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22 WYOMING.

cut very reasonably considered themselves entitled to
the territory within the latitudes above specified, west
of "the New Netherlands," and began to cast a long
ing eye upon the fertile lan.ds lying upon the Dela
ware and Susquehanna. About fifty years after the
charter to Lords Say and Seal, and Brooke, the crown
granted a charter to William Penn, which covered a
portion of the grant to Connecticut, equal to one de
gree of latitude and five of longitude, which embraced
the rich and inviting valley of Wyoming. This was
the first ground of the feuds which arose between the
Connecticut and Pennsylvania people, and which oc
casioned much trouble and distress to the early set
tlers.

In 1753 an association was formed in Connecticut,
called " The Susquehanna Company," for the purpose
of forming a settlement in Wyoming ; but, that this
company might not come into conflict with the native
occupants of the soil, a commission was appointed " to
explore the country and conciliate their good- will."
The company now embraced about six hundred per
sons, many of them men of wealth and high respecta
bility. A deputation was appointed to meet a great
council of the Six Nations at Albany in 1754, and, if
possible, effect a purchase of the land. As the trans
action was not secret, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsyl
vania, sent to Albany a deputation, consisting of "John
and Richard Penn, Isaac Norris, and Benjamin Frank
lin" to prevent the purchase by the Susquehanna Com
pany. Notwithstanding this formidable opposition,
strengthened as it was by the influence of Sir William
Johnson, the purchase was effected. The sum paid
was " two thousand pounds, of current money of the
province of New York." Colonel Stone has given us,

ITS HISTORY. 23

in an Appendix to the second edition of his History, a
" copy of the deed of purchase," duly executed by the
"chief sachems and heads of the Five Nations of In
dians, called the Iroquois, and the native proprietors,"
&c. Among these " chief sachems" is the famous Mo
hawk chief Brant, who subsequently figured so largely
in the war of the Revolution. The names of the pur
chasers are also embraced, owners of full shares "five
hundred and thirty -four in number," and of "half
shares" "one hundred and thirty-six;" most of them
from "ye colony of Connecticut, in New England,"
some "of the colony of Rhode Island," some "of the
government of Pennsylvania," some " of the province
of ye Massachusetts Bay," and some " of the province
of New York." The following are the boundaries of
the purchase :

" Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of
north latitude at ten miles distance east of Susquehan-
na River, and from thence with a northwardly line ten
miles east of the river, to the forty-second or begin
ning of the forty-third degree north latitude, and so to
extend west, two degrees of longitude, one hundred
and twenty miles south, to the beginning of the forty-
second degree, and from thence east to the afore-men
tioned bound, which is ten miles east of the Susque-
hanna River." — Colonel Stone's History, p. 389.

Having thus procured what they considered a valid
title to the soil, the Susquehanna Company took pre
paratory steps for the planting of a settlement in Wy
oming; but the agitations among the Indians, occa
sioned by " the French war," prevented them from ac
complishing their purposes until the year 1762, when
about two hundred men pushed their way into the val
ley, and commenced clearing farms just below Mill

ZINZENDORF PROVIDENTIALLY DELIVERED.

WYOMING;

ITS

HISTOEY, STIRRING INCIDENTS, AND

»--

ROMANTIC ADVENTURES.

BY GEORGE PECK, D.D.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

NEW YORK:

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,

FRANKLIN SQUARE.

1858.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-eight, by

HARPER & BROTHERS,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District
of New York.

PREFACE.

THE present work is composed of a brief history of
Wyoming, followed by a series of historic scenes, which
constitute natural amplifications of the general outline.
Each story is a complete picture in itself, and yet is a
necessary part of the whole. The plan has the advan
tage of presenting independent views of the historic
drama from many different stand-points. Our heroes
not only reflect the lights and shades of their own
character and actions, but give us their separate ver
sions of the eventful scenes through which they passed.

Forty years since we first visited "Wyoming, and
from that period we have enjoyed rare advantages for
the study of its history. How we have improved our
opportunities will appear in the work which we now
present to the public. Our object has been strict con
formity to historic truth, and we have spared no pains
in the collection of facts, and in their study and expo
sition.

The events herein recorded constitute a part of the
wonderful history of the early development and fear
ful struggles of America, and we believe they will not
fall behind any portion of that story in exciting in
terest.

With the diffidence which a profound sense of the
difficulties to be overcome in the execution of such a
work naturally inspires, we publish the result of our

344073

VI PREFACE.

labors, hoping that it may both interest and instruct
the reading community. The work, so far as we are
concerned, has been a " labor of love," and our desire
is that it may inspire in the reader a spirit of enlarged
patriotism, noble heroism, patient endurance under se
vere trials, trust in Providence, and gratitude to God.

We have the pleasure to acknowledge the kindness
of several who have afforded us valuable assistance
in our labors. In addition to the acknowledgments
of favors which will be found in the body of the work,
we would return thanks to the Hon. George Bancroft
for the use of an important document, and for vari
ous suggestions ; to Benson J. Lossing, Esq., for sev
eral important authorities, and much valuable aid in
the illustrations ; to the Hon. George W. Woodward,
and to the Hon. George M. Dallas, our minister to the
court of St. James, for the use of an important paper
from the archives of the British government ; also to
several ladies for fine artistic sketches of objects and
scenes which are used as illustrations. We owe to
Mrs. Eev. Selah Stocking, of Pittston, thanks for orig
inal sketches of Campbell's Ledge and Falling Spring ;
to Mrs. Dr. Crane, of Pennington, K. J., for a sketch
of the old Myers House ; and to Miss Miranda Myers
for sketches of Toby's Cave and the Umbrella-tree.

To all who in any way have given us facilities, we
return many thanks, and it is to be hoped that they
will find their reward in a conviction that they have
contributed something to the object of giving per
manency to the facts of history which will be valuable
to posterity, but which might otherwise have passed
into oblivion.

GEORGE PECK.

SCRAXTON, 18th April, 1858.

CONTENTS.

Chapter Page

I. WYOMING — ITS HISTORY 9

II. BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES 71

III. COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK 99

IV. INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES RELATED BY MRS. MARTHA

MYERS 133

V. SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MRS. DEB
ORAH BEDFORD 200

VI. INCIDENTS OF THE WARS IN THE LACKAWANNA PORTION

OF THE SETTLEMENT, RELATED BY MRS. MARTHA MARCY 220
VII. MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE AND

FLIGHT 231

VIII. THE CAPTIVE GIRL, FRANCES SLOCUM 234

ix. QUEEN ESTHER'S ROCK 284

X. CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDREW BEN-
NET AND LEBBEUS HAMMOND 291

XI. THE CAPTURE AND ESCAPE OF JONAH ROGERS, MOSES

VAN Ct MPEN, PETER PENCE, AND ABRAM PIKE 304

XII. THE CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF GEORGE P. RANSOM AND

OTHERS 315

XIII. BENJAMIN BIDLACK CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES AND

SINGULAR ESCAPE 330

XIV. A VIEW FROM CAMPBELL'S LEDGE, CONTRIBUTED BY REV.

L. W. PECK 344

XV. AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD GARDNER 351

XVI. PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE CF RUFUS BENNET ON THE

FATAL 3D OF JULY 362

XVII. NOAH HOPKINS HIS LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER 369

XVin. THE FRATRICIDE 371

XIX. THE MONUMENT 376

XX. COLONEL JOHN JENKINS 388

XXI. ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT 405

XXII. MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES 417

The Umbrella-Tree—Prospect Rock— Harvey's Lake— Toby's Ed
dy—Toby's Cave— Seminaries.

INDEX. . . 431

WYOMING.

ITS HISTORY.

AMONG the mountains which lift up their heads, in
countless numbers and in all shapes, between the Blue
Kidge and the Alleghanies, on the banks of the wind
ing Susquehanna, lies the classic vale of Wyoming. It
is not so much distinguished for its magnitude as for
its beauty, its mineral wealth, and its historical inci
dents.

WYOMING is a corruption of the name given to the
locality by the Indians. They called it Maughwau-
wame. The word is compounded of maughwau, large,
and wame, plains. The name, then, signifies THE
LARGE PLAINS. The Delawares pronounced the first
syllable short, and the German missionaries, in order
to come as near as possible to the Indian pronuncia
tion, wrote the name M'chweuwami. The early set
tlers, finding it difficult to pronounce the word cor
rectly, spoke it Wauwaumie, then Wiawumie, then
Wiomic, and, finally, Wyoming.

The valley of Wyoming lies northeast and south
west, is twenty-one miles in length, and an average of
three miles in breadth. The face of the country is
considerably diversified. The bottom-lands along the
river overflow at high water. The plains are in some
places perfectly level, and in others rolling. The soil
A2

10 WYOMING.

is exceedingly productive, being suited to all sorts of
grain and grass.

Two ranges of mountains hem. in the valley, the
eastern range being of an average height of one thou
sand feet, and the western about eight hundred. The
eastern range is precipitous and generally barren, but
is strikingly diversified with clefts, ravines, and forests,
and presents a most picturesque view. The western
range is rapidly yielding to the process of cultivation.

There are several charming points of view which in
vite the attention of the lovers of the beautiful and the
grand in nature : Prospect Eock, west of the old town
of Wilkesbarre, being the easiest of access from the
town, and the most frequently visited, is the most cel
ebrated in the annals of travel. From this point the
valley, with the slope of the west mountain, presents
the appearance of a beautiful ascending plain, with the
remotest border merged in the clouds, or bounded by
the blue sky. A more charming landscape can not be
imagined. The view from the mountain side west of
Forty Fort gives you a more extensive prospect of the
northern and southern extremities of the valley. From
this point you have a fair view of the northern gap
through which the Susquehanna forces its way — of the
Lackawanna Valley, Pittston, "Wyoming, Wilkesbarre,
Kingston, Newport, and Jacob's Plains. Campbell's
Ledge is becoming a favorite point of view for the ro
mantic and athletic. This high peak is situated at the
head of the valley. The ascent is laborious, but the
sublimity of the scene amply rewards the toil of the
traveler.

Torrents gush through deep gorges in the mount
ains on either side, slackening their speed as they en
ter the valley, and sluggishly meander through the

ITS HISTORY. 11

level plains and flats until they find their way to the
river. These creeks are each dignified by the name
of some Indian chief who dwelt on its banks, and fig
ure considerably in the history of the country.

From whatever point the valley is surveyed, the no
ble Susquehanna is one of the many beautiful objects
which present themselves to the gaze. Such are its
windings, and such the variety which characterizes its
banks, that you have no extended view of it. It is
only seen in sections, varied in size and form by the
position occupied. Now it hides itself among the
bowers of willow, sycamore, and maple which fringe
and beautify its borders, and now it throws open its
mirror bosom to the kisses of the sunlight, and reflects
the forms of beauty and grandeur of the surrounding
scenery.

" The Large Plains," when first visited by the whites
for purposes of settlement, were in the possession of
the Delaware Indians. The Delawares had once been
a powerful tribe, but had been subjected by the Iro-
quois, or the six confederated nations, and by them
were ordered to leave the country on the Delaware,
east of the Blue Eidge, and occupy "Wyoming. The
Nanticokes had settled on the lower extremity of the
valley, on the east side of the river, and the Shawanese
were located on the flats immediately over against
them on the west side. But these tribes finally re
moved — the Nanticokes up the river, and the Shawa
nese to Ohio. How the Delawares became sole mas
ters of the valley may be learned from the following
interesting relation :

" While the warriors of the Delawares were engaged
upon the mountains in a hunting expedition, a num
ber of squaws, or female Indians, from Maughwau.

12 WYOMING.

wame, were gathering wild fruits along the margin of
the river, below the town, where they found a number
of Shawanese squaws and their children, who had
crossed the river in their canoes upon the same busi
ness. A child belonging to the Shawanese having
taken a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose among the
children for the possession of it, in which their moth
ers soon took a part, and, as the Delaware squaws
contended that the Shawanese had no privileges upon
that side of the river, the quarrel soon became gen
eral; but the Dela wares, being the most numerous,
soon drove the Shawanese to their canoes and to their
own bank, a few having been killed on both sides.
Upon the return of the warriors, both tribes prepared
for battle, to revenge the wrongs which they consider
ed their wives had sustained.

" The Shawanese, upon crossing the river, found the
Delawares ready to receive them and oppose their
landing. A dreadful conflict took place between the
Shawanese in their canoes and the Delawares on the
bank. At length, after great numbers had been kill
ed, the Shawanese effected a landing, and a battle took
place about a mile below Maughwauwame, in which
many hundred warriors are said to have been killed
on both sides ; but the Shawanese were so much weak
ened in landing that they were not able to sustain the
conflict, and, after the loss of about half their tribe, the
remainder were forced to flee to their own side of the
river, shortly after which they abandoned their town
and removed to the Ohio." — Chapman's History of
Wyoming.

The ancient fortifications which are found scattered
over the country, and prove that it was once peopled
by warlike tribes or nations which had made consid-

ITS HISTORY. 13

erable advances in civilization, were found in Wyo
ming. One of these was situated on the eastern branch
of Toby's Creek, below the old Esquire Pierce place,
or the place occupied by the late Pierce Butler, Esq.
There are persons still living who recollect this ancient
monument of an extinguished race, but every trace of
it is now obliterated. Another of these ancient rel
ics was situated on the east side of the Susquehanna,
opposite Forty Fort. We explored this ground some
twenty years since, in company with the venerable his
torian of Wyoming, Hon. Charles Miner. At that
time, a lane running along the side of one of the em
bankments had protected it from being leveled by the
plow. It was then in a good state of preservation,
several feet in height, with a corresponding ditch.
When the whites first visited the valley, there were
large pine and oak trees growing on the embankments
of these ancient forts, and the oldest Indians could
give no account of their origin, or the purposes which
they were designed to serve.

It was missionary zeal that first penetrated this se
cluded region.

Count Zinzendorf is believed to be the first white
man who set his foot upon The Great Plains. In 1742
he came with an interpreter, and erected his tent near
the Indian village, and proposed a talk. He was a
messenger from the Great Spirit, sent to teach the red
man the true worship. He had crossed the seas upon
this benevolent errand, without the hope of earthly
gain. The savages could not comprehend the fact
that he had taken so much pains to visit them with no
selfish motive. Concluding that it was the object of
the pale faces to take their lands from them, they re
solved to terminate the enterprise by their immediate

WYOMING.

COUNT ZINZENDOUF.

destruction. A few warriors selected for the purpose
stealthily approached the tent of the unsuspecting
stranger by night to accomplish their designs, when a
strange providence interfered. Peeping through an
opening of the tent, they saw a huge rattlesnake crawl
over the feet of the strange visitor without interrupt
ing his composure, as he sat upon a bundle of weeds
engaged in writing. Considering that he was protect
ed by the Great Spirit, they departed without offering
him the least molestation. To this circumstance has
been attributed the success of the Moravian missiona
ries among the Delawares, or at least their first favor
able reception among that savage people.

As early as 1750, a few daring adventurers from
New England had crossed the mountains, and pushed
their way toward the setting sun, until from the heights

ITS HISTORY. 15

of the Susquehanna range they gazed upon the most
lovely natural landscape which the eye ever beheld.
The primeval forests covered the slopes of the mount
ains, while the plains and river-bottom were here and
there imperfectly cultivated by the Indians, who as
yet held undisputed possession of the country west of
the Delaware. Wild fruits and flowers garnished the
hill sides, the deep ravines, and the river banks. The
wild grape hung in clusters upon the vines, which
clung to the branches of the trees and waved in the
breeze. Vegetation of all kinds flourished in wonder
ful luxuriance.

" So on he fares, and to the border comes
Of Eden, where delicious Paradise,
Now nearer, crowns with her inclosure green,
As with a rural mound, the champaign head
Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides
With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild :
* * * and overhead up grew,
Insuperable height of loftiest shade,
Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm,
A sylvan scene ; and as the ranks ascend
Shade above shade, a woody theatre
Of stateliest mien.

*******

Another side, umbrageous grots and caves
Of cool recess, o'er which the mantling vine
Lays forth her purple grape, and gently creeps
Luxuriant : meanwhile murmuring waters fall
Down the slope hills, dispersed, or in a lake,
That to the fringed bank with myrtle crowned
Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams."

MILTON.

The mountains and the vales were thickly inhabit
ed by an endless variety of wild game, which had not
yet learned to fear the white man and to elude his arts ;
the waters were stored with an abundance of fish ; and

IB WYOMING.

the air was made vocal with the songs of the feathered
tribes that discoursed the sweet music of nature.

"Then, when of Indian hills the daylight takes
His leave, how might you the flamingo see
Disporting like a meteor on the lakes —

And playful squirrel on his nut-grown tree :
And every sound of life was full of glee,

From merry mock-bird's song or hum of men ;
While hearkening, fearing naught their revelry,

The wild deer arched his neck from glades, and then,
Unhunted, sought his woods and wilderness again."

CAMPBELL'S Gertrude of Wyoming.

These adventurers returned to the rocky hills of
Connecticut and Massachusetts with the most wonder
ful tales of a sort of " Paradise" which lay away among
the western mountains. To the visitors themselves,

ITS HISTOKY. 17

the imagery which, lingered in their memory seemed
like a vision of celestial scenery ; and to those who
listened to their vivid descriptions, the whole seemed a
mere romance. New parties followed " to spy out the
land," and they returned with something more than a
mere confirmation of the reports of their predecessors.
The whole country was filled with wonder, and a de
sire naturally sprung up in many minds to see the
glories of the goodly land for themselves. Plans were
formed for early emigration to " Wyoming on the Sus-
quehanna," and many hearts beat high, and many
strong arms were ready for the hazards of the enter
prise.

The mountains and rivers could be crossed, the wil
derness could be threaded, the wild beasts could be
driven from their lairs ; but there was still a difficulty
which seemed insuperable — it was the ownership and
occupancy of the soil by the Indians. This obstacle
must be overcome by negotiation, by purchase, by kind
treatment, if possible ; but if not, by the appliances of
war. The settlement of Wyoming by the whites was
a foregone conclusion, and the only question about it
was that of time. The country was visited every sea
son by small parties, whose object was to test the state
of the savage mind, and to determine the question of
the safety of white settlers in the neighborhood of the
Indians.*

* In 1754, Conrad Weiser, a famous Indian interpreter, and agent
for the proprietary government of Pennsylvania, on a visit to the In
dians at Shemokin, reports: "The Indians in Susquehanna and
about Shemokin saw some of the New England men that came as
spies to Woyomock last fall ; and they saw them making drafts of
the land and rivers, and are much offended about it. They asked
me about them. I told them we had heard so much as that, and
that we had intelligence from New England that they came against

18 WYOMING.

The conflicts which occurred between the people of
Connecticut and Pennsylvania in relation to the right
of settlement and jurisdiction constitute so prominent
a part of the early history of "Wyoming, that it will be
proper here to notice the grounds of their respective
claims. " King Charles II., by letters patent, under
the great seal of England, granted a tract of land in
America to William Penn, Esq., his heirs and assigns,
and made him and them the true and absolute propri
etors thereof, saving always to the crown the faith and
allegiance of the said William Penn, his heirs and as
signs, and of the tenants and inhabitants of the prem
ises, and saving also unto the crown the sovereignty of
the said country."

The country was "thereby erected into a province
and sovereignty, and called Pennsylvania."

" And thereby granted free, full, and absolute power
unto the said William Penn and his heirs, and to his
and their deputies and lieutenants, for the good and
happy government of the country, to ordain, make,
enact, and, under his and their seals, to publish any
laws whatsoever." — See Pennsylvania Archives, vol. ii.,
p. 100, 101.

Under this charter a government was instituted,
consisting of a governor and council, but the Penns

the advice of their superiors as a parcel of headstrong men, and dis
turbers of the peace. They, the Indians, said they were glad to hear
that neither their brother Onos nor their own chief men had sent
them, and they hoped they would not be supported by any English
government in their so doing." — Letter to the Governor : Colonial Rec
ords, vol. vi., p. 35.

This was the first attempt which was made to sketch a rude map
of the country preparatory to the formation of a settlement. It is
believed by their descendants that the elder John Jenkins and Thom
as Bennet were in this company.

ITS HISTORY. 19

owned the soil in fee. Their policy was to lay out all
the best lands into manors, and settle them by tenants
under leases. Thus some of the most objectionable
features of the old feudal system were established in
Pennsylvania. The proprietaries, of course, were op
posed to emigrations from other states to their lands,
except to such of them as were worthless. Settlers
were, consequently, often driven off by force, and their
houses burned.

In 1754, Governor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania, wrote
to Governor Wolcott, of Connecticut, remonstrating
against the scheme of some of the Connecticut people
to settle Wyoming. At the same time, he offered them
lands " in the western parts of this province," or to
use his good offices to procure them the privilege of
settling in "Virginia."

Governor "Wolcott made a very cautious but perti
nent answer, taking special pains to urge that wherev
er settlers were permitted to take possession of lands
in Pennsylvania, they should be made " freeholders."
He suggested that, in the event of war with the French,
"the resolution of the soldier will be very much, in
fighting for his country, according to his interest in it."
" If I must go out," says he, " let me have an army of
freeholders or freeholders' sons." He then proceeds
to give the result of his experience in the case of " the
siege of Louisburg," and then continues :

"Whenever the war commences with you, I think
a small army of such men, well appointed and disci
plined, will soon convince the French of their error in
provoking and insulting of you ; I think a few of them
will be more than a match for a multitude of their
plebs, brought up in slavery, and who have nothing to
fight for of their own.

20 WYOMING.

" This brings to mind a story a gentleman told me,
that he went in to see his negro man, then dying, and
seeing him just gone, said to him, * Cuffy, you are just
going; are you not sorry?' 'No,' says the fellow;
'master, the loss won't be mine.' "

The Pennamite and Yankee wars were not merely
a conflict between the proprietaries of Pennsylvania
and the Susquehanna Company for the jurisdiction of
the country — it was not a mere question of boundary,
but a question between landlord and tenantry. The
question was one in which the tenantry of Pennsyl
vania generally were interested, and, consequently, the
cause of the proprietaries was never popular with that
class. "Wyoming was the battle-field where the ques
tion was to be settled whether the people who culti
vated the soil should be serfs or freeholders. "We do
not pretend that this was the open ostensible issue
made, but it is beyond a doubt that this question lay
at the bottom of the controversy, and had much to do
with its progress and termination. If the laborers and
producers were to be made freeholders, it could make
but little difference whence they came ; but if they
were to be mere tenants, it would be somewhat import
ant that they should not have been educated in the
spirit of freedom and independence, but should have
the views and feelings of servants rather than those of
citizens. The New England people might be allowed
to settle in the Alleghanies, to constitute a sort of
breakwater against the overflowing of the French arms,
but it would never do to give them possession of the
fertile plains and valleys along the Delaware and Sus
quehanna. The Yankees were not likely to be the
pliant tools suited to the objects and policy of the aris
tocratic proprietaries. They had trouble enough with

ITS HISTORY, 21

those whom they had trained to their hand, and the
tide of Yankee emigration which was setting in from
the east bid fair to result in more general discontent, if
not in revolution. Hence the diplomacy of the pro
prietaries had for its object, not the settlement of the
northern boundary of the province, but preventing em
igration from the east; and, as will be seen as we
proceed, the quasi civil, but really military proceedings
with the settlers was not designed to secure their rec
ognition of the civil jurisdiction of the proprietaries, but
nolens volens to expel the intruders from the country.

The charter granted to "The Plymouth Company"
by James I. covered the territory " from the fortieth
to the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, extending
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.11 This charter
was granted under the great seal of England, on No
vember 3, 1620, to the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of
Buckingham, the Earl of Arundel and Warwick, and
their associates, "for the planting, ruling, ordering, and
governing of New England, in America." The char
ter of Connecticut was derived from the Plymouth
Company, of which the Earl of Warwick was pres
ident. This grant was made in March, 1621, to Vis
count Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, and their associates.
It covered the country west of Connecticut " to the
extent of its breadth, being about one degree of lati
tude from sea to sea" This grant was confirmed by
the king the same year, and also in 1662. " The New
Netherlands," or New York, being then a Dutch pos
session, was excepted in these grants under the gen
eral limitation of such portions of territory as were
" then possessed or inhabited by any other Christian

A i/ t/

prince or state." — See Col. Stone's History of Wyoming.
By the terms of this charter, the people of Connecti-

22 WYOMING.

cut very reasonably considered themselves entitled to
the territory within the latitudes above specified, west
of "the New Netherlands," and began to cast a long
ing eye upon the fertile lan.ds lying upon the Dela
ware and Susquehanna. About fifty years after the
charter to Lords Say and Seal, and Brooke, the crown
granted a charter to "William Penn, which covered a
portion of the grant to Connecticut, equal to one de
gree of latitude and five of longitude, which embraced
the rich and inviting valley of Wyoming. This was
the first ground of the feuds which arose between the
Connecticut and Pennsylvania people, and which oc
casioned much trouble and distress to the early set
tlers.

ITS HISTORY. 23

in an Appendix to the second edition of his History, a
" copy of the deed of purchase," duly executed by the
"chief sachems and heads of the Five Nations of In
dians, called the Iroquois, and the native proprietors,"
&c. Among these " chief sachems" is the famous Mo
hawk chief Brant, who subsequently figured so largely
in the war of the Kevolution. The names of the pur
chasers are also embraced, owners of full shares "five
hundred and thirty -four in number," and of "half
shares" "one hundred and thirty-six;" most of them
from "ye colony of Connecticut, in New England,"
some "of the colony of Khode Island," some "of the
government of Pennsylvania," some " of the province
of ye Massachusetts Bay," and some " of the province
of New York." The following are the boundaries of
the purchase :

" Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of
north latitude at ten miles distance east of Susquehan-
na Eiver, and from thence with a northwardly line ten
miles east of the river, to the forty -second or begin
ning of the forty-third degree north latitude, and so to
extend west, two degrees of longitude, one hundred
and twenty miles south, to the beginning of the forty-
second degree, and from thence east to the afore-men
tioned bound, which is ten miles east of the Susque-
hanna Eiver." — Colonel Stone's History, p. 389.

Having thus procured what they considered a valid
title to the soil, the Susquehanna Company took pre
paratory steps for the planting of a settlement in Wy
oming; but the agitations among the Indians, occa
sioned by "the French war," prevented them from ac
complishing their purposes until the year 1762, when
about two hundred men pushed their way into the val
ley, and commenced clearing farms just below Mill

24 WYOMING.

Creek, and at a sufficient distance from the Indian
town, which was situated on the flats below the pres
ent town of Wilkesbarre. They felled the timber, and
constructed huts, and, before winter set in, had sown
extensive fields of wheat. They secured their imple
ments, and returned to Connecticut to winter. In the
spring they returned with their families, cattle, furni
ture, &c., but little meditating the dreadful fate which
awaited them.

" The season had been favorable ; their various crops
on those fertile plains had proved abundant, and they
were looking forward with hope to scenes of prosperity
and happiness ; but suddenly, without the least warn
ing, on the 15th of October, a large party of savages
raised the war-whoop, and attacked them with fury.
Unprepared for resistance, about twenty men fell and
were scalped ; the residue, men, women, and children,
fled, in wild disorder, to the mountains. Language
can not describe the sufferings of the fugitives as they
traversed the wilderness, destitute of food or clothing,
on their way to their former homes." — Miner's History
of Wyoming, p. 54.

After this massacre, the Indians, anticipating a mil
itary movement against them on the part of the gov
ernor of Pennsylvania, left the valley, the Christian
portion of them removing east to the Moravian town,
Gnadenhutten, and the others north to Tioga. Six
years now intervened before the Connecticut people
made another attempt to settle Wyoming. But in the
mean time "the proprietaries of Pennsylvania" availed
themselves of an Indian council assembled at Fort
Stanwix in 1768, and purchased the disputed territory
from some of the chiefs. A deputation of four chiefs
from the Six Nations had been sent to Hartford in

ITS HISTORY. 25

1763 to disclaim the sale made to the Susquehanna
Company, and in the talk of the speaker, he asserted
that the Six Nations knew nothing of the sale of this
land, and furthermore remarked, "What little we have
left we intend to keep for ourselves." This was a mere
ruse, as is evident from their selling the same land five
years subsequently to the proprietaries of Pennsylva
nia. They were, in fact, ready to sell land whenever
they could find purchasers; and as to any conflict
which might afterward arise among rival claimants,
that was not their look out. After all, the poor In
dians were not so much in fault as were the designing
white men, who had interests to serve by involving
them in improper and contradictory acts.

This fair valley was next to be made the scene of
civil war ; and in contending for the rich prize, the
blood of one white man was to be spilled by the hand
of another white man. The parties had exhausted
their diplomatic skill; each had sent deputations to
the mother country, and in turn obtained the most re
spectable legal decisions in their favor. Nothing
seemed left to them but to maintain their claims by
force.

The Susquehanna Company sent a body of forty
pioneers into the valley in February, 1769, to be fol
lowed by two hundred more in the spring. But the
proprietaries of Pennsylvania, anticipating the move
ment, had leased the valley for seven years to Charles
Stuart, Amos Ogden, and John Jennings, on condition
that they should establish a trading-house for the ac
commodation of the Indians, and adopt the necessary
measures for defending themselves, and those who
might settle under their lease. These men, with a
small party, had proceeded to Wyoming, and fortified

26 WYOMING.

themselves in a block-house, where the forty Yankees
found them upon their arrival.

A series of conflicts now ensued, which we can not
here detail, but which were characterized by the usual
circumstances and elements of war upon the largest
scale, and attended with incidents and adventures of
rare interest, many of which will be found in the fol
lowing sketches. Erecting fortifications, investments,
escalades, capitulations, surprises, ambuscades, battles,
marches, countermarches, retreats, taking prisoners, and
violating pledges for the security of property, are all
duly chronicled in the histories. During this period
the Yankees were three times driven from the valley,
and obliged to thread their way, with their wives and
children, through an unbroken wilderness of two hund
red miles, back to their former homes. But they as
often rallied and returned to the charge with accumu
lated numbers, until, finally, they were able to keep
possession of the prize. The proprietaries were unpop
ular even in Pennsylvania, and it became impossible
for them, even with the aid of all the industry and
skill of Captain Ogden, to raise a sufficient force finally
to dispossess the Yankees, until the rupture between
Great Britain and her colonies directed the attention
of all parties to the common defense of the country,
and, for the time being, put a period to the civil war.

The object of the Connecticut people had been the
establishment of an independent colony, and they had,
accordingly, petitioned the parent government to this
effect. But, as this object could not be secured with
out much delay, and as the Legislature of Connecticut
was cautious of assuming any responsibility which
would involve the state in the quarrel, the Susque-
hanna Company met at Hartford, June 2, 1773, and

ITS HISTORY. 27

adopted a provisional plan of government, on truly re
publican principles, and every way worthy of the heads
and hearts of the best statesmen of the age.*

Under this form of government the people lived in
great harmony and prosperity, and the colony rapidly
increased in numbers. In the mean time, the Legisla
tive Assembly of Connecticut made an effort to procure
a settlement of the difficulty, but Governor Penn closed
his ears to all propositions, and even refused to recog
nize the deputation sent from Connecticut. Upon this
the assembly made up a case, and transmitted it to En
gland for the legal opinions of the ablest counsel.

" This case was submitted to Edward, afterward Lord
Thurlow, Alexander Wedderburn, Eichard Jackson,
and J. Dunning, all famous for their learning in the
law, who gave a united opinion in favor of the com
pany. Thus fortified, the General Assembly of Con
necticut took higher ground, and, perceiving how great
ly the colony was flourishing, in October, 1773, they
passed a resolution asserting their claim to the juris
diction of the territory, and their determination, in
some proper way, to support the claim." — Col. Stone.

The following year Wyoming was constituted a
town, by the name of Westmoreland, and connected
with Litchfield county, and a census taken at the close
of the year showed that the town numbered one thou
sand nine hundred and twenty-two inhabitants.

The great events of 1775 seriously affected the in
habitants of Westmoreland. The Indians committed
some outrages within the limits of the town, and, though
they made hollow professions of a pacific disposition,
were evidently preparing for war. Several families
from the north, who were hostile to the American

* For which, see Mr. Miner's History, p. 146-149.

