediately  he  heard  the 
report  of  a   rifle,    and,   looking   towards   the  Spring,   he 


The  Story  of  Manada.  299 

saw  the  smoke  of  the  same, — the  unerring  aim  of  an 
Indian  had  deprived  a  soldier  of  life.  They  bore  away 
his  scalp,  and  his  body  was  deposited  on  the  bank  of  the 
Allegheny. 

"The  treaty  was  concluded  and  ratified  by  the  parties; 
nevertheless  great  caution  was  necessary  on  the  part  of  the 
whites,  knowing  the  treachery  of  many  of  their  foes. 

"  Mr.  Barnett  was  most  unhappy.  His  hopes  concern- 
ing his  child  had  not  been  realized,  and  he  had  been  absent 
from  his  family  already  too  long.  Soon  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  treaty  a  guard,  with  the  pack  horses,  started 
to  cross  the  mountains,  and  he  gladly  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a  safe  return.  After  injunctions  laid  upon  Col. 
Croghan  to  purchase,  if  possible,  his  son,  he  bade  him,  and 
his  associates  in  hardships,  farewell,  and,  after  a  toilsome 
journey,  reached  home  and  embraced,  once  more,  his 
family,  who  were  joyful  at  his  return.  But  the  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  absence  of  one  of  its  members  still  re- 
mained. He  told  them  that  William  was  alive,  soothed 
their  grief,  wiped  away  the  tears  from  the  cheeks  of  his 
wife,  and  expressed  a  prayerful  hope  that,  through  the 
interposition  of  a  kind  Providence,  he  would  eventually 
be  restored  to  them. 

"  Faithful  to  his  promise,  Col.  Croghan  used  every  en- 
deavor to  obtain  him.  At  length,  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  traders,  he  was  successful.  He  was  brought  to 
Fort  Pitt,  and,  for  want  of  an  opportunity  to  send  him 
to  his  father,  was  retained  under  strict  guard,  so  great  was 
his  inclination  to  return  to  savage  life.  On  one  occasion 
he  sprang  down  the  bank  of  the  Allegheny  River,  jumped 
into  a  canoe,  and  was  midway  in  the  stream  before  he  was 
observed.  He  was  quickly  pursued,  but  reached  the  oppo- 
site shore,  raised  the  Indian  whoop,  and  hid  himself  among 


300  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  bushes.  After  several  hours'  pursuit  he  was  retaken 
and  brought  back  to  the  fort.  Soon  after,  an  opportunity 
offering,  he  was  sent  to  Carlisle.  His  father,  having  busi- 
ness at  that  place,  arrived  after  dark  on  the  same  day, 
and,  without  knowing,  took  lodging  at  the  same  public 
house  where  his  son  was,  and  who  had  been  some  time  in 
bed.  As  soon  as  he  was  aware  of  the  fact  he  asked 
eagerly  to  see  him.  The  landlord  entreated  him  to  let 
the  boy  rest  till  morning,  as  he  was  much  wearied  by 
traveling.  To  this  the  father  would  not  assent,  replying, 
'  If  a  son  of  yours  had  been  absent  for  three  years  could 
you  rest  under  the  same  roof  without  seeing  him  ?'  The 
hardy  host  felt  the  appeal  and  led  the  way  to  the  chamber. 
The  sleeping  boy  was  awakened  and  told  his  father  stood 
by  his  bed.  He  replied  in  broken  English,  '  No  my  father.' 
At  this  moment  his  father  spoke,  saying,  '  William,  my 
son,  look  at  me;  I  am  your  father!'  On  hearing  his  voice 
and  seeing  his  face  he  sprang  from  the  bed,  clasped  him 
in  his  arms,  and  shouted,  'My  father!  My  father  is  still 
alive!'  All  the  spectators  shed  tears,  the  father  wept  like 
a  child,  while  from  his  lips  flowed  thankful  expressions  of 
gratitude,  to  the  Almighty  disposer  of  all  events,  that  his 
long-lost  child  was  again  restored. 

"  Early  the  next  day  the  father  and  son  were  on  the  road 
homewards,  where  they  arrived  on  the  second  day  in  the 
dusk  of  the  evening.  The  rattling  of  the  wheels  an- 
nounced their  approach;  the  mother  and  all  the  children 
came  forth.  She,  whose  frequent  prayers  had  heretofore 
been  addressed  to  the  Throne  of  Divine  Grace  for  the 
safety  and  return  of  her  son,  now  trembled  and  was  almost 
overcome  as  she  beheld  him  led  by  his  father  and  pre- 
sented to  her,  the  partner  of  her  sorrows.  She  caught 
him  to  her  bosom  and  held  him  long  in  her  embrace,  while 


The  Story  of  Manada.  301 

tears  of  joy  flowed.  His  brothers  and  sisters  clustered 
around  and  welcomed  him  with  a  kiss  of  affection.  It 
was  a  scene  of  deep  feeling  not  to  be  described,  and  known 
only  to  those  who  have  been  in  similar  circumstances. 
The  happy  family,  all  once  more  beneath  the  parental 
roof,  knelt  down  and  united  in  thanksgiving  to  Almighty 
God  for  all  His  mercies  to  them  in  protecting  and  restor- 
ing to  their  arms  a  beloved  and  long  absent  child. 

"  The  children  scrutinized  him  with  curiosity  and  amaze- 
ment. Dressed  in  Indian  costume,  composed  of  a  breech- 
cloth  around  the  waist,  with  moccasins  and  leggins,  his 
hair  about  three  inches  long,  and  standing  erect,  he  pre- 
sented a  strange  appearance.  By  degrees  he  laid  aside  the 
dress  of  the  wilderness  , which  he  greatly  preferred,  forgot 
the  Indian  language,  and  became  reconciled  to  his  native 
home.  But  the  rude  treatment  which  he  received  from 
the  Indians  impaired  his  constitution.  They  frequently 
broke  holes  in  the  ice  on  rivers  and  creeks  and  dipped 
him  in  to  make  him  hardy,  which  his  feeble  system  could 
not  endure  without  injury. 

"  Respecting  the  son  of  Mackey,  he  was  given  by  the 
Indians  to  the  French,  and  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
English,  and  was  taken  to  England,  came  as  a  soldier  in 
the  British  army  to  America  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  He  procured  a  furlough  from  his  officers 
and  sought  out  his  widowed  mother,  who  was  still  living, 
and  who  had  long  mourned  him  as  dead.  She  could  not 
recognize  him  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years.  He 
stood  before  her  a  robust,  fine-looking  man,  in  whom  she 
could  see  no  familiar  traces  of  her  lost  boy.  He  called 
her  'mother,'  and  told  her  he  was  her  son,  which  she  did 
not  believe.  'If  you  are  my  son,'  she  said,  'you  have  a 
mark  upon  your  knee  that  I  will  know.'     His  knee  was 


302  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

exposed  to  her  view,  and  she  instantly  exclaimed  '  My 
son  indeed!'  Half  frantic  with  joy,  she  threw  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  and  was  clasped  in  those  of  her  son.  'Oh, 
my  son,'  said  she,  '  I  thought  you  were  dead,  but  God  has 
preserved  you  and  given  me  this  happiness.  Thanks, 
thanks  to  His  name !  Through  long  years  I  have 
mourned  that  sorrowful  day  which  bereft  me  of  my  hus- 
band and  child.  I  have  wept  in  secret  till  grief  has  nearly 
consumed  me,  till  my  heart  grew  sick  and  my  poor  brain 
almost  crazed  by  the  remembrance.  I  have  become  old 
more  through  sorrow  than  years,  but  I  have  endeavored 
to  "kiss  the  rod"  which  chastised  me.  My  afflictions  have 
not  been  sent  in  vain,  they  have  had  their  subduing  and 
purifying  effect;  heaven  became  more  attractive  as  earth 
became  dark  and  desolate.  But  I  now  feel  that  I  shall 
yet  see  earthly  happiness.  Nothing  in  this  world,  my  son, 
shall  separate  us  but  death.'  He  never  returned  to  the 
British  army,  but  remained  with  his  mother  and  contrib- 
uted to  her  support  in  her  declining  years. 

'  There  was  another  interesting  meeting,  that  of  Mackey 
with  the  son  of  Mr.  Barnett.  They  recapitulated  the 
scenes  of  hardship  through  which  they  passed  while 
together  with  the  Indians,  which  were  indelibly  impressed 
upon  the  memory  of  both.  They  presented  a  great  con- 
trast in  appearance, — Barnett  a  pale,  delicate  man,  and 
Mackey  the  reverse.  The  former  sank  into  an  early 
grave,  leaving  a  wife  and  daughter.  The  daughter  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Franks,  who  subsequently  removed  to  the  city 
of  New  York. 

"  Mr.  Barnett,  the  older,  after  experiencing  a  great 
sorrow  in  the  loss  of  his  wife,  removed  to  Allegheny 
County,  spending  his  remaining  days  with  a  widowed 
daughter.     He  died  in  November,  1808,  aged  eighty-two 


The  Story  of  Manada. 


303 


years,  trusting  in  the  merits  of  a  Divine  Providence.  His 
eventful  and  checkered  life  was  a  life  of  faith,  always 
praying  for  a  sanctified  use  of  his  trials,  which  were  many. 
His  dust  reposes  in  the  little  churchyard  of  Lebanon, 
Mifflin  Township,  Allegheny  County." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
On  the  Swatara. 

Fort  Swatara. 

HFTER  the  massacre  at 
Penn's  Creek,  on  October 
1 6,  1755,  the  savages  took  a 
direct  route  to  the  Swatara  Gap, 
as  the  easiest  and  most  convenient 
place  of  access  to  the  thickly  set- 
tled regions  south  of  the  moun- 
tains. To  save  and  protect  themselves,  as  best  they  could, 
the  settlers  selected  the  home  of  Peter  Heydrick  and 
turned  it  into  a  place  of  defense  and  refuge.  Like  Adam 
Read  Mr.  Heydrick  was  commissioned  as  captain  of  a 
militia  company,  which  garrisoned  the  improvised  fort 
and  ranged  over  the  vicinity  until  relieved  by  the  pro- 
vincial troops. 

The  reader  has  already  been  told  of  the  sad  events 
which  occurred  in  this  locality  during  the  fall  of  1755. 

On  January  6,  1756,  Captain  Frederick  Smith,  of  Ches- 
ter County,  was  ordered  to  proceed,  with  his  company,  to 
Reading,  there  to  be  mustered  into  the  provincial  service 

(304) 


On  the  Swatara. 


305 


by  James  Read.  This  having  been  done,  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  the  same  month  he  was  ordered  to  the  "  gap  at 
Tolehaio  where  Swehatara  comes  through  the  mountain, 
and  in  some  convenient  place  there  to  erect  a  Fort,  of  the 


,  STATE  mO  JO  HARHISBU^Z 


SWATARA 


Mountains  . 

V 


SITE  OF  FORT  SWATARA. 

form  and  dimentions  herewith  given  you,  unless  you  shall 
Judge  the  Staccado,  already  erected  there,  conveniently 
placed,  in  which  case  you  will  take  possession  of  it,  and 
make  such  additional  works  as  you  may  think  necessary  to 
render  it  sufficiently  strong  and  defenceable." 


306  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

He  found  the  stockade  erected  by  the  settlers  to  be  well 
located  and  available  for  the  purpose.  It  was  therefore 
completed  and  strengthened,  becoming  the  Fort  Swatara 
of  our  sketch. 

It  stood  in  what  is  now  a  field,  at  the  end  of  the  private 
farm  road  leading  from  the  State  Road  to  the  farm  of 
Joseph  Behny,  distant  from  the  former  some  eighty  yards, 
and  from  Inwood  Station,  at  Swatara  Gap,  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  southwest.  It  is  about  twelve  miles  east  of 
Manada  Gap.  The  farm  was  sold  by  Elizabeth  Shuey 
to  William  Coppenhaver,  and  by  him  to  Jacob  Behney, 
whose  home  is  near  that  of  Joseph.  It  is  on  the  left  side 
of  the  road,  with  a  spring  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
fort,  and  a  fine  run  of  water  directly  south  of  it,  flowing 
east  and  west.  It  commands  the  roads  to  Harrisburg, 
Swatara  Gap,  and  the  country  below.  The  defense  was 
doubtless  a  single  block-house  surrounded  by  a  stockade. 

In  1757  Fort  Swatara  furnished  its  proportion  of  the 
no  men  ordered  by  Colonel  Weiser  to  act  as  guards  at 
the  Easton  Treaty  with  the  Indians.  On  February  5, 
1758,  Adjutant  Kern  reports,  at  Fort  Swatara,  Lieutenant 
Allen  with  thirty-three  men,  and  its  distance  to  Fort  Hun- 
ter, on  the  Susquehanna,  as  twenty-four  miles.  On  Feb- 
ruary 9,  James  Young,  Commissary  of  Musters,  reports 
one  company  of  forty-six  men  on  duty.  James  Burd, 
during  his  tour  of  inspection,  visited  the  fort,  and  has  the 
following  to  say  of  it: 

"Sunday,  Feby.  19th,  1758. 

"This  day  at  1 1  A.  M.,  march'd  for  Fort  Swettarrow, 
got  to  Crawford's  14 miles  from  Hunter's  (Fort  Hunter), 
here  I  stay  all  night,  it  rain'd  hard. 

"  Had  a  number  of  applications  from  the  country  for 
protection   .   .   . 


On  the  Swatara.  307 

"  20th,  Monday. 
11  March'd  this  morning  at  1 1  A.  M.,  mett  a  Serg't  & 

12  men  here,  who  march'd  with  me  back  to  Swettarrow, 
this  day  it  rain'd  much,  gott  to  Swettarrow  Fort  at  4  P. 
M.,  the  roads  extream  bad,  the  soldiers  march  with  great 
difficulty,  found  Capt'n  Lieu't  Allen  &  38  men  here  per 
report;  this  is  1 1  miles  from  Crawford's. 

"  2 1  st,  Tuesday. 
"  Reviewed  the  Garrison  this  morning  at  10  A.  M.,  & 
found  38  men,  Vis't  21  belonging  to  Cap't  Leu't  Allen,  & 
17  detached  from  Capt'n  Weiser's  Co.;  of  Capt'n  Allen's 

13  men  for  3  years,  no  province  arms  fitt  for  use,  no 
kettles,  nor  blankets,  12  lb.  of  poudder  &  25  lb.  of  lead, 
no  poudder  Horns,  pouches,  nor  cartouch  boxes,  no  Toma- 
hawks nor  Province  tools  of  any  kind,  2  months  provision. 

"  Some  Soldiers  absent  &  others  hyr'd  in  their  place 
which  has  been  a  custom  here,  the  soldiers  under  no  Dis- 
sipline.  Ordered  a  Serg't  &  12  men  to  be  always  out  upon 
the  Scout  from  hence  to  Crawford's,  keeping  along  the 
blue  mountain,  altering  their  routs,  &  a  targett  to  be 
erected  6  inches  thick,  in  order  to  practice  the  Soldiers  in 
Shooting. 

"This  day  12  M.  D.,  the  country  people  came  here,  I 
promise  them  to  station  an  officer  &  25  men  at  Robertson's 
Mill,  this  mill  is  situate  in  the  center  between  the  Forts 
Swattarrow  &  Hunter,  this  gave  the  People  Content. 

"  March'd  at  1  P.  M.,  for  Fort  Henry  .  .  ." 

Among  the  old  residents  and  sufferers  of  the  locality 
were  Mr.  Noacre  or  Noecker,  who  was  shot  dead  in  his 
field  while  ploughing,  and  one  Philip  Maurer,  killed  while 
cradling  oats.  The  house  of  Martin  Hess,  about  one  mile 
southwest  from  the  fort,  was  frequently  used  as  a  place 


308  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  refuge.  On  one  occasion  Matthias  Boeshore,  while 
retreating  to  it  from  the  enemy,  had  just  got  inside  of  the 
door,  seized  his  gun  and  turned  upon  his  pursuers^  when 
he  received  a  shot  from  an  Indian,  wounding  him,  for- 
tunately but  slightly,  the  ball  striking  the  flint  of  his 
musket  and  glancing  off  into  his  left  side. 

Besides  the  Hess  refuge  there  was  used,  for  the  same 
purpose,  the  Weidman  house,  at  Lickdale,  formerly  Union 
Forge.  The  original  old  mansion  still  stands,  but  its 
former  appearance  has  been  completely  changed  by  the 
weatherboarding  placed  over  it.  It  is  beautifully  sur- 
rounded by  a  grove  of  trees,  and  stands  about  fifty  yards 
back  from  the  road. 

Still  another  refuge  was  the  block  house  near  Freder- 
icksburg, on  the  farm  of  John  Groh,  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Bethel  Township.  It  was  sold  to  J.  H.  Lick  and  Joseph 
Gibber,  the  present  owner.  Some  ten  years  ago  it  was 
torn  down,  and  the  logs  used  in  the  new  building  which 
stands  nearly,  if  not  quite,  on  the  site  of  the  old  house. 
At  the  time  it  was  torn  down  it  was  noticed  that  the  loop- 
holes were  blackened  with  powder,  showing  the  active  use 
to  which  it  had  been  put.  It  is  on  the  road  from  Jones- 
town to  Fredericksburg,  about  three  hundred  yards  from 
the  latter  place,  and  on  the  banks  of  a  small  stream.  It 
was  some  thirty-two  feet  long,  sixteen  feet  wide,  and  one 
story  high,  with  an  overhang  garret  having  holes  pierced 
in  the  floor,  thus  enabling  its  defenders  to  shoot  downward. 

Even  the  churches  of  the  locality  had  their  share  in  the 
active  history  of  the  period,  being  used,  at  times,  for  de- 
fense and  refuge.  Of  this  number  was  the  Moravian 
Church,  located  about  three  miles  northwest  from  Fred- 
ericksburg, and  five  miles  north  from  Jonestown,  on  the 
road  leading  from  Fredericksburg  to  Lickdale,  along  the 


On  the  Swatara.  3°9 

mountain.  The  grave-yard,  in  which  a  number  of  persons 
murdered  by  the  Indians  lie  buried,  is  about  two  hundred 
feet  in  rear  of  the  barn.  The  barn  and  house,  belonging 
to  Josiah  Shugar,  which  now  stand  on  the  property,  were 
partly  built  of  logs  from  the  old  church,  which  looked  to 
be  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation.  It  was  torn  down 
some  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago.  Another  edifice 
of  the  same  character  was  the  old  Swatara  church  (Lu- 
theran and  Reformed),  of  which  not  a  trace  is  left.  It 
stood  about  two  miles  northeast  of  Jonestown,  and  about 
one-half  mile  north  of  the  road  from  Jonestown  to 
Bernville. 

It  was  near  this  latter  building  that  a  Mrs.  Snavely 
(Schnaebele)  had  a  thrilling  experience,  whose  husband 
had  been  murdered  by  the  Indians,  and  who  had  returned 
from  the  Tulpehocken  region  to  see  whether  it  would  be 
judicious  for  her  to  bring  her  family  back: 

"After  proceeding  about  two  miles  eastward  from  her 
farm,  and  passing  the  old  Swatara  Church,  a  building 
long  since  razed  and  the  graveyard  destroyed,  two  Indians 
rushed  forward  to  catch  her  horse.  She  applied  the  whip 
vigorously.  .  .  .  For  a  few  minutes  the  race  was  for  life. 
The  Indians  followed  her  so  closely  that  one  of  them 
grasped  the  saddle  cloth.  But  the  horse  being  fleet  of  foot 
and  urged  by  the  terrible  whoop  of  the  Indians,  she  man- 
aged to  escape." 

The  town  of  Lebanon,  being  then  comparatively  well 
settled,  was  resorted  to,  as  a  place  of  safety,  by  hundreds 
of  families  who  fled  from  the  frontier  settlements.  Sixty 
families,  at  one  time,  had  taken  shelter  in  the  house  of 
John  Light,  still  standing  in  the  northwest  section  of  the 
city,  and  known  among  the  people  there  as  the  "  old  Fort." 
It  is  a  dilapidated  stone  structure  fast  going  to  ruin,  having 


310  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

an  arched  vault  under  the  first  floor  (which  is  stone  and 
earth)  spacious  enough  to  shelter,  comfortably,  one  hun- 
dred people.  It  used  to  have  a  running  spring  in  this 
cellar,  which  is  now  dried  up.  The  house  was  used  as  a 
Mennonite  meeting  house,  residence,  fort,  and,  later,  distil- 
lery, and  now  furnishes  shelter  for  the  goats  and  sparrows. 

Another  place  of  refuge  in  Lebanon  was  the  old  Glo- 
ninger  house,  on  West  Cumberland  Street.  It  was  the 
home  of  George  Gloninger,  from  whom  have  descended  a 
family  prominent  in  local  annals.  Built  somewhere  in  the 
decade  between  1740-1750,  it  was  a  good  specimen  of 
the  architecture  of  those  days.  Somewhat  altered,  it  be- 
came, later,  a  farm  house,  then  a  boarding  house  for 
Italian  iron  mill  workers,  and,  finally,  was  utterly  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  afternoon  of  December  9,  1903. 

The  Ulrich  house  of  refuge  was  erected  in  175 1,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  Annville  railroad  station. 
The  refuge  itself  was  merely  a  vault,  built  into  a  hill-side, 
with  an  air-hole  walled  out.  It  has  a  stone  with  this 
inscription: 

"SO    OFT    DIE     DIER    DEN     ANKEL     WENT 
AN    DEINEN    TOD,    OMENSCH    GEDENK  " 
I7SI 

(A  free  translation) 
"  Whene'er  this   door   its   hinge   does  turn, 
May  thought  of  death  to  thee  return." 

Over  it  Mr.  Ulrich's  descendants  erected  a  stone  build- 
ing, which  has  been  remodeled,  but  the  refuge  has  remained 
intact. 

Another  place  of  similar  character  was  the  Zeller  home, 
erected  in  1745  on  land  owned  by  Heinrich  Zellers,  and, 
recently,  in  possession  of  his  eighth  lineal  descendant,  Mr. 
Monroe  P.  Zellers,  a  musician  of  wide  renown.      From 


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On  the  Swatara.  311 

its  inception  it  was  intended  for  protection  and  refuge, 
and  was  built  of  solid  masonry,  ornamented,  in  part,  with 
carved  stone  door-jambs  and  head-stones  or  lintels.  It 
stood  near  the  village  of  Newmanstown,  in  Lebanon 
County. 

It  is  related  of  the  original  Mrs.  Zellers  that  she  super- 
intended the  construction  of  the  house,  while  her  husband 
was  absent  on  an  expedition  against  the  Indians,  and  that 
her  laborers  were  colored  slaves.  It  is  also  said,  of  this 
same  Christine  Zellers,  that,  when  alone  one  day,  she  saw 
three  prowling  savages  approach,  heading  for  a  small 
opening  into  the  cellar  still  in  existence.  She  quickly  de- 
sended  the  cellar  steps  and  stationed  herself  at  this  window 
with  an  uplifted  axe.  Presently  the  head  of  the  first  In- 
dian 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, 
called  his  companions  to  follow,  which  they  did  and  were 
all  dispatched  in  like  manner.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
attacked  during  the  time  of  hostilities. 

In  addition  to  these  buildings,  the  Moravian  church, 
erected  in  1750,  a  mile  and  a  half  east  from  Gloninger's, 
was  occupied  by  refugees,  the  principal  part  of  whom  had 
fled  from  the  Moravian  settlements  in  Bethel  Township. 

One  John  Spitler,  son-in-law  to  Jacob  Miley,  was  shot 
dead  while  fixing  up  a  pair  of  bars,  and  his  body  cruelly 
mangled.  Mrs.  Miley  escaped  by  taking  refuge  in  the 
watch  house  at  her  father's,  a  few  miles  from  Stumptown. 
This  happened  in  May,  1757.  Spitler's  mangled  corpse 
was  interred  in  the  Moravian  graveyard  at  Hebron,  near 
Lebanon.  The  following,  touching  his  murder,  is  found 
in  the  records  of  the  Hebron  Church: 


312  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  1757,  May  den  16,  wurde  Johannes  Spitler,  Jr.,  ohn- 
weit  von  seinem  Hause,  an  der  Schwatara  von  moederi- 
schen  Indianern  ueberfallen  und  ermordet.  Er  war  im 
acht  und  dreisigstein  Jahr  seines  Alters,  und  verwichenes 
Jahr  im  April,  an  der  Schwatara  auf  genommen.  Seine 
uebelzugericht  tette  Leiche  wurde  den  17  ten  May  hieher 
gebracht,  und  bei  einer  grossen  Menge  Leute  begleitet  auf 
unsern  hiesigen  Gottesacker  beerdight." 

In  Bethel  Township  the  people  suffered  greatly.  In 
November,  1755,  twenty  persons  were  killed  and  some 
children  carried  off.  "  Shocking,"  says  the  Secretary  of 
the  Province,  "  are  the  descriptions  given  by  those  who 
escaped  of  the  horrid  cruelties  and  indecencies,  committed 
by  the  merciless  savages,  on  the  bodies  of  those  unhappy 
wretches  who  fell  into  their  hands,  especially  the  women, 
without  regard  to  age  or  sex,  these  far  exceeded  those 
related  of  the  most  abandoned  pirates." 

On  June  8,  1756,  at  "The  Hole,"  Swatara  Gap,  they 
crept  up,  unobserved,  behind  the  fence  of  Felix  Wuench, 
shot  him  through  the  breast,  as  he  was  ploughing;  he  cried 
lamentably  and  ran,  but  the  Indians  soon  caught  up  to  him, 
and,  although  he  defended  himself  some  time  with  his 
whip,  they  cut  his  head  and  breast  with  their  tomahawks 
and  scalped  him.  His  wife,  hearing  his  cries  and  the 
report  of  two  guns,  ran  out  of  the  house,  but  was  soon 
taken  by  the  enemy  who  carried  her  away  with  them, 
together  with  one  of  her  own  and  two  of  her  sister's  chil- 
dren, after  setting  the  house  on  fire,  and  otherwise  destroy- 
ing property. 

A  servant  boy,  who  was  at  some  distance,  seeing  this, 
ran  to  his  neighbor,  George  Miess,  who,  though  he  had 
a  lame  leg,  ran,  with  his  son,  directly  after  the  Indians, 


On  the  Swatara.  3*3 

raising  at  the  same  time,  a  great  noise,  which  so  alarmed 
the  Indians  that  they  immediately  ran  off,  leaving  behind 
them  a  tub  of  butter  and  side  of  bacon.  Mr.  Meiss  then 
went  to  the  house,  which  was  in  flames,  and  threw  down 
the  fences  in  order  to  save  the  barn.  The  Indians  had 
drunk  all  the  brandy  in  the  spring  house,  and  took  several 
gammons,  a  quantity  of  meal,  some  loaves  of  bread,  and 
a  great  many  other  things  with  them.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  courage  of  Mr.  Meiss  they  would  have  attacked 
another  house.  They  shot  one  of  the  horses  in  the  plough, 
and  dropped  a  large  French  knife. 

Shortly  after  committing  the  above  murder  the  Indians 
killed  a  child  of  Lawrence  Dippel's,  a  boy  about  four 
years  old,  who  was  found  cruelly  murdered  and  scalped. 
Another  lad,  about  six  years  old,  was  carried  off. 

On  June  26,  1756,  they  surprised  and  scalped  two  men. 
Franz  Albert  and  Jacob  Haendsche,  also  two  lads,  Fred- 
erick Weiser  and  John  George  Miess,  who  were  ploughing 
in  the  field  of  one  Fischer,  and  shot  two  horses. 

In  August,  1757,  as  John  Winkelbach's  two  sons  and 
Joseph  Fischback,  a  provincial  soldier,  went  out  about 
sunrise  to  bring  in  the  cows,  they  were  fired  upon  by  about 
fifteen  Indians.  The  two  lads  were  killed,  one  being 
scalped,  the  other  reaching  the  house  before  he  died.  The 
soldier  was  wounded  in  the  head. 

In  May,  1757,  the  house  of  Isaac  Snevely  was  set  on 
fire  and  entirely  consumed,  with  eighteen  horses  and  cows. 
On  May  17,  five  men  and  a  woman  were  killed  and  scalped 
about  thirty  miles  from  Lancaster.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Pennsylvania  Gazette,  from  Hanover  Township,  dated 
August  11,  it  is  stated  that,  on  Monday,  the  eighth, 
George  Mauerer  was  killed  and  scalped  while  cutting  oats 
in  George  Scheffer's  field.     "  There  is  now,"  says  the  same 


314  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

writer,  "  such  a  severe  sickness  in  these  parts — the  like  has 
not  been  known — that  many  families  can  neither  fight  nor 
run  away,  which  occasions  great  distress  on  the  frontiers. 
Had  it  not  been  for  forty  men,  which  the  province  has 
in  pay  in  this  township,  little  of  the  harvest  could  have 
been  saved,  and  as  the  time  for  which  they  have  been  en- 
gaged is  nearly  elapsed,  the  inhabitants  hope  the  govern- 
ment will  continue  them  in  the  service,  else  the  consequences 
will  be  dreadful." 

On  Monday,  May  22,  Barnabas  Tolon  was  killed  and 
scalped  in  Hanover  Township,  "  and  we  are,"  says  the 
editor  of  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  "  well  informed  that 
one  hundred  and  twenty-three  persons  have  been  murdered 
and  carried  off  from  that  part  of  Lancaster  (now  Leb- 
anon) County,  by  the  Indians,  since  the  war  commenced, 
and  that  lately  three  have  been  scalped  and  are  yet  living." 

On  June  18,  1758,  Squire  Read  writes  to  Edward  Ship- 
pen  that  as  Leonard  Long  was  riding  along  the  road,  about 
a  mile  from  Read's  house,  he  was  killed  and  scalped.  Mr. 
Read,  with  some  others,  immediately  went  to  the  scene 
where  they  found  the  body  lying  in  the  road  bleeding,  but 
could  not  track  the  Indians. 

On  June  19,  1757,  nineteen  persons  were  killed  in  a 
mill  on  the  Quittapahilla  Creek,  and,  on  September  9, 
1757,  one  boy  and  a  girl  were  taken  from  Donegal  Town- 
ship, a  few  miles  south  of  Derry.  About  the  same  time, 
one  Danner  and  his  son,  Christian,  a  lad  of  twelve  years, 
had  gone  out  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 


On  the  Swatara.  315 

and  taken  captive  while  cutting  hoop-poles,  but,  fortu- 
nately, after  remaining  with  the  Indians  some  months, 
made  his  escape. 

Jacob  and  Henry  Boman,  brothers,  both  young  men, 
having  been  taken  captive  were  tied  in  a  secluded  thicket 
by  the  Indians,  who  left,  it  is  presumed,  to  go  to  the  Con- 
estoga  Indians,  intending  to  return,  but,  in  the  interim, 
a  Mr.  Shally,  who  was  returning  from  Lancaster  to  Leb- 
anon, chanced  to  pass,  and,  upon  their  calling  him,  re- 
leased them,  and  they  returned  to  their  parents  living  near 
the  present  Palmyra. 

In  Jackson  Township,  near  Stouchsburg,  was  the  house 
of  Benjamin  Spycker,  where  the  farmers,  under  Conrad 
Weiser,  rendezvoused  in  1755.  A  short  distance  from 
the  present  Myerstown  was  the  home  of  Philip  Breiten- 
bach,  also  used  as  a  house  of  refuge.  Mr.  Breitenbach 
was  wont  on  many  occasions  of  alarm,  to  take  his  drum 
and  beat  it  on  an  eminence  near  his  house,  to  collect  his 
neighbors  from  work  into  the  refuge.  At  one  time  the 
Indians  pursued  them  close  to  the  house  when  one  of  the 
inmates  took  up  his  gun  and  shot  an  Indian  dead  on  the 
spot. 

About  one  mile  northeast  from  Millerstown  the  first 
public  house,  in  this  region  of  the  country,  was  kept  by  the 
grandfather  of  Adam  Ulrich,  the  occupant  in  1844.  Mr. 
Ulrich  also  kept  a  small  store  and  traded  with  the  Indians, 
many  of  whom  staid  weeks  with  him.  Adam  Ulrich's 
father,  when  a  boy,  frequently  played  with  the  Indians 
in  the  thickets.  It  appears  there  was  a  burying  ground 
near  Ulrich's  house.  One  evening,  about  1756-57,  Adam 
Ulrich's  father  and  grandfather  were  feeding  the  cattle 
when  they  were  surprised  by  the  Indians ;  they,  fortunately, 
escaped  and  eluded  their  pursuit,  whereupon  the  savages 
killed  all  the  cattle  by  cutting  out  their  tongues. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Fort  Henry. 


© 


Fort  Henry. 
NE  of  the  most  promi- 
nent government  de- 
fenses along  the  Blue  Ridge 
was  Fort  Henry,  also  called, 
at  times,  in  the  early  part  of 
its  history  "  Busse's  Fort," 
after  its  first  commanding  of- 
ficer, "  The  Fort  at  Dietrich 
Six's,"  from  its  location,  also 
"  Fort  Henry  at  Tolihaio," 
using  the  name  "  Tolihaio  "  in  a  general  sense  to  apply  to 
all  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Tolihaio,  or  Swatara 
Gap. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  with  the  first  terrible  out- 
break, or  massacre,  which  found  all  in  such  an  unprepared 
condition,  the  settlers  established  "  a  watch  house "  at 
"  Dietrich's  Six's  Place  under  the  Hill  on  Shamokin  Road." 
It  it  probable  this  was  the  home  of  Dietrich  Six.     The 

(316) 


Fort  Henry. 


317 


SITE  OF  FORT  HENRY. 


318  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

location  was  so  excellent  that  the  provincial  government, 
upon  taking  charge  of  the  defense,  decided  to  build  one  of 
the  larger  forts  on  the  spot. 

This  property  was  on  the  old  Shamokin  (Sunbury) 
Road,  three  miles  north  of  Millersburg,  in  Bethel  Town- 
ship of  Berks  County.  It  was  owned  by  Dietrich  Six 
during  the  war  and  purchased  from  him  by  Frantz  Urn- 
benhauer,  from  whom  it  came  into  the  possession  of  George 
Pott,  and  was  lately  owned  by  James  Batz. 

The  fort  stood  in  what  is  now  a  cultivated  field,  about 
twenty-five  yards  northeast  from  a  shed,  with  stone  base, 
standing  by  the  roadside.  It  was  on  slightly  elevated 
ground  and  commanded  a  splendid  view  of  the  approaches 
from  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  of  the  valley  to  the  west. 
At  the  foot  of  the  elevated  ground  runs  a  little  stream  of 
water,  originating  at  the  spring  back  of  the  fort.  Pieces 
of  stone,  belonging  to  the  fort  as  well  as  pieces  of  common 
clay  pipe  stems  and  chips  of  flint  are,  even  yet,  occasionally 
ploughed  up. 

In  the  distant  past  various  Indian  villages  must  have 
been  located  in  the  neighborhood.  We  are  told  the  fort 
stood  "under  the  hill  on  Shamokin  Road."  This  hill, 
called  "  Round  Top  Mountain,"  rises  abruptly  from  the 
plain  about  one  mile  east  of  the  fort.  So  abruptly  does 
it  rise  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  scale  the  side  facing 
the  defense.  Those  who  have  attempted  it,  however, 
have  found,  about  half-way  up,  an  artificial  plateau,  about 
forty  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  formed  by  taking  out 
stones  from  the  hill  behind.  These  stones  seem  to  have 
been  broken  to  a  small  size,  and  were  entirely  different 
from  the  rock  composing  the  remainder  of  the  mountain, 
being  much  harder  and  making  somewhat  of  a  ringing 
sound  when  knocked  together.     The   fact  is   interesting 


Fort  Henry.  319 

because  it  is  altogether  probable  that  it  was  a  quarry  from 
which  the  aborigines  obtained  their  arrow  and  axe  heads, 
if  not  the  flints  for  their  muskets.  Of  the  shape  of  the 
fort  we  know  nothing  definite.  In  our  generation  it  has 
been,  at  best,  but  a  heap  of  ruins,  but  we  are  assured  from 
them  that  it  was  more  pretentious  in  size  than  usual.  The 
only  description  of  any  kind,  which  has  been  secured,  was 
from  a  Mr.  Daniel  Hostetter,  of  Springsville,  who,  if  now 
living,  would  be  some  seventy  years  old.  Even  this  is  of 
a  rather  vague  character.  He  says  most  of  the  stone 
belonging  to  the  fort  was  taken  by  the  farmers  for  build- 
ing purposes,  but,  when  he  first  saw  it,  the  marks  of  the 
building  were  plain,  and  a  portion  of  the  wall  remained. 
To  him  it  seemed  to  be  shaped  like  a  half  moon,  and,  in 
the  center,  was  a  house  which  evidently  had  a  cellar  under- 
neath. The  walls  of  the  fort  were  about  three  feet  thick 
and  some  two  hundred  feet  long.  Mr.  Hostetter  adds 
that  he  "  never  saw  such  a  place  in  his  life  and  doubts  if 
there  be  any  other  like  it  in  the  State." 

The  first  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Henry  was  Cap- 
tain Christian  Busse,  who,  before  the  war,  had  been  a 
doctor  at  Reading,  Pa. 

Notwithstanding  the  terrible  depredations  committed  by 
the  Indians,  the  officers  in  command  of  the  troops  made 
every  effort  to  prevent  them,  and  their  unceasing  vigilance 
is  well  worthy  of  commendation. 

The  following  report  of  Colonel  Weiser  to  Governor 
Morris,  made  in  July,  1756,  bears  witness  to  this  state- 
ment: 

"Honoured  Sir: 

11  Immediately  after  my  Return  from  Philadelphia,  I 
sent  Orders  to  the  Captains  Busse,  Morgan  and  Smith, 


320  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  meet  me  at  Fort  Henry,  on  the  9th  of  this  Instant,  to 
consult  together  over  certain  measures,  how  to  oppose  the 
Enemy  of  Killing  the  People  in  Reaping  and  gathering  in 
their  Harvest.  The  Evening  before,  to  witt,  on  the  8th 
of  this  Instant,  Mr.  Young  arrived  with  your  Honours 
Orders  to  me,  I  therefore  set  out  next  morning  about  5 
o'clock  for  Fort  Henry,  in  Company  with  Mr.  Young, 
as  farr  as  Benjamin  Spyckers.  I  arrived  at  Fort  Henry 
by  10  o'clock.  Capt.  Busse  met  me  with  an  escort  of  eight 
men  on  Horse  Back,  about  Six  miles  on  this  side  of  Fort 
Henry;  about  12  o'clock  the  Captains  Morgan  and  Smith 
arrived.  I  immediately  made  your  Honours  Orders  known 
to  them,  and  the  following  Deposition  was  made:  That 
eight  men  of  Capt.  Smith's  Company  shall  assist  the 
People  in  the  Hole  (The  place  where  twice  Murder  was 
committed)  to  gather  in  their  harvest,  and  stay  over  Night 
in  the  Moravian  House;  Eight  of  his  men  to  range  west- 
ward of  his  Fort  under  the  Hill,  and  if  occasion  require 
to  be  stationed  in  two  Parties  to  guard  the  Reapers;  Six- 
teen men  are  to  be  in  and  about  the  Fort  to  help  and  pro- 
tect the  neighbours,  but  constantly  10  out  of  the  Sixteen 
are  to  stay  in  the  Fort;  Nine  men  are  to  stay  constantly  in 
Manity  Fort,  and  Six  men  to  range  Eastward  from  Manity 
towards  Swataro,  and  Six  men  to  range  westward  towards 
Susquehannah;  Each  Party  so  farr  that  they  may  reach 
their  Fort  again  before  Night.  Capt'n  Busse's  Company 
stationed  as  follows:  Ten  men  at  Bernhard  Tridels,  next 
to  the  Moravians,  Eight  men  at  Casper  Snebelies,  Six 
men  at  Daniel  Shue's  or  Peter  Klop's.  All  these  are  west- 
ward of  Fort  Henry.  Eastwards  Capt.  Busse  is  to  Post 
four  men  at  Jacob  Stein's,  Three  men  at  Ulrich  Spies,  Six 
men  at  the  widow  Kendal,  the  Rest,  consisting  of  nineteen 
men,  to  remain  in  the  Fort.      Cap't  Morgan's  Company, 


Fort  Henry.  321 

as  follows :  Six  men  to  range  from  the  little  Fort  on  the 
Northkill  westward  to  the  Emericks,  and  stay  there  if  the 
People  unite  to  work  together  in  their  Harvest,  Six  men 
to  range  Eastward  on  the  same  footing,  Eight  men  to 
stay  in  that  Fort,  fifteen  men  are  to  stay  in  Fort  Lebanon, 
Eight  men  to  protect  the  People  over  the  Hill  in  harvest 
Time,  Ten  men  to  range  constantly  Eastward  or  West- 
ward, and  if  the  People  return  to  their  Plantations  there- 
abouts, to  protect  those  first  that  join  together  to  do  their 
work.  ^ 

"All  the  aforesaid  men  are  posted  as  much  in  a  Range 
as  was  possible,  and  would  sute  the  Settlement  best. 

"Your  Honour  will  observe  that  there  is  not  Men 
enough  left  in  the  Forts  to  change  or  relieve  the  Men  on 
Duty,  but  scarce  sufficient  to  Keep  the  Forts,  and  send 
Provisions  to  the  several  Posts. 

"  I  did  propose  to  the  Captains  to  make  a  draft  of  about 
twenty-five  men  out  of  the  three  Companies,  and  send 
them  over  the  hills  to  a  certain  Place  on  Kind  Creek,  to 
lie  in  Ambush  there  for  the  Enemy,  for  about  Ten  Days, 
but  the  large  Frontier  which  they  have  to  guard  with  their 
men,  would  not  Admit  of  it  at  this  Time,  so  I  was  there- 
fore obliged  to  give  over  that  Point. 

"A  great  number  of  the  Back  Inhabitants  came  to  the 
Fort  that  Day,  and  cried  out  for  Guards.  Their  situa- 
tion is  indeed  desperate.  About  forty  men  from  Tulpen- 
hacon  have  been  out  for  their  Protection,  but  they  got  soon 
tired,  and  rose  Disputes  and  Quarrels  in  Order  to  get 
home  again. 

"  I  hear  that  the  people  over  Susquehannah  will  have 
Protection,  cost  what  it  will;  If  they  can't  obtain  it  from 
the  English,  they  will  send  to  the  French  for  it.  I  believe 
(by  what  I  hear)  that  some  on  this  Side  of  the  River  are 


322  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  the  same  oppinion,  at  least  there  is  such  a  Mumbling 
among  the  back  Inhabitants. 

"  I  must  mention  to  your  Honour  that  when  the  People 
about  Swatara  and  the  Hole  heard  of  Capt.  Smith's  being 
accused  for  neglect  of  Duty,  they  wrote  a  Letter  to  me  in 
his  Favour,  which  I  send  by  Sammy  Weiser,  who  can  trans- 
late it  if  your  Honour  orders  him  to  do  it.  I  also  send  a 
Letter  from  Capt.  Busse,  which  contains  the  Particulars 
of  the  last  murder.  I  received  it  by  the  way  coming  from 
Philad'a,  and  stopt  the  Express  (as  it  was  only  to  me)  in 
Order  to  save  Changes. 

"As  I  had  no  Clerk  for  some  time  I  wrote  a  General 
Letter  yesterday  to  all  the  Commanding  Officers  Eastward 
from  Fort  Henry  to  Easton,  with  a  Copy  of  your  Honours 
orders  inclosed.  I  could  not  send  every  one  a  Copy,  but 
ordered  them  to  take  it  themselves  and  send  it  forward 
immediately. 

"  Just  this  moment  my  Son  Sammy  arrived  from  Fort 
Henry,  and  tells  me  that  there  had  been  an  Engagement  at 
Caghnckackeeky,  wherein  twelve  on  our  side  were  Killed, 
and  Six  Indians;  That  our  People  Kept  the  Field  and 
scalped  the  Indians,  and  that  the  Indians  ran  off  without 
any  Scalp.     As  bad  news  as  it  is,  I  wish  it  may  be  true. 

"  I  have  at  Present  no  more  to  trouble  your  Honour 
with,  But  Remain,  „  Q. 

"  Your  very  obedient  and 
"  humble  Servant, 

11  Conrad  Weiser. 
"  Heidleberg,  in  the  County  of  Berks. 
"July  the  nth,  1756. 

11  P.  S. — I  should  have  told  your  Honour  that  I  keep  a 
Serjeant,  with  nine  private  men  of  my  Company  at  Fort 


Fort  Henry.  323 

Henry,  under  Capt.  Busse,  with  that  Proviso  that  they 
shall  stay  in  the  fort,  and  defend  it  when  the  Capt's  men 
are  on  their  several  posts  or  Ranging;  the  Capt'n  must 
Keep  a  Ranging  party  all  along;  tomorrow  another  Ser- 
jeant marches  from  Reading  with  nine  men,  to  relieve 
those  of  my  Company  that  have  been  out  two  weeks." 

In  June,  1757,  Fort  Henry  was  honored  by  a  visit  from 
Governor  Denny,  under  peculiar  circumstances.  The 
Government  had  been  notified  of  a  threatened  attack,  in 
force,  on  Fort  Augusta,  at  Shamokin,  just  at  a  time  when 
the  terms  of  enlistment  of  the  troops,  composing  its  gar- 
rison, had  expired.  No  persuasion  could  induce  more 
than  forty  men  to  reenlist.  In  the  emergency  it  became 
necessary  to  order  immediately  three  companies  from  Col- 
onel Weiser's  regiment  to  the  scene  of  action,  while  the 
Governor,  in  person,  hastened  from  Lancaster  into  the 
County  of  Berks  to  encourage  the  raising  of  these  one 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  men.  When  he  came  there  he 
found  men  enough  but  met  with  an  unexpected  obstacle. 
The  country  people,  supported  by  their  magistrates,  and 
the  leading  men  of  the  County,  refused  to  serve  under  the 
provincial  officers  but  insisted  upon  choosing  their  own. 
This,  it  seems,  was  put  into  their  heads  at  Lancaster  by 
some  of  the  Commissioners  and  Assemblymen,  and  was 
but  an  echo  of  the  strife  between  the  Executive  and  the 
Assembly.      Concerning  the  matter  the  Governor  writes: 

"  Intending  to  go  to  Fort  Henry,  the  only  Garrison  my 
Time  would  allow  me  to  visit,  I  desired  Col.  Weiser  to 
acquaint  the  Leaders  of  these  infatuated  People,  that  I 
shou'd  be  glad  they  would  come  and  speak  with  me  at  the 
Fort.  Accordingly,  about  Fifty  substantial  Freeholders, 
well  mounted  and  armed,  joined  the  Escort,  &  attended 


324  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

me  to  Fort  Henry,  where  I  had  an  opportunity  of  unde- 
ceiving them.  Convinced  of  their  Error,  they  presented 
me  a  very  respectful  address,  assuring  me  of  their  Desire 
to  have  a  proper  Militia  Law,  and  that  they  were  deter- 
mined under  such  a  Law  to  serve  and  do  their  duty  to  their 
king  and  Country.  Forty  instantly  were  inlisted  by  Col- 
onel Weiser  out  of  this  neighborhood,  and  a  magistrate 
about  twenty  miles  off  wrote  me  he  had  inlisted  forty 
more." 

The  withdrawal  of  these  companies  from  a  battalion 
already  too  weak  in  numbers  for  the  onerous  duties  re- 
quired of  it,  left  Colonel  Weiser  in  a  woeful  plight.  It 
is  a  matter  of  no  surprise,  therefore,  to  read  the  following 
plea  from  him  to  the  Governor,  under  date  of  October 
i>  1757: 

11 1  humbly  intreat  your  Honour  to  pity  our  Cause  and 
give  orders  that  the  men  belonging  to  the  first  Battalion 
of  Pennsil'a  Regiment,  now  at  Fort  Augusta,  may  all  re- 
turn to  their  proper  or  former  Stations.  When  this  pres- 
ent trouble  is  over  I  will  very  gladly  send  a  reinforcement 
again  either  to  Fort  Augusta  or  wherever  your  honour 
pleases.  It  is  certain  that  the  enemy  is  numerous  on  our 
Frontiers,  and  the  people  are  coming  away  very  fast,  so 
that  the  Forts  are  left  to  themselves  with  the  men  in  them, 
but  no  more  neighbours  about  them." 

So  urgent  is  the  matter  that,  three  days  later,  Colonel 
Weiser  writes  to  Mr.  Peters,  the  Governor's  Secretary: 

"Sir:  I  did  not  think  on  the  Post  till  he  entered  my 
doors,  else  I  would  have  wrote  particularly  to  the  Gover- 
nor, tho'  I  have  been  very  Buisy  with  writing  to  the  Com- 
manding officers  of  the  several  forts  under  my  care.      It 


Fort  Henry.  325 

is  now  Come  so  farr  that  murder  is  comited  Allmost  every 
day;  there  never  was  such  a  Consternation  among  the 
people,  they  must  now  leave  their  houses  again,  with  their 
Barns  full  of  Grain;  five  children  have  been  carried  off 
last  Friday,  some  days  before  a  sick  man  killed  upon  his 
bed,  begged  of  the  Enemy  to  shoot  him  through  his  heart 
which  the  Indian  answered,  I  will,  and  did  so.  A  girl, 
that  had  hid  herself  under  a  Bedstead,  in  the  next  room, 
heard  all  this,  two  more  families  were  about  that  time 
destroyed.  Inclosed  is  the  Journal  of  last  month  of  my 
Ensign  at  North  Kill.  Capt.  Bussey  lies  dangerously 
sick  at  John  Harris.  I  hear  he  is  tired  of  everything; 
I  have  neither  men  nor  a  sufficient  n'br  of  officers  to 
defend  the  Country.  If  his  Honour  would  be  pleased  to 
send  me  orders  for  to  recall  all  the  men  belonging  to  my 
Battalion,  from  Fort  Augusta,  he  would  justly  bring  upon 
him  the  blessing  of  the  most  high.  I  can  not  say  no  more. 
I  think  meselfe  unhappy,  to  fly  with  my  family  in  this 
time  of  danger  I  can't  do.  I  must  stay,  if  they  all  go. 
I  am  now  preparing  to  go  to  fort  Henry,  where  I  shall 
meet  some  officers  to  consult  with,  what  may  be  best  to  be 
done.  I  have  ordered  ten  men,  with  the  Governor's  last 
orders,  to  fort  Augusta ;  I  shall  overtake  them  this  Even- 
ing at  Fort  Henry  and  give  them  proper  instruction.  For 
God's  sake,  dear  Sire,  beg  of  the  Governor,  press  it  upon 
him  in  my  behalf,  and  in  behalf  of  this  distrest  inhabitants, 
to  order  my  men  back  from  fort  Augusta.  I  will  give 
my  reason  afterwards,  that  I  am  in  the  right.  I  conclude 
with  my  humble  respects  to  his  Honour, 
"And  remain,  Kind  Sir, 
"  Your  most  humble  servant, 

"  Conrad  Weiser." 


326  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

It  is  the  letter  of  a  man  over-burdened  in  mind  and 
body,  and  who  certainly  deserves  our  sympathy.  It  is  a 
satisfaction  to  know  that,  on  November  8,  orders  were 
sent  by  the  Governor  for  the  return  of  Capt.  Busse's  de- 
tachment to  their  former  station. 

The  sole  instance,  on  record,  of  the  participation  of  any 
Frenchman  in  the  attacks  along  the  Blue  Range,  occurred 
at  Fort  Henry.  On  October  12,  1757,  the  sentry  was 
surprised  to  see  what  appeared  to  be  a  French  deserter, 
or  spy,  approach  the  fort.  An  officer  and  two  soldiers 
were  immediately  sent  out  to  seize  him  and  bring  him  into 
the  enclosure.  His  name  was  found  to  be  Michael  La 
Chauviguerie,  Jun.,  and  his  age  seventeen.  His  father 
was  a  lieutenant  of  French  Marines  and  commandant  of 
Fort  Machault,  just  building,  some  seventy-two  leagues 
up  the  Allegheny  River  from  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  near 
the  Lakes.  The  son  had  been  given  command  of  a  party 
of  thirty-three  Indians,  principally  Delawares,  who  were 
sent  out  on  a  marauding  expedition.  As  they  neared  the 
Blue  Mountains  he  told  the  sad  tale  of  prisoners  taken 
and  numerous  deserted  homesteads.  One  day,  by  acci- 
dent, he  dropped  a  piece  of  bread,  and,  while  looking  for 
it,  his  party  of  Indians  became  separated  from  him,  and 
he  found  that  he  was  lost.  After  wandering  around  for 
seven  days  he  was  forced  to  surrender  at  Fort  Henry  to 
save  himself  from  starvation. 

On  February  21,  1758,  James  Burd  arrived  at  Fort 
Henry,  on  his  tour  of  inspection,  where  he  found  Capt. 
Lieut.  Weiser,  Adjutant  Kern,  and  Ensigns  Biddle  and 
Craighead,  doing  duty  with  ninety  men,  whom  he  reviewed 
and  found  to  be  "  under  good  command  &  fine  fellows." 
Of  the  fort  he  says,  "  This  is  a  very  good  Stockade  Fort,  & 
everything  in  good  order,  &  duty  done  pritty  well." 


Fort  Henry.  327 

On  June  19,  1758,  Captain  Busse  notified  Colonel 
Weiser  that,  at  8  A.  M.  of  that  day,  the  Indians  took  and 
carried  away  the  wife  of  John  Frantz,  with  three  children, 
from  their  home  on  the  Little  Swatara  Creek,  about  six 
miles  distant  from  the  fort. 

In  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  Decmber  18,  1755,  it 

says: 

"We  hear  from  Reading,  in  Berks  County,  that  on 
Sunday  last,  about  nine  o'clock  at  night,  the  guard  belong- 
ing to  that  County,  about  seventeen  mile  from  that  town, 
were  attacked  by  some  Indians,  with  whom  they  exchanged 
several  fires,  and  put  them  to  flight;  that  none  of  the  guard 
were  wounded,  though  one  of  them  had  the  skirt  of  his 
jacket  shot  away,  and  that  they  supposed  some  of  the 
Indians  were  badly  burnt,  as  they  heard  a  crying  among 
them  as  they  ran  off ;  but  that  the  guard,  having  spent  their 
ammunition,  could  not  pursue  them." 

On  March  7,  1756,  Andrew  Lycan,  who  lived  over  the 
mountain,  twenty-five  miles  below  Sunbury,  at  or  near  the 
Wiskinisco  Creek,  was  attacked  by  Indians.     He  had  with 
him  a  son,  John  Lycan,  a  negro  man,  a  boy  and  two  of  his 
neighbors,  John  Revolt  and  Ludwig  Shut.     As  Andrew 
Lycan  and  John  Revolt  went  out  early  that  morning  to 
feed  the  animals,  two  guns  were  fired  at  them,  but  they 
escaped  unhurt,  ran  to  the  house  and  prepared  for  an 
engagement.     The  Indians  then  got  under  cover  of  a  log 
house  near  the  dwelling,  whereupon  John  Lycan,  Revolt 
and  Shut  crept  out  to  get  a  shot  at  them,  but  were  fired 
at  by  the  Indians  instead,  and  all  wounded,  Shut  being  hit 
in  the  abdomen.     Andrew  Lycan  then  noticed  one  of  the 
Indians,  and  two  white  men,  run  out  of  the  log  house  and 
get  a  little  distance  from  it.     Upon  this  the  inmates  of  the 


328  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

house  endeavored  to  escape,  but  were  immediately  pursued 
by  the  Indians,  to  the  number  of  sixteen  or  more.  John 
Lycan  and  Revolt,  being  badly  wounded,  were  able  to  do 
nothing,  and  so  went  off  with  the  negro,  leaving  Andrew 
Lycan,  Shut,  and  the  boy,  engaged  with  the  enemy,  who 
pursued  so  closely  that  one  of  them  came  up  with  the  boy, 
and  was  about  to  tomahawk  him  when  Shut  turned  and 
shot  him  dead.  At  the  same  time  Lycan  shot  another, 
whom  he  is  positive  was  killed,  saw  a  third  fall  and  thinks 
others  were  wounded  by  them.  Being  now  both  badly 
wounded,  and  almost  exhausted,  they  sat  down  on  a  log  to 
rest  themselves,  while  the  Indians  stood  a  little  way  off, 
looking  at  them. 

One  of  the  Indians  killed  was  Bill  Davis,  and  two  others 
they  knew  to  be  Tom  Hickman  and  Tom  Hayes,  all  Dela- 
wares  and  well  known  in  those  parts.  All  of  the  farmers 
escaped  through  Swatara  Gap  into  Hanover  Township, 
and  recovered  under  the  care  of  a  doctor,  but  lost  all  they 
were  worth. 

The  Gazette  of  June  24,  1756,  says: 

"We  have  advice  from  Fort  Henry,  in  Berks  County 
(Bethel  Township),  that  two  childen  of  one  Lawrence 
Dieppel,  who  lives  about  two  miles  from  said  fort,  are 
missing,  and  thought  to  be  carried  off  by  the  Indians,  as 
one  of  their  hats  has  been  found,  and  several  Indian 
tracks  seen." 

In  relation  to  this  affair  the  editor  adds,  on  July  1  : 

"  We  learn  that  one  of  Lawrence  Dieppel's  children, 
mentioned  in  our  last  to  be  carried  off,  has  been  found 
cruelly  murdered  and  scalped,  a  boy  about  four  years,  and 
that  the  other,  also  a  boy,  eight  years  old,  was  still  missing." 

On  November  19,  1756,  Colonel  Weiser  writes  to  Gov- 
ernor Denny  that  the  Indians  had  made  another  incursion 


Fort  Henry.  329 

into  Berks  County,  killed  and  scalped  two  married  women 
and  a  lad  fourteen  years  of  age,  wounded  two  children  of 
about  four  years  of  age,  and  carried  off  two  more.  One 
of  the  wounded  was  scalped  and  likely  to  die,  and  the  other 
had  two  cuts  on  her  forehead,  given  by  an  Indian  who  had 
attempted  to  scalp  her  but  did  not  succeed.  There  were 
eight  men  of  Fort  Henry,  posted  in  different  neighbor's 
houses,  about  one  mile  and  a  half  off,  who,  when  they 
heard  the  noise  of  the  guns  firing,  immediately  went 
towards  it  but  came  too  late. 

Again,  in  its  issue  of  July,  1757,  the  Pennsylvania 
Gazette  gives  this  extract  from  a  letter  dated,  Heidelberg, 
July  9 : 

"Yesterday,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  be- 
tween Valentine  Herchelroar's  and  Tobias  Bickell's,  four 
Indians  killed  two  children;  one  of  about  four  years,  the 
other  five;  they  at  the  same  time  scalped  a  young  woman 
of  about  sixteen;  but,  with  proper  care,  she  is  likely  to 
live  and  do  well. 

"A  woman  was  terribly  cut  with  the  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  her  children, 
for  a  while;  wresting  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,  pick- 
ing cherries — they  came  as  quick  as  possible  and  went  in 
pursuit  of  the  Indians,  but  to  no  purpose,  the  Indians  had 
concealed  themselves." 


33°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

In  August,  1757,  people  were  murdered  by  the  Indians 
in  Bern  Township,  and  others  carried  off.  At  Tulpe- 
hocken  a  man  named  Lebenguth,  and  his  wife,  were  killed 
and  scalped. 

On  September  9,  1763,  a  letter  from  Reading  says: 

"A  few  of  the  Rangers  who  had  encamped  in  Berks 
County,  were  apprized  of  the  approach  of  Indians  by 
their  outscouts;  the  Indians  advanced  cautiously  to  take 
them  by  surprise ;  when  near,  with  savage  yells  they  rushed 
forward,  but  the  Rangers,  springing  on  their  feet,  shot 
three  in  front;  the  rest  fled  into  a  thicket  and  escaped. 
The  Indians  were  armed  with  guns  and  provided  with 
ammunition.  These  Indians,  it  is  supposed  by  some,  had 
been  on  their  way  from  the  Moravian  Indians,  in  North- 
ampton County,  to  the  Big  Island.  Runners  were  sent 
to  the  different  parties  of  Rangers  with  the  information, 
and  others  sent  in  pursuit  of  those  who  fled." 

On  September  10,  1763,  five  Indians  entered  the  house 
of  Philip  Martloff,  in  Berks  County,  at  the  base  of  the 
Blue  Mountains,  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. 

A  brief  mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  Frantz 
family,  in  Bethel  Township.  The  Pennsylvania  Gazette, 
of  June,  1758,  gives  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  case, 
which,  substantially,  agrees  with  the  traditional  facts  re- 
lated to  the  present  writer  by  a  descendant.      It  says: 


Fort  Henry.  33 1 

"At  the  time  this  murder  was  committed,  Mr.  Frantz 
was  out  at  work;  his  neighbours  having  heard  the  firing 
of  guns  by  the  Indians  immediately  repaired  to  the  house 
of  Frantz ;  on  their  way  they  apprized  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  scene  of  his  mother 
being  tomahawked  and  shamefully  treated.  Him  they 
compelled  to  carry  the  youngest. 

"The  anxious  father,  having  received  two  of  his  chil- 
dren as  from  the  dead,  still  sighed  for  the  one  that  was  not. 
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." 

Fort  Northkill. 
On  January  25,  1756,  Captain  Jacob  Morgan,  in  com- 
mand at  Fort  Lebanon,  near  the  present  town  of  Au- 
burn, was  ordered  to  leave  twenty  men  at  his  fort,  and, 
with  the  remaining  thirty  of  his  company,  proceed  to  some 
convenient  point  about  half-way  between  his  fort  and  Fort 


332 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


Henry  "  there  to  erect  a  stoccade  of  about  400  foot  square, 
where  he  is  to  leave  20  men,  under  a  Commiss'd  officer 


Fort  Northkill 


STRMJ5ST0WN 


SITE  OF   FORT   NORTHKILL. 


and  to  return  to  Fort  Lebanon,  which  he  is  to  make  his 
Headquarters  and  from  that  stoccade  &  from  Fort  Leb- 


Fort  Henry.  333 

anon,  his  men  are  to  Range  and  scour  the  woods  both  east- 
ward and  westward." 

In  choosing  the  ground  he  was  directed  to  take  care  that 
there  was  no  hill  near  it,  which  would  overlook  or  com- 
mand it,  from  whence  an  enemy  might  annoy  the  garri- 
son, and  also  to  see  that  there  was  a  spring,  or  running 
stream  of  water,  either  inside  of  the  fort  or,  at  least,  within 
command  of  their  guns. 

It  is  apparent  that  this  defense  was  built  merely  to  oc- 
cupy the  long  gap  between  Forts  Henry  and  Lebanon. 
Its  site  is  about  two  miles  distant  from  Strausstown,  in 
Upper  Tulpehocken  Township,  Berks  County,  and  about 
half  a  mile  from  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Northkill 
Creek,  from  which  it  derives  its  name.  It  stood  directly 
at  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and,  even  now,  is  still  on  the 
edge  of  the  woodland.  Its  position,  however,  was  good. 
It  was  but  a  short  distance  from  the  main  State  Road,  and 
on  slightly  elevated  ground,  which  gave  it  a  full  view  of 
the  cultivated  valley  lying  all  around  it.  A  small  stream 
of  water,  emanating  from  a  spring,  was  close  to  it.  At 
the  time  of  the  Indian  troubles,  as  now,  the  land  was  cul- 
tivated almost  up  to  the  fort,  but,  even  now,  as  then,  its 
site  stands  on  the  edge  of  waste  mountain  land,  and  it  is 
owing  to  its  undisturbed  condition  that  some  trace  of  it 
can  still  be  seen.  This  remnant  is  its  cellar,  which  is  still 
visible,  although  now  nearly  drifted  full  of  forest  leaves. 

It  was  but  a  single  block  house,  surrounded  by  the  usual 
stockade.  Not  very  extensive,  and  hastily  constructed,  it 
was  never  intended  for  more  than  a  station,  which  it  was 
necessary  to  maintain  between  the  two  large  forts.  In 
the  summer  of  1757  preparations  were  made  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  more  substantial  place  of  defense,  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  this  latter  was  ever  constructed,  for,  in 


334  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  beginning  of  March,  1758,  the  stockade  was  already 
abandoned.  It  was  distant  eleven  miles  from  Fort  Henry, 
to  the  west,  and  equally  distant  from  Fort  Lebanon,  on 
the  east. 

Commissary  James  Young,  when  making  his  tour  of 
inspection,  in  1756,  has  this  to  say  of  its  shape  and  appear- 
ance : 

"  June  20th,  at  2  P.  M.,  I  sett  out  from  Reading,  Es- 
corted by  5  men  of  the  town,  on  horseback,  for  the  Fort 
at  Northkill;  at  l/2  past  6,  we  came  to  the  Fort,  it  is  ab't 
19  miles  from  Reading,  the  Road  very  hilly  and  thick  of 
wood;  the  Fort  is  ab't  9  miles  to  the  westw'd  of  Schuylkill, 
and  Stand  in  a  very  thick  Wood,  on  a  small  Rising  Ground, 
half  a  mile  from  the  middle  Northkill  Creek;  it  is  intended 
for  a  square  ab't  32  ft.  Each  way,  at  Each  Corner  is  a 
half  Bastin,  of  very  little  Service  to  Flank  the  Curtains, 
the  Stoccades  are  very  ill  fixed  in  the  Ground,  and  open  in 
many  Places;  within  is  a  very  bad  Logg  house  for  the  peo- 
ple, it  has  no  chimney,  and  can  afford  but  little  shelter  in 
bad  weather;  when  I  came  here,  the  Serjant  who  is  Com- 
mander, was  absent  and  gone  to  the  next  plantation,  half 
a  mile  off,  but  soon  came,  when  he  had  intelligence  I  was 
there;  he  told  me  he  had  14  men  Posted  with  him,  all 
Detached  from  Capt.  Morgan's  Comp'y,  at  Fort  Lebanon, 
5  of  them  were  absent  by  his  leave,  Vist.  two  he  had  let  go 
to  Reading  for  three  days,  one  he  had  let  go  to  his  Own 
house,  10  miles  off,  and  two  more  this  afternoon,  a  few 
miles  from  the  Fort,  on  their  own  business;  there  was  but 
Eight  men  and  the  Serjant  on  Duty.  I  am  of  opinion 
there  ought  to  be  a  Commission'd  Officer  here,  as  the  Ser- 
jant does  not  do  his  Duty,  nor  are  the  men  under  proper 
Command  for  want  of  a  more  Superior  Officer;  the  woods 
are  not  Clear'd  above  40  Yards  from  the  Fort;  I  gave 


Fort  Henry.  335 

orders  to  Cut  all  down  for  200  y'ds;  I  inquired  the  reason 
there  was  so  little  Powder  &  Lead  here,  the  Serjeant  told 
me  he  had  repeatedly  requested  more  of  Capt.  Morgan, 
but  to  no  purpose.  Provisions  here,  Flower  and  Rum  for 
4  weeks;  Mr.  Seely,  of  Reading,  sends  the  officer  money  to 
purchase  meal  as  they  want  it. — Provincial  Arms  and 
Ammun'tn  at  North  Kill  Fort,  vizt:  8  G'd  muskets,  4 
Rounds  of  Powder  &  Lead,  pr  man,  15  Blankets,  3  axes." 

The  next  day  he  left  for  Fort  Lebanon,  and,  upon  his 
arrival  there,  informed  Captain  Morgan  that  the  sergeant 
in  command  at  Northkill  was  derelict  in  duty  and  requested 
him  to  send  a  commissioned  officer  to  relieve  him,  where- 
upon a  lieutenant  was  detailed  for  that  purpose,  and  started 
for  the  post,  accompanied  by  two  additional  men,  taking 
with  them  four  pounds  of  powder  and  ten  pounds  of  lead. 

On  November  3,  1756,  Lieutenant  Humphreys,  in  com- 
mand, had  quite  a  thrilling  encounter  with  the  enemy, 
which  he  thus  relates : 

"Thursday,  Nov.  4th,  1756. 
"  Fort  above  the  Northkill. 
"May  it  pleace  the  Colonel: 

"  Yesterday  we  were  alarmed  by  a  number  of  Indians, 
who  came  and  took  a  child  away.  Immediately  upon  hear- 
ing the  News,  I,  with  nine  men,  went  in  Pursuit  of  'em, 
leaving  a  Number  of  Farmers  to  guard  the  Fort  'till  we 
should  return.  But  we  found  nothing  'till  this  morning, 
we  went  out  again ;  and,  in  our  Return  to  the  Fort,  we  were 
apprized  of  'em  by  the  firing  of  several  Guns;  when  I  or- 
dered my  men  to  make  what  speed  they  could.  We  ran 
till  we  were  almost  out  of  Breath,  and,  upon  finding  Nich- 
olas Long's  House  attack'd  by  the  Indians,  the  Farmers, 
who  were  with  us  to  the  Number  of  Twenty,  deserted  and 
fled,  leaving  the  Soldiers  to  Fight.     We  stood  in  Battle 


336  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

with  'em  for  several  minutes  'till  there  was  about  Sixty 
Guns  discharged  and,  at  length,  we  put  the  Indians  to 
Flight. 

"  We  have  one  man  wounded,  and  my  Coat  was  shot 
through  in  four  Places.  The  Number  of  the  Indians  was 
twenty.  Our  Number  at  first  was  twenty-four,  But  they 
all  deserted  and  fled  except  seven.  Two  old  men  were 
killed  before  we  came,  one  of  whom  was  Scalped.  Ten 
women  &  children  were  in  the  Cellar  and  the  House  was 
on  Fire;  But  we  extinguished  it  and  brought  the  women 
and  Children  to  the  Fort.  I  desire  the  Colonel  to  send  me 
a  Reinforcement;  for  the  men  solemnly  say  they  will  not 
go  out  with  the  Farmers,  as  they  deserted  in  the  Battle  and 
never  fired  a  gun.  The  Indians  cryed  the  Halloo  during 
the  Battle. 

"We  have  one  of  their  Guns  and  a  Blanket,  which  had 
two  Holes  with  a  Bullet  in,  and  is  Bloody.  The  Indians 
had  all  red  Hats  and  red  Blankets. 

"Sir, 

"This  in  Distress  (wanting 

"  Reinforcement)  from 

"  Yours  to  command 

"  Samuel  Humphreys. 

"  May  it  please  the  Colonel  to  send  by  the  Bearer,  Adam 
Hayerling,  as  much  Powder  'and  Lead  as  you  can  spare." 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  Lieutenant  Humphreys 
received  at  least  a  fair  amount  of  credit  for  his  gallant 
action.  James  Read,  Esq.,  in  writing,  November  7,  to 
Governor  Denny,  observes  that,  "  By  concurrent  accounts 
from  several  Persons,  whose  character  will  not  suffer  me 
to  doubt  what  they  tell  me,  I  am  persuaded  that  Mr. 
Humphreys  behav'd  in  a  most  laudable  manner,  and  mani- 


Fort  Henry.  337 

fested  that  calm  courage  and  Presence  of  mind  which  will 
ever  gain  an  Advantage  over  superior  numbers,  whose 
Leader  is  too  precipitate  and  void  of  Discretion."  Im- 
mediately upon  receipt  of  this  the  Governor  directed  Cap- 
tain Morgan  to  "  thank  Lieutenant  Humphreys  and  the 
men  under  him,  on  my  part,  for  ye  gallant  Behavior  in  the 
later  action  ag't  the  Indians." 

After  Lieutenant  Humphreys  the  command  of  the  fort 
devolved  upon  Ensign  Harry.  He,  in  turn,  was  relieved 
by  an  officer,  whose  name  unfortunately  is  not  given,  but 
whose  journal  has  been  preserved,  a  copy  of  which  here 
follows : 

"A  Journal  of  Fort  Northkill — 1757 
"June  13.  Received  Orders  from  Lieutant  Colonel 
Weiser,  to  march  from  Reading  with  all  the  Company 
remaining  there,  (the  rest  being  commanded  to  Fort  Au- 
gustus). Accordingly  I  sat  out  from  Reading  by  Break 
of  Day,  on  the  14th.  Arrived  at  Lt.  Coll.  Weiser's  where 
I  rec'd  Orders  to  march  with  the  Company  or  Detachm't, 
to  Fort  Henry,  and  from  there  take  a  Detachm't  of  20 
Men,  &  continue  'till  to  Fort  in  Northkill.     Accordingly 

on  the 

"15th.  In  the  morning  took  the  said  20  men  from  Fort 
Henry  of  the  New  Levies  and  marched  strait  Way  to  the 
said  Fort  accompanied  with  Captns  Busse  and  Captns 
Smith,  as  soon  as  I  arrived  I  gave  Ensign  Harry  (then 
Commander  of  said  Fort)  Notice  of  my  Orders,  and  Sent 
off  two  men  immediately  to  the  colonels  with  a  Report  of 
the  condition  I  found  the  fort  in,  &  sent  him  a  List  of  the 
new  Levies  who  were  detached  from  Captain  Busse's  Fort 
with  me  to  this  Fort. 

"16th.  Captns  Busse  &  Smith  sat  off  ab't  10  o'clock  with 


338  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

a  Scout  of  10  men,  which  Captn  Busse  had  ordered  from 
his  Company  on  the  15th.  And  Ensign  Harry  march'd 
out  of  the  fort  ab*  12  o'clock,  (after  delivering  it  to  me), 
with  his  Men  to  Fort  Lebanon,  according  to  Orders.  Pro- 
visions I  found  in  the  fort  as  follows,  51b  Powder,  198  lb 
Flower,  10  Small  Barrs  of  Lead,  15  lb  of  Beef  and  Pork, 
3)4  lb  Candles. 

"17.  I,  with  a  Corporal  &  20  Men,  according  to  Or- 
ders from  U  Col1  Weiser,  went  a  scouting  &  ranging  the 
Woods  till  to  Fort  Lebanon,  where  We  arrived  abl  2 
O'clock  in  the  Afternoon.  We  staid  there  all  Night, 
being  not  able  to  scout  any  further,  or  return  home  because 
of  a  heavy  Rain. 

"18.  Sat  off  from  Fort  Lebanon  in  the  morning  being 
rainy  Weather,  and  ranged  the  Woods  coming  back,  as 
before,  with  the  same  number  of  men,  &  arrived  at  Fort 
on  Northkill  about  4  O'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"19.  Gave  Orders  to  Serjt  Petr  Smith  to  Scout  to  Fort 
Lebanon  &  to  bring  me  Report  the  next  Day  of  his  Pro- 
ceedings. Accordingly  He  arrived  on  the  20th  ah*  3 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  made  Report  that  He  had 
done  according  to  his  Orders,  and  that  He  had  made  no 
Discoveries.  Rec'd  a  Letter  by  him  from  Captn  Morgan, 
informing  me  that  He  had  no  News,  &c. 

"21.   Sent  off  Corporal  Shafer  to  scout  as  before. 

"  22d.  Minister  Shumaker  came  &  preach'd  a  Sermon 
to  the  Company.  The  scout  arrived  from  Fort  Lebanon. 
The  Corporal  reported  that  Nothing  strange  had  come 
to  his  knowledge.  A  Scout  of  Capt"  Busse's  arrived 
about  1 1  o'clock,  and  retd  ab*  4  towards  their  fort,  but 
upon  the  Indian  Alarms  they  immediately  retd  back  to  my 
fort  and  gave  me  Notice:  In  the  midst  of  the  Rain,  &  sent 
on  the  first  Notice,  Serj1  Smith,  with  18  men,  and  ordered 
them  to  divide  themselves  in  two  Parties. 


Fort  Henry.  339 

"June  23d.  Serj*  Smith  retd  and  made  Report  that  he 
arrived  at  Dietz's  House  about  10  o'clock  in  the  Night, 
where  they  heard  a  Gun  go  off  at  Jacon  Smith's  about  a 
mile  from  there.  They  immediately  sat  off  again  for  said 
Smith's  toward  the  Place  where  the  Gun  went  off,  and 
Surrounded  the  House  (according  to  my  Orders) .  They 
searched  all  the  House  but  found  no  marks  of  Indians. 
From  there  they  marched  to  Falks  House  in  the  Gap,  and 
surrounded  it,  but  found  no  Indians.  From  there  they 
went  to  the  Mountain,  and  arrived  there  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  where  Serjt  Smith  according  to  Orders,  Waylay 
the  Road  in  two  Parties,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  Day  went 
back  and  buried  the  man  that  was  killed,  to  wit,  Peter 
Geisinger,  who  was  shot,  and  killed  the  Day  before.  At 
Burying  him,  they  heard  5  Guns  go  off  ah*  2  miles  from 
said  Place,  whereupon  Sej*  Smith  Immediately  repaired  to 
the  Place,  &  divided  themselves  in  two  Parties,  (I  had  sent 
off  Corporal  Sheffer  with  8  men  on  the  2 2d  to  their  assist- 
ance.) Sej1  Smith  also  makes  Report  that  this  Morning 
at  7  o'clock  a  Girl  ab*  15  years,  Daughter  of  Balser 
Schmidt,  was  taken  Prisoner,  by  two  Indians,  whose 
Tracks  they  saw  and  followed,  but  to  no  Purpose.  A 
Party  of  Captn  Busse's  Company  went  along  from  this  and 
remained  with  my  men  all  the  Time.  15  or  16  of  the 
Inhabitants  came  to  me  and  apply'd  for  assistance.  I 
ordered  out  several  Detachmts  to  assist  them. 

"  24.  I  sat  off  with  20  men  from  this  to  Captn  Busse's 
Fort  along  the  mountain,  &  called  at  the  Place  where  the 
Murder  was  committed.  Went  up  as  far  as  the  Gap  of 
the  Mountain,  but  as  I  found  no  Tracts  there,  I  thought 
the  Indians  would  be  on  this  Side  the  mountains,  therefore 
I  went  up  along  the  mountains  without  opposition,  till  to 
Captn  Busse's  Fort,  and  as  it  rained  very  hard  all  Day  and 
We  went  far  about,  We  arrived  there  towards  the  Evening. 


34°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  25.  Sat  off  in  the  morning  with  the  same  number  of 
men,  and  scouted  the  Woods  back  near  the  same  Way 
back,  again,  and  arrived  towards  Evening  in  the  fort,  being 
rainy  Weather. 

"26.  Rec'd  in  the  morning  a  Letter,  for  my  positive 
Orders  not  to  neglect  my  scouting  towards  Fort  Lebanon, 
accordingly  immediately  called  in  my  Detachmts.  This 
afternoon  a  Woman  living  ab1  1  y2  miles  from  here,  came 
to  the  fort,  and  said  she  had  seen  an  Indian  just  now  in 
her  Field,  almost  naked,  &  had  a  Gun,  but  said  she  did 
not  stay  to  look  long.  I  immediately  sent  off  Serj1  Smith 
with  2  Parties,  consisting  of  ab1  20  men.  They  searched 
the  Place,  and  found  nothing,  but  saw  2  Barefeet  Tracks. 
They  divided  into  small  Parties,  &  Scoured  the  Woods  till 
Evening  &  then  retd  to  the  Fort,  and  as  I  had  to  Day  but 
men  sufficient  to  guard  the  fort,  I  sent  out  no  scout.  This 
evening  Intelligence  came  to  me  from  the  Colonels,  inform- 
ing me  that  He  had  notice  from  Captn  Orndt  of  1 5  Indians 
going  to  fall  on  this  Settlement  or  hereabouts.  He  or- 
dered me  therefore  immediately  to  Send  Notice  thereof  to 
Captn  Busse's  Fort,  in  order  that  it  might  be  from  there 
conveyed  to  Fort  Swatara,  accordingly  I  did. 

"June  27.  Gave  Orders  to  Serj1  Smith  to  go  scouting 
the  Woods  between  this  and  fort  Lebanon,  and  if  Capt" 
Morgan  thought  that  it  was  serviceable,  to  range  some 
Way  up  Schuylkill,  (as  that  Gap  is  their  common  Ren- 
dezvous) . 

"  28.  A  scout  of  Captn  Busse  arrived  in  the  Forenoon, 
&  sat  off  again  this  afternoon. 

"  29.  In  the  Evening  there  came  two  men  to  the  Port, 
and  reported  that  the  Indians  had  invaded  about  6  miles 
from  this,  abl  9  o'clock  this  morning,  I  was  somewhat 
concerned  that  I  had  no  sooner  Intelligence  of  it,  however 
I  immediately  sent  off  12  men  under  2  Corporals. 


Fort  Henry.  341 

"  30.  About  noon  the  2  Corporals  returned  and  made 
the  following  report.  That  Yesterday  he  could  not  reach 
the  Place  as  they  were  tired,  but  staid  at  a  House  till  nigh 
Break  of  Day,  and  then  sat  off  again.  He  did  not  imme- 
diately go  to  the  Place  when  the  man  &c.  were  killed,  but 
went  somewhat  further  down  towards  Schuylkill,  thinking 
that  the  Indians  had  invaded  lower  down,  but  as  it  was 
not  so,  He  took  another  Rout,  towards  the  Place  where 
the  murder  was  committed  and  as  he  came  there,  he  found 
the  Man's  Wife,  (Fred.  Myers)  who  had  been  at  a 
Plough,  and  shot  thro'  both  her  Breasts,  &  was  scalped. 
After  that  he  went  to  look  for  the  Man,  whom  they  found 
dead  &  scalped  some  Way  in  the  Woods.  They  took  a 
Ladder  &  carried  him  to  his  Wife,  where  the  Neighbor's 
came,  and  helped  to  bury  them,  after  which  they  went 
towards  the  mountain,  and  scouted  along  the  same  &  ar- 
rived here  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  reported 
by  the  Farmer's  who  saw  the  deceased  shot  while  before, 
that  he  was  mowing  in  the  Meadow,  and  that  his  Children 
were  about  him,  which  makes  them  Believe  that  the  Man, 
after  he  heard  the  Shot  (which  killed  his  Wife)  he  went 
to  run  off  with  only  the  youngest  Child  in  his  Arms,  as 
the  Man  was  Shot  thro'  the  body,  and  the  Child  is  1  y2 
year  of  Age  and  is  scalped,  but  yet  alive,  and  is  put  to  a 
Doctors.  The  other  three,  who  were  with  their  Father, 
are  taken  Prisoners;  One  of  them  is  a  Boy  ab*  10  years 
old,  the  other  a  Girl  of  8  years,  &  the  other  a  Boy  of  6 
years.  There  was  a  Baby,  whom  they  found  in  a  Ditch, 
that  the  water  was  just  to  its  Mouth.  It  was  laying  on 
its  Back  crying.  It  was  taken  up,  and  is  like  to  do  well. 
A  Boy  of  one  Reichard,  of  Eight  years,  was  taken  Pris- 
oner at  the  same  time.  This  was  all  done  within  half  an 
Hour,  as  some  Neighbours  had  been  there  in  that  Space 
of  Time. 


342  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"July  i.  Serj*  Petr  Smith  retd  with  the  Scout,  and  re- 
ported that  when  he  came  to  Fl  Lebanon,  Captn  Morgan 
sent  a  Detachm1  under  Ensign  Harry  to  the  Gap  of  the 
Schuylkill.  And  that  on  the  28th  last  past,  they  ascended 
the  Mountains,  and  when  they  came  on  the  other  Side,  they 
found  an  encamping  Place  of  the  Indians,  which,  after 
Ensign  Harry  had  surrounded  with  his  Party,  he  sent  off 
Serj'  Smith  with  another  Party  to  lay  in  ambush  on  the 
Indian  Path  all  Night,  but  as  nothing  was  to  be  heard  of 
the  Indians,  they  met  again  the  next  Day;  The  Indians, 
as  he  supposes,  having  left  that  Place  the  Day  before. 
However,  they  found  2  Match  Coats,  one  Spear,  one 
Scalping  Knife,  some  Virmilion,  and  800  Blank  Wampum, 
also  great  variety  of  Salves.  The  29th  they  yet  lay  in 
Ambush  in  several  Parties,  but  all  to  no  Purpose.  The 
Indians  having,  without  Doubt,  discovered  them,  in  Case 
any  was  thereabouts.  The  30th  they  sat  off  for  the  Hills, 
and  arrived  within  a  few  Miles  of  this  fort.  And  the  1 
July,  they  arrived  Accordingly  in  the  Fort. 

"July  2.  Being  rainy  Weather  I  sent  no  Scout,  but  put 
the  Men  to  work  to  repair  the  Stoccadoes. 

"3.  Early  in  the  Morning  my  Men  were  all  gathered, 
&  I  ordered  a  Corporal  to  Scout  with  a  Party  to  Fort 
Lebanon,  &  return  part  of  the  Way  and  encamp  in  the 
Woods  upon  a  rising  Ground  that  He  might  the  easier 
discover  a  fire. 

"  4.  In  the  Morning  a  Scout  of  Captain  Busse's  arrived 
&  returned  again  in  the  Afternoon.  The  Scout  from  Fort 
Lebanon  returned  &  the  Corporal  made  Report,  that  he 
had  ranged  as  directed  but  had  made  no  Discoveries. 

"  5.   Being  a  very  rainy  Day,  could  send  no  Scout. 

"  6.  Sent  Serj1  Smith  on  a  Scout  to  range  on  this  Side 
the  Mountains,  towards  Schuylkill. 


Fort  Henry.  343 

"  7.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  set  off  again 
directly.  In  the  afternoon  my  Scout  retd,  but  had  no 
News.  It  rained  hard,  they  lay  in  a  House  about  12 
Miles  from  here. 

"  8.  Being  appointed  by  his  Honour  the  Governr  a  Day 
of  Fast,  I  sent  no  Scout,  but  had  a  Sermon  read  in  the  fort, 
where  numbers  of  the  Neighbours  had  assembled.  A 
Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  retd  directly. 

"9.  Sent  off  Corp1  Shefer  with  a  Scout  to  Fort  Leb- 
anon, who  retd  on  the 

"10.  But  brought  on  Intelligence.  I  rec'd  Orders  to 
repair  to  Reading,  where  I  arrived  this  afternoon. 

"11.  Returned  again  into  the  Fort,  where  Serj*  Smith 
informed  me  a  Scout  of  Cap"  Busse's  had  arrived  at  the 
fort  &  retd.  That  he  had  ranged  the  Gap  about  2  Miles 
from  this,  and  had  been  over  the  Mountains,  but  had  dis- 
covered nothing. 

"12.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  retd  Imme- 
diately. Sent  a  Corporal  and  a  Scout  to  Range  to  Fort 
Lebanon. 

"13th.  My  Scout  from  Fort  Lebanon  returned.  The 
Corporal  reported  he  had  ranged  as  ordered,  but  had  no 
Discoveries. 

"14.  Captn  Busse  arrived  this  morning  with  a  Party 
of  Captn  Smith's  and  his  own,  to  the  Number  of  ab*  28. 
I  gave  him  15  of  my  Men,  in  order  to  escort  the  Treaty 
at  Easton. 

"  July  15.   It  being  a  rainy  Day  I  sent  no  Scout. 

"16.  Continuing  rainy  Weather,  I  could  send  no  Scout. 
In  the  Evening  repaired  some  Stoccadoes,  the  Rain  having 
held  up. 

"17.  The  Water  being  high  &  the  Bushes  wet,  I  could 
send  no  Scout  to  Day.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived, 
there  being  no  Water  between  his  &  this  fort. 


344  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

ai8.  Sent  a  Scout  along  the  Mountains.  They  arrived 
in  the  Evening  &  had  no  Intelligce. 

"19.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  and  retd  directly. 
Sent  Serj*  Smith  with  a  Scout  to  Fort  Lebanon. 

"  20.  Serj1  Smith  retd  &  reported  that  he  had  been  at 
Fort  Lebanon  &  retd  some  Part  of  the  Way  &  laid  in  the 
Woods,  but  had  made  no  fire.  They  made  no  Discovery. 
A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  and  retd  instantly. 

"21.  Having  laid  out  Part  of  my  Men  to  protect  the 
Farmer's  &  the  Rest  fatigued  with  Yesterday's  Scout,  I 
could  send  none  to  Day. 

"22.  Sent  a  Scout  along  the  Mountain  who  retd  without 
Discovering  any  Thing. 

"  July  23d.  I  went  Scouting  with  a  Party  over  the  Moun- 
tains, and  as  it  was  very  warm,  I  ordered  the  Men  about 
Noon  to  rest  themselves  a  Couple  of  Hours  when  We  were 
over  the  Mountains,  I  then  ordered  them  to  march,  and 
as  We  came  to  Schuylkill,  I  saw  it  was  too  high  for  the 
Men  to  wade  through.  I  then  got  Horses,  &  towards 
Evening  We  got  over  Schuylkill.  We  arrived  at  Fort 
Lebanon  towards  Night,  &  was  obliged  to  stay  there  that 
Night. 

"  24th.  Returned,  and  as  soon  as  We  came  over  on 
this  Side  of  the  Mountains  (it  being  yet  early  in  the  Day) 
I  took  quite  another  Rout  thro'  the  Woods,  but  made  no 
Discovery,  so  We  arrived  at  the  Fort  in  the  Evening.  I 
had  not  been  there  one  half  an  Hour  befr  three  Farmers 
came  and  informed  me  that  this  Morning  the  Indians  had 
taken  a  Boy  of  about  14  Years  Prisoner,  but  had  done  no 
other  Damage.  I  immediately  sent  off  a  party,  but  as 
it  happened,  the  Boy  being  taken  Prisoner  in  the  Morn- 
ing, Night  came  on  before  my  Men  could  get  there. 

"  25.   In  the  Morning  I  hear  the  Boy  had  escaped,  and 


Fort  Henry.  345 

that  he  made  Report  that  there  were  4  white  Men  &  4 
Indians  with  him,  &  that  At  Night  he  escaped,  they  had 
tied  him  and  he  was  obliged  to  lay  between  them,  but  as 
they  all  got  drunk,  and  fast  asleep,  he  untied  himself  and 
ran  off.  He  further  says  that  when  he  was  taken  Pris- 
oner he  made  a  noise,  and  that  they  struck  him  &  told  him 
to  be  silent.  I  imagine  they  saw  me  with  my  Men  go  over 
the  Day  befr  yesterday.  The  Indians  were  this  Night  ab* 
the  fort,  but  it  was  very  dark,  therefr  I  did  not  sally  out. 

"  26.  This  Morning  sent  out  Serj*  Smith,  with  5  Men 
to  search  ab*  the  fort  for  Tracks,  but  he  only  found  one 
which  was  in  a  muddy  Place.  But  it  being  nothing  but 
Stones,  He  could  not  follow  the  Tracts.  It  rained  all 
Day  very  hard,  therfr  I  could  send  no  Scout. 

"July  27th.  Sent  a  Scout  down  on  this  Side  of  the 
Mountain.  The  Scout  retd  in  the  Evening  having  no 
Intelligence. 

"28th.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  and  retd  ab* 
Noon ;  Nothing  Extraordinary  happened. 

"  29th.  Sent  Serj*  Smith  with  a  Scout  along  the  Moun- 
tains.    He  retd  having  nothing  particular. 

"  30th.  A  Scout  of  L*  Philip  Weiser,  from  Captn  Busse 
arrived.  Having  laid  aside  out  several  Detachments  to 
assist  the  Farmers,  I  could  send  no  Scout  to  Day. 

"31.  Lieut.  Weiser  retd  from  his  Scout.  I  called  in 
the  Detachrr^s  this  Day,  and  sent  out  a  Scout  which  retd 
this  Evening. 

"Aug4  1  st.  The  Men  being  tired  &  their  Feet  in  Blis- 
ters, I  let  them  rest  this  Day. 

"  2d.  Sent  a  Scout  along  the  Mountains  with  Orders  to 
range  to  Schuylkill. 

"  3d.  The  Corporal  retd  from  his  Scout  and  reported  he 
had  ranged  as  ordered. 


346  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  4.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  retd  the  same 
Day.  The  Inhabitants  desiring  Assistance  to  bring  in 
their  Harvest,  I  gave  them  some  men  &  went  altho'  a 
scouting,  but  as  I  left  few  Men  in  the  Fort,  I  retd  this 
Evening. 

"5.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  went  off  aftr 
they  had  rested  awhile.  Sent  Serj1  Smith  with  a  Scout  & 
ordered  him  to  range  the  Woods  on  this  Side  the  Moun- 
tain.    He  retd  and  had  nothing  particular. 

"  6.  Sent  off  a  Scout.  They  went  along  on  the  foot  of 
the  Mountain  &  retd  the  Evening  without  any  Intelligence. 

"7th.  Being  Sunday,  I  took  a  Party  &  went  to  Church 
with  a  party,  as  the  Church  lies  near  the  Mountain  &  the 
Minister  could  not  come  without  a  Guard. 

"  8.  The  Centry  fired  at  an  Indian.  The  Indian  stood 
behind  a  Bush  ab4  300  Yards  off,  and  was  viewing  the  fort. 
I  went  off  with  18  Men  and  parted  them  in  6  Parties  and 
went  after  the  Indians,  but  could  not  come  up  with  them. 
Went  to  clearing  ab*  the  fort,  it  being  thick  with  Bushes. 

"  9.  Continued  clearing  &  burning  Brush  so  that  on  the 
South  Side  of  the  Fort,  it  is  cleared  a  full  Musket  Shot. 
A  Party  of  Captain  Busse's  arrived. 

"10.  Sent  off  a  scouting  Party,  who  retd  and  brought 
no  Intelligence.  This  Night  the  Centry  ab*  an  Hour  after 
Dark  perceived  that  a  fire  had  been  kindled  to  burn  Brush, 
but  was  befr  Night  gone  out,  began  to  burn  afresh;  upon 
which  he  called  the  Serjeant  of  the  Guard,  who  perceiving 
the  same  ordered  the  Guard  to  fire,  on  which  the  Indians 
ran  off.  The  Dogs  pursued  'em  &  kept  barking  after  'em 
abl  half  a  Mile.  I  had  the  Men  all  under  Arms;  but 
everything  being  now  quiet,  dismissed  'em,  ordering  them 
to  be  in  continual  Readiness  with  their  Accoutrements 
on.      In  abl  an  Hour,  the  Indians  retd  and  took  a  Fire- 


Fort  Henry.  347 

brand  out  of  the  Fire  &  ran  off.  They  were  immediately 
fired  on,  but  in  vain. 

"Aug.  ii.  Ensign  Biddle  arrived  at  the  fort  with  the 
Detachment  of  our  Company  that  were  in  Easton. 

"12.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's  arrived  &  retd  directly. 

"13.  This  day  I  left  the  fort  in  Order  to  go  to  the  Cols 
agreeable  to  his  Orders.  I  left  Ensign  Biddle  in  the  fort. 
Sent  a  Corporal  to  range  towards  Schuylkill,  who  retd  the 
same  Evening  &  the  Corporal  reported  that  he  ranged  as 
directed  and  had  made  no  Discoveries.  A  Scout  of  Captn 
Busse's  arrived,  &  retd  the  same  Evening. 

"14.  Being  Sunday,  Minister  Shumaker  came  here,  & 
the  Soldiers  being  fatigued  with  continual  Scouting,  there 
was  no  Scout  to  Day. 

"15.  Ensign  Biddle  sent  a  Corporal  with  a  Scout  to 
range  Eastwards  towards  Schuylkill  &  return  under  the 
Mountains.  The  Scout  retd  towards  Evening  &  the  Cor- 
poral made  Report,  he  had  ranged  as  directed  and  had 
no  Intelligence. 

"16.  Sent  an  express  Serjeant  with  15  Men  to  range 
Eastward  along  the  Mountain.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse's 
arrived  &  retd  immediately.  In  the  afternoon,  the  Scout 
retd.  The  Serj4  made  Report  he  had  ranged  as  directed, 
but  had  no  news. 

"17.  Early  this  Morning  Ensign  Biddle  sent  Sejfc  Smith 
with  10  men  to  escort  Lieut.  Col1  Wieser,  who  was  ex- 
pected here  this  Day.  This  Day  Col1  Weiser  arrived, 
accompanied  with  Captn  Busse  and  myself,  together  with 
the  said  Escort.  The  Col1  returned  the  same  Day  home- 
wards, after  We  had  chosen  a  place  where  to  build  a  New 
Fort.     Ensign  Biddle  went  along  with  Capt'n  Busse. 

"18.  Sent  off  a  Scout  to  Fort  Lebanon,  and  ordered 
them  to  range  the  Woods  between  here  &  that  fort  till 
Night. 


34^  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"19.  The  Scout  retd  abl  4  O'clock  &  informed  that  he 
had  done  according  to  his  Orders.  Captn  Morgan  came 
with  the  Scout  and  retd  the  same  Evening. 

"20.  Sent  a  Scout  of  15  Men  to  range  the  Woods 
towards  Schuylkill,  into  Windsor  Township,  &  with  Or- 
ders to  call  in  some  Detachments  lying  in  said  Township, 
according  to  Lieut.  Cols  Orders. 

"21.  The  Scout  retd  with  the  Detachm^.  The  Cor- 
poral reported  he  had  done  according  to  his  Orders,  but 
had  no  News.  The  same  Day  Captn  Busse  &  Ensign 
Biddle  arrived  from  Fort  Henry.  Captain  Busse  retd  the 
same  Evening. 

"  2  2d.  Rece'd  an  Express  from  Lieut.  Col1  Weiser,  with 
Orders  to  come  to  his  House.  In  Pursuance  of  which,  I 
sat  off  immediately,  leaving  Ensign  Biddle  in  the  fort. 

"  23d.  A  Scout  of  Captn  Busse  arrived.  The  Centry's 
heard  the  Indians  distinctly  whistle  this  Night  in  the  fort 
Woods. 

"  24.  Ensign  Biddle,  according  to  Orders,  with  a  Scout 
of  20  Men,  went  over  the  Mountains  to  Captain  Morgan's 
Fort. 

"  25.  Lieut.  Philip  Weiser  came  here  from  Fort  Henry, 
with  a  Scout. 

"  26.  Ensign  Biddle  retd  from  his  Scout,  having  been 
at  Captn  Morgan's  Fort,  &  from  thence  scouted  over  the 
Mountains  into  Allemangle  &  from  thence  along  the  foot 
of  the  Mountains  till  here.  This  Day  I  also  arrived  at 
the  fort  from  L*.  Col1.  Weisers. 

"  27.  Having  Orders  from  Ly.  Col1.  Weiser's  to  look 
out  for  a  proper  Place  to  build  a  new  fort,  this  being  so 
bad,  I  began  to  lay  out  one  on  a  spot  which  had  been  befr 
pitched  upon  by  the  Colonel  and  Cptn  Busse,  But  night 
coming,  We  could  not  finish. 


Fort  Henry.  349 

11  28.   Laid  out  the  remaining  Part  of  the  fort. 

"  29.  Had  some  Brush  cut,  round  the  new  intended  fort, 
till  Evening. 

"30.  Sent  off  a  Scout  towards  Schuylkill.  They  retd 
in  the  Evening,  but  made  no  return  with  the  remaining 
party  of  the  Men.  I  continued  clearing  &  burning  of 
Brush. 

"31.  Sent  off  Sejfc  Smith  with  a  scouting  Party,  towards 
Schuylkill.     He  retd  but  made  no  Discovery." 

It  is  probable  that  this  officer  was  ordered  away,  with 
his  command,  in  the  beginning  of  September,  because,  in  a 
letter  of  October  1,  1757,  to  Governor  Denny,  Colonel 
Weiser  says  that  Captain  Oswald,  who  commanded  a  com- 
pany of  regular  troops,  from  the  Royal  American  Regi- 
ment, and  who  was  then  stationed  at  Reading,  sent  imme- 
diately two  lieutenants,  with  forty  privates,  to  the  assis- 
tance of  the  people  about  Northkill,  who  were  in  distress, 
which  would  hardly  have  been  done  were  the  fort  still 
garrisoned. 

That  it  was  completely  abandoned  by  March,  1758,  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that,  under  this  date,  the  settlers  in 
the  neighborhood  implored  the  Governor  for  assistance 
because,  as  they  said,  "  Your  Petitioners  are  every  moment 
dreading  an  attack  from  the  Enemy,  and  find  ourselves  less 
secure  than  heretofore,  from  their  attempts,  as  the  Block- 
house at  Northkill  is  destroyed  and  no  Garrison  Kept  in 
those  parts." 

In  April,  1758,  at  Tulpehocken,  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Lebenguth,  and  his  wife,  were  killed  and  scalped.  At 
Northkill  Nicholas  Geiger's  wife  and  two  of  his  children 
were  killed;  and  also  Michael  Ditzelar's  wife  was  killed — 
these  were  all  scalped.  The  Indians  divided  themselves 
into  small  parties,  and  surprised  the  settlers  unawares. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains. 


m 


HILE  in  nearly  every 
instance  the  forts 
erected  by  the  Provincial  Gov- 
ernment occupied,  or  com- 
manded, the  gaps  which  were 
natural  passage  ways  through 
the  range  of  mountains,  yet  this 
was  not  the  case  with  Fort 
Henry,  nor  with  Fort  North- 
kill,  which  served  as  defenses 
for  what  was  probably  the  most  populous  and  important 
settlement  south  of  the  range.  The  most  direct  communi- 
cation of  these  people  with  the  north  was  by  the  old  Sha- 
mokin  Road,  which  crossed  the  mountains  not  far  distant 
from  the  locality  of  Fort  Northkill.  Naturally,  the  In- 
dians made  frequent  use  of  this  on  their  marauding  expedi- 
tions. On  this  road,  at  the  top  of  the  Blue  Mountains, 
on  one  of  its  most  conspicuous  points,  Dietrich  Snyder 
had  built  for  himself  a  one-story  log  house,  about  twenty 

(35o) 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  351 

by  forty  feet.  From  this  a  view  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try could  be  had,  and  the  approach  of  hostile  parties  easily 
discovered  by  the  trail  of  burning  houses  in  their  tracks. 
The  alarm  being  given  by  those  on  watch  to  the  com- 
mander of  Fort  Northkill  he  was,  thereby,  enabled  the 
better  to  prepare  himself,  and  to  be  on  guard  for  any 
emergency  which  might  arise.  That  the  building  was  oc- 
cupied for  this  purpose  we  have  the  authority  of  various 
old  residents,  who  received  their  information  from  most 
authentic  sources. 

Upon  the  death  of  Dietrich  Snyder  his  wife  still  re- 
mained in  the  old  house,  and  lived  to  be  115  years  old. 
The  property  was  then  sold  to  a  Mr.  Miller,  who  tore 
down  the  building  and  erected  a  hotel  in  its  place,  which 
is  still  standing.  The  original  block-house  stood  a  short 
hundred  yards  directly  north  of  the  hotel. 

Fort  Lebanon  (and  William). 

Not  far  distant  from  Fort  Northkill,  to  the  east,  is  the 
important  gap  in  the  mountain  made  by  the  Schuylkill 
River,  where  Port  Clinton  now  stands.  Some  six  miles 
north  of  Port  Clinton  is  the  town  of  Auburn,  and  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Auburn  stood  Fort  Leb- 
anon, distant  eleven  miles  from  Fort  Northkill,  by  the 
route  usually  taken,  which  was  along  the  northern  base 
of  the  Blue  Range,  then  across  the  mountain  by  the  road 
past  Dietrich  Snyder's  house.  This  fort,  during  the  latter 
part  of  its  history,  was  also  called  Fort  William.  The 
first  mention  made  of  it  is  in  the  order  sent  Captain  Jacob 
Morgan,  under  date  of  January  26,  1756,  which  begins: 

"As  you  are  Captain  of  a  Company  of  foot  in  the  pay 
of  this  Province,  now  posted  in  a  fort  in  the  forks  of  the 
Schuylkill,  I  think  it  necessary  to  give  you  the  following 


35 2  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Orders  and  Instructions  for  your  better  government  and 
direction,  in  the  execution  of  the  trust  reposed  in  you." 
Then  follows  the  order  relative  to  the  building  of  Fort 
Northkill. 

Fort  Lebanon  probably  came  into  existence  during  the 
month  of  December,  1755.  It  stood  on  what  was  recently 
the  farm  of  Lewis  Marburger,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
road  between  Auburn  and  Pine  Dale,  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  each.  In  the  olden  time  this  road  was  not 
much  more  than  a  path,  but  still  the  line  of  communication 
between  the  east,  west  and  south.  Some  sixty  yards  to 
the  east  is  the  road  to  Port  Clinton,  which  there  crosses 
Pine  Creek  by  a  bridge.  The  fort  was  about  the  same 
distance  to  the  north  of  the  creek.  The  ground  is  level 
and  somewhat  elevated,  falling  down  to  the  creek  from 
just  below  an  oak  tree,  which  marks  the  location  of  a 
spring  where  the  soldiers  obtained  their  water.  About 
seventy-five  feet  west  of  the  oak  tree  there  still  remains  a 
part  of  the  stump  of  a  tree,  where  quite  a  number  of  bullets 
have  been  found,  and  which  was  probably  used  by  the 
soldiers  as  a  target.  Pine  Creek  was  formerly  known  as 
Bohundy  Creek.  Of  the  old  fort  nothing  remains  save 
a  hollow  place  in  the  field,  twenty  feet  north  of  the  road, 
which  marks  the  location  of  the  cellar. 

Fortunately,  in  the  Pennsylvania  Archives  we  find  a  full 
description  of  this  defense. 

"Description  of  Fort  Lebanon,   1756. 

"  Fort  Lebanon,  about  24  miles  from  Gnadenhiitten 
(Fort  Allen  at  Weissport),  in  the  Line  to  Shamokin 
(Sunbury) . 

"  Fort,  100  Foot  Square. 

"Stockades,  14  Foot  high. 

"  House  within  30  X  20,  with  a  large  Store  Room. 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains. 


353 


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354  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"A  Spring  within. 

"A  magazine  12  Foot  Square. 

"On  a  Barren  not  much  Timber  about  it. 

"100  Families  protected  by  it  within  the  new  Purchase. 
No  Township.  Built  in  three  weeks.  Something  consid- 
erably given  by  the  neighbors  toward  it." 

Commissary  James  Young  has  this  to  say  of  it  during 
his  tour  of  inspection : 

"June  21st,  1756 — Accordingly  we  sett  out  for  Fort 
Lebanon  (from  Fort  Northkill)  ;  all  the  way  from  North 
Kill  to  Lebanon  is  an  Exceeding  bad  road,  very  Stony 
and  mountanus.  About  6  miles  from  North  Kill,  we 
crossed  the  North  Mountain,  where  we  met  Captain  Mor- 
gan's Lieut,  with  10  men.  Ranging  the  woods  between 
the  mountain  and  Fort  Leb'n ;  we  past  by  two  Plantations, 
the  Rest  of  the  Country  is  chiefly  Barren  Hills,  at  noon 
we  came  to  Fort  Lebanon,  which  is  situated  in  a  Plain, 
on  one  side  is  a  Plantation,  on  the  other  a  Barren  Pretty 
Clear  of  Woods  all  round,  only  a  few  trees  about  fifty 
yards  from  the  Fort,  which  I  desired  might  be  cut  down. 
This  Fort  is  a  square  of  ab't  100  ft  well  staccoded  with 
good  Bastians,  on  one  side  of  which  is  a  Good  Wall 
Piece,  within  is  a  good  Guard  house  for  the  People,  and 
two  other  Large  houses  built  by  the  Country  people  who 
have  taken  refuge  here,  in  all  6  Families.  The  Fort  is 
a  little  too  much  Crowded  on  that  acc't;  I  acquainted  Cap't 
Morgan  that  the  Serjeant  at  Northkill  did  not  do  his  Duty, 
and  I  believ'd  it  would  be  for  the  good  of  the  Service  to 
have  a  Com'd  officer  there,  on  which  he  ordered  his  Lieu't, 
with  two  more  men  to  go  and  take  post  there,  and  sent 
with  him  4  lbs.  Powder  &  10  lb  Lead.  Provincial  Arms 
&  Ammun'tn;   28   G'd  Muskets,    10  wanting   Repair,   9 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  355 

Rounds  of  Powder  &  Lead,  4  lb  Powder,  24  lb  Lead,  30 
Cartooch  boxes,  40  Blankets,  1  Axe,  1  Wall  Piece. 

"  By  Capt.  Morgan's  Journal,  it  appears,  he  sends  a 
Party  to  Range  the  woods  4  or  5  times  a  week,  and  Guard 
the  Inhabitants  at  their  Labor.  At  1  P.  M.  I  muster'd 
the  People  and  Examined  the  certificates  of  Inlistments 
which  appear  in  the  muster  Roll,  after  which  I  order'd  the 
men  to  fire  at  a  mark,  15  of  28  hit  within  2  foot  of  the 
center,  at  the  Distance  of  80  yards.  Provisions  here: 
Flower  and  Rum  for  a  month;  the  Commissary  sends  them 
money  to  Purchase  meal  as  they  want  it." 

Near  the  fort,  some  fifty  feet  from  the  road,  back  of 
where  now  stands  Jared  Wagner's  house,  lived  Paul  Heim. 
During  the  Indian  depredations  it  was  used  as  a  place  of 
refuge,  and  was  planked  inside  with  heavy  timbers.  At 
one  time  Mr.  Heim  was  instrumental  in  saving  a  family 
near  him  from  being  burned  to  death.  The  Indians  had 
set  the  building  on  fire  and  fastened  the  door  to  prevent 
any  one  from  getting  out.  Hearing  of  this,  Mr.  Heim 
jumped  on  his  white  horse,  took  his  gun,  and  managed  to 
draw  the  enemy  off,  or  frighten  them  away.  He  then 
returned,  and  rescued  the  people  before  the  house  was 
destroyed. 

Living,  as  they  did,  to  the  north  of  the  mountains,  and 
in  a  comparatively  sparsely  settled  district,  the  people  were 
especially  exposed  to  the  depredations  of  their  savage 
neighbors  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  The  only  re- 
course left  to  them  was  to  leave  their  homes,  for  the  time 
being,  and  flee  to  the  south.  This  will  partly  explain  the 
comparative  dearth  of  recorded  murders,  great  as  was  the 
destruction  which  took  place  throughout  the  vicinity.  One 
of  the  occurrences,  however,  is  graphically  described  in  the 
following  letter  from  Captain  Morgan  to  Governor 
Denny : 


356  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  November  Fourth,  1756. 
"  Hon'd  Sir,  Yesterday  Morning  at  Break  of  Day,  one 
of  ye  neighbours  discovered  a  Fire  at  a  distance  from  him; 
he  went  to  ye  top  of  another  Mountain  to  take  a  better 
observation,  and  made  a  full  Discovery  of  Fire,  and  sup- 
posed it  to  be  about  7  miles  off,  at  the  House  of  John 
Finsher;  he  came  and  informed  me  of  it;  I  immediately 
detach'd  a  party  of  10  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  Skulkill,  and  the  men  anx- 
ious to  see  the  Enemy  if  there,  they  ran  through  the  water 
and  the  Bushes  to  the  Fire,  where  to  their  disappointment 
saw  none  of  them,  but  the  House,  Barn,  and  other  out 
houses  all  in  Flames,  together  with  a  Considerable  Quan- 
tity of  Corn;  they  saw  a  great  many  tracks  and  followed 
them,  came  back  to  the  House  of  Philip  Culmore,  thinking 
to  send  from  thence  to  alarm  the  other  Inhabitants  to  be 
on  their  Guard,  but  instead  of  that  found  the  said  Cul- 
more's  wife  and  Daugther  and  Son-in-Law  all  just  Kill'd 
and  Scalped;  there  is  likewise  missing  out  of  the  same 
House  Martin  Fell's  wife  and  Child  about  1  Year  old, 
and  another  Boy  about  7  Years  of  Age,  the  said  Martin 
Fell  was  Him  that  was  Kill'd,  it  was  just  done  when  the 
Scouts  came  there,  and  they  seeing  the  Scouts  ran  off. 
The  Scout  divided  in  2  partys,  one  to  some  other  Houses 
nigh  at  Hand,  &  the  other  to  the  Fort,  (it  being  within 
a  mile  of  the  Fort)  to  inform  me;  I  immediately  went  out 
with  the  Scout  again,  (and  left  in  the  Fort  no  more  than 
6  men)  but  could  not  make  any  discovery,  but  brought  all 
the  Familys  to  the  Fort,  where  now  I  believe  we  are 
upwards  of  60  women  and  children  that  are  fled  here  for 
refuge,  &  at  12  of  the  Clock  at  Night  I  Rec'd  an  Express 
from  Lieut.  Humphres,  commander  at  the  Fort  of  North- 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  357 

kill,  who  inform'd  me  that  the  same  Day  about  1 1  o'clock 
in  the  Forenoon  (about  a  Half  a  mile  from  his  Fort)  as 
he  was  returning  from  his  Scout,  came  upon  a  body  of 
Indians  to  the  number  of  20  at  the  House  of  Nicholas 
Long,  where  they  had  killed  2  old  men  and  taken  another 
Captive,  and  doubtless  would  have  kill'd  all  the  Family, 
they  being  9  children  in  the  House,  the  Lieut's  party  tho' 
7  in  Number,  fired  upon  the  Indians  and  thought  they 
killed  2,  they  dropping  down  and  started  up  again,  one 
held  his  Hand  (as  they  imagined)  over  his  Wound,  and 
they  all  ran  off  making  a  hallowing  noise;  we  got  a 
Blanket  and  a  Gun  which  he  that  was  shot  dropt  in  his 
Flight.  The  Lieut,  had  one  Man  shot  through  the  right 
Arm  and  the  right  side,  but  hopes  not  mortal,  &  he  had  4 
Shotts  through  his  Own  Cloathes.  I  this  day  went  out 
with  a  party  to  bury  the  dead  nigh  here;  we  are  all  in 
high  spirits  here;  if  it  would  please  his  Honour  to  order 
a  Reinforcement  at  both  Forts,  I  doubt  not  but  we  should 
soon  have  an  Opertunity  of  Revenging  the  loss,  from 
"  Honour'd  Sir 
"  Your  most  Humble  Serv't  to  command, 
"Jacob  Morgan." 

This  wretched  story  would  not  be  complete  without  a 
relation  of  what  happened,  later,  to  one  of  the  actors  in  it, 
John  Fincher,  which  serves  to  show  the  utter  barbarity  of 
the  merciless  savages  who  ravaged  the  frontier.  Once 
more,  in  September,  1763,  his  home  was  visited  by  eight 
well-armed  Indians,  although  within  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  of  a  party  of  six  men  of  Captain  Kern's  company  of 
Rangers,  commanded  by  Ensign  Scheffer.  Being  of 
Quaker  belief,  at  the  approach  of  the  Indians  he  imme- 
diately went  to  the  door  accompanied  by  his  wife,  two 


35^  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

sons  and  a  daughter,  invited  them  to  enter  in  and  eat, 
expressing  the  hope  that  they  came  as  friends,  and  en- 
treating 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  pur- 
suit 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  off  with 
them.  Miller  and  his  wife,  being  at  work  in  the  field, 
saved  their  lives  by  flight.  Mr.  Miller  himself  was  pur- 
sued 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  returned  the  fire,  and  a  sharp  but  short  con- 
flict 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  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. 

On  June  24,  1757,  Captain  Morgan  writes: 

"On  Wednesday  last  we  were  alarmed  by  one  of  the 
neighbors  that  came  to  the  Fort  and  acquainted  us  that 
one  Jno.  Bushy  had  seen  an  Indian  at  his  house  (which 
was  about  3  miles  from  Fort  Lebanon).      I  immediately 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  359 

went  out  with  a  party  of  men  to  the  place  where  we  found 
the  tracts  of  three,  but  could  not  see  any  of  them. 

"  Yesterday  morning  about  8  of  the  clock,  the  son  of 
one  Adam  Drum  (whom  the  Indians  had  killed  the  night 
before  in  Allemingle,  and  took  the  Son  Captive)  found 
an  opportunity  to  make  his  Escape,  and  came  to  the  Fort; 
he  inform'd  me  that  the  Indians  (8  in  number)  had  got 
a  quantity  of  Liquor  out  of  his  Fathers  House,  and  came 
to  a  Hill  about  7  miles  from  the  Fort,  where  they  got  a 
dancing,  and  made  themselves  drunk,  he  took  the  oppor- 
tunity and  escaped  to  the  Fort,  the  Indian  followed  him 
near  a  mile  and  half  whom  our  men  afterwards  tract'd; 
so  as  soon  as  the  young  man  came  I  sent  out  a  party  to 
the  place  where  the  man  left  them,  but  when  they  came 
there  they  only  found  an  old  pair  of  mogasins  and  a  Deer 
Skin  whom  they  had  left,  but  the  Indians  were  fled;  they 
tract'd  them  as  far  as  they  could  but  night  coming,  obliged 
them  to  return  home.  I  have  this  Day  sent  out  a  Party 
to  intercept  them  in  the  way,  to  the  Gap  of  the  second 
mountain,  (where  Schuylkill  comes  through)  being  the 
place  which  I  often  found  where  they  retreat  back;  the 
men  will  range  about  2  days." 

Captain  Morgan  remained  continuously  in  command  of 
Fort  Lebanon,  until,  at  least,  the  cessation  of  hostilities  in 
1759.  Andrew  Engel  was  his  lieutenant  at  first,  being 
succeeded  by  Lieutenant  Humphreys  and  transferred  to 
Fort  Franklin.  Jacob  Kern,  his  first  ensign,  was  relieved 
by  Ensign  Harry. 

By  February,  1758,  the  name  of  the  defense  had  been 
changed  to  Fort  William,  for  what  reason  we  do  not 
know. 

Our  record  of  it  ends  with  the  following: 


360  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

11  Monthly  Journal  for  July,  per  Jacob  Morgan, 

1757- 

"  July  the  1  st.  Sent  Corporall  with  1 1  men  on  a  Scout 
to  Clingaman  Hausaboughs,  at  Allemingle,  who  staid  all 
Night,  I  sent  Sej*  Mathews  with  several  men  to  Reading, 
to  be  Qualifyed  &  be  supplied  with  necessaries. 

11  2d.  The  Scout  return'd  from  Allemingle,  and  reported 
they  had  made  no  discovery  of  the  Enemy. 

"  3d.  Sent  a  party  to  range  to  Allemingle,  same  day 
came  a  Scout  from  Northkill  Fort  &  return'd  again  the 
same  day,  bringing  no  news. 

11  4th.  Our  men  returned  from  Allemingle,  and  reported, 
that  some  of  the  inhabitants  that  were  afraid,  near  the 
mountain,  were  removing  downwards;  Serj*  Matthews 
returned  with  the  men  from  Reading,  the  rest  guarding 
at  the  Fort. 

"  5th,  6th,  7th.  Was  exceeding  heavy  rain,  &  the  water 
very  high. 

"8  th  Being  a  day  of  Humiliation  we  apped  our  selves 
thereto. 

"  9th.   Rainy  weather,  we  could  not  Scout. 

"10th.  I  sent  out  a  party  to  range  to  Allemingle;  this 
Day  Serj*  Matthews  return'd  from  Colonel  Weisers  with 
orders  for  me  to  station  10  men  in  Windsor  Township,  & 
to  keep  10  men  in  readiness  to  go  to  Easton. 

"1  ith.  The  Scout  return'd  back,  I  prepared  the  men  in 
readiness  according  to  orders,  &  sent  some  men  to  guard 
the  Farmers  in  their  Harvest. 

"12th.  I  went  with  the  10  men  to  Windsor  Township  I 
stationed  them  there,  where  I  found  the  most  proper,  In 
the  Evening  was  very  heavy  rain  &  thunder,  obliged  me 
to  stay  all  night;  we  sent  some  partys  from  the  Fort  to 
guard  the  farmers. 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  361 

"13th.  I  returned  in  the  morning  to  the  fort,  I  received 
a  Letter  from  Lieut.  Colonel  Weiser,  to  send  10  men  to 
Easton  to  Guard  at  the  Treaty;  partys  went  to  Guard  the 
Farmers,  &  this  Day,  in  my  return,  I  met  the  Scout  which 
I  had  posted  in  Windsor  township,  ranging  about  the 
farmers  houses. 