28 WYOMING.

cause, came into the settlement, who, with good reason,
were considered bad neighbors. The following notes
of the town meetings will show the spirit of the people
in taking incipient steps for the common defense :

"At a town meeting, held March 10, Voted, that
the first man that shall make fifty weight of good salt
petre in this town, shall be entitled to a bounty of ten
pounds, lawful money, to be paid out of the town treas
ury.

"Voted, that the selectmen be directed to dispose
of the grain now in the hands of the treasurer, or col
lector, in such way as to obtain powder and lead to the
value of forty pounds, lawful money, if they can do the
same."

uAt a town meeting legally warned and held, in
Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre District, August 24, 1776,

" Colonel Butler was chosen moderator for the work
of the day.

"Voted, as the opinion of this meeting, that it now
becomes necessary for the inhabitants of this town to
erect suitable forts, as a defense against our common
enemy."

A regiment of militia having been established, the
meeting voted that "the three field officers should be
a committee to fix on the sites of the forts, lay them
out, and give directions how they should be built."
Then was adopted what Mr. Miner calls "the follow
ing beautiful vote, which," says he, "we leave, in its
simplicity, to speak its own eulogium."

" That the above said committee do recommend it
to the people to proceed forthwith in building said
forts, without either fee or reward from ye town."

In November of this memorable year (1776), West
moreland was, by the Legislative Council of Connecti-

ITS HISTORY. 29

cut, erected into a county, with a complete civil and
military organization. Congress also ordered that
"two companies, on the Continental establishment, be
raised in the town of Westmoreland, and stationed in
proper places for the defense of the inhabitants of said
town, and posts adjacent, till farther orders from Con
gress." The companies, consisting of eighty-two men
each, were organized, and officers appointed. But when
the British took possession of New York, "Washington
crossed the Delaware, and Congress were taking meas
ures to retire from Philadelphia to Baltimore, the two
companies were ordered to join General Washington
' ' with all possible expedition. ' ' This order was prompt
ly obeyed, which took nearly all the able-bodied men
and arms from the settlement.

In the summer of 1777 the Six Nations were brought
into the field as auxiliaries of the British forces, and
commenced their operations in their own peculiar mode
of warfare all along the frontier. Wyoming was pe
culiarly exposed, being situated at the distance of sixty
miles from the white settlements, east and south, and
their strength having been drawn away by the emer
gencies of the war ; for, in addition to the two compa
nies above referred to, further enlistments were made,
in all amounting to some three hundred. Application
was made to Congress for aid, but without effect. The
helpless females sent to the army the most pressing
calls to their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers, who
constituted the Westmoreland companies, to hasten to
their relief, and the men begged for the privilege of ful
filling the purposes of their enlistment — " the defense
of the inhabitants of said town." But Congress and
Connecticut were both deaf to every entreaty. All
that was done was an order passed by Congress that

30 WYOMING.

" one full company of foot be raised in the town of West
moreland, for the defense of the said town," and " that
the said company find their own arms, ammunition, and
blankets!" This amounted to nothing, as it did not in
crease the force of the settlement. The commissioned
officers resigned, and, together with twenty or thirty
men who obtained leave, or went without leave, re
turned to the settlement to share the common peril.
The Indians made a great show of peace ; but a drunk
en Indian in a revel — one of a company of spies who
came upon a pretense of negotiation — let out the secret
of a meditated onslaught upon the settlement. This,
together with the suspicious movements of the Tory
settlers, several families of whom were situated at the
head of the valley, and seemed to be acting the part
of spies, created no inconsiderable alarm. The settlers
had erected, on each side of the river, several forts,
some of them consisting of logs planted in the ground,
and standing about fourteen feet high, and others mere
log pens, or block-houses, with loop-holes. The former
were provided with log huts, in which the women and
children might find shelter in cases of danger from the
enemy. The principal fort on the west side of the
river was called Forty Fort, constructed by the forty
pioneers who came into the valley in the winter of
1769, and enlarged and strengthened in 1776, situated
two miles above Wilkesbarre. In the arrangements
for the defense of the settlement, as will be seen, by the
following, the women acted a conspicuous part :

" Justice and gratitude demand a tribute to the praise
worthy spirit of the wives and daughters of Wyoming.
While their husbands and fathers were on public duty,
they cheerfully assumed a large portion of the labor
which females could do. They assisted to plant, made

ITS HISTORY. 31

hay, husked and garnered the corn. As the settlement
was mainly dependent on its own resources for powder,
Mr. Hollenback caused to be brought up the river a
pounder ; and the women took up their floors, dug out
the earth, put it in casks, and run water through it (as
ashes are leached) ; then took ashes in another cask,
and made ley ; mixed the water from the earth with
weak ley, boiled it, set it to cool, and the saltpetre rose
to the top. Charcoal and sulphur were then used, and
powder produced for the public defense." — Miner's
History, p. 212.

We need add nothing by way of completing the
picture. While fathers and sons, grandfathers and
grandsons, were scouring up their old muskets, moth
ers, daughters, and grandmothers were busily employed
in manufacturing powder!

NORTHERN BORDER WARS.

In order to a more perfect understanding of the ori
gin and character of the disastrous war waged upon
the settlers in Wyoming, we will direct the attention
of the reader to the course of events upon the north
ern border.

Sir William Johnson came into the valley of the
Mohawk when he was a young man, about forty years
previous to the Kevolutionary war. The emergencies
of the times gave him an opportunity for the develop
ment of his talents. He entered the provincial army,
and gained a victory over the French at Lake George
in 1755, and this event made his fortune. He was
made a baronet, and appointed Superintendent of In
dian Affairs for the northern provinces. He resided
at Fort Johnson, near the village of Amsterdam, for
nearly twenty years, after which he removed to John-

32 WYOMING.

son Hall, near Johnstown, where he died in 1774. He
left one son — Sir John Johnson — and two daughters.
One of his daughters was married to Colonel Daniel
Glaus, and the other to Colonel Guy Johnson, a dis
tant relative.

After the death of Sir William, Guy Johnson was
appointed his successor as Superintendent of Indian
Affairs. There were under his superintendency at
this time 130,000 Indians, of whom 50,420 were war
riors. The Six Nations numbered about 10,000, about
4600 of whom were trained to the business of war.

In 1772, the county of Tryon — named after the then
governor of the province of New York — was organ
ized, and it embraced the section of the state west of a
line running north and south through the centre of
the present county of Schoharie. It contained a pop
ulation of about 10,000, and Johnstown was the seat
of justice.

The Johnson family exerted a great influence over
the people in Tryon County, and had acquired almost
unbounded control of the Indian mind of the Six Na
tions. When the troubles broke out between the moth
er country and her colonies, the Johnsons espoused the
royal cause. Their influence over the Iroquois, or Six
Nations, was used to attach them to the same cause,
and they often led them on in their incursions upon
the settlements in the valley of the Mohawk. Guy
Johnson left Johnson Hall in 1775, passing through
the country of the Six Nations, finally making his
head-quarters at Montreal. Brant and his Mohawks,
together with the Butlers, followed Colonel Johnson.
Sir John Johnson was made a prisoner, by order of
General Schuyler, in January, 1776, and taken to Fish-
kill, where he was released on parole. In the May fol-

ITS HISTOKY. 33

lowing he broke his parole, and subsequently com
manded a regiment of refugees, known in border war
fare as "Johnson's Greens."

The last of April, 1777, Colonel Gansevoort, with the
third regiment of the New York line of state troops,
was ordered to Fort Schuyler.* Before the fortifica
tion was completed, it was invested by Colonel St.
Leger. This division of the British forces was collected
at Oswego, brought their munitions of war and stores
up Wood Creek, and crossed the portage to the Mo
hawk. General Herkimer, with a regiment of militia,
in attempting to relieve Fort Schuyler, was met by a
considerable force of Indians and Tories, under the
command of Brant and Butler, at Oriskany, where he
was repulsed, and received a wound which occasioned
his death. The patriots retreated down the river, and
St. Leger pressed the siege. He raised batteries, and
made many efforts to reduce the fortress by cannon
shot, but failed to effect a breach. He then resorted to
threats of savage barbarity, should the Indians be pro
voked by obstinate resistance. 'In such case, he said,
it would not be possible for him to restrain them from
their accustomed modes of redress. All this failed to
move the brave men in the fort, who were then nearly
out of provisions.

Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stockwell left the
fort by night, and, eluding the vigilance of the enemy,

* This fort was situated where the village of Home now stands.
The French had built a fort here called Fort Stanwix, which was
now reconstructed. The name of the new fortification was given it
in honor of General Schuyler. This fort must be distinguished from
the old fort by the same name, built, during the French war, on the
point of high ground now in the northeastern portion of the city of
Utica, and called by the same name, after an uncle of General
Schuyler.

34 WYOMING.

passed down the Mohawk for the purpose of reassem
bling the militia and returning for the relief of the
fort. This was a daring undertaking, but was so won
derfully successful that the Indians, believing Colonel
Willett to have been assisted by some superhuman
power, called him "the devil." The distressing events
of the encounter at Oriskany had created a great sensa
tion in the country, and called for decisive measures.
General Schuyler dispatched Generals Earned and Ar
nold to attack St. Leger and raise the siege of Fort
Schuyler.

Colonels Johnson, Claus, and Butler had issued a
proclamation designed to intimidate the people of Try-
on County into submission, and to procure enlistments
into the king's army, and "Walter N. Butler, son of
Colonel John Butler, had been sent on the delicate
business of circulating this proclamation, and using his
personal influence with those whom he might find un
decided. He visited the German Flats, in the neigh
borhood of Fort Dayton, and collected a company of
Tories at the house of one Shoemaker, who had been
a civil officer under the king. Colonel Weston, at
Fort Dayton, learning of the gathering, dispatched a
detachment of troops, who came upon them by sur
prise just as Butler was in the midst of a harangue,
and made them all prisoners. Butler was tried by a
court-martial for a spy, and condemned to be hung, but
at the intercession of several officers, who had formerly
been his personal friends and associates, he received a
reprieve, and was sent a prisoner to Albany. After
several months' confinement he pretended to be sick,
and, as a mark of favor, he was quartered in the house
of a Tory, with a single soldier to guard him. But
ler and his host managed to make the soldier drunk,

ITS HISTORY. 35

and, sick as he was, he escaped on a fleet horse, and
reached Niagara.

Among those captured with Butler was a singular
character by the name of Honyost Schuyler. Almost
an idiot, he still had streaks of shrewdness which gave
him no little distinction among the Indians and his
half - civilized neighbors. His mother and brother
Nicholas lived at Little Falls. Like Butler, he was
condemned to death. His mother and brother hasten
ed to Fort Dayton to implore General Arnold to spare
his life. Arnold for a time would not listen to their
intercession, and the miserable woman became almost
frantic. At length General Arnold proposed terms
upon which the life of the poor fellow should be
spared. He must immediately go to the camp of St.
Leger, and make such representations to him of the
forces which were coming up against him as would in
duce him to raise the siege. The proposition was glad
ly accepted, and the old woman offered to be held a
hostage for the faithful performance of the commis
sion. General Arnold refused to receive the mother
in that capacity, but took the other son, who was put
in confinement, while Honyost took his departure. He
took with him a friendly Oneida Indian, who was fully
inducted into the secrets of the mission, and greatly
aided him in its prosecution. Before his departure
several balls were shot through his clothes, to help him
make out his story, and the Indian took a different
route, and fell into the camp at about the same time
with the principal in the enterprise.

Honyost arrived at St. Leger's camp, and began im
mediately to give an account of his wonderful escape,
and of Arnold's army. When asked as to the number
of troops which Arnold had under his command, he

86 WYOMING.

shook his head mysteriously, and pointed to the leaves
of the trees to intimate that the army was large — be-
vond his power of enumeration. The Oneida had in
his way met with several others of his tribe, who offer
ed him their co-operation. Honyost's story began to
fly through the camp like wildfire, when lo ! the story
of the near approach of a great army was told by In
dians who fell in from different directions. A panic
had really commenced before St. Leger knew it. He
summoned Honyost before him, who gave a most
frightful account of his escape. He had been con
demned to death, and, on his way to the gallows, he
had availed himself of the carelessness of the guard,
and fled. In the mean time, a volley of musketry was
fired after him. Then, pointing to the holes in his
coat, he showed the colonel and his officers how one
ball had just grazed his side, another his shoulder, and
another his thigh ; but he had been miraculously pre
served. As to the Indians, they also gave to St. Leger
the most exaggerated accounts of the strength and
numbers of the army of General Arnold. St. Leger
called a council of war, and, while the officers were
deliberating upon the course to be taken, the Indian
forces under Brant commenced preparations to depart.
St. Leger used every effort to retain them, but to no
purpose. They had suffered severely in the battle of
Oriskany, and, as yet, had been wholly disappointed
in the promised plunder of the Yankee fort, and they
were in the moody state of mind, when they were vis
ited by Honyost and the Oneidas, which was entirely
favorable to the success of these emissaries of the Yan
kee commander. Indeed, the Indians did what they
could to make the retreat a flight.

An altercation taking place between Colonel St.

ITS HISTORY. 37

Leger and Sir John Johnson, each accusing the other
of remissness in duty, in the midst of the feud two
cunning sachems set up a shout, "They are coming!
they are coming /" when the two colonels closed their
angry dispute and took to flight. Their men were
equally quick on foot ; throwing away their guns and
knapsacks, they ran for their lives.

Honyost Schuyler ran with the British and Indians
until an opportunity occurred for him to escape, when
he returned to Fort Schuyler, and gave Colonel Gan-
sevoort his first information of General Arnold's ap
proach, and of the flight of the besiegers. Gansevoort
pursued the retreating army, and took prisoners and a
large amount of spoil. Such was the panic of the
royal army that they left their tents standing; their
provisions, artillery, ammunition, and all their camp
equipage were left to the Yankee forces. The Indians,
in the mean time, enraged with disappointment, robbed
the officers, plundered several boats on Wood Creek,
and actually murdered stragglers belonging to the
royal army for the sake of plundering their persons.
A just retribution this for employing those heartless
savages in a war upon the people of the frontier settle
ments. — See Campbell's History of Tryon County, and
Stone's Border Wars.

We will here leave the history of the. war upon the
northern border, and return to the events of the period
in Wyoming. We shall have occasion to refer to the
narrative which we have here given as we proceed with
the progress of events upon the Susquehanna, and as
we give sketches of characters which figured in the
predatory wars which were waged by the British pro
vincial troops and her savage allies, the Six Nations,
both in Tryon County, New York, and in Wyoming,
upon the Susquehanna.

38 WYOMING.

On the 29th or 30th of June, 1778, Colonel John
Butler, with about four hundred British provincials,
partly made up of Tories, together with six or seven
hundred Indians, entered the head of the valley, and
took possession of Fort Wintermoot without opposition.
On that morning eight men and a boy, who had gone
from Fort Jenkins to their work with their arms, three
miles above, fell into the hands of the enemy ; five of
the men were killed, and three taken prisoners, the
boy escaping by throwing himself into the river, and
hiding in a clump of willows.

Colonel Zebulon Butler, who was a Continental offi
cer, knowing the perilous condition of the people, and
desirous to give his personal aid in any way possible,
had obtained leave to visit the valley, and now, by
common consent, assumed the command of the little
army. The whole consisted of "two hundred and
thirty enrolled men, and seventy old people, boys, civil
magistrates, and other volunteers," the whole embrac
ing six companies, which were mustered at Forty Fort,
where the families of the settlers on the east side of
the river had taken refuge. " Indian Butler," as he
was called, summoned the Connecticut people to sur
render Forty Fort and the valley. A council of war
was called on the 3d of July, and though it was the
opinion of Colonel Butler, Colonel Denison, and Lieu
tenant Colonel Dorrance, and others, that " a little de
lay would be best," in hopes of the arrival of re-enforce
ments, which it was thought might be on their way,
yet a large majority were for marching at once upon
the enemy and giving them battle. Colonel Butler
mounted his horse, saying, " I tell you we go into great
danger, but I can go as far as any of you," and " the
column, consisting of about three hundred men, olcl

ITS HISTORY. 39

men, and boys, marched from the fort," at about three
o'clock in the afternoon, with drums beating and colors
flying. The devoted little band marched up the plain,
with the river on the right and a marsh upon the left,
until they reached Fort Wintermoot, which was on fire
— fired to make the impression upon the minds of the
patriots that the enemy was retiring from the valley.

" Colonel Z. Butler, on approaching the enemy, sent
forward Captains Eansom and Durkee, Lieutenants
Ross and Wells, as officers whose skill he most relied
on, to select the spot, and mark off the ground on
which to form the order of battle. On coming up, the
column displayed to the left, and under those officers
every company took its station, and then advanced in
line to the proper position, where it halted, the right
resting on the steep bank noted, the left extending
across the gravel flat to a morass, thick with timber
and brush, that separated the bottom-land from the
mountain. Yellow and pitch-pine trees, with oak
shrubs, were scattered all over the plain. On the
American right was Captain Bidlack's company. Next
was Captain Hewitt's, Daniel Gore being one of his
lieutenants. On the extreme left was Captain "Whit-
tlesey's. Colonel Butler, supported by Major John
Garrett, commanded the right wing. Colonel Denison,
supported by Lieutenant Colonel George Dorrance,
commanded the left. Such was the ground, and such
the order of battle. Every thing was judiciously dis
posed, and constructed in a strictly military and pru
dent manner. Captains Durkee and Ransom, as expe
rienced officers, in whom great confidence was placed,
were stationed, Durkee with Bidlack on the right wing,
Ransom with Whittlesey on the left. Colonel But
ler made a very brief address just before he ordered

40 WYOMING.

the column to display. ' Men, yonder is the enemy.
The fate of the Hardings tells us what we have to ex
pect if defeated. We come out to fight, not only for
liberty, but for life itself, and, what is dearer, to pre
serve our homes from conflagration, our women and
children from the tomahawk. Stand firm the first
shock, and the Indians will give way. Every man to
his duty.'

"The column had marched up the road running
near the bank on which our right rested. On its dis
play, as Denison led off his men, he repeated the ex
pression of Colonel Butler, ' Be firm ; every thing de
pends on resisting the first shock.'

"About four in the afternoon the battle began;
Colonel Z. Butler ordered his men to fire, and at each
discharge to advance a step. Along the whole line
the discharges were rapid and steady. It was evident
that on the more open ground the Yankees were doing
most execution. As our men advanced, pouring in
their platoon fires with great vivacity, the British line
gave way, in spite of all their officers' efforts to prevent
it. The Indian flanking party on our right kept up
from their hiding-places a galling fire. Lieutenant
Daniel Gore received a ball through the left arm.
; Captain Durkee,' said he, 'look sharp for the Indians
in those bushes.' Captain Durkee stepped to the bank
to look, preparatory to making a charge and dislodging
them, when he fell. On the British Butler's right, his
Indian warriors were sharply engaged. They seemed
to be divided into six bands, for a yell would be raised
at one end of their line, taken up, and carried through,
six distinct bodies appearing at each time to repeat the
cry. As the battle waxed warmer, that fearful yell was
renewed again and again with more and more spirit.

ITS HISTORY. 41

It appeared to be at once their animating shout and
their signal of communication. As several fell near
Colonel Dorrance, one of his men gave way : ' Stand
to your work, sir,' said he, firmly, but coolly, and the
soldier resumed his place.

" For half an hour a hot fire had been given and
sustained, when the vastly superior numbers of the
enemy began to develop their power. The Indians
had thrown into the swamp a large force, which now
completely outflanked our left. It was impossible it
should be otherwise : that wing was thrown into con
fusion. Colonel Denison gave orders that the com
pany of Whittlesey should wheel back, so as to form
an angle with the main line, and thus present his front,
instead of flank, to the enemy. The difficulty of per
forming evolutions by the bravest militia on the field
under a hot fire is well known. On the attempt, the
savages rushed in with horrid yells. Some had mis
taken the order to fall back as one to retreat, and that
word, that fatal word, ran along the line. Utter con
fusion now prevailed on the left. Seeing the disorder,
and his own men beginning to give way, Colonel Z.
Butler threw himself between the fires of the opposing
ranks, and rode up and down the line in the most reck
less exposure. ' Don't leave me, my children, and the
victory is ours.' But it was too late.

"Every captain that led a company into action was
slain, and in every instance fell on or near the line.
As was said of Bidlack, so of Hewitt, Whittlesey, and
the others: 'they died at the head of their men.' They
fought bravely ; every man and officer did his duty ;
but they were overpowered by threefold their force.
In point of numbers the enemy was overwhelmingly
superior. ' ' — Miner's History.

42 WYOMING.

It was a dreadful hour. The few old men who
were left in the fort, and the women and children,
lined the bank of the river with throbbing hearts, lis
tening to the noise of the battle ; and as the firing be
came more scattering, and advanced down the plain
toward the fort, the fearful reality of a defeat was but
too plainly indicated. " The boys are beat — they are
retreating — they will be all cut to pieces !" exclaimed
one who had been pacing the bank, and catching ev
ery indication borne upon the breeze from the scene
of action.

A portion of the numerous, strange, and fearful
scenes which followed are upon record, and many of
them are still in the recollection of a few survivors, for
which we must refer the reader to the historians. Mr.
Miner says, " About one hundred and sixty of the
Connecticut people were killed that day, and one hund
red and forty escaped. The loss of the enemy was
never known; probably from forty to eighty fell."
According to the best information which we have been
able to gain, more than two hundred of the patriots
fell in this fearful conflict, while about sixty of the
British and Indians were slain. Many were first made
prisoners, and then massacred in the most cruel and
barbarous manner by the savages. Colonels Butler
and Denison, being mounted, first came into Forty
Fort, and confirmed the apprehensions of the poor de
fenseless people, then waiting in a most fearful state
of anxiety and suspense. They sat down by a table
in Thomas Bennet's cabin, and adjusted the terms of
capitulation which were to be proposed to the enemy.
Colonel Butler then crossed over to Wilkesbarre, and
the next day, throwing a feather-bed across his horse,
and seating his wife upon the animal behind him, left

ITS HISTORY. 43

the valley. He was a brave officer, and having dis
tinguished himself in several gallant enterprises in the
Kevolutionary struggle, had reasons enough for not
wishing to be made a prisoner of war. At nightfall
the fugitives came into the fort, exhausted with the
toils and terrors of the day. But oh, how many hus
bands and sons came not ! The sadness of that night
will never be adequately sketched.

The people in the fort at Wilkesbarre, on the east
side of the river, early on the 4th commenced their
flight, but in such haste as not to furnish themselves
with provisions for a long and toilsome journey through
the wilderness. A large number of women and chil
dren, with a few men, took the old war-path toward the
Delaware, some perishing on the way through fatigue
and hunger in a dense pine forest, which has ever
since been called "The Shades of Death." The few
regular soldiers who had escaped, knowing that they,
if taken, would be doomed to exemplary punishment,
made a hasty escape, under the orders of Colonel Butler.

On the evening of the fatal 3d, Captain John Frank
lin arrived at Forty Fort, with a company of militia
from Huntington and Salem, which gave a little
strength to the remnant which were left. On the
morning of the 4th, Colonel John Butler summoned
Colonel Denison to surrender Forty Fort, inviting him
to his head-quarters to agree upon the terms. After
some negotiation, the following articles of capitulation
were duly executed:

"Westmoreland, July 4th, 1778.

"CAPITULATION AGREEMENT — Made and com
pleted between John Butler, in behalf of his majesty
King George the Third, and Colonel Nathan Denison
of the United States of America :

44 WYOMING.

" ART. I. It is agreed that the settlement lay down
their arms, and their garrison be demolished.

" ART. II. That the inhabitants occupy their farms
peaceably, and the lives of the inhabitants be preserved
entire and unhurt.

" ART. III. That the Continental stores are to be
given up.

" ART. IY. That Colonel Butler will use his utmost
influence that the private property of the inhabitants
shall be preserved entire to them.

" ART. Y. That the prisoners in Forty Fort be de
livered up.

"ART. VI. That the property taken from the peo
ple called Tories be made good ; and that they remain
in peaceable possession of their farms, and unmolested
in a free trade throughout this settlement.

" ART. VII. That the inhabitants which Colonel
Denison capitulates for, together with himself, do not
take up arms during this contest.

(Signed), "JOHN BUTLER,

DENISON."

Accordingly, on the 5th of July, the gates of the
fort were thrown open, and Butler, at the head of his
rangers, and a Seneca chief by the name of G - n, at
the head of the Indians, marched in. The arms of the
men were stacked, and given as a present by Butler to
the Indians, with these words: "See what a present
the Yankees have made you." The Indians went
about sneakingly peeping into the doors of the cabins,
but for that day molested no one. On the next day,
however, they began to plunder the people. Colonel
Denison remained in Mr. Bennet's cabin, a place for
merly occupied as a horse-shed. When Butler came

ITS HISTORY. 45

into the fort, Colonel Denison sent for him, and re
monstrated with him upon the conduct of the Indians,
alleging that it was a breach of a most solemn en
gagement. Butler said, " My men shall not molest the
people ; I will put a stop to it." But he was no soon
er gone than the plundering was resumed. Colonel
Denison again sent for Butler, and again he came into
the shed and gave assurances that "the plundering
should cease." -Toward night a company of Indians
came in, some of them drunk, and commenced ran
sacking the houses and rifling them of their movables.
Colonel Denison had another conversation with But
ler, who now said, " To tell you the truth, I can do
nothing with them." Colonel Denison chided him se
verely, but, waving his hand, he repeated the same
words, and finally left the fort no more to return.

After the lapse of two weeks from the day of the
battle, it was rumored that the Tories and Indians had
again entered the valley, and would probably kill all
that remained of the inhabitants. The people then all
left the fort, some going down the river in canoes, and
others taking the path "through the swamp" toStrouds-
burg. Thus this beautiful valley was deserted by its
inhabitants, with the exception of those who lay bleach
ing upon the plain, unconscious of what transpired,
and beyond the reach of further wrongs.

We have not given the details of the savage cruel
ties which are found in other histories. But there are
two well-authenticated instances of the diabolical spirit
of the Tories which we shall recite. We do this not
only to show what kind of men embraced the royal
cause, but as a fearful illustration of the dreadful havoc
made by the spirit of war upon all the better feelings
of humanity, and all the ties of kindred.

46 WYOMING.

MONOCASY ISLAND, FROM THE EAST HANK OF TUB SUSQUEIIANNA.

" A short distance below the battle-ground there is
a large island in the river called ' Monockonock Island.'
Several of the settlers, while the battle and pursuit con
tinued, succeeded in swimming to this island, where
they concealed themselves among the logs and brush
wood upon it. Their arms had been thrown away in
their flight previous to their entering the river, so that
they were in a manner defenseless. Two of them, in
particular, were concealed near and in sight of each
other. While in this situation, they observed several
of the enemy, who had pursued and fired at them while
they were swimming the river, preparing to follow
them to the island with their guns. On reaching the
island, they immediately wiped their guns and loaded
them. One of them, with his loaded gun, soon passed
close by one of these men who lay concealed from his
view, and was immediately recognized by him to be
the brother of his companion who was concealed near
him, but who, being a Tory, had joined the enemy.
He passed slowly along, carefully examining every
covert, and directly perceived his brother in his place
of concealment. He suddenly stopped and said, ' So

ITS HISTORY. 47

it is you, is it ?' His brother, finding that he was dis
covered, immediately came forward a few steps, and
falling on his knees, begged him to spare his life, prom
ising to live with him and serve him, and even to be
his slave as long as he lived, if he would only spare
his life. lAtt this is mighty good] replied the savage-
hearted brother of the supplicating man, ' but you are a
d****d rebel;1 and deliberately presenting his rifle,
shot him dead upon the spot. The other settler made
his escape from the island, and having related this fact,
the Tory brother thought it prudent to accompany the
British troops on their return to Canada." — Chapman's
History, p. 127, 128.

" This tale is too horrible for belief; but a survivor
of the battle, a Mr. Baldwin, whose name will occur
again, confirmed its truth to the writer with his own
lips. He knew the brothers well, and in August, 1839,
declared the statement to be true." — Col. Stone's His
tory, p. 215.

Elijah Shoemaker was seen wading in the river, not
knowing how to swim, by one Windecker, a Tory, who
had been treated by Shoemaker with the kindness with
which a father would treat a son. Windecker said to
him, "Come out, Shoemaker." "I am afraid," said
Shoemaker, " you will give me up to the Indians."
" No," said Windecker, " I will save you ; they sha'n't
hurt you." But no sooner did Shoemaker come with
in his reach, than the perfidious wretch dashed his tom
ahawk into his head, and set his body afloat. The
body was taken up at the fort, and Mrs. Shoemaker,
with a child in her arms — the late Col. Elijah Shoe
maker, of Kingston — came down to the water's edge
to be agonized with a sight of the mangled corpse of
her husband. The body was buried in the fort before

48 WYOMING.

the capitulation. The circumstances of Shoemaker's
death were related by Esquire Carpenter and Anning
Owen, who were concealed under a tree-top which lay
out in the river.

These instances of horrid brutality defy all prece
dent. The priestess of the hellish orgies of "Bloody
Bock," had she witnessed the above spectacle, would
have been ashamed of the demons concerned in the
transaction. She, in the true spirit of savage warfare,
was taking sweet vengeance for the loss of a brother
or an intimate friend. But these furies imbrued, their
hands in the blood of friend and brother ! Alas for
poor humanity, of what a height of corruption and
wickedness is it capable !

" Indian Butler" soon made his exit from the val
ley. The following is a picture of the departure :

" With Butler a large portion of the Indians with
drew, and their march presented a picture at once mel
ancholy and ludicrous. Squaws, to a considerable num
ber, brought up the rear, a belt of scalps stretched on
small hoops around the waist for a girdle, having on,
some four, some six, and even more, dresses of chints
or silk, one over the other ; being mounted astride on
horses (of course all stolen), and on their heads three,
four, or five bonnets, one within another, worn wrong
side before." — Miner's History, p. 237.

Mr. Miner presents two charges against Colonel John
Butler, which will lie against his name to the end of
time, and in mitigation of which there is not a reliev
ing circumstance. The first is "his position — accept
ing command, lending his name, and associating with
those bloodthirsty and unprincipled savages who were
placed under his orders." His confession, after the
capitulation, that he could "do nothing with them,"

ITS HISTORY. 49

brands him with infamy. How came he to lead on a
band of murderous savages whom he knew he could
not control, to an assault upon a defenseless settle
ment? But "the deepest stain on the character of
Butler, next to his taking the command of such a horde
of merciless and ungovernable wretches, arises out of
the fact that but two prisoners were taken and saved
at the time of the battle." It is altogether likely that
the greatest number who fell were cruelly massacred
upon the retreat ; and it is certain that many of them
were first made prisoners, and then tortured and butch
ered in cold blood. That his own men took part in
the pursuit and butchery on the day of the battle is
historically true, and that he tried to prevent the sub
sequent massacres there is no evidence.

COLONEL ZEBULON BUTLER'S REPORT OF THE BATTLE

TO THE BOARD OF WAR.
" Gnadenhutten, Penn Township, July 10th, 1778.