"14th.  I  sent  Sej*  Matthews  with  9  men  to  Easton  to 
the  Treaty  to  Guard,  &  sent  out  some  partys  to  range  and 
Guard  the  Farmers,  who  did  not  return  in  the  Evening  by 
reason  of  the  heavy  rain  and  thunder,  which  fell  in  the 
Evening. 

"15th.  Being  all  Day  very  heavy  rain,  &  the  Creeks  so 
high  that  Schuylkill  rose  perpendicular  fifteen  feet  in  about 
nine  hours  time,  being  considerable  higher  than  ever  was 
known  in  these  parts;  the  Guards  could  not  return,  and 
we  remained  in  the  Fort,  with  only  8  men  to  Guard. 

"16th.  The  rain  continued  but  more  moderate,  our 
partys  could  not  return,  we  staid  in  the  Fort  and  Guarded 
as  usual;  the  party  ranging  up  Long  Run  among  the 
vacant  houses,  they  found  old  tracts  but  none  new. 

"17th.  Some  of  our  Guard  returned,  being  relieved  by 
others  in  their  liew — the  Creeks  fell  very  much  this  Day. 

"18th.  I  sent  a  party  to  Guard  the  farmers  at  their  Har- 
vest, and  left  some  at  the  neighboring  houses,  the  rest  to 
Guard  at  the  Fort. 

"19th.  I  likewise  sent  a  party  to  guard  who  return'd  in 
the  Evening,  the  residue  guarding  at  the  Fort. 

"  20th.  I  sent  out  two  partys  to  range  and  Guard  the 
Farmers,  who  both  returned  in  the  Evening. 

u2ist.  I  likewise  sent  out  a  party  to  Guard,  we  were 
advertis'd  by  Jacob  Shefer  that  an  Indian  was  seen  near 
his  house,  we  having  2  men  ranging  there  they  saw  nothing 
of  their  tracts,  &  believe  it  was  a  mistake. 


362  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  22d.  Sent  out  a  party  to  range  to  the  Fort,  at  North- 
kill,  with  Ensign  Harry  for  Ammunition,  who  staid  all 
night,  the  rest  guarding  at  the  Fort  and  farmers. 

"  23d.  The  party  from  North  Kill  return'd  with  a  Com- 
mand of  Col1  Weiser's  men,  with  Lieut.  Weiser  himself, 
who  staid  here  all  Night;  sent  out  a  party  to  Guard  the 
Farmers,  who  return'd  in  the  Evening  to  the  Fort. 

"  24th.  Lieu*.  Weiser  return'd  with  his  Company,  sent 
a  party  of  ten  men  to  relieve  the  party  in  Windsor  town- 
ship ;  the  rest  to  Guard. 

11  25th.  The  party  return'd  from  Windsor  township  to 
the  fort,  when  a  party  of  them  enlisted  for  three  years. 

"  26th.  Sent  Serg*  Robert  Smith  with  a  Company  of 
men  to  Reading  to  be  Qualified,  and  being  but  a  few  at 
the  fort  could  not  range;  have  two  Commands  at  the 
Farmers. 

"  27th.  I  went  down  to  Windsor  among  the  men  to 
see  whether  they  kept  good  orders;  I  found  everything 
very  well,  and  enlisted  more  men  and  staid  there  all 
Night,  the  Command  remaining  at  the  Farmers. 

"  28th.  I  returned  back  to  the  fort  and  found  every- 
thing well;  Serj1  Smith,  with  his  party,  returned  from 
Reading,  the  guard  remaining  still  with  the  Farmers. 

"  29th.  Ensign  Harry  went  out  with  a  party  to  range 
among  the  farmers,  and  sent  out  two  partys  to  Guard  the 
Neighbours  at  their  Harvest;  they  return'd  without  any 
discovery  or  signs  of  the  Enemy. 

"  30th.  I  went  over  the  Hill  to  Windsor  township,  in 
order  to  send  some  men  to  Reading  to  be  Qualifyed,  I  sent 
a  Corporall  with  Sixteen  men;  I  return'd  in  the  Evening 
to  the  fort. 

31st.  The  party  return'd  from  Reading;  we  had  partys 
at  the  neighbouring  houses  who  remained  there  on  Guard." 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  363 

Fort  Franklin. 

How,  after  the  Moravian  massacre  at  Gnadenhiitten, 
Benjamin  Franklin  and  James  Hamilton  were  sent  by  the 
Governor  to  arrange  a  systematic  line  of  defense  from  the 
Lehigh  to  the  Delaware  River,  will  be  told,  in  detail,  in 
the  coming  account  of  Fort  Allen. 

When,  at  the  end  of  January,  1756,  this  latter  stockade 
was  about  complete,  Franklin  immediately  sent  Captain 
Foulk  "  to  build  another,  between  this  and  Schuylkill  Fort, 
which  I  hope  will  be  finished  (as  Trexler  is  to  Join  him)  in 
a  week  or  10  Days." 

It  was  hastily  built,  and  quickly  completed,  so  that  we 
need  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  came  into  exist- 
ence during  the  month  of  February,  1756.  It  was  named 
Fort  Franklin,  in  honor  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  even  then 
prominently  and  actively  engaged  in  caring  for  the  welfare 
of  his  country. 

It  is  occasionally  referred  to  as  "  The  Fort  above  Alle- 
mangel,"  because  of  its  location  immediately  across  the 
mountain  from  Albany  Township  of  Berks  County.  The 
name  "Allemangel "  was  given  Albany  Township  because 
of  the  arid  condition  of  part  of  the  land.  It  means  "All 
Wants,"  or  "  Need  everything." 

Commissary  James  Young,  on  his  tour  of  inspection, 
visited  Fort  Franklin.  'His  report  concerning  it  gives  us 
a  very  good  idea  of  its  appearance  and  location.  He 
says: 

"  Fort  above  Alleminga, — At  y2  past  3  P.  M.  (June 
21st,  1756)  we  sett  out  with  the  former  Escort  &  2  of 
Cap't  Morgan's  Comp'y  (from  Fort  Lebanon)  for  the 
Fort  above  Alleminga,  Commanded  by  Lieu't  Ingle  (of 
Capt.  Morgan's  Company,  who  was  relieved  by  Lieut. 


364  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Sam'l  Humphreys)  :  at  l/2  past  7  we  got  there;  it  is  ab't 
19  miles  N.  E.  from  Fort  Lebanon,  the  Road  a  Narrow 
Path  very  Hilly  and  Swampy;  ab't  half  way  we  came  thro' 
a  very  thick  and  dangerous  Pine  Swamp;  very  few  Plan- 
tations on  this  Road,  most  of  them  Deserted,  and  the 
houses  burnt  down;  ]/2  a  mile  to  the  westward  of  this  Fort 
is  good  Plantation,  the  people  retires  to  the  Fort  every 
night.  This  Fort  stands  ab't  a  mile  from  the  North 
Mountain;  only  two  Plantations  near  it.  This  Fort  is  a 
square  ab't  40  foot,  very  ill  staccaded,  with  2  Logg-houses 
at  opposite  Corners  for  Bastions,  all  very  unfit  for  De- 
fence; the  Staccades  are  very  open  in  many  Places,  it 
stands  on  the  Bank  of  a  creek,  the  Woods  clear  for  120 
yards;  the  Lieu't  Ranges  towards  Fort  Lebanon  and  Fort 
Allen,  ab't  4  times  a  Week;  much  Thunder,  Lightning, 
and  Rain  all  Night.  Provincial  Stores:  28  G'd  muskets, 
8  Wants  Repair,  16  Cartooch  Boxes,  8  lb.  Powder,  24 
lb.  Lead,  &  12  Rounds  for  36  men,  36  Blankets,  1  Axe,  1 
Adse,  1  Augur,  2  Plains,  1  Hammer,  2  Shovels,  9  Small 
Tin  Kettles. 

"June  22d.  At  6  A.  M.  I  ordered  the  People  to  fire  at 
a  mark;  not  above  4  in  25  hit  the  tree  at  the  Distance  of 
85  yards;  at  7,  mustered  them,  found  25  Present,  2  Sick, 
2  Absent  on  Furlough,  2  Sent  to  Reading  with  a  Prisoner, 
and  5  at  Fort  Allen  on  Duty.  Provisions,  One  Cask  of 
Beef  Exceeding  bad,  Flower  and  Rum  for  3  Weeks.  At 
8  A.  M.  We  sett  out  for  Fort  Allen,  at  Gnadenhutten." 

Fort  Franklin  was  situated  on  a  hill,  a  part  of  what  was 
at  one  time  the  Bolich  Farm,  now  owned  by  J.  Wesley 
Kistler.  It  had  a  most  commanding  view  of  the  entire 
country.  It  was  distant  from  Snydersville,  Schuylkill 
County,  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  on  the  north,  and 


The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  365 

distant  one  mile  from  the  base  of  the  Blue  Mountains  on 
the  south.  It  stood  directly  on  the  road  across  the  moun- 
tains to  Lynnport,  the  location  of  Fort  Everett,  but  a  few 
rods  distant  from  the  main  road  between  Fort  Allen,  at 
Weissport,  and  Fort  Lebanon,  at  Auburn.  At  the  base 
of  the  hill  is  a  fine  creek  of  water,  coming  from  the  moun- 
tain and  emptying  into  Lizard  Creek,  some  one-half  mile 
distant.  Its  distance  from  Fort  Lebanon  is  some  nineteen 
miles,  and  from  Fort  Allen  some  fourteen  miles.  We 
could  wish,  from  the  name  it  bore,  that  this  fort  might 
have  been  amongst  the  more  important  ones.  Unfortu- 
nately, such  was  not  the  case.  Poorly  constructed  in  the 
first  place,  in  the  next  place  its  location  was  in  a  part  of 
the  Province  as  yet  but  sparsely  settled.  Being  north  of 
the  mountains  the  district  was  entirely  open  to  the  assaults 
of  the  savages.  Already  many  of  the  plantations  had  been 
deserted;  buildings  and  property  had  been  destroyed,  and 
their  owners  had  fled  across  the  mountains  to  Albany 
Township,  or  elsewhere,  to  find  a  more  thickly  settled 
region  and  greater  safety.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the 
defense  would  ever  have  been  constructed  save  to  fill  in  the 
long  gap  in  the  chain  between  Forts  Allen  and  Lebanon. 
We  are  not  then  surprised  to  read  what  Colonel  Weiser 
wrote  November  24,  1756,  after  the  conference  with  the 
Indians  at  Easton.  He  was  then  at  Fort  Allen.  He 
says: 

"I  took  my  leave  of  them  (certain  Indians)  and  they 
of  me  very  canditly;  Capt.  Arnd  sent  an  escort  with  me  of 
twenty  men  to  Fort  Franklin,  where  we  arrived  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  it  being  about  fourteen  miles  dis- 
tant from  Fort  Allen.  I  saw  that  the  Fort  was  not  Tean- 
able,  and  the  House  not  finished  for  the  Soldiers,  and  that 
it  could  not  be  of  any  Service  to  the  Inhabitant  Part,  there 


366 


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The  Gap  in  the  Blue  Mountains.  367 

being  a  great  Mountain  between  them.  I  ordered  Lieut'n 
Engel  to  Evacuate  it,  and  come  to  the  South  side  of  the 
Hills  himself  with  Nineteen  men  at  John  Eberts  Esq'r., 
and  the  Rest  being  Sixteen  men  more,  at  John  Eckenroad, 
both  places  being  about  three  miles  distant  from  each  other, 
and  both  in  the  Township  of  Linn,  Northampton  (Lehigh) 
County,  until  otherwise  ordered. 

"  23rd.  Left  Fort  Franklin.  The  Lieut.,  with  Ten 
men,  escorted  me  as  far  as  Probst's,  about  Eight  mile, 
where  I  discharged  him,  and  arrived  at  Reading  that 
Evening." 

From  that  time  on  the  fort  was  occupied  in  a  very  desul- 
tory manner.  If  not  actually  abandoned  it  was  more  and 
more  neglected.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  true  that  the 
remaining  settlers,  for  some  still  remained,  felt  obliged  to 
present  the  following  petition,  which  was  read  in  the  Pro- 
vincial Council  on  Saturday,  May  7,  1757.  The  petition 
is  of  especial  interest  because  of  the  names  which  it  contains : 

"The  petition  of  George  Gilbert,  Adam  Spittleman, 
Henry  Hauptman,  Casper  Langelberger,  Nicholas  Kind, 
George  Merte,  Henry  Morbech,  the  widow  of  Mark 
Grist,  Deceased,  the  widow  of  George  Krammer,  De- 
ceased, (which  said  Grist  and  Krammer  have  lost  their 
Lives  in  the  Defence  of  their  Country  lass  fall)  William 
Ball,  Philip  Annes,  Jacob  Leisser,  Will'm  Weigand, 
Anthony  Krum,  Philip  Scholl,  Jacob  Keim,  John  Frist, 
Philip  Kirshbaum,  William  Gabel,  John  Wissemer,  George 
Wartman,  Jacob  Richards,  Christopher  Speeher,  John 
Scheeffer,  &  George  Sprecher,  all  Inhabitants  of  Berks 
County  (now  Schuylkill),  within  four  miles  of  and  about 
Fort  Franklin,  over  the  Blue  Mountains : 

"  Most  Humbly  Sheweth — 


368  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  That  your  Petitioners  are  informed  that  Fort  Franklin 
aforesaid  is  to  be  removed  to  this  Side  of  the  said  Moun- 
tains and  a  considerable  way  into  Albany  Township ; 

"  That  if  in  case  the  said  Fort  is  to  be  Removed  your 
Petitioners  will  be  obliged  to  Desert  their  Plantations,  for 
their  Lives  and  Estates  will  then  lye  at  Stake,  and  a  greater 
part  of  this  Province  will  lye  waste  and  your  Petitioners 
humbly  conceives  that  it  would  be  the  Safest  way  to  have 
the  said  Fort  continued  &  rebuilt,  as  it  is  very  much  out 
of  order  and  Repair. 

"Therefore  your  Petitioners  humbly  prays  your  Honour 
to  take  the  Premises  in  Consideration  and  Issue  such  orders 
as  will  Prevent  the  Removal  of  the  said  Fort  &  order  a 
Suffi't  Number  of  men  in  it,  and  to  grant  your  Petitioners 
such  other  relief  as  to  you  in  your  wisdom  shall  seem 
mete.   .   .   ." 

This  petition  seems  to  have  had  some  effect  for  the  time 
being,  as  the  fort  was  again  occupied,  temporarily,  by  a 
squad,  probably  a  part  of  Captain  Weatherhold's  com- 
mand. In  November,  1757,  it  furnished  its  quota  for 
Colonel  Weiser's  guard  at  Easton,  during  the  conference 
with  the  Indians.  After  that  we  hear  nothing  more  con- 
cerning it. 

About  two  miles  southwest  of  Snydersville  stood  Stein's 
Mill,  now  Stout's  Mill,  which  was  used  as  a  place  of  ref- 
uge. In  this  vicinity  the  Indians  had  captured  a  Mr.  Fies 
and  his  son.  The  bones  of  Fies  were  discovered  a  long 
time  after,  about  one-half  mile  from  his  house,  being  rec- 
ognized as  his  by  sundry  buttons  and  a  frying  pan  lying 
near  by.     The  son  was  never  heard  of. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

In  Old  Northampton. 

The  Everett  Stockade. 
-^^HIS  defense  was  located  very 
\&  near  the  town  of  Lynnport, 
in  Lynn  Township  of  Lehigh 
County.  During  the  Indian  War 
the  territory  covered  by  the  ad- 
jacent township  of  Albany,  in 
Berks  County,  and  Lynn  Town- 
ship, in  what  was  then  Northampton  County,  from  which 
Lehigh  County  was  taken,  was  known  as  "  Allemangel," 
as  mentioned  under  the  head  of  Fort  Franklin. 

That  part  of  the  Province  was  already  well  settled  and 
greatly  in  need  of  protection  when  hostilities  began  in  the 
fall  of  1755.  To  that  end  Benjamin  Franklin  commis- 
sioned Captain  Nicholas  Wetterholt,  on  December  21, 
1755,  and  placed  the  district  in  his  charge. 

In  the  course  of  our  narrative,  from  now  on,  we  will 
come  across  the  name  somewhat  frequently.  There  were 
two  Provincial  officers,  of  the  same  name,  both  Germans 
(Pennsylvania-Germans),  both  splendid  soldiers  and  both 

(369) 


37°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

brave  men.  They  both  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  October 
22,  1754,  in  the  ship  Halifax,  from  Rotterdam,  together 
with  a  number  of  other  German  immigrants.  Johann 
Nicholas  Wetterholt  entered  the  military  service  soon  after 
he  had  become  settled  in  his  adopted  country,  as  we  have 
seen,  receiving  his  commission  as  Captain  in  the  First  Bat- 
talion of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment  on  December  2 1, 
1755.  In  the  year  1762  he  resided  in  Heidelberg  Town- 
ship of  Northampton  (Lehigh)  County.  His  name  ap- 
pears on  the  tax  list  of  1764,  at  the  same  place. 

Johann  Jacob  Wetterholt,  his  brother,  was  commis- 
sioned lieutenant  on  the  same  day.  On  April  19,  1756, 
he  was  stationed  at  Dietz  (Teed's  block-house),  and  as 
captain,  on  September  21  of  the  same  year.  He  pos- 
sessed undaunted  courage,  and  firmly  believed  he  had  the 
power  of  making  himself  invulnerable  (Kugelfest),  that 
is  that  he  could  not  be  killed  by  a  gun  shot.  He  bravely 
met  his  death,  however,  in  1763,  as  will  appear  later.  In 
1762  he  resided  in  Lynn  Township,  of  the  present  Lehigh 
County;  his  widow  still  lived  there  in  1764,  as  per  tax  list. 

The  two  brothers  had  charge,  practically,  of  the  entire 
frontier,  along  the  southern  base  of  the  Blue  Range,  from 
Fort  Everett  to  the  Delaware  River.  Because  of  this 
fact  they  were  constantly  on  the  move,  and  were  not  so 
permanently  located  in  any  one  defense,  as  were  some 
others  of  the  commanding  officers.  We  can  the  more 
readily  understand,  therefore,  why  the  records  will  have 
more  to  say  of  them,  as  individuals,  than  they  do  of  Fort 
Everett.  It  so  happens,  indeed,  that  the  data  which  we 
have  of  this  place  are  most  meagre. 

The  frequent  absence  of  a  garrison  from  the  stockade 
resulted  in  a  petition  to  the  Governor,  under  date  ot  May 
4,   1757,  praying  that  the  soldiers  might  be  kept  in  their 


In  Old  Northampton.  371 

midst,  which  was  signed  by  forty-one  Germans,  whose 
names,  unfortunately,  do  not  appear,  and  which  met  with 
success,  for  the  time  being  at  least.  In  February,  1758, 
Adjutant  Kern  reports  Capt.  Wetterholt  still  on  duty  at 
Fort  Everett,  with  forty-one  men,  distant  from  Fort  Wil- 
liam twelve  miles,  and  having  twelve  men  stationed  at 
"A  Block  House,"  ten  miles  from  Fort  Everett  and  twenty 
miles  from  Fort  Allen. 

Fort  Everett  was  visited  by  Jas.  Burd,  during  his  tour 
of  inspection  in  February,  1758.  His  journal  gives  the 
following  record: 

"26th  Sunday. 

"Marches  from  hence  (Fort  William)  at  10  A.  M., 
went  over  the  mountains  to  Mr.  Everett's,  where  Captain 
Wetterholt  is  stationed,  the  snow  exceedingly  deep  could 
make  little  way,  at  3  P.  M.  arrived  at  Valentine  Phile- 
prots,  20  miles,  here  I  stay  all  night. 

"  27th  Munday. 

"  Marched  this  morning  at  8  A.  M.  for  Mr.  Everett's, 
arrived  at  9  A.  M.,  4  miles,  ordered  a  Review  of  that  part 
of  the  company  that  is  here,  found  Cap't  Weatherholt, 
Lieut.  Geiger  &  24  men,  3  being  sick  &  absent,  3  months' 
Provisions,  5  pounds  powder,  no  lead,  each  man  has  a 
pound  of  powder  in  his  Cartouch  box  &  lead  in  proportion, 
no  Kettles,  nor  blankets,  25  Province  Arms. 

"Ordered  to  Cap't  Weatherholt  56  blankets,  25  lb.  of 
powder  &  50  bars  of  lead  &  400  flints,  Cap't  Weatherholt 
to  Scout  to  the  Westward  10  miles  &  to  the  eastward  10 
miles,  Lieut.  Geiger  from  thence  to  his  post  in  Coll.  Arm- 
strong's Battalion. 

"  Marched  from  hence  to  Fort  Allen  at  1 1  A.  M.  gott 
to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Mountain  at  2  P.  M.,  from  hence 


37 2  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

saw  Allamingle,  it  is  a  fine  country,  but  the  country  on  the 
North  side  of  the  mountain  is  an  intire  barren  wilderness, 
not  capable  of  Improvements. 

"Arrived  at  Fort  Allen  at  J/2  after  2  P.  M.  a  prodigious 
Hilly  place,  and  poor  land,  15  miles  from  Mr.  Everett's 
ordered  a  review  of  this  Garrison  tomorrow  at  8  A.  M." 

Fort  Everett  stood  in  what  is  now  a  level,  ploughed 
field,  about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  north  of  Lynnport,  Lynn 
Township,  Lehigh  County,  distant  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  westward  from  the  house  of  M.  K.  Henry,  a 
tenant  of  Mrs.  David  Stein,  and  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  from  the  creek,  to  the  west  of  it,  which  flows  past 
the  Slate  Works  and  empties  into  the  Ontelaunee  Creek. 
A  spring,  but  a  few  feet  south  of  where  the  fort  was 
located,  marks  the  position  of  what  was  then  a  well  of 
water.  It  was  a  block-house,  about  twenty-five  by  thirty 
feet.  It  was  erected  on  the  property  of  John  Everett,  a 
man  of  prominence  at  the  time,  and  of  the  same  family 
as  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  whence  he  came. 
Whether,  however,  the  building  was  the  home  of  Mr. 
Everett,  or  whether  the  fort  was  a  separate  building, 
erected  on  his  place,  it  is  difficult  to  say.  It  is  most  prob- 
able that  the  latter  was  the  case. 

The  vicinity  of  Fort  Everett  was,  by  no  means,  exempt 
from  its  scenes  of  violence  and  death. 

Justice  Timothy  Horsfield  writes  to  Governor  Denny, 
from  Bethlehem,  on  November  30,  1756,  that  "John 
Holder  came  here  this  Evening  from  Allemangle,  and 
Informed  me  that  last  Sunday  Evening,  ye  28th  Inst,  three 
Indians  Came  to  the  House  of  a  Certain  Man  Named 
Schosser,  and  Nockt  at  the  Door,  the  People  within  called 
who  is  there?  Answer  was  made,  A  good  Friend;  they 
within  not  opening  the   Door,   they  Nockt  Again,   they 


In  Old  Northampton. 


373 


within  Answer'd,  Who  is  There  ?     No  answer  being  made 
from  without,  Then  one  of  the  men  named  Stonebrook, 


374  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Look't  Out  of  the  window,  when  an  Indian  Discharged 
a  gun  and  kill'd  him  on  the  spot.  They  then  Open'd 
the  Door,  the  Woman  &  two  Children  Endeavoring  to 
Escape,  and  the  Indians  pursued  &  took  Both  the  children; 
One  of  the  Men  Fired  at  the  Indians,  and  Saw  One  of 
them  fall,  when  one  of  the  Gairls  he  had  possession  of, 
made  her  Escape  from  him,  but  the  other  they  took  away; 
the  Indian  y't  was  fired  at  which  fell  cryed  Out  Very  much, 
but  in  a  Short  time  he  got  up  &  made  off." 

The  following  interesting  and  characteristic  letter  to 
Major  William  Parsons,  at  Easton,  is  from  the  pen  of 
Lieutenant  Jacob  Weatherhold,  and  is  headed: 

"Northampton  County,  Lynn  Township,  July  9,  1757. 
"Honored  Sir: 

"  These  are  to  Acquant  you  of  A  murder  Hapened  this 
Day  at  the  Houce  of  Adam  Clauce,  in  said  Township  of 
Lynn,  whaire  three  or  fore  Nabors  was  Cutting  said  man's 
Corn;  as  they  was  Eating  thaire  Dinner  they  waire  fell 
on  By  A  Perty  of  Saviges,  Indians,  and  Five  of  the  Whites 
Took  to  there  Heals,  two  men,  two  women,  and  one  Gerl, 
and  Got  saf  out  of  theire  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  Clauce  and  the  wife  of  John  Couce- 
here,  and  the  wife  of  Abram  Secies  was  Sculpt  and  is  yet 
Alive,  But  Badly  wounded,  one  Shot  Thro'  the  Sid  and 
the  other  in  the  Thy,  and  two  Children  kild  Belonging  to 
said  Croushere,  and  one  to  said  Secies,  and  one  Belonging 
to  Philip  Antone  not  Sculpt,  and  this  Was  Don  at  Least 
three  miles  within  the  out  side  Settlers,  and  4  miles  from 
John  Everett's,  and  Philip  Antone's  wife  was  one  that 
Took  her  Flite  and  came  home  and  acquainted  her  hus- 


In  Old  Northampton.  375 

band,  and  he  came  and  acquainted  me,  and  I  went  Emea- 
ditely  to  the  Place  with  Seven  men  Besides  myself  and 
Saw  the  murder,  But  the  Indians  was  Gon  and  I  Derectly 
Purs'ed  them  About  4  miles  and  Came  Up  with  them  in 
the  thick  Groves  weaire  wee  met  Nine  Indians,  and  one 
Sprung  Behind  a  Tree  and  took  Site  at  me  and  I  run 
Direct  at  him,  and  another  one  the  side  Flast  at  me,  and 
then  Both  took  to  their  Heals,  and  I  shot  one  as  I  Goge 
Thro'  the  Body,  as  he  fell  on  his  face,  But  I  Loaded  and 
after  another  that  was  Leding  A  Maire,  and  ye  meane 
time  he  Got  up  and  Run  away  and  I  fired  on  the  other, 
and  I  think  I  shot  him  in  ye  Buttux,  and  my  Soldiers  had 
oppertunity  to  shoot  three  times,  and  then  they  Got  out 
of  oure  Site  in  the  thick  Groves,  and  Wee  cold  not  find 
them  No  more,  But  I  Got  from  them  one  maire  and  two 
Saddels,  one  Bridel  and  Halter,  &  one  Bag  with  a  Cag 
of  Stil  Licker  in  it,  and  cloths  and  one  Brace  Cittel  and 
fore  Indian  Cake  Baked  in  the  ashes  of  wheat  meal  and 
to  Aquat  your  further,  that  I  have  Several  New  Soldiers 
that  has  No  Guns,  and  very  Little  Powder  and  Led,  and 
I  have  sent  this  Express  to  you  Hoping  that  you  wold 
Help  me  with  Arms  and  Ammenishan,  and  so  I  Remaine 
your  friend  and  Umble  Servent. 

"Jacob  Wetherhold." 

Referring  to  this  sad  occurrence,  Colonel  Weiser  writes 
Governor  Denny  from  Easton,  on  July  15  : 

"  In  coming  along  thro'  the  Maxitawny,  I  heard  a  mel- 
ancholly  Account  of  Ten  People  being  Killed  by  the 
Enemy  Indians.  They  passed  by  two  or  three  Plantations 
on  this  side  of  the  mountain  before  they  attacked.  A 
certain  woman  ran  off  towards  her  Place  and  told  her 
Husband  of  the  attack,  who  cut  the  Gears  off  his  Horses 


376  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

then  in  the  Plow,  and  rid  as  fast  as  he  could  to  Lieut. 
Wetherholts,  about  three  miles  off.  Lieut.  Wetherholt, 
with  a  small  Detachment,  I  am  told  Seven  in  number, 
came  away  immediately,  and  came  to  the  Place  where  the 
murder  was  committed,  where,  by  that  time,  a  number  of 
People  had  gathered.  Wetherholts  proposed  to  pursue 
the  Enemy  but  none  would  go  with  him,  so  he  took  his 
Seven  men  &  pursued  the  Enemy  a  few  miles  from  the 
House  &  found  the  Place  where  they  rested  themselves, 
and  in  ab't  three  miles  He  overtook  them  in  thick  Brushes, 
at  a  very  little  Distance.  It  seems  they  saw  one  another 
at  once.  One  of  the  Indians  was  before  hand  with  Weth- 
erholts &  aimed  at  him,  but  his  Gun  flashed.  Wether- 
holt, a  moment  after,  fired  at  the  Indians,  and  thinks  he 
hit  him,  but  is  not  sure.  Several  Guns  were  fired  by  our 
People  but  did  no  Execution,  and  the  Indians  Guns  miss- 
ing fire  they  ran  off  &  left  two  Horses  behind  them,  one 
belonging  to  the  man  they  killed,  laden  with  the  best  of  his 
Household  Goods." 

The  Rev.  Henry  Melchoir  Muhlenberg,  D.D.,  in  the 
Hallische  Nachrichten  tells  the  soul-stirring  story  of  Fred- 
erick Reichelsdorfer,  whose  two  grown  daughters  had 
attended  a  course  of  instruction,  under  him,  in  the  cate- 
chism, and  been  solemnly  admitted  by  confirmation  to  the 
communion  of  the  Evangelical  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  occasionally  returned  to  his  farm,  to  attend 
to  his  grain  and  cattle.  On  one  occasion  he  went,  accom- 
panied by  his  two  daughters,  to  spend  a  few  days  there, 


In  Old  Northampton.  377 

and  bring  away  some  wheat.  One  Friday  evening,  after 
the  wagon  had  been  loaded,  and  everything  was  ready  for 
their  return  on  the  morrow,  his  daughters  complained  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  familiar  German 
funeral  hymn, 

"Wer  weisz,  wie  nahe  rair  mein  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  (February  14,  1756) 
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  motionless  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 


378  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

it,  he  heard  the  dying  groans  of  the  families,  who  were 
falling  beneath  the  murderous  tomahawks  of  some  other 
Indians.  (Jacob  Gerhart's  home,  where  they  killed  one 
man,  two  women  and  six  children.  Two  children  slipped 
under  the  bed,  one  of  whom  was  burned;  the  other  escaped 
and  ran  a  mile  for  assistance.) 

Having  providentially  not  been  observed  by  them,  he 
hastened  back  to  learn  the  fate  of  his  daughters.  But, 
alas!  on  arriving  within  sight,  he  found  his  home  and  barn 
enveloped  with  flames.  Finding  that  the  Indians  had  pos- 
session 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  her 
head,  and  her  body  horribly  mangled  from  head  to  foot 
with  the  tomahawk,  was  yet  living.  "  The  poor  worm," 
says  Muhlenberg,  "  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." 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  March  following,  ten  wagons 
went  to  Allemangel  (Albany)  to  bring  down  a  family 
with  their  effects,  and  as  they  were  returning,  about  three 
miles  below  George  Zeisloff's,  were  fired  upon  by  a  number 
of  Indians  from  both  sides  of  the  road;  upon  which  the 


In  Old  Northampton.  379 

wagoners  left  their  wagons  and  ran  into  the  woods,  and 
the  horses,  frightened  at  the  firing  and  terrible  yelling  of 
the  Indians,  ran  down  a  hill  and  broke  one  of  the  wagons 
to  pieces.  The  enemy  killed  George  Zeisloff  and  his  wife, 
a  lad  of  twenty,  a  boy  of  twelve,  also  a  girl  of  fourteen 
years  of  age,  four  of  whom  they  scalped.  Another  girl 
was  shot  in  the  neck  and  through  the  mouth,  and  scalped, 
notwithstanding  all  of  which  she  got  off.  A  boy  was 
stabbed  in  three  places,  but  the  wounds  were  not  thought 
to  be  mortal.  They  killed  two  of  the  horses,  and  five  were 
missing,  with  which  it  is  thought  they  carried  off  the  most 
valuable  goods  that  were  in  the  wagon. 

In  November,  1756,  the  Indians  carried  off  the  wife 
and  three  children  of  Adam  Burns,  the  youngest  child 
being  only  four  weeks  old.  In  June,  1757,  they  murdered 
one  Adam  Trump.  They  took  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  whom  there  were  seven)  that  he  threw 
his  tomahawk  at  her  and  cut  her  badly  in  the  neck.  This 
murder  happened  in  the  midst  of  a  great  thunder-storm 
which  extended  over  the  larger  part  of  two  counties. 

In  March,  1756,  the  Indians  laid  the  house  and  barn 
of  Barnabas  Seitle  in  ashes,  and  the  mill  of  Peter  Conrad, 
and  killed  Mrs.  Neytong,  the  wife  of  Baltzer  Neytong, 
and  took  his  son,  a  lad  eight  years  old,  into  captivity. 
Next  morning  Seitle's  servant  informed  Captain  Morgan 
of  the  injury  done  by  the  Indians,  whereupon  the  Captain, 
and  seven  men,  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy  but  could 
not  find  them.  On  his  return  he  met  a  person  named 
David  Howell,  at  whom  these  same  Indians  had  fired 
five  times,  the  last  shot  penetrating  his  arm. 

On  March  24,  the  house  of  Peter  Kluck,  about  fourteen 


380  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

miles  from  Reading,  was  set  on  fire  by  the  savages,  and 
the  whole  family  killed.  While  the  flames  were  still 
ascending  the  Indians  assaulted  the  house  of  one  Linden- 
man,  in  which  there  were  two  men  and  a  woman,  all  of 
whom  ran  up  stairs,  where  the  woman  was  shot  dead 
through  the  roof.  The  men  then  ran  out  of  the  house  to 
engage  the  Indians,  when  Lindenman  was  shot  in  the  neck, 
and  the  other  through  the  jacket.  Upon  this  Lindenman 
ran  towards  the  Indians,  two  of  whom  only  were  seen, 
and  shot  one  of  them  in  the  back,  when  he  fled,  and  he  and 
his  companion  scalped  him  and  brought  away  his  gun 
and  knife. 

About  the  same  time  the  Indians  carried  off  a  young 
lad  named  John  Schoep,  about  nine  years  old,  whom  they 
took  by  night,  seven  miles  beyond  the  Blue  Mountains, 
where,  according  to  the  statement  of  the  lad,  the  Indians 
kindled  a  fire,  tied  him  to  a  tree,  took  off  his  shoes  and 
put  moccasins  on  his  feet.  They  then  prepared  them- 
selves some  mush,  but  gave  him  none.  After  supper  they 
marched  on  further.  The  same  Indians  took  him  and 
another  lad  between  them,  and  went  beyond  the  second 
mountain,  having  gone  six  times  through  streams  of  water, 
and  always  carried  him  across.  The  second  evening  they 
again  struck  up  fire,  took  off  his  moccasins,  and  gave  him 
a  blanket  to  cover  himself;  but  at  midnight,  when  all  the 
Indians  were  fast  asleep,  he  made  his  escape,  and,  by  day- 
break, had  traveled  some  six  mlies.  He  passed  on  that 
day,  sometimes  wading  streams  neck-deep,  in  the  direction 
of  the  Blue  Mountain.  That  night  he  stayed  in  the  woods. 
The  next  day,  exhausted  and  hungry,  he  arrived  by  noon 
at  Uly  Meyer's  plantation,  where  Charles  Folk's  Company 
lay  (probably  at  or  near  Fort  Franklin),  where  they 
wished  him  to  remain  till  he  had  regained  strength,  when 


In  Old  Northampton.  381 

they  would  conduct  him  to  his  father.     He  was  accord- 
ingly sent  home. 

Stockade  at  Lehigh  Gap. 

This  stockade  was  at  Lehigh  Gap,  immediately  on  the 
north  side  of  the  mountain.  Its  distance  from  Colonel 
Jno.  Craig's  store,  at  which  is  the  Lehigh  Gap  post  office, 
is  about  one-half  mile.  It  stood  on  property  originally 
belonging  to  Nathaniel  Irish,  adjoining  that  of  Nicholas 
Opplinger,  where  Benjamin  Franklin  remained  all  night, 
when  on  his  way  to  Fort  Allen.  It  is  now  the  farm  of 
Charles  Straub.  The  defense  was  on  slightly  elevated 
ground,  at  the  foot  of  which  a  small  run  of  water  mean- 
ders down  to  the  Aquashicola  Creek.  It  commands  the 
entrance  to  the  Lehigh  Gap,  and  was  at  the  junction  of 
the  road  to  Fort  Allen,  at  Weissport,  on  the  north,  and 
the  road  to  Fort  Norris,  on  the  east.  It  was  merely  an 
ordinary  block-house,  surrounded  by  a  stockade,  built  by 
the  settlers,  either  in  the  latter  part  of  1755  or  beginning 
of  1756,  as  a  place  of  defense.  Its  position  was  so  advan- 
tageous, however,  that  it  was  garrisoned  by  provincial 
troops,  probably  until   1758. 

In  the  course  of  his  visit  of  inspection  to  the  various 
forts,  in  June,  1756,  Commissary  James  Young  reached 
this  point,  and  says : 

"June  22 — at  4  P.  M.  Sett  out  (from  Fort  Allen), 
at  6  came  to  Leahy  Gap  where  I  found  a  Serjeant  and 
8  men  Stationed  at  a  Farm  house  with  a  small  Staccade 
Round  it,  from  Fort  Allen  here  the  Road  is  very  hilly 
and  Swampy,  only  one  Plantation  ab't  a  mile  from  the 
Gap  ?  I  found  the  People  here  were  a  Detachment  from 
Capt'n  (Nicholas)  Weatherholt's  Comp'y,  he  is  Station'd 


382 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


on  the  other  side  of  the  Gap,  3  miles  from  this  with  12 
men,  the  rest  of  his  Comp'y  are  at  Depues  and  another 


«"3Aiy      H9IH3-1 


Gapp  15  miles  from  this.   ...   the  People  Stationed  here 
and  on  the  other  side  the  Gapp  I  think  may  be  of  great  ser- 


/;/  Old  Northampton.  383 

vice,  as  it  is  a  good  road  thro'  the  mountain  and  very  steep 
and  high  on  each  side,  so  may  in  a  great  measure  prevent 
any  Indians  to  pass  thro'  undiscovered  if  they  kept  a  good 
guard,  here  the  River  Leahy  Passes  thro'  the  mountain  in 
a  very  Rapid  Stream." 

On  February  5,  1758,  Lieutenant  Engel  was  in  com- 
mand, with  thirty  men  under  him. 

Among  the  settlers  who  lived  here  during  the  war  was 
a  Mr.  Boyer.  His  place  was  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
east  of  the  fort.  With  the  other  farmers  he  had  gathered 
his  family  into  the  block-house  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  Frederick  was 
hoeing,  while  the  rest  of  the  children  were  in  the  house, 
or  playing  near  by.  Without  any  warning  they  were  sur- 
prised by  the  appearance  of  Indians.  Mr.  Boyer,  seeing 
them,  called  to  Frederick  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.  Frederick,  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 
Indians  in  Canada  for  five  years,  and  was  then  sent  to 
Philadelphia.  Of  Mrs.  Boyer,  who  remained  in  the  block- 
house, nothing  further  is  known.  After  reaching  Phila- 
delphia, Frederick  made  his  way  to  Lehigh  Gap,  and  took 


384  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

possession  of  the  farm.  Shortly  after,  he  married  the 
daughter  of  Conrad  Mehrkem,  with  whom  he  had  four 
sons  and  four  daughters.  He  died  October  31,  1832, 
aged  89  years. 

Trucker's  (Kern's)  Mill. 

The  reader  will  recall  that  James  Young,  on  his  visit 
to  the  stockade  in  the  Lehigh  Gap,  states:  "I  found  the 
people  here  were  a  Detachment  from  Capt'n  Wetherholt's 
Comp'y,  he  is  Stationed  on  the  other  side  of  the  Gapp,  3 
miles  from  this,  with  12  men.  .  .  ."  This  was  in  June, 
1756.  On  April  8,  1756,  Governor  Morris  writes  to 
Captain  Weatherholt,  "As  there  are  Eleven  of  your  men 
stationed  at  Trucker's  Mill,  I  think  it  for  the  publick 
safety  that  they  should  be  employ'd  in  ranging  the  woods, 
when  the  people  of  that  township  are  inclinable  to  Joyn 
them  and  assist  in  such  service;  I  do,  therefore,  order  that 
the  said  men  stationed  at  Trucker's  Mill,  when  they  are 
not  employ'd  in  escorting  Provisions  or  Stores,  shall  em- 
ploy themselves  in  scouring  and  ranging  the  woods;  and 
I  recommend  it  to  the  inhabitants  to  Joyn  them  from 
time  to  time  for  that  purpose,  and  you  are  to  take  care 
that  this,  my  order,  be  carry'd  into  full  Execution." 

This  station  was  the  old,  original,  saw  mill,  in  Slating- 
ton,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  saw  mill,  on 
Trout  Creek,  some  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  north 
of  the  bridge  at  Main  Street.  It  belonged  to  the  Kern 
family,  and  was  built  prior  to  1755.  It  was  subsequently 
removed  to  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  Slate  (mantel) 
Factory. 

Nicholas  Kern,  the  first  settler,  took  up  this  land  as 
early  as  1737,  on  which  he  subsequently  built  his  home. 
Upon  his  death,  in    1748,   the  property  was  equally  di- 


In  Old  Northampton. 


385 


vided,  by  will,  between  his  widow,  six  sons  and  one 
daughter,  who  survived.  All  the  family  remained  at  the 
place  until  the  youngest  children  had  arrived  at  maturity, 


>.$-?-  *3AI»        H9IH31 


when  some  of  them  removed  to  the  lower  part  of  the 
county,  where  their  descendants  still  reside.  William  and 
John  remained  at  the  homestead,  taking  care  of  the  farm 
and  mills  which  had  been  erected  on  Trout  Creek.     Wil- 


386  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

liam  seems  to  have  been  of  a  jovial  disposition,  and  given 
somewhat  to  joking.  Because  of  this  fact,  he  was  called 
"  Trockener,"  in  German,  signifying  a  joker  or  wit.  This, 
in  time,  became  corrupted  to  "  Trucker,"  so  that  on  the 
Evans  map  of  1755,  as  well  as  that  of  Edward  Scull  of 
1770,  one  of  the  Kern  mills,  the  one  in  which  we  are  inter- 
ested, was  designated  as  "  Trucker's  Mill."  It  stood 
beside  the  only  road  then  existing,  an  old  Indian  path, 
which  crossed  the  Lehigh  at  a  ford  some  five  hundred  feet 
above  the  bridge  leading  to  Walnutport.  It  was  known 
as  the  "Warriors'  Path,"  and  the  ford  designated  as  the 
"Warriors'  Crossing."  In  1761  a  road  was  laid  out,  fol- 
lowing its  line,  which  still  exists  in  Slatington. 

What  made  the  mill  a  place  of  especial  importance  was 
the  fact  that  not  only  did  it  supply  the  neighborhood  with 
lumber,  but  that  it  also  furnished  Franklin  with  the  timber 
necessary  in  the  erection  of  Fort  Allen,  as  mentioned  by 
him  in  a  report  which  will  appear  later. 

Fort  Allen. 

With  the  occurrence  of  the  Moravian  massacre  at 
Gnadenhiitten  the  whole  country  became  alarmed  and 
aroused.  At  8  A.  M.,  November  24,  1755,  Colonel  An- 
derson, from  New  Jersey,  and  his  company,  left  Bethlehem 
for  Gnadenhiitten,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  settlers. 
On  the  twenty-sixth  Captain  Wilson  and  his  company, 
from  Bucks  County,  started  for  the  mountains. 

By  the  middle  of  December  the  Governor  reported  to 
the  Council  that,  in  addition  to  this  massacre,  the  Indians 
had  already  burnt  fifty  houses  in  Northampton  County, 
murdered  above  one  hundred  persons,  and  were  still  con- 
tinuing their  ravages. 

A  thorough  and  systematic  plan  of  defense  was  a  matter 


In  Old  Northampton.  387 

of  immediate  necessity.  Benjamin  Franklin  and  James 
Hamilton,  later  to  become  Governor  of  the  Province,  were 
selected  to  execute  such  a  plan,  and,  on  December  18, 
arranged  to  start  for  Easton.  On  December  29,  after 
their  arrival  at  this  place,  they  appointed  William  Parsons 
to  be  major  of  the  troops  raised  in  Northampton  County. 

In  the  meantime,  Captain  Hays,  with  his  company  from 
the  Irish  settlement,  in  Northampton  County,  had  been 
ordered  up  to  New  Gnadenhiitten.  The  troops  were  sta- 
tioned at  the  deserted  village  to  guard  the  brethren's  mills, 
which  were  filled  with  grain,  and  to  keep  the  other  prop- 
erty from  being  destroyed. 

A  temporary  stockade  was  erected,  and  all  would  have 
gone  well  had  the  soldiers  been  better  versed  in  Indian 
tactics.  From  lack  of  this  experience  disaster  followed, 
and,  on  January  1,  1756,  a  number  of  the  men  fell  victims 
to  an  Indian  stratagem.  While  amusing  themselves  skat- 
ing on  the  ice  of  the  river,  near  the  stockade,  they  caught 
sight  of  two  Indians  farther  up  the  frozen  stream.  Think- 
ing that  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  capture  or  kill  them 
the  soldiers  gave  chase,  and  rapidly  gained  upon  the 
Indians,  who  proved  to  be  decoys  skilfully  manoeuvring  to 
draw  them  into  an  ambuscade.  After  they  had  gone  some 
distance  a  party  of  Indians  rushed  out  behind  them,  cut 
off  their  retreat,  and,  falling  upon  them  with  great  fury, 
as  well  as  with  the  advantage  of  surprise  and  superior 
numbers,  quickly  dispatched  them.  Some  of  the  soldiers, 
remaining  in  the  stockade,  filled  with  horror  at  this  mur- 
der of  their  comrades,  deserted,  and  the  few  remaining, 
thinking  themselves  incapable  of  defending  the  place,  with- 
drew. The  savages  then  seized  upon  such  property  as 
they  could  use  and  fired  the  stockade,  the  Indian  houses 
and  mills. 


388  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

On  the  same  day  the  savages  burnt  seven  farm  houses 
between  Gnadenhutten  and  Nazareth,  and  killed  a  number 
of  people. 

Franklin  immediately  started  for  Bethlehem,  from 
which  place  he  writes,  January  14,  to  the  Governor,  as 
follows : 

"Sir: 

"As  we  drew  near  this  Place  we  met  a  number  of  wag- 
gons and  many  People  moving  off  with  their  effects  and 
families  from  the  Irish  Settlement  and  Lehi  Township, 
being  terrified  by  the  defeat  of  Hay's  Company,  and  the 
Burnings  and  murders  committed  in  the  Township  on  New 
Year's  Day.  We  found  this  place  filled  with  Refugees, 
the  workmen's  Shops  and  even  Cellars  being  crowded  with 
Women  &  Children;  and  we  learnt  that  Lehi  Township 
is  almost  entirely  abandoned  by  the  Inhabitants.  Soon 
after  my  arrival  here,  the  principal  People  of  the  Irish 
Settlement,  as  Wilson,  elder  Craig,  &c,  came  to  me  and 
demanded  an  Addition  of  30  men  to  Craig's  Company,  or 
threat'ned  they  would  immediately  one  and  all  leave  that 
country  to  the  Enemy.  Hay's  Company  was  reduc'd  to 
18  men  (and  those  without  Shoes,  Stockings,  Blankets  or 
Arms)  partly  by  the  loss  at  Gnadenhutten,  and  partly  by 
Desertion.  Trump  and  Aston  had  made  but  slow  Prog- 
ress in  building  the  First  Fort,  complaining  for  want  of 
Tools,  which  it  was  thought  the  People  in  those  Parts 
might  have  Supply'd  them  with.  Wayne's  Company  we 
found  posted  at  Nazareth  agreeable  to  your  Honour's 
Orders.  I  immediately  directed  Hays  to  compleat  his 
Company,  and  he  went  down  to  Bucks  County  with  M'r 
Beatty,  who  promised  to  assist  him  in  Recruiting.  His 
Lieutenant  lies  here  lame  with  frozen  Feet,  and  unfit  for 


In  Old  Northampton.  389 

Action;  But  the  Ensign,  with  the  18  men,  is  posted  among 
the  present  Frontier  Inhabitants  to  give  some  Satisfaction 
to  the  Settlement  People,  as  I  refus'd  to  increase  Craig's 
Company.     In  my  turn,  I  have  threatened  to  disband  or 
remove  the  Companies  already  posted  for  the  Security  of 
particular  Townships,   if  the  People  would  not  stay  on 
their  Places,  behave  like  men,   do  something  for  them- 
selves, and  assist  the  Province  Soldiers.     The  Day  after 
my  arrival  here,  I  sent  off  2  Waggons  loaded  with  Bread, 
and  some  axes,  for  Trump  &  Aston,  to  Nazareth,  escorted 
by  Lieut.  Davis,  and  the  20  men  of  McLaughlin's  that 
came  with  me;  I  ordered  him  to  remain  at  Nazareth  to 
guard  that  place  while  Capt.  Wayne,  whose  men  were 
fresh,  proceeded  with  the  Convoy.     To  secure  Lyn  and 
Heidelberg  Township,  whose  Inhabitants  were  just  on  the 
Wing,  I  took  Trexler's  Company  into  Pay  (he  had  been 
before  commission'd  by  M'r  Hamilton),  and  I  commis- 
sion'd  Wetterholt  who  commanded  a  Watch  of  44  men 
before  in  the  Pay  of  the  Province,  ordering  him  to  Corn- 
pleat  his  Company.     I  have  also  allowed  thirty  men  to 
secure  the  township  of  Upper  Smithfield  and  commission'd 
Van   Etten   and  Hindshaw   as   Captain   and  Lieutenant. 
And  in  order  to  execute  more  speedily  the  first  Design  of 
erecting  a  Fort  near  Gnadenhiitten  to  compleat  the  Line 
and  get  the  Rangers  in  motion,  I  have  rais'd  another  Com- 
pany under  Capt'n  Charles  Foulk,  to  join  with  Wayne  in 
that  Service;  and  as  Hays  I  hear  is  not  likely  soon  to 
recruit  his  Company,  I  have  ordered  Orndt  to  come  up 
from  Rockland  in  Bucks  County  to  Strengthen  this  Part 
of  the  Province,  Convoy  Provision,  &c.  to  the  company, 
who  are  and  will  be  at  work  over  the  mountains,  and  quiet 
the  Inhabitants  who  seem  terrified  out  of  their  Senses." 
In  addition  to  the  above  official  report  made  by  Franklin 


39°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

showing  how  he  was  gradually  bringing  order  out  of  chaos, 
we  are  fortunate  in  having  the  following  private  account, 
in  his  autobiography,  of  what  took  place  at  Bethlehem, 
and  how,  in  person,  he  went  to  Gnadenhiitten  and  super- 
intended the  erection  of  Fort  Allen : 

"While  the  several  companies  in  the  city  and  country 
were  forming  and  learning  their  exercise,  the  Governor 
prevailed  with  me  to  take  charge  of  our  Northwestern 
frontier,  which  was  infested  by  the  enemy,  and  provide 
for  the  defence  of  the  inhabitants  by  raising  troops,  and 
building  a*  line  of  forts.  I  undertook  this  military  busi- 
ness, though  I  did  not  conceive  myself  well  qualified  for 
it.  He  gave  me  a  commission  with  full  powers,  and  a 
parcel  of  blank  commissions  for  officers,  to  be  given  to 
whom  I  thought  fit.  I  had  but  little  difficulty  in  raising 
men,  having  soon  five  hundred  and  sixty  under  my  com- 
mand. My  son,  who  had  in  the  preceding  war  been  an 
officer  in  the  army  raised  against  Canada,  was  my  aide- 
de-camp  and  of  great  use  to  me.  The  Indians  had  burned 
Gnadenhiitten,  a  village  settled  by  the  Moravians,  and 
massacred  the  inhabitants;  but  the  place  was  thought  a 
good  situation  for  one  of  the  forts.  In  order  to  march 
thither,  I  assembled  the  companies  at  Bethlehem,  the  chief 
establishment  of  those  people.  I  was  surprised  to  find  it 
in  so  good  a  posture  of  defence,  the  destruction  of  Gnaden- 
hiitten had  made  them  apprehend  danger.  The  principal 
buildings  were  defended  by  a  stockade;  they  had  pur- 
chased a  quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition  from  New 
York,  and  had  even  placed  quantities  of  small  paving 
stones  between  the  windows  of  their  high  stone  houses, 
for  their  women  to  throw  them  down  upon  the  heads  of 
any  Indians  that  should  attempt  to  force  their  way  into 
them.     The  armed  brethren  too  kept  watch,  and  relieved 


In  Old  Northampton.  391 

each  other  on  guard  methodically  as  in  any  garrison  town. 
In  conversation  with  the  bishop,  Spangenberg,  I  men- 
tioned my  surprise;  for  knowing  they  had  obtained  an  act 
of  parliament  exempting  them  from  military  duties  in  the 
colonies,  I  had  supposed  they  were  conscientiously  scru- 
pulous of  bearing  arms.  He  answered  me,  "That  it  was 
not  one  of  their  established  principles;  but  at  the  time  of 
their  obtaining  that  act  it  was  thought  to  be  a  principle 
with  many  of  their  people.  On  this  occasion,  however, 
they,  to  their  surprise,  found  it  adopted  by  but  few."  It 
seems  they  were  either  deceived  in  themselves,  or  deceived 
the  parliament;  but  common  sense,  aided  by  present  dan- 
ger, will  sometimes  be  too  strong  for  whimsical  opinions. 
"It  was  the  beginning  of  January,  1756,  when  we  set 
out  upon  this  business  of  building  forts.  I  sent  one  de- 
tachment towards  the  Minisink,  with  instructions  to  erect 
one  for  the  security  of  that  upper  part  of  the  country;  and 
another  to  the  lower  part  with  similar  instructions ;  and  I 
concluded  to  go  myself  with  the  rest  of  my  forces  to 
Gnadenhiitten,  where  a  fort  was  thought  more  immediately 
necessary.  The  Moravians  procured  me  five  wagons  for 
our  tools,  stores,  baggage,  &c.  Just  before  we  left  Beth- 
lehem, eleven  farmers,  who  had  been  driven  from  their 
plantations  by  the  Indians,  came  to  me  requesting  a  supply 
of  fire  arms,  that  they  might  go  back  and  bring  off  their 
cattle.  I  gave  them  each  a  gun  with  suitable  ammuni- 
tion. We  had  not  marched  many  miles  before  it  began 
to  rain,  and  it  continued  raining  all  day.  There  were  no 
habitations  on  the  road  to  shelter  us,  till  we  arrived  near 
night  at  the  house  of  a  German,  where,  in  his  barn,  we 
were  all  huddled  together  as  wet  as  water  could  make 
us.  It  was  well  we  were  not  attacked  in  our  march  for 
our  arms  were  of  the  ordinary  sort,  and  the  men  could 


392  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

not  keep  the  locks  of  their  guns  dry.  The  Indians  are 
dextrous  in  their  contrivances  for  that  purpose,  which  we 
had  not.  They  met  that  day  the  eleven  poor  farmers 
above  mentioned,  and  killed  ten  of  them,  the  one  that 
escaped  informed  us  that  he  and  his  companions'  guns 
would  not  go  off,  the  priming  being  wet  with  the  rain. 
The  next  day  being  fair,  we  continued  our  march,  and 
arrived  at  the  desolate  Gnadenhiitten;  there  was  a  mill 
near,  round  which  were  left  several  pine  boards,  with  which 
we  soon  hutted  ourselves;  an  operation  the  more  neces- 
sary at  that  inclement  season,  as  we  had  no  tents.  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  and  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  built  a  plat- 
form of  boards  all  around  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. 

"This  kind  of  work,  however  contemptible,  is  a  suffi- 
cient defence  against  Indians  who  had  no  cannon.  Find- 
ing ourselves  now  posted  securely,  and  having  a  place  to 
retreat  to  on  occasion,  we  ventured  out  in  parties  to  scour 
the  adjacent  country." 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Franklin's  Detailed  Account. 

♦If  N  a  personal  letter  to  Governor 
II  Morris,  under  date  of  Janu- 
ary 25,  Franklin  gives  the  follow- 
ing detailed  account  of  the  building 
of  the   fort: 


"  Fort   Allen,   at   Gnaden- 
hutten,  Jan.  25,  1756. 

"  Dear  Sir: 

"  We  got  to  Hays  the  same  even- 
ing we  left  you,  and  reviewed 
Craig's  Company  by  the  way. 
Much  of  the  next  morning  was  spent  in  exchanging  the 
bad  arms  for  good — Wayne's  Company  having  joined  us. 
We  reached,  however,  that  night  to  Uplinger's,  where  we 
got  into  good  Quarters. 

"Saturday  morning  we  began  to  march  towards  Gnaden- 
hutten,  and  proceeded  near  two  miles;  but  it  seeming  to 
set  in  for  a  rainy  day,  the  men  unprovided  with  great  coats, 
and  many  unable  to  secure  effectually  their  arms  from  the 
wet,  we  thought  it  most  advisable  to  face  about  and  return 

(393) 


394  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  our  former  Quarters,  where  the  men  might  dry  them- 
selves and  lie  warm;  whereas,  had  they  proceeded  they 
would  have  come  in  wet  to  Gnadenhutten  where  Shelter 
and  Opportunity  of  drying  themselves  that  night  was  un- 
certain. In  fact  it  rain'd  all  day  and  we  were  all  pleased 
that  we  had  not  proceeded.  The  next  Day,  being  Sunday, 
we  march'd  hither,  where  we  arrived  about  2  in  the  after- 
noon, and  before  5  had  inclosed  our  Camp  with  a  Strong 
Breast  work,  Musket  Proof,  and  with  Boards  brought 
here  before  by  my  Order  from  Drucker's  Mill,  got  our- 
selves under  some  shelter  from  the  Weather.  Monday 
was  so  dark  with  thick  Fog  all  day,  that  we  could  neither 
look  out  for  a  Place  to  build  or  see  where  Materials  were 
to  be  had.  Tuesday  morning  we  looked  round  us,  Pitched 
on  a  Place,  mark'd  out  our  Fort  on  the  Ground,  and  by 
10  o'clock  began  to  cut  Timber  for  Stockades  and  to  dig 
the  Ground.  By  3  in  the  afternoon  the  Logs  were  all 
cut  and  many  of  them  hailed  to  the  Spot,  the  Ditch  dug 
to  Set  them  in  3  Feet  deep,  and  that  Evening  many  were 
pointed  and  set  up.  The  next  Day  we  were  hinder'd  by 
Rain  most  of  the  Day.  Thursday  we  rcsum'd  our  Work 
and  before  night  were  pretty  well  enclosed,  and  on  Friday 
morning  the  Stockade  was  finished  and  part  of  the  Plat- 
form within  erected,  which  was  compleated  the  next  morn- 
ing, when  we  dismissed  Foulk's  and  Wettcrholt's  Com- 
panies and  sent  Hay's  down  for  a  Convoy  of  Provisions. 
This  Day  we  hoisted  your  Flag,  made  a  general  Discharge 
of  our  Pieces,  which  had  been  long  loaded,  and  of  our  two 
Swivels,  and  Nam'd  the  Place  Fort  Allen,  in  Honor  of  our 
old  Friend  (Judge  William  Allen,  father  of  James  Allen, 
who  laid  out  Allentown  in  1762,  and  also  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Province).  It  is  125  Feet  long,  50  wide,  the  Stoc- 
adoes  most  of  them  a  Foot  thick;  they  are  3  Foot  in  the 
Ground  and  12  Feet  out,  pointed  at  the  Top. 


oo 

X 

* 

o 

c 

K> 

'/i 

o 

m 

X  ° 


Colonel  Benjamin  Franklin.  395 

"This   is   an   Account   of   our  week's  work,   which   I 
thought  might  give  you  some  Satisfaction. 

"Foulk  is  gone  to  build  another  (Fort  Franklin),  be- 
tween this  and  Schuylkill  Fort  (Fort  Lebanon),  which  I 
hope  will  be  finished  (as  Trexler  is  to  Join  him)  in  a  week 
or  10  Days ;  As  soon  as  Hays  returns  I  shall  detach  another 
Party  to  erect  another  at  Surfos'  (Fort  Norris)  which  I 
hope  may  be  finished  in  the  same  Time,  and  then  I  purpose 
to  end  my  Campaign,  God  willing,  and  do  myself  the 
Pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  return.  I  can  now  add  no  more 
than  that  I  am,  with  great  Esteem  and  affection,  D'r  Friend, 
"  Yours  affectionately 

"  B.  Franklin." 

The  interesting  account  which  we  have  had  of  Franklin's 
military  experience  would  not  be  complete  without  hear- 
ing from  his  autobiography,  how  it  came  to  an  end.  He 
says: 

"  I  had  hardly  finished  this  business  and  got  my  fort 
well  stored  with  provisions,  when  I  received  a  letter  from 
the  Governor,  acquainting  me  that  he  had  called  the  As- 
sembly, and  wished  my  attendance  there,  if  the  posture  of 
affairs  on  the  frontiers  was  such  that  my  remaining  there 
was  no  longer  necessary.  My  friends,  too,  of  the  As- 
sembly, pressing  me  by  their  letter  to  be  if  possible  at  the 
meeting,  and  my  three  intended  forts  being  now  completed, 
and  the  inhabitants  contented  to  remain  on  their  farms 
under  that  protection,  I  resolved  to  return ;  the  more  wil- 
lingly as  a  New  England  officer,  Col.  Clapham,  experienced 
in  Indian  War,  being  on  a  visit  to  our  establishment,  con- 
sented to  accept  the  Command.  I  gave  him  a  commission, 
and,  parading  the  garrison,  had  it  read  before  them,  and 
introduced  him  to  them  as  an  officer  who,  from  his  skill 
in  military  affairs,  was  much  more  fit  to  command  them 


396  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

than  myself;  and,  giving  them  a  little  exhortation,  took  my 
leave.  I  was  escorted  as  far  as  Bethlehem,  where  I  rested 
a  few  days  to  recover  from  the  fatigue  I  had  undergone. 
The  first  night,  lying  in  a  good  bed,  I  could  hardly  sleep, 
it  was  so  different  from  my  hard  lodging  on  the  floor  of 
a  hut  at  Gnaden-Huetten,  with  only  a  blanket  or  two." 

Colonel  Clapham,  only  temporarily  in  command,  was 
soon  placed  at  the  head  of  the  regiment  intended  for  the 
erection  and  occupancy  of  Fort  Augusta.  The  last  of  his 
men  left  on  April  19th.  Captain  Foulk  then  took  charge 
of  Fort  Allen,  and  remained  in  command  until  relieved  by 
Captain  Reynolds,  the  latter  part  of  June,  1756.  This 
latter  officer  seems  to  have  been  either  inexperienced  in 
the  handling  of  the  rough  men  about  him,  or  unable  to  do 
so.  Among  this  class  was  his  lieutenant,  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Miller,  apparently  of  no  principles,  and  without 
either  desire  or  power  to  preserve  discipline.  The  first 
exploit  of  this  person,  at  Fort  Allen,  was  in  connection 
with  Teedyuscung,  who  was  the  leader  of  the  Delawares, 
under  ordinary  circumstances  a  typical  Indian  chief,  brave, 
shrewd  and  dignified,  but  cursed  with  the  red  man's  love 
of  drink.  Every  effort  had  been  made,  in  the  spring  of 
1756,  to  effect  a  meeting  between  him  and  the  Governor, 
at  Easton,  in  the  hope  of  accomplishing  something  which 
might  lead  to  peace.  This  was  finally  accomplished,  and 
the  conference  was  mutually  satisfactory.  The  chief 
promised  to  return  to  his  people  and  use  his  influence  with 
them  favorably,  and  further  agreed  to  the  release  of  the 
English  prisoners  then  in  his  hands. 

Everything  depended  upon  his  speedy  return,  but  no 
sooner  had  he  reached  Fort  Allen,  on  his  way  back,  when 
Lieutenant  Miller  took  charge  of  him,  plied  him  with 


Colonel  Benjamin  Franklin.  397 

whiskey  until  he  became  drunk,  and  cheated  him  out  of 
sixteen  deer  skins  which  Teedyuscung  had  intended  as  a 
present  for  the  Governor.  What  effect  this  had  in  delay- 
ing negotiations  at  this  time,  and  how  many  lives  were  sac- 
rificed thereby,  it  is  impossible  to  say. 

Not  only  did  Miller  engage  in  the  nefarious  business  just 
narrated,  but  the  liquor  which  he  sold  the  Indians  seems  to 
have  been  dishonestly  taken  from  the  government  stores. 
With  such  an  example  before  them  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  the  men  under  him  would  behave  much  better. 
Neither  did  they,  for,  in  the  beginning  of  August,  while 
the  Indians  were  still  there,  on  their  way  back  from  the 
conference,  one  of  the  non-commissioned  officers,  Corporal 
Weyrick,  committed  a  disgraceful  act  of  rank  insubordina- 
tion, indeed  one  of  actual  mutiny. 

Captain  Nicholas  Wetterholt,  then  at  Fort  Hamilton, 
was  at  once  ordered  by  Major  Parsons  to  proceed  to  Fort 
Allen  and  place  Weyrick  under  arrest,  as  well  as  Lieu- 
tenant Miller,  who  had  made  no  effort  to  suppress  the 
mutiny.  Learning  what  was  in  store  for  him  the  latter 
declared  he  would  not  submit  to  arrest,  but  the  arrival  of 
Captain  Wetterholt  speedily  put  a  different  complexion  on 
affairs.  The  lieutenant  was  sent  to  Fort  Norris,  in  the 
safe  keeping  of  Captain  Jacob  Orndt,  while  Corporal 
Weyrick  was  lodged  in  the  Easton  jail  on  the  evening  of 
August  16. 

The  full  account  of  the  disgraceful  transaction  is  given 
by  Captain  Wetterholt  in  the  following  report  to  Major 
Parsons : 

"  Sir: 

"  In  the  nightof  the  5th  of  August,  Christian  Weyrick, 
a  Corporal,  began  to  quarrel  with  the  Indians,  and  threat- 


398  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

ened  to  drive  them  out  of  the  Fort.  The  Lieut,  pur- 
suaded  him  to  forbear,  but  he  seized  the  Lieut.  &  threw 
him  on  the  Ground,  and  afterwards  went  to  the  Indian 
Squaws  and  behaved  very  indecently  with  them  the  whole 
night,  and  some  of  his  comrades,  One  John  White  upbraid- 
ing him  with  it,  he  began  to  curse  and  attempted  to  tear 
him  to  pieces,  when  Philip  Bortner  stept  out  of  the  Guard 
Room  and  ask'd  him  if  he  was  not  ashamed  to  behave  so, 
but  he  took  him  and  threw  him  on  the  Bench,  who  calling 
out  for  help,  Dewalt  Bossing  sprung  between  them,  but 
he  was  not  able  to  manage  him ;  Then  came  Michael  Laury, 
he  struck  him  several  Blows  upon  the  Head,  and  thereupon 
they  were  parted;  then  he  took  a  Gun  and  drove  about 
the  Fort  like  a  Beast  and  not  like  a  man,  and  struck  down 
two  of  them,  afterwards  he  laid  hold  of  his  cutlass  and 
went  into  the  Captain's  House  and  pointed  it  out  at  the 
window;  Then  he  took  a  Gun  and  snapped  it  twice,  but  it 
would  not  go  off;  Then  he  took  another  Gun,  and  that 
miss'd  Fire  also;  then  he  laid  hold  of  a  Third  Gun,  which 
Capt.  Foulk  took  from  him;  Then  he  seized  another  gun 
and  went  out  of  the  House,  and  said  one  of  the  4  Reading 
town  Soldiers,  or  John  White,  should  die,  and  shott  at 
him;  then  he  called  to  his  comrades  and  told  them  they 
should  not  leave  him,  they  would  storm  the  Fort,  and  no 
man  should  live  that  Day;  then  he  ran  into  the  Captain's 
House  and  threw  the  Benches  about  from  Top  to  Bottom, 
but  there  was  no  Body  in  the  House  but  the  Lieut,  the 
Clerk  and  the  Serjeant,  they  warned  him,  but  it  all  helped 
nothing;  Then  the  Serjeant  Bossing  went  to  the  Guard  and 
told  them  to  take  him  into  arrest,  but  they  would  not;  Then 
he  went  and  broke  Stones  from  the  Chymny  Back  and  threw 
them  in  at  the  window,  and  cursed  furiously,  and  said  he 
would  kill  one  of  the  4  Reading  town  Soldiers,  or  would 


Colonel  Benjamin  Franklin.  399 

stab  or  shoot  Serjeant  White;  He  behaved  so  violently 
that  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the  Fort;  He  broke  several 
Guns  to  pieces,  and  afterwards  Michael  Beltz,  the  Lieut., 
Christian  Weyrick  and  Killian  Lang,  fetch'd  water  and 
put  Rum  in  it,  and  washed  their  private  parts  therein. 
The  6th  of  Aug't  the  Ensign  returned  to  the  Fort  and  put 
things  in  better  order.  This  is  the  Information  from  me, 
John  Nicholas  Widerhold,  Captain. 

"  N.  B.  I  have  already  acquainted  Coll'o  Weiser  with 
the  affair." 

One  result  of  this  occurrence  was  the  transfer  of  Cap- 
tain Reynolds  from  Fort  Allen  to  the  less  important  station 
of  Fort  Norris,  and  the  ordering  of  Captain  Jacob  Orndt 
from  Fort  Norris  to  the  command  of  Fort  Allen,  in  the 
beginning  of  October,  1756. 

True  to  his  promise,  upon  his  arrival  among  his  people, 
Teedyuscung  tried  to  influence  them  favorably  with  regard 
to  the  English.  He  was  so  far  successful  that  it  was  agreed 
to  release  the  prisoners  and  attend  another  conference  in 
Easton.  Accompanied  by  a  number  of  their  hapless  cap- 
tives the  Indians  started  for  that  place,  but  were  met  by 
a  rumor,  as  they  approached  Fort  Allen,  that  the  English 
intended  to  cut  them  off,  and  immediately  stopped  their 
journey,  afraid  to  advance  any  further.  The  first  duty, 
which  confronted  Captain  Orndt  upon  his  taking  charge 
of  Fort  Allen,  was  to  care  for  these  Indians  and  see  that 
they  safely  reached  their  destination.  The  conferences  of 
1756  were  followed  by  those  of  1757  and  1758  until, 
finally,  peace  became  an  established  fact.  Some  account 
of  these  various  treaties  and  talks  will  be  given  later. 
During  all  this  time  Fort  Allen  was  visited  constantly  by 
the  representatives  of  the  different  tribes,  on  their  way 
to  and  fro. 


400 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


Colonel  Benjamin  Franklin.  401 

In  March,  1758,  Captain  Orndt  had  the  fort  placed  in 
thorough  repair.  Soon  after  he  was  promoted  to  major 
and  the  entire  district  placed  under  his  charge.  At  this 
time  he  was  directed  to  notify  the  people  of  the  frontiers 
to  assemble  in  large  parties  during  their  harvesting,  and 
provide  each  party  with  sentries  for  protection.  He  was 
also  directed  to  see  that  the  friendly  Indians  wore  a  broad 
yellow  band  around  their  head  or  arms  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  enemy,  and,  accordingly,  requested  the  Governor 
to  send  a  supply  of  the  same  to  Forts  Augusta  and  Allen 
for  distribution.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  command  of 
Fort  Allen  by  Captain  John  Bull,  immediately  after  his 
promotion.  Even  as  late  as  June,  1780,  the  fort  was  still 
in  existence,  and  then  occupied  by  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Kern  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  men. 

The  site  of  Fort  Allen,  in  Weissport,  Carbon  County,  is 
now  occupied  by  the  "  Fort  Allen  Hotel,"  which  stands  on 
the  southwest  corner  of  Bridge  Street  and  Franklin  Street, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  east  of  the  bridge  across 
the  Lehigh  River  to  Lehighton.  The  old  well  is  still  in 
existence,  although  unused,  and  may  be  seen  in  the  yard 
back  of  the  hotel. 

Captain,  and,  later,  Major  Jacob  Orndt,  the  commander 
of  Forts  Allen  and  Norris,  was  a  good  officer  and  brave 
soldier.  We  are  fortunate  in  having  secured  from  mem- 
bers of  the  family  some  data  with  regard  to  him,  which 
we  deem  worthy  of  reproduction  in  the  following  chapter, 
as  further  evidence  of  the  work  done  by  loyal  Pennsylvania- 
Germans  for  their  country. 


^J^A^^^r^/^Cj^^J^J^j^ 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Some  Arndt  (Orndt)   Family  Data. 

^OHN  ARNDT  at  present  re- 
yj  siding  in  the  Borough  of 
Easton,  in  the  county  of  North- 
ampton, in  the  Commonwealth  of 
Penna.  who  was  one  of  the  sub- 
scribers to  this  American  edition  of 
the  Holy  Bible  do  declare  my  wish 
and  solemn  desire  that  this  valuable 
work  consisting  of  two  volumes  shall,  after  my  decease,  go 
to  and  be  considered  the  property  of  the  eldest  male  branch 
of  my  posterity.  With  a  most  solom  request  that  the  same 
shall  forever  or  as  long  as  it  will  last  go  to  and  be  con- 
sidered as  the  property  of  my  eldest  male  descendant,  or 
in  failure  as  such  to  the  eldest  male  descendant  of  any  of 
my  daughters.  Hoping  that  my  posterity  will  pay  so 
much  respect  to  my  memory  and  wishes  that  they  will  not 
by  sale  or  barter  or  neglect  ever  part  with  the  book  and 
thereby  violate  my  most  sincere  expectations,  for  verifica- 
tion of  this  intention  I  have  herein  put  my  signature 
which  is  well  known  to  my  present  existing  acquaintances. 
This  4th  day  of  July  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1807 

"  John  Arndt. 
(402) 


Some  Arndt  (Orndt)  Family  Data.  403 

"As  the  above  is  my  intention  it  occurs  to  me  that  it 
will  be  very  natural  for  some  of  my  family  or  posterity  to 
express  a  wish  to  know  something  of  mine  and  their  an- 
cestors. To  comply  with  such  a  desire  if  it  should  ever 
eixst  in  anyone  I  will  endeavor  to  inform  them  the  tradi- 
tions that  I  recolect  and  some  written  documents  that  I 
now  have  by  me  where  my  ancestors  emigrated  from. 
Most  of  them  were  poor  humble  mechanics  consequently 
lived  in  obscurity  unnoticed  by  the  bulk  of  mankind  and 
if  every  one  who  is  the  temperory  owner  of  this  book 
will  be  at  the  trouble  to  make  addition  here  to  our  posterity 
may  be  furnished  with  some  sketch  of  genealogical  in- 
formation. 

"  The  first  ancestor  I  could  hear  from  was  Hanns  Arndt 
a  respectable  farmer  in  the  village  of  Warpen  in  the  bail- 
wick  (Ant)  of  Coswig  in  the  principality  of  Anhalt  Terbts 
in  Germany.  He  was  the  father  of  Martin  Arndt  who 
inter-married  with  Maria  a  daughter  of  Hanns  Sager  a 
respectable  citizen  of  Terbts.  They  had  an  only  son 
named  Martin  Conrad  Arndt  who  in  early  life  expressed 
an  inclination  to  travel  for  which  leave  was  obtained  from 
his  parents  and  before  he  departed  from  home  a  writing  on 
parchment  was  given  to  him  dated  at  Terbets  13  March 
1678,  which  amongst  other  things  certifys  that  he  was 
born  of  good  german  blood  and  not  of  the  Wenzischen 
what  this  distinction  I  was  never  informed  of.  This 
Martin  Conrad  it  seems  eventually  settled  himself  then  the 
Dukedon  of  Zweibenchen  and  in  lawful  wedlock  he  got 
two  children,  one  a  son  named  Berhard  and  a  daughter 
that  was  married  to  a  Mr.  Conrad  the  Grandfather  of 
Frederick  Conrad  one  of  our  late  representatives  to  Con- 
gress. Bernhard  Arndt  became  married  to  Anna  Maria 
a  daughter  to  Andress  Decker  residing  in  Corborn  in  said 


404  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Dukedom  and  settled  himself  in  the  borough  of  Daum- 
holder  in  the  Bailiwick  (Ant)  of  Lichtenberg.  In  this 
marriage  and  settlement  there  is  a  circumstance  that  may 
appear  very  singular  to  a  free  born  American  citizen  and 
under  a  belief  that  a  short  detail  thereof  may  stimulate 
posterity  ever  give  rational  support  to  legal  liberty  with- 
out traveling  into  the  wide  fields  of  speculative  and  licen- 
tious proceedings  which  by  the  demagogues  of  the  day  are 
construed  to  be  the  rights  of  man.  The  village  it  seems 
where  this  Andres  Decker  was  subject  to  a  kind  of  villian- 
age  or  Vassalage,  something  similar  to  the  fate  of  a 
Virginia  slave  or  negro  who  is  transferred  with  the  soil, 
which  his  master  owns  when  he  chooses  to  sell  the  same, 
therefore  when  my  grandfather  the  said  Berhard  Arndt 
could  remove  his  wife  from  Corborn  to  Baumholder  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  purchasing  her  Manumission 
for  a  sum  not  known  to  me.  The  instrument  of  the 
Manumission  bears  date  at  Tweybrucken  the  12th  day  of 
Feb  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  17 17.  At  Baumholder  Ber- 
harnd  followed  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  and  as  his  earn- 
ings furnished  but  a  scanty  supply  for  his  family  he  fre- 
quently expressed  a  wish  or  inclination  to  emigrate  to 
America,  but  his  wife  constantly  refused  and  put  a  nega- 
tive on  his  proposition,  until  to  us  a  trifling  circumstance 
occurred  which  was  this.  My  Grandmother  who  was  so 
adverse  to  give  her  consent  to  go  to  America  had  put  a 
pig  in  her  stable  to  raise  and  fatten  for  the  express  purpose 
to  regale  herself  and  children  with  a  bountiful  repast  of 
meat  diet,  but  before  this  took  place  one  of  the  Princiesses 
of  their  Duke  got  married  in  consequence  of  which  an 
extraordinary  tax  was  prescribed  to  be  laid  on  his  subjects 
for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  off  the  Princess  and  this  was 
an  extraordinary  request  or  recquistion  no  provision  had 


Some  Arndt  (Orndt)  Family  Data.  405 

been  made  for  the  payment  thereof  and  no  other  means 
were  at  hand  to  discharge  the  tax,  but  the  sale  of  the  pig 
fattening  in  the  stable,  after  this  instance  no  further  ob- 
jections were  made  to  the  proposed  emigration  to  the  land 
of  liberty  in  America.  Their  preparations  were  made  for 
the  removal  and  at  the  end  of  April  or  the  beginning  of 
May  in  the  year  1731  the  family  of  my  grandfather  de- 
parted for  their  new  country,  consisting  then  besides  the 
parents  of  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  eldest  sons 
name  was  Abraham  the  second  (my  father)  Jacob  and 
Catherine.  They  came  down  the  river  Rhine  and  em- 
barcked  at  Rotterdam  for  America.  On  the  voyage  an- 
other son  was  born  who  they  named  Henry.  They  landed 
in  Phila.  paid  their  passage  on  for  sometime  settled  in 
Germantown  and  from  thence  removed  into  (as  I  believe) 
the  poorest  soil  of  the  then  county  of  Phila.  where  my 
grandfather  continued  the  occupation  of  a  shoemaker  and 
taught  all  his  sons  the  same  trade.  And  now  as  the  chil- 
dren of  my  grandfather  branched  out  into  four  different 
families  I  will  confine  myself  to  that  of  my  grandfathers, 
only  mentioning  that  Abraham  married  the  amiable  daugh- 
ter of  Phillip  Reed  by  her  had  issue  of  sons  and  daughters. 
Henry  married  a  woman  whose  name  was  Bender  and  the 
daughter  Catherine  was  married  to  a  man  named  Leidig 
which  in  the  event  proved  rather  unhappy.  Leidig  is  dead 
and  she  is  a  pauper  on  the  township,  at  the  same  time 
having  a  daughter  married  to  one  Kolb  who  is  able  but 
not  willing  to  support  her.  My  father  one  of  the  sons  of 
said  Bernard  as  I  mentioned  before  was  born  at  Baum- 
holder  on  the  24  March  1725,  and  here  he  married  Eliza- 
beth the  daughter  of  Jacob  Gieger,  who  had  emigrated 
from  Germany.  She  was  born  Ittlingen  in  the  bailiwick 
of  Bretton  in  the  Upper  Palatine  on  the  20  Sept.   1726. 


406  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

After  marriage  he  purchased  a  farm  in  Rock  Hill  twp. 
in  the  county  of  Bucks,  whilst  he  resided  there  the  French 
war  in  1755  broke  out,  when  he  quit  the  occupation  of 
shoemaker  and  accepted  a  Captains  commission  in  the  pro- 
vincial service  and  with  his  company  was  stationed  at  what 
was  called  the  frontier,  to  check  the  incursions  of  the  sav- 
age Indians  in  the  stockade  forts  then  called  Norris  and 
Allen.  In  the  end  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  and  com- 
mand of  Major  and  stationed  at  Fort  Augusta  (near  the 
present  Sunbury)  and  at  the  conclusion  of  that  war  when 
the  Penna.  troops  were  disbanded  he  was  of  course  dis- 
charged from  that  military  service.  He  then  sold  his 
farm  in  Bucks  Co.  and  made  a  purchase  of  John  Jones 
of  a  Mill  and  a  farm  on  Bushkill  Creek  near  Easton  to 
and  on  which  he  and  in  the  year  1760  removed  his  family 
consisting  of  five  children  besides  the  parents.  I  as  the 
eldest  was  one,  His  daughter  Elizabeth  born  the  29  Sept 
1750  who  was  married  to  Jacob  Shoemaker  and  departed 
this  life  on  the  4th  day  of  July  1797  leaving  issue  sons 
and  daughters.  Margaret  born  29  July  1752  who  de- 
parted this  life  in  an  unmarried  state  on  the  1 1  day  of  in 
the  year  1768.  Jacob  a  second  son  14  May  1756  who 
became  inter-married  with  Elizabeth  one  of  the  daughters 
of  Zacharias  Nyce  of  the  Co.  of  Montgomery  and  Abra- 
ham a  youngest  son  was  born  Jan.  31,  1759  and  was 
married  to  Ann  one  of  the  daughters  of  William  Henn  of 
Morris  Co.  of  the  state  of  New  Jersey.  After  my  father 
settled  on  his  new  purchase  he  used  much  industry  and 
economy  in  improving  the  same  as  to  building  and  soforth, 
and  kept  a  strict  family  discipline  (In  my  opinion  rather 
too  severe)  and  had  all  his  children  instructed  in  the 
German  Reformed  Protestant  Christian  Religion.  God 
seems  to  have  blessed  his  endeavors  so  that  eventually  he 


Some  Arndt  {Orndt)  Family  Data.  4°7 

could  help  his  children  to  begin  a  living  in  the  world. 
When  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  their  colonies 
and  now  United  States  of  America  commenced  he  took  an 
early  and  active  part  on  the  side  of  the  Americans,  at  an 
expense  of  a  great  part  of  his  property  occasioned  by  the 
depreciation  of  then  emissions  of  paper  Bills  of  Credit. 
Having  thus  established  himself  to  be  what  in  those  days 
was  called  a  good  Whig  he  was  elected  by  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  County  to  represent  them,  first  in  the  Con- 
vention that  framed  the  late  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  afterwards  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives and  also  of  the  Executive  Councill  as  by  the  public 
records  will  appear  thus  he  continued  to  serve  his  Country 
and  its  cause  until  age  and  change  of  opinion  in  politics 
with  the  people  made  it  desirable  for  him  to  retire  from 
public  to  private  life  and  enjoy  the  residue  of  his  days  as 
comfortable  as  could  be  expected.     Thus  he  continued  to 
reside  at  his  Mill  when  after  all  his  children  had  removed 
from  him  and  kept  their  own  families.     My  Mother  de- 
parted this  life  on  the  17th  day  of  March  in  the  year  1797 
aged  70  years  5  months  and  27  days.     He  shortly  came  to 
reside  with  his  daughter  and  her  husband  Jacob  Shoe- 
maker and  remained  with  them,  until  sometime  after  the 
death  of  his  daughter  when  he  removed  to  my  family  in 
Easton  where  he  resided  until  his  death  which  took  place 
the  3rd  of  August  1805  aged  80  years  4  months  and  10 
days.     As  to  myself  I  was  born  on  my  fathers  farm  in 
Rockhill  twp.  in  the  Co.  of  Bucks  on  the  5th  day  of  June 
in  the  year  1748  and  was  from  thence  with  the  family 
removed  to  my  fathers  new  purchase  near  Easton  there  I 
kept  to  a  hard  and  laborious  life.     In  the  year   1774  I 
paid  my  addresses  to  the  amiable  Miss  Elizabeth  Feit  one 
of  the  daughters  of  John  Feit  of  Greenwich  twp  in  the 


408  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Co.  of  Sussex  in  New  Jersey  and  became  married  to  her 
on  the  13  Dec  of  the  same  year.  With  her  I  lived  as 
happily  as  could  be  expected  to  fall  to  the  lot  of  man,  but 
alas  this  felicity  was  of  short  duration.  On  the  15  Jan. 
1776,  she  was  delivered  of  a  female  child  which  died  the 
third  day  after  its  birth,  and  this  was  the  first  corpse  that 
was  interred  in  the  family  burying  ground  near  the  Mill, 
and  then  my  good  and  much  beloved  wife  soon  after  de- 
parted this  life  on  the  31st  day  of  the  same  month  aged 
17  years  8  months  and  27  days  and  was  buried  besides  the 
body  of  our  child.  Being  this  left  without  a  family  of  my 
own  I  continued  the  occupation  of  Miller  in  my  fathers 
Mill  and  the  month  of  June  1776  when  the  affairs  between 
this  country  and  Great  Britain  began  to  come  to  a  serious 
crisis  I  then  at  the  request  of  the  Committee  of  this  county 
I  consented  to  take  command  of  a  Co.  of  Rifleman  as  their 
Captain.  In  what  was  then  called  the  "  Flying  Camp." 
This  acceptance  to  such  a  hazzardous  undertaking  was 
owing  to  several  inducements.  Patriotism  was  the  lead- 
ing one.  The  next  was  that  I  would  serve  a  grateful 
Country.  In  the  last  I  was  eventually  convinced  of  my 
error  for  experience  has  taught  me  that  there  is  no  notion 
of  such  a  thing  as  gratitude  with  the  citizens  of  a  Repub- 
lican Government.  I  marched  that  Co.  according  to 
orders  to  different  places  and  among  the  others  to  Long 
Island  where  on  the  27  day  of  August  we  partook  in  the 
disgrace  of  a  defeat  by  the  superior  force  and  discipline 
of  the  British  forces.  There  by  the  shot  of  a  small  cannon 
ball  I  got  wounded  in  the  left  arm  which  ever  after  de- 
prived me  of  the  use  of  the  elbow  joint.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1777  when  the  new  Gov.  of  Penna.  became 
organized  I  was  by  the  Legislature  thereof  appointed 
Register  of  the  Probate  of  Wills  and  Recorder  of  Deeds. 


Some  Arndt  (Orndt)  Family  Data.  409 

This  appointment  I  accepted  and  was  thereafter  too  deli- 
cate to  solicit  the  pension  I  was  entitled  to  on  account  of 
my  being  crippled.  Thus  I  held  said  office  with  that  of 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  the  emoluments  thereof  at  that  time 
and  during  the  war  did  not  much  more  than  compensate 
for  the  stationary  that  were  needed  for  the  use  thereof. 
On  the  12  day  of  August  1777  I  became  married  a  second 
time  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Ihrie  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Conrad  Ihrie.  She  was  born  in  Forks  twp.  on  the  6  day 
of  April  1756,  this  as  a  second  marriage  proved  as  happy 
as  could  be  expected.  In  this  state  we  had  the  following 
named  children  Marie  born  March  6  1779,  Susanna  2 
Feb  1781,  Elizabeth  14  Feb  1783,  Jacob  27  April  1785 
died  August  6,  1806,  Sarah  27  Feb  1787,  John  21  May 
1789  died  Oct  29  1806,  George  Washington  25  June 
1791,  Annie  15  March  1794,  Benj.  F.  23  June  1796, 
Samuel  17  Aug.  I  continued  to  reside  at  the  Mill  until 
the  4  day  of  March  1796,  on  which  day  I  removed  my 
family  to  Easton  into  a  house  I  purchased  previously  from 
my  father-in-law  Conrad  Ihrie  in  which  I  continue  to  re- 
side now.  Here  I  continued  to  administer  to  the  office  of 
Register  of  Wills  and  Recorder  of  Deeds  and  Clerk  of 
the  Orphans  Court  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  those 
offices  I  have  the  consolation  to  declare  that  my  official 
conduct  was  approved  by  the  generality  of  citizens  the 
widows  and  the  orphans  and  particularly  my  own  con- 
science. In  the  general  election  of  the  year  1799  when  the 
Gov.  term  of  the  late  Thomas  Mifflin  Constitutionally  ex- 
pired there  were  two  candidates  put  in  nomination  by  the 
citizens  of  Penna.  for  the  high  and  important  office  of 
Governor  of  the  State.  The  one  was  James  Ross  of 
Pittsburg  the  other  Thomas  McKean  of  Phila.  Having 
had  a  personal  acquaintance  with  both  gentlemen  in  nomi- 


410  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

nation  my  opinion  was  that  James  Ross  was  of  the  two  the 
best  person  and  if  elected  would  be  Governor  of  all  the 
citizens  in  the  State,  the  other  would  be  that  of  a  giddy 
headed  party  only  under  the  circumstances  I  was  led  to 
believe  that  as  a  citizen  of  a  Free  Republic  I  was  un- 
doubtedly entitled  to  the  freedom  of  choice.  I  did  so  and 
voted  for  James  Ross,  by  doing  so  the  event  proved  I  was 
in  the  minority  and  had  thereby  in  the  opinion  of  the 
successful  candidate  committed  an  unpardonable  crime. 
Which  all  past  services  entailed  danger  and  wounds  for 
the  establishment  of  our  independence  and  the  blessings  of 
a  Republican  Government  and  also  the  upright  discharge 
of  our  official  duties  could  not  wipe  out.  This  supposed 
Gov.  McKean  would  sooner  pardon  a  man  guilty  of  mur- 
der or  treason  than  him  that  did  not  vote  for  him.  I 
consequently  was  marked  out  as  one  of  the  first  victims  of 
Democratic  frenzy  and  zeal  for  the  Giddy  Party  he  had 
espoused  and  by  dismission  from  all  public  employment  as 
soon  as  he  was  settled  in  the  chair  of  Government  con- 
vinced me  that  all  my  Revolutionary  and  their  services 
were  rendered  to  an  unjust  and  ungrateful  country.  I 
can  in  truth  inform  the  reader  of  this  that  I  have  derived 
as  much  consolation  as  I  had  chagarin  and  disgrace  from 
my  adherants  in  all  changes  of  public  opinion  to  the  good 
old  Washingtonian  creed  to  which  I  mean  to  adher  to 
during  life. 

11  Second  Part. 

"It  now  becomes  my  (Geo.  W.  Arndt)  duty  in  com- 
pliance with  my  fathers  request  (after  having  concluded 
his  life)  to  continue  the  present  history  confining  myself 
mostly  to  such  events  immediately  interesting  myself. 
My  father  adhered  to  his  political  principles  unchanged 


Some  Arndt  (Orndt)  Family  Data.  411 

through  his  life  agreeable  to  his  declared  determinations. 
After  being  dismissed  from  office  by  Thomas  McKean 
the  Gov.  he  devoted  himself  to  shopkeeping  for  support, 
a  business  in  my  opinion  ranking  no  higher  than  the  mean- 
est proffession,  but  which  he  pursued  until  the  Spring  of 
1 8 13.  He  had  long  labored  under  bodily  as  well  as 
mental  affliction  a  depression  of  spirits,  Hypocondria 
gradually  working  on  his  frame  at  length  terminated  his 
existance  on  the  6  day  of  May  18 14.  Having  attained 
the  respectable  age  of  65  years  1 1  months  and  1  day. 
George  W.  Arndt  the  writer  of  the  foregoing  paragraph 
early  in  the  year  18 13  proceeded  to  settle  on  the  estate 
lately  occupied  by  his  father  and  which  afterwards  be- 
came the  joint  patrimony  of  himself  and  his  brother  Ben- 
jamin, and  therein  with  conjunction  with  his  brother-in- 
law  Charles  Lombeart  undertook  the  manufacturing  of 
wollen  cloth  in  connection  with  farming  and  milling.  On 
the  27  of  the  same  year  he  became  married  to  Henrietta 
Byllbysby  by  whom  he  had  the  following  children.  Well- 
ington born  Feb.  28,  1814,  Jackson  Feb.  12,  1815,  Susan 
and  Eveline  twins  born  Oct.  11,  18 17,  died  Feb.  1,  18 18 
aged  One  year  3  months  and  17  days.  After  an  ill  regu- 
lated pursuit  of  business  for  four  years  he  was  compelled 
to  abandon  it  and  in  the  year  of  18 17  he  removed  his 
family  to  Easton  and  continued  without  definite  employ- 
ment until  July  of  the  following  year.  He  then  deter- 
mined to  emigrating  to  one  of  the  western  states  in  the 
hope  of  retrieving  his  fortunes,  his  patrimony  having  been 
wholly  disapaited  or  insolved  and  accordingly  set  out  on  a 
tour  with  the  intention  of  selecting  a  spot  for  the  purpose, 
having  passed  through  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  Rivers  he  finally  arrived  at  the  city  of  New 
Orleans  where  in  a  few  days  he  was  attacked  by  the  un- 


412  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

healthfulness  of  the  climate  and  after  lingering  nearly  six 
months  he  died  there  on  the  29  of  June,  18 19.  Aged  28 
years  4  days.  Thus  terminating  an  unimportant  life 
marked  with  much  indescresion  and  misfortune. 

"  Capt.  John  Arndt. 

"A  battle  occured  on  the  27  of  August  which  the  Amer- 
icans were  beaten  and  forced  to  retreat  which  they  did  in 
a  masterly  manner.  On  the  29  of  August  the  Americans 
loss  of  killed  was  upwards  to  1000  men.  One  of  the  com- 
panies was  commanded  by  Capt.  John  Arndt  of  Forks 
twp.  Mr.  Arndt  lost  many  of  his  men  and  he  himself 
was  severally  wounded.  Col.  Peter  Kichline  was  with 
Mr.  Arndt  and  were  taken  prisoners.  Capt.  John  Arndt 
after  his  release  from  confinement  returned  to  Easton  in 
Sept.  1790  and  was  appointed  a  Commessiary  with  David 
Deshler  for  the  supplying  the  sick  and  disabled  troops  with 
the  necessies  of  life.  The  services  of  John  Arndt  during 
the  Rev.  were  mentioned  in  a  publication  in  1799  and  says 
that  it  is  well  known  that  John  Arndt  turned  out  in  1776 
a  time  which  tried  mens  souls  and  assisted  in  toil  and 
danger  against  the  British  foe.  Got  wounded  and  crip- 
pled and  declined  soliciting  for  a  pension  which  by  law  he 
was  entitled  to.  Accepting  an  office  in  this  county  in  the 
conduct  of  which  he  was  know  to  of  been  the  true  friend 
of  widow  and  orphan.  In  1777  he  was  appointed  Reg- 
ister of  Wills  Recorder  of  Deeds  &  etc  and  Clerk  of  the 
Orphans  Court,  and  the  most  efficient  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety.  In  1783  he  was  elected  a  representative  in  the 
Council  of  Censors  to  propose  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  Penna.  In  1783  Dickenson  College  at  Car- 
lisle was  incorporated  of  which  Mr.  Arndt  was  appointed 


Some  Arndt  {Orndt)  Family  Data.  413 

one  of  the  Trustees.  He  was  chosen  one  of  the  electors 
of  the  President  and  Vice-President  of  United  States  and 
cheerfully  gave  his  vote  for  the  illustrious  Washington. 
During  the  war  he  advanced  money  out  of  his  own  private 
funds  toward  the  recruiting  service  thus  practically  illus- 
trating his  devotedness  to  the  cause.  The  exegencies  of 
the  State  were  then  so  great  that  actions  testing  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  citizen  favorable  to  liberty  were  called  for  con- 
tinually, their  lives  and  fortunes  were  to  be  risked  and 
John  Arndt  was  not  found  wanting.  The  following  is 
a  letter  from  John  Reed  President  of  the  Executive  Coun- 
cil of  the  State  of  Penna. 

"'In  Council  Phila.  April  2,  178 1. 
'"Sirs:— 

"'Your  favor  of  the  25ult  has  been  received  and  we 
are  much  concerned  that  the  Treasurer  of  the  County  is 
unable  to  answer  the  draft  and  the  more  that  it  is  not  in 
my  power  to  send  you  the  money,  the  State  Treasurer  has 
not  10  pounds  in  the  State  Treasury.  We  hope  you  will 
have  patience  to  bear  with  some  difficulties  and  we  will 
do  all  in  our  power  to  relieve  you. 

" '  Yours 

" '  Jos.  Reed, 

"'President.' 

"During  the  insurrection  of  1779  by  John  Freas,  Jar- 
rett  Haaney  and  others  his  utmost  exertions  were  used 
to  preserve  law  and  order.  As  a  mineralogist  and  boti- 
nest  he  held  no  mean  rank.  His  correspondance  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Gross  and  other  clergymen  show  he  was  a  pious 
man.  In  1796  a  law  passed  rendering  it  necessary  that 
the  County  records  should  be  at  the  County  Seat  or  Town 


4H  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

which  occasioned  the  removal  from  his  Mill  to  Easton. 
On  the  election  of  Gov.  McKean  he  was  removed  from 
office  after  which  he  devoted  his  life  to  mercantile  pur- 
suits until  his  decease  in  1814. 

"  Jacob  Arndt  the  father  of  John  was  born  in  Germany. 
His  father  named  Bernhard.  During  the  Indian  wars 
he  was  in  active  service  in  1755  as  Capt.  at  Fort  Allen 
near  Mauch  Chunk  and  in  1758  Major  of  the  troop  at 
Fort  Augusta.  His  reports  are  found  in  Penna.  Archives 
and  other  publications  of  transactions.  During  the  war 
in  1760  Mr.  Arndt  purchased  the  Mill  property  about 
three  miles  above  Easton  on  Bushkill  Creek  from  John 
Jones  and  soon  afterwards  removed  to  the  Mill.  Easton 
was  a  very  diminutive  town  when  Mr.  Arndt  first  visited 
it  in  1760.  He  has  engaged  to  meet  Mr.  Jones  in  Easton 
to  receive  the  deeds  of  the  Mill  property  when  for  that 
purpose  he  came  to  Easton  and  hitched  his  horse  to  one 
of  the  forest  trees  in  the  square  and  attended  to  his  busi- 
ness and  it  did  not  appear  to  him  that  Easton  was  much 
of  a  place.  In  1763  when  the  Pontiac  Indian  war  com- 
menced he  was  elected  a  Capt.  by  his  neighbors,  who  asso- 
ciated themselves  together  to  protect  themselves  against 
the  savages  under  the  following  agreement.  We  the  sub- 
scribers as  undersigned  do  hereby  jointly  and  severally 
agree  that  Jacob  Arndt  shall  be  our  Capt.  for  three  months 
from  the  date  of  these  presents  and  be  always  ready  to 
obey  him  when  he  sees  occasion  to  call  us  together  in  pur- 
suing the  Indians  or  helping  any  of  us  that  shall  happen 
to  be  in  distress  by  the  Indians.  Each  person  to  find 
powder  arms  and  lead  at  our  own  cost  and  have  no  pay 
but  each  person  to  find  himself  in  all  necesserys  to  which 
article  covenant  and  agreement  we  bind  ourselves  in  the 
penal  sum  of  5  pounds  lawful  money  Penna,  for  the  use 


Some  Arndt  {Orndt)  Family  Data. 


4i5 


of  the  company  to  be  laid  out  for  arms  and  ammunition 
unless  the  person  so  refusing  to  obey  shall  have  a  lawful 
reason.  Given  under  our  hand  and  seal  the  13  Oct,  1763 
Signed  by  Jacob  Arndt,  Peter  Seip,  Michael  Larvall, 
Amam  Hay,  Paul  Able,  and  thirty  four  others.  Mr. 
Arndt  was  elected  with  George  Taylor,  Peter  Kickline, 
John  Obely  and  Lewis  Gordon  to  the  Convention  to  the 
forming  a  Constitution  of  the  State  in  1774.  In  1776 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  of  Penna.  In 
1796  he  removed  to  Easton  from  his  Mill.  A  copy  of  a 
letter  from  John  Arndt  to  Dr.  Gross  Speaks  of  him  re- 
specting his  health  in  1 803.  '  It  is  tolerable  for  his  age,  but 
time  has  and  continues  to  press  bodily  infirmities  heavily 
upon  him.  His  eye  sight  is  almost  entirely  gone.  His 
feet  begin  to  get  weak  and  cannot  for  a  long  time  bear 
the  weight  of  his  body,  but  his  appetite  is  good  and  for 
to  live  happily  and  content  depends  upon  himself.  He 
died  in  1805.'" 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Fort  Norris. 

<^^H  E  next  defensive  station 
K&  erected  by  the  Government 
was  some  fifteen  miles  east  of  Fort 
Allen,  between  it  and  Fort  Hamil- 
ton at  Stroudsburg. 

It  will  be  recalled  that,  on  Janu- 
ary 26,  1756,  Franklin  reported 
that  he  expected,  the  next  day,  to 
send  Orndt  and  Hays  to  build  this  fort,  and  hoped  it  would 
be  finished  in  a  week  or  ten  days.  It  was  named  after 
Isaac  Norris,  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  he  who  directed 
that  there  should  be  cast  on  the  State  House  bell  of  1752 
the  words  "  Proclaim  liberty  throughout  all  the  land  to  all 
the  inhabitants  thereof."  When  completed  it  was  placed 
under  command  of  Captain  Jacob  Orndt,  who  occupied 
it  with  his  company  of  fifty  men. 

Commissary  of  musters,  James  Young,  on  his  tour  of 
inspection,  reached  the  place  on  June  23,  1756.  His  re- 
port about  it  reads  as  follows : 

"  Fort  Norris — At  1 1  A.  M.  Came  to  Fort  Norris, 
found  here  a  Serjeant  Commanding  21  men,  he  told  me 

(416) 


Fort  N orris.  417 

the  Ensign  with  12  men  was  gone  out  this  morning  to 
Range  the  woods  towards  Fort  Allen,  the  capt'n  was  at 
Philad'a  since  the  16th,  for  the  peoples  pay,  and  the  other 
Serjeant  was  absent  at  Easton  on  Furlough  Since  the  20th. 
This  Fort  Stands  in  a  Valley,  ab't  midway  between  the 
North  Mountain,  and  the  Tuscorory,  6  miles  from  Each  on 
the  high  Road  towards  the  Minisink,  it  is  a  Square  ab't  80 
ft  Each  way  with  4  half  Bastions  all  very  Compleatly 
Staccaded,  and  finished  and  very  Defenceable,  the  Woods 
are  Clear  400  y'ds  Round  it,  on  the  Bastions  are  two 
Sweevle  Guns  mount'd,  within  is  a  good  Barrack,  a  Guard 
Room,  Store  Room,  and  Kitchin,  also  a  Good  Well — Pro- 
vincial Stores,  13  g'd  muskets,  3  burst  Do,  16  very  bad 
Do,  32  Cartooch  boxes,  100  lb.  Powder,  300  lb.  Lead, 
112  Blankets,  39  Axes,  3  Broad  Do,  80  Tamhacks,  6 
Shovels,  2  Grub  Hoes,  5  Spades,  5  Drawing  Knives,  9 
Chisels,  3  Adses,  3  Hand  Saws,  2  Augurs,  2  Splitting 
Knives. 

"At  1  P.  M.  the  Ensign  with  12  men  returned  from 
Ranging,  they  had  seen  nothing  of  any  Indians.  I  mus- 
tered the  whole  34  in  Number  Stout  able  men,  the  En'sn 
has  no  Certificates  of  inlistments,  the  arms  Loaded  and 
clean,  the  Cartooch  Boxes  filled  with  12  Rounds  p'r  man. 
Provisions  at  Fort  Norris,  a  Large  Quantity  of  Beef  Very 
ill  cured  Standing  in  Tubs,  a  Quantity  of  Biscuit  and 
flower,  &  ab't  50  Gallons  Rum. 

"23  June,  Fort  Norris: — At  2  P.  M.  Capt'n  Weather- 
holt  came  here  to  us,  he  had  been  on  his  way  to  Phil'a,  but 
the  Messinger  I  sent  last  night  (from  Fort  Lehigh)  over- 
took him  8  miles  from  his  Station,  he  brought  me  his 
muster  Roll  of  his  whole  Comp'y,  and  Certificates  of  In- 
listments, and  proposed  to  go  with  me  to  Sam'l  Depues, 
where  his  Lieu't  and  26  men  are  Stationed,  to  see  them 


4i8 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society 


SITE  OF   FORT   NORRIS. 


Fort  Norris.  419 

Muster'd.      I  accepted  of  his  Company.     At  3  P.  M.  we 
sett  out  from  Fort  Norris  on  our  way  to  Fort  Hamilton." 

The  reader  will  doubtless  be  struck  with  the  excellent 
condition  in  which  Mr.  Young  found  everything  at  Fort 
Norris.  This  was  not  a  matter  of  mere  chance,  but  was 
owing  to  the  fact  that  Captain  Orndt  was  a  most  excellent 
and  capable  officer.  The  high  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held  by  the  Government  is  evidenced  by  his  transfer  to 
the  important  station  at  Fort  Allen,  after  the  acts  of 
mutiny  and  insubordination  which  occurred  in  Captain 
Reynold's  company,  and  his  subsequent  promotion  to  the 
rank  of  major. 

In  October,  1756,  the  command  of  Fort  Norris  de- 
volved upon  Captain  Reynolds,  who  was  succeeded,  the 
latter  part  of  May,  1757,  by  Lieutenant  Engle,  who  was 
still  there  on  February  28,  1758,  during  the  inspection  of 
Major  James  Burd. 

It  stood  near  the  place  where  occurred  the  Hoeth  mas- 
sacre during  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  It  was  distant 
about  four  hundred  yards  from  the  Big  Creek,  formerly 
Hoeth's  Creek,  or  Poco  Poco  Creek,  some  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  from  the  present  Meitner's  Store,  five-eighths  of 
a  mile  from  the  house  of  Nathan  Serfass,  one  and  one- 
eighth  miles  in  an  air  line  from  Kresgeville,  Monroe 
County,  and  about  three  miles  or  more  from  Gilberts. 

In  addition  to  the  murders  which  took  place  during 
December,  1755,  which  have  already  been  related,  many 
other  sad  events  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Norris, 
which  adjoined  the  headquarters  of  the  Minisink  Indians. 
As  they  covered  the  whole  territory  between  Fort  Norris 
and  the  Delaware,  and  were  closely  identified  with  the 
defenses  around  Stroudsburg,  they  will  be  related  under 
that  head. 


420  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Defenses  Near  Wind  Gap. 

Some  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Norris  is  the  peculiar  cut 
in  the  mountains  called  "  Wind  Gap."  At  the  lower  end 
of  the  town  of  the  same  name,  called  Woodley,  stands  the 
"Woodley  House,"  on  the  site  of  the  old  Heller  inn,  a 
public  house  erected  as  early  as  1752.  About  three  miles 
south  of  this  hotel  we  come  to  Miller's  Station,  on  the 
Bangor  and  Portland  Railroad,  quite  close  to  which  is 
the  junction  of  the  roads  leading,  respectively,  to  Naza- 
reth, Easton,  Stroudsburg,  Ackermanville  and  the  Wind 
Gap.  The  necessity  for  some  protection  and  defense,  at 
the  spot  where  these  important  highways  came  together, 
was  apparent.  Accordingly,  the  home  of  Mr.  Tead  or 
Mr.  Dietz  was  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  Captain 
Nicholas  Weatherholt's  command,  and  it  became  known 
as  "Deedt's  Block  House,"  "  Tead's  Block  House," 
"Teet's  House,"  etc. 

It  stood  about  350  yards  east  of  the  present  railroad 
station,  on  low  ground,  which,  about  75  feet  distant  to  the 
south,  rises  to  an  elevation  of  some  50  feet.  Near  the 
base  of  the  elevation  is  now  a  spring  house,  distant  about 
125  feet  from  the  site  of  the  block  house.  In  olden  times 
this  was  ground  of  a  more  or  less  marshy  character. 

Exactly  when  the  soldiers  first  occupied  it  we  are  not 
told.  On  April  20,  1756,  we  know  that  Ensign  Sterling 
was  stationed  there  with  eleven  men. 

Commissary  James  Young,  during  his  inspection  of 
1756  enters  this  item  in  his  journal: 

"25  June: — At  5  A.  M.  sett  out  from  Depues  for  the 
Wind  Gapp,  where  part  of  Capt.  Weatherholt's  Comp'y 
is  Stationed,  stopt  at  Bossarts  Plantation  to  feed  our 
horses,  was  inform'd  that  this  morning  2  miles  from  the 


Fort  Norris. 


421 


house  in  the  Woods  they  had  found  the  Body  of  Peter 
Hiss,  who  had  been  murdered  and  Scalped  ab't  the  month 


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of  Feb'y-     At  1 1  A.  M.  Came  to  the  Wind  Gap,  where 
I  found  Capt'n  Weatherholt's  Ensign,  who  is  Station'd 


422  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

here  with  7  men  at  a  Farm  house,  4  only  were  present, 
one  was  gone  to  Bethlehem,  with  a  Letter  from  the  Jerseys 
on  Indian  affairs,  one  was  at  a  Farm  house  on  Duty,  and 
one  absent  on  Furlough  from  the  15'th  to  the  22'd,  but 
not  yet  returned,  I  told  the  officer  he  ought  to  Esteem  him 
a  Deserter  as  he  did,  found  here  6  Provincial  Muskets, 
all  good,  and  6  Rounds  of  Powder  and  Lead  for  Each,  I 
told  Cap'n  Weatherholt  to  send  a  supply  as  soon  as 
Possible. 

"At  3  P.  M.  Sett  out  from  the  Wind  Gapp  for  Easton 
...   at  6  came  to  Easton." 

It  is  probable  that  a  garrison  was  not  maintained  regu- 
larly at  this  station  but  merely  furnished  as  occasion  de- 
manded. During  the  latter  part  of  1757  the  people  of 
the  vicinity  erected,  for  mutual  protection,  a  block  house 
of  their  own,  which  was  used  as  a  place  of  refuge,  and 
stood  at  the  top  of  the  elevation,  some  seventy-five  yards 
south  from  Tead's  house.  The  direct  occasion  for  the 
building  of  this  refuge  was  because  of  the  raid  made  by 
the  Indians  on  the  neighborhood  in  1757.  The  greatest 
sufferer,  during  the  attack,  was  Joseph  Keller,  who  came 
to  America  from  Germany  in  1737.  On  September  15, 
1757,  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife,  and  two  sons, 
were  carried  captives  to  Canada,  his  oldest  son,  a  lad  of 
fourteen,  being  killed  and  scalped.  Mrs.  Keller  was 
eventually  released  and  restored  to  her  husband. 

It  was  doubtless  owing  to  these  disturbances  that  a  peti- 
tion was  sent  to  Governor  Denny  by  the  inhabitants  pray- 
ing that  soldiers  might  again  be  stationed  in  their  midst. 
In  answer  to  this  appeal  Lieutenant  Hyndshaw,  of  Cap- 
tain Garraway's  Company,  with  Ensigns  Kennedy  and 
Hughes,  and  thirty  men,  was  ordered  to  "  Tead's  Block- 
house," which  was  once  more  occupied,  for  a  while,  during 
February  and  March,  1758. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

Peter  Doll's  Blockhouse. 

®N  his  tour  of  inspection  to 
Tead's  Blockhouse,  March 
i,  1758,  Major  Burd  makes  men- 
tion of  a  station  at  Peter  Doll's 
Blockhouse,  which  was  close  to  the 
southern  base  of  the  Blue  Range, 
between  Little  Gap  and  Smith's 
Gap. 

Moore  Township,  of  Northampton  County,  in  which 
this  defense  stood,  was  equally  unfortunate  with  other 
parts  of  the  frontier,  even  if  history,  so  far,  has  failed  to 
make  prominent  its  sufferings.  In  January,  1756,  the 
Indians  entered  the  township  and  committed  a  series  of 
murders  and  depredations,  firing  the  houses  and  barns  of 
Christian  Miller,  Henry  Diehl,  Henry  Shopp,  Nicholas 
Heil,  Nicholas  Sholl  and  Peter  Doll,  killing  one  of  Heil's 
children  and  John  Bauman.  The  body  of  the  latter  was 
found  two  weeks  after  the  maraud  and  interred  in  the 
Moravian  burying  ground  at  Nazareth. 

This,  however,  was  but  one  of  the  many  like  occurrences 
which  kept  the  settlers  in  a  constant  state  of  alarm  for 

(423) 


424  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

more  than  a  year  and  a  half,  during  which  time  they  en- 
deavored to  defend  themselves  as  best  they  could,  or  fled 
from  their  homes. 

The  discouraging  outbreak,  which  took  place  during 
the  summer  and  early  fall  of  1757,  gave  rise  to  the  fol- 
lowing petition : 

"  To  the  Honourable  the  Governor  and  General  Assem- 
bly, etc: 

"  The  Petition  of  the  back  Inhabitants,  viz't,  of  the 
Township  of  Lehigh  situate  between  Allentown  and  the 
Blue  Mountains,  in  the  County  of  Northampton,  most 
humbly  Sheweth ; 

"  That  the  said  Township  for  a  few  years  past  has  been, 
to  your  knowledge,  ruined  and  destroyed  by  the  murder- 
ing Indians. 

"That  since  the  late  Peace  (temporary  cessation  of 
massacres  in  the  early  part  of  1757)  the  said  inhabitants 
returned  to  their  several  and  respective  Places  of  abode, 
and  some  of  them  have  rebuilt  their  Houses  and  Out- 
houses, which  were  burnt. 

"  That  since  the  new  murders  were  committed  some  of 
the  said  inhabitants  deserted  their  Plantations,  and  fled  in 
the  more  improved  Parts  of  this  Province,  where  they 
remain. 

"  That  unless  your  Petitioners  get  Assistance  from  you, 
Your  Petitioners  will  be  reduced  to  Poverty. 

"That  the  District  in  which  your  petitioners  dwell  con- 
tains 20  miles  in  Length  and  eight  miles  in  Breadth,  which 
is  too  extensive  for  your  Petitioners  to  defend  without 
you  assist  with  some  Forces. 

"  That  your  Petitioners  apprehend  it  to  be  necessary  for 
their  defence  that  a  Road  be  cut  along  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains, through  the  Township  afores'd,   and  that  several 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 


425 


Guard  Houses  be  built  along  this  said  Road,  which  may  be 
accomplished  with  very  little  cost. 

"That  there  are  many  inhabitants  in  the  said  Township 
who  have  neither  Arms  nor  Ammunition,  and  who  are  too 
poor  to  provide  themselves  therewith. 

"That  several  Indians  keep  lurking  about  the  Blue 
Mountains  who  pretend  to  be  Friends,  and  as  several 
People  have  lately  been  captivated  thereabouts,  we  pre- 
sume it  must  be  by  them. 

"  May  it  therefore  Please  your  Honours  to  take  our 
deplorable  condition  in  consideration,  and  grant  us  Men 
and  Ammunition  that  we  may  thereby  be  enabled  to  de- 
fend ourselves,  our  Properties,  and  the  Lives  of  our  Wives 
and  Children,  Or  grant  such  other  Relief  in  the  Premises 
as  to  you  shall  seem  meet,  and  your  Petitioners,  as  in  Duty 
bound,  will  ever  pray." 


Forks   of   Delaware,    Oct'r    5TH,  1757. 


Peter  Barber, 
Jacob   Buchman, 
Jacob  Aliman,   Sen'r, 
Jacob   Aliman,   Jr., 
Adam  Freisbach, 
Jacob  Bricker, 
Michael  Keppel, 
Peter  Doll, 
John  Kannady, 
William  Boyd, 
Jacob  Musselman, 
Jacob  Letherach, 
Henry  Frederick, 
Schobety, 
William  Best, 
Jacoob  Haag, 
Geo.  Haag, 
William   Detter, 
Nich's  Schneider, 
Geo.  Acker, 


Christian  Miller, 
Christian  Laffer, 
Henry  Beck, 
Nich's  Schneider, 
Peter  Schopffell, 
William  Beck, 
Henry  Diehl, 
John  Bethold, 
John  Remberry, 
John  Dorn, 
Fred    Eissen, 
James  Hutchinson, 
James  Rankin, 
Paul  Flick, 
Peter  Walcker, 
Nich's  Fall, 
Adam  Kramler, 
Henry  Lutter, 
Nicholas  Roth, 
Nich's  Heil, 


426  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Jacob  Fry,  Simon  Trumm, 

Martin  Sigel,  Henry  Lieud, 

Christian  Andreas,  John  Detter, 

Bath'w  Rivel,  Adam  Marsh, 

George   Altmar,  Peter  Eissenman, 

Jacob  Altmar,  Peter  Anton, 

Bernard   Kuntz,  George  Meyer, 

Bernard  Reiss,  John   Scheier, 

Samuel  Pern,  John  Gress, 

Jean  Pier,  Christopher   Feuchtner, 

George  Wannemacher,  Conrad  Geisley, 

Valentine   Waldman,  Jacob  Kropff, 

John   Fried,  Jacob  Roth, 

Jost  Triesbach,  Jacob  Death,  or  Rodt, 

Fred  Altimus,  Henry  Flach, 

Philip  Tromin,  Henry  Creutz, 

John   Schlegel,  Michael  Rieb, 

Henry  Schubp,  Simon  Triesbach, 

Fred.  Nagel,  William  Kannady, 

"These  are  to  certify  that  we  have  impowered  Fred- 
erick Eissen  to  give  in  this,  our  Petition  to  the  Honour'bl 
the  Governor  and  the  Assembly. 

"  The  foregoing  and  within  writing  was  translated 
from  the  German  Paper  writing  herto  annexed,  by  me, 

"Peter  Miller." 

This  very  proper  and  deserving  petition  seems  to  have 
met  with  prompt  recognition  and  action.  To  a  certain 
extent,  at  least,  better  communications  were  opened  up 
along  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  several  stations  were 
selected  to  be  garrisoned  by  provincial  troops  and  used  for 
defensive  purposes.  In  this  instance  they  were  generally 
private  residences,  or  buildings  already  in  existence. 
Amongst  them  was  the  dwelling  of  Peter  Doll,  whose 
name  appears  on  the  petition  just  given,  and  who  was 
amongst  the  sufferers  in  the  raid  of  January,  1756.  He 
was  most  likely  the  Johannes  Peter  Doll,  who  arrived  at 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  427 

Philadelphia  in  the  ship  "  Samuel,"  and  was  qualified  on 
August  30,  1737.  On  the  original  list  his  name  is  given 
as  we  have  it,  simply  Peter  Doll.  His  age  was  then 
twenty-four. 