" HONORED SIR, — On my arrival at Westmoreland,
which was only four days after I left Yorktown, I
found there was a large body of the enemy advancing
on that settlement. On the 1st of July we mustered
the militia, and marched toward them by the river
above the settlement — found and killed two Indians
at a place where, the day before, they had murdered
nine men engaged in hoeing corn. "We found some
canoes, etc., but, finding no men above their main
body, it was judged prudent to return ; and as every
man had to go to his own house for his provisions, we
could not muster again till the 3d of July. In the
mean time the enemy had got possession of two forts,
one of which we had reason to believe was designed for
them, though they burned them both. The inhabitants

50 WYOMING.

had some forts for the security of their women and
children, extending about ten miles on the river, and
too many men would stay in them to take care of them ;
but, after collecting about three hundred of the most
spirited of them, including Captain Hewitt's company,
I held a council with the officers, who all agreed that
it was best to attack the enemy before they got any
farther. "We accordingly marched, found their situa
tion, formed a front of the same extension of the ene
my's, and attacked from right to left at the same time.
Our men stood the fire well for three or four shots,
till some part of the enemy gave way ; but, unfortu
nately for us, through some mistake, the word retreat
was understood from some officer on the left, which
took so quick that it was not in the power of the offi
cers to form them again, though I believe, if they had
stood three minutes longer, the enemy would have
been beaten. The utmost pains were taken by the
officers, who mostly fell. A lieutenant colonel, a ma
jor, and five captains, who were in commission in the
militia, all fell. Colonel Durkee, and Captains Hewitt
and Kansom, were likewise killed. In the whole, about
two hundred men lost their lives in the action on our
side. What number of the enemy were killed is yet
uncertain, though I believe a very considerable num
ber. The loss of these men so intimidated the inhab
itants that they gave up the matter of fighting. Great
numbers ran oif, and others would comply with the
terms that I had refused. The enemy sent flags fre
quently ; the terms you will see in the inclosed letter.
They repeatedly said they had nothing to do with any
but the inhabitants, and did not want to treat with me.
Colonel Denison, by desire of the inhabitants, went and
complied, which made it necessary for me and the little

ITS HISTORY. 51

remains of Captain Hewitt's company to leave the place.
Indeed, it was determined by the enemy to spare the
inhabitants after the agreement, and that myself and
the few Continental soldiers should be delivered up to
the savages; upon which I left the place, and came
away, scarcely able to move, as I have had no rest
since I left Yorktown. It has not been in my power
to find a horse or man to wait on the Board till now.
I must submit to the Board what must be the next
step. The little remains of Hewitt's company, which
are about fifteen, are gone to Shamoken, and Captain
Spaulding's company, I have heard, are on the Dela
ware. Several hundred of the inhabitants are strolling
in the country destitute of provisions, who have large
fields of grain and other necessaries of life at "West
moreland. In short, if the inhabitants can go back,
there may yet be secured double the quantity of pro
visions to support themselves, otherwise they must be
beggars, and a burden to the world.

" I have heard from men that came from the place
since the people gave up that the Indians have killed
no persons since, but have burned most of the build
ings, and are collecting all the horses they can, and are
moving up the river. They likewise say the enemy
were eight hundred, one half white men. I should be
glad that, if possible, there might be a sufficient guard
sent for the defense of the place, which will be the
means of saving thousands from poverty, but must
submit to the wisdom of Congress. I desire further
orders from the honorable Board of War with respect
to myself and the soldiers under my direction.

" I have the honor to be your honor's most obedient
humble servant, ZEBULON BUTLER."

52 WYOMING.

THE OTHER SIDE. — JOHN BUTLER'S REPORT OF THE
BATTLE.

MAJOR JOHN BUTLER TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL BOLTON.

"Lacuwanack, 8th July, 1778.

" On the 30th of June I arrived with about 500
rangers and Indians* at Wyoming, and encamped on
an eminence which overlooks the greatest part of the
settlement, from which I sent out parties to discover
the situation or strength of the enemy, who brought in
eight prisoners and scalps. Two Loyalistsf who came
into my camp informed me that the rebels could mus
ter about eight hundred men, who were all assembled
in their forts.:): July the 1st I marched to the distance
of half a mile of Wintermoot's Fort, and sent in Lieu
tenant Turney with a flag to demand immediate pos
session of it, which was soon agreed to.§ A flag was
then sent to Jenkins's Fort, which surrendered on near
ly the same conditions as Wintermoot's, both of which
are inclosed. || I next summoned Forty Fort, the com
mandant of which refused the conditions I sent him.
July 3d, parties were sent out to collect cattle, who in
formed me that the rebels were preparing to attack
me. This pleased the Indians highly, who observed

* It has always been believed in Wyoming that the numbers of
Butler's army were between 700 and 1000. A scout went up to the
place of debarkation the day before the battle, and from the number
of their boats they estimated their force at over 1000.

f Probably the Wintermoots.

| Here the number is greatly exaggerated ; but, as the colonel
wished to magnify his exploit, he reports his own number less than
it really was, and exaggerates that of the settlers.

§ "Soon agreed to !" It was arranged beforehand, for those who
built and occupied it were Tories.

|| Fort Jenkins was not entered until the day after the battle. — Sec
the account of Richard Gardner, p. 355.

ITS UTSTOKY. 58

they should be on an equal footing with them in the
woods. At two o'clock we observed the rebels upon
their march, in number about four or five hundred.*
Between four and five o'clock they were advanced
within a mile of us. Finding them determined, I or
dered the fort to be set on fire, which deceived the en
emy into an opinion that we had retreated. We then
posted ourselves in a fine open wood, and, for our great
er safety, lay flat upon the ground, waiting their ap
proach. When they were within two hundred yards
of us, they began firing. We still continued upon the
ground, without returning their fire, until they had
fired three volleys. By this time they had advanced
within one hundred yards of us, and, being quite near
enough, Gucingerachton ordered his Indians, who were
upon the right, to begin the attack upon our part,
which was immediately well seconded by the Eangers
on the left. Our fire was so close and well directed
that the affair was soon over, not lasting half an hour
from the time they gave us their first fire to their flight.
In this action were taken 227 scalps and only five pris
oners, f The Indians were so exasperated with their
loss last year near Fort Stanwix that it was with the
greatest difficulty I could save the lives of these few.J

* Here again is a gross exaggeration. The numbers, all told, did
not exceed 320.

f Perhaps one third of the "scalps" "were taken" after the "ac
tion" was over, from the heads of prisoners who had surrendered and
asked quarter.

t The " loss" of " the Indians" "at Fort Stanwix" was doubtless a
most provoking affair ; but who was to blame ? Must the people of
Wyoming atone for it? The Indians probably flung away a few
guns and blankets at Fort Stanwix in their sudden flight, for which
they doubtless fully remunerated themselves by robbing their friends.
Thoir "great loss," however, was that of the opportunity of taking

54 WYOMING.

Colonel Denniston, who came in next day with, a min
ister and two others to treat for the remainder of the
settlement of Westmoreland, assured us that they had
• lost one colonel, two majors, seven captains, thirteen
lieutenants, eleven ensigns, two hundred and sixty-
eight privates. On our side were killed one Indian,
two Eangers, and eight Indians were wounded.* In
this incursion we have taken eight palisades, (six) forts,
and burned about one thousand dwelling-houses, f all
their mills, etc. We have also killed and drove off
about one thousand head of horned cattle, and sheep
and swine in great numbers. But what gives me the
sincerest satisfaction is that I can with great truth as
sure you that in the destruction of this settlement not
a single person has been hurt of the inhabitants but
such as were in arms; to these, indeed, the Indians
gave no quarter.^:

u I have also the pleasure to inform you that the
officers and Eangers behaved during this short action
highly to my satisfaction, and have always supported

the scalps of the garrison, and plundering it of its provisions, ammu
nition, and small arms.

* This story is strangely false. Three Indians were shot down in
the pursuit, and probably more. — See the statement of Solomon Ben-
net, p. 363.

t There were not more than half so many dwelling-houses in the
settlement to burn. Besides, when this dispatch was written, the
settlement had not been fired at all, with the exception of here and
there a cabin. — See Mrs. Myers's and Mrs. Bedford's statements.

| "The Indians gave no quarter." None indeed. What be
came of those who were taken prisoners? What became of the
wounded? What became of the "five prisoners" which the report
says were taken ? They were all massacred in cold blood, with the
exception of two who lived to return. Three out of the "five"
which the colonel reports as saved were never heard of after
ward .

ITS HISTORY. 55

themselves through hunger and fatigue with great
cheerfulness.

" I have this day sent a party of men to the Dela
ware to destroy a small settlement there, and to bring
off prisoners. In two or three days I shall send out
other parties for the same purpose, if I can sup
ply myself with provisions.* I shall harass the ad
jacent country, and prevent them from getting in their
harvest.f

" The settlement of Scohary or the Minisinks will
be my next object, both of which abound in corn and
cattle, the destruction of which can not fail of greatly
distressing the rebels.^ I have not yet been able to
hear any thing of the expresses I sent to the Generals
Howe and Clinton ; but as I sent them by ten differ-

* What ! short of "provisions" only three days after taking from
the settlers "one thousand head of horned cattle, and sheep, and
swine in great numbers ?" This is a strangely inconsistent and self-
contradictory tale.

f How would he do this, as he was then on his way back to the
north ? He could only do it by the agency of parties of his Indians
who were left behind. He, Colonel Butler, then would do more than
simply to " harass the adjacent country, and prevent them from
getting in their harvest." He would shoot down the settlers in the
field ; kill and scalp their wives and children ; rob, burn, and scalp
on as large a scale as possible. All this was done by the same agen
cy as that by which the people were prevented from "getting in their
harvest;" and if ColonelJohn Butler did the one, the same Colonel
John Butler did the other.

J In this arrangement the brave Colonel John Butler was "be
hind the light-house," for this business was committed to Brant, who
at that very moment was earnestly engaged in its prosecution.

We do not much wonder that this famous dispatch has been so
long shut up in the government archives in London. It is a perfect
ly bald caricature of the famous expedition of its author "down the
Susquehanna to Wyoming." At the same time, we are happy to be
able to give it to the public. The "journal" of which the colonel
speaks must be rich. We only wish we had that.

WYOMING.

cnt routes, I am in hopes that some of them will be
able to make their way to them and return.

" In a few days I do myself the honor of writing to
you more fully, and send you a journal of my proceed
ings since I left Niagara.

"I am, sir, with respect, your most obedient and
very humble servant,

(Signed), "JOHN BUTLER."

"We have given, in as brief a manner as we deemed
consistent with a full understanding of the subject, the

POSITION OF THE WYOMING FOUT8.*

main facts of " the Wyoming massacre." It will be
proper in this place to take some notice of a widely

* Explanation of the Plan. — The several divisions, Hanover, Wilkes-
barre, Kingstown, &c., mark the districts into which the town of
Westmoreland was divided ; in military language, the different beats.
A marks the site of Fort Durkee ; 7J, Wyoming or Wilkesbarre Fort ;
C1, Fort Ogden ; D, village of Kingston ; E, Forty Fort. [This, in
the early histories of the Revolution, is called Kingston Fort.] F,
the battle-ground ; (7, Wintermoot's Fort ; 77, Fort Jenkins ; 7,
Monocasy Island ; 7, the three Pittstown stockades. The dot below

ITS HISTORY. 57

different report of the affair, which has gone into his
tory and obtained a wide circulation. The account to
which we refer may be found in Thatcher's Military
Journal, and Gordon's History of the American Rev
olution. We shall simply refer to the points which
are most glaringly false, and not occupy space for the
whole story.

After the battle it is represented that " Fort King
ston" was "invested the next day, 4th of July, on the
land side." Dr. Thatcher asserts that the fort was
cannonaded the whole day, whereas there was but one
cannon, a four-pounder, in the valley, and that the
Yankees had in Wilkesbarre.

Again it is said, " The enemy, to sadden the droop
ing spirits of the weak remaining garrison, sent in for
their contemplation the bloody scalps of 196 of their
late friends and comrades." This is a pure fiction.

"July 5th," Colonel Denison is represented as asking
" what terms" would be given on a " surrender," when
" Butler answered, with more than savage phlegm, in
two short words, ' the hatchet? Denison, having defend
ed the fort till most of the garrison were killed or dis
abled, was compelled to surrender at discretion. Some
of the unhappy persons in the fort were carried away

the G marks the place of Queen Esther's Rock. The village of Troy
is upon the battle-ground, and that of Wilkesbarre upon the site of
Wilkesbarre Fort and its ravelins. The distances of the several
points from the present bridge at Wilkesbarre are as follows : Fort
Durkee, half a mile below, on the left bank. Fort Ogden, three and
a half miles above, and the Pittstown stockades, about eight miles,
on the same side. Forty Fort, three and a half miles ; the Monu
ment, on the battle-ground, five and a half; Queen Esther's Rock,
six and a half; Wintermoot's Fort and Fort Jenkins, eight miles
above, on the west or right bank of the river. Kingston is directly
opposite Wilkesbarre, half a mile westward.

58 WYOMING.

alive ; but the barbarous conquerors, to save the trou-~
ble of murder in detail, shut up the rest promiscuously
in the houses and barracks, which having set on fire,
they enjoyed the savage pleasure of beholding the
whole consumed in one general blaze."

The story proceeds : " They found about seventy
Continental soldiers, who had been engaged merely
for the defense of the frontiers, whom they butchered
with every circumstance of horrid cruelty. The re
mainder of the men, with the women and children,
were shut up, as before, in the houses, which being set
on fire, they perished all together in the flames."

It is scarcely necessary to add here that these are
not mere exaggerations, but downright falsehoods.
That they would be extensively believed in this coun
try, where the Tories and Indians were with no in
justice regarded as a sort of demons incarnate, and
that subsequent historians, living at a distance from
the scene of action, should repeat them, is only what
might be expected. Chief Justice Marshall, in his
voluminous Life of "Washington, first published in
1804, copied Gordon's tale, and others have continued
to follow his example down to this date. Mr. Charles
Miner wrote to the chief justice in 1806, giving him
the facts as they really occurred, and informing him
that the story to which he had given the sanction of
his name was taken from newspaper accounts, which
were published without correct information soon after
the event of the massacre. Twenty-five years after
ward, when the chief justice was contemplating a new
and improved edition of the Life of Washington, he
politely acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Miner's let
ter. Mr. Miner has published two letters from the
chief justice in his History of Wyoming, p. 256-7.

ITS HISTORY. 59

In the letter of June 14, 1881, are the following
short paragraphs :

" Mr. Kamsay, I presume, copied his statement from
Gordon, and I relied upon both, as I know Mr. Gordon
made personal inquiries into most of the events of the
war, and that Mr. Kamsay was in Congress, and conse
quently had access to all the letters on the subject.
It is surprising that they should have so readily given
themselves up to the newspapers of the day.

" It was certainly our policy during the war to ex
cite the utmost possible irritation against our enemy,
and it is not surprising that we should not always have
been very mindful of the verity of our publications ;
but when we come to the insertion of facts in serious
history, truth ought never to be disregarded. Mr.
Gordon and Mr. Kamsay ought to have sought for it."

All this is very sensible, but it is a curious fact that
" Mr. Kamsay" never " copied" Gordon's " statements."
In Kamsay 's " statements," both in his " History of the
United States" and his " American Revolution," noth
ing is said of the "investment" "the scalps," "the
hatchet," "the burning," or "the seventy Continental
soldiers ;" but a simple statement of the facts connect
ed with the capitulation of the fort, the flight of the
inhabitants, and the utter desolation of the country, is
given, with only slight and immaterial variations from
the account as narrated by Chapman, Stone, and Mi
ner. It is strange that so careful and conscientious a
historian as Chief Justice Marshall should have com
mitted so grave a mistake in a matter of authority.
He doubtless wrote to Mr. Miner " without book," and
his memory failed him. Since that time Kamsay has
been associated with Gordon as authority for the fic
tion of " the hatchet" and the " burning of women and

60 WYOMING.

children." Now we hope these authors may part com
pany, and Dr. Ramsay may no longer be held respon
sible for copying either Dr. Thatcher, Mr. Gordon, or
"the newspapers of the day," in his account of "the
Wyoming massacre." Dr. Ramsay is one of the pio
neers in the work of American history. He was the
first American who published a history of the Amer
ican Revolution ; this was in 1789. The materials for
this work were collected while in Congress from 1782
to 1786. His History of the United States was pub
lished in 1808. The second volume of that work is
represented by the author as " an improved new edi
tion" of his " History of the American Revolution."
His account of the Wyoming massacre is only "im
proved" by calling " Colonel John Butler" " a Connec
ticut Tory." In all other respects the account is the
same in both works. But to return to the narrative.

We shall now only be able to touch a few details of
the history. In the fall Colonel Butler returned with
Captain Spaulding's company and some of the settlers,
and buried the remains of those who fell upon the field
of battle, and labored to secure some of the grain which
was now ripe, But companies of Indians infested the
country, who took prisoners, shot men who were labor
ing in the fields, and stole horses, and whatever else
they could carry away.

Colonel Hartley, of the Pennsylvania line, was order
ed to join Colonel Butler. A detachment of one hund
red and thirty men marched on the 8th of September
to the West Branch, and thence to Sheshequin. On
the 29th a battle ensued, in which several on both
sides were killed. The Indian settlement was broken
up, and besides horses and cattle recovered, a consid
erable amount of plunder was taken.

ITS HISTORY. ,61

But the savages followed almost upon the heels of
Hartley's men, and resumed 'their work of murder, kid
napping, and plunder.'

Immediately after Colonel Hartley's expedition in
1779, General Washington took measures to carry out
a plan, which had been under consultation, of sending
a powerful armament into the country of the Six Na
tions, to destroy their towns and chastise them for their
incursions upon the frontier settlements, and the cru
elties and barbarities which they had perpetrated. The
expedition was committed to the charge of General
Sullivan, who collected his forces at "Wilkesbarre, and
thence transported his artillery and baggage up the
river in boats, and forming a junction with a division
of the army under the command of General Clinton,
at Tioga Point, proceeded to the prosecution of the ob
jects of the expedition. Colonel John Butler at the
head of the British and Tories, and Brant in command
of the Indians, made a stand, a little below Newtown,
on the Chemung Kiver, with fifteen hundred or two
thousand men, but were routed with considerable loss,
and left the Indian towns, and the fields loaded with
fruit, to be overrun and desolated by an avenging foe.

" Not a moment of delay was allowed. Being now
in the Indian country, hundreds of fields, teeming with
corn, beans, and other vegetables, were laid waste with
rigid severity. Every house, hut, and wigwam was
consumed. Cultivated in rude Indian fashion for cen
turies, orchards abounded, and near a town between
the Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there were fifteen hund
red peach-trees, bending under ripe and ripening fruit :
all were cut down. The besom of destruction swept,
if with regret and pity, still with firm hand, through
all their fair fields and fertile plains. Deeply were

62 WYOMING.

they made to drink of the bitter chalice they had so
often forced remorselessly to the lips of the frontier
settlers within their reach. Some idea of the extent
of country inhabited by the Indians, the number of
their towns, and the great quantity of produce to be
destroyed, may be formed, when it is stated that an
army of four thousand men were employed, without a
day's (except indispensable) remission, from the 29th
of August until the 28th of September, in accomplish
ing the work of destruction. The farthest northwest
extent of General Sullivan's advance was to Genesee
Castle, at the large flats on the beautiful river of that
name."— Miner's History, p. 271, 272.

But, notwithstanding the success of General Sulli
van's expedition, it did not result in the security of
Wyoming from the incursions of the savages. Still,
parties of Indians continued their visits, and from time
to time exercised their propensities for plundering,
kidnapping, and murder. For three years the settle
ment was in a constant state of alarm, and many
strange and interesting incidents marked its history.
The capture and escape of Thomas Bennet and Leb-
beus Hammond, of Pike, Yancampen, and Kogers ; the
kidnapping and late discovery of Frances Slocum,
with a multitude of other events as full of romance as
any of the scenes found in the writings of Sir Walter
Scott, are detailed in subsequent chapters.

u The number of lives actually lost in Wyoming
during the war it is impossible to estimate with cer
tainty ; probably three hundred, being one in ten of
the inhabitants, or exceeding one third of the adult
male population at the commencement of the war.
Connecticut, to have suffered in the same proportion,
would have lost near twenty -three thousand, and the

ITS HISTORY. 63

United Colonies three hundred thousand." — Miner's
History.

Upon the termination of the war with Great Britain,
the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania pre
sented a petition to Congress, praying for a hearing
touching the difficulties with Connecticut in relation
to the title to the lands upon the Susquehanna. To
this Connecticut promptly responded, and the question
was submitted to an arbitration agreed upon by the
parties, and assembled in Trenton, N. J., in December,
1782. The following was the decision :

" We are unanimously of opinion that Connecticut
has no right to the lands in controversy.

" We are also unanimously of opinion that the ju
risdiction and pre-emption of all the territory lying
within the charter of Pennsylvania, and now claimed
by the State of Connecticut, do of right belong to the
State of Pennsylvania." — Ibid., p. 308.

Of this decision the people of Wyoming did not com
plain, fully expecting to be " quieted in their posses
sions" under the government of Pennsylvania. They
supposed their individual claims to the right of pre
emption had not been submitted nor adjudicated, and
with them, as things stood, it was not a matter of much
importance whether they were to be subject to the ju
risdiction of Pennsylvania or Connecticut, provided
they might remain in the peaceable possession of their
lands. But from the proceedings which followed, the
settlers soon found that the object of Pennsylvania was
their utter expulsion from the homes which had al
ready cost them infinite vexation and much precious
blood. There was an affectation of conditions of
compromise, but they resolved themselves into these
points :

64 WYOMING.

" 1st. Pledges to be given, such as could not admit
of denial or evasion, for their obedience.

"2d. A disclaimer in writing, publicly, plainly, and
unequivocally given, of all claims to their lands held
under title from Connecticut. Then follow the mer
ciful terms.

" 3d. The settler to take a lease of half his farm for
about eleven months, giving up possession at once of
the other half. On the first of April following to aban
don claims, home, possession, to his adversary.

" 4th. The widows of those who had fallen by the
savages to be indulged in half their possessions a year
longer.

" And 5th. The Kev. Mr. Johnson to be allowed to
occupy his grounds (under disclaimer and lease, of
course) for two years." — Miner's History, p. 324, 325.

The settlers remonstrated, and stood firmly to their
positions. The agents of the government of Pennsyl
vania proceeded to constitute townships, and take pos
session of the lands. The settlers were not subdued
by the dangers and troubles through which they had
passed. Though war had diminished and weakened
them, they were not prepared tamely to submit to
downright usurpation and oppression. The soil which
had drunk the blood of their dear friends — fathers,
brothers, and sons — was too sacred to be lightly aban
doned. Their homes they were determined to hold,
peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must. See
ing themselves likely to fail of maintaining their rights,
the law being in the hands of those interested, they
seized their old rusty guns and hurled defiance at their
oppressors. Colonel Butler, Colonel Jenkins, and Col
onel Franklin led on the Connecticut people in the
maintenance of their rights, always exhausting nego-

ITS HISTORY. 65

tiation and diplomacy before they had recourse to forci
ble measures. Colonel Armstrong, the author of the
famous "Newburg Letters," was commissioned to visit
the scene of strife, with an armed force of four hundred
men, and restore peace. Finding the Pennamites and
Yankees in the field in the attitude of war, he required
both parties to give up their arms and cease hostilities,
promising "impartial justice and protection." The
Yankees feared "treachery," but Colonel Armstrong
"pledging his faith as a soldier and his honor as a gen
tleman" that the opposite party should also be .dis
armed, they finally submitted.

"They paraded, were ordered to 'ground arms;'
they were then commanded, * Eight about — march ten
steps — halt — right about !' which they obeyed ; when
Colonel Armstrong ordered his men to advance and
take up the grounded arms. Thus far was according
to their expectations ; but their surprise was merged in
bitterest mortification when Colonel Armstrong gave
rapid orders, as rapidly obeyed, to surround the dis
armed settlers, and make them all prisoners: resist
ance was vain, and escape hopeless. Not a musket
was taken from Patterson's forces, but they beheld the
successful treachery of Colonel Armstrong with unre
strained delight and taunting exultation. A soldier's
faith should be unsullied as the judicial ermine — the
pledged honor of a gentleman more sacred than life.
Both were basely violated, and language is too poor to
paint in proper colors the detestable deed." — Miner.

The poor fellows were now bound with cords, and
hurried off, some to Easton, others to Northumberland,
and thrown into prison. Armstrong returned to Phil
adelphia to herald his triumph ; but, to his great mor
tification, he almost immediately learned that most of

Ob WYOMING.

the Yankees were released on bail, and were again in
the field. Skirmishes now ensued, and lives were lost
on both sides.

A sympathy was now quite general in Pennsylva
nia for the settlers. Armstrong's perfidy was known
and execrated, and when he returned to Wyoming,
having been authorized to raise a force sufficient to re
duce the Yankees, he could only bring into the field
about one hundred men. In an assault upon a party
who occupied three block-houses at Tuttle's Creek he
was repulsed, and one of his subalterns, a Captain Bo-
len, was killed. This was the last blood that was
spilled in these unfortunate conflicts. September 15,
1784, the Legislative Assembly of Pennsylvania "or
dered the settlers to be restored to their possessions."

A portion of the settlers had, by means of the op
pressive measures of Pennsylvania, become wholly dis
affected with her ; and, led on by Colonel Franklin, a
most active and able political agitator, they made a
stand against the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, and ac
tually commenced incipient measures for the organiza
tion of the disputed territory into a new state. The
settlers were now themselves divided into two factions ;
one under the influence of Colonel Pickering, who act
ed under the authority of Pennsylvania, and the other
led on by Colonel Franklin, who acted partly for him
self and partly for the dear people. The feud was,
however, finally terminated by the apprehension and
imprisonment of Franklin, who, after he had lain in
jail in Philadelphia for several months, so far lost his
ardor as to ask pardon of the Legislature, and promise
allegiance to the state, which promise he for many
years faithfully fulfilled. So terminated all the wars
of the Valley of Wyoming.

ITS HISTORY. 67

COLONEL PICKERING.

After the termination of the wars, Wyoming became
a pleasant, nourishing rural district under the jurisdic
tion of Pennsylvania, and its inhabitants soon attained
not only competency, but many of them wealth and
opulence.

"Look now abroad : another race has filled

These populous borders ; wide the wood recedes,
And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are tilled ;

The land is full of harvests and green meads ;
Streams numberless, that many a fountain feeds,

Shine, disembowered, and give to sun and breeze
Their virgin matins ; the full region leads

New colonies forth, that toward the western seas
Spread like a rapid flame among the autumnal trees."

BRYANT.

Their commercial operations were carried on by a
laborious process, but they were remunerative. Colo
nel Holenback and others, who commenced life with
little or nothing, amassed fortunes by trading with the
settlers and the Indians scattered through the wilder
ness between Niagara and Philadelphia. Things

OS WYOMING.

moved on in a quiet way, and business was pursued
by its ancient channels until it was found that Wyo
ming and Lackawanna valleys constituted one of the
richest basins of anthracite coal in the State of Penn
sylvania. Eastern capital finally became enlisted, and,
together with home resources, has originated a vast
trade, which has changed the whole course of business.
Agriculture is now a mere circumstance in the busi
ness interests of the country.

Until within a few years Wyoming was as much
like " The Happy Yalley" in Kasselas as could well be
imagined. The only modes of access to the great world
were either by the river, which was never properly
navigable, or across the eastern mountains, over an al
most impassable road. Thanks to modern improve
ments, every thing is now changed. The spell is
broken. The dark silence of the past has given place
to the bustle of business, the shriek of the locomotive,
and the thunder of the cars. Instead of a full week's
travel between this secluded spot and New York or
Philadelphia, only a few hours are now occupied by
the journey.

From the present point of business, activity, and
progress, we propose to lead the reader back to the
primitive simplicity of the first settlers — to take a brief
view of their struggles and perils — their conflicts with
the wild beasts, the wild Indians, and with each other.
The history of no portion of our great country is more
replete with curious incidents and romantic adven
tures than the history of Wyoming. Every foot of
the soil is rendered classic by some historic fact or
some curious legend. Bloody conflicts, hair-breadth
escapes, starvations, heart-breaks, love adventures,
prodigies of heroism, and miracles of endurance, mark

ITS HISTORY. (59

every page of the early history of Wyoming, and are
associated with every one of her ancient locali ties.

Our object shall be to introduce to the reader some
of the tellers of the wondrous tales of the olden time.
They shall now speak for themselves. Their own sim
ple stories, told, as nearly as may be, in their own lan
guage, is the desideratum which we propose to supply,
and for which our materials are quite ample.

Novelists and poets have strained their imagination
to render the scenery and the scenes of Wyoming en
chanting to their readers, while facts and incidents have
been sleeping here, or have been but partially under
stood, which are really more wonderful than the fruit
ful brains of these writers were able to conceive. The
truth, told without affectation after the excitements of
the strange scenes described have long since passed
away will be found to outstrip fiction in exciting in
terest.

Perhaps the brightest gem to be found among the
poetical effusions of Thomas Campbell is his "Ger
trude of Wyoming." There is much that is truthful
in his pictures, some few things which are false, but
nothing overdrawn. One of our own poets, who had
gazed upon the objects and scenes of the valley for
himself, makes the following beautiful allusion to
Campbell's Gertrude in a strain not below the poetic
beauty of that poem :

" I then but dreamed : them art before me now,

In life, a vision of the brain no more.
I've stood upon the wooded mountain's brow,
That beetles high thy lovely valley o'er.

Nature hath made thee lovelier than the power

Even of Campbell's pen hath pictured : he
Had woven, had he gazed one sunny hour

Upon thy smiling vale, its scenery.

70 WYOMING.

With more of truth, and made each rock and tree
Known like old friends, and greeted from afar :
And there are tales of sad reality

In the dark legends of thy border war,
With woes of deeper tint than his own Gertrude's are."

HALLECK.

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES.

"But this is not a time" — he started up,

And smote his breast with wo-denouncing hand —
" This is no time to fill the joyous cup ;

The mammoth comes — the foe — the monster Brant,
With all his howling, desolating band ;

These eyes have seen their blade and burning pine
Awake at once, and silence half your land.

Red is the cup they drink, but not with wine ;
Awake and watch to-night, or see no morning shine."

CAMPBELL'S Gertrude.

JOSEPH BRANT was a Mohawk sachem. He has
been represented as a half-breed, but Colonel Stone

makes, it appear quite probable that he was a full-
blooded Indian. He was born in the western woods,

72 WYOMING.

somewhere within the bounds of the present State of
Ohio, while his parents were upon a hunting expedi
tion. His Indian name was Thay-en-da-ne-gea. Sir
William Johnson held a peculiar relation to the Brant
family. Molly Brant was a beautiful squaw, and, when
about sixteen, upon a regimental parade — upon a ban
ter on her part — had been allowed by an officer to
spring upon his horse behind him, and, with her blan
ket and black tresses streaming in the air, to fly over
the ground, to the great amusement of the spectators.
Sir William was present, and was so charmed with the
creature that he took her to his house. Colonel Stone
says that she became "his wife," and that her "de
scendants from Sir William Johnson compose some of
the most respectable and intelligent families in Upper
Canada at this day." Mr. Campbell calls Molly Brant
Sir William's "mistress," and in the "Documentary
History of New York" she is called his "housekeep
er." In all the records we have consulted she is called
by her maiden name, "Molly Brant," which would
seem to be against the idea of her regular and lawful
marriage to Sir William Johnson.*

Joseph, a younger brother of Molly Brant, was most
naturally taken under the patronage of Sir William ;
and, as the baronet took great interest in the civiliza
tion and improvement of the Indians, it is not strange
that he took measures for the education of his protege.
The Eev. Mr. Wheelock had established a school at
Lebanon, Connecticut, for the education of Indian boys.
Joseph was sent to this school with several other In
dian boys, and was, in the English sense, so clever, and
made such progress as to receive high commendation

* Mr. Lossing informs us that Sir William married Molly Brant
just before his death, to legitimatize his children.

BRANT AND HIS TOEY ASSOCIATES. 73

from his teachers, and to be employed as an interpreter.
He even assisted in translating St. Mark's Gospel into
Mohawk. The correspondence between Sir William
Johnson and Dr. Wheelock in relation to the subject
of this brief sketch is preserved in the Documentary
History of New York, and is well worth perusing. In
1763, Molly Brant, moved by prejudice against the New
Englanders, caused a letter to be written to Joseph, in
Sir William's name, in which he was requested to re
turn home. Dr. Wheelock was much displeased at
this, and wrote a letter of remonstrance to Sir William
upon the subject, but it was of no use. Sir William's
" housekeeper" could not be denied, and Joseph, be
coming discontented, came back to take a prominent
position among the Iroquois, and to be a powerful
ally of the Johnsons and of the crown of Great Britain.

In 1777 Brant came down from the north with a
band of his Mohawks, and made his head-quarters at
Ocquaga and Unadilla, and at the latter place General
Herkimer sought and obtained an interview with the
Mohawk chief, with a view to employing the influence
of a former acquaintance and an old friendship to bring
him over to the cause of the colonies. General Her
kimer had with him about three hundred men, and,
after some ceremonies, met Brant at Unadilla. The
interview was civil, but fruitless. Brant told the gen
eral that, for the sake of old friendship, he would not
harm him. But the chief was not to be satisfied with
out displaying his force ; and, upon a signal, five hund
red warriors darted from their concealment and gave
the war-whoop. The " old neighbors" then separated
to meet only once more, and that upon the battle
field.

The next wo hear of Brant ia at the battle of Oris-
D

74 WYOMING.

kany, on the 6th of August. The conduct of the In
dians and Tories toward the prisoners which fell into
their hands on this occasion was marked by the most
unparalleled ferocity. A surgeon of General Herki-
mer's brigade of militia, by the name of Moses Young-
love, made an affidavit, which is now in the office of the
Secretary of State, in which he makes the most terrible
disclosures. He was made a prisoner, and was
"brought to Mr. Butler, Sen."— Colonel John Butler—
"who demanded of him what he was fighting for; to
which he answered, ' He fought for the liberty that God
and nature gave him, and to defend himself and dear
est connections from the massacre of savages.' To
which Butler replied, c You are a d — d impudent reb
el */ and, so saying, immediately turned to the savages,
encouraging them to kill him, and saying, if they did
not, this deponent and the other prisoners should be
hanged on a gallows then preparing." " Six or sev
en" persons were killed at one time, at the instance of
a wounded Tory. " Those of the prisoners who were
delivered up to the provost guards were kept without
victuals for many days, and had neither clothes, blan
kets, shelter, nor fire, while the guards were ordered
not to use any violence in protecting them from the
savages, who came every day in large companies, with
knives, feeling of the prisoners to know who was fat
test ; that they dragged one of the prisoners out of
the guard, with the most lamentable cries, tortured him
for a long time, and this deponent was informed, by
both Tories and Indians, that they ate him, as they did
another on an island in Lake Ontario, by bones found
there, newly picked, just after they had crossed the
lake with the prisoners." St. Leger had offered twen
ty dollars for every American scalp, which, of course,

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 75

furnished the Indians with a motive for killing the
prisoners. Younglove was finally doomed to the fire,
and was likely to be fed upon by the savages. He
was fastened to a stake on the bank of the river, a*nd
while preparations were being made for the burning,
the bank providentially caved off, and he was carried
down the angry current, and was taken up far below
by another party of Indians, who took him to the
west, where he was obliged to run the gauntlet. Aft
er this he was adopted by an Indian, put on the In
dian habit, and remained among the Indians until he
was exchanged. Dr. Younglove lived to old age, and
died a few years since in the city of Hudson, much re
spected. His story is perfectly reliable. — See Camp-
MTs Border Warfare, p. 114-116.

Now, when these atrocities were perpetrated, where
was Joseph Brant? He was at the head of the In
dians who were in the battle of Oriskany, and who
tortured and devoured the prisoners there taken. If
he was present, these barbarous transactions were per
mitted, if not ordered by him ; but if he left the pris
oners at the disposal of the fiends whom he had the
honor to command in the battle, and simply retired
out of sight, the whole iniquitous and fiendish system
of torture, and murder, and cannibalism which follow
ed was at least by his connivance, and at his responsi
bility. Dr. Younglove in after years published a his
torical poem, in which, referring to Brant, he repre
sents him as

"By malice urged to every barbarous art,
Of cruel temper, but of coward heart."

In 1778 the operations of the royal forces on the
border were put in charge of Colonel John Butler and
"Captain Brant." Two projects were set on foot:

76 WYOMING.

one was surprising the small garrisons and cutting off
the settlements in Tryon County, and the other the de
struction of the settlement at Wyoming, on the Sus-
quehanna. The first of these enterprises was to be
taken in hand by Brant, and the second by Butler.
Early in the spring Brant collected a considerable
force at Ocquaga. The settlers at Unadilla and in the
neighborhood removed to Cherry Valley, and located
themselves within the fortification which had been
raised by the order of General La Fayette. Brant,
with a party of Indians, soon visited Cherry Valley,
with a view to making prisoners of some of the prin
cipal inhabitants. While skulking about in the woods
he intercepted Lieutenant Wormwood, and shot and
scalped him with his own hand. Wormwood was a
gallant young officer, and an only son of a respectable
resident of Palatine. He had been to Cherry Valley,
and was on his return home. The agonized father, as
he bent over the mangled corpse of his beloved son,
poured out a flood of tears, exclaiming, " Brant ! cruel,
cruel Brant!" After giving this relation, Mr. Camp
bell remarks, " Tears started in many eyes which
scarcely knew how to weep." Brant and this young
officer had been personal friends, and he is said to have
lamented his death, having mistaken him for a Conti
nental officer. This was a cold-blooded murder, in
whatever aspect it is regarded, and it was all that Cap
tain Brant achieved on this expedition, with the excep
tion of his making a prisoner of Peter Sitz, who was
in company with Lieutenant Wormwood.

In the month of June, Brant, with a party, visited
Springfield, burned the houses of the inhabitants, and
carried away several prisoners. He left the women
and children in a house to shift for themselves — an act

BRANT AND HIS TOBY ASSOCIATES. 77

which has been noted as an evidence of his great hu
manity. It must be conceded that Brant did not seem
to delight in torturing and murdering helpless women
and children ; whether it was because he had a spark
of kindness in his bosom, or because he considered
it mean and cowardly, we shall not attempt to de
termine.

Captain Brant now concentrated his forces at Una-
dilla, and received constant accessions of Tories, who
were more savage than the savages themselves. A re
ward being offered to any person who would gain sat
isfactory knowledge of Brant's proceedings, Captain
M'Kean volunteered to undertake the enterprise. He
took with him five brave men, and proceeded down
one of the branches of the Susquehanna. He came
upon the track of the chief about twenty miles from
Cherry Valley, in the town of Laurens. A Quaker
by the name of Sleeper informed him that Brant had
been at his house that day, with fifty men, and advised
him to keep out of his way. M'Kean, having satisfied
himself of the condition of things in that quarter, re
turned, but not until he had left behind him evidence
of his visit. He wrote a letter to Brant, charging him
with his predatory and murderous incursions upon the
unoffending settlers, and challenging him to single com
bat, or to meet, in fair fight, an equal number of the
patriots with his Indians, telling him that if he would
come to Cherry Valley they would make him a goose —
referring to his name. This letter he fastened in a
stick, and placed in an Indian path ; Brant received it,
and referred to it subsequently.

Some time in June, Brant, with four hundred In
dians, met a party of regular troops and Schoharie mi
litia on the upper branch of the Cobelskill. There

78 WYOMING.

were only forty-five of our men ; twenty-one escaped,
twenty-two were killed, and two were taken prison
ers.

In July, a small settlement, situated west of the Ger
man Flats, was destroyed by Brant. Some of the peo
ple were murdered, and others were made prisoners,
while their goods were either destroyed or carried
away. In August, the German Flats was visited by
the chief, with three hundred Tories and one hundred
and fifty Indians, who ravaged the whole pountry,
burning all the buildings, and plundering every thing
which was movable. Most of the people had taken
refuge in Forts Herkimer and Dayton, and, conse
quently, no great number of prisoners and scalps were
taken.

Schoharie and the surrounding settlements were the
objects of the constant and persevering onsets of the
Indians and Tories. Colonel Yrooman had the com
mand of the fort at Schoharie, and was contented with
merely defending it, without protecting the inhabi
tants. Colonel Harper was not satisfied with this mode
of proceeding, and ran the hazard of a journey alone
on horseback to Albany in quest of aid. He put up
at a Tory tavern on Fox's Creek, and locked his door.
Soon a loud rap at his door alarmed him. He arose,
and, placing his sword and pistols on his bed, demand
ed what was wanted. " We want to see Colonel Har
per," was the answer. He opened his door, and four
Tories presented themselves. " Step an inch over that
mark, and you are dead men," said Colonel Harper.
After a little conversation, they left the brave colonel
to himself. In the morning he mounted his horse and
went on. An Indian followed him, whom Colonel
Harper several times frightened out of his purpose by

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 79

presenting his pistol. Upon representing to the com
manding officer at Albany the distressed condition of
the people at Schoharie, a squadron of horse was im
mediately provided, and, by a forced march, lit upon
the enemy the next morning- " and the first knowl
edge that the people had that any relief was expected,
they heard a tremendous shrieking and yelling ; and,
looking out, they saw Colonel Harper, with his troop
of horse, welting up the enemy. The men in the fort
rushed out and joined in the attack, and the country
was soon cleared of the enemy." — Campbell,

Mr. Campbell publishes an " exact transcript" of a
letter from Brant, which is quite characteristic, and has
some historical importance. We here give it in full :

"Tunadilla, July 9, 1778.

"SiR, — I understand by the Indians that was at
your house last week, that one Smith lives near with
you, has little more corn to spare. I should be much
obliged to you, if you would be so kind as to try to
get as much corn as Smith can spare ; he has sent me
five skipples already, of which I am much obliged to
him, and will see him paid, and would be very glad
if you could spare one or two of your men to join us,
especially Elias. I would be glad to see him, and I
wish you could send me as many guns you have, as I
know you have no use for them, if you have any ; as
I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as I can :
whatever you will able to sent'd me you must sent'd
by the bearer.

" I am your sincere friend and humble servant,

" JOSEPH BRANT.

"To Mr. Carr.

" P.S. — I heard that Cherry Valley people is very

80 WYOMING.

bold, and intended to make nothing of us ; they call
us wild geese, but I know the contrary.

" Jos. B."

Captain Walter 1ST. Butler owed the Tryon County
patriots a special spite on account of his imprisonment
in Albany, an account of which we have given in an
other connection ; and, by way of taking vengeance
upon them, he planned an expedition against Cherry
Valley. He procured from his father, Colonel John
Butler, the command of a portion of his regiment, call
ed "Butler's Bangers," together with the liberty of
employing the Indians who were under the command
of Brant. Captain Butler took up the line of march
early in November, and met Brant, with his men, on
their way to Niagara for winter quarters. At first
Brant was indignant at being made second to Walter
Butler, and refused to join the expedition. Matters
were, however, pacified between the Indian and the
Tory, and they proceeded. Colonel Alden, who had
command of the fort at Cherry Valley, was repeatedly
admonished of the probability of an attack by the In
dians and Tories, but he regarded the event as wholly
improbable, and took no precautions against it. On
the eleventh, the enemy stole upon the town early in
the morning, in a snow-storm, and took the place
by surprise. The officers were quartered in private
houses, and the wily foe, having learned their locali
ties by a prisoner, sent forward separate parties to sur
round the houses and take them. Lieutenant Colonel
Stacy was made a prisoner ; and Colonel Alden made
his escape from the house, and was pursued, tomahawk
ed, and scalped. He was one of the first victims of his
criminal skepticism and consequent neglect of duty.

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 81

The enemy now rushed upon the citizens, and com
menced an indiscriminate murder of men, women, and
children. Female helplessness, infantile innocence, or
entire neutrality in the struggle was no defense against
the savage Indians and the still more savage Tories.
The Wells family, who had been entirely neutral, male
and female, old and young, with the exception of a
boy who was not at home, were all destroyed. A
Tory boasted that he shot Mr. "Wells when he was at
prayer. Eev. Mr. Dunlop, an old gentleman, was made
a prisoner, and robbed of his wig and a portion of his
clothing, and was hurried offj shivering with the cold.
A few were reserved for the purpose of exchange;
among these were the wife of Colonel Campbell and
his four children. The town was fired, and was soon
reduced to a heap of smouldering ruins.

The historians record some generous acts on the
part of Brant on this occasion. He interfered in be
half of some women and children, and prevented their
massacre. "On the day of the massacre he inquired
of some of the prisoners where his friend Captain
M'Kean was. They informed him that he had prob
ably gone to the Mohawk Eiver with his family. ' He
sent me a challenge once,' said Brant; 'I have now
come to accept it. He is a fine soldier thus to retreat.'
They answered, ' Captain M'Kean would not turn his
back upon an enemy when there was any probability
of success.' 'I know it; he is a brave man, and I
would have given more to have taken him than any
other man in Cherry Valley, but I would not have
hurt a hair of his head.' " — Campbell. It has been
supposed that the humanity of Brant on this occasion
was a mere ruse, to show off by contrast the savage
barbarity of Butler, against whom he harbored a preju-

82 WYOMING.

dice, and this seems to us by no means an uncharita
ble conclusion.

The diabolical malice of "Walter 1ST. Butler had no
bounds. He was so thoroughly determined to make
a clean riddance of all the "rebels," that numbers of
neutrals and some of the friends of the royal cause
were cut to pieces, lest some of the " rebels," under
the false pretense of neutrality or friendship, should
escape. He acted upon the maxim that it was better
to destroy friends than to let enemies escape. — See
Campbell, p. 144.

The garrison held out, and a re-enforcement of two
hundred militia, on the day following, drove the scat
tering parties of Indians and Tories from the neigh
borhood. They kept their position until the next sum
mer, when they joined General Clinton in his march
into the Indian country with General Sullivan.

Cherry Valley was a scene of desolation, and exhib
ited every where the saddest mementoes of heartless
cruelty. Mr. Campbell says : " The mangled remains
of those who had been killed were brought in, and re
ceived as decent an interment as circumstances would
permit. The most wanton acts of cruelty had been
committed, but the detail is too horrible, and I will not
pursue it further. The whole settlement exhibited an
aspect of entire and complete desolation. The cocks
crew from the tops of the forest trees, and the dogs
howled through the fields and woods. The inhab
itants who escaped, with the prisoners who were set at
liberty, abandoned the settlement."

Some of those scenes we often heard described in our
childhood by those who witnessed them. "We were
raised in old Tryon County, in Middlefield, equidistant
from Cherry Valley and Cooperstown. The settlement

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 83

in Middlefield, then called "Newtown Martin," was de
stroyed, and the people scattered. Some of them lived
to return and spend the remainder of their lives on the
soil which had been stained with the blood of their rel
atives and neighbors. Old Mrs. Writer — who used to
be called " Aunt Eecter" — once related to our excel
lent mother, while we sat by her side, the story of her
captivity and sufferings. She was stripped of all her
clothing except her chemise and under-skirt. There
was a most beautiful girl of her acquaintance who was
the admiration of all. As Mrs. Writer — then Miss
Cook — was hurried along by her captors, she saw a
stout Indian cut the throat of the beautiful girl refer
red to a few steps before her. As she passed she saw
her in her death-struggle. Her nose, her ears, her eye
lids, and her breasts were cut off, and her rosy cheeks
were deeply gashed. All this barbarous mangling of
the poor girl was inflicted while she was alive, as a
matter of sport and derision. Could fiends have de
vised deeds of such abominable atrocity ?

When the company encamped a large belt of scalps
was brought to her, and she was ordered to dress them,
being instructed by the squaws. The process consist
ed in stretching them — spatting them between her
hands, and then laying them out to dry. Every scalp,
as she took it up, reminded her of some friend or ac
quaintance. She finally took up one which she thought
was her mother's. It was the scalp of a .female, and
she almost knew to a certainty that it was covered
with the very hair which she had so often combed and
dressed. She wept ; but the lifted tomahawk, and ma
nipulations which indicated that her own scalp would
soon come off, dried up her tears. Her mother, how
ever, had not been killed. She lived to a great age,

84 WYOMING.

and died near the head of Otsego Lake. She was call
ed " Aunt Molly M'Allum," and Mrs. Writer was half
sister to Daniel M'Allum, the captive boy of whom we
have elsewhere spoken.

Colonel Campbell, whose wife and children were
made prisoners by Butler and Brant, in our childhood
we often saw on horseback, on his way to and from
Cooperstown, or upon a visit to his sons, two of whom,
William and Samuel, lived in Middlefield; and one
thing we remember, especially, attracted our attention :
when we doffed our hat and made our best bow to
the colonel as he passed, he always made a graceful
bow in return. His son, Dr. William Campbell, was
a most estimable man and a polished gentleman. He
was the uncle of Honorable William W. Campbell, the
historian of Tryon County. This brief paragraph of
personal matters we hope will be excused, as it may
not be considered wholly out of place.

In 1779 we find Colonel Butler and Brant opposing
General Sullivan, and decently whipped on the Che-
mung. The Tory and the Indian chief fled to Niagara
to get out of harm's way for that time, and to prepare
for another marauding expedition when occasion might
offer. The massacres of Wyoming and Cherry Yalley
were amply avenged. The Indians who were collect
ed about Niagara in the winter of 1779-80, having lost
all their crops in the lake country, and having none
but salt provisions, a thing to which they were not ac
customed, died of scurvy in great numbers.

In August, 1781, Major Eoss and Walter Butler
came down from Canada into the Mohawk Yalley
with six hundred and seven Tories and Indians. Colo
nels Willett and Harper met them near Johnstown with
about five hundred militia, and put them to rout. The

BKANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 85

retreating Indian and Tory army fled to the northwest.
Ross, with a portion of his men, escaped, but Butler
was not so fortunate. He was pursued by a company
of Oneida Indians, and on coming to West Canada
Creek, about fifteen miles from the village of Herki-
mer, he swam his horse, and, upon reaching the shore,
he turned his back upon his pursuers, who had just
come up to the creek, and defiantly and insultingly
slapped his hip, when one of the party took deliberate
aim, and brought the vaunting Tory to the ground.
The Indian dropped his rifle and blanket and swam
the creek, and on coming up to Butler he found him
wounded. He now craved the mercy which he had
so often denied to helpless women and children — he
most piteously begged for his life ; but the Indian war
rior sprang upon him like a tiger, and with his lifted
tomahawk, shouted out, " Sherry Yalley — remember
Sherry Yalley !" and he buried his tomahawk in his
brains, and tore his scalp from his head while his death-
struggle was upon him. The miserable man might
well have died with the words of Adonibezeck in his
mouth, " As I have done, so hath Grod requited me."
He had no burial, but his body was left to rot above
ground, or to be devoured by wild beasts. The place
where he crossed the creek is called "Butler's Ford"
to this day. This was the last incursion made into
Tryon County, and it had a very appropriate winding
up in the death, by the hand of an Indian, of one of
the most cruel of the class of white men who stimu
lated the Indians to the diabolical cruelties perpetra
ted on the frontier.

Colonel Stone, in his " Border Wars," has preserved
a letter from Walter Butler vindicating himself, and
his father, and the Indians too — why did he not in-

86 WYOMING.

elude the Tories ? — from the charge of ' * cruelties. ' ' The
letter is directed to General Clinton, and is dated "Ni
agara, February 18, 1779." In this letter Captain But
ler says, "We deny any cruelties to have been com
mitted at Wyoming, either by whites or Indians." He
rests his vindication upon the fact that " not a man,
woman, or child was hurt after the capitulation, or a
woman or child before it, and none taken into captiv
ity." Now what does all this prove, more than that
the " cruelties" attending the Wyoming massacre might
have been greater than they were? How many men were
cruelly tortured the day before " the capitulation ?"
The apology seems to proceed upon the ground that
the cold-blooded torture of " men in arms" is not cruel,
especially if it took place before " the capitulation."
What was the reason that none were tortured " after
the capitulation?" Simply because there were none
left, or next to none, to torture. Captain Butler avoids
the points of complaint. These are, 1. That the pris
oners taken upon the battle-field were tortured by the
Indians, or barbarously murdered, in cold blood, by
the Tories. 2. That the defenseless people in the fort,
women and children not excepted, were plundered of
their food and clothing, and left to perish with hunger
and exposure. And, finally, that the articles of capitu
lation were wholly and cruelly disregarded before Colo
nel Butler had left the ground.

Next, Captain Butler proceeds to vindicate himself
and the Indians from the charge of "cruelties" at
" Cherry Valley ;" and his principal justification is —
for here he does not deny the facts — that " Colonel
Denison and his people appeared again in arms, with
Colonel Hartley, after a solemn capitulation and en
gagement not to bear arms during the war." Here

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 87

the vindication wholly ignores the fact that the capit
ulation was made a nullity by Colonel Butler, and, of
course, was not obligatory on the other party.

"We shall not farther tax the reader's time and pa
tience with refutations of the sophisms of this famous
letter. Colonel Stone, in the largeness of his charity,
calls it a " straightforward, manly letter." "We regard
it as a "straightforward" evasion, with nothing "man
ly" about it. The bad temper and barefaced falsehoods
of the letter constitute another illustration, in addition
to the many which the histories record, of the coward
ly cruelty and meanness of "Walter 1ST. Butler, one of
the Tory leaders in the border wars. Brant, although
bad enough — ay, quite too bad for endurance — was
almost a saint when compared with the younger But
ler. Thanks to his imprisonment in Albany that the
Wyoming massacre was not aggravated by manifold
more horrors than it has been our painful task to record.

WAS BRANT AT THE WYOMING MASSACRE?

The question of Brant's presence at the battle of
Wyoming has been much discussed and differently de
cided. An impression that Brant was at the head of
the Indians on that occasion has long been strong and
quite general among the people of Wyoming — the im
pression originating from the old settlers and actors in
that fatal and ill-advised encounter. Mr. Chapman,
the first historian of Wyoming, in accordance with the
popular tradition, asserts Brant's presence and lead on
the occasion. Mr. Campbell, the historian of Tryon
County, takes the same view of the question ; while
Thomas Campbell, the poet, with our own poets, Hal-
leek and Whittier, poetize in the same direction. The
able biographer of Brant — Colonel Stone — takes the

88 WYOMING.

other side of the question ; while Mr. Miner presents
reasons pro and con, and leaves his readers to judge of
their force for themselves.

Colonel Stone rests the cause upon the denial of
Brant, and the credibility of Indian and Tory witnesses.
It seems rather strange that the ingenious author did
not address himself to the task of proving an alibi, a
thing which it may be supposed was very possible at
the time he collected his materials. John Franklin
once said in relation to Colonel Stone's witnesses,
" You won't make such witnesses believed in old Wy
oming : people there would take their lives, but never
the words of Indians and Tories." The argument of
the too partial biographer of Brant was also questioned
by others besides the people of " old Wyoming." A
review of " The Life of Brant" in the Democratic Re
view, supposed to have been written by the Hon. Caleb
Gushing, controverts the author's positions, and shows
their inconclusiveness. In 1846, in an article in the
Methodist Quarterly, we took the same ground.

It is reasonable to ask where Brant was on the 3d
of July, 1778, if he was not, as usual, at Colonel John
Butler's elbow. He was with him the previous year
at the battle of Oriskany, and the year following on
the Chemung, when General Sullivan marched into
the lake country. They were often united in border
warfare, Butler commanding the Tories, and Brant the
Indians. These questions are entitled to fair consid
eration and a satisfactory answer, and we shall now
look at them with candor.

After much examination of the subject, we have
reached the conclusion that during the entire summer
of 1778 Brant was in the Valley of the Mohawk and
on the head waters of the Susquehanna — at his head-

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 89

quarters at Ocquaga or Unadilla, and, consequently,
that he was not in the Yalley of Wyoming at the time
of the battle. In June the historians tell us that Brant
and his Indians burned the settlement at Springfield,
near the head of Otsego Lake.

Taking another step in. advance, we certainly find
Brant at Unadilla on the 9th of July, from an authen
tic letter of his published by Mr. Campbell, which we
have copied above. This letter relates to supplies for
his men, and acknowledges the receipt of corn from a
Mr. Smith. We will now connect this fact with an
other. C. L. Ward, Esq., in an address delivered at
the Pioneer Festival held in Owego on the 22d of
February, 1855, asserted that the younger Brant had
shown him " a receipt, in the handwriting of his fa
ther, for money paid for corn and other provisions,
dated on the 5th day of July, 1778, two days after the
battle, and while the British forces were in Wyoming."
This receipt harmonizes exactly with the letter to Pur-
sifer Carr, dated the 9th, which refers to transactions
of the same class. It may farther be observed that
Unadilla is the only locality where Brant would be
likely to purchase supplies for his men at the date
of the receipt. There he had his head-quarters, and
when he visited other places he plundered provisions
in abundance, and was under no necessity of purchas
ing of Tories. The chief could not have come from
Wyoming after the battle on the 3d in time to be in
negotiation for supplies in Unadilla on the 5th. The
facts above established quite conclusively prove the
alibi.

We next refer to a dispatch from Colonel Guy
Johnson to Lord George Germaine, dated New York,
10th September, 1778. The following is the por-

90 WYOMING.

tion of the dispatch, which relates to the question in
hand:

"Your lordship will have heard before this can
reach you of the successful incursions of the Indians
and Loyalists from the northward. In conformity to
the instructions I conveyed to my officers, they assem
bled their force early in May, and one division, under
one of my deputies (Mr. Butler), proceeded down the
Susquehanna, destroying the forts and settlements at
Wyoming, augmenting their number with many Loy
alists, and alarming all the country, while another di
vision, under Mr. Brant, the Indian chief, cut off 294
men near Schoharie, and destroyed the adjacent set
tlements, with several magazines from whence the reb
els had derived great resources, thereby affording en
couragement and opportunity to many friends of gov
ernment to join them." — Documents relating to the Colo
nial History of the State of New York, vol. viii., p. 752.

This dispatch shows clearly that Brant led the In
dians in the incursions upon the settlements in the Mo
hawk Yalley and on the head waters of the Susque
hanna, while Butler made his raid upon Wyoming.
Brant must consequently be identified with the hostile
movements of the Indians and Tories which we have
sketched above. There was, indeed, so far as we have
yet been able to ascertain, no one engagement in which
that "chief cut off 294 men" during the space of time
embraced in Colonel Johnson's dispatch. The colo
nel must embrace all the persons killed in the small
actions which occurred in the Mohawk Yalley, and all
the murders of the savages committed through the va
rious settlements during the months of June, July, and
August. The colonel's dispatch was probably based
upon a report from Brant of the number of scalps

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 91

taken during the summer : if this is not the explana
tion of the matter, we are at present unable to give
any that would be likely to be satisfactory.

This document clearly proves that Brant was in the
Valley of the Mohawk while Butler was in the Valley
of Wyoming.

Another fact we have to adduce is that of a certifi
cate of protection, given to one of the settlers, dated
"Westmoreland, July 5th, 1778," and signed by " John
Butler" and " Kayenguaurton." Colonel Butler varies
the orthography of this name, probably from mere care
lessness, and we have followed him. Colonel Stone
and Mr. Lossing give us the name of this chief thus —
" Gi-en-gwa-toh, which signifies, He who goes in the
smoke" Butler styles himself " Superintendent of the
Six Nations," and his associate is called " the Chief of
the Seneca Nation." The name of the chief is evident
ly written by Colonel Butler, but the outlines of a tur
tle — A\r — a^ ^ne 1^ °f the name, signifying that the

chief belonged to the turtle tribe of the Seneca nation,
was probably executed by the chief himself.

This document has every internal evidence of au
thenticity. We have examined it with great care, and
have no doubt of its having been written by Colonel
Butler at the date which it bears, and signed, so far as
he was able to sign it, by the chief who led on the In
dians in the battle. It is in the hands of a literary
friend, who kindly allowed us to examine it. No one
will doubt that if Joseph Brant had been the leader of
the Indians on the occasion of the battle, his name
would have been attached to the document in his own
handwriting.

Finally, we adduce the report of Colonel John But-

92 WYOMING.

ler to Colonel Bolton, never before published, as in it
self absolutely conclusive. In this report he says the
Indians were led on by a Seneca chief by the name of
Oucingeracton.

For these reasons, each of which alone is sufficient
to satisfy any unprejudiced mind, we hope it will be
considered as settled that Brant had no part in the
Wyoming massacre.

The historians generally, both English and Amer
ican, set down " the famous Mohawk chief Brant" as
the ferocious leader of the Indians at the "Wyoming
massacre, and, so far as appears, Brant took no pains
to correct the general impression. Thomas Campbell,
the poet, in his Gertrude, in the lines at the head of
this sketch, assumes the truth of the tale, and calls the
chief " the monster Brant." After the war had closed,
Brant settled in Canada, and died there. In 1822, his
son, "John Brant, Esq., of Grand Kiver," visited En
gland, and made it a point to convince the poet that
his father was not at Wyoming at all, and that, instead
of being a " monster," he was a humane, brave, and a
magnanimous foe. The first point he doubtless estab
lished, and the second the poet conceded, albeit, after
yielding to the proof, he proceeds to refute it. Mr.
Campbell, the historian, publishes the letter of Mr.
Campbell, the poet, to John Brant, Esq., in his Appen
dix. We would copy this letter if it were not that its
length and the irrelevancy of the greater portion of it
make it inexpedient. The letter is dated "London,
January, 1822." It acknowledges the receipt of cer
tain " documents" forwarded by Mr. John Brant, and
proceeds in an apologetic strain, of which the follow
ing brief paragraph may be considered as an expres
sion of the spirit, and as an exponent of the sense :

BRANT AND HIS TOBY ASSOCIATES. 93

" In short, I imbibed my conception of your father
from accounts of him that were published when I was
scarcely out of my cradle. And if there were any
public, direct, and. specific challenge to those accounts
in England ten years ago, I am yet to learn where
they existed."

Now we yield the point of Brant's immediate con
nection with the Wyoming massacre, but we are sorry
not to be able as fully to yield to the claim made for
him in certain quarters to more than common human
ity and magnanimity. Little more evidence is needed
to put those claims into doubt than the facts presented
in Colonel Stone's apologetic life of the great Mohawk
chief. The "cruelties" perpetrated in the Mohawk
Yalley during the years 1777 and 1778, where Brant
was continually present, and where he was the presid
ing genius, are, if possible, more revolting than those
perpetrated at Wyoming. In Wyoming the women
and children were not murdered after the capitulation
of the fort, but in Cherry Yalley no sex or age was
spared. We are aware that it is said that Walter But
ler had command on that occasion. Yes, and Walter
Butler says that " the Indians" perpetrated the " cruel
ties" at Cherry Yalley, for the reason that, " being
charged by their enemies with what they never had
done, and threatened by them, they had determined to
convince you that it was not fear which had prevent
ed them." Now, as each party accuses the other, and
no one doubts but both had a part in those " cruelties,"
it is but historical justice to divide the responsibili
ties between them. In fact, the steps of Brant, wher
ever he went, were red with the blood, not only of
men, but of "women and children." He sometimes
did spare them, but at other times he did not; and,

94 WYOMING.

indeed, the former was the exception, and the latter the
rule.

What, then, is -gained by the friends of the chief
when they have proved that he was not at the Wy
oming massacre? Absolutely nothing; for his Mo
hawks and Tories were engaged in the same, and even
greater u cruelties," in the valley of the Mohawk, and
upon the head waters of the Susquehanna and the Del
aware at the same time, and during the remainder of
the war.

It will not be unfair now to direct the attention of
the reader to a few instances of Brant's "cruelties."

The first instance we would refer to is the murder
of his former friend, Lieutenant Wormwood, an ac
count of which we have given.

Another instance is related by Mr. Campbell, as fol
lows : " He often said that, during the war, he had
killed but one man in cool blood, and that act he ever
after regretted. He said he had taken a man prisoner,
and was examining him ; the prisoner hesitated, and,
as he thought, equivocated. Enraged at what he con
sidered obstinacy, he struck him down. It turned out
that the man's apparent obstinacy arose from a natural
hesitancy of speech." This case is distinctly described
and specially marked.

Still another instance is clearly distinguished from
the foregoing. It is related by Mr. Weld, a European
traveler. In a skirmish with a body of American troops
Brant was wounded in the heel, but the Americans, in
the end, were defeated, and an officer taken prisoner.
The officer, after having delivered up his sword, en
tered into conversation with Sir John Johnson, when
Brant stole slyly behind them and laid the officer low
with a blow of his hatchet. Sir John was indignant,

BKANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 95

and lie resented the treachery in the warmest terms.
Brant listened to him without concern, and, when he
had concluded, told him that he was^orry for his dis
pleasure, but that his heel was exceedingly painful at
the moment, but, since he had avenged himself upon
the only chief of the party which they had taken, it
was much less painful than it had been before. — See
Border Warfare, p. 249, 250.