We  are  unable  to  name  the  exact  date  on  which  the 
troops  occupied  this  station,  but  Adjutant  Kern,  in  his 
report  of  February  5,  1758,  gives  Lieutenant  Snyder,  of 
Captain  Davis'  Company,  as  on  duty  at  P.  Doll's  Block- 
house, with  twenty-five  men.  Under  date  of  Tuesday, 
February  28,  1758,  Major  Burd  says: 

"Arrived  at  Lieut.  Ingle's  at  4  P.  M.  (Fort  Norris)  ; 
ordered  a  Review  Immediately  .  .  .  ,  arrived  at  Lieut. 
Snyders'  Station  at  7  P.  M.  (Peter  Doll's  Blockhouse), 
8  miles,  ordered  a  review  tomorrow  morning,  here  I  stay 
all  night. 

"March  1st,  Wednesday. 

"  Reviewed  this  morning  &  found  here  Lieut.  Snyder 
&  23  men,  undissiplined,  15  lb  powder,  30  lb  lead,  no 
blankets,  8  Province  Arms  bad. 

"  Lieut.  Humphreys  relieved  Lieut.  Snyder  this  morn- 
ing, ordered  Lieut.  Snyder  to  his  post  over  Susquehanna. 

"  I  am  informed  by  the  officers  here,  Lieut's  Ingle  & 

Snyder,  that  Wilson,   Esq'r,   a   Majestrate   in  this 

County,  has  acquainted  the  Farmers  that  they  should  not 
assist  the  Troops  unless  the  officers  Immediately  pay  & 
that  said  Wilson  has  likewise  informed  ye  soldiers  they 
should  not  take  their  Regimentalls,  as  it  only  puts  money 
in  their  officers  pockets.  I  have  found  a  Serg't  confined 
here  on  acc't  of  mutiny,  and  have  ordered  a  Regimentall 
Court  Martiall  this  morning;  at  this  Station  there  is  two 
barricks,  no  stockade. 

"  Marched  from  hence  to  Lieut.  Hyndshaw's  Station 


428 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  429 

at  10  A.  M.,  arrived  at  Nazareth  at  1  P.  M.,  here  dined, 
8  miles.  Sett  off  again  at  2  P.  M.  arrived  at  Tead's  at 
3  P.  M.,  6  miles." 

Peter  Doll's  Blockhouse  stood  on  the  road  running 
along  the  base  of  the  mountain,  or  near  it,  and  along  the 
Hockendauqua  Creek.  It  was  some  three-eighths  of  a 
mile  west  from  the  mill  now  occupied  by  James  Scholl, 
Sr.,  which  stands  at  the  intersection  of  the  road  to  Kleck- 
nersville,  distant  from  this  place  one  and  one-fourth  miles. 
The  whole  locality  was  the  scene  of  numerous  murders 
and  depredations.  In  the  earlier  times  it  was  the  site  of 
many  Indian  villages,  relics  of  which  have  been  frequently 
discovered. 

Fort  Hamilton. 

We  now  come  to  the  Delaware  River,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  town  of  Stroudsburg,  not  then,  however, 
in  existence.  It  was  this  territory  which  the  Minisink, 
or  Monsey,  tribe  of  the  Delaware  nation  occupied,  whence 
its  name,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Dutch  who  first  settled 
there,  and  in  common  use  at  the  time  of  the  Indian  hos- 
tilities. 

When  Franklin  and  Hamilton  went  to  the  front  to 
organize  a  systematic  plan  of  defense,  the  latter  took 
direct  charge  of  the  construction  of  those  forts  which 
were  to  be  located  on  or  near  the  Delaware  River,  then 
not  only  a  populous  district  but  most  important  from  a 
military  standpoint. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  at  Easton,  on  December 
23,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  Governor  Morris,  reporting 
the  lamentable  condition  of  affairs,  as  he  had  learned  of 
them: 


43°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  Easton,  Monday  Evening,  Dec'r  25,   1755. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"The  Commissioners  came  to  this  Town  on  Saturday 
Evening,  where  we  found  the  Country  under  the  greatest 
Consternation,  everything  that  has  been  said  of  the  dis- 
tress of  the  Inhabitants  more  than  verified  upon  our  own 
view.  The  Country  along  the  River  is  absolutely  de- 
serted from  this  place  to  Broadhead's,  nor  can  there  be 
the  least  communication  between  us  and  them  but  by 
large  Parties  of  armed  Men,  everybody  being  afraid  to 
venture  without  that  security,  so  that  we  have  had  no 
accounts  from  thence  for  several  days.  Broadhead's  was 
stoutly  defended  by  his  sons  and  others,  till  the  Indians 
thought  fit  to  retire  without  being  able  to  take  it,  or  set 
it  on  fire,  tho'  they  frequently  attempted  it,  it  is  thought 
several  of  them  were  killed  in  the  attacks,  but  that  is  not 
known  with  certainty. 

"We  have  now  here  upward  of  100  men,  being  the 
Companies  of  Capt'n  Aston,  Captain  Trump,  and  Capt'n 
McGlaughlin,  and  are  impatiently  expecting  more  from 
below,  for  the  people  here  are  not  very  numerous,  &  are 
besides  very  backward  in  entering  into  the  Service,  tho' 
the  Encouragement  is  great,  and  one  would  think  they 
would  gladly  embrace  the  opportunity  of  revenging  them- 
selves on  the  authors  of  their  ruin;  but  the  terror  that  has 
seized  them,  is  so  great,  or  their  Spirits  so  small,  that 
unless  men  come  from  other  parts  of  the  Province,  I 
despair  of  getting  such  a  number  here  as  will  be  sufficient 
to  Garrison  the  Block  Houses  we  propose  to  build  over 
the  Hills,  whither  we  intended  to  have  gone  tomorrow, 
but  that  our  Provision  Waggons  are  not  come  up,  and 
that  we  have  not  men  enough  for  the  above  mentioned 
purposes. 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  43 1 

"I  understand  that  Aaron  Dupui  is  still  at  home  & 
that  it  is  very  unlikely  that  he  will  be  able  to  leave  his 
House  in  this  time  of  Distress,  to  carry  your  message  to 
Wyoming,  so  that  I  believe  the  Expectations  of  the  Treaty 
will  fall  to  the  Ground,  nor  does  any  body  either  here 
or  there  believe  we  have  a  single  Indian  that  may  be 
called  a  Friend,  nor  do  I  see  a  possibility  of  getting  that 
message  conveyed  to  them  from  hence,  even  supposing 
they  were  friends;  everybody  is  so  afraid  of  stirring  a 
step  without  a  strong  guard. 

"  I  heartily  wish  you  were  at  Liberty  to  declare  Warr 
against  them,  and  offer  large  rewards  for  Scalps,  which 
appears  the  only  way  to  clear  our  Frontiers  of  those  Sav- 
ages, &  will,  I  am  persuaded  be  infinitely  cheapest  in  the 
end;  For  I  clearly  foresee  the  expense  of  defending  our- 
selves, in  the  way  we  are  in  will  ruin  the  province,  and  be 
far  from  effectual  at  last,  principally  for  want  of  a  Good 
Militia  Law  by  which  the  men  might  be  subjected  to  dis- 
cipline, for  at  present  they  enter  themselves  and  then  leave 
their  Captains  at  their  own  humour,  without  a  person  in 
the  officers  to  punish  them  for  that  or  any  other  mis- 
behaviour. 

"  I  have  commissioned  several  Captains  here,  who  en- 
gage to  raise  men,  but  principally  two,  who  have  under- 
taken to  range  the  country  between  the  two  Branches  of 
this  River,  for  the  Security  of  the  two  Irish  Settlements 
in  the  hope  that  those  who  had  defected  by  the  whole  of 
those  on  the  main  Branch,  may  be  induced  to  return  to 
their  Plantations,  which  after  all  I  very  much  question, 
so  very  great  are  their  apprehensions  of  the  Indians. 

"  I  cannot  say  for  certain  when  we  shall  leave  this 
place,  that  depending  on  the  coming  up  of  the  Provisions 
and  our  getting  a  sufficient  number  of  men;  many  of  those 


432  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

already  here  not  being  able  to  march  for  want  of  shoes, 
which  has  obliged  us  to  send  down  for  a  Supply  to  Phila- 
delphia. 

"  I  have  but  a  moments  time  to  write,  the  Express  being 
ready  to  depart.  I  shall  from  time  to  time  keep  you 
informed  of  anything  that  may  be  worth  your  notice,  but 
at  present  nothing  offers. 

"  I  am,  with  great  Respect,  Sir,  Your  most  obed't 
Servant 

"James  Hamilton." 

Immediately  after  this  letter  to  the  Governor  on  Christ- 
mas, Captains  Trump  and  Ashton  were  dispatched  to  the 
place  where  Stroudsburg  now  stands,  and  ordered  to  erect 
the  first  of  the  line  of  defenses  there  contemplated.  The 
work,  however,  progressed  slowly,  partly  because  of  a  lack 
of  tools,  which  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  failed  to 
supply  as  had  been  expected,  and  partly  because  of  the 
season  of  the  year.  It  was  finished,  however,  about  Jan- 
uary 20,  1756,  and  named  after  James  Hamilton,  who 
succeeded  Governor  Denny  as  Governor  of  the  Province, 
his  commission  being  dated  July  19,  1759,  though  not 
presented  by  him  to  the  Council  until  November  17  of  the 
same  year. 

Upon  the  completion  of  Fort  Hamilton  Captain  Trump 
was  ordered  to  commence  the  erection  of  Fort  Norris, 
and  appears  to  have  been  relieved  by  Captain  Craig,  who 
is  reported  on  duty  April  20,  1756,  with  41  men. 

Commissary  James  Young  makes  the  following  report 
concerning  Fort  Hamilton: 

"24  June  1756 — Fort  Hamilton.  At  4  A.  M.  sett 
out  from  Bosarts,  at  6  came  to  Fort  Hamilton  at  ab't  7 
miles  from  Bosarts,  a  Good  Waggon  road,  and  the  Land 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 


433 


434  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

better  than  any  I  had  seen  on  the  N'o  side  of  the  moun- 
tain. Fort  Hamilton  stands  in  a  Corn  Field  by  a  Farm 
house  in  a  plain  and  clear  country,  it  is  a  Square  with  4 
half  Bastions  all  very  111  contriv'd  and  finish'd,  the  Stac- 
cades  open  6  inches  in  many  Places,  and  not  firm  in  the 
ground,  and  may  be  easily  pull'd  down,  before  the  gate 
are  some  Staccades  drove  in  the  Ground  to  cover  it  which 
I  think  might  be  a  great  Shelter  to  an  Enemy,  I  therefore 
order'd  to  pull  them  down,  I  also  order'd  to  fill  up  the 
other  Staccades  where  open.   .   .   . 

"  I  found  here  a  Lieu't  and  Eight  men,  7  were  gone  to 
Easton  with  a  Prisoner  Deserter  from  Gen.  Shirley's 
Reg't." 

The  corn  field  in  which  Fort  Hamilton  then  stood  is 
now  in  the  western  section  of  the  town  of  Stroudsburg, 
just  north  of  the  old  Stroud  mansion  standing  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Main  and  William  Streets. 

How  long  Captain  Craig  remained  in  command  we  are 
not  told.  From  him  it  passed  under  the  charge  of  Cap- 
tain Nicholas  Weatherholt,  and  in  April,  1757,  we  learn 
that  Captain  John  Van  Etten  was  given  command  of  it  in 
addition  to  Fort  Hyndshaw.  Captain  Van  Etten  then 
passes  from  the  scene  and  Lieutenant  James  Hyndshaw, 
of  Captain  Weatherholt's  Company,  is  in  command  of 
both  forts  on  October  11,  1757,  with  seventy-two  men 
under  him. 

Gradually  the  fort  seems  to  have  become  abandoned. 
During  his  tour,  in  1758,  Major  James  Burd  turned  aside 
in  March  to  look  at  it  and  "  found  it  a  very  poor  stockade, 
with  one  large  house  in  the  middle  of  it  &  some  familys 
living  in  it." 

During  the  entire  winter  of  1756  rumors  and  intima- 
tions were  received  that  the  Indians  were  preparing  for 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  435 

another  attack  on  the  settlers  between  Fort  Norris  and 
the  Delaware  River.  After  the  threatening  alarms  came 
the  dread  reality  in  April,  1757.  Various  depositions  of 
eye  witnesses,  to  what  occurred,  have  been  preserved,  and 
will  now  be  given. 

"  Deposition  of  Michael  Roup. 

"  The  24th  day  of  April,  one  thousand,  seven  Hundred 
and  Fifty  Seven,  appeared  before  me,  William  Parsons, 
Esquire,  one  of  His  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  for 
the  County  of  Northampton,  Michael  Roup,  of  Lower 
Smithfield,  in  the  said  County,  aged  52  Years,  a  Person 
to  me  well  known  and  worthy  of  credit,  and  being  duly 
sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty  God,  did 
depose  and  declare,  That  His  Neighbour  Philip  Bozart, 
being  at  Fort  Norris  last  Saturday  week,  heard  a  letter 
read  there,  which  was  dispatched  by  Major  Parsons  to 
acquaint  the  Garrison  that  he  receiv'd  Information  that 
some  Enemy  Indians  intended  shortly  to  come  and  attack 
the  inhabitants  at  and  about  Minisink  and  to  desire  them 
to  be  upon  their  Guard;  which  was  soon  made  known  to 
all  the  Neighboring  Inhabitants.  And  this  Deponent 
further  saith,  That  on  Friday  Morning  last  John  Lefever, 
passing  by  the  Houses  of  Philip  Bozart  and  this  Depo- 
nent, informed  them  that  the  Indians  had  murder'd  Casper 
Gundryman  last  Wednesday  Evening;  Whereupon  This 
Deponent  went  immediately  to  the  House  of  Philip  Bozart 
to  consult  what  was  best  to  be  done,  their  House  being 
about  half  a  Mile  apart.  That  they  concluded  it  best  for 
the  Neighbors  to  collect  themselves  together,  as  many  as 
they  could  in  some  one  House.  And  this  Deponent  further 
saith,  that  he  immediately  returned  home  and  loaded  his 


436  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

waggon  as  fast  as  he  cou'd  with  his  most  valuable  Effects 
which  he  carried  to  Bozart's  house.  That  as  soon  as  he 
had  unloaded  his  waggon  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  wou'd  admit,  and  took  them 
also  to  Bozart's,  where  9  families  were  retired;  That  a 
great  Number  of  the  Inhabitants  were  also  retired  to  the 
Houses  of  Conrad  Bittenbender  &  John  McDowel;  That 
Bozart's  House  is  7  miles  from  Fort  Hamilton  and  12 
from  Fort  Norris.  And  this  Deponent  further  saith,  that 
yesterday  Morning  about  9  o'clock  the  said  Peter  Soan 
and  Christian  Klein  with  his  Daughter  about  13  Years 
of  age  went  from  Bozart's  House  to  the  House  of  the 
said  Klein  and  thence  to  Soan's  House  to  look  after  their 
Cattle  and  bring  off  more  effects.  And  this  Deponent 
further  saith,  That  about  a  half  an  hour  after  the  above 
3  Persons  were  gone  from  Bozart's  House,  a  certain 
George  Hartlieb,  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  his  Creatures  and  to  bring  away  what 
he  could,  return'd  to  Bozart's  and  reported  that  he  had 
heard  3  guns  fired  very  quick  one  after  the  other  towards 
Soan's  Place  w'ch  made  them  all  conclude  the  above  3 
Persons  were  killed  by  the  Indians.  And  this  Deponent 
further  saith,  That  their  little  company  were  afraid  to 
venture  to  go  and  see  what  had  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.  And  this  Deponent  further  saith,  That  this 
morning  9  men  of  the  neighborhood  armed  themselves, 
as  well  as  they  cou'd,  and  went  towards  Peter  Soan's  Place, 
in  order  to  discover  what  was  become  of  the  above  3  Per- 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  437 

sons.  That  when  they  came  within  about  300  yards  of 
the  House,  they  found  the  Bodies  of  the  said  Soan  and 
Klein  lying  about  20  Feet  from  each  other,  killed  and 
scalpt,  but  did  not  find  Klein's  Daughter.  Soan  was 
killed  by  a  Bullet  which  enter'd  the  upper  Part  of  his  Back 
and  came  out  at  his  Breast.  Klein  was  killed  with  their 
tomahawks.  The  9  men  immediately  returned  to  Bozart's 
and  reported  as  above.  That  this  Deponent  was  not  one 
of  the  9,  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  9  men  did  not  think  it 
safe  to  stay  to  bury  the  Dead.  And  further  this  Depo- 
nent saith  not. 

"The  mark  of 
11  Michael    X     Roup." 

In  the  above  deposition  mention  was  made  of  the  murder 
of  Casper  Gundryman,  who  was  doubtless  the  Andreas 
Gnudryman  of  whose  death  John  Williamson  gives  this 
account. 

Deposition  of  John  Williamson. 

"On  the  Twenty-Second  Day  of  April  A'o  D'i  1757, 
Personally  appeared  before  me,  William  Parsons,  Esquire, 
one  of  his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County 
of  Northampton,  John  Williamson  of  Lower  Smithfield 
Township,  in  the  said  County,  Yeoman,  aged  48  Years, 
and  being  duly  Sworn  on  the  holy  Evangelists  of  Almighty 
God,  did  Depose  and  Declare,  That  on  Wednesday  last, 
the  20th  Instant,  about  Sun  Sett,  a  certain  Andreas  Gun- 
dryman, a  Youth  about  17  Years  of  Age,  went  with  two 
Horses  and  a  Sleigh  to  fetch  some  Fire  Wood,  that  lay 


438  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

about  80  perches  from  Fort  Hamilton,  to  his  Father's 
House,  ab't  10  perches  from  the  Fort.  That  while  the 
Young  man  was  out  as  aforesaid,  He  this  Deponent  and 
several  other  Persons,  who  all  live  about  10  perches  from 
the  Fort,  heard  two  Guns  fired;  Whereupon,  Henry  Gun- 
dryman  (Father  of  the  above  named  Andreas)  and  Con- 
rad Friedenberg,  one  of  the  Garrison  at  Fort  Hamilton, 
ran  immediately  upon  hearing  the  Fireing  towards  the 
Place  where  Andreas  was  gone  for  the  Fire  Wood;  some 
of  the  Soldiers  and  other  Persons  hearing  him  cry  out,  and 
seeing  him  run  down  the  Hill  towards  the  Fort.  And 
this  Dep't  further  saith,  that  about  300  yards  from  this 
Fort,  they  found  the  said  Andreas  Gundryman  lying  dead, 
and  scalp'd  quite  to  the  Eyes.  And  this  Deponent  further 
saith,  that  he  saw  two  Indians  run  up  the  Hill,  from  the 
place  where  Andreas  lay  dead.  That  the  Indians  did  not 
hitt  him  with  their  Shott  but  as  soon  as  they  fired  Andreas 
ran,  and  they  pursued  him  with  their  Tomhocks  and  mur- 
dered him  very  barbarously,  and  as  they  went  off  sett  up 
the  Indian  War  Hallow.  And  this  Deponent  further 
saith,  that  early  on  the  next  morning  the  Father  of  the 
Deceased,  with  James  Garlanhouse  and  one  of  the  Sol- 
diers, went  and  fetch'd  the  Corps,  and  the  Garrison  and 
Neighbors  burried  it  about  30  perches  from  the  fort. 
And  this  Deponent  further  saith,  that  a  certain  Isaac 
Randolph,  a  Soldier,  being  sent  the  same  Ev'ning  the 
murder  was  committed  to  acquaint  Capt.  Van  Etten,  at 
Fort  Hyndshaw,  of  what  had  happen'd,  return'd  to  Fort 
Hamilton  and  reported  that  in  his  way  he  had  seen  6 
Indians  by  a  Fire,  &  ab'  half  way  to  Samuel  Dupui's, 
which  made  him  afraid  to  proceed  further,  and  therefore 
he  returned  and  reported  as  above.     And  this  Deponent 


#■ 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  439 

further  saith,  that  he  this  Deponant  that  same  Night  went 
up  to  Fort  Hyndshaw  and  acquainted  Capt.  Van  Etten 
of  what  had  happened,  but  saw  no  Indians  in  his  Journey. 
And  this  Dep't  further  saith  that  the  said  Robert  Ellis 
came  to  Fort  Hamilton  on  Thursday  morning,  and  re- 
ported that  he  had  seen  3  Indians  that  same  morning  by 
a  Fire  on  his  Plantation,  and  when  the  Indians  discovered 
him  they  left  the  Fire  and  went  up  a  Hill.  And  this 
Deponent  further  saith  that  Capt'.  Van  Etten  came  on 
Thursday  morning  with  as  many  Soldiers  as  could  be 
spared  from  Fort  Hyndshaw  to  Fort  Hamilton  and  as- 
sisted at  the  Burial.     And  this  Deponent  further  saith 

not. 

"John  Williamson." 

Captain  Van  Etten,  with  his  weakened  and  divided 
forces,  had  no  light  task  before  him.  The  neighbors, 
living  about  the  fort,  were  gathered  in  and  made  to  do 
duty  with  the  soldiers.  Notwithstanding  all  vigilance, 
however,  the  depredations,  committed  by  the  party  of 
Indians  then  on  their  marauding  expedition,  did  not  cease 
with  the  events  just  related,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  follow- 
ing deposition  made  by  George  Ebert,  on  June  27,  1757, 
which  is  especially  interesting  because  in  it  we  see  the  fate 
of  some  of  those  mentioned  in  the  previous  deposition  of 
Michael  Roup. 

"  Personally  appeared  before  me,  William  Parsons,  one 
of  His  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  of 
Northampton,  George  Ebert  (Son  of  John  Ebert,  late 
of  Plainfield  Township,  in  the  said  County,  Yeoman,  but 
now  of  Easton  in  the  same  County,)  aged  Sixteen  Years, 
and  being  duly  sworn  on  the  holy  Evangelist  of  Almighty 
God,  deposeth  and  declareth  That  on  or  about  the  Second 


44°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Day  of  May  last,  He,  this  Deponent,  with  about  Eighteen 
armed  men,  went  with  Two  Waggons  from  Plainfield 
Township,  to  assist  the  Inhabitants  of  Lower  Smithfield, 
who  had  a  few  days  before  been  attacked  by  the  Enemy 
Indians  (and  some  of  the  Neighborhood  murdered  by  the 
Savages)  to  bring  off  some  of  their  best  Effects.  That 
about  Noon  of  the  same  Day,  they  came  to  the  House  of 
Conrad  Bittenbender,  to  which  house  divers  of  the  Neigh- 
bours had  fled;  here  one  of  the  Waggons  with  about  Ten 
Men,  with  this  Deponant,  halted  to  load  their  Waggon 
with  the  poor  People's  Effects;  and  the  rest  of  the  Com- 
pany with  the  other  Waggon  went  forward  about  a  Mile 
to  the  House  of  Philip  Bozart,  to  which  place  others  of 
the  Neighbours  had  also  fled,  with  such  of  their  Effects 
as  they  cou'd  in  their  Confusion  carry  there.  That  this 
Deponant  and  Conrad  Bittenbender,  Peter  Sheaffer,  John 
Nolf,  Jacob  Roth,  Michael  Kierster,  a  certain  Klein  and 
one  man  (whose  name  this  Deponant  hath  forgot)  wrent 
about  Two  Miles  into  the  Woods  to  seek  the  Neighbours 
Horses,  whereof  they  found  Six,  and  were  returning  with 
them  to  within  half  a  mile  of  Bittenbender's  House  where 
they  were  attacked  by  Fifteen  French  Indians  who  fired 
upon  them  &  killed  Bittenbender,  Jacob  Roth,  and  John 
Nolf,  as  he  believes,  for  that  he  saw  Three  fall,  one  dead, 
And  took  Peter  Sheaffer,  who  received  two  flesh  Shots, 
One  in  his  Arm  and  the  other  on  the  Shoulder,  and  this 
Deponant,  Prisoners;  This  Deponant  received  no  Shot. 
And  this  Deponant  further  sayeth,  That  the  Indians  fre- 
quently talked  French  together;  That  they  set  off  imme- 
diately with  their  Prisoners;  That  on  the  Evening  of  the 
next  Day  they  fell  in  with  another  Company  of  about 
Twenty-four  Indians  who  had  Abram  Miller,  with  his 
Mother,    and   Adam    Snell's    Daughter,    Prisoners;   The 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  441 

Indians  with  their  Prisoners  marched  in  Parties  as  far  as 
Diahogo;  That  at  this  Place  the  Indians  separated,  and 
about  Eight,  the  foremost,  took  this  Deponant  and  Abra- 
ham Miller  with  them,  and  they  never  saw  any  of  the  other 
Prisoners  afterwards;  That  in  their  way  on  this  side  of 
Diahogo  they  saw  Klein's  Daughter,  who  had  been  taken 
Prisoner  about  a  week  before  this  Deponant  was  taken; 
That  a  Day's  Journey  beyond  Diahogo  they  came  to  some 
French  Indian  Cabbins  where  they  saw  another  Prisoner, 
a  girl  about  Eight  or  Nine  Years  old,  who  told  this  Depo- 
nant that  her  Name  was  Catharine  Yager,that  her  Father 
was  a  Lock  Smith  and  lived  at  Allemangle,  and  that  she 
had  been  a  Prisoner  ever  since  Christmas;  That  at  this 
Place  the  Indians  loosed  the  Prisoners,  this  Deponant  and 
Abraham  Miller,  who  they  had  bound  every  Night  before; 
That  finding  themselves  at  Liberty,  they,  this  Deponant 
&  Abraham  Miller,  made  their  Escape  in  the  night,  and 
the  next  Day  afternoon  they  came  to  French  Margaret's 
at  Diahogo,  having  been  Prisoners  Nine  Days;  That  they 
stayed  about  four  weeks  with  her,  during  all  which  Time 
she    concealed   them    and   supported   them;   That   some 
French  Indians  came  in  Search  of  the  Prisoners,  where- 
upon Margaret  told  them  it  was  not  safe  for  them  to  stay 
longer,  and  advised  them  to  make  the  best  of  their  way 
homewards;  That  all  the   Indians   at  and  on  this   side 
Diahogo  were  very  kind  to  them,  and  help'd  and  directed 
them  on  their  way;  John  Cook  was  particularly  help  full 
to  them;  That  while  they  were  at  Diahogo  they  were  in- 
formed that  the   Indians  had  killed  Abraham   Miller's 
Mother,  who  was  not  able  to  travel  further,  And  J.  Snell's 
Daughter,  who  had  received  a  wound  in  her  Leg  by  a  Fall 
when  they  first  took  her  Prisoner,  but  they  heard  nothing 


442  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  Peter  Sheaffer;  That  in  Three  Days  they  arrived  at 
Wyoming,  by  water,  as  Margaret  had  advised  them;  That 
at  Wyoming  the  Indians  directed  them  the  way  to  Fort 
Allen,  but  they  missed  their  way  and  came  the  road  to 
Fort  Hamilton,  where  they  arrived  last  Sunday  week. 
And  this  Deponant  further  sayeth,  that  the  friendly  In- 
dion  told  them  that  the  Enemy  had  killed  Marshall's  wife 
at  the  first  Mountain,  And  further  this  Deponant  sayeth 
not. 

"  the  mark  of 
11  George     X     Ebert." 

"  N.  B. — This  Deponant  saith  that  they  understood  by 
the  French  Indians  That  the'd  Three  Days  further  to  go 
from  the  Place  from  whence  They  escaped." 

In  addition  to  the  murders  already  related  it  is  said 
that  two  soldiers  of  the  garrison  were  killed  by  a  party 
of  Indians  in  ambuscade,  as  they  were  walking  among  the 
scrub  oaks  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  where  the  academy 
stood  in  1845. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  these  raids  were  made  by  the 
so-called  "  French  Indians,"  from  the  extreme  western 
portion  of  the  Province,  and  that  the  resident  Delawares 
were  inclined  to  be  decidedly  friendly,  as  a  result  of  the 
peace  conferences  recently  held  with  them. 

From  whatever  source  the  marauding  parties  came,  the 
danger  and  distress  of  the  people  were  none  the  less  great. 
The  immediate  result  of  the  murders  was  a  petition  to 
Governor  Denny,  appealing  for  better  protection,  signed 
by  twenty-one  persons  (names  not  given)  who  called  them- 
selves "  the  few  remaining  Inhabitants  of  the  Township  of 
Lower  Smithfield,  in  the  County  of  Northampton." 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  443 

After  this  the  inroads  of  the  savages  became  less  fre- 
quent, so  much  so  that  by  the  spring  of  1758  it  was  decided 
to  abandon  Fort  Hamilton,  and  Lieutenant  Hyndshaw, 
then  in  command,  was  ordered  to  Tead's  Block  House,  for 
reasons  already  given.  Hearing  of  this  contemplated 
action  the  settlers  sent  the  following  petition  to  Governor 
Denny: 

"  The  Petition  of  the  Distressed  Inhabitants  of  Lower 
Smithfield  Township,  in  the  County  of  Northampton,  most 
Humbly  Sheweth; 

"  That  your  Honours  petitioners  are  under  some  appre- 
hensions that  the  company  of  Soldiers,  Commanded  by 
James  Hyndshaw,  are  to  be  removed  from  their  present 
Station,  and  of  our  being  left  in  a  Defenceless  posture; 
That  your  Petitioners  have  had  Intelligence  of  a  Body  of 
upwards  of  Three  Hundred  French  and  Indians  that  are 
coming  Down  to  Distress  the  Frontiers  of  this  province, 
and  as  this  part  at  present  seems  the  most  Defenceless,  it 
is  very  probable  that  we  shall  be  the  first  attacked;  That 
your  petitioners  have  at  present  but  12  men  allowed  by 
the  province,  which  we  Humbly  apprehend  Can  afford  us 
but  little  assistance ;  and  further,  we  Humbly  conceive  that 
in  case  we  were  attacked  by  so  large  a  party  we  must  inevi- 
tably fall  an  easy  prey  to  our  Cruel  Savage  Enemy,  unless 
your  Honour  is  pleased  to  afford  us  a  Reinforcement, 
which  we  flatter  ourselves  we  are  assured  of,  your  Honour 
Having  Hitherto  since  your  Succession  to  this  province, 
exercised  a  very  Fatherly  Care  over  us,  for  which  we 
return  our  most  Hearty  thanks;  and  further,  we  being 
well  assured  that  next  to  Divine  Providence  your  Honour 
is  our  protector,  we  Submit  our  Circumstances  to  your 
Superior  knowledge  to  act  for  us,  who  as  Loyall  Subjects 


444  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

are  Determined  with  your  Honour's  assistance  to  stand 
against  any  Enemy  that  may  attempt  to  invade  us,  and 
your  Honour's  petitioners  as  in  Duty  Bound  Shall  ever 
pray." 

Aaron  Dupui,  William   McNab, 

John  McMichael,  Edward  Connor, 

Daniel  Shoemaker,  Robert  Hanah, 

William  Clark,  Daniel   Mcintosh. 

Samuel  Dupui,  Michael  Shouer, 

Daniel  Broadhead,  John  Williamson, 

Abraham  Mullux,  James  Garlinghousing, 

Nicolas  Miekle,  John  Higgins, 

Leonard  Weeser,  Isaac  Flack, 

John   Cambden,  Enoch   Freeland, 

Frederick  Vanderliss,  John  Drake, 

James   Hilman,  Jeremiah  Flemmer, 

John  Hilman,  Adam  Snail, 

William  Smith,  Francis  Delong. 
John  McDoull, 

Fortunately,  to  a  great  extent  the  alarm  was  groundless. 
Arrangements  were  made  for  defense  at  Dupui's  house, 
but,  providentially,  the  cloud  passed  by  without  causing 
any  destruction. 

Fort  Hyndshaw. 

In  addition  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Hamilton  it  was  felt 
that  some  defense  was  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the 
residents  of  Upper  Smithfield  Township.  Accordingly 
John  Van  Etten  and  James  Hyndshaw,  both  residents  of 
the  vicinity,  were  commissioned  as  Captain  and  Lieutenant 
respectively,  and,  on  January  14,  1756,  directed  by  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  to  take  such  steps  as  might  be  necessary 
to  carry  out  the  object  in  view. 

The  erection  of  Fort  Hyndshaw  was  doubtless  a  part 
of  this  work.  Exactly  when  it  was  built  we  do  not  know. 
The  first  account  we  have  concerning  it  is  from  Commis- 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 


445 


sary  James  Young,  who  visited  it  during  his  round  of 
inspection.     He  says,  writing  from  the  "Fort   10  miles 


above  Depues,  Commonly  call'd  Hyndshaw  Fort": 
"June  24,  1756. — At  8  A.  M.     I  sett  out  from  Fort 


446  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Hamilton  for  Sam'l  Depues  where  Cap'tn  Waetherholt's 
Lieu't  and  26  men  are  Stationed,  when  I  came  there  his 
Muster  Roll  was  not  ready.  I  therefore  proceeded  to  the 
next  Fort  10  miles  higher  up  the  River,  at  1  P.  M.  Came 
there,  it  is  a  good  Plain  Road  from  Depue's,  many  Plan- 
tations this  way,  but  all  Deserted,  and  the  houses  Chiefly 
Burnt.  Found  at  this  Fort  Lieut.  Ja's  Hyndshaw  w'th  25 
men  he  told  me  the  Cap'tn  with  5  men  was  gone  up  the 
River  yesterday,  and  did  not  expect  him  back  these  two 
days,  they  had  been  informed  from  the  Jerseys  that  6  In- 
dians had  been  seen,  and  fired  at  the  night  before  18 
miles  up  the  River. — Provincial  Stores,  1 1  Good  Muskets, 
14  Rounds  of  Powder  &  Lead  for  30  men,  4  lb  Powder, 
30  Blankets. 

"This  Fort  is  a  Square  ab't  70  ft  Each  way,  very 
Slightly  Staccaded.  I  gave  some  direction  to  alter  the 
Bastions  which  at  present  are  of  very  little  use,  it  is  clear  all 
round  for  300  yards,  and  stands  on  the  Banks  of  a  Large 
Creek,  and  ab't  l/±  mile  from  the  River  Delaware,  and  I 
think  in  a  very  important  Place  for  the  Defence  of  this 
Frontier;  at  3  P.  M.  I  muster'd  the  people,  and  find  them 
agreeable  to  the  Lieu'ts  Roll,  Regularly  inlisted.  Find- 
ing here  such  a  small  Quantity  of  Powder  and  Lead,  and 
this  Fort  the  most  Distant  Frontier,  I  wrote  a  Letter  to 
Cap'tn  Arrend  (Orndt),  at  Fort  Norris,  where  there  is 
a  Large  Quantity  desiring  he  would  deliver  to  this  Fort 
30  lb  Powder,  and  90  lb  Lead,  and  I  promised  he  should 
have  proper  orders  from  his  Superior  Officer  for  so  doing, 
in  the  meantime  my  letter  should  be  his  Security,  in  which 
I  hope  I  have  not  done  amiss  as  I  thought  it  very  neces- 
sary for  the  Good  of  this  Service. 

"  24  June. — At  7  P.  M.  Came  to  Sam'l  Dupues.  .  .  ." 


The  Forks  of  the  Delaware. 


447 


The  occurrences  narrated  under  the  head  of  Fort  Ham- 
ilton apply  also  to  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Hyndshaw.  In 
addition  there  has  been  preserved  the  following  journal 
of  Captain  Van  Etten  recording  his  doings  in  the  neigh- 
borhood: 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

Journal  kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten,  1757. 

Of  all  the  Proceedings  and  Circumstances  of  Affairs, 
together  with  all  Busnis  and  Scouting  Done  by  said 
Company,  from  the  Ist  Day  of  December,  1756. 

"  December  ye  Ist,  1756. 
"  1.  I  went  on  Scout  with  the 
oldest  Ser*,  to  see  if  there  ware 
indians  on  the  Cost,  but  discovrd 
none;  we  Returned  safe  to  the 
fort. 

"2.  After  Releaving  Guard  Im- 
ployd  the  men  in  hallind  firewood. 
"3.   Relievd  Guard  and  kept  the  men  about  the  Gar- 
rison. 

"4.  and  5.   Paid  some  of  the  men,  and  for  some  pro- 
visions. 

"  6.   Kept  the  men  in  their  posts  about  the  Garrison. 
"  7.   I  went  on  Scout  with  2  men  and  made  no  Dis- 
covery; Return'1  safe  to  the  Fort  at  Night  and  found  all 
in  Good  order. 

(448) 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      449 

"  8.  and  9.  The  men  Divided,  one  part  standing  on 
Sentery  while  the  other  Cut  and  Halld  firewood. 

"  10.  I  went  out  on  Scout  with  one  man  and  made  no 
Discovery,  and  Returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"11.  The  Lieu*,  went  on  his  Journey  to  Philadelphia, 
in  order  to  get  the  pay  for  my  men  for  3  months ;  the  same 
Day,  about  11  o'c  I  went  out  on  Scout  with  6  men  and 
Traviled  four  milds  out  making  no  Discovery,  Returnd  to 
the  fort. 

"  12.  Sunday  and  Rainey,  we  all  staid  at  the  Garrison. 

"13.  In  the  morning,  after  Guard  Relvd,  I  went  out 
with  six  men  on  Scout  and  one  Neighbour,  and  Traviled 
eight  milds  out  and  made  no  Discovery,  and  Returnd  to 
the  Garrison  all  safe. 

"  14.  After  Guard  Relievd  I  went  out  with  four  men  on 
Scout,  and  sent  two  men  with  Jacob  Swortwood  to  Guarde 
him  in  fetching  his  Grane,  where  it  might  be  thrashd. 

"15.  I  went  with  five  men  on  Scout,  and  sd  Jacob  Swort- 
wood went  again  to  his  place  with  sd  Guard,  it  being  about 
four  miles  from  the  fort.  At  night,  when  I  returned,  tole 
me,  that  before  he  and  sd  Guard  came  to  the  field  they 
saw  a  small  Stack  of  Rye  set  out  in  a  Large  Shock  of  30 
Sheves  on  a  side,  and  places  Left  in  the  middle  to  Soot 
out  at,  and  a  bee  hive  set  on  the  top. 

"  16.  After  the  Guard  Relievd,  I  went  with  six  men  to 
the  place,  and  orderd  two  men  with  the  Wagons  to  come 
sometime  after  when  I  had  surrounded  the  field,  then  to 
come  and  take  their  Loads  which  was  Done,  but  no  Dis- 
covery of  the  Enemy.  I  wend  then  with  two  men  through 
the  woods  and  the  rest  of  the  men  Guarded  the  Waggon, 
and  we  all  returned  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  17.  It  snowd;  I  made  a  pair  of  Mokesons  for  myself 
to  Scout  in. 


45°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  1 8.  After  the  Guard  Relievd  I  went  to  Scout  with 
six  men,  and  went  about  Six  milds  from  the  fort  and  found 
the  Snow  in  many  places  half  Leg  deep;  we  Discovering  no 
Enemy,  all  Returned  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  19.  It  was  Sunday,  one  of  the  Corporals  with  4  men 
went  on  Scout  but  made  no  Discovery,  and  all  Returned 
safe  to  the  Fort. 

"  20.   It  Snowd,  therefore  we  all  kept  the  fort. 

"21.  The  Corporal  with  5  men  halld  firewood  to  the 
Fort,  and  I  went  with  3  men  on  Scout,  and  four  milds  out 
finding  the  Snow  knee  deep,  but  made  no  Discovery,  and 
Returned  to  the  fort  after  dark. 

"  22.  After  the  Guard  Relievd  we  cleared  of  the  Snow 
round  the  Fort,  in  order  to  go  to  work  to  build  a  block- 
house. 

"23.  We  all  kept  the  fort. 

"  24.  And  to  the  end  of  the  month,  the  Snow  Render- 
ing it  unfit  for  Work  or  Scouting,  we  cleared  the  Parade 
and  kept  the  men  to  their  Exercise  twice  a  day,  in  which 
time  I  paid  of  the  men. 

"  January  ye  Ist,  1757. 

"  1.  Relievd  Guard  and  Exercisd  the  men,  and  kept  the 
fort. 

"  2.   Sunday,  kept  the  fort. 

"3.   Stormy  weather. 

"  4.   Kept  the  men  to  their  Exercise. 

"  5.  The  same. 

"  6.  Halld  firewood  for  the  fort. 

"  7.   Exercisd  the  men  twice. 

"  8.  Halld  firewood,  having  the  advantage  of  the  Snow. 

"  9.  Sunday,  all  kept  the  fort. 

"10.  I  went  on  Scout  with  Six  men,  and  Night  on  us 
we  lodgd  at  Daniel  Shoemakers. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      451 

"11.   Returned  home  to  the  fort. 

"12.  I  went  on  Scout  with  4  men,  made  no  discovery, 
and  all  Returned  to  the  fort. 

"15.  Halld  firewood  for  the  fort. 

"17.  I  went  on  Scout  with  5  men,  Discovering  nothing, 
Return3  to  the  fort. 

"  19.  I,  with  the  Leu*,  went  on  Scout  with  6  men,  and 
traviled  3  milds  out,  and  Returned  to  the  Fort,  Discovering 
nothing. 

"  20.  I  went  out  on  Scout  with  two  men  and  made  no 
Discovery;  Returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"21.   Relievd  Guard  and  kept  the  fort. 

"  22.  I  went  out  with  one  man  on  Scout  about  7  milds 
from  the  fort,  Discover3  nothing,  and  Returned  safe  to 
the  fort. 

"  23.  Receivd  order  from  Honbl  Cor11,  Dated  16  Instant, 
that  as  soon  as  the  Season  would  admit  to  Dissipline  the 
men  in  the  English  Exercise,  and  to  teach  them  the  Indian 
method  of  war,  the  which  was  immediately  observd  and 
daily  practisd. 

"  30.  Receivd  Orders  from  the  Honbl  Cor11  to  Inlist  men 
to  fill  up  my  Company,  to  consist  of  fifty  men,  Encluding  2 
Serjts,  2  Corporals  and  a  Drummer. 

"  Febrawary  ye  4th. 
"Then  writ  to  Maj1'  Wm  Persons,  Discovering  the  ne- 
cessity we  ware  in  of  Ammonission. 

"  6.   Receivd  an  answer  with  29  lb  of  Lead. 
"  7.   Keept  the  men  to  their  Exercise  as  usual. 
"  9.   Excessive  bad  weather. 
"  11.  After  Guard  Relievd  halld  firewood. 
"  12.   Snow,  which  made  it  unfit  for  Exercise. 
"  14.   Kept  the  men  to  their  Exercise. 


452  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  1 6.  Halld  firewood  for  the  fort. 

"  17.  The  men  Exercisd  twice. 

"  18.  and  19.  The  same. 

"  20.  Sunday,  kept  the  Fort. 

"21.  Went  out  on  Scout  with  4  men,  but  finding  it  so 
uncomfortable  Traviling,  and  making  no  Discovery,  Re- 
turnd  to  the  Fort. 

"  22.  and  23.  The  men  kept  to  their  Exercise. 

"  24.  After  Guard  Relievd  halld  firewood. 

"25.  Kept  the  men  to  their  Exercise,  and  to  the  End 
of  the  month. 

"March  the  Ist,  1757. 

"At  Eight  O'c  Relievd  Guard  and  Exercisd  the  men 
twice. 

"  4.  After  Guard  Relievd,  orderd  the  old  Guard  to  Hall 
firewood  for  the  fort. 

"  6.  Sunday,  Relievd  Guard  at  8  O'c  and  then  Exercisd 
the  men. 

"7.  After  Guard  Relievd  went  out  on  Scout  with  ten 
men,  Travild  about  Six  milds,  made  no  Discovery,  and 
Returnd  to  the  fort. 

"  9.  Exercisd  the  men  twice. 

"  10.  Exercisd  the  men  twice. 

11 11.  After  Guard  Relievd  at  8  O'c,  Halld  firewood  for 
the  fort. 

"  12.  After  Guarde  Relievd  I  went  with  Six  men  on 
Scout,  and  traviled  about  Six  milds  and  made  no  Discovery, 
and  all  Returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  13.   Sunday,  Relievd  at  8  O'0,  and  all  kept  Garrison. 

"  14.  After  Guard  Relievd  went  on  Scout  with  8  men, 
Discovering  nothing  Returnd  to  the  fort. 

11  16.  After  Guard  Relievd,  halld  fire  wood  for  the  fort. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      453 

"  17.   Disslplind  the  men  twice. 

"  18.  After  Guard  Relievd  I  went  on  Scout  with  5  men, 
made  no  Discovery,  and  Return*1  to  the  fort. 

"  19.  Relievd  Guard,  Dissiplind  the  men,  and  halld  fire 
wood. 

"  20.   Relievd  Guarde  at  8  0'c,  and  all  kept  the  fort. 

"21.  Went  on  my  Journey  for  Easton  in  order  to  attend 
Court,  leaving  the  Charge  of  the  Company  w*  the  Leu*., 
and  being  Detaind  by  Reson  of  Bad  weather  I  attended 
the  whole  term. 

"28.  I  Return3  Safe  to  my  Company  at  Fort  Hynd- 
shaw,  finding  all  thing  in  good  order  and  my  men  in  health. 

"  29.   Relievd  Guarde  and  Dissiplind  the  men  twice. 

"30.  After  Guarde  Relievd  went  on  Scout  with  4  men, 
and  others  imployd  in  hailing  fire  wood  for  the  fort. 

April  Ist. 

"After  Guard  Relievd  I  went  on  Scout  with  4  men,  and 
went  about  4  milds,  making  no  Discovery  Returnd  to  the 
fort. 

"  2.   Relievd  Guard  and  Disciplind  the  men. 

"  3.   Sunday,  Relievd  Guard  and  kept  the  Fort. 

"  4.   Dissiplind  the  men  twice. 

"  5.  Relievd  Guard,  then  imploy  the  men  in  hailing  fire 
wood. 

"  6.   Dissiplind  the  men. 

"  7.  Recd  an  Order,  dated  March  28th,  from  the  Honbl 
Cor11  Wizer,  commanding  me  immediately  to  Send  an 
Atachment  of  men,  16  in  number,  to  Relieve  the  Com- 
pany stationd  at  Fort  Hamilton. 

"8.  Took  possession  of  sd  fort  according  to  my  orders, 
and  the  Company  marchd  of  Leaving  the  fort  in  my  care. 


« 


454  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  9.  A  Coppy  of  a  Letter  from  Majr  Willm  Parsons, 
sent  to  then  commander  at  fort  Hambleton,  I  being  there 
and  no  other.  I  open'1  the  same,  and  found  it  to  be  a 
Coppy  from  the  original,  sent  by  Jacob  Snyder,  Insign, 
being  then  Commander  at  fort  Norris,  with  which  I  could 
not  content  myself,  but  went  of  immediately  to  Easton  to 
see  the  Majr. 

"  10.  Then  spoke  with  the  Majr  at  his  own  House,  who 
order11  that  the  Leu4.,  with  25  men  of  my  Company,  should 
immediately  march  to  Riddin  to  the  Cor"s,  there  to  Recd 
further  orders. 

"11.  Returnd  home  to  fort  Hyndshaw,  Receiving  the 
Original  of  the  Maj'IS  order  by  the  way,  and  acquainted 
the  Leu1,  with  the  affair. 

"  12.  Got  the  men  ready  for  a  march. 

"  13.  Conveyd  the  Leu*,  with  sd  Company  as  far  as  fort 
Hambleton. 

"  14.  The  Leu*.  marchd  with  said  Company  about  Eight 
O'Clock  in  the  morning  from  Fort  Hambleton,  and  I  Re- 
turned to  fort  Hyndshaw. 

"  15.   Dissiplind  the  men. 

"  16.  Went  to  see  the  Maj'r. 

"  20.  Return'1  to  Fort  Hyndshaw,  visiting  Fort  Ham- 
bleton on  my  way,  and  found  all  things  in  good  order  at 
both  Forts.  The  Night  following  an  Express  came  from 
fort  Hambleton  to  me  at  fort  Hyndshaw,  with  an  accomp1 
of  a  murder  Committed  about  Sun  set. 

"21.  Went  to  Port  Hambleton  with  7  men,  and  found 
it  to  be  one  Countryman,  a  Lad  of  about  17  years  of  age, 
Kill'1  and  Scalp'1  by  the  Indians,  about  100  Rods  from 
the  fort  Hambleton,  which  I  took  up  and  Buried  the  same 
day;  Return'1  safe  with  my  men  to  fort  Hyndshaw. 

"  22.   Dissiplined  the  men  twice. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      455 

"23.   Imployd  the  men  in  hailing  firewood  to  the  fort. 

"  24.  Sunday,  all  Kept  the  fort. 

"25.  My  Serj1  Leonard  Den,  with  2  men  of  for  sub- 
sistance  to  Sam11  Depues,  having  got  within  about  2  milds 
of  sd  depues,  sd  Sej*  was  shot,  the  2  men  Return3  and 
inform3  me  of  it,  where  upon  an  allarm  was  beat,  and  the 
neighbours  all  gather3  to  the  fort;  myself  with  7  men  went 
of  immediately  and  found  him  Kill3  and  Scalp3,  and  in- 
tirely  Strip3  and  shamefully  cut,  that  his  bowls  was  Spred 
on  the  Ground,  I  immediately  sent  of  3  men  to  s3  Depues 
for  a  Wagon,  which  being  come  we  carried  him  to  s3 
Depues,  where  we  kept  guarde  that  night. 

"  26.  Early  in  the  morning  we  Buried  him  in  a  Christian 
manner,  &  all  Return3  to  Fort  Hyndshaw. 

"  27.  Dissiplind  the  men,  increasing  our  Sentinels  as 
far  as  our  week  circumstance  would  allow. 

"28.  Dissiplind  the  men,  giving  them  such  Causion  as 
I  thought  needfull. 

"  29.  and  30.  Guarded  the  neighbours  in  their  neces- 
sary busines,  with  all  that  could  possibly  Leave  the  fort. 

"May  Ist. 

"  Sunday,  all  Kept  the  fort. 

"  2.  Dissiplind  the  men  at  8  0'c  in  the  morning,  then 
imploy3  the  men  in  hailing  firewood  for  the  Garrison. 

"  3.  Dissiplin3  the  men  at  8  0'c  in  the  morning,  then  I 
went  on  Scout  with  5  men,  and  traviled  about  5  milds  and 
Discovered  nothing,  and  all  Return3  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  4.  Dissiplin3  the  men  at  8  0'c  in  the  morning,  then  I 
went  on  Scout  with  5  men,  &  traviled  about  6  milds,  Dis- 
covering nothing;  all  Return3  safe  to  the  fort. 

"5.  About  Eight  in  the  morning,  word  came  to  me  that 
an  Indian  was  seen  about  3  quarters  of  a  mild  from  the 


456  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

fort;  I  went  out  immediately  in  persuit  of  them  with  Eight 
men  &  one  neighbour,  and  found  it  true  by  seeing  his 
track,  but  could  not  come  up  with  him ;  but  my  men  from 
the  fourt  saw  him  Running  from  us  at  a  Considerable  dis- 
tance from  us,  as  they  Likewise  at  the  same  time  Could 
see  some  of  my  Company,  as  the  few  I  left  to  Keep  the 
fort  affirm'3  to  me  at  my  Return,  but  I  seeing  nothing  of 
him  Returnd  with  my  men  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  The  same  day  one  of  my  men,  coming  from  a  field 
where  I  sent  a  Guard  to  Guard  the  neighbours  at  there 
work,  saw  three  Indians  coming  down  a  mountain  near  sd 
field,  he  gave  me  notice,  I  immediately  went  out  with  sd 
man  and  2  others  in  persuit  of  them,  not  thinking  it  proper 
to  go  very  far,  the  Garison  being  left  very  weak.  I  stood 
on  guard  with  2  men,  while  one  went  to  allarm  the  Guard 
that  was  in  the  field,  then  Returnd  to  the  fort,  Discovering 
nothing. 

"  6.  At  Eight  of  the  Clock  Dissiplind  the  men,  after 
which  some  of  my  men,  who  had  observd  the  night  before 
as  they  were  on  Sentury,  that  the  Dogs  Keept  an  unusual 
barking  and  running  to  a  particular  place,  went  to  see  what 
the  occasion  should  be,  and  found  that  an  Indian  had  stood 
behind  a  tree  about  25  yards  from  the  fort;  being  told  I 
went  to  see  and  found  it  true,  his  tracks  being  visible 
enough  to  be  seen;  in  the  afternoon  I  went  on  Scout  with 
4  men  and  a  neighbour,  but  made  no  Discovery,  and  all 
Returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"7.  The  men  call  to  their  Exercise  at  the  usual  time, 
after  which  I  went  wth  4  men  to  a  Smiths  shop  where  we 
made  an  Instrument  to  take  a  Bullit  out  of  my  Horse,  who 
was  shot  when  Ser*.  Den  was  Kill*1  and  all  Returnd  safe 
to  the  fort. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      457 

"  8.  Sunday,  assisted  some  of  the  neighbours  with  their 
Goods  and  families  to  the  fort. 

"  9.  Dissiplind  the  men,  after  which  Guarded  two  of 
the  neighbours  in  their  necessary  Bussiness,  with  what  men 
could  be  Spaird,  and  continued  the  same  to  the 

"  15.   Sunday,  we  all  Kept  the  fourt. 

"  16.  Tho  weak  handed,  I  went  on  Scout  with  4  men, 
traviled  about  4  milds,  made  no  Discovery,  and  Returnd 
safe  to  the  fort. 

"  17.  Dissiplind  the  men  at  8  0'c  in  the  morning,  then 
guarded  the  neighbours  with  all  I  could  Spair  from  the 
fort. 

"  18.  Exercised  the  men  twice,  and  all  kept  the  fort. 

"  19.  After  Exercising  the  men,  Guarded  the  neigh- 
bours with  all  that  could  be  Spaird  from  the  fort. 

"  20.  The  Corporal,  with  3  men,  went  on  Scout  by  my 
order,  traviled  about  3  milds,  mad  no  Discovery,  and  Re- 
turn3 to  the  fort. 

"21.  Att  4  0'c,  afternoon,  Receivd  a  letter  from  Cap*. 
Busse  to  send  a  Corp11,  with  5  men,  to  meat  him  at  Lest 
on  the  22  day,  to  Guard  him  to  fort  Allin,  which  men 
Dispachd  in  half  an  hour. 

"  22.   Sunday,  we  few  which  Remaind  all  kept  the  fort. 

"  23.  About  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  receivd  a  Letter 
from  Maj'r  Parson,  wherein  he  Desird  me  to  come  to 
Easton  to  Rece  my  pay,  with  the  pay  for  my  men ;  I  having 
then  but  19  men  Left  me  to  keep  the  Fort,  I  took  the  Case 
together  with  my  men  into  consideration,  who  all  Begd  of 
me  not  to  leave  the  fort,  where  upon  I  wrote  to  the  Maj'r 
and  Begd  of  him  to  Consider  our  Circumstance,  and  Ex- 
cuse me  untill  the  men  Returnd. 

"  24.  Dissiplind  the  Men  at  Eight  in  the  morning,  and 
all  kept  the  fort,  being  week  handed. 


458  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  25.  I  went  on  Scout  with  3  men,  and  traviled  about 
3  milds  in  the  mountains  and  Discover11  nothing;  Return*1 
to  the  fort. 

"  26.   Dissiplind  the  men,  and  all  staid  about  the  fort. 

"  27.   Dissiplind  the  men  twice. 

"28.  At  2  0,c,  in  the  afternoon,  the  men,  who  with 
Comisary  Young,  from  Easton  to  fort  Allen,  Return*1  all 
in  Helth. 

"  29.  Exercis*1  the  men,  and  all  kept  the  fort. 

"  30.  I  went  on  Scout  with  3  men,  and  traviled  about  4 
milds,  discover*1  nothing  and  Return*1  to  the  fort. 

"31.  Dissiplind  the  men  at  8  0'c  in  the  morning,  after- 
noon went  on  Scout  with  4  men,  went  about  3  milds  from 
the  fort,  Discover*1  nothing  and  Returnd  to  the  fort. 

"June  ye  Ist. 

"  The  Corporal,  with  3  men,  went  on  Scout,  and  gave 
account  of  no  Discovery  on  their  Return. 

"  2.  Five  men  sent  to  Sam11  Depues  for  Subsistence,  in 
the  afternoon  the  fort  allarm*1  by  hearing  several  Guns 
jfird,  I  immediately,  with  3  men,  went  to  find  out  the  Rea- 
son, &  found  it  to  be  some  who  unwittingly  shot  at  fowle 
in  the  River.     Our  men  all  Return*1  safe  about  Sunsett. 

"3.  I  sett  of  on  my  Journey  for  Philadelphia,  about  4 
O'  Clock  in  the  afternoon,  with  6  men  as  a  Guarde,  and 
came  all  safe  to  Fort  Hambleton,  and  found  everything  in 
good  order  there. 

"  4.  At  8  0'c  in  the  morning  Dissiplind  the  men,  and 
gave  strict  orders  to  the  Sergant  to  keep  the  men  Exact  to 
there  duty,  and  about  4  0'c  afternoon  I  persued  my 
Journey. 

"5.   I  lay  sick  by  the  way  within  five  milds  of  Easton. 

"  6.  Came  to  Easton  and  paid  my  Respects  to  Majr 
Persons. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      459 

"7.  Notwithstanding  the  111  Surcomstance  of  Body  I 
was  in  I  persued  my  Jorney. 

"  8.  About  4  in  the  afternoon  I  came  to  Philadelphia, 
and  Deliverd  the  Express  sent  to  Maj1'  Persons,  just  as  it 
was  sent  to  him  to  his  Hon1'  the  Governor,  who  Desird  me 
to  wait  on  him  at  12  0'c  the  next  day. 

"9.I  waited  on  his  Honour  as  was  requested,  the  an- 
swer from  Mr.  Petters  was  that  my  Busines  should  be 
done  the  next  day  at  9  0'c  in  the  morning. 

"  10,  11  and  12.  I  waited,  but  it  was  not  done  accord- 
ing to  Expectation. 

"13.  About  3  0'c  in  the  afternoon  I  left  the  Town. 

"  14.  About  two  in  the  afternoon  I  came  to  Easton,  I 
directly  paid  my  Respects  to  Majr  Persons,  who  told  me 
I  should  take  a  Supply  of  Ammonicion,  where  upon  I 
provided  Sacks  and  took  100  lb  of  powder,  100  lb  of 
Lead,  and  a  100  Flints,  and  also  Recd  a  Coppy  from  his 
Honour,  the  Governors  orders  to  Remove  to  fort  Ham- 
bleton,  and  left  Easton  about  6  0'c  and  went  about  five 

milds. 

"15.  Came  safe  to  fort  Hambleton  with  the  Ammo- 
nicion, about  6  0'c  afternoon,  and  found  all  things  in  good 

order. 

"  16.  At  Eight  0'c  in  the  morning  Displd  the  men  and 
ordered  them  all  to  shoot  at  a  mark  at  Armes  End,  and 
some  of  them  did  Exceeding  well  then ;  taking  a  Scort  of 
men  with  me  I  went  to  Fort  where  we  all  arrived  safe.  I 
immediately  calld  the  men  to  Arms,  and  Ordred  every 
one  to  get  their  Cloaths,  and  what  ever  they  had,  together 
as  quick  as  possible,  and  be  Redy  to  march  to  for  Ham- 
bleton. 

"  17  and  18.  After  Dissiplining  the  men  as  usual,  we 
made  everything  Redy  for  our  march. 


460  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

"  19.  About  9  0'c  in  the  morning  we  all  marchfl  from 
Fort  Hyndshaw,  with  all  the  Baggage,  and  all  arrived  safe 
at  fort  Hambleton,  and  met  with  no  opposition,  and  found 
all  things  in  good  order  there. 