Mr. Campbell had heard another version of this story,
in which " it was stated that an officer was killed to
prevent his being retaken by the Americans, who were
in pursuit of the Indians." This story which the his
torian had heard may have been another instance still
of Brant's cruelty, for it differs from either of the pre
ceding relations. Indeed, the three descriptions above
given can not be different versions of the same fact.
The reasons for the murder are unlike each other, and
are wholly incompatible, and the circumstances are
equally various and inconsistent with the idea of their
having occurred in the self-same case. It is in vain
to try to

"Wash the Ethiop white."

One cold-blooded, unprovoked murder is enough to
characterize a moral "monster" — many acts of the
same class certainly do not relieve the case. "We may
judge the conduct of the chief too severely. Of this
the reader will make up his mind in view of all the
facts. All we aim at is historical justice ; and this, at
all hazards, we shall labor to secure.

Colonel John Butler, when the Eevolutionary strug
gle came on, was a government functionary under Sir
"William Johnson, and after Sir William's death he be
came warmly attached to Sir John and Colonel Gruy
Johnson. When he fled with the Johnsons to Cana-

96 WYOMING.

da, his family fell into the hands of the patriots, and
were exchanged for the wife and children of Colonel
Campbell, of Cherry Valley. He was exceedingly ac
tive in the border conflicts. He commanded a regi
ment of Hangers in conjunction with Brant and his Mo
hawks, and was a fearful scourge to the patriots of
Tryon County. He marched at the head of his Rang
ers, and a motley mass of Tories and Indians, upon
Wyoming in 1778, and was there implicated in the
most savage barbarities. His report of the transactions
of that expedition, which we have given to the reader
in another place, is a disgrace to civilization and hu
manity. He accompanied Sir John Johnson in his
murderous onslaught upon the Mohawk and Schoharie
settlements in 1780. His old residence is situated in

THE BCTLEB HOUSE.

the Mohawk Valley, near Fonda. His property was
confiscated by an act of the New York Legislature,
but was amply reimbursed by the British government.
He succeeded Guy Johnson as Indian Agent, with a
salary of $2000 per annum, and was granted a pension,
as a military officer, of $1000 in addition. He lost
caste with the high-minded British officers on account

BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 97

of his savage cruelties in the border war, and particu
larly in Wyoming. It is said that on that account Sir
Frederick Haldemand, then Governor of Canada, re
fused to see him. — See Loss-ing's Field-Book.

It is claimed that Colonel Butler was not so infa
mously cruel as his son Walter, and that he might
have dictated more severe terms to Colonel Denison
and the settlers in Forty Fort after the battle. All
this we admit, and yet it is not saying much in favor
of the great Tory leader. There may be many shades
between the brutal and diabolical cruelties of Walter
Butler and the modified savageism of Brant which are
still at a vast distance from the laws of civilized war
fare, and which are entitled to little respect from the
historian. No man knew better the character of the
warfare carried on by Tories and Indians than Colo
nel John Butler. He set on these bloodhounds, and,
in some instances at least, encouraged them to do their
worst. Prisoners of war and the wounded, while beg
ging for quarter, were cruelly tortured, after the bat
tles of Oriskany and Wyoming, under his immediate
command. What great relief to the character of the
Tory is it to say that he did not order the old men,
women, and children in Forty Fort to be butchered ?
He might almost as well have done it, for he allowed
them to be plundered of their food and clothing, and
driven to the mountains to starve and be devoured
by wild beasts. Sure enough, " The tender mercies
of the wicked are cruel."

After the war Colonel Butler settled in Canada, and
lived till about the year 1800, when he went to his ac
counts. He applied to the British government to be
knighted, but failed, as we judge from the fact that we
have never seen him dignified with the title of Sir.

98 WYOMING.

He is not, even by historians but too tender of his rep
utation, called Sir John Butler, but simply Colonel
Butler. An interesting anecdote touching his efforts
to secure the honors of knighthood we shall insert in
another connection.

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 99

III.
COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK.

THE materials for the following sketch of one of the
leading characters concerned in the stirring events of
the history of Wyoming are derived partly from our
own personal knowledge of the man, but principally
from members of his family who are now living. To
Mrs. H. D. ALEXANDER, Colonel Hollenback's step
daughter, we are indebted for the greatest portion of
the facts; and we owe many thanks to her grand
daughter, Miss E. P. Alexander, for a beautiful manu
script, in which these facts are neatly and comprehens
ively written down. We have found little occasion
for alteration in the manuscript, excepting in cases in
which the statements have to be somewhat modified
in view of other information. We have also to ac
knowledge our obligations to Hon. G. M. Hollenback,
only son of Colonel Hollenback. Mrs. Alexander's
father was killed in the battle when she was but a few
weeks old, and Colonel Hollenback subsequently mar
ried her mother. Her knowledge of the history and
incidents in the life of Colonel Hollenback is more com
plete than that of any person now living, and her rec
ollections of facts and conversations of ancient date are
exceedingly clear and definite. She has stored away
in her memory a vast mass of facts which she learned
from her mother and her stepfather in relation to the
days of Wyoming's troubles. A portion of them are
here given to the public. Many more might have
been incorporated in this sketch did our space permit.

100 WYOMING.

What we give may be relied upon with the utmost
confidence.

Matthias Hollenback was born on the Swatara Creek,
at Jonestown, Lebanon County, then Lancaster, Penn
sylvania, on the 17th day of February, A.D. 1752.
He was the second son of John Hollenback and El
eanor Jones, a lady of Welsh descent : his paternal
grandfather came from Germany.

Mr. Hollenback came to Wyoming in 1769, in a com
pany of forty young men from that part of the coun
try. They were Stuarts, Espys, Youngs, and others,
and they came with the intention of settling and be
coming citizens under Connecticut laws, and aiding the
Yankees in keeping possession of the country. They
became entitled to lands under Connecticut claims,
which they drew after they had been a short time in
the valley. When Mr. Hollenback came to Wyoming
he was about seventeen years of age ; for enterprise,
foresight, and force of character he was, however, " a
man, every inch of him." The company encamped
where Mauch Chunk is now situated ; and, after the
coal interest had called into existence a thriving town
there, Colonel Hollenback often humorously remarked
that he ought to put in a claim to that place, for he was
first in possession. The forty adventurers came into
Wyoming through a notch of the mountain in what is
now Hanover ; and when the beautiful valley first
broke upon their sight, young Hollenback, the young
est of the company, threw up his hat, and screamed
out, "Hurrah! that's the place for me." His com
panions laughed, one of them remarking, "Never mind,
Mat ; he'll do well enough."

The first land owned by Mr. Hollenback was the

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLJUEN'gA&K. 101

tract now owned by the Lazarus family in Button-
wood, in Hanover Township.

He immediately commenced business as a merchant,
having brought a small stock of goods with him. His
first store was at or near the Block-house, at the mouth
of Mill Creek. The stock comprised such articles as
were then actually needed by the settlers, such as gro
ceries, ammunition, etc. He did not continue long at
Mill Creek, but came to Wilkesbarre; and, having
purchased a lot on what is now the west side of the
public square, built a large frame house for a store and
dwelling, and considered himself permanently estab
lished, having brought on his younger brother John,
and sister Mary Ann, to live with him ; the one took
charge of his business in his many absences, and the
other managed his household.

His goods were purchased in Philadelphia, taken in
wagons to Middletown on the Susquehanna, and then
transported by water. The first method of transporta
tion was by Indian canoes ; and he literally "paddled
his own canoe" up the winding, rapid Susquehanna
the whole distance, 150 miles, many times before he
was able to procure a more capacious vessel and to
employ men to manage it. Then he purchased a Dur
ham boat, which he kept steadily employed. At this
period, the present road leading through the swamp
was but a single bridle-path.

Mr. Hollenback, in his business enterprises, was
prospered in a remarkable manner, and soon acquired
distinction, and was promoted to positions of public
trust and responsibility.

His first military commission is now before us, and
is dated " 17th day of October, in the 15th year of the
reign of our sovereign lord, GEORGE the Third, King

102 WYOMING,

of Great Britain, &c., Annoque Domini 1775." It is
an ensign's commission in the "trained band in the
24th regiment in his majesty's colony of Connecticut.

On the 26th of August, 1776, he was appointed by
Congress to serve as ensign in Captain Durkee's com
pany of " minute-men," a band raised for the protec
tion of the people in the Valley ; but when the Wy
oming companies were ordered to join General Wash
ington's army, he went with his companions in arms
to the post of danger. Mr. Hollenback was with the
army in New Jersey in 1776 and 1777, and fought in
several battles. He was in the battles of Millstone,
Trenton, Princeton, and Germantown. That he was
a man of more than ordinary courage and tact is evi
dent from the fact that he was more than once em
ployed by Washington as a runner to visit the frontier
settlements and outposts, and report their danger or
safety. About the close of 1777, the face of things
beginning to wear a terrifying appearance in Wyo
ming, many of the men who were with the army came
home, and among them was Mr. Hollenback. Those
who remained were transferred to the command of
Captain Simon Spaulding.

After leaving the army, Mr. Ilollenback not only
addressed himself to his own affairs, but also kept a
vigilant eye on events of public interest ; and, with
the natural sagacity for which he was remarkable, saw
omens of the danger and trial which were in a brief
space of time so fearfully realized, holding himself in
readiness for action the moment that the war-cry should
sound its dread call to the strife.

About the last day of June or the first day of July,
1778, the people of the Valley, learning that the enemy
were on their way down the river, and that there was

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 103

danger of being surprised by them, sent out scouting-
parties to observe and report the movements of the
Indians and Tories. The last scouts who went up
were Hollenback, and a man whose name is not now
known. They proceeded fifteen or sixteen miles di
rectly up the river, and found the trail of the Indians,
which led across the mountain ; and also found the
bodies of the two young liar dings, who had just been
killed, being freshly scalped and much mutilated.
They found a canoe, in which they embarked, bring
ing the murdered men with them, and returned down
the river to Jenkins's Fort, where they were met by the
survivors of the Harding family. The men who were
killed had gone up for the purpose of hoeing corn, and
had taken their arms with them, but were surprised
by the Indians, some killed, and the rest taken pris
oners, with the exception of a boy who hid himself in
the river and escaped.

The man who was with Mr. Hollenback was so over
come by the sight of his dead friends that he begged
to be put on shore, declaring that he would die with
fear if he staid in the canoe. Mr. Hollenback en
deavored to prevail on him to stay, but at length land
ed him, and came in alone to the fort ; and upon ar
riving there reported that it would be useless to send
out more scouts, as the foe were so near at hand, and
all the men they had were needed where they were ;
that the allied fiends were rapidly approaching the
Yalley, and in great strength compared with those who
were to resist them.

Forty Fort, on the west side of the river, was the
place of rendezvous for the patriots, and they now be
gan to collect in earnest, coming to the fort from
Wilkesbarre and the country below, mustering all

10-i WYOMING.

who were able to take part in the fight, and some of
them bringing their families. This was on Thursday,
2d of July.

On Friday morning they marched from the fort in
order to give battle to the foe, under the principal
command of Colonel Zebulon Butler, an officer belong
ing to the standing army, who was here at the time
on leave of absence, and had been requested to take
the command by Colonel Nathan Denison, which he
did, taking charge of the right wing, Denison taking
the left.

Upon issuing from the fort, they moved toward a
high bank or rise of ground above Shoemaker's, where
Colonel Butler proposed to halt, and form the army to
better advantage for giving the enemy battle, think
ing it a good position for them to take, and, if possi
ble, maintain. But Captain Lazarus Stuart opposed
the plan, declaring that if Butler did not move on and
take a stand farther up, he would report him at head
quarters as a coward. Butler replied that he did not
fear to go, but that it was throwing away an advan
tageous position, and they would have cause to repent
it ; and so the event proved. Mrs. Alexander says :*
" In passing the house of Mr. Sutton, they were met
by him and requested to halt, he telling them that, as
the day was very sultry, he had made some hasty prep
aration for their refreshment, by setting out a table
in his house with pails of water and cups to drink from,
and that all were in readiness for them. His kindness
was very acceptable, and the men were formed into
companies of twelve, and, by marching in order around

* What is here related must have taken place just before the little
army left the fort, as Mrs. Bedford distinctly informs us that Mr.
Sutton and his family were at the time in the fort.

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 105

the table, drank, many of them, their last draught of
fair water. There was one bottle of rum given, but it
was hardly tasted. This was told me by Mrs. Sutton
when we went to be present at the raising of the bones
of the slain in 1832, and proposed to erect a monument
to commemorate the massacre. So the infamous re
port, which has been current for some years past, and
told for truth by men who had no interest in or regard
for the good name of our fathers, that those martyrs
who fell on the day of Wyoming's doom were under
the influence of rum, is a base lie ! and admits of no
milder name. Those true men were driven to death
and flight, not by force of liquor, but by fearful odds,
and the combined force of four hundred Tories and five
hundred Indian demons thirsting and eager for their
blood. That devoted band of three hundred and fifty,
who went out to battle for all that was dear to them,
were of too strong a mould to be led into the satisfac
tion of an unholy thirst for rum, and their descendants
should fight as valiantly to remove the foul stain from
their names as they did upon that fatal day when all
was lost but honor."

As the little army marched up the plains, they were
met by a white flag, the signal of a truce, which, in
stead of advancing, began to recede, and, strange as it
may seem, the patriots followed it. Mr. Hollenback,
who was at that time acting as one of Colonel Butler's
lieutenants, opposed this measure, and proposed halt
ing and considering the unmilitary action of the flag.
But Colonel Butler had resolved upon his measures,
influenced by the banters of the fighting party, and he
thought it was too late to hesitate. The enemy gave
way on the right as our men commenced the action.
For a brief space the fortunes of the day seemed to be

106 WYOMING.

on our side. "But Butler perceiving," says Mrs.
Alexander, "the enemy to be pressing on Denison's
wing, sent him the order to flank on the left wing, and
be ready to receive their shock. Denison, mistaking
the order for that of retreat, and unused to military
tactics, gave the word to ' Retreat a little,' instead of
''Fall back and flank out.1 It was necessary for them
to fall back, as there was a swamp to be avoided.
Eufus Bennet, who was near Denison at the time, told
me this, and that it was the want of Denison using the
proper military terms, more than his fright, that caused
the order to be so construed, by which means pur men
were thrown into confusion, and totally unprepared
for the terrible slaughter that awaited them, as they
broke and turned to fly upon hearing the order. Colo
nel Butler endeavored to rally them, but they were so
panic-stricken that the effort was without effect, and
the enemy had possession of the field.

" Our men took to flight, such of them as had es
caped death on the field, and the Indians, in full chase,
commenced their work of slaughter."

The substance of the following account of Mr. Hol-
lenback's escape has been furnished by his son, Hon.
George M. Hollenback, of Wilkesbarre.

Mr. Hollenback was fighting on the right wing,
beside Captain Durkee. The firing having ceased
on the left, Captain Durkee requested him to run
around the smoke and learn the cause. He returned
with the answer, (' The left wing is all broken up ; the
men are flying, and the Indians are killing them in all
directions;" adding, ''Captain Durkee, we must look
out, or we shall soon be surrounded," At this moment
the captain was shot in the thigh, and fell, exclaiming,
'Hollenback, for God's sake save me!' His faithful

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 107

brother in arms seized the wounded hero and carried
him some distance toward the river, the murderous
savages being in hot pursuit. About to be overtaken,
he was obliged to leave the unhappy man and run for
his life. The Indians scalped Captain Durkee. Three
or four pursued Hollenback, who had but a few mo
ments the start. The fearful race was for a mile and
a half down the river toward Monocasy Island. Hol
lenback intended to cross the rift at the head of the
island. Seeing, however, that point full of his hunted
comrades, and the Indians tomahawking them in the
river, he changed his mind. The Indians close upon
him, at a point some sixty rods above the point of the
island, he suddenly sprang from the bank of the river
among the willows into a bank of sand.

He had thrown off his clothing in the chase, retain
ing, however, some Continental money and a bill of
exchange. These he put in his hat, and a piece of
gold in his mouth, and plunged into the river. The
Indians immediately commenced firing at him. The
balls struck the water on both sides of him. He dove
and swam under water as long as he could hold his
breath. Rising again to the surface, he swam for his
life, dodging under the water at the flash of the gun.
In one instance he was not quite quick enough. A
ball grazed his skin, when he opened his mouth and
lost his piece of gold. He, however, retained his hat,
his Continental money, and bill of exchange. He
reached the eastern shore, and, supposing himself to
be shot, he felt for the ball-hole, but found none. En
tirely destitute of clothing, he reached the top of the
bank, and entered the woods at what was called Coop
er's Swamp. He there met Solomon Bennet, who had
come out of the battle ahead of him. Bennet had

108 WYOMING.

his hunting-shirt and pantaloons, and Hollenback beg
ged him to divide, which, with the characteristic gen
erosity of a patriot and a soldier, he promptly did, giv
ing him the hunting-shirt, and retaining the panta
loons for himself.

Kemaining in the swamp about an hour to rest,
our hero then made the best of his way through the
woods, over the hills, avoiding all paths ; exhausted by
his prodigious efforts, and scratched with briers, he
reached his home about one o'clock on the morning
of the 4th of July.

The noble citizen soldier sought no permanent re
pose or exemption from the common danger. He re
mained at his own house only long enough to put on
some clothing, and walked directly to Fort Wyoming,
the site of the present old court-house. He announced
his name at the gate, heard it repeated within : " Hol
lenback has come I" was the joyful exclamation. " No,
no," responded the familiar voice of Nathan Carey,
"you'll never see Hollenback again. He was on the
right wing. I am sure he is killed." The gate was
opened, however, and Hollenback stepped in. It be
ing dark, and there being no candles, Nathan Carey
lit a pine knot to see if it was really Hollenback, and
then, overwhelmed with joy, embraced him with a
brother's affection.

At four o'clock, this heroic man, without waiting to
sleep a wink, pushed out on an Indian path, braving
all dangers, to meet Spaulding with his seventy men,
with a view of getting them into "Wyoming Fort, to
hold it against their savage foes. He met them at Bear
Creek, but Captain Spaulding declined the hazard.
Hollenback, however, so far prevailed as to induce fif
teen or twenty of the men to accompany him, and on

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 109

reaching the slope of the mountain near "Prospect
Kock," he discovered his own house on fire; and a
greater calamity soon appeared. The savages were in
possession of the fort. Seeing all lost, he promptly
directed his energies to the relief of the sufferers. He
had procured from Spaulding's commissary all the pro
visions he could pack on his horse, and, following the
fugitives, mostly women and children, he overtook
them and fed them through the wilderness. He went
to the "Wind-Gap, and at Heller's and Easton followed
grubbing a few weeks at twenty-five cents per day.
He then returned to the Yalley and set about repairing
his loss. His credit at Philadelphia being good, he
obtained a few goods, and began the world anew.

"We now return to a few circumstances narrated by
Mrs. Alexander, which occurred upon his reaching his
house on the night of the fatal 3d of July.

"When it was known that he had returned, every
one was eager to question him concerning the fate of
the day, and one Betsy Smith came in great haste to
make inquiries after some of her friends, but was una
ble to speak with him, being met by his servant Jeanie,
who demanded of her, " Could she na let the mon alane,
gin his claithes were put on?" when Miss Smith ten
dered her apologies, not knowing the state of his entree
into town.

Jeanie was a lass from the land o' cakes, and was
always spoken of as " Scotch Jeanie. ' ' Mr. Hollenback
had paid her passage-money from the old country, as
was quite customary in those days ; and Jeanie not only
worked out the amount, but remained in his family for
some time, very much trusted, and was the last to leave
his house, saying that she would stay and protect her
master's property as long as she could.

110 WYOMING.

After a little relaxation, Mr. Hollenback visited
Spaulding's company to obtain, if possible, some men
to return to Wyoming with him. Spaulding opposed
his returning then, and ordered him into the ranks.
He obliged him to stay there, near the Delaware, for
nearly six weeks. At length he, with Lieutenant Jen
kins, John Carey, and others, to the number of fifteen,
came back to Pittston to learn what they could of the
enemy's movements. In looking about, they observed
a smoke issuing from the old block-house on the other
side of the river, and a canoe moored near it, of which
they concluded to possess themselves. Hollenback
swam over, took the " dug-out," and was fired at, but
not hit. They then started for "Wilkesbarre, some in
the canoe, the others on foot. Among the latter, Ca
rey, Jenkins, and Hollenback.

On the way down they came upon a party of In
dians who were driving a yoke of oxen loaded with
plunder. Jenkins, being the superior officer of the
party, ordered to "Halt!" but Hollenback shouted,
" Hush on !" and, with Carey at his heels, flew after the
Indians, who fled, leaving their booty, which the party
took, and came on to the fort in Wilkesbarre.

Then, hearing of some disturbance in the lower part
of Hanover, they asked Butler to let them have some
more men, and they would go down and see about it.
They wanted a company, but only got fifteen, making
thirty in all. They proceeded down as far as Al-
den's, or Forge Creek, now Lee's, to Commer's Mill,
where they found the Indians had been plundering,
but had not got over the river. They were in a canoe.
The party divided, and followed them on each side of
the creek to its mouth, where they surprised and fired
on them : one appeared to reel, as if to fall in the river,

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. Ill

but recovered himself, being only wounded. The In
dians left the plunder which they had taken at the
mill ; it consisted of a bag of flour, a bag of cucumbers,
a bag of meat, a pair of boots, and a hat, all of which
the men brought up to town with them.

The remains of the slain were collected and buried
in a common grave, on the 22d of October. In rela
tion to that event, Mrs. Alexander remarks : "I have
conversed with several, besides Mr. Hollenback, who
were present at the burial, and recognized many of the
dead, though it was hard to identify them, as they had
lain so long in the hot sun, and had been scalped and
otherwise mutilated. Mr. Cooper, who afterward lived
at the ' Plains,' told my mother, the late Mrs. Matthias
Hollenback, that he saw my father, Cyprian Hebberd,
her first husband, interred with the others.

" My father had gone up with the others on the 2d
of July from Hanover, where he resided, and had left
my mother, with her parents and friends, in Stuart's
block-house, in Buttonwood, giving her all the money
he had at the time, between sixteen and seventeen
pounds, a good horse and saddle for her to ride, and
another to be led, as he was certain they would be
obliged to flee. I was then an infant of about two
weeks old, having been born on the 18th of June.

" Father had an idea that he would not return, and
accordingly made the best preparation he could for the
welfare of his family in case he should not. He was in
the Hanover company, who were stationed in the left
wing, under command of Colonel Denison ; and, after
the fatal order of retreat had been given, seeing that it
was useless to remain upon the field, he joined the oth
ers in the flight to the river. He was a very active
man, and remarkably agile. Samuel Carey, who was

112 WYOMING.

with him, has told me that he would certainly have
made his escape, but that, in running through a field
of tall rye, instead of springing over it, he broke it
down to make the way easier for his fugitive compan
ions, and by so doing retarded his own flight, and was
overtaken by the Indians and surrounded. Carey man
aged to reach the river and get into the water ; but my
father, exhausted with running and breaking down
the grain, was just stepping in, when a stalwart Indian
overtook him, and, plunging a spear into him, gave
him his death- wound. He fell in the edge of the wa
ter, in sight of Carey, who told me the fact. Carey
was taken prisoner by the Indians, and remained with
them five years in captivity.

" The night of the 3d of July, Halldron, a tenant of
my father's, came to the block-house in Buttonwood,
and told the party there that they must leave it, as the
Indians would be upon them before morning. But my
grandmother, Mrs. Burritt, said she did not think they
would be along before the third day after ; nor were
they. However, the party set out immediately, and
proceeded two miles, then halted, and waited the ris
ing of the moon, the night being very dark ; then set
out on their journey again, and were three days and
nights in getting to Fort Allen, now Allentown, on the
Lehigh. The second night there was a child born in
the camp, the son of Mrs. Morris, whose husband was
in the battle, but escaped.

" "When they reached the Lehigh a man came over
the river to meet them, riding a powerful horse, and
bringing a bag of biscuit and two large jugs of milk,
with which he fed them, and also helping such as had
no horses of their own to cross the river, by taking two
at a time on his own horse, and fording them over.

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 113

" The party had suffered much for want of water on
the road, and when they got to the Lehigh both man
and beast were eager to quench their thirst. The horse
my mother rode put down its head so suddenly as to
jerk the bridle from her hand, and I, whom she carried
in her bridle-arm, was thrown from her grasp, and but
for her catching my clothes quick as thought, I had
closed a brief life by drowning in the Lehigh.

" The route which was taken by the fugitive party
was called the ' Warrior's Path,' and led from "Wyo
ming to Fort Allen. Some vestiges of it still exist,
and it is noted in the old surveys and maps. The
party were three weeks on the road from Wyoming to
Connecticut, the place of their destination."

Mr. Hollenback was for a time so discouraged by
the turn of affairs in Wyoming and the unsettled state
of things there, that he left and went to Easton, where
he lived with some of his acquaintances, but did not
remain long. He was calculated for a life of activity
and business, and was ill at ease while he was not ac
tively and profitably employed. As his interests were
all in Wyoming, he returned, built another house and
store — still standing in Wilkesbarre — and once more
embarked in mercantile pursuits, taking into partner
ship a Mr. Hagaman. As was the case before, the man
was remarkably successful, extending his business, en
larging his influence, and increasing rapidly his pecun
iary resources.

The inhabitants of Wyoming had hardly become
settled after the trouble with the Indians when the
Pennamite feud again broke out, in which Mr. Hollen
back took an active part on the Yankee side. He ren
dered the New England people good service, not so
much in fighting as by giving those who did fight

114 WYOMING.

the "aid and comfort" they needed — affording them
at his establishment powder, lead, and provisions. A
party of Yankees retired to the mountain for safety,
and constructed under a hanging rock a rude fortifica
tion, calling it "Lillapie," or Fort Lillapie. To this
hiding-place Mr. Hollenback frequently sent a stock of
ammunition and eatables by trusty adherents to the
cause, and assisted the party in various other ways.
These civil wars very much retarded the progress of
the country, and we now can hardly imagine the
amount of trouble attendant on them. Much mischief
was done by the Pennamites in the exercise of their
authority, and many people were killed in the Various
skirmishes. Colonel Pickering came here, on the part
of the Pennsylvanians, to adjust matters between them
and the Yankees, but the affair was a tedious one, and
a long time elapsed before its conclusion. The Yan
kees finally adopted Pennsylvania laws, and their lands
were resurveyed and apportioned again under Penn
sylvania warrants.

After the establishment of peace between the United
States and Great Britain, Mr. Hollenback made the ex
periment of going with a large drove of cattle to Niag
ara. On arriving there he was taken prisoner by the
British and Indians, they not having been informed of
ficially of peace being made between the two nations.
They kept him six weeks, until the intelligence was
received, after which his captors purchased his cattle,
and he realized a large profit. He made considerable
money by this trip, and was encouraged to keep up the
trade.

Determined to extend his business operations, he
bought lands at Tioga Point — now Athens — and New-
town — now Elmira — where he established stores in or-

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 115

der to trade with the Indians, and laid in a stock, at
both places, of such articles as would attract their cus
tom, and for which they would exchange their furs and
peltries.

On one occasion he took a number of men with him,
and went up to their town, on the Seneca Lake, to
make arrangements with them and obtain their trade.
But the Indians were suspicious that the party had
come for the purpose of surveying and taking away
their lands, and consequently made them all prisoners.
All their baggage underwent a thorough search to see
if there was a compass with the party, and Mr. Hollen-
back always thought that, had one been discovered,
they would have paid the penalty with their lives.
They counciled, and came to the conclusion at least to
kill him, as he led the party, and even sent some dis
tance for a young brave to come and kill the " Shinne-
wany." Mr. Hollenback said he felt somewhat alarm
ed, but took care not to manifest the fact ; and when
the chief entered the wigwam, he returned his steady
and fixed gaze with one equally as steady. He rose
and extended his hand ; the chief had his tomahawk
raised for instant use, and had, without doubt, intended
to dispatch him ; but his coolness and friendly bearing
had its effect, and the brave gave him to understand
that he need not fear, and seemed willing to hear what
he had to say. After having conferred with him, and
finding that his was a peaceful errand, that he had no
idea of getting their lands, but wished to trade with
them, he set him and his party at liberty, and agreed
to influence his tribe to bring their trade and furs to
Newtown. The result was their good- will and contin
ued trade for many years after.
He went many times to Niagara with cattle, and

116 WYOMING.

once collected a large drove, which he intrusted to a
young man to take there ; the fellow sold the cattle,
and ran off with the money, Mr. Hollenback losing the
whole.

In 1783, a treaty between the whites and Indians
was held at Newtown. Mr. Hollenback had been em
ployed by the government to furnish the Indians with
all they required while they were there. In this op
eration he made about a thousand pounds. Colonel
Pickering was the person who treated with them, and
was so much of a favorite that they complimented him
by giving him a name which, in English, means "the
side of a mountain."

The famous John Jacob Astor was at this time do
ing business in Philadelphia, where Mr. Hollenback
made his acquaintance as a customer. In 1789, by ar
rangement, Astor accompanied his friend from Wilkes-
barre, up the Susquehanna, and so on to Canada. On
the way they crossed the outlet of the Seneca, which
was much swollen by a heavy rain, in which act As
tor came near losing his life. He was not then accus
tomed to fording streams on horseback, and in the
middle of the stream his head became unsteady. Hol
lenback, seeing Astor reel in his saddle, by a glanc
ing stroke with the butt of his whip dashed the water
in his face, and, at the same time, struck him under his
chin, and roared out, "Look up, Astor!" He recov
ered himself, and came out of the imminent peril with
out harm.

It was this journey which made Astor's fortune.
He saw the vast profits which could be made in the
fur trade, and commenced his operations in that line.
He made an effort to get his friend Hollenback to go
to New York and engage in business with him ; but

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 117

the latter had settled his plans for life, already having
considerable real estate in the Susquehanna Valley,
and was not to be diverted from his purpose. These
veteran traders met in New York in 1824 for the first
time after their separation in Canada, and talked over
their early adventures to their mutual gratification.
u Hollenback, have you any sons?" inquired Astor.
" I have one," was the answer. " Send him to me, and
I will take care of him." "I thank you, sir; he can
take care of himself," replied Colonel Hollenback.

The last trip which Mr. Hollenback made to Ni
agara was in 1792 ; and, after selling out his stock and
concluding his business there, he made the discovery
that the Indians were preparing to waylay and rob
him on his return home. Such being the case, he laid
his plans warily to elude them. His own horse being
lame, he exchanged it with the landlord for another ;
had it taken into the woods at night and shod ; and,
all things being in readiness, he, with several others,
started under cover of the night to pass through
woods, and swamps, and over rivers, back to Penn
sylvania.

There was with them an aged Bunker minister,
named Eothruck, who was ill and poorly clad, and on
foot. He had taken out cattle to sell in order to pay
for his farm, and succeeded in getting bills of exchange
for them. Mr. Hollenback was very kind to him, and
helped him on as far as Owego, telling him to wait
there until some rafts came down the river, and then
to go to his house, and his wife would " nurse him up
again." He did so, and Mrs. Hollenback clothed him,
and ministered to his wants. When the wagons went
down to Philadelphia for goods, he was put in one of
them, and safely transported to the city, where Mr.

118 WYOMING.

Hollenback got his bills negotiated, and sent him home
rejoicing.

At one of the halting-places on the route the party
found the vestiges of a man's clothes hanging on some
bushes near a spring, and other indications of foul play
with some one. They proved to be the clothes of a
man — Mr. Street — who had left Niagara before them
with about $2000, and had here been waylaid and
murdered by a man whose name was Gale. Mr. Hol
lenback afterward found out the murderer, and suc
ceeded in putting officers on his track : he was taken
and hung.

Before leaving Niagara, he found that part of a no
torious band of highwaymen, well known at the time
and much feared — " The Doanes and Tomblesons" —
were there, and also watching him closely. He as
certained that it was their purpose to follow him, and
wait until he had stopped at all his trading stations,
returned home, and set out again to purchase goods in
Philadelphia, then to attack and rob him, as he would
then have a large sum of money, and be the kind of
prey they sought.

But he was too sagacious and brave to fall into their
hands, though he came very near it. Soon after com
ing home he started for the city, and passed over the
greater part of the distance before any thing occurred
to alarm him. Upon riding along a sandy track in
the woods one night, he heard some slight sound, and
finally whispers in the bush, and his name was men
tioned. Certain that he was dogged, he made all speed,
and reached a sort of tavern, and disguising himself as
much as possible, and also feigning drunkenness, he
dismounted, and began to look about to see what kind
of place it was. Seeing many strange-looking men

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 119

about, and not liking the appearance of things, he did
not remain long ; but, before he left, he noticed a party
of odd-looking fellows arrive from the same direction
which he had come, who were evidently the ones he
had heard in the woods, and answered well to the de
scription of the Doanes, etc. He reached that same
night another house kept by a widow, where they were
in great alarm for fear of a descent by the Doanes, who
were then filling the country with dread. Having
taken supper, he retired to his apartment, got out his
pistols, and watched the night long instead of sleeping.
He arrived at the city the next day, and deposited his
funds safely in the hands of Mr. Dorsie, his banker,
thus escaping the Doanes and Tomblesons, who found
in him too much courage and tact for their purposes.

Mr. Hollenback finally became more settled, and no
longer went out on such toilsome and hazardous jour
neys, but remained more at home, still pursuing his
business with energy and success. The mercantile
business he kept up until the end of his life, and al
ways prospered in it : his store was for many years the
best in "Wilkesbarre.

He was made justice of the peace after the estab
lishment of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania in Wy
oming, and, when the new Constitution was formed,
was appointed associate judge of Luzerne County
courts, in which capacity he served until the time of
his death, which event occurred on the 18th day of
February, 1829, the day after he was seventy-seven
years old. His commission as associate judge is dated
" in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred
and ninety one," under the administration of Governor
Mifflin. His first commission as lieutenant colonel is
dated 1787, another is dated 1792, and still another

120 WYOMING.

1793. These commissions are all preserved, and are
upon our table. The first of them was given by the
executive council of Pennsylvania, and contains the
autograph of Dr. Franklin.

When Jackson was running for President, he de
termined to vote for him, considering him the man
most eligible for that high and honorable office. Be
ing quite ill, he went to the polls in his carriage, and
the judges came out and received his vote, the last one
he ever gave. This was in November, 1828.

Colonel Hollenback always took great interest in
religious affairs and the welfare of the Church. He
gave largely toward building the first church built in
"Wilkesbarre, and was generally punctual in his attend
ance upon the services, never absenting himself when
it was convenient to attend. His house was the home
of ministers, and his hand always open to them.

He was, in many respects, an extraordinary man.
There was no such word as failure in his vocabulary.
He had courage and sagacity both equal to any thing
in his line. In all his business relations he was a pat
tern of punctuality and fidelity to public trusts and
private confidence.

Mrs. Alexander says : " My mother was a few months
his senior. She was, in all respects, a suitable helpmeet
for him, and during his long absences took the entire
charge of his affairs. His confidence in her was great,
he never doubting her ability. Her benevolence was
remarkable, and evinced itself in more than one in
stance. She was the friend of the poor and needy,
and, until the close of her long life, practiced that kind
ness and sympathy toward her fellow-creatures which
her enlarged means admitted of, and her memory is
held in grateful remembrance by many who are now

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 121

living ; and very many more, who, like her, have long
since gone to ' that undiscovered country from whose
bourne no traveler returns,' and can not now speak
save through their descendants, were once the objects
of her kind consideration. Both Judge Hollenback and
his wife took an active interest in all that related to
the settlement of this valley, and the stirring events
of its history. They lived to see it in prosperity, and
entirely recovered from the terrible blow which so
nearly blotted its white settlers from existence, when
they departed peacefully at the Master's summons.
My mother lived some years after Father Hollenback's
death. She was born the 19th of November, 1750, in
Huntington, Connecticut, and died July 21st, 1833, in
her eighty -third year."

Judge Hollenback was a character ; he was emphat
ically a man for the times. He never knew fear ; and
that he was not reckless may be inferred from the fact
that, amid the perils of his eventful life, he was never
wrecked. He was brave, but not headlong. He cal
culated upon consequences with great precision. He
was sometimes accused of obstinacy; he certainly
had great firmness. Fierce and unprincipled opposi
tion would wake up in him the old soldier ', and he was
a terrible foe. His perseverance and his power of en
durance were almost beyond precedent. He took all
his journeys on horseback, and his range of business
was from Niagara to Philadelphia. Between Wyo
ming and the New York state-line he owned immense
quantities of wild land. He often visited his lands
personally and alone, traveling for days, and even
weeks, through the wilds of Northern Pennsylvania,
and being as much at home in the wilderness, without
a path, as in his counting-room. When night over-

122 WYOMING.

took him, he turned into the nearest human habita
tion, be it ever so humble, and made himself at home.
He said to the man of the house, " Give my horse a
peck of oats, or four quarts of corn ;" and, entering
the dwelling, perhaps a small log cabin, his language
would be, " Good woman, I want a dish of mush and
milk." Taking his seat while his supper was being
made ready, quite likely he would fall asleep in his
chair. His umush and milk" disposed of, he perhaps
asked for a blanket, and flung himself down on the
floor, with his head upon his saddle-bags, and slept
sweetly until daylight, when he was off. In his trav
els he often lay out in the woods upon the ground,
covered only by the rose blanket upon which he rode.

In 1824r-5, when traveling an extensive district,
embracing a portion of Northern Pennsylvania and
Southern New York, we often fell in with the veteran
pioneer. He rode a large sorrel horse — a low-carriaged
animal, but a fine racker. He would ride that animal
from forty to sixty miles in a day. He often took re
freshing naps on horseback, during which his horse
would move quietly along, but, when he awoke to
consciousness, his sagacious animal soon understood
that an increase of speed was expected.

Judge Hollenback was full of life, humorous, even
jocose, and fond of repartee. He was good company,
full of anecdote, and was a considerable wit. He liked
a good joke even when it was against himself. When
free from the cares of business, he would unbend him
self, and, walking back and forth across the floor, would
amuse his friends, young and old, by telling stories.
" Once," said he, on such an occasion, " when a lad, I
crossed a grave-yard in the night, and thought I was
not afraid until I made a false step and tumbled down

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK.

123

among the graves. I was then so frightened that I
bawled like a calf. I jumped up, and ran for life,
thinking the ghosts were close at my heels." On one
occasion, having been overtaken on the mountains by
an awful thunder-storm, he said he paused under a
great tree, and the thunder and the lightning were so
terrible that he feared and quaked; and feeling that
he ought to pray, he could think of nothing to say but
" Now I lay me down to sleep," etc.

As for pride of equipage, Judge Hollenback had
none. His dress was neat, but plain. He lived in a
plain, old-fashioned, low frame house, planned for the
purposes both of a dwelling and a store. He owned

-.«=.,_ _-.

ft*

no splendid carriage and plated harness, but traveled
either on foot or upon horseback, with his saddle at-

124 WYOMING.

tired with a blanket, or a sheepskin tanned with the
wool on.

Colonel Hollenback was as true-hearted a patriot as
ever breathed. When the Kevolutionary struggle
commenced he held a military commission under the
government of King George the Third, and every mo
tive which could be presented to an aspiring and a
mercenary mind was urged as a reason for his espous
ing the royal cause. His patriotic feelings spurned
the whole. He " threw up" his royal commission,
and, as soon as his services were called for, he accepted
one from the Continental Congress, in the most gloomy
period of the Kevolutionary struggle. His sympathy
for the sufferers, and his energy in supplying their
wants upon the occasion of that melancholy exodus of
the settlers of the 4th of July, 1778, have been referred
to. We have often heard the survivors of that terri
ble flight dwell with enthusiasm upon Hollenback's
services and manner on that occasion. His horse was
loaded with bread and biscuits. He flung a loaf to
one group and then to another, with his usual saluta
tion, " God bless you ! Keep up good courage ; you
will reach the settlement in safety," and words of like
import. His timely supplies, his courage, his genial,
earnest spirit, were largely instrumental in the deliver
ance of scores of the fugitives from death in the wil
derness.

An anecdote was related to Mr. G. M. Hollenback
by the late Judge Scott which furnishes a good illus
tration of the character of our subject. After the war
was over, and Colonel John Butler was reposing upon
his honors in Canada, he made application to the Brit
ish government to be admitted to the honor of knight
hood. His reputation had suffered in England, as

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 125

well as in America, from the accounts which had been
published of his cruelties in Wyoming. It was judged
by his friends that if he could obtain a certificate from
one of the officers who was present on the American
side in that unequal conflict, to the effect that Colonel
Butler's conduct was humane and soldier-like on the
occasion, his application would succeed. Accordingly,
a suitable messenger — a bland English gentleman —
was dispatched to Wyoming. Colonel Hollenback
was the man to be addressed. The agent of Butler
called upon the old soldier at his office and opened the
matter, taking from his pocket a parchment beautiful
ly executed, only wanting the signature. Colonel
Hollenback read it carefully ; then, looking the gentle
man in the eye, asked, "Do you expect me to sign
this ?" " Yes, sir, if you please," was the answer. " I
shall not do it, for it is not true." Butler's agent
urged the matter respectfully but earnestly, but the
reply was reiterated, " It is not a word of it true, sir —
I say, sir, it is a big lie." The dernier resort was
finally reached, and that was to "a purse of gold."
This was a match flung into the magazine. The fiery
soul of the old patriot could no longer keep itself
within due bounds. "Gold! gold!" he thundered
out, with voice enough to reach the outskirts of his
regiment, if he had been upon the battle-field, "your
king has not got gold enough to buy me, sir." Then,
loading the poor, disappointed agent with a volley of
epithets, he pointed to the door, and said, " There, sir,
is the door; let me never see you again upon this
business." The gentleman was almost petrified, but
made out to steer his course between the door-posts,
and so disappeared, considering himself rather fortu
nate, as well he might, that he was permitted to make

126 WYOMING.

his exit without help. A man whom gold could not
buy was probably to him a strange spectacle.

The stirring enterprise, the untiring energy, and
the thorough business habits of Judge Hollenback ex
erted a vast influence upon the progress and elevation
of the country. He found business for many poor
laborres ; he furnished supplies to multitudes of new
settlers ; he took an active part in the early public im
provements ; he kept in circulation a large capital ;
and he was a living — almost ever-present — example of
industry and economy. Not Wyoming alone, but the
whole country between Wilkesbarre and Elmira, owes
much of its early development and present prosperity
to the business arrangements and the indomitable per
severance of Matthias Hollenback.

Colonel Hollenback was employed by Eobert Mor
ris, the agent of Louis the Sixteenth, to provide a
place of retreat for the royal household at some se
cluded spot on the Susquehanna. This was in 1793.
He accordingly purchased twelve hundred acres of land
lying in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, and embrac
ing the locality where Frenchtown was subsequent
ly built. The unfortunate monarch, however, never
occupied this asylum in the wilds of Pennsylvania, al
beit many of his subjects did. Louis
Philippe, the late " King of the
j French," in 1795 came through "the
' Wind-Gap" on horseback, and lodged
in Wilkesbarre in "the old red tav
ern," on the river bank, then kept
by James Morgan, and subsequently
known as "the old Arndt Hotel,"
and then made his way up to French-
town. All this is true ; but our soil is none the bet-

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 127

ter for having been owned by falling monarchs, or
even trod by the feet of royal fugitives. Louis Phil
ippe, like Colonel Hollenback, learned in America to
sleep on " the soft side of a board," a practice which
he never wholly abandoned.

Resolutions passed by the Officers of the Court and Mem
bers of the Bar :

"At a meeting of the officers of the court and mem
bers of the bar of the County of Luzerne, held in the
borough of Wilkesbarre, on Thursday, the 19th inst.,
the following resolutions were submitted, and unani
mously adopted :

" Resolved, That we have heard with regret the death
of the venerable Matthias Hollenback, one of the as
sociate judges of the courts of this county, and that in
testimony of his memory we will wear crape upon the
left arm for thirty days.

" Resolved, That we will attend the funeral of the
deceased on Saturday next, from his late residence in
this borough.

" Resolved, That we deeply sympathize with the wid
ow and family of the deceased in their late bereave
ment, and that a committee be appointed to present
them with a copy of these proceedings, and to make
arrangements for the funeral.

"February 19, 1829."

The following communication, copied from the Sus-
quehanna Democrat, was written by the Hon. David
Scott.

"Friday, February 27th, 1829.

" The Hon. Matthias Hollenback, whose death was
announced in your paper of last week, was born of

128 WYOMING.

German parentage, in Hanover, upon the Swatara, then
Lancaster, now Lebanon Comity, Pennsylvania. Here
he was inured to all the sufferings and privations inci
dent to a frontier settlement at that early day. Pos
sessed of a firm and vigorous constitution, and endued
by nature with a strong, active, and enterprising mind,
at the age of seventeen he joined the first adventurous
party who came to make a permanent settlement, un
der the authority of Connecticut, in the Valley of Wy
oming. This was in the autumn of 1769. From this
period the history of his long and eventful life is iden
tified with the history of this part of the country.

"In the controversy between Pennsylvania and Con
necticut he actively and firmly adhered to the latter,
under whose auspices he had embarked his youthful
fortunes, and whose claims he regarded as paramount
to every other, until the right of soil and the right of
jurisdiction to the country were decreed, by a compe
tent tribunal, to be in the former. From that moment
he yielded obedience to the Constitution and laws of
Pennsylvania, and contributed all in his power to
quiet the turbulent, and to reconcile the disaffected to
the legitimate authorities.

" This dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecti
cut had assumed all the characteristics of a civil war,
and, notwithstanding the conciliatory recommendations
and remonstrances of the Continental Congress, it was
continued during the Eevolutionary struggle. While
the poor and destitute settlers were suffering on the
one side from the common enemies of the country — the
British, the savage Indians, and the worse than savage
Tories — they were attacked on the other, and endured
equal distress, by military parties under the authority
of Pennsylvania.

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 129

" Thus surrounded with difficulties and dangers cal
culated to appall the stoutest heart — at a period, too,
when many good but timid men doubted, hesitated,
and feared, young Hollenback, in want of every thing
but personal courage and patriotic feeling, was ap
proached by one of those agents of the mother-coun
try whose bland and fascinating manners, and duplic
ity of heart, marked him out as a fit emissary for * trea
son, stratagem, and spoil.' On the one hand, the ef
forts making to free the country from British domin
ion was represented as entirely hopeless, and that, upon
failure, poverty, shame, and death every where await
ed the active partisan ; on the other, by espousing the
cause of the British king, money, office, and honor
would be immediately conferred, and a life of ease and
independence secured. The youth stood firm. He
was not to be allured from the path of duty. He had
taken his resolution, staked his all upon the issue, and
was willing to abide the result.

" In 1776 — perhaps the following year — two compa
nies were raised in Wyoming, in one of which young
Hollenback was appointed a lieutenant. He was active
and successful in filling up and preparing his company
for active service, and shortly after joined the army,
under General Washington, in the State of New Jer
sey. His merits were soon discovered and properly
appreciated by the general, who frequently consulted
him in relation to the frontier settlements, and the
means of defending them against the incursions of the
enemy. He participated in all the sufferings of our
half-fed and half-clothed troops during a winter cam
paign in the State of New Jersey, and was on several
occasions employed by the general in the execution
of confidential agencies.

130 WYOMING.

" Such was the patriotism and spirit of the Wyo
ming settlers, that, during a short period, when they
were not immediately threatened with attacks from the
enemy, almost every efficient man among them joined
the regular army, and left their families without pro
tection. This calm portended a storm. The defense
less state of the frontier invited aggression. The Val
ley again began to suffer from the tomahawk, scalping-
knife, and firebrand, and early in 1778 it was discover
ed that a horde of British, Indians, and Tories were col
lecting upon the Susquehanna frontier, and preparing
to pour down upon the Valley of Wyoming, and ex
terminate the defenseless settlers. The officers from
Wyoming urged the general to send a force for its
protection, or to permit the two companies drawn from
this settlement to return, for the purpose of defending
their aged and helpless parents, wives, and children ;
but such was the situation of the army that no ade
quate force could be spared. An intense anxiety was
felt among the officers : some obtained furloughs, and
some resigned and returned to the Valley. Every prep
aration was made in their power to repel their invad
ers. About 350 men marched out to meet the enemy :
they were drawn into an ambuscade. The result is
known ; Wyoming was reduced to widowhood and or
phanage. About fifty only escaped that disastrous
battle, of whom the subject of this notice was one.

" Articles of capitulation, in which security and pro
tection of life were stipulated, were no sooner signed
than they were violated on the part of the faithless and
bloodthirsty enemy. What property could not be
carried away was burned and destroyed, and the rem
nant of the settlers were driven, naked and houseless,
to the surrounding mountains. Lieutenant Hollen-

COLONEL MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK, 131

back, whose property was all destroyed, still clung to
the Y alley, and participated in all its sufferings till the
conclusion of the war.

" Upon the settlement of the controversy between
Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and upon the promul
gation of the laws of Pennsylvania in the disputed ter
ritory in 1786, Mr. Hollenback was chosen and ap
pointed one of the justices of the courts of Luzerne
County ; and upon the adoption of the new Constitu
tion he was reappointed an associate judge, which of
fice he sustained with reputation till the time of his
decease. He was honored with the command of a
regiment by his fellow-citizens — a military office, being
almost the only one in Pennsylvania compatible with
that of a judge.

" In all the great political struggles which have agi
tated the country, Judge Hollenback was always ac
tively and firmly attached to the cause of the people.
In the recent conflict, although most of those around
him with whom he had been accustomed to act enter
tained different views, and although he was exceeding
ly enfeebled by disease, he procured himself to be car
ried to the poll, and there, for the last time, exercised
the right of suffrage in favor of the distinguished in
dividual who has succeeded to the presidency. He
was firmly persuaded that the interests of the country
demanded this preference, and he acted accordingly.*

* Colonel Hollenback's preference for General Jackson as a can
didate for the presidency was natural, there being many strong
points of character which the two men possessed in common. They
were both old soldiers and men of the right grit, the true successors
and representatives of the brave old knights of the days of chivalry.
When Colonel Hollenback's carriage arrived before the court-house
a scene occurred. The late General Isaac Bowman, standing upon
the steps, with a full tone of voice said, " Colonel Hollenback, the

132 WYOMING.

" It is believed that lie was not a member of any
'Christian Church, but it is known that he reverenced
the religion of the Cross. Throughout his life he con
tributed liberally to the support of that communion
and its pastors, to which he was conscientiously attach
ed, and it is feared it will long feel the want of his sup
porting hand.

" His life was a life of temperance, industry, and at
tention to his business, the full fruits of which he en
joyed, in almost uninterrupted health, until his last ill
ness, and in an ample fortune. From the incidents of
his life the young may draw useful lessons for the reg
ulation of their conduct, and from his death all may
learn that man is mortal: that neither riches, nor hon
ors, nor virtue, nor age, can form any shield against the
fell destroyer."

old soldier, who helped fight the battles of the Revolution, has left
his bed to come and vote for General Jackson — the last vote which
he will ever cast." The board of judges came out and took the vote.
The feelings of the people were excited to a high pitch. "Hurrah
for the old soldier!" "Hurrah for Jackson!" burst forth from the
spectators in all directions. It is said that some who had already
voted for the opposing candidate joined in the cheering, and others
who came to do the same stepped up and cast their votes for "the
hero of New Orleans."

MRS. MYERS. 133

IV.

INCIDENTS AND ADVENTURES RELATED BY MRS.
MARTHA MYERS.

"In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire
With good old folks, and let them tell their tales
Of woeful ages long ago betide."

SHAKSPEARE.

THE matter contained in the present chapter was
communicated to us, for the purpose of a permanent
record, by Mrs. Myers, in the month of August, 1841.
We have connected the personal incidents with the
current history of the times to which they refer, and
have often supplied dates. The facts are given, as
nearly as possible, as Mrs. Myers related them, and
rest upon her authority. That the reader may be able
to form a correct judgment as to the amount of confi
dence which is to be placed in her stories, we here give
endorsements which we are sure will be entirely satis
factory.

Hon. Charles Miner, the venerable historian of "Wy
oming, says : " Some years ago, when Professor Silli-
man was in the Yalley, he visited Mrs. Myers, and I
had the good fortune to be present at the interview.
Mrs. Myers has been, and yet is, one of the clearest
chroniclers of the early scenes. Though the light

" 'Revisits not those orbs, that roll in vain
To find its piercing ray,'

the mental eye retains all its early power and lustre.
Though now — 1845 — eighty-two years of age, it is a
pleasure to sit by her side and hear

134 WYOMING.

"' Of most disastrous chances — hair-breadth 'scapes,'

witnessed in her eventful youth." — Histor. Append., p.
14, 16.

Mr. Lossing, after visiting Toby's Eddy, says:
" Thence I rode to the residence of Mr. Myers, a son
of the venerable lady already alluded to, where I
passed an interesting hour with the living chronicle of
the wars of Wyoming. I found her sitting in an easy-
chair, peeling apples, and her welcome was as cheerful
and as cordial as she could have given to a cherished
friend. Her memory was clear, and she related the
incidents of her girlhood with a perspicuity which
evinced remarkable mental vigor. Although blind
ness has shut out the beautiful, and deprived her of
much enjoyment, yet pious resignation, added to natu
ral vivacity, makes her society extremely agreeable.
' I am like a withered stalk, whose flower hath fallen,'
said she ; ' but,' she added, with a pleasant smile, ( the
fragrance still lingers.' " — Field-Book, vol. i., p. 371.

Colonel Stone says: "Near the site of the fort is
the residence of Mrs. Myers, a widow lady of great
age, but of clear mind and excellent memory, who is a
survivor of the "Wyoming invasion and the horrible
scenes attending it. Mrs. Myers was the daughter of
a Mr. Bennet, whose family was renowned in the do
mestic annals of Wyoming both for their patriotism
and their courage." — History of Wyoming, p. 213.

This is the lady to whose story we now invite the
attention of the reader.

Mrs. Myers's maiden name was Bennet. She was
born in Scituate, Rhode Island, January 15, 1763. Her
father's name was Thomas Bennet; her mother's
maiden name was Martha Jackson. The same year

MRS. MYERS. 135

on which. Martha Bennet was born, a settlement of
Connecticut people was commenced in Wyoming, and
Mr. Bennet rented a valuable property in Ehode Isl
and, and removed to the Delaware, near to Strouds-
burg. He took quarters there with a company of
people in a stone house, which was fortified and called
a fort. Mr. Bennet's object was to settle in Wyoming,
and accordingly he visited that famous locality, but,
finding the Indians surly, he for the time abandoned
the project.

The hostile savages kept close watch of the old cas
tle, and gave the occupants no little annoyance. The
armed men there sometimes assumed the offensive, and
hunted down small parties of Indians who were stroll
ing about the woods for purposes of murder and plun
der. On one of these occasions a brave old colored
man took the lead, and, discovering an Indian camp,
he fired upon the unsuspecting party, and laid one of
them dead upon the ground. The rest of them fled
with great precipitation.

One instance of alarm at this fort terminated with
out bloodshed. In the dead of night a great stamping
was heard around the fort, and it was presumed that a
large company of mounted Indians had hemmed them
in on every side. All hands within were soon broad
awake and fully armed. Every man examined his
priming, and was ready to make a deadly shot. They
disposed their force as advantageously as possible, and
sent a man to reconnoitre from the roof. It was soon
found that the invading host was a company of loose
horses in a nocturnal frolic. The alarm, of course, was
turned into merriment.

The next year Mr. Bennet removed to Goshen, ISTew
York, and rented a farm for six years. He set his sons

136 WYOMING.

at work upon the farm, and took his gun, his axe, and
hoe, and visited the much-coveted valley. Two at
tempts to effect a settlement in Wyoming were unsuc
cessful because of the hostility of the Indians, Mr. Ben-
net losing all his labor, but, more fortunate than some
of the early settlers, escaping with his life.

In February, 1769, Mr. Bennet joined a company of
New England people, forty in all, who built a fort on
the west bank of the Susquehanna, which, in honor of
the forty hardy adventurers, was called Forty Fort.
This fort was designed as a place of security against
the Indians, but, withal was to be a Yankee fortifica
tion, where, if need should require, the New England
settlers would be able to take refuge from the Penna-
mites. Mr. Bennet selected a situation on the flats
about a mile above the fort, and, clearing off a portion
of it, put in some seed.

The following year, 1770, Mr. Bennet united with a
new recruit of settlers, and paused at the mouth of the
Lackawanna, where they built a block-house. Here
they were all taken into custody by John Jennings,
sheriff of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. As
Sheriff Jennings was proceeding with his prisoners to
Easton, "at Wyoming," probably Wilkesbarre, Mr.
Bennet managed to escape, and returned to the east.
This event took place in the summer, as in the month
of September he was at the east. — See his affidavit in
Pennsylvania Archives, vol. iv., p. 391.

In September Mr. Bennet made arrangements to re
move his family to Wyoming. He had examined the
ground ; he understood all the hazards of the enter
prise ; his courage was equal to the danger, and the
question was settled. As to property, he had now but
little to lose, for he had sold his farm in Ehode Island

MRS. MYERS. 137

on personal security, and both the purchaser and se
curity had failed, and the whole was lost. What by
industry and economy had been saved in Goshen, was
now put into as compact a condition as possible, and
loaded upon pack-horses, and the family commenced
their march toward " the land of promise." The coun
try now presented a striking contrast with the picture
of Wyoming which was formed in the imaginations of
Mr. Bennet's family. The grasshoppers had destroyed
nearly all the vegetation, and the aspect was one of
utter desolation.

They wound their way over the mountains and
through the vales until they came to Shehola, on the
west side of the Delaware, and here they were hospi
tably entertained by a Quaker by the name of Wires.
The next morning " Friend Wires" accompanied the
miniature caravan as far as "the little meadows," where
they took refreshments. Mrs. Bennet was boiling some
chocolate over a fire made by the side of a log. She
seemed unusually sad. "I don't know," said she,
"what I am about to meet: I think something pretty
heavy." It was not long before several men came up
from Wyoming — one bleeding from a wound made on
his head by a club — and reported that the Pennamites
had taken possession of the fort, and were resolved
upon driving off all the New England settlers.

A consultation was now held upon the proper course
to be pursued. Mr. Bennet was a man of cool courage,
and he had made up his mind to try his fortunes upon
the fertile soil of Wyoming, and he was not to be turn
ed aside from that purpose by any thing but stern in
vincible necessity. He was bent upon going on ; but
what would he do with his family ? Mrs. Bennet, who
was not easily intimidated, said, " If it were not for the

138 WYOMING.

children, I would go along." " Friend Wires" said,
"Leave the children with me; I will take care of
them." Stimulated by the courage of Mr. Bennet and
his wife, the two men who had fled from the country
resolved to return and try their luck again.

Mr. Bennet was a great hunter, and the wild woods
had more attractions for him than the old settled coun
try at the east : for himself, he could live any where in
the Susquehanna Mountains by the aid of his rifle and
hunting-knife. Mrs. Bennet was not so cool as her
husband, but was equally firm in her purposes, and
unterrified by danger. The company thought to find
shelter for the time being with a Mr. Chapman, who
had built a mill at Mill Creek, and who had been a
neighbor and a friend of the Bennet family in Goshen.

When Mr. and Mrs. Bennet reached Wyoming, they
found the dispute between the New England and Penn
sylvania settlers had already ripened into open war.
Captain Ogden, the Pennamite leader, had built a
block-house, which was called a fort, at the mouth of
Mill Creek, and had in his company Deputy Sheriff
Jennings. Mr. Bennet was a peaceable man, and did
not enter at once into the war, but took possession of
a small log house he had previously built on the flats,
just above Forty Fort. The grain he had put in, be
fore his return to Goshen in the spring, presented a
most delightful prospect of an abundance of provisions
for the following winter.

The Yankees — that is, the fighters — invested the
block-house, when Ogden proposed a parley. But no
sooner had the besiegers entered the block-house to
hold a conversation with the besieged, than Jennings
served a writ on them, in the name of the Common
wealth of Pennsylvania. They were thirty-seven in

MRS. MYERS. 139

all ; and they were all taken to Easton, a distance of
sixty miles, to jail. They obtained bail, and imme
diately returned. Again they were captured and sent
off to jail, and again they were released on bail, and
returned. A re-enforcement of 270 or 280 Yankees,
under the command of Captain Durkee, came on, and
built a fort where Wilkesbarre now stands, which they
named, in honor of their leader, Fort Durkee. The
Yankees now held the ground, and proceeded to the
work of clearing farms and building. " The children"
were brought on from Shehola, and Mr. Bennet was
comfortably ensconced in his log cabin with his family.

But a few months of quiet had passed before the
Pennsylvanians came on with an augmented force, un
der the command of Ogden and Patterson, the latter
bringing up the river in a boat a four-pounder. Og
den captured Captain Durkee, and put him in irons,
and took possession of the fort.

The Yankees were now pillaged, and, as far as pos
sible, driven from the country. The house and prem
ises generally belonging to Mr. Bennet were robbed ;
grain, cattle, and every thing movable, which could be
found, were taken from him, but he did not leave the
valley.

The Pennsylvanians now considered their victory
complete. Ogden went to Philadelphia, leaving a few
men in the fort. In the mean time, Captain Lazarus
Stuart came on with forty brave fellows, and drove
out the small guard from the fort, took possession of
the cannon, and turned the tide once more in favor of
the Yankees. Mr. Bennet now took up quarters in
Fort Durkee, both as a measure of safety and of com
fort. Here Mrs. Bennet contracted an intimacy with
Mrs. Manning and her daughters, who lived on the

140 WYOMING.

flats below the fort. Her husband, by education and
profession, was a Friend, and yet, for some reason, he
was called Captain Manning. The Manning family
were Pennsylvanians, but were non-combatants, and,
consequently, could contract friendly alliances with
Yankee families.

In the winter of 1771, Ogden again made his appear
ance, and invested Fort Durkee. His brother Nathan
was killed by a shot from the fort, Mrs. Bennet wit
nessing the event. Stuart, finding himself unable to
hold out against the superior numbers of the Pennsyl
vanians, managed to steal away, when the Pennamites
took possession.

Captain Ogden was terribly enraged by the death
of his brother, and, seizing several prominent Yan
kees who happened to be in the fort, sent them to
Philadelphia in irons, charged with being concerned
in the murder. Mr. Bennet did not belong to Stuart's
party of fighting men, but had taken shelter in the
fort, with his. family, when he considered their lives in
imminent peril. Stuart, with his" men, left the fort,
and Mr. Bennet fell into Ogden's hands ; and he, with
out the slightest reason, excepting that he was in the
fort at the time, was one of the suspected parties, and
was obliged to endure the sufferings and disgrace of a
suspected felon for five months in jail in Philadelphia.

The explanation of this affair is to be found in the
fact that an " inquisition" was held over the body of
Nathan Ogden by Charles Stuart, January 21, 1771,
by which it was found that said Ogden was shot by "a
certain Lazarus Stuart." But on the back of the re
port of the inquest is found " a list of the rioters in the
fort at Wyoming when Nathan Ogden was killed."
There are forty-seven of these "rioters," embracing

MRS. MYERS.

nearly all the respectable Yankee settlers then in the
country. Thomas Bennet was among these so called
"rioters," and was taken up as a party to the murder.
The same evil befell several other individuals, and
might have befallen any of the number upon the list.
— See Pennsylvania Archives, vol. iv., p. 384.