"  20.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  calld  the  men  under 
Arms,  and  after  Exercising  the  men,  orderd  out  Six  men 
on  Samuel  Dupues  Request,  to  Guard  him  in  taking  his 
wife  to  the  Doct1',  at  Bethlehem,  who  tarried  all  night  at 
sd  Depues;  the  same  day  I  went  on  Scout  with  4  men  and 
one  neighbour  to  git  acquainted  with  the  woods,  as  also  to 
See  if  any  Discovery  could  be  made  of  the  Enemy,  but 
made  no  Discovery  and  Returnd  to  the  fort. 

"21.  At  8  0'c  Exercisd  the  men,  about  12  0'°  the 
Guard,  with  sd  Depue  &  wife,  came  to  the  fort;  then  orderd 
a  Guard  of  ten  men,  who  went  of  under  the  Care  of  a  Cor- 
poral with  sd  Depue  with  orders,  that  after  they  had 
Guarded  sd  Depue  as  far  as  was  needful,  to  Carry  a  Mes- 
sage from  me  to  the  Majr,  at  Easton  and  to  Return  as 
soon  as  Dispatch  could  be  made. 

"  22.  Exercisd  the  men  that  Remand  at  the  fort  as 
Usual;  nothing  Extreordinary  hapned,  so  all  kept  the  fort. 

"  23.  In  the  morning,  near  Eleven  0'c,  the  fort  was 
allarmd  by  some  of  the  neighbours  who  had  made  their 
escape  from  the  Enemy,  five  of  them  in  Company  near 
Brawdheads  house,  seeking  their  horses  in  order  to  go 
to  mill,  was  fird  upon  by  the  Enemy,  and  said  that  one  of 
them,  John  Tidd  by  name,  was  Killd,  whereupon  I  imme- 
diately Draughted  out  9  men,  myself  making  the  tents, 
in  as  private  a  manner  as  possible,  and  as  privately  went 
back  into  the  mountains  in  order  to  make  a  Discovery,  giving 
Strict  orders  to  those  left  to  fire  the  wall  peace  to  allarm 
us,  if  any  attact  should  be  attempted  on  the  fort  in  my 
absence  there,  but  Six  men  left  at  the  fort,  and  coming  in 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      461 

sight  of  sd  house,  on  the  back  side  Perceivd  a  small  smoke 
arise  at  sd  House,  then  traviling  about  a  Quarter  of  a  mild 
in  order  to  surround  them,  we  heard  four  Guns,  the  first 
of  which  being  much  louder  then  the  rest,  Expected  the 
fort  was  attacted,  where  upon  we  Retreeted  back  about  a 
Quarter  of  a  mild,  and  hering  no  more  Guns,  my  Councel 
was  to  go  to  the  House,  but  my  pilot,  who  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  woods,  thought  it  best  to  place  ourselves 
in  ambush,  for  they  would  come  that  way,  he  said;  and 
as  we  ascended  the  mountain  in  order  to  place  ourselves 
we  saw  the  house  in  a  blaze,  and  the  pilot  thought  best  to 
Retire  a  little  nearer  the  house  and  the  fort,  where  we 
might  have  a  better  view,  and  in  the  Retreet  we  heard  14 
Guns  fird  as  Quick  after  each  other  as  one  could  count, 
then  we  placd  our  selves  in  two  Companies,  the  better  to 
waylay  them;  the  party  that  was  nearest  between  the  house 
and  the  fort  soon  saw  27  Endeavouring  to  git  between 
them  and  the  fort,  I,  with  the  other  party  saw  5  more 
comeing  on  the  other  side,  we  found  that  we  were  dis- 
coverd  and  like  to  be  surrounded  by  a  vast  number,  where- 
fore we  all  Retreted  and  got  between  them  and  the  fort, 
then  haulting  they  came  in  view.     I  then  Calinged  them 
to  come,  and  fird  at  them,  and  altho  at  a  Considerable  dis- 
tance, it  was  Generally  thought  one  of  them  killd,  by  ther 
Sqootting  and  making  off,  then  we  all  Retird  to  the  fort; 
Immediately  upon  our  Return,  a  Scout  of  13  men  from 
the  Jarsey,  who  were  in  search  of  Edwd  Marshals  wife, 
who  was  kill'd  some  time  ago,  came  to  the  fort,  being 
brought  there  by  seeing  the  smoke  and  hearing  the  Guns 
fird,  who  all  seemd  forward  to  go  after  them,  where  I,  with 
my  nine  men,  went  out  with  them,  but  having  got  some 
distance  out  they  would  go  to  the  house  to  see  whether 
the  sd  man  was  killd.     Being  come,  we  found  him  Killd 


462  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  Scalpd,  his  Body  and  face  Cut  in  an  inhuman  manner, 
Cattle  also  lying  dead  on  the  Ground,  where  upon  they  all 
went  of  and  left  me  with  my  small  number  to  take  care  of 
the  Dead  man;  whereupon  we  took  him  up  and  Returned 
to  the  fort,  in  which  time  my  men  that  went  to  Easton 
Returnd  to  the  fort. 

"  24.  Att  about  nine  in  the  morning,  having  made  redy, 
I  went  with  1 8  men  and  buried  the  man,  then  went  from 
the  grave  in  search  and  found  15  Cattle,  Horses  and  hogs 
dead,  besides  two  that  was  shot,  one  with  5  bulks,  the 
other  with  one,  and  yet  there  are  many  missing,  out  of 
which  the  Enemy  took,  as  we  Judg,  the  value  of  two 
Beaves  and  almost  one  Swine — in  the  Evening  sent  an 
Express  by  two  men  to  the  Majrs. 

"  25.  Disciplined  the  men,  nothing  Extraordinary 
hapned,  all  Kept  the  fort  that  night;  the  two  men  that 
went  with  the  Express  to  Easton  Returnd  in  safety  to 
the  fort. 

"  26.  Early  in  the  morning  Recd  the  Majrs  Letter, 
wherein  he  showd  himself  very  uneasy  that  the  men  from 
Fort  Norris  had  not  Joynd  me,  and  Desird  me  to  send  to 
fort  Norris  to  know  the  Reason;  and  thinking  it  might  be 
occasiond  for  want  of  Cariages  to  bring  their  Stores,  Desird 
me  to  indeavour  to  send  a  Wagon  theather,  accordingly  as 
I  was  indeavouring  all  I  could  in  compliance  of  the  Majrs 
Desire,  about  3  0'c  in  the  afternoon,  Lieu*  Hyndshaw 
came  to  the  fort  with  ten  men  from  Cap*.  Weatherhold, 
and  Six  from  Fort  Norris,  showing  his  order  from  Cor11 
Weiser,  for  him  to  Command  Fort  Hamilton,  and  for  me 
to  abide  with  a  small  number  of  men  at  Fort  Hyndshaw. 

"  27.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  call*1  my  men  under 
Armes  as  usual,  and  Draughted  out  Eleven  men  and  sent 
them  under  the  care  of  a  Corp11,  with  3  neighbours,  in 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      463 

search  of  some  Cattle,  which  they  feard  ware  taken  or 
Killd  by  the  Enemy,  at  which  time  the  Lieu*,  undertook 
to  talk  with  me,  and  proposd  to  me  that  if  I  would  Let 
him  have  Six  out  of  the  men  I  had  with  me,  to  Joyn  the 
men  he  had  from  Captn  Weaterhold,  he  would  go  to  Fort 
Hyndshaw  and  stay  there  untill  further  orders,  and  Leave 
the  Six  men  he  brought  from  Fort  Norris  with  me,  which 
I  could  not  Comply  with,  as  not  being  in  my  power,  having 
movd  to  Fort  Hamilton  by  his  Honours,  the  Governors 
order,  there  to  be  reinforced  by  a  Detachment  from  Fort 
Norris,  then  to  stay  untill  further  orders,  at  which  the 
Lieu*,  went  off  with  a  Sej*,  and  a  waiting  man  he  brought 
w*  him  from  fort  Auguston,  and  left  the  16  men  he  brought 
under  no  bodies  care;  the  Scout  which  went  out  all  Re- 
turnd  safe  to  the  fort,  finding  what  they  went  in  search 
of,  all  well. 

"  28.  After  Exercissing  my  men  as  Usual,  I  sent  out  a 
Scout  of  12  men  under  the  care  of  Serj*.,  who  travild  Six 
milds  out,  and  all  Returnd  safe  to  the  fort,  making  no  Dis- 
covery. I  being  not  fully  satisfied  on  the  ace*  of  the  men 
Left  with  me,  whome  I  could  do  no  less  to  then  feed  and 
Give  them  their  proper  allowance  of  Rum,  wherefore  I 
wrote  to  the  Majr,  laying  the  Circumstance  of  the  matter 
as  plain  as  possible  befor  him,  Desiring  his  advice  what 
to  do  in  the  Case,  the  which  I  sent  of  in  the  Evening  by 
the  Serj*.  and  one  man  with  him. 

"  29.  After  Exercising  the  men  I  sent  of  Six  men,  under 
the  Care  of  the  Corporal,  with  Six  of  those  men  which  the 
Lieu*,  left,  who  voluntarily  went  to  assist  and  to  Guard 
one  Peter  Snyder,  in  taking  of  some  Cattle  whome  he  had, 
fled  of  and  Left  some  time  ago,  least  they  should  be  Killd 
by  the  Enemy;  in  the  Night  the  Serj*,  w*  the  man  that 
went  w*  him  Returnd  safe  from  Easton,  with  a  letter  from 


464  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  Maj1*,  wherein  he  advisd  me  to  put  the  sd  men  on  duty 
which  was  left  w*  me,  and  where  as  he  Expected  Cor11 
Weiser  to  be  hare  in  a  few  days,  to  keep  the  fort  untill  he 
came,  also  Desird  me  to  Endeavour  to  hasten  Lieu*.  Engles 
march  to  fort  Hambleton. 

"30.  I  put  the  men  left  w*  me  on  duty  in  the  afternoon, 
the  men  that  Guarded  Peter  Snyder  all  Returnd  safe  to 
the  fort. 

"July  1. 

"In  the  morning  Calld  my  men  under  Armes,  Draughted 
out  ten  men  whom  I  sent  under  the  Care  of  the  Serj*,  with 
nine  of  those  men  the  Lieu*,  left  at  the  fort,  whome  I 
orderd  where  and  how  far  they  should  travil  on  Scout,  the 
which  they  perform3  and  Returnd  about  one,  after  noon. 
About  one  O'c,  after  noon,  the  Lieu*,  came  past  the  fort, 
stoping  at  John  McMackills,  soon  after  Came  to  the  fort 
and  showd  an  Order  from  Cor11  Weiser,  that  I  should 
Resign  the  Command  of  Fort  Hambleton  to  him,  upon 
which  I  Calld  my  men  under  armes,  and  as  I  was  sending 
for  the  Lieu*,  to  Give  up  the  Command  to  him,  the  Cen- 
tunal  hearing  musick,  acquainted  me  with  it;  I  Expecting 
it  was  the  Cor11  coming,  delaid  untill  the  Cor*1  came,  who 
weighing  the  Circumstances  of  things,  continued  me  in 
possession  of  sd  Fort. 
"A  True  Journal  of  All  Transactions  in  Captain  John  Van 

Etten's  Company  from  the  Second  Day  of  July. 

"July  ye  2d,   1757. 

"At  Eight  in  the  morning  the  men  called  to  armes,  at 
which  time  the  Cor"  took  a  view  of  the  men  and  their 
arms,  and  finding  all  in  good  order,  after  Giving  Orders 
for  the  Regulation  of  the  Company  about  12  o'clock,  the 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      465 

Cor11  with  his  attendance  marched  off,  after  which  we  all 
kept  the  fort. 

"3.  All  Kept  the  Fort  it  being  Sunday. 

"  4.  After  Disciplining  the  men  a  party  of  twelve  men 
under  the  Command  of  a  Serj*  sent  to  Sam11  Depues  with 
a  Team  for  Necessary  Subsistance,  and  all  Returnd  safe 
to  the  fort  in  the  evening  according  to  orders. 

"5.  Very  Rainy  Weather  unfit  for  Scouting  or  Exer- 
cise, all  keept  the  fort. 

"  6.  At  Eight  in  the  Morning  calld  the  men  to  their 
Exercise,  and  Gave  the  men  necessary  Council  how  to 
behave  according  to  the  Orders  Given  to  me  by  the  Cor11, 
at  which  time  Complaind  was  made  to  me  by  some  of  the 
men  that  some  of  the  Neighbours  which  Resided  in  the 
fort  ware  Lousey,  by  which  means  the  whole  Garrison 
would  be  in  the  same  condition.  I  then  Orderd  the  Corp11 
with  3  men  to  assist  him  to  make  a  search,  and  found  that 
one  Henery  Countryman  his  family,  and  one  John  Hillman 
and  his  family  ware  Lousey,  I  ordred  them  out  of  the 
fort  to  their  own  house,  it  being  but  about  8  or  9  Rods 
from  the  fort,  then  Imployd  the  men  to  Clean  the  fort 
within  Doors  and  without,  which  was  accordingly  done, 
also  sent  out  a  scout  of  four  men  with  3  neighbours  who 
voluntarily  went  in  hopes  to  find  some  Cattle  they  had 
missing  to  Return  the  same  Day,  which  they  did  in  the 
Evening  all  safe  to  the  fort,  making  no  Discovery  of  any 
Enemy. 

"  7.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  I  calld  the  men  to  their 
Exercise  then  Devided  the  men  into  two  Guards,  Each 
Guarde  to  stand  their  Day,  those  that  ware  not  on  Guarde 
to  be  imploy'd  in  Scouting,  Guarding  the  Neighbours  and 
in  things  necessary  to  be  done  about  the  fort,  and  gave 
strict  orders  to  those  that  ware  on  guarde  that  they  should 


466  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

not  Leave  their  post  nor  go  from  the  fort,  and  that  Every 
Sentunal  should  behave  well  on  his  post,  about  one  o'clock 
after  noon  having  occasion  to  go  to  John  McMickles,  saw 
John  Jough  Coming  out  of  the  woods  with  hooppolls  on 
his  Sholder,  who  was  one  of  the  Guarde,  Immediately  the 
Corp"  came  to  sd  house,  I  then  went  home,  and  finding 
the  Glass  ran  out  I  examined  the  matter  and  found  that 
the  Sentunal  had  stood  his  proper  time  out  and  ought  to 
be  Reliev'd.  I  therefore  calld  the  next  man  on  the  List 
and  see  to  his  Relieff  myself,  the  men  that  ware  not  on 
Guarde  I  imployd  in  banking  up  the  Earth  against  the 
Stockaders  to  prevent  the  waters  Settling  and  running  into 
the  well  which  I  found  to  be  the  Ocasion  that  the  water 
was  so  bad  in  the  well. 

"  8.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  Relievd  Guard,  after 
which  I  imployd  the  old  Guard  in  clearing  out  the  well. 

"9.  After  Guard  Relievd,  a  scout  of  ten  men  with  the 
Serj*  went  w*  some  of  the  Neighbours  to  Mr.  Broadhead's 
place,  who  went  on  Necesary  Busines  and  met  no  opposi- 
tion, and  all  Return'd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  10.  Sunday,  a  scout  of  6  men  went  to  Sam11  Depues 
on  Necesary  Busines,  on  their  Return  said  they  heard  a 
person  whistle,  which  was  supposed  to  be  an  Indian,  but 
see  nothing,  all  Returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"11.  After  Guarde  Relievd,  the  Serj*  with  the  old 
Guarde  ten  men  Set  out  on  Scout  to  travil  South-East,  and 
as  far  as  to  Return  by  night  which  was  performd,  Meet- 
ing no  Opposition  nor  Discovering  any  Signs  of  the  Enemy 
all  returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  12.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  calld  the  men  to  their 
Exercise  and  Relievd  Guards,  after  which  upon  John 
McMickels  Impertunity  ordred  ten  men  as  a  Guarde, 
where  he  was  Cutting  his  harvest  some  Distance  from  the 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      467 

fort,  with  whom  I  went  mySelf  and  placed  them  to  the 
best  advantage  I  could  ordering  none  to  fire  his  Gun  except 
at  an  Enemy,  and  that  3  Guns  should  be  an  Allarm,  they 
meeting  no  opposition  all  returned  safe  to  the  fort. 

"13.  After  the  men  exercised  and  Guard  Repievd,  it 
was  my  intent  to  Guard  John  Mc  Mickle  as  the  Day 
before  but  his  Son  in  Law  Coming  from  a  Long  Jorney 
or  voiage  Detained  him  from  Labour,  wherefore  I  then 
took  the  Old  Guard  consisting  of  ten  men  and  three  Neigh- 
bours, with  whom  I  went  on  Scout  Directing  my  course 
about  5  miles  from  the  fort,  and  from  thence  west  2  miles, 
thence  by  Judgment  northerly  so  as  to  come  to  the  fort  in 
which  way  we  came  by  the  Sepperates  Meeting  house, 
where  we  found  the  Enemy  had  Lodgd  not  long  since, 
they  Leaving  a  Bed  of  Fern  even  in  the  pulpit,  But  meet- 
ing no  oposition  all  returned  safe  to  the  fort. 

"  14.  At  Seven  in  the  Morning  calld  the  men  to  their 
Exercise  &  Relievd  Guard,  I  then  went  with  John  Mc 
Mickle  and  ten  of  my  men  as  a  Guard,  to  Guard  said  Mc 
Mickle  and  men  Imployd  at  his  harvest,  posting  five  men 
a  Small  Distance  from  the  field,  which  I  thought  best  to 
discover  the  Enemy  if  any  Should  attempt  to  fall  upon 
the  people  at  work,  the  other  five  I  posted  in  the  field, 
about  3  o'clock  afternoon  I  went  w*  the  Corporal  Round 
to  the  Sentunals  as  privately  as  we  could  and  found  them 
all  on  their  guard. 

"15.  It  being  very  Rainey  unfit  to  be  out  with  arms  we 
all  kept  the  Fort. 

"  16.  The  Rain  Continueing  until  near  12  o'clock  I 
then  went  to  John  Mac  Mickle  and  askd  him  wheather 
he  was  Redy  to  go  to  his  harvest,  But  I  saw  no  prepara- 
tion or  Inclination  for  it,  wherefore  I  went  to  the  fort 
intending  to  go  on  scout  with  a  part  of  the  men  after 


468  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Dinner,  but  before  we  ware  redy  four  men  came  to  the 
fort  with  an  order  from  Cor11  Weiser,  dated  June  14, 
1757,  the  Contents  were  as  followeth,  that  he  had  Sent 
Orders  to  Lieu*  Hyndshaw  to  attend  the  Treaty  with  the 
ten  men  of  Cap*  Weaterholts  Company  with  him  who 
ware  then  at  Fort  Hyndshaw,  and  Orderd  me  therefore 
without  fail  to  send  ten  men  from  fort  Hamilton  to  replace 
those  Ordered  away,  where  upon  I  immediately  draughted 
out  nine  men,  the  Corp11  making  the  tenth  whome  I  sent 
off  to  the  Lieu*  the  same  day,  as  soon  as  possably  they 
could  make  them  Selves  Redy  which  was  in  about  half 
an  hour  after  Receiving  the  Corlls  Orders  Under  the  Cair 
of  the  Corp11  with  Orders  to  the  Lieu*,  to  station  them  as 
he  thought  fit,  the  which  he  posted  at  Sam11  Depues. 

"17.  Sunday,  seven  of  my  small  party  of  men  left  with 
me  with  four  neighbours  went  on  scout  under  the  Com- 
mand of  the  Serj*,  who  Traviled  South-westerly  about  six 
miles,  then  taking  a  Compass  northerly  all  returned  safe 
to  the  fort  making  no  Discovery  of  any  Enemy. 

"  18.  At  Eight  in  the  morning  I  went  with  five  men  and 
guarded  John  McMickle  at  his  harvest  placing  3  Sentunals 
a  small  Distance  from  the  field,  and  two  in  the  field  with 
the  men  at  work,  they  meeting  no  Opposition  all  returned 
safe  to  the  fort. 

"  19.  Early  in  the  morning  one  Garrit  Bradhead  ap- 
plied to  me  for  a  guard  to  which  I  told  him  I  would  do 
for  him  what  Lay  in  my  power  with  the  few  men  I  had,  I 
then  ordred  five  men  under  the  Cair  of  the  Serj*  &  went  my 
Self  with  one  man  to  accompany  me  to  the  fort,  and  placed 
the  Sentunals  in  the  best  manner  I  could  for  Safty,  Leaving 
orders  with  the  Serj*  that  fireing  3  guns  should  be  an 
allarm,  and  then  returned  to  the  fort,  and  tended  guard 
unti'  ye  Second  Double  Sentury. 


Journal  Kept  by  Captain  John  Van  Etten.      469 

"  20.  Guarded  s'd  Bradhead  as  the  day  Before,  and  all 
returnd  safe  to  the  fort. 

"21.  In  Compliance  with  the  Corlls  order  early  in  the 
morning  I  sent  to  Sam11  Depues  for  the  he  had  in  keeping 
in  order  to  send  my  message  to  the  Cor11  at  Easton,  who 
returnd  with  sd  Mare  safe  in  the  Evening  also  4  men 
Guarded  John  Drake  at  his  harvest  with  orders  to  give  an 
account  of  what  hapnd,  which  was  all  was  well,  but  as  to 
their  behaviour  after  their  coming  to  the  fort,  I  shall 
acquaint  the  Cor11  of  the  matter." 

With  this  diary  ends  our  history  of  Fort  Hyndshaw. 
It  is  probable  that  it  was  abandoned  as  a  defensive  sta- 
tion even  before  Fort  Hamilton,  and  with  the  gradual 
approach  of  peace,  there  only  remained  for  it  to  stand 
as  a  silent  memento  of  the  terrible  events  of  the  past. 


vS 

...M 

IS^* 

ilsl 

~ ^^Trlll 

v-         ■—"  "■■■ —     ' — — - ^— — 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 


Dupui's  Fort. 

^HE  oldest  settlement  in 
Vk  Pennsylvania  was,  most 
likely,  that  at  the  "  Minisink 
Flats,"  along  the  upper  Dela- 
ware above  the  present  town  of 
Stroudsburg.  Those  who  settled 
there  came  from  New  York 
Province,  by  way  of  the  road, 
one  hundred  miles  long,  which 
had  been  opened  from  Esopus  (now  Kingston)  to  the  Mine 
Holes  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  Delaware  River  near 
Stroudsburg.  The  settlers  consisted,  principally,  of  Dutch, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  Germans  and  other  nationalties.  It 
was  by  mere  chance  that  the  tide  of  German  emigration 
from  New  York  Province  into  Pennsylvania  was  diverted 
from  the  Minisink  to  the  Tulpehocken  region.  A  full  ac- 
count of  this  interesting  subject  will  be  found  in  the  pub- 
lications of  the  Pennsylvania-German  Society,  Vol.  IX., 
Among  those  who  came  to  this  locality,  somewhat  later, 
was  Samuel  Dupui,  a  Huguenot  Frenchman,  who  settled 

(470) 


Dupui's  Fort.  471 

originally  at  Esopus,  there  married  a  Dutch  girl,  and,  some 
time  prior  to  1725,  came  to  the  Minisink  region.  He 
purchased  a  large  portion  of  the  level  lands  on  which  the 
present  town  of  Shawnee  is  situated,  of  the  Minsi  Indians 
in  1727,  and  likewise  two  large  islands  in  the  Delaware — 
Shawano  and  Manwalamink.  Subsequently,  in  1733,  he 
purchased  the  same  property  of  William  Allen.  Here, 
on  the  Delaware  River,  five  and  one-half  miles  from  where 
the  present  town  of  Stroudsburg  stands,  Dupui  built  a  log 
house,  his  first  home,  which  was  afterwards  replaced  by  a 
stone  house,  of  spacious  size,  and  which  he  occupied  at  the 
outbreak  of  Indian  hostilities  in  1755. 

Prominently  situated,  as  it  was,  just  beyond  the  moun- 
tain, where  it  commanded  the  populous  region  above,  as 
well  as  the  district  below,  with  the  approaches  to  Easton, 
Bethlehem,  etc.,  it  was  but  natural  to  occupy  the  building 
at  once,  especially  as  its  substantial  character,  in  itself, 
made  it  an  admirable  place  of  defense  and  refuge. 

It  stood  about  two  hundred  feet  west  by  south  from 
Mr.  Robert  Depuy's  present  farm  house,  on  the  road  lead- 
ing from  the  main  road  to  the  ferry.  From  here  the  main 
road  runs  in  a  westerly  direction  to  Stroudsburg,  five  and 
one-half  miles,  and  the  Delaware  Water  Gap,  and  in  a 
northeasterly  direction  to  Bushkill,  by  the  river,  where 
stood,  formerly,  Fort  Hyndshaw.  There  was  an  old 
spring  on  its  site,  and  numerous  relics  have  since  been  found 
on  the  spot  which  corroborate  the  location  given. 

As  early  as  December,  1755,  Captain  Isaac  Wayne  was 
temporarily  on  duty  at  the  place,  but  was  soon  relieved  by 
Captain  Nicholas  Wetterholt,  who  remained  in  charge. 

This  is  what  Commissary  Jas.  Young  has  to  say  about 
it,  when  he  reached  it  on  his  tour  of  inspection  : 

"June  24,   1756.  ...  At  7  P.  M.     Came  to  Sam'l 


472 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


I) u pui's  Fort.  473 

Depues,   mustered   that    Part-   of   Capt'n   Weatherholt's 

Comp'y  that  are  Stationed  here,  a  Lieu't  and  26  men  all 
regularly  Inlisted  for  6  months  as  are  the  rest  of  his 
Comp'y;  Round  Depues  house  is  a  Large  but  very  Slight 
and  ill  Contriv'd  Staccadc  with  a  Sweevle  Gun  mounted  on 
each  Corner.  M'r  Depue  was  not  at  home,  his  Son  with 
a  Son  of  M'r  Broadheads  Keeping  house.  They  e\- 
press'd  themselves  as  if  they  thought  tin-  Province  \v;is 
oblig'd  to  them  for  allowing  this  Party  to  be  in  (heir  house, 
allso  made  use  of  very  arrogant  Expressions  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  the  People  of  Phil'a  in  General;  they  seem 
to  make  a  mere  merchandize  of  the  People  Stationed  here, 
selling  Rum  at  8  d  p'r  Gill. —  Provincial  Stores,  [3  (  ,\1 
Muskets,  3  Cartooch  Boxes,  13  lb  Powder,  22  lb.  Lead." 
Mr.  Young's  criticism  of  the  family  is  hardly  fair,  and 
was  doubtless  occasioned  by  some  little  occurrence  not  to 
his  liking.  When  we  remember  that  these  people,  and 
others,  had  been  living  for  years  on  their  plantations, 
many  of  them  purchased  fairly  from  the  Indians,  which, 
at  considerable  expense  and  labor,  had  been  brought  to  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  and  were  then  suddenly  con- 
fronted by  the  English  from  Philadelphia,  who  bluntly 
told  them  the  lands  were  theirs  and  that  they  would  either 
be  obliged  to  purchase  them  over  again  or  leave  them,  we 
can  readily  believe  that  they  did  not  have  the  most  cordial 
feling  towards  the  English.  Notwithstanding  this  fact, 
however,  nowhere  else  is  there  found  any  harsh  criticism 
against  Mr.  Dupui,  but,  on  the  contrary,  many  kind  ex- 
pressions. I  Ic  may  have  sold  rum  to  the  garrison,  but 
that  was  merely  following  what  was  then  very  customary, 
and  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  he  could  keep  the  sol- 
diers supplied  with  that  necessary  of  life  for  nothing. 


474  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

On  March  2,  1758,  Major  James  Burd  likewise  visited 
the  place  on  a  tour  of  inspection  and  reported  it  to  be 
"  a  very  fine  Plantation,  Situate  upon  the  River  Delaware, 
21  miles  from  Tead's  &  100  miles  from  Phila'a,  they  go 
in  Boats  from  hence  to  Phila'a  by  the  River  Delaware, 
which  carrys  about  22  Ton.  This  place  is  35  miles  from 
Easton  and  38  from  Bethlehem.  There  is  a  pretty  good 
Stockade  here  &  4  Sweevells  mounted  &  good  accommo- 
dation for  soldiers. 

u3'd  Friday. 

"  Revewed  this  Garrison  and  found  here  22  good  men, 
.  .  .  Extreme  cold.  The  Country  apply  for  a  Company 
to  be  Stationed  here.  Ordered  Ensigne  Hughes  to  his 
Post  at  Swettarrow." 

In  June,  1758,  Captain  Bull,  commanding  at  Fort  Allen, 
having  been  notified  of  approaching  danger,  at  once  wrote 
Mr.  Dupui  as  follows: 

"June  ye  14th,  1758,  at  Fort  Allen. 

"Mr.  Samuel  Depugh: 

"  This  is  to  let  you  know  that  there  is  this  evening  come 
to  Fort  Allen  too  white  men  from  Wioming,  one  named 
Frederick  Post,  and  one  Thomson,  who  have  been  there 
with  messages  from  the  Government,  who  informs  that 
there  pass'd  by  Wioming  a  party  of  Indians,  in  number 
25,  Being  part  of  too  hundred  French  Indians,  on  their 
way  to  the  frontiers  or  Minisinks,  these  in  hast  from  yours 
to  Serve. 

"John  Bull,  Capt." 

Immediately  Mr.  Dupui  wrote  to  Mr.  Swain  at  Easton: 


LU 
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O 

o 

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5 

Q. 

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Dupui's  Fort.  475 

"Smithfield,  June  15th,  1758,  at  night. 

"Dear  Sir: 

"  Inclosed  I  send  you  Capt.  Bull's  letter  to  me  from 
Fort  Allen,  with  an  acc't  of  Indians  supposed  to  be  on 
their  way  to  this  part  of  the  Frontiers  or  Minisink,  which 
is  much  to  be  feared,  will  prove  most  fatal  to  this  part, 
as  it  is  at  present  the  most  Defenceless,  the  Bearer  of  Mr. 
Bull's  letter  informs  me  that  he  saw  1 1  Indians  between 
this  and  Fort  Allen,  but  he  Luckily  made  his  escape,  to 
this  he  says  he  is  willing  to  be  qualified,  I  hope  D'r  Sir  you 
will  be  kind  enough  to  take  his  qualification,  and  Trans- 
mit it  to  his  Honour  our  Governor  with  a  state  of  our 
present  Defenceless  Circumstances,  interceding  for  us  by 
imploring  his  hon'r  to  aid  and  assist  us  as  much  as  in  his 
power,  as  your  influence  I  humbly  apprehend  is  Great  and 
yourself  well  acquainted  with  our  Defenceless  Situation, 
much  mischief  has  been  done  in  the  Minisinks  some  time 
ago  of  which  I  believe  you  are  by  this  time  informed,  last 
Thirsday  the  Indians  began  to  renew  their  Barbarities 
by  killing  and  scalping  2  men,  and  slightly  wounding 
another,  in  the  Minisinks,  and  this  morning  we  heared 
the  Disagreeable  news  of  a  Fort  being  taken  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  Minisinks,  by  a  party  of  Indians  supposed  to 
be  40  in  number,  the  white  men  it's  said  belonging  to  that 
Garrison  were  Farmers,  and  were  out  in  their  plantations 
when  the  Indians  fired  on  them  and  Killed  them,  where- 
upon the  Indians  marched  up  to  the  Fort  and  took  all  the 
women  and  children  Captive  and  carrying  them  away,  and 
last  night  the  Indians  stole  a  ferry  Boat  at  a  place  called 
Wallpack;  and  brought  from  the  Jersey  Shore  to  this  side 
a  large  number  of  Indians,  as  appeared  by  their  Tracks 
on  the  sand  banks,  so  that  we  are  in  continual  fear  of  their 


476  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

approach,  I  wish  we  may  be  able  to  Defend  ourselves 
against  them  till  it  be  his  honour's  power  to  assist  us  under 
God,  he  being  our  protector,  and  I  make  no  Doubt  from 
the  Fatherly  care  his  honour  has  been  pleased  to  exercise 
over  us  since  his  succession  to  this  province,  But  he  will 
be  willing  to  acquiesce  with  your  reasonable  and  just  senti- 
ments upon  the  whole,  which  believe  me  Dear  Sir  will 
always  meet  a  grateful  and  adequate  acknowledgment 
from  your  most  Humble  Servant. 

"Samuel  Dupui." 

"  P.  S. — Should  his  Honour  think  proper  to  send  men, 
he  need  not  provide  any  further  than  their  arrival  here,  I 
have  provisions  for  them." 

With  this  letter  ends  our  recorded  history  of  Dupui's 
Fort,  the  last  of  the  defenses  employed  against  the  Indians. 

Colonel  Armstrong's  Expedition  Against 

KlTTANNING. 

The  old  Indian  town  of  Kittanning  was  settled  by  the 
Delawares  prior  to  1730.  Shingas,  king  of  the  Delawares, 
on  whom  Washington  called,  in  1753,  at  his  residence  near 
McKee's  Rocks,  occasionally  resided  with  Captain  Jacobs, 
at  the  Kittanning,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Allegheny,  or, 
as  it  was  then  called,  Ohio,  which  the  Indians  pronounced 
Oh-he-hu,  or  Ho-he-hu,  meaning  beautiful  or  handsome. 

Of  Captain  Jacobs  we  have  previously  heard.  King 
Shingas,  says  Heckewelder,  was  "  a  bloody  warrior,  cruel 
his  treatment,  relentless  his  fury,  small  in  person,  but  in 
activity,  courage  and  savage  prowess  unexcelled." 

After  Braddock's  defeat,  when  the  entire  frontier  lay 
open  to  the  enemy,  it  became  necessary  to  secure  infor- 
mation as  to  the  numbers,  etc.,  of  the  savages.     To  that 


Dupui's  Fort.  477 

end  a  Delaware,  named  Jo  Hickman,  was  sent,  by  George 
Croghan,  to  the  Ohio,  who  returned  in  January,  1756, 
and  reported  that  "  he  had  gone  to  Kittanning,  an  Indian 
Delaware  town  on  the  Ohio  (Allegheney) ,  forty  miles 
above  Fort  Duquesne,  the  residence  of  Shingas  and  Capt. 
Jacobs,  where  he  found  140  men,  chiefly  Delawares  and 
Shawanese,  who  had  there  with  them  above  100  English 
prisoners,  big  and  little,  taken  from  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania. From  the  Kittanning  he  went  to  Loggstown, 
where  he  found  100  Indians  and  30  English  prisoners; 
that  he  returned  to  Kittanning,  and  there  learned  that  10 
Delawares  had  gone  to  the  Susquehanna  to  persuade,  as 
he  supposed,  those  Indians  to  strike  the  English  who  might 
have  been  concerned  in  the  mischief  lately  done  in  North- 
ampton "  (the  Walking  Purchase,  etc.). 

It  was  from  these  headquarters  that  the  savages  made 
their  continual  forays  upon  the  settlers,  west  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna in  especial.  When  these  marauding  expeditions 
culminated  in  the  destruction  of  Fort  Granville,  at  the  end 
of  July,  1756,  with  its  accompanying  murders,  it  was 
determined  to  break  up  these  harboring  places.  To  that 
end  an  expedition  was  authorized,  under  the  charge  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  John  Armstrong  commanding  the 
Second  Battalion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  While 
it  is  true  that  the  majority  of  his  force  was  composed  of 
Scotch-Irish  and  English,  yet  it  also  contained,  in  its  ranks, 
many  of  German  blood.  Armstrong,  with  three  hundred 
and  seven  men  of  his  force,  was  at  Fort  Shirley,  Monday, 
September  3,  1756,  whence  he  set  out  on  his  campaign. 
The  events  which  followed  are  clearly  detailed  in  the 
official  report  now  to  follow. 


47$  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Colonel  Armstrong's  Account  of  the 
Expedition. 

11  May  it  please  your  honor:  Agreeable  to  mine  of  the 
29th  ult.,  we  marched  from  Fort  Shirley  the  day  follow- 
ing, and  on  Beaver  Dam,  a  few  miles  from  Frankstown, 
on  the  North.  Wednesday,  the  third  instant,  joined  our 
advance  party  at  the  Branch  of  Juniata,  we  were  there 
informed  that  some  of  our  men  having  been  out  upon  a 
scout  had  discovered  the  tracks  of  two  Indians,  about 
three  miles  on  this  side  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains,  and 
but  a  few  miles  from  the  camp.  From  the  freshness  of 
the  tracks,  their  killing  of  a  cub  bear,  and  the  marks  of 
their  fires,  it  seemed  evident  that  they  were  not  twenty- 
four  hours  before  us,  which  might  be  looked  upon  as  a 
particular  providence  in  our  favor,  that  we  were  not  dis- 
covered. Next  morning  we  decamped,  and  in  two  days 
we  came  within  50  miles  of  Kittanning.  It  was  then  ad- 
judged necessary  to  send  some  persons  to  reconnoitre  the 
Town,  to  get  the  best  intelligence  they  could  concerning 
the  situation  and  position  of  the  enemy;  whereupon  an 
officer  with  one  of  the  pilots  and  two  soldiers,  were  sent 
off  for  that  purpose.  The  day  following  we  met  them 
on  their  return,  and  they  informed  us  that  the  roads  were 
entirely  clear  of  the  enemy,  and  that  they  had  the  greatest 
reason  to  believe  that  they  were  not  discovered,  but  from 
the  rest  of  the  intelligence  they  gave  it  appeared  they  had 
not  been  nigh  enough  to  the  Town,  either  to  perceive 
the  true  situation  of  it,  the  number  of  the  enemy,  and  what 
way  it  might  most  advantageously  be  attacked.  We  con- 
tinued our  march,  in  order  to  get  as  near  the  Town  as 
possible  that  night,  so  as  to  be  able  to  attack  it  next  morn- 
ing about  daylight,  but  to  our  great  dissatisfaction,  about 


Dupui's  Fort.  479 

9  or  10  o'clock  that  night,  one  of  the  guides  told  us  that 
he  perceived  a  fire  by  the  roadside,  at  which  he  saw  2  or 
3  Indians  a  few  perches  distant  from  our  front;  where 
upon,  with  all  possible  silence,  I  ordered  the  rear  to  retreat 
about  100  perches  in  order  to  make  way  for  the  front, 
that  we  might  consult  what  way  we  had  best  proceed  with- 
out being  discovered  by  the  enemy.     Soon  after  the  pilot 
returned  a  second  time,   and  assured  us,   from  the  best 
observations  he  could  make,  there  were  not  more  than  3 
or  4  Indians  at  the  fire,  on  which  it  was  proposed  that  we 
should  immediately  surround  and  cut  them  off,  but  this 
was  thought  too  hazardous,  for  if  but  one  of  the  enemy 
had  escaped,  it  would  have  been  the  means  of  discovering 
the  whole  design;  and  the  light  of  the  moon  on  which 
depended  our  advantageously  posting  our  men,  and  attack- 
ing the  Town,  would  not  admit  of  our  staying  until  the 
Indians  fell  asleep.     On  which  it  was   agreed  to   leave 
Lieutenant  Hogg  with  12  men,  and  the  person  who  first 
discovered  the  fire,  with  orders  to  watch  the  enemy,  but 
not  to  attack  them  until  break  of  day,  and  then,  if  pos- 
sible, to  cut  them  off.     It  was  agreed  (we  believing  our- 
selves to  be  about  6  miles  from  the  Town),  to  leave  the 
horses,  many  of  them  being  tired,  with  what  blankets  and 
baggage  we  then  had,  and  to  take  a  circuit  off  the  road, 
which  was  very  rough  and  incommodious  on  account  of 
the  stones  and  fallen  timber,  in  order  to  prevent  our  being 
heard  by  the  enemy  at  the  fire  place.     This  interruption 
much  retarded  our  march,  but  a  still  greater  arose  from 
the  ignorance  of  our  pilot,  he  neither  knew  the  true  situa- 
tion of  the  Town  nor  the  best  paths  that  led  thereto;  by 
which  means,  after  crossing  a  number  of  hills  and  valleys, 
our  front  reached  the  River  Ohio,    (Allegheny),  about 
100  perches  below  the  main  body  of  the  Town,  a  little 


480  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

before  the  setting  of  the  moon,  to  which  place,  rather  than 
by  the  pilots,  we  were  guided  by  the  beating  of  the  drum 
and  the  whooping  of  the  warriors  at  their  dance.  It  then 
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  yards  in  our  front,  at  the 
foot  of  a  cornfield;  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  that  it  was  the  manner  of  a  young  fellow's 
calling  a  squaw  after  he  had  done  his  dance,  who  accord- 
ingly, kindled  a  fire,  cleaned  his  gun,  and  shot  it  off,  before 
he  went  to  sleep.  All  this  time  we  were  obliged  to  lay 
quiet  and  hush,  till  the  moon  was  fairly  set;  immediately 
after,  a  number  of  fires  appeared  in  different  places  in  the 
cornfield,  by  which  Baker  said  the  Indians  lay,  the  night 
being  warm,  and  that  these  fires  would  immediately  be 
out  as  they  were  only  designed  to  disperse  the  gnats.  By 
this  time  it  was  break  of  day,  and  the  men  having  marched 
thirty  miles,  were  almost  asleep.  The  line  being  long, 
the  three  companies  in  the  rear  were  not  yet  brought  over 
the  last  precipice.  For  these  some  proper  persons  were 
immediately  dispatched,  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  said  hill  at  least  one  hun- 
dred perches,  and  as  much  further,  it  then  being  daylight, 
as  would  carry  them  opposite  the  upper  part,  or  at  least 
the  body  of  the  town.  For  the  lower  part  thereof,  and 
the  cornfield,  (presuming  the  warriors  were  there),  I  kept 
rather  the  larger  number  of  the  men,  promising  to  post- 
pone the  attack  on  that  part  for  eighteen  or  twenty  min- 


Dupui's  Fort.  481 

utes,  until  the  detachment  along  the  hill  should  have  time 
to  advance  to  the  place  assigned,  in  doing  of  which  they 
were  a  little  unfortunate.  The  time  being  elapsed,  the 
attack  was  begun  in  the  cornfield,  and  the  men,  with  all 
expedition  possible  dispatched  to  the  several  parts  thereof, 
a  party  being  also  dispatched  to  the  houses,  which  were 
then  discovered  by  the  light  of  the  day.  Capt.  Jacobs 
immediately  gave  the  war-whoop,  and  with  sundry  other 
Indians,  as  the  English  prisoners  afterwards  told  us,  cried 
that '  the  white  men  were  come  at  last,  and  that  they  would 
have  scalps  enough;'  but  at  the  same  time  ordered  their 
squaws  and  children  to  flee  to  the  woods.  Our  men  with 
great  eagerness  passed  through  and  fired  into  the  cornfield, 
where  they  had  several  returns  from  the  enemy,  as  they 
also  had  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Presently 
after  a  brisk  fire  began  among  the  houses,  which  from  the 
house  of  Capt.  Jacobs  were  returned  with  a  great  deal  of 
resolution.  To  that  place  I  immediately  repaired,  and 
found  that,  from  the  advantage  of  the  house  and  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  done  by  sundry  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  with 
a  great  deal  of  activity,  the  Indians  always  firing  when  an 
object  presented  itself,  and  seldom  missed  of  wounding  or 
killing  some  of  our  people.  From  this  house,  in  moving 
about  to  give  the  necessary  orders  and  directions,  I  was 
wounded  by  a  large  musket  ball,  in  my  shoulder.  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  taken  a  prisoner,  upon  which  he  was  told  he  would 
be  burnt ;  to  this  he  answered  he  did  not  care,  for  he  would 


482  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

kill  four  or  five  before  he  died;  and  had  we  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  the  approach  and  the  smoke  grew  thick, 
one  of  the  Indians  began  to  sing.  A  squaw,  in  the  same 
house,  at  the  same  time,  was  heard  to  cry  and  make  a 
noise,  but  for  so  doing  was  severely  rebuked  by  the  men ; 
but  by  and  by  the  fire  being  too  hot  for  them,  two  Indians 
and  a  squaw  sprang  out  and  made  for  the  cornfield,  and 
were  immediately  shot  down  by  our  people.  Then  sur- 
rounding the  houses,  it  was  thought  Captain  Jacobs  tum- 
bled himself  out  of  a  garret  or  cock-loft,  at  which  time  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  the  scalp, 
as  no  other  Indians  there  wore  their  hair  in  the  same  man- 
ner. They  also  say  they  knew  his  squaw's  scalp,  and  the 
scalp  of  a  young  Indian  named  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 
officers  had  gathered),  from  whence  they  had  discovered 
some  Indians  cross  the  river  and  take  to  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  I  could  by  no  means  consent,  until  all 
the  houses  were  set  on  fire;  though  our  spreading  on  the 
hill  appeared  very  necessary,  yet  it  did  not  prevent  our 
researches  of  the  cornfield  and  river  side,  by  which  means 


Dupui's  Fort.  483 

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  succession  of  reports  of  charged  guns  gradually  firing 
off,  as  the  fire  reached  them,  and  much  more  so  with  the 
vast  explosion  of  sundry  bags,  and  large  kegs  of  gun- 
powder, wherewith  almost  every  house  abounded.  The 
prisoners  afterwards  told  us,  that  the  Indians  had  often 
boasted  that  they  had  powder  enough  for  a  two  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, 
to  such  a  height,  that  they  appeared  as  nothing,  and  fell 
in  the  adjacent  cornfield.  There  was  also  a  great  quantity 
of  goods  burnt,  which  the  Indians  had  received  as  a  present 
but  ten  days  before  from  the  French.  By  this  time  I  had 
proceeded  to  the  hill  to  have  my  wound  tied  up  and  the 
blood  stopped,  where  the  prisoners,  who  had  come  to  us 
in  the  morning,  informed  me  that  that  very  day  two  bat- 
teaux  of  Frenchmen,  with  a  large  party  of  Delaware  and 
French  Indians,  were  to  join  Captain  Jacobs  at  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  sent  out  the  evening  before,  for  what  purpose  they 
did  not  know,  whether  to  prepare  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  this  intelligence  of  the  prisoners  (our 
provisions  being  scaffolded  some  thirty  miles  back,  except 


484  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

what  were  in  the  men's  haversacks,  which  were  left  with 
the  horses  and  blankets,  with  Lieutenant  Hogg  and  his 
party,  and  a  number  of  wounded  people  then  on  hand), 
and  by  the  advice  of  the  officers,  it  was  thought  impru- 
dent then  to  wait  for  the  cutting  down  of  the  cornfield 
(which  was  before  designed)  ;  but  immediately  to  collect 
our  wounded,  and  force  our  march  back  in  the  best  manner 
we  could,  which  we  did  by  collecting  a  few  Indian  horses 
to  carry  off  our  wounded.  From  the  apprehensions  of 
being  waylaid  and  surrounded  (especially  by  some  of  the 
woodmen),  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  ran  off  immediately,  from  whom  we  received 
no  other  damage  than  one  of  our  men  being  wounded 
through  both  legs.  Captain  Mercer  being  wounded,  he 
was  induced,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  to  leave  the  main 
body  with  his  ensign,  John  Scott,  and  ten  or  twelve  men 
(they  being  overheard  to  tell  him  we  were  in  great  danger 
and  that  they  could  take  him  into  the  road  by  a  nigh  way) , 
and  is  probably  lost,  there  being  yet  no  account  of  him. 
A  detachment  of  most  of  our  men  was  sent  back  to  bring 
him  in,  but  could  not  find  him,  and  upon  the  return  of  the 
detachment  it  was  generally  reported  that  he  was  seen 
with  the  above  number  of  men  to  take  a  different  road. 
Upon  our  return  to  the  place  where  the  Indian  fire  had 
been  seen  the  night  before,  we  met  a  sergeant  of  Captain 
Mercer's  company  and  two  or  three  others  of  his  men, 
who  had  deserted  us  that  morning  immediately  after  the 
action  at  Kittanning.  These  men,  on  running  away,  had 
met  with  Lieutenant  Hogg,  who  lay  wounded  in  two  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  body,  near  the  road  side.     He  then 


Dupui's  Fort.  485 

told  them  of  the  fatal  mistake  of  the  pilot,  who  had  as- 
sured us  there  were  but  three  Indians,  at  the  most,  at  the 
fire  place,  but  when  he  came  to  attack  them  that  morning, 
according  to  orders,  he  found  a  number  considerably  supe- 
rior to  his,  and  believes  they  killed  and  mortally  wounded 
three  of  them  the  first  fire,  after  which  a  warm  engage- 
ment began,  and  continued  for  above  an  hour,  when  three 
of  his  best  men  were  killed,  and  himself  wounded.     The 
residue  fleeing  off,  he  was  obliged  to  squat  in  a  thicket, 
where  he  might  have  laid  securely  until  the  main  body 
came  up,  if  this  cowardly  sergeant,  and  others  that  fled 
with  him,  had  not  taken  him  away.     They  had  marched 
but  a  shore  distance,  when  four  Indians  appeared,  upon 
which  these  deserters  began  to  flee;  the  Lieutenant,  not 
withstanding  his  wounds,  as  a  brave  soldier,  urging  and 
commanding  them  to  stand  and  fight,  which  they  all  re- 
fused.    The  Indians  pursued,  killing  one  man  and  wound- 
ing the  Lieutenant  a  third  time  in  the  belly,  of  which  he 
died  in  a  few  hours;  but  having  been  placed  on  horseback 
some  time  before  he  rode  some  miles  from  the  place  of 
action.     But  this  attack  of  the  Indians  upon  Lieutenant 
Hogg  was  represented  by  the  cowardly  sergeant  in  an 
entirely  different  light;  he  tells  us  there  was  a  far  larger 
number  of  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  upon  them  to  collect  the  horses  and 
what  other  baggage  the  Indians  had  left  after  their  con- 
quest of  Lieutenant  Hogg  and  the  party  under  his  com- 


486  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

mand,  in  the  morning,  except  a  few  horses,  which  a  few 
of  the  bravest  men  were  prevailed  upon  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  sustained  a  considerable  loss  of  horses 
and  baggage.  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  exact  num- 
ber of  the  enemy  killed  in  the  action,  as  some  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  others  in  different  parts  of  the  corn- 
field; but,  upon  a  moderate  computation,  it  is  generally 
believed  that  there  can  be  no  less  than  thirty  or  forty 
killed  and  mortally  wounded,  as  much  blood  was  found 
in  the  cornfield,  and  Indians  seen  to  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  cross- 
ing the  river.  On  beginning  our  march  back  we  had 
about  a  dozen  scalps  of  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  or  five  prisoners, 
the  other  seven  being  now  at  this  place,  where  we  arrived 
on  Sunday  night,  not  being  even  separated  or  attacked  by 
the  enemy  during  our  whole  march.  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  con- 
venient place,  where  the  disposition  of  the  men  and  the 
duty  assigned  to  them,  could  have  been  performed  with 
greater  advantage,  we  had,  by  Divine  assistance,  destroyed 
a  much  greater  number  of  the  enemy,  recovered  a  greater 
number  of  prisoners,  and  sustained  less  damage  than  we 
at  present  have;  but  though  the  advantage  gained  over 
our  common  enemy  is  far  from  being  satisfactory  to  us, 


Dupui's  Fort.  487 

yet  must  we  not  despise  the  smallest  degrees  of  success  that 
God  was  pleased  to  give,  especially  at  a  time  of  such  gen- 
eral calamity,  when  the  attempts  of  our  enemies  have  been 
so  prevalent  and  successful.  I  am  sure  there  was  the 
greatest  inclination  to  do  more,  had  it  been  in  our  power, 
as  the  officers,  and  most  of  the  men,  throughout  the  whole 
action,  exerted  themselves  with  as  much  activity  and  reso- 
luation  as  could  possibly  be  expected. 

"Our  prisoners  inform  us  that  the  Indians  have  for 
some  time  talked  of  fortifying  Kittanning  and  other  towns; 
that  the  number  of  French  at  Fort  Duquesne  was  about 
four  hundred;  that  the  principal  part  of  their  provisions 
came  up  the  river  from  the  Mississippi,  and  that  in  three 
other  forts  which  the  French  have  on  the  Ohio,  there  are 
not  more  men  altogether  than  there  is  at  Fort  Duquesne." 

The  destruction  of  the  town  of  Kittanning,  and  the 
Indian  families  there,  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  savage. 
Hitherto  the  English  had  not  assailed  them  in  their  towns, 
and  they  fancied  that  they  would  not  venture  to  do  so. 
But  now,  though  urged  by  an  unquenchable  thirst  for  ven- 
geance, to  retaliate  the  blow  they  had  received,  they 
dreaded  that,  in  their  absence  on  war  parties,  their  wig- 
wams might  be  reduced  to  ashes.  Such  of  them  as  be- 
longed to  Kittanning,  and  had  escaped  the  carnage,  refused 
to  settle  again  on  the  east  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  resolved 
to  place  that  fortress  and  the  French  garrison,  between 
them  and  the  English. 

On  the  fifth  of  January  following,  the  Corporation  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  occasion  of  this  victory,  addressed  a 
complimentary  letter  to  Colonel  Armstrong,  thanking  him 
and  his  officers  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  soldiers,  the 


488 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


officer  pointing  to  a  soldier  shooting  from  behind  a  tree, 
with  an  Indian  prostrate  before  him;  in  the  background 
Indian  houses  in  flames.  Legend:  Kittanning  destroyed 
by  Colonel  Armstrong,  September  8,  1756.  Reverse 
Device:  The  arms  of  the  Corporation.  Legend:  The  gift 
of  the  Corporation  of  Philadelphia. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

Colonel  Bouquet  and  the  Royal  Americans. 

♦ffN  view  of  the  scarcity  of  troops 
II  available  for  the  operations  of 
the  British  Government  the  thought 
suggested  itself,  to  those  in  author- 
ity, of  relieving  the  situation  by  the 
enlistment  of  persons  of  alien  blood, 
to  serve  especially  in  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  most  of  such 
were  to  be  found. 
Recognizing,  at  the  same  time,  the  aversion  of  the  Ger- 
mans to  serve  under  officers  who  could  not  speak  their 
tongue  nor  understand  their  characteristics,  it  was  most 
sensibly  decided  to  commission,  for  this  purpose,  a  certain 
number  of  experienced  foreigners. 

The  result  of  the  decision  thus  reached  is  embodied  in 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  March  13,  1756, 
from  Secretary  of  State,  H.  Fox,  to  Governor  Morris, 
which  was  read  by  him  to  the  Council,  at  its  meeting  of 
June  29,  1756. 

"Whitehall,  13th  March,  1756. 


"  It  having  been  represented  that  a  Number  of  the  For- 

(489) 


49°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

eign  Settlers  in  America  might  be  more  willing  to  enter 
in  the  King's  Service,  if  they  were  Commanded  by  officers 
of  their  own  Country,  an  Act  of  Parliament  has  been 
passed,  of  which  I  send  you,  Inclosed,  a  Printed  Copy, 
enabling  His  Majesty  to  grant  Commissions  to  a  certain 
number  of  German,  Swiss  and  Dutch  Protestants,  who 
have  served  as  officers  or  Engineers;  and  as  they  have 
already  engaged,  they  will  embark  with  all  Expedition  in 
order  to  assist  in  raising  and  Commanding  such  of  the 
Foreign  Protestants  in  North  America,  as  shall  be  able 
and  willing  to  serve  with  the  rest  of  the  Forces  upon  this 
Occasion ;  and  it  is  the  King's  Pleasure  that  you  should 
give  any  of  the  said  officers  who  may  enter  into  your  Gov- 
ernment, all  the  assistance  in  your  Power  in  the  Execution 
of  this  Service." 

The  direct  consequence  of  this  act  was  the  formation 
of  the  Royal  American  Regiment,  now  the  Sixtieth  Rifles 
of  the  British  Army,  consisting  of  four  battalions  of  one 
thousand  men  each.  Colonel  Bouquet  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  First  Battalion,  an  adopted  son  of  Pennsyl- 
vania,25 who  never  failed  to  do  it  credit  nor  serve  it  faith- 
fully. We  are  told  that  his  person  was  fine,  and  his  bear- 
ing composed  and  dignified,  perhaps  somewhat  austere, 
for  he  is  said  to  have  been  more  respected  than  loved  by 
his  officers.  Nevertheless,  their  letters  are  very  far  from 
indicating  any  want  of  cordial  relations.  He  was  fond 
of  the  society  of  men  of  science,  and  wrote  English  better 
than  most  British  officers  of  the  time.  Here  and  there, 
however,  a  passage  in  his  letters  suggests  the  inference 
that  the  character  of  the  gallant  mercenary  was  toned  by 
his  profession,  and  to  the  unideal  epoch  in  which  he  lived. 

x  Naturalized  March  3,  1765,  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  accordance  with  Act  of  Parliament. 


Colonel  Bouquet  and  Royal  Americans.         491 

Yet  he  was  not  the  less  an  excellent  soldier;  indefatigable, 
faithful,  full  of  resource,  and  without  those  arrogant  prej- 
udices which  impaired  the  efficiency  of  many  good  British 
officers.  He  had  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  In- 
dian warfare,  and  it  is  said  that,  in  the  course  of  the  hazar- 
dous partisan  service  in  which  he  was  often  engaged,  when 
it  was  necessary  to  penetrate  dark  defiles  and  narrow 
passes,  he  was  sometimes  known  to  advance  before  his 
men,  armed  with  a  rifle,  and  acting  the  part  of  a  scout. 

Henry  Bouquet  was  born  at  Rolle,  in  the  Canton  of 
Berne,  Switzerland,  about  17 19.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  was  received,  as  a  cadet,  in  the  regiment  of  Con- 
stance, and  thence  passed  into  the  service  of  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  in  whose  wars  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  lieu- 
tenant, and  afterwards  as  adjutant.  In  1748  he  entered 
the  Swiss  Guards  as  lieutenant-colonel.  When  the  war 
broke  out  between  England  and  France,  in  1754,  he  was 
solicited  by  the  former  to  serve  in  America.  No  soldier 
of  foreign  birth  was  so  distinguished  or  so  successful  in 
Indian  warfare  as  he.  His  services,  in  that  direction,  will 
be  treated  more  in  detail  presently.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Burgesses  of 
Virginia  adopted  addresses  of  gratitude,  tendered  him 
their  thanks  and  recommended  him  for  promotion  in  His 
Majesty's  service.  Immediately  after  the  peace  with  the 
Indians  was  concluded,  the  King  made  him  brigadier- 
general  and  commandant  in  the  Southern  colonies  of 
British  America.  He  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  his  honors 
but  died  at  Pensacola  in  1767,  "lamented  by  his  friends, 
and  regretted  universally." 

This  battalion  of  the  Royal  American  Regiment,  com- 
manded by  Bouquet,  was  made  up,  almost  entirely,  of 
Pennsylvania-Germans.     Therefore,  his  glories  are  their 


492  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

glories,  his  services  are  their  services.  Quite  a  number  of 
the  German  Redemptioners  presented  themselves  as  re- 
cruits, so  much  so  as  to  cause  some  little  friction  between 
the  authorities  and  their  masters. 

By  1763-64  a  fair  number  of  English  provincials  were 
to  be  found  in  its  ranks,  as  well  as  those  of  German  descent. 

Marriages  of  Soldiers. 

Irrespective  of  names  found  elsewhere  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  among  the  marriage  records  of  the  Zion 
Lutheran  Church  of  Philadelphia  just  published,  for  the 
first  time,  by  the  Pennsylvania-German  Society,  are  found 
various  names  of  soldiers  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
all,  apparently,  members  of  the  Royal  American  Regi- 
ment, as  follows: 

Anno   1757. 

Baker,  Thomas   (soldier). 

Badere,  Barbara;  m.  February  8. 

Witness:  Adam  Smith,  Capt.  Lander,  Bendin  Horneg, 
Corp.  Bakett,  Friedrich  Durr,  Capt.  Harter,  Fried.  Schatz, 
Capt.  Harting,  Charles  Schokard. 

Conrad,  Charles,  soldier  in  Lieut.  Meyer's  Comp.  1st 
Bat. 

;  m.  February  15. 

Witness:  Adam  Smith,  John  Nash. 

Nash,  John,  soldier  in  Capt.  Lander's  Company,  Lieut. 
Meyer. 

Meyle,  Esther;  m.  March  5. 

Witness:  Robert  Hand  (soldier),  Charles  Conrad, 
James  Davis,  John  Vogel. 

Horn,  Joseph. 

Ferdin,  Mary;  m.  March  7. 


Colonel  Bouquet  and  Royal  Americans.         493 

Witness:  Robert  Hand  (Sergt.),  Lydia  Cooke  at  Joseph 
Turner's,  Mercy  Kelly,  John  Nash. 

Hentz,  Jacob,  Col.  Stanwik's  (Command). 

Windles,  Apalinna,  free,  served  her  time,  and  lived  near 
Lancaster  two  years;  m.  March  12. 

Witness:  Knobold  Pfillipp,  Nicolaus  Damlon,  both 
soldiers. 

Ox,  George  Leonhard  (soldier). 

Flikein,  Margreth,  from  Saxe  Gotha;  m.  March  14. 

Witness:  Carl  Furshed  (Sergeant),  Johan  Herzog, 
Philipp  Chain. 

Weynie,  George,  soldier,  in  Capt.  Gates'  Independent 
Company. 

Smithin,  Juliana,  servant  by  Valentin  Scales;  m.  March 
16. 

Witness:  Valentin  Scales,  Niclaus  Zimmerman,  Jacob 
Hence. 

Leischnitz,  Christian,  soldier. 

Bettman,  Christina,  widow;  m.  April  3. 

Witness:  Three  Vorstehers,  Jiirg.  Sofferens,  Joh.  Jiirg 
Reit. 

Folke,  Godfried  (corporal). 

Rieman,  Margreth;  m.  April  3. 

Witness:  Three  Vorstehers,  Peter  Bacher,  Joh.  Hartm. 
Raush. 

Kampf,  Thomas  (Sergeant). 

Plasirin,  Cathrina;  m.  May  1. 

Witness:  Plus.  Kaber  in  my  neighbor's  house. 

Johannes,  Peter,  soldier  in  Gavin  Cochrane. 

Utzin,  Cathrina;  m.  May  9. 

Witness:  John  Mackintosh,  William  Fischer,  Barbara 
Messingere. 

Vogel,  Johannes,  1  battalion,  Capt.  Lander's  company. 

Vakin,  Anna  Marg.,  widow;  m.  May  13. 


494  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Witness:  Jurg  Fr.  Volprecht,  Johan  Adam  Fuchs,  Jacob 
Eninger,  Fried  Osborn. 

This  new  regiment,  originally  composed  almost  en- 
tirely of  German  and  Swiss  Protestants,  was  first  called 
the  Sixty-Second,  or  the  Royal  American  Regiment  of 
Foot.  On  enlistment  for  three  years  the  men  were  obliged 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  to  become  naturalized 
subjects  of  Great  Britain,  but  were  required  to  serve  only 
in  America.  At  the  disbandment  of  Shirley's  and  Pep- 
perell's  regiments  in  1756,  which  were  numbered  the 
Fiftieth  and  the  Fifty-first,  the  title  was  changed  to  the 
Sixtieth,  or  Royal  American  Regiment  of  Foot. 

Its  services  were  varied,  numerous  and  most  honorable. 
For  distinguished  conduct  and  bravery  in  1759,  under 
Wolf  at  Quebec,  it  was  granted  the  motto  "  celer  et  audax." 
The  scope  of  this  narrative  will  only  permit  us  to  add, 
with  regard  to  it,  that,  in  1758,  the  First  and  Fourth  Bat- 
talions, under  Bouquet,  served  in  the  army  of  General 
Forbes  at  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and,  in  1763, 
the  First  Battalion,  under  Bouquet,  was  in  the  Pittsburg 
campaign  of  that  year,  and  participated  in  the  fierce  battle 
of  Bushy  Run. 

In  its  ranks,  besides  Colonel  Bouquet,  and  those  of  less 
prominence  already  named,  was  another  of  the  distin- 
guished sons  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Rev.  Michael  Schlatter, 
Chaplain  of  the  Fourth  Battalion,  from  1756  to  1782, 
who  participated,  with  his  regiment,  in  the  Forbes  cam- 
paign of  1758. 

He  was  born  at  St.  Gall,  in  Switzerland,  July  14,  17 16. 
His  father,  Paulus  Schlatter,  was  a  book-keeper,  but  be- 
longed to  an  old  and  influential  family.  His  mother, 
Magdalena  Zollikofer,  was  descended  from  a  distin- 
guished family  which  had  produced  a  number  of  eminent 


Colonel  Bouquet  and  Royal  Americans.         495 

ministers  and  devotional  authors.  Having,  for  some  time, 
attended  the  gymnasium  of  his  native  place,  and  received 
special  instructions  from  Professor  Wegelin,  he  went  to 
Holland,  and,  on  December  27,  1736,  matriculated  at  the 
University  of  Leyden ;  subsequently  he  studied  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Helmstedt,  in  the  Duchy  of  Brunswick.  In 
1744  he  became  vicarius  at  Wigoldingen,  canton  of 
Thurgau,  Switzerland,  where  he  was  doubtless  ordained. 
Having  proffered  his  services  as  a  missionary  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, they  were  accepted,  and  he  was  sent  to  America  by 
the  Reformed  Synod  of  Amsterdam,  landing  at  Boston, 
after  a  dangerous  voyage,  on  August  1,  1746,  from 
whence  he  speedily  left  for  Philadelphia.  His  faithful 
service  in  the  Reformed  Church,  throughout  Pennsylvania 
and  adjoining  territory,  has  already  been  ably  given  in 
detail  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Dubbs,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  in 
Part  X.,  Vol.  XL,  of  these  publications.  He  became  the 
first  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  in  Pennsylvania, 
but  resigned  his  position  in  1757  to  become  a  chaplain  in 
the  Royal  American  Regiment.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
War  for  Independence  he  again  filled  the  same  position 
in  the  British  Army,  but,  in  a  short  time,  espoused  the 
American  cause,  and,  in  September,  1777,  when  the  British 
held  Germantown,  he  was  imprisoned  and  his  house  near 
Chestnut  Hill  ransacked.  Notwithstanding  he  had  proven 
himself  so  good  a  patriot  he  remained  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  pension  from  the  British  Government  until  his  death, 
at  Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  in  October,  1790. 

He  was  married  to  Marie  Henrika,  eldest  daughter  of 
Henry  Schleydorn,  one  of  the  most  eminent  members  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  in  Philadelphia,  by  whom  he  had 
nine  children.  Two  of  his  sons  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary Army,  and  died  in  consequence  of  the  sufferings 
then  endured. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

General  Forbes  Expedition  Against  Fort 
Duquesne. 

MITH  the  advent  of  Wil- 
liam Pitt,  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham, as  Prime  Minister  of  Eng- 
land, came  a  new  order  of  things. 
All  former  lethargy  was  shaken  off, 
and  preparations  made,  at  once,  for 
general  offensive  operations. 

Besides  the  force  to  be  sent  from 
England,  he  called  upon  the  differ- 
ent colonial  governments  to  raise  as 
many  men  as  possible,  promising 
to  send  over  all  the  necessary  munitions  of  war,  and 
pledging  himself  to  pay  liberally  all  soldiers  who  en- 
listed. Pennsylvania  promptly  equipped  two  thousand 
seven  hundred  men,  while  the  neighboring  provinces  also 
contributed  large  quotas.  Three  expeditions  were  deter- 
mined upon,  and  the  most  active  measures  taken  to  carry 
them  out. 

The  western  expedition,  intended  for  the  reduction  of 

(496) 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  497 

Fort  Duquesne,  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral John  Forbes,  an  officer  of  great  skill,  energy  and 
resolution.  His  forces  consisted  of  provincials  from 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Maryland  and  North  Carolina, 
with  1,200  Highlanders  of  Montgomery's  77th  Regiment, 
and  the  Royal  Americans,  amounting  in  all,  with  wagons 
and  camp  followers,  to  between  six  and  seven  thousand 
men. 

He  waited  at  Philadelphia  until  his  army  was  ready, 
and  it  was  the  end  of  June,  1758,  before  they  were  on  the 
march.  In  the  meantime  the  troops  from  Virginia,  North 
Carolina  and  Maryland  had  been  ordered  to  assemble  at 
Winchester,  Virginia,  under  Colonel  Washington,  and 
the  Pennsylvania  forces  at  Raystown,  now  Bedford. 

The  advance  of  the  main  force,  under  Colonel  Bouquet, 
arrived  at  Raystown  early  in  July,  preceding  General 
Forbes,  who  was  attacked  by  a  painful  and  dangerous 
malady  which  prevented  him  from  getting  further  than 
Carlisle,  and  from  reaching  Raystown  until  towards  the 
middle  of  September. 

Before  the  army  set  out  on  its  way  through  the  wilder- 
ness, from  this  verge  of  civilization,  the  question  arose 
as  to  the  route  which  should  be  pursued.  The  Virginians, 
with  Washington  as  their  active  and  zealous  speaker,  ad- 
vocated a  march  of  thirty-four  miles  to  Fort  Cumberland, 
in  Maryland,  thence  to  follow  the  road  which  had  been 
made  by  Braddock;  the  Pennsylvanians  urged  the  hewing 
of  a  direct  road  through  the  forest.  It  was  finally  deter- 
mined, upon  the  opinion  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Quarter- 
master General,  who  had  accompanied  Braddock,  and  of 
Colonel  Armstrong,  to  whose  opinion  Forbes  and  Bouquet 
paid  great  deference,  as  well  as  from  reasons  which  ap- 
peared to  be  convincing  to  Bouquet  and  himself,  that  the 


498  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

course  should  be  direct  through  Pennsylvania,  which  meant 
that  a  new  road  must  be  made.  By  August  1,  1758,  a 
large  force  was  employed  in  opening  up  this  road  for  the 
passage  of  the  army. 

To  make  a  passage-way,  however  imperfect,  was  an 
undertaking  of  great  difficulty.  Bouquet's  men  pushed 
on  the  heavy  work  of  road-making  up  the  main  range  of 
the  Alleghenies,  and,  what  proved  far  worse,  the  parallel 
mountain  ridge  of  Laurel  Hill,  hewing,  digging,  blasting, 
laying  fascines  and  gabions  to  support  the  track  along  the 
steep  side  of  declivities,  or  worming  their  way,  like  moles, 
through  the  jungle  of  swamp  and  forest.  Forbes  de- 
scribed the  country  to  Pitt  as  an  "  immense  uninhabited 
wilderness,  overgrown  everywhere  with  trees  and  brush- 
wood, so  that  nowhere  can  one  see  twenty  yards."  In 
truth,  as  far  as  eye  or  mind  could  reach,  a  prodigious  forest 
vegetation  spread  its  impervious  canopy  over  hill,  valley 
and  plain,  and  wrapped  its  stern  and  awful  waste  in  the 
shadows  of  the  tomb. 

By  the  first  of  September  communication  was  "  effect- 
ually done  to  within  forty  miles  of  the  French  Fort,"  and 
nearly  all  of  Bouquet's  Division,  consisting  of  about  2,500 
men,  were  encamped  about  the  Loyalhanna  where,  under 
Colonel  Burd,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  was  begun 
the  erection  of  a  stockade  and  fortified  camp,  which  devel- 
oped into  Fort  Ligonier. 

While  awaiting,  at  this  point,  the  arrival  of  the  general, 
who  was  still  very  ill,  and,  because  of  the  nature  of  his 
disease — inflammation  of  the  stomach  and  bowels — had 
to  be  carried  on  a  litter  swung  between  two  horses,  there 
occurred  the  unfortunate  affair  of  Major  Grant's  defeat, 
the  most  disastrous  episode  of  the  campaign. 

Major  James  Grant,  of  the  Highlanders,  had  begged 


General  Forbes'  Expedition. 


499 


permission  from  Bouquet  to  allow  him  to  make  a  recon- 
noisance  in  force  towards  the  enemy's  fort.  Permission 
was  given  him  to  do  so,  but  with  special  orders  not  to 
approach  too  near  if  there  should  be  any  indication  of 
resistance,  and,  in  no  event,  to  run  the  risk  of  a  combat, 
if  it  could  be  prevented. 

The  first  Fort  Kit.  1758. 

A  PLAN  or  the  fort  raft  tzb  ryiEN 

BUILT  IN  DttEMBER  IfSS  WITHIN  400  Y ARDS 
OF  FORT  0(1  QUESNE 

A  SOLDIERS  BARRACKS 

B.  OFFICERS  HOUSE  SECTION  THRUWH  a  b 

C  STORES  OF  PROVISION 

0.  DITTO  FOR  INDIAN  CMOS. 


MON  ONGEHELA 


RIVEK      4DD  YARDS  WIDE 


=S=rF 


180  FEE'  FOR  THE   PLAN 
-jo'rfEt  FOB  IME  PROFITS 


THE  ABOVE  PLAN  ft?  (SK  PLAN   OF   FORT  AUGUSTA) 


He  left  the  camp  on  the  ninth  of  September,  with  a 
force  of  37  officers  and  805  privates.  Without  being 
discovered  by  the  enemy,  which  was  most  remarkable,  he 
succeeded   in   reaching   the   hill   which   overlooked   Fort 


500  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Duquesne,  on  the  third  day.  Basing  his  expectations  on 
an  utter  ignorance  of  the  methods  of  his  enemy,  of  the 
qualities  of  most  of  his  own  men,  and  of  the  strength  of 
his  opponents,  he,  most  imprudently,  prepared  his  plans 
to  draw  the  enemy  out,  flattering  himself  that  he  could 
readily  defeat  them.  It  so  happened  that,  a  day  or  two 
before,  the  French  had  received  reinforcements  from  the 
Illinois. 

In  the  early  morning  of  the  fourteenth,  while  the  fog 
yet  lay  on  the  land  and  river,  he  sent  a  few  Highlanders 
to  burn  a  warehouse  standing  on  the  cleared  ground.  By 
this  means  he  hoped  to  draw  out  the  enemy,  while  at  the 
same  time,  he  ordered  the  bagpipes  to  play  and  the  reveille 
to  be  beaten  for  his  own  men.  .  .  .  The  roll  of  the  drums 
was  answered  by  a  burst  of  war-whoops,  and  the  French 
came  swarming  out,  many  of  them  in  their  shirts,  having 
just  leaped  from  their  beds.  They  came  together,  and, 
for  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  there  was  a  hot  fight 
in  the  forest.  At  length  the  horrors  of  such  warfare,  to 
which  the  Highlanders  were  not  at  all  accustomed,  the 
frightful  yells  and  hideous  appearance  of  the  barbarians, 
their  overpowering  number  and  their  own  ignorance  of 
such  a  method  of  fighting,completely  overcame  them.  They 
broke  away  in  wild  and  disorderly  retreat.  .  .  .  Their  only 
hope  was  in  the  rear-guard  of  Virginians,  under  Major 
Lewis,  who  had  been  kept  back  so  that  they  might  not  share 
the  honor  of  victory.  Lewis  pushed  forward  immediately 
upon  hearing  the  sound  of  battle,  but,  in  the  woods,  missed 
the  retreating  Highlanders.  Bullitt,  and  his  Virginia  com- 
pany, stood  their  ground  and  kept  back  the  whole  body 
of  French  and  Indians  until  two  thirds  of  his  men  were 
killed.  They  would  not  accept  quarter.  The  survivors 
were  driven  into  the  Allegheny,  where  some  were  drowned, 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  501 

while  others  swam  over  and  escaped.  .  .  .  Grant  was  sur- 
rounded and  captured,  and  Lewis,  who  presently  came  up, 
was  also  made  prisoner,  along  with  some  of  his  men.  .  .  . 
The  English  lost  273  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  The 
remainder  succeeded  in  getting  back  safely  to  the  camp  at 
Loyalhanna. 

The  French  did  not  pursue  their  advantage  with  such 
zeal  as  might  have  been  expected,  but  seemed  to  be  sat- 
isfid  with  taking  as  many  prisoners  as  possible.  With  a 
full  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  the  English  army 
they  decided  to  attack  the  troops  under  Bouquet,  at  Loyal- 
hanna, before  the  arrival  of  the  main  body.  In  the  mean- 
time they  harassed  the  English  in  every  way  conceivable 
until  October  12,  when,  at  1 1  A.  M.,  to  the  number  of 
about  1,200  French  and  200  Indians,  commanded  by  M. 
de  Vetri,  they  appeared  before  the  camp.  Upon  the  firing 
of  their  guns,  Colonel  James  Burd,  then  in  command,  sent 
out  two  parties  to  surround  them,  which,  as  the  firing 
increased,  were  reinforced  until  they  numbered  some  500 
men.  They  were  forced  back,  however,  into  the  camp, 
and  a  regular  attack  ensued  which  lasted  a  long  time,  about 
two  hours,  finally  resulting  in  the  defeat  of  the  enemy. 
During  the  night  a  second  attack  was  made  with  like  re- 
sult. The  loss  to  the  English  was  12  killed,  18  wounded, 
31  missing  of  whom  29  were  on  grass  guard  when  the 
attack  was  made. 

Meanwhile  the  road-making  progressed  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  under  the  directions  of  Colonel  Bouquet,  but 
under  most  disadvantageous  conditions.  We  are  told  the 
"  autumnal  rains,  uncommonly  heavy  and  persistent,  had 
ruined  the  newly-cut  road.  On  the  mountains  the  tor- 
rents tore  it  up,  and  in  the  valleys  the  wheels  of  the  wagons 
and  cannon  churned  it  into  soft  mud.     The  horses,  over- 


502 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


worked  and  underfed,   were   fast  breaking  down.     The 
forest  had  little  food  for  them,  and  they  were  forced  to 


Fort  Pitt  and  \is  environs. 

January  1759. 
RtriiUNcts  TOTMt  above  Smtch  of  Fort  Du  Quuhl.now  Pittsburgh. 

WITH  THl   ADJACENT  tOUNYRY 

1  ttONONOCHlU    RiVtR 

2  Fort  DuQuim  or  Pittsiukom 
2  The  SmauFort. 

4  Alluhlny  Rivlr 

5  A LLLbMMV  Indian  Town. 

b    SMANAftNS 

7  YoUfrHIOOMINY  RlVlR. 

8  Omio  OR  AlU*«NY  RlVlR 


S  Loos  Town, 

10  BtAVtR     CRttK. 

11  KuSKUSKlM   CHIIPTOWS  OfTHtSIX 
NATIONS 

1)    Shiniois  Town. 

13   AUUOUfPA 
H    SENNAKARS. 


drag  their  own  oats  and  corn,  as  well  as  the  supplies  for 
the  army,  through  two  hundred  miles  of  wilderness.      In 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  503 

the  wretched  condition  of  the  road,  this  was  no  longer  pos- 
sible. The  magazines  of  provisions,  formed  at  Raystown 
and  Loyalhanna  to  support  the  army  on  its  forward  march, 
were  emptied  faster  than  they  could  be  filled.  Early  in 
October  the  elements  relented;  the  clouds  broke,  the  sky 
was  bright  again,  and  the  sun  shone  out  in  splendor  on 
mountains  radiant  in  the  livery  of  autumn.  A  gleam  of 
hope  revisited  the  hearts  of  the  English.  It  was  but  a 
flattering  illusion.  The  sullen  clouds  returned,  and  a  chill, 
impenetrable,  veil  of  mist  and  rain  hid  the  mountains  and 
the  trees.  Dejected  nature  wept  and  would  not  be  com- 
forted. Above,  below,  around,  all  was  trickling,  oozing, 
pattering,  gushing.  In  the  miserable  encampments  the 
starved  horses  stood  steaming  in  the  rain,  and  the  men 
crouched,  disgusted,  under  their  dripping  tents,  while  the 
drenched  picket-guard,  in  the  neighboring  forest,  paced 
dolefully  through  black  mire  and  spongy  mosses.  The 
rain  turned  to  snow;  the  descending  flakes  clung  to  the 
many  colored  foliage,  or  melted  from  sight  in  the  trench 
of  half-liquid  clay  that  was  called  a  road.  The  wheels  of 
the  wagons  sank  in  it  to  the  hub,  and  to  advance  or  retreat 
was  alike  impossible." 

General  Forbes  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  Loyalhanna 
until  November  1,  1758.  The  weather  had  become  cold, 
and  the  summits  of  the  mountains  were  covered  with  snow. 
At  a  council  of  war,  held  immediately  after  his  arrival,  it 
was  determined  to  advance  no  further  that  season.  This 
determination,  however,  was  suddenly  changed  as  the  re- 
sult of  information  obtained  from  various  sources  touch- 
ing the  actual  condition  of  affairs  at  Fort  Duquesne.  It 
was  learned,  conclusively,  that  the  French  were  wanting 
provisions,  that  they  were  weak  in  number,  and  that  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  indefatigable  and  brave  Moravian 


504 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


missionary,  Frederick  Post,  towards  alienation,  had  be- 
come successful,  and  that  the  Indians  had  left  them.  It 
was,  therefore,  concluded  to  proceed. 

til 


as 


*ffifi£ 


Colonel  Washington  had  so  earnestly  requested  the  priv- 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  505 

ilege  of  leading  the  army,  with  his  Virginians,  that  his 
request  was  granted;  and  he  and  his  men  under  Colonel 
Armstrong,  with  the  Pennsylvanians,  were  intrusted  with 
that  duty. 

As  the  advance  of  the  army  he  set  out  to  open  the  way. 
On  the  twelfth  of  November,  about  three  miles  from  the 
camp,  his  men  fell  in  with  a  number  of  the  enemy,  and, 
in  the  attack,  killed  one  man  and  took  three  prisoners. 
Among  the  latter  was  one  Johnson,  an  Englishman,  who 
had  been  captured  by  the  Indians  in  Lancaster  County, 
from  whom  was  derived  full  and  correct  information  with 
regard  to  the  state  of  affairs  at  Fort  Duquesne. 

On  this  occasion  occurred  a  most  memorable  affair  in 
connection  with  the  experiences  of  the  army  at  Fort  Ligo- 
nier.  The  following  is  a  literal  transcript  of  the  article 
bearing  upon  it,  as  narrated  by  Washington  himself  to 
Colonel  David  Humphreys,  a  member  of  his  military  staff 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  who  was  pre- 
paring a  sketch  of  his  life. 

"The  enemy  sent  out  a  large  detachment  to  reconnoitre 
our  camp,  and  to  ascertain  our  strength;  in  consequence  of 
intelligence  that  they  were  within  two  miles  of  the  camp 
a  party  commanded  by  Lieut.  Colo.  Mercer,  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Line  (a  gallant  and  good  officer)  was  sent  to  dis- 
lodge them,  between  whom  a  severe  conflict  and  hot  firing 
ensued,  which  lasting  some  time  and  appearing  to  approach 
the  camp,  it  was  conceived  that  our  party  was  yielding  the 
ground,  upon  which  G.  W.  with  permission  of  the  Gen'l 
called  (per  dispatch)  for  volunteers  and  immediately 
marched  at  their  head,  to  sustain,  as  was  conjectured,  the 
retiring  troops.  Led  on  by  the  firing  till  he  came  within 
less  than  half  a  mile,  and  it  ceasing,  he  detached  scouts 
to  investigate  the  cause,  and  to  communicate  his  approach 


$06  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

to  his  friend  Colo.  Mercer,  advancing  slowly  in  the  mean- 
time. But  it  being  nearly  dusk,  and  the  intelligence  not 
having  been  fully  disseminated  among  Col.  Mercer's  corps, 
and  they  taking  us  for  the  enemy,  who  had  retreated,  ap- 
proaching in  another  direction,  commenced  a  heavy  fire 
upon  the  relieving  party  which  drew  fire  in  return,  in  spite 
of  all  the  exertions  of  the  officers,  one  of  whom,  and  sev- 
eral privates,  were  killed  and  many  wounded  before  a  stop 
could  be  put  to  it,  to  accomplish  which  G.  W.  never  was 
in  more  imminent  danger,  by  being  between  two  fires, 
knocking  up  with  his  sword  the  presented  pieces." 

On  November  13  Colonel  Armstrong  was  sent  out  to 
the  assistance  of  Washington,  with  1,000  men.  These 
two  bodies  of  provincials  cooperated  together  in  the  front; 
sometimes  detachments  of  the  one  would  be  passed  on  the 
road  by  detachments  of  the  other,  and  so  again  as  the 
occasion  required.  The  army  progressed  slowly;  the 
weather  was  rainy;  the  road  miserably  bad.  A  number 
of  friendly  Indians  were  kept  out  as  scouts;  and  every  pre- 
caution was  taken  to  guard  against  surprise. 

The  force  for  this  purpose  specially  consisted  of  2,500 
men,  picked  out.  That  the  men  might  be  restricted  as 
little  as  possible  in  their  movements  they  went  without 
tents  or  baggage,  and  with  a  light  train  of  artillery,  ex- 
pecting to  meet  the  enemy  and  ready  to  determine  the 
result  by  a  battle. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  November  Washington  was  at 
Bushy  Run.  On  the  eighteenth  Armstrong  is  reported 
within  seventeen  miles  of  Fort  Duquesne,  where  he  had 
thrown  up  intrenchments.  General  Forbes  himself  fol- 
lowd  on  the  seventeenth,  from  Fort  Ligonier,  with  4,300 
effective  men,  having  left  strong  garrisons  and  supplies 
both    there    and    at    Raystown.     On    the    twenty-fourth 


General  Forbes'  Expedition. 


507 


Forbes  encamped  his  whole  army  about  Turtle  Creek, 
ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Fort  Duquesne.  Here  word 
was  brought,  by  the  Indian  scouts  who  had  advanced  to 
within  sight  of  the  fort,  that  the  Fench  had  abandoned 


A  -  Barracks. already  built.  B-Commandants  Houst,  not  built. 
C-  Storehouse-  D-Powde-R  Ma&aiine-s.   E- Casement  complete. 
F  -  Store  house  for  flour  etc.  G-wellsintwo  of  WHICH  are  pumps. 
H- Fort  DuQUfcSNE    1.1.   Horn  work  to  cover  french  barracks. 
K    First  Fort  Pitt  destroyed.     N.  Sallyport. 

PLAN  OF  FORT  PITT— 1761. 

the  place  and  that  the  structure  was  on  fire.  This  report 
was  soon  confirmed.  A  company  of  cavalry,  under  Cap- 
tain Hazlet  was  sent  forward  to  extinguish  the  fire  and 
save  as  much  as  possible,  but  they  were  too  late.     Prepa- 


508  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

rations  had  been  made  by  the  French  to  withdraw  when  it 
was  seen  that  they  could  offer  no  resistance.  They  had 
made  ready  to  destroy  their  works,  and,  after  setting  fire 
to  everything  that  would  burn,  they  withdrew  with  the 
rest  of  their  munitions  and  cannon,  some  going  down  the 
Ohio,  and  the  commandant,  with  the  most  of  his  forces, 
going  up  the  Allegheny  to  Fort  Machault.  The  whole 
of  the  English  hurried  forward,  and,  on  Saturday,  No- 
vember 25,  1758,  took  possession  of  the  site  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  and  thenceforth  the  place  was  held  by  those  of 
Saxon  blood.  On  the  ruins  of  the  former  French  fort 
there  immediately  rose  the  English  Fort  Pitt. 

Colonel  Bouquet,  the  Hero  of  Pontiac's  War. 

With  the  destruction  of  Fort  Duquesne,  the  departure 
of  the  French,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  made  with  the  In- 
dians themselves,  it  was  felt  that  the  woes  and  hardships 
of  the  settlers  were  at  an  end.  This  was  confirmed  when, 
in  1762,  a  general  peace  was  concluded  between  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Spain,  which  was  universally  consid- 
ered a  most  happy  event  in  America.  Armies  were  dis- 
banded, forts  abandoned  and  garrisons  reduced  in  number, 
everywhere,  when  suddenly,  in  1763,  like  a  bolt  out  of  a 
clear  sky,  came  the  so-called  Pontiac  Indian  War. 

For  boldness  of  attempt  and  depth  of  design,  the  Kiya- 
suta  and  Pontiac  War,  so  named  by  the  frontier  inhabi- 
tants, was  perhaps  unsurpassed  in  the  annals  of  border 
warfare.  Schemed  by  such  renowned  chiefs  as  Kiyasuta, 
head  of  the  Senecas,  and  Pontiac,  of  the  Ottowas,  the 
numerous  tribes  lying  within  the  reach  of  their  influence 
were  easily  commanded  for  the  prosecution  of  any  new 
project.  Not  only  in  possession  of  these  grand  facilities 
to   engage   numerous   warriors    for   the   present   purpose, 


General  Forbes*  Expedition.  509 

they  availed  themselves  of  additional  means  to  secure  a 
powerful  confederacy  by  calling  to  aid  their  eloquence  in 
representing  the  necessity  which  existed  for  the  defense 
of  their  own  rights,  and  the  repelling  of  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  English  colonies,  which  they  represented  as 
having  finally  in  view  the  hostile  displacement,  or  exter- 
mination, of  every  western  tribe,  from  the  region  they 
now  occupied.  With  such  means  to  stimulate  them  to 
action,  while  the  recompense  of  their  services,  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  spoil,  and  the  more  inviting  reward  of  the  renown 
of  the  warrior,  were  related  to  them  in  the  most  seductive 
colors,  it  need  not  be  wondered  that  the  plan  of  these  cun- 
ning chieftains  was  immediately  approved,  and  a  zealous 
interest  manifested. 

The  grand  scheme  projected  by  these  Napoleons  of  the 
western  wilderness  seems  to  have  been  to  arouse  the  tribes 
severally  of  the  country,  and  all  those  they  could  reach  by 
their  eloquence,  to  join  in  striking  a  decisive  blow  on  the 
frontiers,  and,  as  it  were,  throw  terror  into  the  very  heart 
of  the  colonies,  and  thereby  effectually,  and  forever,  re- 
pulse them  from  encroachments  into  the  valley  of  the 
west.  A  certain  day  was  set  apart,  it  seems,  for  making 
the  general  assault,  while  the  scheme  was  to  be  kept  in 
profound  silence,  that  they  might  come  upon  their  victims 
in  an  unguarded  hour.  All  the  forts  were  to  be  simulta- 
neously attacked,  as  well  as  the  settlements,  and  all  indi- 
viduals whom  they  could  reach,  and  thus,  with  one  fell 
blow,  as  it  were,  raze  to  the  earth  everything  bearing  the 
mark  of  their  doomed  enemies.  A  season  of  the  year 
was  chosen  when  the  attention  of  the  people  would  be 
given  to  their  crops,  at  which  time  the  havoc  and  destruc- 
tion might  be  so  much  the  greater. 

In  arranging  the  time  of  attack,  at  a  grand  council  held 


5*o  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

by  all  the  tribes  a  bundle  of  sticks  was  given  each  tribe, 
each  bundle  containing  as  many  rods  as  there  were  days 
till  the  day  when  the  general  attack  should  be  made.  One 
rod  was  to  be  drawn  from  the  bundle  every  morning,  and 
when  a  single  one  remained  it  was  the  signal  for  the  out- 
break. It  so  happened  that  the  friendliness  of  a  Dela- 
ware squaw  prompted  her  to  extract  several  rods  from  the 
bundle  of  her  tribe,  in  the  hope  that  such  action  might  dis- 
arrange the  whole  plan.  The  result  was  a  premature 
attack  upon  Fort  Pitt,  whereby  the  settlers  obtained  some 
slight  advance  warning.  In  every  other  direction,  how- 
ever the  attack  was  made  simultaneously,  and,  at  once,  the 
frontier  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  neighbor- 
ing provinces  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  were  once  more 
overrun  by  scalping  parties  of  the  Shawanese  and  Dela- 
ware tribes  in  particular,  which  marked  their  way  with 
blood  and  devastation  wherever  they  went. 

Almost  every  fort  along  the  lakes  and  the  Ohio  was 
instantly  attacked.  Those  that  did  not  fall  under  the  first 
assault  were  surrounded,  and  a  resolute  siege  commenced. 
In  a  short  time,  so  vigorous  were  the  savages,  that  eight 
out  of  eleven  forts  were  taken — Venango,  Le  Bceuf,26 
Presqu'  Isle,  with  the  chain  of  stockades  west  of  the  Ohio; 
Fort  Pitt,  Detroit  and  Niagara  alone  maintained  their 
position. 

Fort  Pitt  was  in  a  most  precarious  condition,  as  well  as 
Fort  Ligonier.  In  1763  the  English  settlements  did  not 
extend  beyond  the  Alleghenies.  In  Pennsylvania,  Bed- 
ford might  be  regarded  as  the  extreme  verge  of  the  fron- 

M  Ensign  Price,  the  commander  of  Fort  Le  Boeuf,  succeeded  in  cutting 
his  way  through  to  Fort  Pitt  with  his  small  garrison  of  a  dozen  Royal 
Americans,  all  Pennsylvania-Germans  as  their  names  indicate — Fisher, 
Nash,  Dogood,  Nigley,  Dortinger  and  Trunk. 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  511 

tier.  From  Bedford  to  Fort  Pitt  was  about  one  hundred 
miles;  Fort  Ligonier  lay  nearly  midway  between.  Each 
of  them  was  a  mere  speck  in  the  deep,  impenetrable  for- 
ests. Tier  after  tier  of  mountains  lay  between  them,  and 
they  were  connected  by  the  one  narrow  road  winding  along 
hills  and  through  sunless  valleys.  Little  clearings  ap- 
peared around  these  posts;  among  the  stumps  and  dead 
trees,  within  sight  of  the  forts,  the  garrison  and  a  few 
settlers,  themselves  mostly  soldiers,  raised  vegetables  and 
a  little  grain.  The  houses  and  cabins,  for  the  most  part, 
were  within  the  stockades.  The  garrisons  were  mainly 
regulars,  belonging  to  the  Royal  American  Regiment, 
whose  life  was  most  monotonous. 

That  Fort  Pitt  might  the  more  readily  be  overcome  it 
became  necessary  to  capture  Fort  Ligonier,  from  which 
its  supplies  of  all  descriptions  were  drawn.  In  the  latter 
part  of  May,  1763,  Captain  Ecuyer,  in  command  of  Fort 
Pitt,  wrote  Colonel  Bouquet  that  the  Indian  outbreak  ap- 
peared to  be  general,  and  that  the  savages  were  already 
committing  depredations  at  his  post.  He  was  speedily 
surrounded  by  the  enemy. 

At  the  same  time  the  Indians  appeared  before  Fort  Lig- 
onier and  began  operations  against  it.  The  following  ex- 
tracts from  the  letters  of  Lieutenant  Blane,  its  comman- 
der, will  show  what  occurred,  though,  when  his  affairs 
were  at  the  worst,  nothing  was  heard  from  him,  as  all  his 
messengers  were  killed.  On  the  fourth  of  June  he  writes : 
"  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 


512  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Royal  Americans,  with  a  proper  detachment,  to  fire  the 
houses,  which  effectually  disappointed  them  in  their  plans." 

On  the  seventeenth  he  writes  to  Bouquet: 

"  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  dark- 
ness secured  them  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." 

On  the  twenty-eighth,  he  explains  that  he  has  not  been 
able  to  report  for  some  time,  the  road  having  been  com- 
pletely closed  by  the  enemy. 

"On  the  twenty-first,"  he  continues,  "the  Indians  made 
a  second  attempt  in  a  very  serious  manner,  for  near  two 
hours,  but  with  the  like  success  as  the  first.  They  began 
with  attempting  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of  a  small  party  of 
fifteen  men,  who,  from  their  impatience  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  hun- 
dred 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  they  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." 

By  some  means  Blane  got  word  to  Captain  Ourry,  in 
command  at  Bedford,  of  the  fall  of  Presqu'  Isle  and  two 
other  posts,  who,  knowing  the  straits  in  which  Blane  and 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  513 

his  men  were,  sent  out  from  Fort  Bedford,  a  party  of 
twenty  volunteers,  all  good  woodsmen,  who  managed  to 
reach  Ligonier  safely. 

Almost  bereft  of  troops,  and  resources  of  every  descrip- 
tion, General  Amherst,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
British  forces,  found  himself  in  a  terrible  quandary.  In 
one  particular,  however,  he  had  reason  to  congratulate 
himself,  and  that  was  in  the  character  and  ability  of  Col- 
onel Bouquet,  the  officer  who  commanded,  under  his  or- 
ders, in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Maryland,  and  upon 
whom,  in  this  emergency,  depended  the  safety  of  these 
colonies. 

With  the  remnant  of  his  Royal  Americans,  not  already 
garrisoning  the  defenses  at  the  front,  Bouquet  at  once 
began  taking  active  steps  for  the  relief  of  the  western 
posts — Fort  Bedford,  Fort  Ligonier  and  Fort  Pitt.  It 
being  apparent,  however,  that  the  two  companies  of  his 
own  regiment,  at  hand,  were  insufficient,  Amherst  ordered 
the  remains  of  the  Forty-second  ("Black  Watch"  High- 
landers), and  Seventy-seventh  (Montgomery's  High- 
landers), to  march  June  23,  1763,  under  the  command 
of  Major  Campbell,  of  the  Forty-second,  to  Bouquet. 
The  first  consisted  of  214  men,  including  officers,  and  the 
latter  of  133,  officers  included.  Two  days  after  Amherst 
writes  to  Bouquet: 

"All  the  troops  from  hence  that  could  be  collected  are 
sent  you;  so  that  should  the  whole  race  of  Indians  take 
arms  against  us  I  can  do  no  more." 

With  his  little  force,  almost  a  forlorn  hope,  he  pushed 
forward  immediately,  reaching  Carlisle  at  the  end  of  June. 
Here  he  found  every  building  in  the  fort,  every  house, 
barn  and  hovel,  in  the  little  town,  crowded  with  the  fami- 
lies of  settlers,  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  terror  of 


514  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

the  tomahawk.  He  heard  one  ceaseless  wail  of  moaning 
and  lamentation,  from  widowed  wives  and  orphaned 
children. 

On  Sunday,  July  3,  1763,  an  express  from  Captain 
Ourry,  at  Fort  Bedford,  rode  into  Carlisle,  with  the  dis- 
astrous news  of  the  fall  of  Presqu'  Isle  and  the  other  out- 
posts. He  told  his  ill-omened  story  to  the  crowd  which 
surrounded  him,  while  watering  his  horse,  and  added  as, 
remounting,  he  rode  towards  Bouquet's  tent,  "  The  In- 
dians will  be  here  soon."  The  consternation  and  excite- 
ment now  rose  to  such  a  pitch  that  the  colonel  saw  it  would 
be  impossible  for  him  to  rely  upon  the  people  for  the  gath- 
ering of  such  supplies  as  were  still  needed  for  his  advance. 
On  the  contrary,  the  voice  of  humanity  demanded  that  he 
should  distribute  to  the  sufferers  some  portion  of  the  mate- 
rial he  had  already  collected.  However,  in  eighteen  days 
after  his  arrival  at  Carlisle,  by  the  prudent  and  active 
measures  which  he  pursued,  added  to  his  knowledge  of  the 
country,  and  the  diligence  of  his  employees,  the  necessary 
convoy  and  carriages  were  secured,  and  the  army  pro- 
ceeded. 

The  force  under  his  command  did  not  exceed  500  men, 
of  whom  the  most  effective,  outside  of  his  handful  of 
Royal  Americans,  were  the  Highlanders  of  the  Forty- 
second  Regiment.  The  remnant  of  the  Seventy-seventh 
Regiment,  with  him  also,  had  just  returned  from  West 
Indian  service,  and  were  so  enfeebled  by  their  exposure  to 
its  climate  as  to  be  fit  only  for  garrison  duty. 

His  immediate  concern  was  for  Fort  Ligonier.  He 
knew  the  loss  of  this  post,  as  a  base  of  supplies,  would  be 
most  disastrous  to  his  army,  as  well  as  the  entire  province. 
He  determined  to  risk  sending  a  small  detachment  to  its 
relief.      Accordingly,    thirty    Highlanders    were    chosen, 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  515 

who,  furnished  with  guides,  were  ordered  to  push  forward 
with  the  utmost  speed,  avoiding  the  road,  traveling  by 
night  on  unfrequented  paths,  and  lying  close  by  day. 
They  reached  Fort  Bedford  in  due  time,  where  they  found 
that  Captain  Ourry  had  already  sent  a  party  of  twenty 
backwoodsmen  to  reinforce  Lieutenant  Blane,  but,  after 
resting  several  days,  they  again  set  out.  Coming  near  to 
Ligonier  they  found  the  place  beset  by  the  Indians,  but 
managed  to  make  themselves  known,  and,  under  a  running 
fire,  entered  the  fort  safely. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  July  the  army  reached  Bedford, 
where  Bouquet  was  fortunate  in  securing  thirty  backwoods- 
men to  accompany  him.  He  remained  three  days  in  camp 
to  rest  his  men  and  animals,  then,  leaving  his  invalids  to 
garrison  the  fort,  struck  out  into  the  wilderness  of  woods. 
Following  the  rugged  path,  which  he,  himself,  had  made 
in  the  Forbes  expedition,  on  August  2,  he  reached  Ligo- 
nier, the  Indians  vanishing  as  he  approached. 

This  absence  of  the  enemy,  and  the  secrecy  of  their 
movements,  was,  to  the  experienced  leader,  an  ominous 
thing.  The  garrison,  having  been  completely  blockaded 
for  several  weeks,  could  give  no  information  as  to  the 
savages.  They  had  heard  nothing  from  the  outside  world 
during  the  trying  weeks  they  were  hemmed  in.  Bouquet 
well  knew,  however,  that  the  Indians  were  watching  every 
movement  made  by  his  army,  even  though  they,  them- 
selves, were  not  detected.  He  therefore  determined  to 
leave  his  oxen  and  wagons  at  Fort  Ligonier,  and  to  proceed 
only  with  his  packhorses  and  some  cattle. 

Thus  relieved,  on  July  4  he  resumed  his  march,  taking 
with  him  350  packhorses,  upon  which  were  loaded  the 
flour  and  supplies,  and  a  few  cattle.  The  first  night  they 
encamped  at  no  great  distance  from  Ligonier,  for  he  had 


516  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

so  timed  his  march  as  to  reach  by  the  next  day,  a  desirable 
place  on  the  route  called  Bushy  Run,  or,  as  it  was  then 
known,  Byerly's  Station. 

On  the  morning  of  the  fifth,  the  tents  were  struck  at  an 
early  hour,  and  the  troops  began  their  march  through  a 
country  broken  with  hills  and  deep  hollows,  covered  with 
the  tall,  dense  forest,  which  spread  for  countless  leagues 
around.  By  one  o'clock  they  had  advanced  seventeen 
miles,  and  the  guides  assured  them  that  they  were  within 
half  a  mile  of  Bushy  Run,  their  proposed  resting  place. 
The  tired  soldiers  were  pressing  forward  with  renewed 
alacrity,  when,  suddenly,  the  report  of  rifles  from  the  front 
sent  a  thrill  along  the  ranks,  and,  as  they  listened,  the 
firing  thickened  into  a  fierce,  sharp  rattle,  while  shouts 
and  whoops,  deadened  by  the  intervening  forest,  showed 
that  the  advance  guard  was  hotly  engaged.  The  two 
foremost  companies  were  at  once  ordered  forward  to  sup- 
port it,  but,  far  from  abating,  the  fire  grew  so  rapid  and 
furious  as  to  argue  the  presence  of  an  enemy  at  once 
numerous  and  resolute.  At  this  the  convoy  was  halted, 
the  troops  formed  into  line,  and  a  general  charge  ordered. 
Bearing  down  through  the  forest,  with  fixed  bayonets, 
they  drove  the  yelping  assailants  before  them,  and  swept 
the  ground  clear.  But,  at  the  very  moment  of  success, 
a  fresh  burst  of  whoops  and  firing  was  heard  from  either 
flank,  while  a  confused  noise  from  the  rear  showed  that 
the  convoy  was  attacked.  It  was  necessary  to  fall  back 
instantly  to  its  support.  Driving  off  the  assailants,  the 
troops  formed  in  a  circle  around  the  crowded  and  terrified 
horses.  Though  many  of  them  were  new  to  the  work, 
and  though  the  numbers  and  movements  of  the  enemy, 
who  were  yelling  on  every  side,  were  concealed  by  the 
thick  forest,  yet  no  man  lost  his  composure,  and  all  dis- 


General  Forbes'  Expedition. 


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PL,AN   OF  BATTLE  AT  BUSHY  RUN. 


518  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

played  a  steadiness  which  nothing  but  an  implicit  confi- 
dence in  their  commander  could  have  inspired.  Now 
ensued  a  combat  of  a  nature  most  harassing  and  discourag- 
ing. Again  and  again,  now  on  this  side  and  now  on  that, 
a  crowd  of  Indians  rushed  up,  pouring  in  a  heavy  fire, 
and  striving,  with  furious  outcries,  to  break  into  the  circle. 
A  well-directed  volley  met  them,  followed  by  a  steady 
charge  of  the  bayonet.  They  never  waited  an  instant  to 
receive  the  attack,  but,  leaping  backwards  from  tree  to 
tree,  soon  vanished  from  sight,  only  to  renew  their  attack 
with  unabated  ferocity  in  another  quarter.  Such  was 
their  activity  that  but  few  of  them  were  hurt,  while  the 
British,  less  expert  in  bush-fighting,  suffered  severely. 
Thus  the  fight  went  on,  without  intermission,  for  seven 
hours,  until  the  forest  grew  dark  with  approaching  night. 
Upon  this  the  Indians  gradually  slackened  their  fire,  and 
the  exhausted  soldiers  found  time  to  rest. 

It  was  impossible  to  change  their  ground  in  the  presence 
of  the  enemy,  so  the  troops  were  obliged  to  encamp  upon 
the  hill  where  the  combat  had  taken  place,  though  not  a 
drop  of  water  was  to  be  found  there.  Fearing  a  night 
attack,  Bouquet  stationed  numerous  sentinels  and  outposts 
to  guard  against  it,  while  the  remainder  of  the  men  lay 
down  upon  their  arms,  preserving  the  order  they  had  main- 
tained during  the  fight. 

The  condition  of  the  wounded  was  most  deplorable, 
and  might  well  awaken  sympathy.  About  sixty  soldiers, 
besides  several  officers,  had  been  killed  or  disabled.  A 
space  in  the  center  of  the  camp  was  prepared  for  their 
reception,  which  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  flour  bags 
from  the  convoy,  affording  some  protection  from  the  bul- 
lets which  flew  on  all  sides  during  the  fight.      Here  they 


General  Forbes9  Expedition.  519 

lay,  on  the  ground,  enduring  the  agonies  of  thirst,  and 
waiting,  passive  and  helpless,  the  issue  of  the  battle. 

With  the  earliest  dawn  of  day  there  arose  around  the 
camp  a  general  burst  of  those  horrible  cries  which  form 
the  ordinary  prelude  of  an  Indian  battle.  Instantly,  from 
every  side  at  once,  the  enemy  opened  their  fire,  approach- 
ing under  cover  of  the  trees  and  bushs,  and  shooting  with 
a  close  and  deadly  aim.  As  on  the  previous  day  they 
would  rush  up  with  furious  impetuosity,  striving  to  break 
into  the  ring  of  troops.  They  were  repulsed  at  every 
point,  but  the  British,  though  constantly  victorious,  were 
beset  with  undiminished  perils,  while  the  violence  of  the 
enemy  seemed  every  moment  on  the  increase.  The  troops, 
fatigued  by  the  long  march  and  equally  long  battle  of  the 
previous  day,  were  maddened  by  the  torments  of  thirst, 
"more  intolerable,"  says  their  commander,  "than  the 
enemy's  fire."  They  were  fully  conscious  of  the  peril  in 
which  they  stood  of  wasting  away  by  slow  degrees,  while 
the  Indians,  seeing  their  distress,  pressed  them  closer  and 
closer. 

Meanwhile,  the  interior  of  the  camp  was  a  scene  of  con- 
fusion. The  horses,  secured  in  a  crowd  near  the  wall  of 
flour  bags  which  covered  the  wounded,  were  often  struck 
by  the  bullets,  and  wrought  to  the  height  of  terror  by  the 
mingled  din  of  whoops,  shrieks  and  firing.  They  would 
break  away  by  half  scores  at  a  time,  burst  through  the 
ring  of  troops  and  the  outer  circle  of  assailants,  and  scour 
madly  up  and  down  the  hillsides,  while  many  of  the 
drivers,  overcome  by  the  terrors  of  a  scene  in  which  they 
could  bear  no  active  part,  hid  themselves  among  the  bushes 
and  could  neither  hear  nor  obey  orders. 

It  was  now  about  ten  o'clock.  The  troops  were  fast 
giving  out.     If  the  fortunes  of  the  day  were  to  be  re- 


520  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

trieved  the  effort  must  be  made  at  once,  and,  happily,  the 
mind  of  the  commander  was  equal  to  the  emergency. 
Could  the  Indians  be  brought  together  in  a  body,  and 
made  to  stand  their  ground  when  attacked,  there  could 
be  little  doubt  of  the  result.  To  effect  this  object  Bouquet 
determined  in  increase  their  confidence,  which  had  already 
mounted  to  an  audacious  pitch.  The  companies  of  infan- 
try, forming  a  part  of  the  ring,  which  had  been  exposed 
to  the  hottest  fire  were  ordered  to  fall  back  into  the  interior 
of  the  camp,  while  the  troops  on  either  hand  joined  their 
files  across  the  vacant  space,  as  if  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
their  comrades.  These  orders  given  at  a  favorable  mo- 
ment, were  executed  with  great  promptness.  The  thin 
line  of  troops  who  took  possession  of  the  deserted  circle 
were  from  their  small  numbers,  brought  closer  in  towards 
the  center.  The  Indians  mistook  these  movements  for  a 
retreat.  Confident  that  their  time  had  come,  they  leaped 
up  on  all  sides,  from  behind  the  trees  and  bushes,  and,  with 
infernal  screeches,  rushed  headlong  towards  the  spot,  pour- 
ing in  a  heavy  and  galling  fire.  The  shock  was  too  vio- 
lent to  be  long  endured.  The  men  struggled  to  maintain 
their  posts,  but  the  Indians  seemed  on  the  point  of  break- 
ing into  the  heart  of  the  camp,  when  the  aspect  of  affairs 
was  suddenly  reversed.  The  two  companies,  who  had 
apparently  abandoned  their  position,  were,  in  fact,  des- 
tined to  begin  the  attack,  and  now  sallied  out  from  the 
circle,  at  a  point  where  a  depression  in  the  ground,  joined 
to  the  thick  growth  of  trees,  had  concealed  them  from  the 
eyes  of  the  Indians.  Making  a  short  detour  through  the 
woods,  they  came  round  upon  the  flank  of  the  furious 
assailants,  and  fired  a  close  volley  into  the  midst  of  the 
crowd.  Numbers  were  seen  to  fall,  yet,  though  com- 
pletely surprised  and  utterly  at  a  loss  to  understand  the 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  521 

nature  of  the  attack,  the  Indians  faced  about  with  the 
greatest  intrepidity,  and  returned  the  fire.  The  High- 
landers, however,  with  yells  as  wild  as  their  own,  fell  on 
them  with  the  bayonet.  The  shock  was  irresistible,  and 
they  fled  before  the  charging  ranks  in  a  tumultuous  throng. 
Orders  had  been  given  to  two  other  companies,  occupying 
a  contiguous  part  of  the  circle,  to  support  the  attack  when- 
ever a  favorable  moment  should  occur,  and  they  had  there- 
fore advanced  a  little  from  their  position,  where  they  lay 
crouched  in  ambush.  The  fugitives,  pressed  by  the  High- 
land bayonets,  passed  directly  across  their  front,  upon 
which  they  rose  and  poured  upon  them  a  second  volley,  no 
less  destructive  than  the  first.  This  completed  the  rout. 
The  various  companies,  uniting,  drove  the  flying  savages 
through  the  woods,  giving  them  no  time  to  rally  or  reload 
their  empty  rifles,  killing  many  and  scattering  the  rest  in 
hopeless  confusion. 

While  this  took  place  at  one  part  of  the  circle,  the  troops 
and  savages  had  still  maintained  their  respective  positions 
at  the  other,  but,  when  the  latter  perceived  the  total  rout 
of  their  comrades,  and  saw  the  troops  advancing  to  assail 
them,  they  also  lost  heart  and  fled.  The  discordant  outcries 
which  had  so  long  deafened  the  ears  of  the  English  soon 
ceased  altogether,  and  not  a  living  Indian  remained  near 
the  spot.  About  sixty  corpses  lay  scattered  on  the  ground, 
among  whom  were  found  several  prominent  chiefs,  while 
the  blood  which  stained  the  leaves  of  the  bushes  showed 
that  numbers  had  fled  wounded  from  the  field.  The  sol- 
diers took  but  one  prisoner,  whom  they  shot  to  death  like 
a  captive  wolf.  The  loss  of  the  British  in  the  two  bat- 
tles, surpassed  that  of  the  enemy,  amounting  to  eight 
officers  and  one  hundred  and  fifteen  men. 

Having  been  for  some  time  detained  by  the  necessity  of 


522  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

making  litters  for  the  wounded,  and  destroying  the  stores 
which  the  flight  of  most  of  the  horses  made  it  impossible 
to  transport,  the  army  moved  on,  in  the  afternoon,  to 
Bushy  Run.  Here  they  had  scarcely  formed  their  camp, 
when  they  were  again  fired  upon  by  a  body  of  Indians, 
who  were  soon  repulsed.  On  the  next  day  they  resumed 
their  progress  towards  Fort  Pitt,  distant  about  twenty-five 
miles,  which,  though  frequently  annoyed  on  the  march  by 
petty  attacks,  they  reached  on  the  tenth,  without  serious 
loss.  It  was  a  joyful  moment  both  to  the  troops  and  to 
the  garrison. 

The  battle  of  Bushy  Run  was  one  of  the  best  contested 
actions  ever  fought  between  white  men  and  Indians.  In 
the  province  the  victory  excited  equal  joy  and  admiration, 
especially  among  those  who  knew  the  incalculable  difficul- 
ties of  an  Indian  campaign.  The  Assembly  of  Pennsyl- 
vania passed  a  vote  expressing  their  sense  of  the  merits  of 
Bouquet,  and  of  the  services  he  had  rendered  the  province. 
He  soon  after  received  the  additional  honor  of  the  formal 
thanks  of  the  King. 

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.  Fort  Pitt 
was  effectually  relieved,  and  the  spirit  of  the  savage  com- 
pletely broken,  even  though  his  depredations  did  not  in- 
stantly cease. 

Return  of  Killed  and  Wounded  in  the  Two 
Actions. 

Forty-second,  or  Royal  Highlanders. — One  captain,  one 
lieutenant,  one  sergeant,  one  corporal,  twenty-five  privates, 
killed,  one  captain,  one  lieutenant,   two  sergeants,   three 


General  Forbes'  Expedition.  523 

corporals,  one  drummer,  twenty-seven  privates,  wounded. 

Sixtieth,  or  Royal  Americans. — One  corporal,  six  pri- 
vates, killed;  one  lieutenant,  four  privates,  wounded. 

Seventy-seventh,  or  Montgomery  Highlanders. — One 
drummer,  five  privates,  killed;  one  lieutenant,  one  volun- 
teer, three  sergeants,  seven  privates,  wounded. 

Volunteers,  Rangers  and  Pack-horse  Men. — One  lieu- 
tenant, 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 
Lieutenant  Duncan  Campbell,  wounded. 

Sixtieth  Regiment. — Lieutenant  James  Dow,  wounded. 

Seventy-seventh  Regiment. — Lieutenant  Donald  Camp- 
bell and  Volunteer  M.  Peebles,  wounded. 

Total. — Fifty  killed,  sixty  wounded,  five  missing. 


'^fiiyjJKillfj^iJfi'^JltSMJl  i£  ,?!Hiifi4"''%*S»W^l 

dKr            ^PlV'mi 

w 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 


The  Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians. 


^=t^i 

Blffj 

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B 

£ri 

PA 

9 

i 

♦»  'A- 

«S==S. 

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g 


TERE  is  still  much 
truth  in  the  old  prov- 
erb that  "  the  pen  is  mightier 
than  the  sword."  In  read- 
ing of  the  battles  and  blood- 
shed of  the  French  and  In- 
dian War  it  is  but  natural 
that  they  should  impress 
themselves  upon  our  minds, 
and  that  we  should,  in  turn, 
get  the  feeling  that  peace  was 
conquered  through  war.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  so  far  as  Penn- 
sylvania, and  especially  the  eastern  part  of  the  province,  was 
concerned,  the  cessation  of  hostilities  was  due,  almost  en- 
tirely, to  diplomacy,  and  to  a  diplomacy  in  which  two 
Pennsylvania-Germans  were  largely  concerned,  without 
whom,  the  writer  does  not  hesitate  to  say,  the  results  de- 
sired could  not  have  been  attained. 

Had  this  result  depended  upon  conquest  by  force  of 
arms  the  terrible  scenes,  of  the  fall  of  1755  and  spring 

(524) 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  525 

of  1756,  would  have  continued,  without  intermission  and 
with  increasing  horror,  until  1759.  Indeed,  there  might 
not  have  been  peace  even  then  had  the  French,  and  their 
Indian  allies,  made  material  gains  in  Pennsylvania.  To 
the  reader  it  must  have  been  apparent,  long  since,  that  the 
provincials  were  barely  able  to  act  on  the  defensive  and 
stem  the  encroachments  of  the  savage.  To  be  sure  Arm- 
strong's expedition  gave  temporary  relief  in  some  quarters, 
and  Forbes'  expedition  seemed  to  meet  with  even  greater 
success,  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the  success  of  the  latter 
was  not  due  to  any  victorious  engagement,  but  altogether 
and  solely  because  a  Pennsylvania-German  Moravian  mis- 
sionary had  succeeded  in  alienating  the  Indians  from  the 
French,  and  causing  them  to  desert  their  former  allies. 

The  war  had  hardly  begun  when  the  far-seeing  and 
experienced  Conrad  Weiser  saw  the  advantages  to  be 
gained  by  diplomatic  efforts  and  peace  overtures.  Fortu- 
nately, his  views  were  entirely  in  accord  with  those  of  the 
dominant  Quaker  element,  whose  principles  were  of  peace 
and  not  of  war,  and  who  were  entirely  willing  to  give 
material  sums  of  money  to  accomplish  the  desired  result 
in  this  way,  while  they  were  most  unwilling  to  contribute 
a  farthing  towards  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  war. 
The  government,  at  once,  fell  heartily  into  the  project. 

In  view  of  the  peculiar  relations  which  the  Delaware 
tribe  still  occupied  with  the  Six  Nations,  it  was  felt  that 
the  first  step  to  be  taken  would  be  to  bring  a  certain  pres- 
sure to  bear  upon  the  former  through  the  latter.  Accord- 
ingly, by  the  aid  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  New  York, 
the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  were  prompted  to  send  messen- 
gers to  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese,  reminding  them  that 
they  were  their  vassals,  asking  why  they  had  taken  up  arms 
against  their  friends,  the  English,  and  ordering  them  to 


526  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

cease  hostilities.  This  was  done  in  the  beginning  of  1756. 
To  add  to  the  effect  which  this  would  have  upon  them, 
and  to  set  in  motion  the  necessary  machinery  for  placating 
the  hostile  tribes,  on  April  26,  1756,  the  Governor  sent 
Newcastle,  Jagrea  and  William  Lacquis,  friendly  and 
trustworthy  native  emissaries,  to  Diahoga  and  Wyoming, 
the  headquarters  of  Teedyuscung,  the  chief  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  or  as  he  better  became  known,  the  king  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  and  Paxinos,  king  of  the  Shawanese,  to  tell  them 
that  the  Six  Nations  forbade  their  going  to  war,  and  offer- 
ing to  make  peace. 