Captain Manning had raised a fine crop of corn,
which he had stored away in the garret of his log
house. As he practiced upon the principles of non-
resistance, he could neither be a good Pennamite nor
a good Yankee, and the consequence was that he was
often persecuted by both, as one or the other happen
ed to be in power. When Ogden took possession of
the fort, some of " the boys" laid a plan to rob Captain
Manning of his corn. The old Quaker had two buxom
girls, one of whom, it was suspected, had a lover among
"the Pennsylvania boys," and it was supposed that
this fact would account for certain secret communica
tions which were made to the Mannings with regard
to the movements of the Pennamites. By some means,
no matter what, the family got wind of the plundering
expedition, and were thrown into great perplexities.
The old gentleman could not fight, and as to magis
trates and courts there were none to resort to. While
he sat in the corner brooding over his helpless condi
tion, his two daughters, who were large, muscular, and
courageous, hit upon a plan of defense ; and, upon
opening it to the good old Friend, it seemed to look so
little like war and bloodshed that he gave it the sanc
tion of his silence. The girls hung over the fire a large
iron kettle, and filled it with water, which, when the
assailants made their appearance before the door, was
boiling hot. They then took an instrument, vulgarly
called a squirt-gun, constructed of the barrel of an old

WYOMING.

musket, and through the chinks between the logs sent
a jet of the boiling water into the face and eyes of
the assailants. A few shots were enough to conquer
the courage of the gallant band, who immediately
took to their heels, and put themselves beyond the
reach of the formidable engine so efficiently served.
The assailants ran off frantic with pain, while the girls
shook their sides with laughter; and the good old
Quaker was scarcely suspected of a dereliction of prin
ciple, although no one doubted but that he enjoyed the
battle-scene to a high degree.

The perpetual annoyances to which this quiet man
was subjected induced him to resolve upon taking a
position a little farther from the centre of action. He
consequently constructed a rude cabin upon Lacka-
wanna Island — now called Scofield's Island — near the
head of the Yalley. The cabin was built on each side
of a large fallen tree, which lay high above the ground.
The roof was made of peeled bark, and the tree con
stituted the ridge-pole. As the Mannings were about
to ship their effects on board of a canoe, Mrs. Manning
said to Mrs. Bennet, " Friend Bennet, come go with
us to the island ; the boys shall have as much ground
as they can work, and there is room enough in the
cabin for us both ; thee shall take one side of the tree,
and I will take the other." This was too good an offer
to be despised. Fort Durkee was now in the hands
of the Pennamites, and every few weeks they were
running over the Yalley, and giving the Yankees who
had the courage to remain at their homes infinite trou
ble and vexation — not being particularly courteous
even to the women, who had the assurance to stick to
the stuff when their husbands were driven off or sent
to prison. Under these circumstances, Mrs. Bennet

MRS. MYEHS. 143

gladly accepted the generous offer of her friend ; and
"the boys" also loaded their canoe, and the two fam
ilies pushed up the stream in company, and arranged
their scanty catalogue of furniture and fixtures in the
cabin. The Bennet boys had managed to save some
grain, which they concealed at the head of the island.

In the mean time Mr. Bennet had been discharged,
and had returned worn out with his tedious imprison
ment, and badly discouraged. Captain Zebulon But
ler had come on with a new recruit of Yankees, and
had shut up Ogden in the fort at Mill Creek, and cut
off his supplies. This was in the spring of 1771. Og
den found it necessary to communicate with the Penn
sylvania officials at Philadelphia, and, not willing to
run the risk of sending a messenger, who would prob
ably fall into the hands of the Yankees, resolved upon
an ingenious and daring enterprise. He made his
clothes into a bundle, and fastened his hat on the top
of it, then tied to it a small cord some twenty feet long.
Taking up his bundle, he walked out into the current,
and floated down on his back ahead of his hat and
clothes. Of course, this enterprise was undertaken in
the night. The Yankee sentinels saw the suspicious-
looking object, and riddled the hat with bullets, but
Ogden escaped unhurt, and soon reached Philadelphia.
He dashed about, and soon raised a quantity of pro
visions and a new company of recruits, commanded by
Captain John Dick. They stealthily entered the Yal-
ley, and eagerly awaited a favorable opportunity of
throwing themselves, with their pack-horses loaded
with provisions, into the fort.

David Ogden, a brother of the captain, was one of
the company, and learning that Thomas Bennet had
returned from Philadelphia, and was with his family

144 WYOMING.

on Lackawanna Island, set off, with a small posse, in
pursuit of him. The capture or murder of Bennet
would be a clever little adventure while they were
waiting for a few hours for a favorable opportunity to
elude the besiegers and get into the fort. Ogden knew
the ground perfectly, and easily eluded observation
until he found his way to the bank of the river over
against the island. The Mannings had received the
intelligence of the arrival of Captains Ogden and Dick
in the neighborhood of the fort, and of David Ogden's
intended visit to the island. The young Pennamite
lover had made occasional visits to the island, and
nothing was kept from his lady friend that might be
of any interest to the family.

When Ogden and his friends showed themselves
upon the beach, Mrs. Manning said, " David Ogden is
coming over the river. Bennet, thee must clear out
or be killed." Mr. Bennet replied, " I may as well die
one way as another. I have been in jail until I am
worn out ; they have robbed me of all I have in the
world, and now let them kill me if they will." The
women, however, roused him from his deep despond
ency by seizing him by the arms and shoving him out
of the door just in time to make his escape. He hid
himself in the thick undergrowth, while Ogden entered
the cabin with the words, "Is Bennet here?" The
answer was "No." Mrs. Bennet asked, "What do
you want of him?" adding, "If you should find him,
you would do no harm to him." "Where is he?"
demanded Ogden, in an angry tone. Mrs. Manning
replied, " He is not here." Ogden repeatedly swore
that, if he could find him, he would shoot him. He
went out and scoured the woods, but with no success.
After informing Mrs. Manning that they intended to

MRS. MYERS. 145

enter the fort the next morning before daybreak, and
after satisfying their hunger with the good things of
the cabin, they departed, but did not immediately leave
the island. Judging rightly that Mr. Bennet would
soon come forth from his concealment, they hid them
selves within gunshot of the cabin. When it was sup
posed that Ogden and his men had crossed the main
branch of the river, Mr. Bennet's sons went out and
called him, and he came in. He sat down in a sad
state of mind, and Martha seated herself in his lap, and
flung her arms about his neck, and commenced caress
ing him, and condoling with him in view of his troub
les and dangers; and the sympathy of the child in
this instance was a substantial good, for it actually
saved the life of the father. Ogden afterward said he
intended to have shot Bennet, and should have done
it but for the fear of killing the child The judgment
of charity is that it was not merely as a Yankee that
Ogden had formed the deliberate purpose to take Mr.
Bennet's life, but as an accessory to the death of his
brother. But Mr. Bennet was in no way connected
with that deed: its perpetrator afterward fell in the
Indian battle, as several affidavits to be found in the
archives of the state abundantly prove.

On being informed of Captain Ogden's intended en
trance into the fort early the next morning, Mr. Ben-
net, upon the pretense of going out to catch some eels,
in the evening crossed the river, and went down to
the Yankee lines, and communicated the information.
When the Pennsylvanians made a rush upon the be
siegers just before day, they found them fully prepared
for them. They lost their pack-horses and provisions.
Several horses were shot down under their riders, and
a number of the party were severely wounded. Cap-

WYOMING.

tains Ogden and Dick succeeded in entering the fort
with about twenty of their men, but they entered to
find famine and despondency staring them in the face
on every side, and to feel the mortification of having
contributed a considerable stock of provisions to the
Yankee force.

Captain Dick, in his report, says : " The information
of our coming was received by the Yankees through
a letter falling into their hands, with which an Indian
was sent by Captain Ogden." — See Miner's History, p.
131. This was Captain Dick's supposition. The fact
is, that the credit of giving the information to Captain
Butler is due to Thomas Bennet.

The besieged Pennsylvanians, finding it impossible
longer to hold out, capitulated, and left Wyoming.
The Manning family had really been serviceable to
the Yankee cause by their connection with the Ben-
net family, to whom they owed a hearty good-will, and
from whom they kept no secret which might be serv
iceable to them or their friends, and yet they were not
in the confidence of the Yankee leaders, who resolved
to drive them from the country. In pursuance of
this resolution, on the day of the capitulation, Cap
tain Fuller, one of the Yankee officers, carne to the
island with a company of men, and coming up to the
cabin, cried out, " What are you doing here, you
Pennamites ? Clear out, or I'll burn your cabin over
your heads." Captain Manning paused not to reason
with the fierce Yankee, but immediately commenced
packing his goods and loading them in a canoe. He
left Wyoming never to return. He settled upon the
west branch of the Susquehanna.

Captain Fuller now said, " Bennet, you have suf
fered enough. Come down to Fort Lukins, and you

MRS. MYERS. 147

shall have as good a lot as there is there." Mr. Ben-
net took his family down to the fort, but refused to
take up his residence there. He fitted up an old horse-
shed in Forty Fort, and made it a comfortable resi
dence for those times and for that country, in which
his family lived for more than two years. During this
period Mrs. Bennet presented her husband with an
other daughter — the late Mrs. Tuttle, of Kingston — and
Martha began to develop extraordinary skill at house
work, and great power of endurance.

The tide had now turned in favor of the New En
gland settlers, and large accessions were made to their
numbers. Colonel Denison came in from Hartford,
Connecticut, and took board with Mr. Bennet. He was
married to Betsy Sill, this being the first match con
summated among the settlers.

All this time the Indians were numerous, but very
quiet. When Mr. Bennet was taken a prisoner to Phil
adelphia, some of them earnestly urged Mrs. Bennet to
come with her children and live among them; evi
dently considering her life in danger from the Penna-
mites, they wished to afford her shelter and protec
tion.

We have seen that Mr. Bennet had been sent to
Philadelphia to jail as one of " the rioters in the fort at
Wyoming, January 21st, 1771, when Nathan Ogden
was murdered," but had been discharged after an im
prisonment of five months. Another of these ' l rioters, ' '
as they were called, was a man by the name of Wil
liam Speedy. He was somewhat in years, and was
called " Old Speedy ;" but his age could not abate the
rigor of the Pennsylvania authorities, for they kept
him in close confinement in Philadelphia for more than
two years. How, where, or precisely when Speedy

148 WYOMING.

was captured and committed to jail we are not able to
say, but his final examination must have taken place
some time in the year 1775. Mrs. Myers says, when
her sister Polly was two years old, and she was twelve,
her mother was desired to go to Philadelphia as a wit
ness in favor of Speedy, who was to be tried for the
murder of Nathan Ogden. This journey Mrs. Bennet
performed alone on horseback, a distance of 120 miles,
most of the way through the wilderness. When she
reached Philadelphia she found that the court had ad
journed, and she then made a journey to Goshen and
attended to some business. When the trial came on
she was present, and her testimony cleared Speedy.
He was wasted away to a mere skeleton. When he
was discharged his joy and gratitude overleaped all
bounds. He fell upon his knees before Mrs. Bennet,
and almost worshiped her. "Get up, Speedy," said
she ; "I have done no more than any one ought to do
for a fellow-creature." He kissed her hand and bathed
it with tears. It is refreshing to find that in these stern
and almost barbarous times the law of kindness and
feelings of gratitude had not become utterly erased
from the human mind.

Mrs. Bennet returned home after an absence of some
weeks, during which Martha had been nurse, kitchen-
maid, and governess. She brought water from a cold
spring which boils up at the river's edge, below a
high, steep bank. The child would scarcely ever con
sent to be left alone, and this made it necessary for
Martha to carry her down to the spring, and bring her
up on one arm, while she brought a pail of water with
the other. She did the housework for the family,
consisting of her father, three brothers, herself, and sis
ter, including baking and washing, during her moth-

MRS. MYERS. 149

er's absence. This, for a girl of her age, was no small
task. She says, " It was a hard siege, but I -had
strength given me for the trial."

Three years of quiet in the settlement had resulted
in a high degree of prosperity. Plenty had crowned
the labor of the settlers, and there had been a large
accession to their numbers from the New England
States, not merely consisting of young, hardy adven
turers, but the old and infirm came on, with their chil
dren and grandchildren, to spend -the remnant of their
days in " the beautiful valley," and to lay their bones
beneath its green sod.

Mr. Bennet built a " double log house" on his land,
which Mrs. Myers says "was then called a good house."
"We removed," says she, "to our new house, raised
good crops of grain, and had a fine stock of horses and
cattle. We sold grain and bought articles of conven
ience from the Middletown boats. Father and broth
ers hunted beaver, bears, deer, raccoons, wild turkeys,
etc., and we were in comfortable circumstances. Game
was abundant at this period; we often saw wolves,
bears, and deer swimming the river. One night a fe
rocious animal entered the yard, and so wounded one
of the young cattle that it was found necessary to kill
it. Father and brothers seized their guns when they
heard the disturbance, but the savage beast bounded
off just in time to save himself; they saw him escape,
and, as near as they could judge from a mere glance,
it was a panther."

In December of this year (1775) the famous expe
dition of Colonel Plunkett took place. The New En
gland people prepared to give the colonel a warm re
ception at the head of the narrows, on both sides of
the river. Mr. Bennet and his son Solomon were at

150 WYOMING.

the breastworks below Shawnee for two weeks, and
Mr^. Bennet took down to them a horse-load of pro
visions at two different times. Men, old and young,
boys and women, were all on hand to act their part in
the defense of their homes. After an unsuccessful at
tempt to storm the Yankee works, the gallant colonel
undertook to take his forces in a bateau across the
river. The first boat-load, which, it is said, Colonel
Plunkett commanded in person, was saluted by a brisk
fire from the bushes by Lieutenant Stuart and his men,
and one of the Pennamites was killed and several
wounded. The gallant colonel lay down in the bottom
of the boat, and ordered the men to push out into the
river and go over the falls. The party in the boat
and those left upon the west side of the river met at
the foot of the rapids, and, upon consultation, con
cluded that it was so late in the season, and the ice was
accumulating so fast, that " prudence would be the bet
ter part of valor," and the Pennamite army returned
home with diminished numbers, no spoils, and no ad
dition to their reputation for either tact or courage.

Colonel Plunkett and his band were sadly chagrined
at their defeat. They had not the slightest doubts of
success until they saw the impregnable position of the
Yankees, and the spirit with which it was maintained.
It is said that the wives of the officers bespoke, in ad
vance, a portion of the plunder : one wanted a feather
bed, another a silk dress, and another a smart Yankee
girl for a servant. These anticipations were all blast
ed, and the only reasons which the adventurous offi
cers had to give in justification of themselves was, that
the wild Yankees had assembled in thousands, and fill
ed the woods on both sides of the river ; that they had
availed themselves of the perpendicular ledge of rocks

MRS. MYERS. 151

from which no force could dislodge them, and the river
was rapidly filling up with ice. In all this the num
bers of the Yankee force were vastly exaggerated ;
and as for the rest, a sagacious commander ought to
have understood the ground beforehand.

The expedition of Colonel Plunkett terminates the
first period of this unnatural war — a war which was
not only a public calamity, but inflicted untold griefs
upon persons and parties who pined and writhed un
der its consequences in private, who never troubled
the public with their heart-crushing griefs. Young
Lukins, son of the surveyor general, was at Sunbury
at the time Plunkett set out for Wyoming, and he
went with him merely for the romance of the thing.
The poor fellow was killed. " His death," says Mrs.
Myers, "was much lamented by the settlers : his father
was a very worthy man, and was much respected."

Mr. Miner gives an affecting incident of the death
of another young man. He forced his way near the
Yankee line ; a Yankee marksman watched his op
portunity, and shot him down. After the battle he
visited the spot, and found a hat-band which he judged
had been cut by the ball from his rifle. Going down the
river with lumber many years afterward, he received
the hospitalities of a fine old gentleman. The conver
sation turned upon the former troubles in "Wyoming.
" I lost a beloved son in the Plunkett invasion," said
the father ; and, producing the hat, said, " The bullet
must have cut the band." The big tear stood in his
eye while he held up the sad memento of his son's
hapless fate. Of course, the scene was painful to the
visitor, who declared that he never before realized the
extent of the calamities of war. Ah ! and this was a
war between brothers — a feud in a family.

152 WYOMING.

"Brother with brother waged unnatural strife ;
Severed were all the charities of life :
Two passions — virtues they assumed to be —
Virtues they were — romantic loyalty,
And stern, unyielding patriotism, possess'd
Divided empire in the nation's breast ;
As though two hearts might in one body reign,
And urge conflicting streams from vein to vein."

JAMES MONTGOMERY.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR — TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS.

The expedition of Colonel Plunkett was the last ef
fort of the proprietary government of the Colony of
Pennsylvania to remove the New England people from
"Wyoming. The prospects of a rupture with the par
ent government now absolutely demanded union, and
Congress passed resolutions recommending "that the
contending parties immediately cease all hostilities, and
avoid every appearance of force until the dispute could
be legally decided." This wise recommendation had
its influence upon the more considerate and prudent
of both parties, while the common danger from the
hostility of the savages suggested the folly and mad
ness of the longer continuance of the feud. There
was no difference of feeling between the Pennamites
and Yankees upon the question of American liberty
and independence.

On the 19th of April the battle of Lexington had
been fought, and on the 17th of June that of Bunker
Hill. The interest of these momentous events was felt
in the wilds of Wyoming, as will be clearly seen by
the records of certain public proceedings which are
left upon the minutes of the town. Witness the fol
lowing :

"At a meeting of ye proprietors and settlers of ye

MRS. MYERS. 153

town of Westmoreland, August 1, 1775, Mr. John Jen
kins was chosen moderator for ye work of ye day.
Voted, that this town does now vote that they will
strictly observe and follow ye rules and regulations of
ye honorable Continental Congress, now sitting at Phil
adelphia.

" Resolved by this toivn, That they are willing to make
any accommodation with ye Pennsylvania party that
shall conduce to ye best good of ye whole, not infring
ing on ye property of any person, and come in c'om-
mon cause of liberty in ye defense of America, and
that we will amicably give them ye offer of joining in
ye proposals as soon as may be."

On the 8th of August, the same year, a meeting was
held, made up of both New England and Pennsylva
nia people, at which a patriotic resolution was passed,
which concluded with these words : " And will unani
mously join our brethren in America in the common cause
of defending our liberty"

July 4th, 1776, the ever-memorable Declaration of
American Independence was passed by the Continent
al Congress, and August 24th we find a town meeting
"held in Westmoreland, Wilkesbarre District," at
which "Colonel Z. Butler was chosen moderator,"
when it was voted " that it now becomes necessary
for the inhabitants of this town to erect suitable forts
as a defense against our common enemy." Forty Fort
was ordered to be enlarged and strengthened. The
people, old and young, made large contributions in la
bor to these necessary provisions for the common de
fense.

By order of Congress, "two companies on the Con-?
tinental establishment" were raised "in the town of
Westmoreland," to be " stationed in proper places for

154: WYOMING.

the defense of the inhabitants of said town and parts
adjacent." Eobert Durkee and Samuel Eansom were
elected captains of these two companies. These com
panies consisted of something more than eighty men
each, and they were made up of the strong young men
of the settlement. At the critical period when our
army had retreated across the Delaware, these compa
nies were " ordered to join General Washington with
all possible expedition." This order left "Wyoming in
a most defenseless condition. Nothing but the stern
necessities T>f the Kevolutionary cause could be offered
as the slightest palliation of the cruelty and injustice
of this measure. These companies were raised ex
pressly for "the defense of the inhabitants" of West
moreland "and parts adjacent," but they were now
called to leave their mothers, wives, and sisters ex
posed to the incursions of the merciless savages, with
out any thing like adequate means of defense.

The Indians were evidently making preparations to
identify themselves with the English cause. They all
withdrew from Wyoming and went north. There
were rumors of their intentions to cut off the settle
ment, which filled the minds of many with alarm. In
the fall of 1777, Queen Esther came up the river with
about a dozen Indians. She encamped at the mouth
of Shoemaker's Creek, but a short distance from Mr.
Bennet's residence. Mrs. Bennet, accompanied by
Martha, visited the queen's camp and had considera
ble conversation with her. She asked her if it was
true that the Indians were coming to kill us all. She
shook her head and shed tears. Her head was gray,
and she seemed to be old. She remained there about
a fortnight.

Mrs. Myers says, u Not long after Queen Esther left

MRS. MYERS. 155

the Yalley we heard rumors of violence committed at
the north by parties of Indians which strolled over the
country. These reports created great alarm among
the people of Wyoming. In June, 1778, about two
weeks before the battle, we had seven head of horses
stray away. The boys going in pursuit of them ask
ed me to go with them and pick cherries. We had
not gone far into the woods before the boys saw some
young hickories broken and twisted in a peculiar man
ner. One of them exclaimed, ' Oh, the Indians ! The
Indians have taken away the horses.' This turned out
to be the fact. Upon our return we learned that the
Indians had been at Peter Harris's, above Scofield's.
Soon after the two Hardings were killed, and now we,
with the settlers generally, moved into the fort. It
was crowded full."

Colonel John Butler, a Tory leader, with an army
of eight hundred, consisting of Indians, Tories, and
British regulars, came down the river in boats and on
rafts, and landed just above the head of the Valley,
near Button's Mills. Colonel Denison, with a company
of men, went up to reconnoitre, and found they had
left the river and taken the mountain path. By this
means he would avoid the danger of meeting the pat
riots in the Narrows, where his superior force would
give him no advantage. The hostile army came into
the Yalley through a notch in the mountain opposite
to Fort Wintermoot, a small fort which bore the name
of a family of Tories, and was surrendered at once. A
scouting party from Forty Fort was sent up to learn
Butler's position and strength, and Finch was killed
and Hewitt shot through the hand. This took place
near where Shoemaker's Mills now stand, between
the village of Wyoming and Carpenter's Notch. The

156 WYOMING.

next clay a company went up and brought in Finch's
body. After the battle the Indians referred to the
circumstances, and said they could have killed the
whole of both parties if they had chosen to do so. It
is likely, however, this was a mere brag, and that real
ly fear had something to do in the matter.

THE BATTLE OF. JULY 3, 1778.

The settlers had made strong representations of
their perilous condition to General Washington, and
prayed that at least the companies raised in the settle
ment might be sent to their aid, but all was in vain.
They now had no hope but in their own small re
sources and the protection of Providence. The old
men and boys which were left armed themselves as
well as they could, and resolved to make a brave de
fense against the savage Indians and the still more
savage Tories. The little army numbered about three
hundred men, and was organized in six companies.
There were grandfathers and grandsons in this army,
some of them entirely untrained, and most of them un
accustomed to military discipline, and to the arrange
ments and evolutions of an army. Mr. Miner says,
" There were about two hundred and thirty enrolled
men, and seventy old people, boys, civil magistrates,
and other volunteers."

Colonel Zebulon Butler had obtained leave of ab
sence from the army, and came on in advance of the
Wyoming companies, which were finally ordered to
proceed to the scene of danger and alarm under Cap
tain Spaulding. The command, by universal consent,
was accorded to Colonel Butler. On the 3d of July,
an Indian on horseback was seen at the mouth of Shoe
maker's Creek, within sight of the fort. Upon finding

MRS. MYERS. 157

that he was noticed he galloped off. Colonel John
Butler now sent orders to the people in the fort to sur
render, which was promptly refused.

The question was now mooted whether they should
go out and fight the enemy on the plains above, or
keep within the fort until re-enforcements should ar
rive. Captain Spaulding was coming on with an effi
cient, well-trained company, and Captain Franklin was
on his way from Huntington with a company of volun
teers, and it was the .opinion of Colonels Butler and
Denison that it was best to delay until the recruits
should arrive. Captains Lazarus Stuart and William
M'Karrican headed the party which were for march
ing out of the fort at once and meeting the foe. A
warm debate upon the question followed, which closed
with high words. The belligerent captains, perceiv
ing that the majority was on their side, intimated that
it was cowardice which influenced the views of the
colonels, and that, if they should decline the command,
they — the captains — would lead on the brave men who
would volunteer to go out and flog Butler and his In
dians. These insulting insinuations roused the spirit
of Colonels Butler and Denison, and they resolved to
hazard all upon the chances of a battle. Colonel But
ler said, " We go into imminent danger ; but, my boys,
I can go as far as any of you." Those who were fierce
for fight seemed to be under the impression that the
enemy was about to retreat, or that they would run as
soon as they saw danger. They were anxious to meet
and punish the Indians while they were within reach,
and to chase them out of the country. This, as they
might have known, and as the event proved, was all
erroneous. In this case, as in many others, hot-head
ed and reckless men prevailed against sober counsels.

158 WYOMING.

The little army formed, and set out in the line of
march in high spirits, with drums and fifes playing,
and colors flying. Mr. Bennet was one of the " old
men" who volunteered to defend the country. He,
however, was so certain that the little army were about
to be drawn into a snare and cut off, that he declared
he would go with them no farther than "Tuttle's
Creek" — the distance of one mile, or a little more — and
he carried out his purpose. He left them at the creek,
but his son Solomon went on. Soon after the little
patriot army had left the fort, Major Durkee, Captain
Ransom, and Lieutenant Pierce came up upon a gal
lop. They had left Captain Spaulding at Merwine's,
about thirty miles from "Wyoming, and hastened to
the point of danger. Dashing into Mrs. Bennet's cabin,
one sang out, "Can you give us a mouthful to eat?"
They were furnished with a cold cut. Swallowing a
few mouthfuls, they took a piece in their hand and
pushed on. They left the fort never to look upon it
again ; they were all slain in the battle.

"Whence is this rage? What spirit, say,
To battle hurries me away ?
'Tis Fancy, in her fiery car,
Transports me to the thickest war,
Where giant Terror stalks around,
With sullen joy surveys the ground.
And, pointing to the ensanguined field,
Shakes his dreadful Gorgon shield."

WHAKTON.

When they came to Swetland's Hill, about one mile
farther, it was reported that the invaders were flying,
and they resolved to pursue them. They saw several
straggling Indians, who, being fired upon, ran off as if
terribly frightened. The enemy was lying in ambush,
in three companies, disposed in the form of a crescent,

MRS. MYERS. 159

extending from Fort Wintermoot in a westerly direc
tion into the marsh which lies along at the foot of
the mountain. Their advance line fell back upon the
main body without much resistance. Their plan was
well laid, and they had now succeeded in leading the
little band into the trap which they had set for them.
When the moment arrived to strike, the whole body
of Indians and Tories opened a galling fire upon the
patriot ranks, and cut down a large number. The
noise of the musketry and the whistling of the bullets
were terrible, but the wild yells of the savages were
still more so. The men stood the first shock bravely,
returning the fire with great spirit, but without much
effect on the left wing, the enemy being covered by
the steep slope which borders the marsh and a thick
undergrowth. Colonel Denison, discovering that he
was about to be outflanked and surrounded, ordered
his wing to " fall back." This order was mistaken for
an order to retreat, and confusion and a panic followed,
which all the efforts of the officers failed to arrest.
Every captain fell either at the head of his men, or
deserted and alone. Colonels Butler and Denison rode
along the line, and endeavored to rally their men un
til they were left nearly alone, and exposed to most
imminent danger. But the day was lost, and every
man made shift for himself as best he might. Some
ran down the plains, some took to the mountain, but
most fled in the direction of the river. Many were
struck down with the tomahawk; and others were
taken prisoners, and suffered a still more terrible fate.
When Thomas Bennet returned to the fort, he paced
the bank of the river back and forth in the greatest
excitement. When the firing began, he listened until
he noticed the reports scattering down the plain. He

160 WYOMING.

then hastened to his cabin, exclaiming, " Our boys are
beat ; they will all be cut to pieces !" He was a man
of strong nerves, but no stoic ; he walked back and
forth, and seemed all but distracted.

Colonels Butler and Denison, being mounted, came
in first. A few of the fugitives came in in the course
of the evening, but no news came to the Bennet fami
ly with regard to Solomon until the next day at about
two o'clock, when he made his appearance, and gave an
account of his escape. He was at the extreme right, in
Captain Bidlack's company. When they came up to
Fort Wintermoot it was in flames, and the hostile army
lay just above. When the firing commenced he had
twenty -two balls in his pouch, and he shot them all
away but one. They drove the enemy about eighty
rods, the dead, British regulars and Indians, lying
strewed quite thick upon the ground. He used his
own rifle, which would prime itself, and required no
ramming down. He loaded quick, and took fair aim,
and his man fell. When it was discovered that the
Indians had turned Colonel Denison's left flank, and
that our men were flying, it was now evident that the
day was lost ; then every man shifted for himself. Sol
omon Bennet steered his course toward the river ; he
gained the river bank against Monocasy Island, but a
little in advance of several Indians who were in pur
suit of him. He plunged into the river, and swam upon
his back ; the Indians fired upon him repeatedly, but,
accurately watching their motions, he was always able
to avoid the ball by dropping his head under the wa
ter at the moment they fired. The Indians seemed to
enjoy the sport, indulging in a hearty laugh whenever
young Bennet arose after dodging the ball. He reach
ed the island, not knowing whether he was safe there

MRS. MYERS. 161

from the merciless foe. He cautiously crept across the
island, and then swam to the eastern shore. He was
nearly exhausted, and, crawling up the bank on his
hands and knees, he saw a naked man in the bushes,
wrhom he recognized as Matthias Hollenback — the late
Judge Hollenback, of Wilkesbarre. Bennet had cross
ed the river in his shirt and pants, and now he divided
his scanty supply of clothes with his friend, loaning
him one of his two garments, while he wore the other.
Thus furnished, they found their way to the fort at
Wilkesbarre.

When it was ascertained that arrangements were in
progress for a capitulation, Solomon Bennet said, "I
will never give myself up to an Indian." Mrs. Bennet
then demanded, " What will you do, then ?" and added,
" You must clear out immediately." Mr. Bennet then
expressed some doubts as to his fate, when Mrs. Bennet
answered, "You must go too." Andrew, a lad about
eleven years old, began to cry when the mother said,
with emphasis, " And you must go too, for if we are
killed you can do us no good." Accordingly, all three
left for Stroudsburg. These are the simple facts ; but
the bitter grief which attended these trying circum
stances has never been written. There were many
such sad partings on that terrible day, and some much
more aggravated. The depth of sorrow which filled
the hearts of husbands and wives, parents and children,
brothers and sisters, on that day and the day before,
will only be brought to light by the revelations of the
last Judgment. The parting of the Bennet family was
brief, but the separation was long.

Colonel Butler left the fort upon the day of the bat
tle, but not until he and Colonel Denison had agreed
upon articles of capitulation, which were drawn up in

162 WYOMING.

Mrs. Bennetts cabin. The ta
ble upon which those articles
were written was preserved
by Mrs. Myers until the day
of her death, and is still in
possession of the family. Mrs.
Myers says, "Dr. Grustin went
up to Fort Wintermoot with a white flag three times
before the articles were fully agreed upon. They stip
ulated that the fort should be given up, but the inhab
itants were not to be molested in their persons or prop
erty. The day but one after the battle, I think, Indian
Butler, as he was called, marched his Indians into the
fort in regular order, and, after drilling them a little,
dismissed them. They ran about among the inhabit
ants, earnestly looking to see how they were situated,
but for that day molested no one. Butler was a large,
corpulent man, with a fair skin. I looked at him with
astonishment, wondering how such a fine-looking man
could come with the Indians to kill us.

" The next day the Indians began to plunder the peo
ple. Colonel Denison remained in our cabin, but when
Butler came into the fort he sent for him, and they sat
down by the table and entered into conversation.
Colonel Denison remonstrated with him upon the sub
ject of the aggressions of the Indians, urging that it
was a breach of a most solemn engagement, such as
are respected among all nations. Butler said, 'My
men shall not molest the people. I will put a stop to
it.' But when he went out of the fort the Indians re
sumed their plundering. Colonel Denison again sent
for Butler, and again he came into our room and re
peated his promises that it should cease. The In
dians were quiet until the next day about two o'clock.

MKS. MYEES. 163

A large party then came into the fort, some of them
drunk. Doctor Gustin wrestled and talked French
with them. This was designed to divert them, but
they again resumed their plundering. Toward night
Butler came in again, and Colonel Denison had an
other conversation with him, earnestly chiding him for
the breach of a solemn treaty. Butler finally waved
his hand and said, ' To tell you the truth, I can do
nothing with them.' Colonel Denison chid him se
verely, but received the same answer, * I can do noth
ing with them.' The colonel then vehemently urged
the articles of capitulation, and that they had not sup
posed it possible for him to allow so wicked a breach
of faith on the part of his men. His final answer was
as before, * I tell you, sir, I can do nothing with them.'
He then arose and left, and we saw no more of him.
In fact, he left us to the tender mercies of the savages,
without any regard to the articles which he had signed
with his own hand.