These  messengers  returned  on  June  3d,  with  most  favor- 
able reports,  whereupon,  on  June  8,  the  governor  sent 
back  Newcastle  to  Teedyuscung,  asking  him  to  come  to  a 
conference,  at  the  home  of  Weiser,  or  any  other  place  he 
might  select.  This  effort  was  furthered  by  Sir  William 
Johnson,  who,  on  July  1 1,  arranged  matters  with  Teedyus- 
cung and  Paxinos,  whereby  they  agreed  to  be  governed  by 
the  orders  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  make  peace. 

On  July  18  Newcastle  reached  Bethlehem,  accompanied 
by  Teedyuscung,  and,  on  July  28,  the  first  conference  was 
held,  when  Teedyuscung,  whose  heart  was  with  the  English 
rather  than  the  French,  was  gained  over,  and  consented  to 
act,  with  Newcastle,  as  the  governor's  agent  in  Pennsyl- 
vania for  the  arrangement  of  peace  and  restoration  of 
captives. 

Under  the  head  of  Fort  Allen  we  have  seen  how  the 
Delaware  chief  loitered  on  his  way  back,  having  fallen  into 
the  unscrupulous  hands  of  those  who  took  advantage  of 
his  weakness  for  drink. 

It  was  not  until  October  11,  1756,  he  again  reached 
Easton,  bringing  with  him  a  number  of  unhappy  captives, 
and   accompanied   by   some   sixteen    Delawares   and   two 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  527 

Shawanese,  as  well  as  representatives  of  the  Six  Nations. 
On  November  8,  1756,  the  second  peace  conference  took 
place,  and  everything  progressed  nicely  until  it  was  noticed 
that  Teedyuscung  was  keeping  back  some  complaint,  over 
which  he  had  been  brooding,  and  which,  apparently,  ex- 
erted a  great  influence  over  him  for  bad.  Through 
Weiser's  skillful  questioning  it  developed  that  the  one 
great  wrong  which  the  Indians  felt,  and  the  one  sore  spot 
which  remained,  was  the  old  question  of  land  deeds,  and 
especially  that  which  pertained  to  the  "Walking  Pur- 
chase." While  hesitating  to  do  so,  in  the  presence  of  rep- 
resentatives from  the  Six  Nations,  the  Delaware  chief 
could  not  help  but  refer  to  the  manner  in  which  they  had 
ordered  his  people  to  surrender  their  lands  to  the  English ; 
he  complained  of  the  fraudulent  acquisition  of  their  prop- 
erty by  the  government,  and  even  intimated  that  the  deeds, 
of  which  the  governor  spoke,  were  not  genuine,  or  that 
they  did  not  contain  such  clauses  as  were  declared  to  be  in 
them.  It  was  a  critical  period  in  the  conference,  and  the 
wisdom  of  Weiser  alone  prevented  a  catastrophe.  By  his 
advise,  the  governor  expressed  surprise  at  the  charges 
made,  promised  to  examine  into  the  matter  carefully, 
which,  of  course,  would  take  time,  and  to  redress  all 
wrongs.  A  breathing  spell  having  been  thus  gained,  and 
present  friction  allayed,  various  gifts  were  distributed  to 
the  placated  Indians  who  departed,  promising  to  spread 
the  doctrine  of  peace  throughout  the  other  tribes,  and  then 
meet  the  governor  once  more,  bringing  with  them  other 
prisoners  still  in  their  hands. 

Unfortunately,  at  this  time  the  small-pox  was  prevalent 
and  Newcastle  fell  a  victim  to  it. 

Sir  William  Johnson,  in  the  meantime,  continued  the 
good  work  at  his  end  of  the  line,  and,  on  February  16, 


528  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

1757,  wrote  that  a  delegation  of  the  Six  Nations  had  been 
sent  to  use  their  influence  with  the  Delawares  and  Shawa- 
nese  for  the  immediate  restoration  of  the  remaining  pris- 
oners, and  to  remind  them  of  their  promise  made,  in  the 
spring  of  1756,  to  lay  down  the  hatchet  and  have  peace. 
This  letter  was  read  by  George  Croghan,  Johnson's  repre- 
sentative, to  the  large  number  of  Indians,  gathered  at 
Lancaster  in  May,  1757,  comprising  Tuscaroras,  Mo- 
hawks, Cayugas,  Nanticokes,  Oneidas,  Onondagoes,  Sen- 
ecas,  Delawares  and  Conestogas,  all  of  whom  were  waiting 
the  arrival  of  Teedyuscung.  On  May  9  the  governor 
reached  Lancaster,  and  a  conference,  of  a  general  char- 
acter, was  held,  at  which  he  spoke  kind  words  to  the  In- 
dians, but,  seeing  that  they  were  becoming  impatient  at 
the  non-arrival  of  the  Delaware  king,  and  learning  that 
the  latter  would  not  be  able  to  came  promptly,  he  dis- 
missed them,  with  the  understanding  that  another  confer- 
ence would  be  called  so  soon  as  it  was  possible  for  all  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese  to  get  together,  at  which  the 
Six  Nations  would  also  be  represented. 

On  May  21a  message  was  sent  to  Teedyuscung,  asking 
him  to  come,  but  it  was  not  until  July  that  he  appeared  in 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Allen,  with  a  large  following,  so  large, 
indeed,  as  to  create  much  alarm,  as  well  among  the  settlers 
as  the  Indians,  who  had  been  told  that  the  former  had 
planned  to  cut  them  off,  and  would  only  consent  to  advance 
when  they  had  been  given  safe  conduct,  and  were  assured 
that  the  rumor  was  incorrect.  In  due  time  they  reached 
Easton,  where  the  government,  in  turn,  had  a  guard  of 
over  one  hundred  men,  from  Colonel  Weiser's  Battalion, 
to  prevent  any  possible  treachery.  The  party  consisted 
of  some  400  Indians,  of  which  159  were  Delawares,  1  19 
Senecas,  the  remainder  of  the  Six  Nations.     The  confer- 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  529 

ence  lasted  from  July  21  to  August  7,  1757.  The  promi- 
nent figure  in  it  was  Teedyuscung,  the  Delaware  king,  who 
stated  that  he  was  empowered  to  speak  and  act  for  ten 
nations,  and  that  they  were  prepared  to  take  up  the  con- 
sideration of  the  points  in  dispute  at  the  previous  confer- 
ence. He  demanded  a  sight  of  the  original  land  deeds, 
and  proudly  declared  that  his  people  had  now  earned  the 
rights  to  be  called  "men,"  and  that  he,  himself,  no  longer 
wore  the  petticoats  of  a  woman,  but,  by  the  consent  of 
his  "uncles,"  the  Six  Nations,  his  skirts  had  been  cut  off, 
and  he  stood  before  them  "  a  man,"  the  king  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  and  the  representative  of  a  united  ten  nations.  It 
was  the  grand  speech  of  a  noble  man,  but  it  caused  a  frown 
to  come  to  the  face  of  many  a  delegate  from  the  Six  Na- 
tions who  sat  about  him. 

The  demand  for  a  sight  of  the  land  deeds  brought  con- 
sternation to  the  governor,  but,  once  more,  the  advice  and 
judgment  of  Weiser  came  to  his  aid.  In  due  time  the 
deeds  were  produced  and  examined,  lengthy,  but  satis- 
factory, explanations  followed,  presents  were  given  the 
Delawares  and  promises  made,  and  certain  lands,  then 
occupied  by  them,  between  the  Susquehanna  and  Delaware 
Rivers  to  the  north  of  the  mountains,  were  set  aside  for 
their  use.  The  conference  ended  most  happily  and  peace 
seemed  assured. 

It  only  remained  to  secure  the  final  consent  of  some  of 
the  extreme  westerly  tribes.  To  that  end  the  active  coop- 
eration of  the  Moravian  missionary,  Frederick  Post,  was 
secured,  whose  tireless  labors,  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  and  personal  danger  to  himself,  finally  met 
with  success.  The  alienation  of  the  Indians  from  the 
French  was  completely  effected,  resulting  in  the  destruction 


53°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

of  Fort  Duquesne  and  total  abandonment  of  the  hard- 
fought  field  by  the  enemy. 

From  the  nature  of  the  conferences  held  with  the  In- 
dians, whereby  but  one  step  could  be  taken  at  a  time,  and 
but  a  part  of  the  hostile  tribes  gained  at  each  meeting,  it 
can  be  understood  how  the  business  of  making  peace,  diplo- 
matically, took  time.  As  each  tribe  was  gained,  how- 
ever, so  many  less  were  the  marauding  parties,  and  so 
much  less  was  the  destruction  committed.  Every  effort  on 
the  part  of  Teedyuscung,  after  the  conference  of  1756, 
was  with  the  sincere  purpose  of  bringing  the  war  to  an 
end,  so  far  as  his  people  were  concerned.  From  the  testi- 
mony given  by  returned  prisoners  we  have  seen  how  they 
were  then  kindly  treated  by  the  eastern  Delawares,  and 
were  told  that  the  scalping  parties,  which  still  deluged  the 
frontiers  with  blood,  consisted,  mainly,  of  so-called"  French 
Indians  "  from  the  western  part  of  the  province. 

By  1758  all  the  hostile  Indians  were  doubtless  impressed 
by  the  victories  which  the  English  had  gained  over  their 
foe.  This,  together  with  the  great  advances  made  at  the 
various  peace  conferences  already  held,  assured  the  rati- 
fication of  a  general  peace,  on  the  part  of  all  the  tribes 
which  still  remained  hostile.  At  the  great  conference 
held  in  Easton  from  October  8  to  October  26,  1758,  a 
great  number  of  Indians  were  present,  representing  all 
the  tribes,  the  result  of  which  was  universal  peace,  so  far 
as  the  hapless  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  were  concerned, 
until  the  sudden  and  terrible  outbreak  of  Pontiac's  War  in 
1763.  At  this  meeting  Teedyuscung  was,  once  more,  the 
central  figure. 

If  it  were  more  within  the  scope  of  this  paper  and  space 
would  allow,  it  would  be  most  interesting  to  discuss  the 
details  of  these  different  conferences,  and  the  phases  which 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  531 

they  assumed  from  time  to  time.  The  history  which  we 
are  writing,  however,  would  not  be  complete  without  more 
full  reference  to  four  of  the  prominent  actors  in  the  scenes 
which  have  been  spread  before  us,  without  whom  the  whole 
transaction  would  have  been  barren  of  results.  Two  of 
them  were  Indians  and  two  white  men.  Of  the  former 
the  most  prominent  Indian  had  been  under  the  influence 
of  the  Pennsylvania-German  Moravians,  and  who  can  say 
that  this  had  no  bearing  on  his  future  actions. 

The  first  Indian  was  Newcastle,  or  Captain  Newcastle 
as  he  is  named  at  times.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Six 
Nations,  by  whom  he  was  called  "  Cashrowaya,"  or  "  Ka- 
nuksusy."  When  a  child  he  had  been  formally  presented, 
by  his  parents,  to  William  Penn,  at  New  Castle.  In  Au- 
gust, 1755,  Governor  Morris  publicly  conferred  on  him 
the  name  of  Newcastle,  in  remembrance  of  that  event, 
addressing  him,  on  the  occasion,  in  these  words: 

"  In  token  of  our  affection  for  your  parents,  and  in  ex- 
pectation of  your  being  a  useful  man  in  these  perilous 
times,  I  do,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  adopt  you  by  the 
name  of  Newcastle,  and  order  you,  hereafter,  to  be  called 
by  that  name."  He  confirmed  his  words  with  a  belt  of 
eight  rows. 

Newcastle  was  truly  loyal  to  the  English.  It  was  only 
by  his  aid  that  the  preliminary  conferences  with  the  hos- 
tile Indians  became  possible,  and  that  Teedyuscung  was 
brought  to  an  interview  with  the  governor  in  1756.  He 
died,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  of  smallpox,  in  No- 
vember of  that  year. 

The  other  Indian  was  the  Delaware  chief,  or  king, 
Teedyuscung,  a  truly  great  man. 

Tadeuskund,  or  Teedyuscung,  was  the  last  Delaware 
chief  east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains.     Even  before  he 


53 2  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

was  raised  to  the  high  position,  which  he  occupied,  he  had 
signalized  himself  as  an  able  counsellor  in  his  nation.  In 
the  year  1749  he  joined  the  Christian  Indian  congrega- 
tion, and  the  following  year,  at  his  earnest  desire,  was 
christened  by  the  name  of  "  Gideon."  Before  that  he 
had  been  known  as  "  Honest  John."  It  was  not  until 
1754  that  his  nation  called  upon  him  to  assume  a  military 
command,  and  to  take  the  place  of  their  great,  good,  be- 
loved and  peaceable  Chief  Tademe  (commonly  called 
Tattemi),  who,  some  time  before,  had  been  murdered  in 
the  Forks  Settlement  by  a  foolish  young  white  man.  His 
elevation  to  this  position  was  ratified  by  the  Six  Nations, 
as  claimed  by  Teedyuscung  himself  when  asked  the  ques- 
tion at  the  conference  in  June,  1756. 

The  great  chief  was  a  man  of  noble  impulse  and  filled 
with  a  patriotic  feeling  for  his  own  people.  His  one 
great  aim  was  to  make  right  the  wrongs  which  he  felt  had 
been  done  them,  both  by  the  English  and  the  Six  Nations, 
especially  in  the  matter  of  land  purchases,  and  to  elevate 
his  nation  to  the  proud  position  once  occupied  by  the  great 
Lenni-Lenape,  so  that  they  might  no  longer  sit  under  the 
opprobrious  epithet  of  "women,"  but  once  more  stand 
before  their  old  masters,  the  Six  Nations,  as  "  men,"  and 
equals. 

To  this  end,  he  unhesitatingly  assumed  the  role  of  the 
most  prominent  figure  at  all  the  conferences  held  with 
the  Governor,  which  was  actually  thrust  upon  him  by  cir- 
cumstances almost  beyond  his  control.  It  was  by  his  dig- 
nity, ability  and  shrewdness,  on  these  occasions,  that  he 
practically  succeeded  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  hopes 
which  were  nearest  his  heart,  and  did,  indeed,  raise  his 
tribe  to  a  position  which  they  had  not  occupied  for  many 
years. 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  533 

Back  of  his  patriotic  love  for  his  own  people  there  lay 
a  true  regard  for  the  English,  unaccompanied  by  any  sim- 
ilar feeling  for  the  French.  He  had  lived  amongst  them, 
eaten  with  them,  and  it  was  from  the  lips  of  the  Moravian 
missionaries  he  had  heard  preached  the  gospel  of  Christ 
to  which  he  became  a  convert.  With  such  sympathies,  it 
was  but  natural  for  him  to  willingly  lend  his  aid  to  the 
plans  of  the  government  to  bring  about  peace,  and  this 
assistance  was  willingly  and  honestly  given. 

Unfortunately,  human  nature  was  as  weak  then  as  it 
is  now.  The  faithful  labors  of  Teedyuscung  resulted  in 
the  birth  of  enemies  against  him.  As  he  stood,  at  the  con- 
ferences, surrounded  by  scores  of  chiefs  from  other  nations 
and  tribes,  who  could  not  fail  to  realize  his  ability,  and 
could  not  help  but  see  the  prominence  he  had  attained  and 
the  attention  which  was  shown  him,  anything  but  friendly 
feelings  filled  many  savage  breasts.  The  representatives 
of  the  Six  Nations  saw  their  former  vassals  slipping  away 
from  their  authority,  and  made  up  their  minds  that  he 
must  be  gotten  rid  of;  his  frequent  visits  to  the  governor, 
and  to  the  people  called  Quakers  (to  whom  he  was  much 
attached,  because  they  were  known  to  be  friendly  to  the 
Indians)  excited  much  jealousy  among  some  of  his  own 
nation,  especially  the  Monseys,  who  believed  that  he  was 
carrying  on  some  underhand  work,  detrimental  to  the 
nation  at  large,  on  which  account,  as  they  wished  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  war,  they  became  his  enemies;  even  the 
English,  for  whom  he  was  doing  so  much,  doubted  his 
sincerity  because  he  was  not  sooner  able  to  bring  together 
the  incongruous  elements,  whose  united  assent  to  peace 
was  necessary. 

From  the  precarious  situation  in  which  Teedyuscung 
was  placed  it  was  easy  to  forsee  that  he  would  come  to  an 


534  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

untimely  end,  and  that  he  could  not  long  escape  the  fate 
intended  him.  The  opportunity  came  with  the  outbreak 
of  Pontiac's  war,  in  the  spring  of  1763.  At  this  time  he 
was  quietly  living  in  the  Minisink  region,  above  Strouds- 
burg,  which  he  had  made  his  home,  and  where  he  was 
born,  when,  in  October,  1763,  a  party  of  warriors,  from 
the  Six  Nations,  paid  him  a  visit,  with  a  smile  of  friend- 
ship on  the  face  and  enmity  in  the  heart.  After  lingering 
around  for  several  days,  when,  doubtless,  much  liquor 
was  drunk,  they  succeeded  in  treacherously  setting  fire  to 
his  house  at  night,  which,  with  the  veteran  himself,  was 
burnt  to  ashes. 

To  shield  themselves,  the  Indians,  who  had  committed 
the  dastardly  deed,  blamed  it  on  the  white  settlers  from 
Connecticut.  The  result  can  readily  be  imagined.  Be- 
loved, as  the  chief  was  by  many  of  his  people,  their  wrath 
was  kindled  intensely  by  his  death,  and,  especially,  by  the 
manner  in  which  it  occurred.  Parties  at  once  started  on 
the  warpath,  and  committed  the  depredations  which  will 
be  narrated  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

Besides  his  title  of  "  King  of  the  Delawares,"  he  was 
called,  by  many  people,  the  "  War  Trumpet,"  while  pass- 
ing and  repassing,  to  and  from  the  enemy,  with  messages. 
In  his  person  he  was  a  tall,  portly  and  well-looking  man, 
endowed  with  good  natural  sense,  quick  of  comprehension, 
and  very  ready  in  answering  questions  put  to  him.  He 
was  proud,  thought  much  of  his  rank,  and  was  fond  of 
having  a  retinue  with  him  when  attending  the  various  con- 
ferences. His  greatest  weakness  was  a  fondness  for  strong 
drink,  the  temptation  of  which  he  could  not  easily  resist, 
and  would  sometimes  drink  to  excess.  This  unfortunate 
propensity  probably  gave  the  opportunity  for  his  cruel  and 
untimely  death. 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  535 

Although  grave  and  dignified,  he  seems  to  have  been 
somewhat  of  a  wit.  A  tradition  states  that  one  day  he 
met  a  blacksmith  named  Wm.  McNabb,  a  rather  worth- 
less fellow,  who  accosted  him  with,  "  Well,  cousin,  how 
do  you  do?"  "Cousin,  cousin,"  repeated  the  haughty 
red  man,  "how  do  you  make  that  out?"  "Oh,  we  are 
all  cousins  from  Adam,"  was  the  reply.  "Ah!"  retorted 
Teedyuscung,  "  then  I  am  glad  it  is  no  nearer." 

The  family  of  Teedyuscung,  in  1756,  consisted  of  his 
wife,  Elizabeth,  and  three  sons,  Tachgokanhelle,  alias 
Amos,  who  married  Purgtis,  a  Jersey  Delaware,  and  sister 
of  the  wife  of  Christian  Frederick  Post,  the  missionary; 
Kesmitas,  and  John  Jacob.  Prior  to  this  date  the  whole 
family  had  become  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Half  brothers  of  the  chief  were  Joe  Evans,  San  Evans  and 
Young  Captain  Harris,  all  of  whom  figure  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War. 

The  two  other  men  of  note,  in  the  peace  conferences, 
were  Pennsylvania-Germans. 

Head  and  shoulders  above  every  one  else  stood  Conrad 
Weiser.  No  one,  at  this  day,  can  fully  realize  the  prob- 
lem then  before  him.  On  the  result  of  all  these  gather- 
ings hung  either  growing  peace  or  continued  war.  The 
least  misstep  meant  disaster.  Filled  with  a  feeling  of 
wrong  committed  against  them,  unexpected  situations  were 
constantly  cropping  out,  which  had  to  be  met,  and  unex- 
pected questions  were  constantly  asked,  which  had  to  be 
answered.  At  times  the  whole  condition  of  affairs  was 
most  acute,  and  how  could  it  be  otherwise  when  we  con- 
sider the  discordant  elements  which  entered  into  the  meet- 
ings. None  save  he  who  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  savage  nature,  language  and  customs,  and  who  had  a 
full  knowledge  of  the  entire  condition  of  affairs  in  general, 


536  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

could  possibly  handle  the  situation,  and  avoid  falling  into 
the  many  pit-falls  by  which  he  was  surrounded.  The  only 
man  to  meet  all  these  requirements  was  Weiser,  and,  under 
Providence,  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  owes  him  a 
further  debt  of  gratitude  in  that  he,  more  than  any  one 
else,  was  instrumental  in  bringing  peace  to  it. 

Hardly  less  entitled  to  praise  and  thanks  was  the  little 
known,  and  less  heard  of,  Moravian  missionary,  Christian 
Frederick  Post,  whose  life  of  labor  and  love  was  mostly 
spent  among  the  aborigines  on  the  outer  limit  of  civilized 
settlement.  However  friendly  disposed  Teedyuscung,  and 
those  under  his  direct  control,  there  were  the  more  western 
tribes  who  still  clung  to  the  French.  Unless  they  could 
be  alienated  from  them  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne 
seemed  almost  a  physical  impossibility;  without  the  fall 
of  this  fortress,  and  the  departure  of  the  French,  peace 
was  equally  remote.  The  work  of  bringing  about  this 
alienation  was  entrusted  to  Post,  the  only  man  capable  of 
accomplishing  it,  because  of  his  connection  with  the  In- 
dians, and  their  esteem  for  him.  How  well  he  did  it  we 
have  already  seen  in  our  record  of  General  Forbes'  expe- 
dition in  1758.  We  have  read  how,  abandoned  by  his 
savage  allies,  the  French  commander  was  forced  to  flee 
as  he  saw  the  British  army  approach,  with  their  dying 
general,  whom  the  Indians  called  the  "  Head  of  Iron." 
Mr.  Frank  Cowan,  the  poet  of  southwestern  Pennsylvania, 
tells  the  story  in  one  of  his  songs,  of  which  we  give  a  verse : 

"  The  Head  of  Iron,  from  his  couch, 

Gave  courage  and   command, 
Which   Washington,    Bouquet   and    Grant 

Repeated   to  the  band; 
Till,   hark!    the   Highlanders  began 

With  their  chieftain's  words  to  swell, 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  537 

'To-night,  I  shall  sup   and  drain  my  cup 

In   Fort  DuQuesne — or   Hell !  ' 
But  the  man  of  Prayer,  and  not  of  boast, 

Had   spoken    first,    in    Frederick   Post." 

To  show  the  estimation  in  which  this  noble  man  was 
held  by  the  authorities,  and  as  an  interesting  record  of  his 
later  life,  we  quote  the  words  of  a  pass-port  given  him 
in  1767. 

"Passport  for  C.  Frederick  Post,   1767. 

"The  Honourable  John  Penn,  Esquire,  Lieutenant 
Governor  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Province  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent  and 
Sussex,  in  Delaware. 

"To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  greeting: 
"  Whereas,  Mr.  Christian  Frederick  Post  has  been  fre- 
quently employed  by  this  Government  in  messages  of  great 
Importance  to  the  several  Nations  of  Indians,  as  well  dis- 
tant as  bordering  nations,  in  which  he  always  acted  faith- 
fully and  gave  entire  satisfaction,  and  particularly  by  his 
care  and  prudence  in  the  execution  of  a  message  sent  in 
ye  year  1758,  to  all  the  Tribes  of  the  Indians  then  at  war 
with  His  Majesty,  was  very  instrumental  in  disposing  them 
to  quit  the  French,  and  join  themselves  to  the  King's  Army, 
then  marching  under  General  Forbes  to  Fort  DuQuesne, 
by  means  whereof  the  French  Garrison  blew  up  and  de- 
serted that  Fort,  and  whereas,  the  said  Christian  Post  has 
been  regularly  ordained  a  Deacon  in  the  church  of  the 
Unitas  Fratrum,  known  and  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  the  Moravian  Church,  and  in  that  Quality  of  Deacon, 
hath  had  several  commissions  from  former  Governors  of 
this  Province  to  go  amongst  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  ye 
Indians  in  alliance  w'th  his  Majesty,  as  well  Six  Nations  as 


538  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Delawares,  and  other  Tribes  of  Indians,  And  whereas,  the 
s'd  Chris.  Frederick  Post  hath  now  informed  us  that  he  is 
just  arrived  from  the  Musquito  Shore,  where  he  has  been 
for  some  time  resident,  and  has  obtained  a  regular  invita- 
tion, as  well  from  the  English  inhabitants  living  on  ye 
Musquito  Shore,  as  from  the  principal  Indians  on  that 
Coast,  to  return  to  them,  and  to  become  their  minister 
for  ye  preaching  of  ye  Gospel,  and  the  administration  of 
ye  Sacraments,  and  the  said  Chris.  Frederick  Post  hath, 
in  my  presence,  subscribed  his  assent  and  consent  to  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  expressed  his 
entire  approbation  of  the  Province's  forms  and  cere- 
monies used  in  the  established  church,  and  hath  further 
declared  that  he  will  conform  thereto  as  far  as  is  prac- 
ticable in  such  a  country,  with  such  people  as  he  is  called 
to  minister  amongst,  and  he  is  purposed  to  return  to  ye 
Musquito  Shore,  and  try,  under  God,  what  he  can  do  to 
promote  their  salvation. 

"And  whereas,  it  hath  been  made  appear  to  me,  as  well 
by  letters  as  by  ye  testimony  of  academy  in  this  city,  and 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Peters,  Rector  of  the  United  Churches 
of  Christ  Church  &  St.  Peters,  in  this  city,  &  of  the  Rev'd 
Mr.  Smith,  Provost  of  the  College  &  Academy  in  this  city, 
that  ye  s'd  Chris.  Frederick  Post  is  agreeable  &  hath 
received  presents  and  other  Encouragement  from  ye  hon- 
ourable Society  for  ye  propagation  of  ye  Gospel  whilst  he 
was  among  ye  Musquito  Indians. 

"  Now  Know  ye,  that  in  consideration  of  the  Benefits, 
and  from  ye  Esteem  he  is  in,  w'th  me  and  sundry  others 
to  whom  he  is  known  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  Prov- 
inces, I  do  most  heartily  approve  of  ye  desire  to  assist  him 
in  this,  his  weighty  and  pious  Resolution,  and  do  now  affec- 
tionately recommend  him  to  the  King  and  good  offices  of 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  539 

all  his  Majesty's  Governors,  Magistrates  and  officers,  both 
Civil  and  Military,  in  places  thro'  which  he  may  have 
occasion  to  travel,  and  particularly  to  his  Excellency,  ye 
Governor  of  Jamaica,  to  whom  he  proposes  first  to  go, 
and  who  knows  these  his  purposes,  to  the  end  that  he  may 
have  &  receive  his  Excellency's  approbation  and  protection 
in  ye  good  work  he  has  undertaken. 

"  Given  under  my  hand  and  ye  Great  Seal  of  said  Prov- 
ince, at  Philadelphia,  this  21st  April,  1767." 

Christian  Frederick  Post  died  in  Germantown,  April 
29,  1785,  and,  on  May  1,  his  remains  were  interred  in 
the  "Lower  Graveyard,"  of  that  place,  the  Rev.  William 
White,  then  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  conducting  the 
funeral  services.  His  tombstone  is  near  the  gateway,  to 
the  right.  But  little  is  known  of  him  prior  to  his  arrival 
in  America.  His  birthplace  seems  to  have  been  Konitz, 
a  town  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Muskonderfer  Lake,  in 
the  present  West  Prussia.  The  year  of  his  birth — 17 10 — 
is  on  record,  but  not  the  exact  date.  No  data  are  in 
existence  concerning  his  parentage. 

The  Outbreak  of  1763  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania. 

Pontiac's  outbreak,  in  itself,  would  have  caused  hardly 
a  ripple  of  excitement  east  of  the  Susquehanna  River. 
When,  however,  their  great  chief  Teedyuscung  had  been 
so  foully  put  to  death,  in  their  wrath  and  desire  for  ven- 
geance the  Delawares  took  advantage  of  the  hostilities, 
begun  by  Pontiac,  to  dig  up  the  hatchet  themselves  and 
once  more  spread  death,  misery  and  destruction  all  about 
them.  As  usual  the  innocent  Pennsylvania-German  fron- 
tiersmen were  again  the  chief  sufferers.  Under  the  cap- 
tions of  the  various  forts  and  defenses  various  incidents  of 


54°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

murder   and   massacre,    pertaining   to   this   period,    have 
already  been  enumerated. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Northampton  County,  however, 
there  was  added  reason  why  the  blood  of  the  Indian  should 
have  been  stirred  up  to  hostilities.  One  occurrence,  which 
is  of  sufficient  interest  to  entitle  it  to  a  separate  chapter,  is 
narrated  in  "  Heckewelder's  Account  of  the  Indian  Na- 
tions," as  follows: 

"In  the  summer  of  the  year  1763,  some  friendly  In- 
dians, from  a  distant  place,  came  to  Bethlehem  to  dispose 
of  their  peltry  for  manufactured  goods  and  necessary  im- 
plements of  husbandry.  Returning  home,  well  satisfied, 
they  put  up  the  first  night  at  a  tavern  (John  Stenton's) 
near  the  Irish  Settlement  eight  miles  distant  from  Beth- 
lehem. The  landlord  not  being  at  home,  his  wife  took 
the  liberty  of  encouraging  the  people  who  frequented  her 
house  for  the  sake  of  drinking,  to  abuse  those  Indians, 
adding  that  she  would  freely  give  a  gallon  of  rum  to  any 
one  of  them  that  would  kill  one  of  these  black  devils. 
Other  white  people  from  the  neighborhood  came  in  during 
the  night,  who  also  drank  freely,  made  a  great  deal  of 
noise,  and  increased  the  fears  of  those  poor  Indians,  who — 
for  the  greatest  part  understood  English — could  not  but 
suspect  something  bad  was  intended  against  their  persons. 
They  were,  however,  not  otherwise  disturbed;  but  in  the 
morning,  when  after  a  restless  night  they  were  preparing 
to  set  off,  they  found  themselves  robbed  of  some  of  their 
most  valuable  articles  they  had  purchased,  and  on  men- 
tioning this  to  a  man  who  appeared  to  be  the  bar-keeper, 
they  were  ordered  to  leave  the  house.  Not  being  willing 
to  lose  so  much  property,  they  retired  to  some  distance  in 
the  woods,  when,  some  of  them  remaining  with  what  was 
left  them,  the  others  returned  to  Bethlehem  and  lodged 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  541 

their  complaint  with  a  justice  of  the  peace.  The  magis- 
trate gave  them  a  letter  to  the  landlord,  pressing  him 
without  delay  to  restore  to  the  Indians  the  goods,  that  had 
been  taken  from  them.  But,  behold!  when  they  deliv- 
ered that  letter  to  the  people  of  the  inn,  they  were  told  in 
answer,  that  if  they  set  any  value  on  their  lives  they  must 
make  off  with  themselves  immediately.  They  well  under- 
stood that  they  had  no  other  alternative,  and  prudently 
departed  without  having  received  back  any  of  their  goods. 
Arrived  at  Nescopeck,  on  the  Susquehanna,  they  fell  in 
with  some  other  Delaware  Indians,  who  had  been  treated 
much  in  the  same  manner,  one  of  them  having  his  rifle 
stolen  from  him.  Here  the  two  parties  agreed  to  take  re- 
venge in  their  own  way  for  those  insults  and  robberies  for 
which  they  could  obtain  no  redress,  and  this  they  deter- 
mined to  do  as  soon  as  war  should  be  again  declared  by 
their  nation  against  the  English." 

As  a  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  narrative  Heckewelder 
adds  a  note: 

"  This  relation  is  authentic.  I  have  received  it  from  the 
mouth  of  the  chief  of  the  injured  party,  and  his  statement 
was  confirmed  by  communications  made  at  the  time  by  two 
respectable  magistrates  of  the  county.  Justice  Geiger's 
letter  to  Tim.  Horsfield  proves  this  fact." 

About  the  same  time  as  this  unfortunate  occurrence, 
another  one  of  a  similar  character  took  place,  which  is 
given  in  Loskill's  "  History  of  the  Missions  of  the  Indians 
in  America,"  as  follows: 

"In  August,  1763,  Zachary  and  his  wife,  who  had  left 
the  congregation  in  Wechquetank — on  Poca  Poca  (Head's) 
Creek,  north  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  settled  by  Moravian 
Indians — (where  they  had  belonged,  but  left  some  time 
previous),  came  on  a  visit,  and  did  all  in  their  power  to 


542  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

disquiet  the  minds  of  the  brethren  respecting  the  intentions 
of  the  white  people.  A  woman,  called  Zippora,  was  per- 
sauded  to  follow  them.  On  their  return  they  staid  at  the 
Buchkabuchka  (this  is  the  name  the  Munsey's  have  for 
the  Lehigh  Water  Gap — it  means  '  mountains  butting  op- 
posite each  other')  over  night,  where  Captain  Wetterholt 
(Nicholas)  lay  with  a  company  of  soldiers,  and  went  un- 
concerned to  sleep  in  a  hay  loft.  But  in  the  night  they 
were  surprised  by  the  soldiers.  Zippora  was  thrown  down 
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." 

The  presence  of  Captain  Wetterholt  at  Lehigh  Gap 
was  probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  on  his  way 
either  to  or  from  Fort  Allen,  at  Weissport,  where  a  body 
of  soldiers,  under  his  command  was  still  stationed.  His 
lieutenant,  at  this  time,  was  a  man  named  Jonathan  Dodge, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  most  precious  scoundrel,  who 
committed  many  atrocious  acts  against  his  fellow-soldiers, 
also  against  the  inhabitants  of  Northampton  County,  but 
particularly  against  the  Indians. 

In  August,  1763,  four  Indians  came  to  his  fort,  from 
whom  he  took  four  rifles  and  frontier  deer-skins,  weighing 
thirty-one  pounds.  After  the  Indians  had  left  he  took 
twenty  men  and  pursued  them,  and  ordered  his  men  to  fire 
a  volley  at  them.  These  were  friendly  inoffensive  Indians, 
who  had  come  from  Shamokin  on  their  way  to  Bethlehem. 

On  September  9,  Jacob  Warner,  a  soldier,  made  the 
statement  that  he  and  Dodge  were  searching  for  a  lost 
gun,  when,  about  two  miles  from  Fort  Allen,  they  saw 
three  Indians  painted  black.  Dodge  fired  upon  them  and 
killed  one;  Warner  also  fired  upon  them,  and  thought  he 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  543 

wounded  another,  but  two  of  them  escaped;  the  Indians 
had  not  fired  at  them.  The  Indian  was  scalped,  and  the 
scalp  sold  to  some  person  in  Philadelphia  who  gave  eight 
dollars  for  it.     These  were  also  friendly  Indians. 

On  October  4,  Dodge  was  charged  with  disabling  Peter 
Frantz,  a  soldier;  for  striking  him  with  a  gun,  and  order- 
ing his  men  to  lay  down  their  arms  if  the  captain  should 
blame  him  about  the  scalp. 

In  a  letter  of  this  date,  Captain  Nicholas  Wetterholt 
wrote  to  Mr.  Horsfield: 

"  If  he  (Dodge)  is  to  remain  in  the  company,  not  one 
man  will  remain.  I  never  had  so  much  trouble  and  uneas- 
iness as  I  have  had  these  few  weeks;  and  if  he  continues  in 
the  service  any  longer,  I  don't  propose  to  stay  any  longer. 
I  intend  to  confine  him  only  for  this  crime." 

On  October  5  Captain  Wetterholt  placed  Lieutenant 
Jonathan  Dodge  under  arrest  "  for  striking  and  abusing 
Peter  Frantz,"  and  sent  him  in  charge  of  Captain  Jacob 
Wetterholt,  Sergeant  Laurence  McGuire,  and  some  sol- 
diers, to  Timothy  Horsfield,  at  Bethlehem.  We  are  not 
told  the  result,  but  merely  know  that  on  October  7  the 
party  left  Bethlehem  on  their  way  back  to  Fort  Allen. 
That  the  same  evening  they  arrived  at  John  Stenton's 
tavern  and  lodged  for  the  night.  Unsuspicious  of  danger, 
Captain  Wetterholt  failed  to  place  sentrys  about  the  build- 
ing. During  the  night,  the  Indians  unperceived  and  un- 
suspected, approached  the  house.  What  happened  at 
break  of  day,  on  October  8,  is  thus  related: 

"  The  Capt.  designing  early  in  the  morning  to  proceed 
for  the  fort,  ordered  a  servant  out  to  get  his  horse  ready, 
who  was  immediately  shot  down  by  the  enemy ;  upon  the 
Captain  going  to  the  door  he  was  also  mortally  wounded, 
and  a  sergeant,  who  attempted  to  draw  the  Captain  in,  was 


544  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

also  dangerously  hurt.  The  lieutenant  then  advanced, 
when  an  Indian  jumping  on  the  bodies  of  the  two  others, 
presented  a  pistol  to  his  breast,  which,  he  putting  aside,  it 
went  off  over  his  shoulder,  whereby  he  got  the  Indian  out 
of  the  house  and  shut  the  door.  The  Indians  then  went 
around  to  a  window,  and,  as  Stenton  was  getting  out  of 
bed,  shot  him;  but,  rushing  from  the  house,  he  was  able 
to  run  a  mile  before  he  dropped  dead.  His  wife  and  two 
children  ran  into  the  cellar;  they  were  fired  upon  three 
times,  but  escaped  uninjured.  Capt.  Witherholt,  notwith- 
standing his  wound,  crawled  to  a  window,  whence  he  killed 
one  of  the  Indians  who  were  setting  fire  to  the  house;  the 
others  ran  off,  bearing  with  them  their  dead  companion." 

The  wounded  were  taken  to  Bethlehem  where  Captain 
Wetterholt  died  the  next  day,  at  the  Crown  Inn,  and  so 
passed  away  a  brave  and  energetic  officer  who  deserved  a 
better  fate. 

This  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  revenge  which  the 
savages  had  determined  to  take.  An  extract  from  a  Beth- 
lehem letter  of  October  9  says : 

"  Early  this  morning  came  Nicholas  Marks,  of  White- 
hall Township,  and  brought  the  following  account,  viz : 

"  That  Yesterday,  just  after  dinner,  as  he  opened  his 
door,  he  saw  an  Indian  standing  about  two  poles  from  the 
house,  who  endeavored  to  shoot  at  him;  but,  Marks  shut- 
ting 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,  (This  ap- 
prentice boy  was  the  late  George  Graff,  of  Allentown,  then 
fifteen  years  of  age.  He  ran  to  Philip  Jacob  Schrieber 
with  the  news  of  these  murders.  He  was  Captain  of  a 
company  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  In  1786  he  resigned 
as  Collector  of  the  Excise,  and  was  Sheriff  of  Northamp- 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  545 


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546  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

ton  County  in  the  years  1787-8-9.  For  three  years  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  then  holding  its  sessions 
in  Philadelphia,  from  December  3,  1793  to  December, 
1796.  He  lived  many  years  in  Allentown,  where  he  died 
in  1835,  in  the  88th  year  of  his  age)  in  order  to  make  his 
escape,  and  saw  another  Indian  standing  behind  a  tree. 
They  then  saw  the  third  Indian  running  through  the  or- 
chard; 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  thence  they  went 
to  Hans  Schneider's  and  said  Mark's  plantations,  and 
found  both  houses  on  fire,  and  a  horse  tied  to  the  bushes. 
They  also  found  said  Schneider,  his  wife  and  three  chil- 
dren, dead  in  the  field,  the  man  and  woman  scalped;  and, 
on  going  further,  they  found  two  others  wounded,  one 
of  whom  was  scalped.  After  this  they  returned  with  the 
two  wounded  girls  to  Adam  Deshler's,  and  saw  a  woman, 
Jacob  Alleman's  wife,  with  a  child,  lying  dead  in  the  road 
and  scalped.  The  number  of  Indians  they  think  was  about 
fifteen,  or  twenty. 

"  I  cannot  describe  the  deplorable  condition  this  poor 
country  is  in,  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  Allen's  Town 
and  other  places  are  fled  from  their  habitations.  Many 
are  in  Bethlehem,  and  other  places  of  the  Brethren,  and 
others  further  down  the  country.  I  cannot  ascertain  the 
number  killed  but  think  it  exceeds  twenty.  The  people 
of  Nazareth,  and  other  places  belonging  to  the  Brethren, 
have  put  themselves  in  the  best  posture  of  defence  they 
can;  they  keep  a  strong  watch  every  night,  and  hope,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  if  they  are  attacked,  to  make  a  good 
stand. 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians.  547 

11  In  a  letter  from  the  same  county,  of  the  10th  instant, 
the  number  killed  is  said  to  be  twenty-three,  besides  a  great 
many  dangerously  wounded;  that  the  inhabitants  are  in  the 
utmost  distress  and  confusion,  flying  from  their  places, 
some  of  them  with  hardly  sufficient  to  cover  themselves, 
and  that  it  was  to  be  feared  there  were  many  houses,  &c. 
burned,  and  lives  lost  that  were  not  known.  And  by  a 
gentleman  from  the  same  quarter  we  are  informed  that  it 
was  reported,  when  he  came  away,  that  Yost's  mill,  about 
eleven  miles  from  Bethlehem,  was  destroyed,  and  all  the 
people  that  belonged  to  it,  excepting  a  young  man,  cut  off." 

After  the  deplorable  disaster  at  Stenton's  house,  the 
Indians  plundered  James  Allen's  house,  a  short  distance 
off;  after  which  they  attacked  Andrew  Hazlet's  house, 
half  a  mile  from  Allen's,  where  they  shot  and  scalped  a 
man.  Hazlet  attempted  to  fire  on  the  Indians,  but  missed, 
and  was  shot  himself,  which  his  wife,  some  distance  off, 
saw.  She  ran  off  with  two  children,  but  was  pursued  and 
overtaken  by  the  Indians,  who  caught  and  tomahawked 
her  and  the  children  in  a  dreadful  manner;  yet  she  and 
one  of  the  children  lived  until  four  days  after,  and  the 
other  child  recovered.  Hazlet's  house  was  plundered. 
About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  there  the  Indians  burned 
down  Kratzer's  house,  probably  after  having  plundered  it. 
Then  a  party  of  Indians  proceeded  to  a  place  on  the  Lehigh, 
a  short  distance  above  Siegfried's  Bridge,  to  this  day 
known  as  the  "  Indian  Fall "  or  Rapids,  where  twelve 
Indians  were  seen  wading  across  the  river  by  Ulrich  Sho- 
walter,  who  then  lived  on  the  place  recently  owned  by 
Peter  Troxel.  Showalter  was  at  that  time  working  on 
the  roof  of  a  building,  the  site  of  which  being  consider- 
ably elevated  above  the  river  Lehigh,  he  had  a  good  op- 
portunity to  see  and  count  the  Indians,  who,  after  having 


548  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

crossed  the  river,  landed  near  Leisenring's  Mountain.  It 
is  to  be  observed  that  the  greater  part  of  this  township 
was  then  still  covered  with  dense  forests,  so  that  the  In- 
dians could  readily  move  from  place  to  place  without  being 
seen.  They  were  not  noticed  by  any  one,  save  Showalter, 
until  they  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,  where  they  were  gath- 
ering 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  over- 
taken, not  far  from  the  tree,  and  knocked  down  with  a 
tomahawk.  Henry  had  reached  the  fence,  and,  while  in 
the  act  of  climbing  it,  an  Indian  threw  a  tomahawk  at  his 
back,  which  is  supposed  to  have  killed  him  instantly.  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,  where  he  remained  quietly  concealed,  not 
daring  to  move  for  fear  of  being  discovered,  until  sure 
that  the  Indians  had  left.  Hearing  the  screams  of  the 
Schneider  family  he  knew  his  way  was  clear  and  ran,  with 
all  his  might,  by  way  of  Adam  Deshler's  house,  to  his 
brother,  John  Jacob  Mickley,  to  whom  he  communicated 
the  melancholy  intelligence  and  with  whom  he  took  up 
his  abode. 

Thoroughly  alarmed  by  these  depredations  the  people 
of  the  county  formed  themselves  into  a  military  company, 
and  wrote  the  governor  for  arms  and  ammunition.  The 
following  names  of  members  of  this  company  are  recorded : 

George    Wolf,    CaMain,  John   Martin   Dourr, 

Abraham  Rinker,   Lieutenant,  Peter   Ruth, 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians. 


549 


55°  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Philip    Koogler,  France  Keffer, 

Peter  Miller,  Jacob  Morr, 

Frederick   Schakler,  Martin   Frolick, 

Leonard   Abell,  George  Laur, 

Tobias   Dittis,  Daniel   Nonnemaker, 

Lorenz  Stauck,  Peter  Shab, 

Simon  Brenner,  Abraham  Sawitz, 

Jacob  Wolf,  John    Schreck, 

Simon  Lagundacker,  George   S.   Schnepp, 

George  Nicolaus,  Michael  Readcot. 
David  Deschler, 

The  danger,  however,  passed  as  quickly  as  it  came. 
The  Indians  came  to  wreak  vengeance  for  their  wrongs, 
and  that  accomplished  they  returned. 

The  Irish  Settlement. 

Adjoining  the  scene  of  the  above  massacres,  and  par- 
ticipating in  them,  was  the  Irish  Settlement,  of  which  men- 
tion has  been  made  heretofore.  As  early  as  1728  John 
Boyd,  who  had  married  Jane  Craig,  went  with  Colonel 
Thomas  Craig  from  Philadelphia  and  settled  at  a  place 
on  the  Catasauqua  Creek,  known  later  as  the  Craig  Settle- 
ment. This  became,  by  173 1,  the  nucleus  of  a  Scotch- 
Irish  colony,  whence  came  George  Wolf,  the  seventh  gov- 
ernor of  Pennsylvania.  In  time  the  Germans  gradually 
pushed  out  and  supplanted  their  neighbors  of  other  blood, 
and  now  occupy  the  territory. 

At  daybreak,  on  Saturday  morning,  October  8,  1763,  as 
the  Indians  were  stealthily  making  their  way  towards  John 
Stenton's  inn,  they  chanced  to  meet  Jane,  the  wife  of  James 
Horner,  living  near  by,  who  was  on  her  way  to  a  neighbor's 
for  some  coals  with  which  to  light  her  morning  fire.  Fear- 
ing she  would  betray  them,  and  raise  an  alarm,  they  dis- 
patched her  with  their  tomahawks.  Her  body  lies  at  rest 
in   the   graveyard   of   the   Allen   Township    Presbyterian 


Peace  Conferences  with  the  Indians. 


55i 


church,  with  that  of  General  Brown,  another  distinguished 
son  of  the  settlement.  The  inscription  on  her  tomb  is  as 
follows : 

"  In  memory  of  Jane,  wife  of  James  Horner,  who  suf- 
fered death  by  the  hands  of  the  Savage  Indians  October 
Eighth,  Seventeen  Hundred  and  Sixty-three,  aged  fifty 
years." 

A  more  detailed  account  of  the  Irish  Settlement  would 
be  interesting  did  it  have  any  further  bearing  on  our 
subject. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 
The  Paxtang  Boys. 


© 


UR  history  of  the 
French  and  Indian 
War  would  be  incomplete 
without  some  reference  to 
the  "  Paxtang  Boys."  It 
is  a  fittingly  sad  ending  to 
a  sad  subject,  and  too  truly 
illustrative  of  the  savagery 
which  had  become  instilled 
into  the  breasts  of  the  white 
men,  as  well  as  the  red, 
after  years  of  massacre  and 
butchery.  Its  valuable  con- 
nection with  our  subject  rests  not  in  the  fact  that  the  Penn- 
sylvania-Germans took  an  active  part  in  the  occurrences 
which  are  to  follow,  but  in  the  fact  that  they  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  them,  and  that  their  record  is  free 
from  any  stain  which  might  have  rested  upon  it  in  case  of 
any  such  participation. 

(55^) 


The  Paxtang  Boys.  553 

By  January,  1757,  public  services  began  to  be  performed 
at  Bethlehem,  in  the  Indian  language,  by  the  Moravians. 
On  June  10,  1757,  the  first  house  was  built  at  Nain,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  Indian  Brethren  who  would  not 
remove  to  Wyoming,  but  the  war  retarded  the  progress 
of  the  buildings,  and  it  was  not  until  the  autumn  of  1758 
that  Nain  was  completed,  and  the  Indians  removed  thither. 
The  settlement  increased  so  fast  that,  in  1760,  is  became 
necessary  to  establish  a  new  station  at  Wequetauk,  beyond 
the  Blue  Mountains. 

In  1763,  when  the  frontiers  were  again  overrun  by 
scalping  parties  of  western  Indians,  some  of  these  parties 
occasionally  skulked  about  the  Moravian  Indian  towns, 
and  this  circumstance,  together  with  the  simultaneous  mas- 
sacre of  the  Stenton  family,  and  others  about  the  Irish  Set- 
tlement, revived  the  old  jealousies  between  the  Scotch- 
Irish  settlers  of  the  Kittatinny  Valley  and  the  Moravian 
Brethren. 

The  Irish  declared  that  no  Indians  should  dare  to  show 
themselves  in  the  woods,  or  they  would  be  shot  dead  imme- 
diately; and  that  if  only  one  more  white  man  were  mur- 
dered in  this  neighborhood,  the  whole  Irish  Settlement 
would  rise  in  arms  and  kill  all  the  inhabitants  of  Weque- 
tauk, without  waiting  for  an  order  from  the  government, 
or  an  order  from  a  justice  of  the  peace.  The  Indians  at 
Wequetauk  were  obliged  to  quit  the  place  and  take  refuge 
at  Nazareth.  The  same  threatening  messages  were  sent 
to  Nain.  The  day  after  the  Stenton  massacre,  October  9, 
1763,  about  fifty  white  men  assembled  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Lehigh,  with  a  view  to  surprise  Nain  in  the  night, 
and  murder  all  the  inhabitants.  A  neighboring  friend, 
however,  representing  the  danger  and  difficulty  of  such  an 
attempt,  in  strong  terms,  the  enemy  forsook  their  inten- 
tions and  returned  home,  while  the  brethren  praised  God 


554  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

for  this  very  merciful  preservation.  Still,  the  congrega- 
tion at  Nain  was  blockaded  on  all  sides.  The  murders  of 
the  New  England  people  at  Wyoming  increased  the  fury 
of  the  white  people.  The  inhabitants  of  Nain  no  longer 
ventured  to  go  to  Bethlehem  on  business.  No  Indian 
dared  to  collect  wood,  or  to  look  after  his  cattle,  without 
a  white  brother  to  accompany  him,  or  a  passport  in  his 
pocket. 

About  November  8  the  Moravian  Indians  were  ordered 
by  the  government  to  repair  to  Philadelphia  for  protection, 
where  they  were  lodged  in  the  barracks.  The  Indians  from 
the  mission  at  Wyalusing  also  went  there,  for  the  same 
reason. 

Wequetauk  was  burnt  by  the  white  people,  and,  in  the 
night  of  November  18,  some  incendiaries  endeavored  to 
set  fire  to  Bethlehem.  The  oil  mill  was  consumed,  and 
the  fury  of  the  flames  was  such  that  the  adjoining  water- 
works were  saved  with  difficulty. 

Besides  their  missionary  work  amongst  the  Delawares 
and  Six  Nations,  the  Moravians  were  also  actively  inter- 
ested in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  remnant  of  the  Con- 
estoga  Indians.  This  was  now  but  a  small  tribe,  consist- 
ing in  all  of  some  dozen  or  twenty  families,  who  dwelt  on 
the  Conestoga  flats  east  of  Turkey  Hill,  a  few  miles  below 
Lancaster.  They  sent  messengers  with  corn,  venison  and 
skins  to  welcome  William  Penn,  and  a  treaty  of  amity 
was  concluded  between  him  and  them,  "  to  endure  as  long 
as  the  sun  should  shine  or  the  waters  run  into  the  rivers." 
This  chain  of  friendship  was  often  brightened,  from  time 
to  time,  and,  as  the  whites  began  to  settle  around  them, 
Penn  assigned  them  a  residence  within  his  jurisdiction,  on 
the  manor  of  Conestoga.  Here  they  enjoyed  many  years 
of  peaceful  residence,  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the  peo- 


The  Paxtang  Boys.  555 

pie  of  Lancaster,  until  the  sad  catastrophe  which  exter- 
minated the  tribe. 

The  village  of  the  Conestogas  is  noted,  in  early  colonial 
history,  as  the  scene  of  many  important  councils  between 
the  Proprietary  governors  and  the  aborigines.  William 
Penn  is  said  to  have  visited  them  once ;  James  Logan  was 
here  in  1705;  Governor  Evans  in  1707,  with  a  retinue  of 
officers;  Governor  Gookin  in  17 10  and  171 1;  and  Gov- 
ernor Keith  in  1721. 

The  feeling  which  existed  amongst  the  Scotch-Irish 
against  the  Moravian  Indians,  in  Northampton  County, 
extended  to  the  Susquehanna.  On  the  night  of  December 
14,  1763,  a  number  of  armed  and  mounted  men,  from  the 
townships  of  Donegal  and  Paxton,  most  of  them  belong- 
ing to  the  company  of  frontier  rangers  of  those  townships, 
concerted  an  attack  on  the  Indians  at  Conestoga,  for  the 
purpose,  as  they  alleged,  of  securing  one  or  more  hostile 
Indians  who  were  harbored  there,  and  who  were  supposed 
to  have  recently  murdered  several  families  of  the  whites. 
The  number  of  the  Paxton  men  is  variously  estimated  from 
twenty  to  upwards  of  fifty.  Few  of  the  Indians  were 
home,  the  men  probably  being  absent  either  in  hunting  or 
trading  their  baskets  and  furs  at  Lancaster.  In  the  dead 
of  night  the  white  men  fell  upon  the  village ;  some  defence 
was  doubtless  attempted  by  the  few  male  Indians  present 
(Dr.  Franklin  says  there  were  but  three  men,  two  women 
and  a  young  boy) ,  but  they  were  overpowered  and  all  fell 
victims  to  the  rifle,  tomahawk  and  knife  of  the  frontier 
men.     The  dwellings  were  burned  to  the  ground. 

The  citizens  and  magistrates  of  Lancaster,  who  were 
shocked  at  the  horrible  outrage,  with  commendable  human- 
ity gathered  the  scattered  individuals  of  the  tribe,  who 
remained,  into  the  stone  workhouse  at  Lancaster,  where 


556  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

under  bolt  and  bars,  and  the  strict  supervision  of  the 
keeper,  they  could  not  doubt  but  the  Indians  would  be  safe 
until  they  could  be  conveyed  to  Philadelphia  for  more 
secure  protection. 

But  the  Paxton  men  were  satisfied  with  nothing  short 
of  the  extermination  of  the  tribe,  alleging  that  one  or  two 
of  the  hostile  Indians  were  still  among  those  protected  by 
the  civil  authority  at  Lancaster.  Concealing  themselves 
at  night,  near  the  town,  they  waited  until  the  next  day, 
December  27,  when  the  whole  community  was  engaged  in 
the  solemnities  of  the  sanctuary,  when,  riding  in  at  a  gallop, 
the  band  seized  upon  the  keeper  of  the  workhouse  and  over- 
powered him,  then,  rushing  into  the  prison,  the  work  of 
death  was  speedily  accomplished;  the  poor  Indians,  about 
fourteen  in  number,  were  left  weltering  in  gore,  while  the 
Paxton  men  rode  out  of  the  town  in  the  same  haste  with 
which  they  had  entered  it.  The  alarm  was  immediately 
raised,  but,  before  the  citizens  could  assemble,  the  mur- 
derers were  beyond  their  reach.  In  consequence  of  this 
affair,  the  Moravian  Indians  from  Wyalusing  and  Nain, 
who  had  come  to  Philadelphia  for  protection,  were  re- 
moved to  Province  Island,  near  the  city,  and  placed  under 
the  charge  of  the  garrison. 

The  Paxton  men,  elated  by  their  success,  assembled  in 
great  numbers,  early  in  January,  threatening  to  march  to 
Philadelphia  in  a  body  and  to  destroy  the  Indians  there. 
The  people  of  the  city  were  greatly  alarmed,  and  several 
companies  of  foot,  horse  and  artillery  were  formed  to 
repel  the  expected  attack.  The  Paxton  men,  who  had 
approached  the  Schuylkill  on  their  march,  finding  such  a 
force  prepared  to  receive  them,  returned  home. 

A  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  governor,  expressing 
the  strongest  indignation  at  the  outrages  committed   at 


The  Paxtang  Boys. 


557 


558  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

Conestoga  and  Lancaster,  and  offering  a  reward  for  the 
arrest  of  the  perpetrators;  but  such  was  the  state  of  feeling 
in  the  townships  where  resided  the  guilty  persons  that  no 
one  dared  bring  the  offenders  to  justice,  although  they 
mingled  openly  with  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  press  of  the  day  teemed  with  pamphlets,  letters, 
appeals  and  caricatures,  many  of  which  are  still  preserved. 
While  some  of  these  present  calm  and  forcible  arguments 
on  their  respective  sides,  others  exhibit  the  most  rancorous 
malignity,  and  others  show  that  their  age  was  not  a  whit 
behind  our  own  in  the  scurrility  of  its  political  writers. 
After  the  Indians  were  killed,  all  parties  busied  themselves, 
as  usual  in  such  cases,  to  ascertain  who  was  to  blame.  The 
governor  was  blamed  for  not  having  removed  the  Indians 
long  before  to  Philadelphia,  as  he  had  been  repeatedly 
warned  to  do.  The  Quakers  and  Moravians  were  blamed 
for  fostering  murderous  Indians,  and  sheltering  them  from 
merited  vengeance.  The  magistrates  of  Lancaster  were 
charged  with  remissness  of  duty,  since  they  might  have 
applied  to  Captain  Robinson,  then  stationed  at  the  bar- 
racks in  Lancaster  with  his  company,  for  a  guard;  but  the 
magistrates  say  they  did  apply  to  him,  and  he  denied  their 
request.  The  citizens  of  Lancaster,  too,  and  the  keeper 
of  the  workhouse,  were  charged  with  collusion  and  con- 
nivance with  the  Paxton  men ;  but  they  indignantly  denied 
the  charge.  And  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church,  it  was 
plainly  insinuated,  was,  if  not  aiding  and  abetting  in  the 
massacre,  ready,  at  all  events,  to  shield  the  guilty  from 
punishment  and  extenuate  the  crime. 

"The  insurgents,"  says  Gordon,  "were  not  the  ignorant 
and  vulgar  of  the  border  counties — persons  more  likely  to 
yield  to  their  passions  than  to  respect  the  laws  of  their 
country  and  of  humanity.    They  were  of  such  consideration 


The  Paxtang  Boys. 


559 


that,  whilst  the  public  voice  and  the  press  execrated  the 
cruelty  and  illegality  of  their  conduct,  they  forbore  to 
name  the  guilty  individuals.  Nor  did  the  latter  remain 
silent,  and  shrink  from  reproach  without  an  attempt  at 
self-defence.  They  urged  the  repeated  murders  perpe- 
trated by  the  Indians,  and  their  convictions  of  the  union 
of  the  neutral  with  the  belligerent  tribes." 

It  must  certainly  be  admitted  that  the  border-men  had 
good  cause  to  be  enraged  against  the  Indians,  yet,  after 
reading  all  the  evidence,  which  "  The  Paxtang  Boys  "  have 
collected  and  adduced  in  extenuation  of  their  action,  the 
conviction  still  remains  that  it  was  an  outrage  deserving 
of  all  condemnation.