"The Indians were now worse than ever. They
came into our house, and a stout Indian claimed Colo
nel Denison's hunting-shirt, a very nice one, made of
fine forty linen, with a double cape, fringed around the
cape and wrists. The colonel objected ; but, upon the
Indian raising his tomahawk, and mother begging him
to give it up, he consented. While she was unbutton
ing the wristbands the colonel stepped back, and Polly
Thornton, who sat by me, received a package of money
from his pocket. It was the town money, in Conti
nental bills ; it afterward did the needy much good.
The Indian, observing that something passed back to
us, sang out, 'What's that?' 'You are taking the
man's shirt,' replied mother. The hunting-shirt ob
tained, the Indian retired. Soon after another came

164 WYOMING.

in and demanded the colonel's new beaver liat. As
in the former case, he objected; but, as in that instance,
the lifted tomahawk and mother's entreaties brought

him to terms.

" Our great chest, now in my possession, contained
our valuable clothing. It was now robbed of all its
contents. An Indian took mother's bonnet from her
head and her shawl from her shoulders. She then
covered her head with an old straw hat which was
lying upon the ground. Captain Henry, an old In
dian who had lived upon terms of intimacy with our
family, and who was a prisoner in the fort when it
was given up, came in with father's fine broadcloth
coat on, which had been taken from the chest. He
demanded, 'Where old Bennet?' Mother replied,
'Gone through the swamp to Stroudsburg.' 'Ah!'
says he, stroking his sleeve, 'me old Bennet now.
Where Solomon, that good marksman?' 'Gone to
Stroudsburg.' ' Where Andrew, the little boy ?' The
same answer was given as before."

One circumstance Mrs. Myers — probably from mo
tives of delicacy — does not relate, which has been com
municated by another eye-witness. From the history
thus far, it will be seen that Mrs. Bennet was a woman
of great spirit, and an unusual amount of physical
strength even for those times. She could stand being
robbed by an Indian with a tomahawk in his hand,
but she could not endure to have her clothing pulled
from her person by an Indian ivoman. A filthy squaw
undertook forcibly to deprive her of one of her gar
ments, when the spirit of the Yankee woman, even by
all the fearful circumstances by which she was sur
rounded, could not be held down. She drew her
clenched hand, and gave the old hag a blow in the

MRS. MYERS. 165

face which felled her to the ground. The squaw, re
covering, grappled the pale-faced woman, but was soon
worsted in the struggle. It was an anxious moment
with the friends of Mrs. Bennet who were present.
"Would she be tomahawked on the spot ? was the ques
tion revolved in every mind. That question was soon
settled by a roar of laughter from the Indians, one of
them patting her on the back with the complimenta
ry words, " Good squaw." The vanquished old thief
then sneaked off, woefully- crestfallen. The mascu
line nerve of the women of those times seems to have
been given them for the occasion, or which, perhaps,
is a more truthful theory, were developed by the
times. Circumstances originate characters. By a law
of Providence, human nature adjusts itself to the cir
cumstances by which it is surrounded. But let us pro
ceed a little farther with Mrs. Myers's story in her own
language.

" They took our feather beds, and, ripping open the
ticks, flung out the feathers, and crammed in their
plunder, consisting mostly of fine clothing, and, throw
ing them over their horses, went off. A squaw came
riding up with ribbons stringing from her head over
her horse's tail. Some of the squaws would have on
two or three bonnets, generally back side before. One
rode off astride of mother's side-saddle, that, too, wrong
end foremost, and mother's scarlet cloak hanging be
fore her, being tied at the back of her neck. We could
not help laughing at the ridiculous figure she cut, in
spite of the deep trouble which then all but over
whelmed us all.

" Few of the Tories came into the fort ; but a
young man by the name of Parshal Terry, who was
in the battle under Butler, came in painted, and called

166 WYOMING.

to see his friends at their cabin. His brother had
been in the battle on our side. He was shy, but was
recognized.

" Indians came in who appeared to be friendly ; they
painted us, and tied white bands around our heads, as
they said, that we might be known as prisoners of war,
and not be in danger of being killed by strange In
dians."

Something more than a week after the battle the
houses throughout the settlement were fired. The
smoke arose from all quarters at the same time. Soon
after this, the widows of Timothy Pierce and John
Murphy — their maiden name was Gore — with Ellis
and Hannah Pierce — maiden ladies — requested Mrs.
Bennet to visit the battle-ground with them, to see if
they could identify the bodies of Pierce and Murphy .
They found the bodies of the slain broiling in the hot
sun, but so changed that they could not distinguish
one from another. The husbands of the two young
widows, and three brothers — Silas, Asa, and George
Gore — lay upon the ensanguined field, but the heart
broken visitors had not even the poor satisfaction of
identifying their remains. The company returned to
the fort sick at heart, to have their imaginations haunt
ed for long years with the awful spectacle which they
had witnessed, of the mangled and wasting bodies of
their neighbors, brothers, and husbands.

General Washington had projected an expedition
into the Indian country effectually to chastise the sav
ages, and to make an end of their incursions upon the
frontier settlements. The people in the fort, not fully
appreciating the time which would be necessary to pre
pare for such an expedition, entertained hopes of the
arrival of the army of relief daily, and so remained

MRS. MYEKS. 167

there about two weeks. At the expiration of this pe
riod, Colonel Denison was making arrangements to go
down the river in a canoe to bring up his family.
Martha Bennet had lost all her best clothes, and found
that it was necessary for her soon to make a move of
some sort to replenish her exhausted wardrobe. She
finally ventured to sob out, "If I could leave mother
and sister, I would go with Colonel Denison down to
Sunbury, to Captain Martin's, and work, and get me
some clothes." Esquire Pierce, coming up, inquired
into the cause of Martha's grief. Upon learning the
facts, he addressed her in his quaint style : " Go along,
gal, go along, and I'll take care of mother and child."
She accordingly took passage in Colonel Denison's ca
noe, and arrived at Sunbury the next day. She found
a company of between thirty and forty persons from
the Valley quartered in a house. One of the company
was Desdemona Marshall, the late Mrs. Wadsworth,
of Huntington. Miss Bennet was received with great
cordiality, and invited to remain with them, and be
one of the household.

This family of fugitives, united by common suffer
ings and common dangers, was not to remain long to
gether. There was a rumor of hostile Indians on the
west branch of the Susquehanna, and a woman and a
boy were tomahawked and scalped in the immediate
neighborhood. Miss Bennet and others went to see
them while they were yet alive. It was soon rumored
that the Indians and Tories had again visited Wyo
ming, and all the settlers had left. A company com
menced making preparations to go across the mount
ains to Stroudsburg, and Miss Bennet accepted an in
vitation to go with them. All the means of convey
ance they had was a small cart drawn by a yoke of

168 WYOMING.

steers. There were some small children in the com
pany, who were allowed to ride when they were tired,
but as for the rest they all walked. Their journey
was of the distance of about seventy-five miles, and
nearly all the way through the wilderness, and cross
ing the high ridges which lie between the Susque-
hanna and the Delaware. The Misses Bennet and
Marshall, with three other girls, outstripped the com
pany, and saw nothing of them during the day. They
became hungry, and turned aside and picked berries
to satisfy the demands of nature. The path was ex
ceedingly rough, and Miss Bennet's shoes gave out
in consequence of the constant contact with stubs and
sharp stones, and her feet were so injured as to leave
blood behind them. " But," says shS, " we made our
selves as happy as possible, amusing ourselves with
singing songs and telling stories." They were con
stantly annoyed with fears of " the Indians," knowing
that those dreadful scourges of the country might
chance to cross their path at any moment. As the
darkness of night began to approach, they met two
men whom they first supposed to be Indians ; but, per
ceiving them to be white men, they sung out, "How
far is it to a house?" The answer was as cheering as
it was cordial. " Two miles; be of good courage ; we
are hunting for some cows, and will soon be in." The
young pedestrians soon arrived, and found the house
guarded by several men. The family had gone, and
most of the goods were removed. They made a sup
per of bread and milk, and lay down upon sacking
bottoms from which the beds had been removed.
They waited for the arrival of the company with great
anxiety until about two o'clock in the morning, when,
to their great joy, they arrived in safety.

MRS. MYERS. 169

The morning's light came, and our travelers were
early on their way. They passed through Easton,
where they bought provisions. That day u the girls"
kept within sight of their companions in travel. The
third day, at night, they arrived at Stroudsburg. Miss
Bennet there met her mother and sister, but was great
ly disappointed in not rinding her father and brothers.
Her brother Solomon had been to Middletown in pur
suit of her, had returned that day, and set out imme
diately, with Colonel Butler and Captain Spaulding,
for Wyoming. Mrs. Myers says, in relation to the
events of that day, u One disappointment followed an
other in quick succession, and I seemed almost left
without hope."

"Come, Disappointment, come !

Though from Hope's summit hurled,
Still, rigid nurse, thou art forgiven,
For thou, severe, wert sent from heaven
To wean me from the world ;
To turn my eye
From vanity,
And point to scenes of bliss that never, never die."

HENRY KIRKB WHITE.

Soon after Martha Bennet left the fort, Indians came
in, who seemed any thing but friendly and trustwor
thy. " More Indians come," said they, " right away ;
eat Yankees up." This tale was told undoubtedly to
intimidate those of the settlers who still remained, and
to frighten them away. Whatever was thought of it,
the fact that parties of those hated, murderous, plun
dering wretches kept prowling about was a sufficient
reason for the last white person to quit the Yalley.
Mrs. Bennet, with her child, came over the mountain
in company with Major Pierce and his family, perhaps
the last of the settlers who were left. The child, aft-

170 WYOMING.

erward Mrs. Tuttle, was then five years old, and she
always recollected that dreadful journey. At that ten
der age she had to walk nearly the whole distance on
foot, having no beasts of burden in the company. She
remembered camping out, or rather lying on the
ground, under the open heavens, in what has ever
since been called " The Shades of Death." Hungry
and weary, they laid themselves down upon the bare
ground, and invoked oblivious sleep. Mrs. Bennet
drew out a portion of her skirt, and told little Polly to
lie on it as close to her as possible. Mrs. Tuttle lived
to a great age, and we learned these facts from her
mouth not long before her death.

It may be a matter of wonder how so many of the
settlers subsisted in the fort for more than two weeks,
after having been robbed of every thing by the In
dians. This mystery is explained by a curious fact.
There was a capacious cellar under a building in the
fort where a considerable quantity of provisions was
stored. When the Indians commenced the work of
plundering, as a company of them approached this
place of deposit, some witty individual sang out, with
apparent concern, " Small-pox ! small-pox !" The old
brave who was on the lead grunted out " Oh !" and
sheered off, the others following him ; they jabbered in
Indian, and looked back at the reputed "pock-house"
with no little consternation. After this the Indians
kept at a distance from the place, invariably going
round it, and casting at it one of those significant In
dian glances so indicative of a horror of being caught
in some trap. The "wit" of our brave fathers and
mothers did not always "come afterward," but often
"hit the nail on the head," and stood them in stead
when all other resources were utterlv exhausted. This

MRS. MYERS. 171

happy hit probably saved the lives of many of the
settlers ; for " humane" as the Tory leaders boasted of
being, and "magnanimous" as some authorities con
tend that the " Eed Man" is, not a hoof, nor a kernel,
nor a morsel of bread or meat which the cruel invad
ers could either seize and carry away, or consume by
fire, was left to the people to keep them from perish
ing with hunger.

Soon after the arrival of Major Pierce's company of
fugitives, Mrs. Bennet heard a young Philadelphia law
yer uttering terrible threats against the Yankees, de
claring that he would go to "Wyoming with a company,
and a Yankee should not set foot upon the ground.
She immediately made it her business to communicate
the matter to Colonel Butler. The very next day Col
onel Butler and Captain Spaulding mustered their men
and set off for Wyoming, preferring the hazard of
meeting the Indians to that of allowing the Pennamites
to take possession of the country.

The company saw no Indians, but every where met
the sad traces of their ravages. The houses of the set
tlement were nearly all reduced to ashes, the crops
were destroyed, and the horses, cattle, etc., were either
killed or driven off. The beautiful and fruitful vale,
which in the spring presented so charming a prospect
of a rich harvest, was now the very picture of deso
lation. Colonel Butler and his company repaired to
the battle-field, and gathered up the remains of those
who were slain on the fatal 3d of July, and buried
them in a common grave, where the monument now
stands.

Mrs. Bennet and her daughters did not remain long
at Stroudsburg, but went to Goshen, where they took
up quarters with a Captain John Bull, " an old gray-

172 WYOMING.

headed man with a large family." Mrs. Bennet " did
two days' work in one" at the spinning-wheel, while
Martha "did housework for fifty cents a week."
They made shirts and pants, and sent them to "Wyo
ming to Mr, Bennet and the boys, who remained there,
and worked their land and enlarged their clearing.
The Revolutionary war was now in full blast ; there
were no manufactories in the country, and foreign
goods were extremely scarce and dear. Mrs. Myers
says that at this period they gave " fifty cents a yard
for calico."

Early in the spring Mrs. Bennet went to " Bethle
hem, ten miles below Litchfield," to her brother Sam
uel Jackson's. Captain Bull sent his son with a horse
part of the way, and they " rode by turns." They re
mained among their friends " in Litchfield, Nobletown,
and Canaan until the next spring." They frequently
received intelligence from "Wyoming, and finally be
gan to meditate returning. In the fall Solomon Ben-
net came on with a horse to bring his mother and two
sisters back to their loved and much-desired Wyoming
home. Mrs. Bennet and her youngest daughter rode
upon the horse, attended by Solomon, while Martha
took passage in a sloop from Canaan to Newburg.
They met at the latter place, and, passing Washing
ton's camp, went on to Goshen. Here they purchased
a yoke of oxen and a cart, and, loading upon this
homely vehicle the fruits of Mrs. Bennet's and Mar
tha's earnings, they commenced their slow march.
They came by Stroudsburg, and thence through the
road made by Sullivan's army ; and, finally, Mr. Ben-
net's family, after more than two years' separation,
were together again.

Mr. Bennet had fitted up " one of Sullivan's old bar-

MRS. MYEKS. 173

racks, just opposite to Wilkesbarre, for a house."
They had an abundance of corn and garden vegeta
bles, but no flou^ as there was no grist-mill in the Val
ley. The only resort of the settlers, for the time, was
to a hominy block. This was a block cut from the
trunk of a large tree, hollowed, and set on end. The
corn was put in the hollow, and bruised with a pestle
hung upon a spring pole. Such was the demand for
hominy that this rude mill was kept going day and
night. The girls often worked the mill, and not un-
frequently were obliged to wait long for their turn.
There were now about thirty families in the settle
ment.

Greneral Sullivan had left several companies in the
garrison at Wilkesbarre, under the command of Colo
nel Moore. Among the officers were Captain Schott
and Lieutenant Lawrence Myers, who married and
settled in the country. The former married Naomi
Sill, and the latter Sarah Gore, A store for the sup
ply of the garrison was provided, and was under the
directions of the commissary, William Stuart. He had
flour, and, although none could be obtained from him
for the labor of the men, yet Miss Bennet, being skillful
in fine knitting and working lace, could procure it for
her work. By knitting a pair of stockings and a pair
of gloves for the commissary, and working a lace cap
and some silk lace to trim a cloak for his lady, she
procured one hundred pounds of flour. All this work
she did " nights by pine-light, after spinning two six-
teen-knotted skeins of flax." Besides all this, she " did
much about house, and often had to work the hominy
block." Her "rule was to go to bed at one or two
o'clock in the morning." She says, "We were con
stantly afraid of the Indians, and the well-known cry

174 WYOMING.

of the sentinels, 'All's well!' which broke upon the
stillness of the night during my nightly toils, was to
me a most welcome and pleasant sound." She notices
a little incident, small in itself, but significant and fruit
ful in its results. She says, " A company of us girls
would often go out and gather five-finger-leaf for tea,
and while on these little excursions we were guarded
by the soldiers." Ah ! indeed ! " Guarded !" yes, and
loved and wooed "by the soldiers," as the facts after
ward proved.

Tea was proscribed because it was taxed by the Brit
ish government, and could not easily be obtained, and
when it could be had it was drunk stealthily. The
people generally sought the best substitute which the
soil afforded, and this, at best, was poor enough. Con
gress was obliged, for purposes of revenue, to lay a tax
on many of the conveniences of life. Those who en
joyed the luxury of glass lights in their houses had to
pay a tax on every pane. Mrs. Myers says that Lieu
tenant Van Horn, a Pennamite, for whom she certainly
had no great respect, came around taking account of
the windows which were in the hastily -built cabins of
the settlers. Addressing her, he demanded, "How
many lights have you in your house?" "-Oh, plenty
of lights," was the answer. "Look all around, and
you will see for yourself," at the same time pointing
to the chinks between the logs. The functionary be
coming satisfied, from the evidence afforded by his
own eyes, that there was not a pane of glass in the old
barrack, soon took his leave.

Miss Martha, at this period, was one of the most ef
ficient agents in supplying the necessaries of life to
the family. We have seen that she procured flour
for her work where it could not be obtained by the

MRS. MYERS. 175

settlers "for either love or money." She procured
meat in the same way. She knit a lace cap for an old
Mrs. M 'Glare, and procured of her three pigs, for which
she had refused the cash. These animals grew, and
turned to most excellent account.

Things had been so managed that most of the Penn-
amites belonged to the garrison ; and some of the of
ficers being of this class, the Yankee settlers were often
subjected to petty annoyances. Mr. Bennet could
procure no land to work under cover of the fort, and
finally resolved to make an attempt to work his own
land above Forty Fort. On the 27th of March, 1780,
he commenced plowing within " the Ox-bow," a bend
in the creek on the flats, between Elijah Shoemaker's
and the river. His team consisted of a yoke of oxen
and a horse. The boy Andrew rode upon the horse.
When they came to the bend in the creek the horse
seemed shy. Mr. Bennet said, " I fear all is not right.
I think we will only go around once more." "When
they came again to the same point, four Indians sprung
from the bushes, and one seized Mr. Bennet, and an
other took Andrew from the horse. The Indians hur
ried off their prisoners, and soon came up with two
more Indians, having Lebbeus Hammond as a prisoner.
Mr. Bennet exclaimed, "Hammond, are you here?"
With downcast look, Hammond answered " Yes." An
Indian mired Hammond's horse in the marsh and left
him. They then took the old war-path over the
mountain.

When Mr. Bennet left home, he told his wife that
if he did not return by sundown she might conclude
some harm had befallen him. Soon after sundown
Mrs. Bennet gave the information at the fort that her
husband and son had not returned, and desired that a

176 WYOMING.

party might be sent out in search of them. Mr. Ham
mond's wife was also alarmed on account of his failing
to return as expected. Not knowing but that a large
party of Indians had made a descent upon the Valley,
it was thought not to be prudent to go out that night.
They fired the alarm-gun, and waited till morning. A
company then went out, and found Mr. Bennet's oxen
and horse trembling with the cold, the weather having
changed during the night. They followed on the track
of the Indians to the top of the mountain, and then re
turned.

Mrs. Bennet and her remaining children were now
left in a state of most cruel suspense for the space of
six or seven days. Any supposition which contained
the elements of probability was terrible almost beyond
endurance. There were a few things possible between
the worst presumption — and that was that the prison
ers would be cruelly tortured to death — and the most
favorable, which was, that they would be taken to
Canada. Mr. Bennet was somewhat in years, and was
afflicted with rheumatism, and it was most probable
that he would break down under the hardships of his
captivity, and fall a victim to savage cruelty. The
barbarous tortures inflicted by the savages upon the
helpless victims of their fiendish orgies were all like
household words with Mrs. Bennet and her children.
Their midnight dreams were occupied with the fearful
tragedy of a cold-blooded massacre by the instrument
ality of the tomahawk, the scalping-knife, and blazing
pine knots. In their imaginations, the aged sire and
his boy were often seen suffering the most excruciating
tortures for hours, and then their bodies left to be de
voured by wild beasts. All this was highly probable,
and all the reasonings about it based on facts, which

MRS. MYERS. 177

the settlers in the Valley of Wyoming had more per
fect knowledge of than any other people upon earth.

In the midst of the gloom and despondency of the
families of Mr. Bennet and Mr. Hammond, and the
general impression that the prisoners would never re
turn, three emaciated, limping, reeling figures were
seen directing their course toward the fort at Wilkes-
barre. Who could they be ? As they came near, it
was discovered that they were " the Bennets and Ham
mond." Their appearance almost seemed like a resur
rection from the dead. The mystery was soon ex
plained ; they had arisen upon their captors at Me-
shoppen, and cut them to pieces, and had found their
way back to the embraces of their families and friends.
Their feet had been badly frozen, and the consequences
were most painful. When the excitement of their
flight was over, they scarcely had a spark of life left.
Good nursing soon restored their physical strength,
and Mr. Hammond and Andrew Bennet were able to
get about in a few weeks ; but Mr. Bennet's feet were
so dreadfully injured by the frost that several of his
toes came off at the first joint, and he was obliged to
walk with crutches for more than a year, during most
of which time he suffered indescribably, and required
much attention. We shall give a particular account
of the rising and escape of the Bennets and Hammond
in a chapter by itself.

Mrs. Mvers savs : " We remained under cover of the

j j

fort another year. Solomon married the widow Up-
son : her maiden name was Stevens. Her husband
was killed by the Indians. Upson, with another man
and a boy, were in the woods making sugar. When
the boy was out gathering sap, he saw the Indians
come up slyly to the camp, and pour boiling sap into
H2

178 WYOMING.

Upson's moutli while lie lay fast asleep on his back.
The other man they tomahawked, and made a prisoner
of the boy.

In the spring of 1781, Mr. Bennet, his son Solomon,
and old Mr. Stevens each built a small log house on
the flats near where Mr.Bennet's house stood before
the battle. They raised fine crops, and had abundance
until another calamity overtook them.

THE ICE FLOOD.

" See how the noble river's swelling tide,
Augmented by the mountain's melting snows,
Breaks from its banks, and o'er the region flows."

BLACKMAN.

In March, 1784, the spring of " the hard winter," a
heavy rain suddenly melted the vast burden of snow
upon the mountains and plains, broke up the strong
ice in the river, and formed it into dams in the nar
rows and at the head of the islands. At about two
o'clock P.M., Colonel Denison and Esquire Myers came
riding down the river on horseback. Seeing the three
families apparently unapprised of their danger, one of
them cried out, "Bennet, what are you about? The
ice will soon be upon you in mountains." Mrs. Ben-
net had previously been urging her husband to take
the family to the high bank across the creek. He,
however, relied securely upon the tradition communi
cated to him from " the oldest Indians," that " the wa
ter had never been over these flats."

After the warning given by Colonel Denison and
Esquire Myers, however, the old gentleman gave up
his policy of inaction, and " began to stir about." The
big canoe was loaded, and went off, carrying the old
people and the children. The boys drove the cattle

MES. MYERS. 179

to Swetland's Hill, taking along the wagon and horses.
They barely escaped, the water rising so rapidly that
it came into the wagon-box just before they reached
the hill. Martha staid at the house 'and assisted in
loading the canoe, which Solomon Bennet and Uriah
Stevens run back and forth between the house and the
bank. As they were engaged packing up, the ice
above gave way with a tremendous roar. Martha cried
out, " Boys, we are gone I" She says, "In an instant
we were in the canoe — I can not tell how — and were
lifted up among the tops of the trees, and surrounded
by cakes of strong ice. The boys rowed, and I pulled
by the limbs of the trees ; but, in spite of all we could
do, we were driven down the stream rapidly. It was
now dark, and our people, with lighted torches, came
along the bank in the greatest anxiety of mind, fre
quently calling out, 'Where are you?' As we were
swept along by the terrible current, and unable to
make much headway in consequence of the obstruc
tions occasioned by the ice, we saw the lights follow
ing along the bank, and occasionally heard our friends
shout out, ' Keep up good courage ; you will soon reach
the shore.' We struggled for life, and at eleven or
twelve o'clock at night we reached the shore. Uriah
Stevens sprung upon a log which lay by the shore, and
thence upon the ground. I followed him, but the mo
ment I struck the log it rolled, and I was plunged un
der the water. I was fortunate enough to rise within
reach of the young man, and he pulled me out. Sol
omon, in the canoe, was then driven out among the
ice, and it was an hour or more before he reached the
shore. My clothes were frozen on me, and I was bad
ly chilled. I was obliged to walk half a mile in this
condition before I could get to the fire."

180 WYOMING.

Many of the houses of the settlers were carried en
tirely away. Mr. Bennet's house was taken down the
stream some distance, and lodged against some trees
near the creek." The other famines lost their hogs
and poultry. Seven head of young cattle which were
driven to the hill were not contented to remain there,
and were all drowned in an attempt to return. Mrs.
Myers says, " Our wheat was in the chamber, and, al
though some of it was washed, we had plenty left.
Our corn and meat were saved. Our potatoes and
cabbage, being buried, remained undisturbed ; so that,
although our house was gone, we had plenty of pro

visions."

Mr.Bennet now hastily put up a temporary cabin,
constructed of boards and blankets. Mrs. Myers says,
" For seven weeks we lived all but out of doors, doing
our cooking by a log before our miserable cabin. Aft
er this we occupied our new double log house, which
stood near where Elijah Shoemaker now lives, and, by
slow degrees, was improved so as to be comfortable."

RENEWAL OF THE PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAR.

Mr. Bennet had just removed his family into his new
house, while it was without chimney or chinking, when
the old troubles between the two classes of settlers were
revived. Armstrong and Van Horn, under the author
ity of the Legislative Council of Pennsylvania, had come
on with a company of armed men, taken possession of
the fort at Wilkesbarre, and proceeded to drive the
New England people from the country by force and
arms. Captain Swift, a Yankee, was wounded in an
attempt to fire the fort, and was lodged at the widow
Brockway's, at Tuttle's Creek. Many families were
driven from their houses ; among them were the wid-

MRS. MYERS. 181

ows Shoemaker and Lee, near neighbors to Mr. Bennet.
In vain did they plead that their husbands had been
slain by the Tories and Indians, and they were help
less and defenseless widows, and they cordd not leave
their homes and take a long journey through the wil
derness. Go they must, and they made the best of the
necessity. They left a portion of their goods with Mrs.
Bennet, and were taken to Wilkesbarre, and thence,
with Esquire Lawrence Myers, Giles Slocurn, and many
others, were hurried on toward " the swamp." At
Capouse, Myers and Slocum escaped, but the great
mass of the persecuted people had no remedy but to
submit to their fate. Mr. Miner says, " About five
hundred men, women, and children, with scarce provis
ions to sustain life, plodded their weary way, mostly
on foot, the road being impassable for wagons ; moth
ers, carrying their infants, literally waded streams, the
water reaching to their arm-pits, and at night slept or.
the naked earth, the heavens their canopy, with scarce
clothes to cover them." What a reflection, this, upon
Armstrong, Patterson, Van Horn, and Company !

Mr. Bennet and Colonel Denison escaped, and went
up the river to Wyallusing. Mrs. Bennet stuck by the
stuff. She had never yet left the Valley for the Penn-
amites, and she had made up her mind that she never
would. She was not left, however, in the possession
of her home without an effort to drive her away. Mrs.
Myers says, "Van Horn andhis^>osse came up, having
pressed a Mr. Eoberts, with his team, to carry off our
goods. Yan Horn ordered mother to clear out, but she
firmly replied that she was in her own house, and she
would not leave it for him or any body else. He or
dered Andrew and me to put things upon the wagon,
a service which we refused to render. Some of the

182 WYOMING.

men went to the corn-house, where there was a quan
tity of corn ; but mother seized a hoe, and, presenting
herself before the door, declared that she would knock
the first man down who touched an ear of the corn.
They looked astonished, and left her. They then be
gan to look about the house, and they found the big
chest belonging to the widows, which was so heavy
that they found it hard to lift, and they threatened to
break it open with an axe. They carried some of
our things out of the house ; but, before they had com
menced loading up, they became alarmed lest they
should be noticed by the Yankee boys, a company of
whom were at the widow Brockway's, and they left
rather hastily, charging mother to be ready to leave
the next morning. "When they left Koberts went
about his business, and ' the boys' came and helped us
return our things to their appropriate places. The
Pennamites gave us no more interruption."

A few days after the above events had transpired,
Miss Bennet went out to milk the cows very early — as
she says, when she "could see the stars." John Sat-
terlee came along, to whom she said, " Satterlee, what
in the world are you doing so early?" He answered,
"We have Dave Ogden out here in the woods." "Who
has him?" demanded Miss Bennet. "Bill Slocum,"
was the answer. Said she, " Do let him go ; he'll cer
tainly kill you. Is he bound?" "No," was the an
swer. "Can you give me something to eat?" asked
Satterlee. " Yes ; but you must not tell where you
got it," was the answer. A cold cut was set before
him ; and, after satisfying his hunger, he left, smiling.
Miss Bennet charged him again and again, while he
sat at the table, either to " let Ogden slip away or to
bind him fast." Colonel Franklin, the Yankee leader,

MRS. MYERS. 183

had his head-quarters at Mill Creek, on the opposite
side of the river, whither Satterlee and Slocum were
bound with their prisoner. They took him into a ca
noe at the mouth of Shoemaker's Creek, and push
ed off. Ogden soon asked, "Boys, can you swim?"
"No," was the answer. Ogden's arms were pinioned,
but his feet were free. He upset the canoe, turned on
his back, and easily shoved himself across the river.
Slocum hung to the canoe, but poor Satterlee went
down and was drowned. Ogden and Slocum came
out on the bar opposite Forty Fort, and took different
directions. Five of the finest young men in the set
tlement were killed during these terrible conflicts,
among whom was William Smith, a young man of fine
character, and much beloved.

" The boys" at the widow Brockway's had near
ly exhausted their powder. "Word came to Colonel
Franklin, but it was a difficult matter to convey across
the river the needed supply. Mrs. Kennedy — an old
lady called Mother Kennedy — volunteered to convey
the powder to the place where it was wanted. She
tied it around her waist, under her dress, and brought
it to Mr. Bennet's, whence it soon found its way up to
the widow Brockway's.

Soon after this a large company, under the command
of Captain Bolin, a fine-looking man, crossed the river
from Wilkesbarre, and marched up toward the head
quarters of u the boys." The captain called at Mr.
Bennet's, and asked for a drink of water. Miss Ben-
net heard him, with a great swell, say, " I'll dislodge
them." They moved on toward the widow Brock-
way's ; there were four houses there, built of hewed
logs, so situated and provided with loop-holes as to
constitute a formidable fortification. Martha Bennet

184 WYOMING.

was anxious for the result, and soon went around the
corner of the house and listened. A brisk discharge
of fire-arms soon commenced, but did not long con
tinue. Bolin's company fired upon the block-houses,
and were promptly answered. The redoubtable cap
tain took his position behind a large tree, but the well-
directed aim of some one of " the boys" inflicted upon
him a mortal wound, and he soon expired. The com
pany then fled down the flats, bearing the corpse of
their captain.

When the hostile band were seen in full retreat,
Miss Bennet made a visit to Mrs. Brockway's, and found
no one at all hurt; but Mrs. Myers, afterward Mrs.
Bidlack, being there for safety, said a ball passed just
over her head. She returned with Miss Bennet, and
spent the night. Mother Kennedy's powder did the
work this time, and, in fact, terminated this unhappy
war. Mrs. Myers says, " The widows Shoemaker and
Lee soon returned, and we were no more molested.
This awful civil war was finally ended, to the great
joy of all who loved peace and valued human life."

The view which we present of the Pennamite and
Yankee wars, it will be observed, is given from the
Yankee stand-point, and often reflects discredit upon
the other party. It must not, however, be understood
that all the Pennsylvanians concerned in the wars are
regarded as equally guilty, nor that there were none
among them entirely innocent. The whole responsi
bility of the sanguinary proceedings, which occasioned
so much suffering, rests upon the land-jobbers; they
were the men who kept up the quarrel, while innocent
parties on both sides suffered most severely.

With the termination of the last Pennamite and
Yankee war Mrs. Mvers's narration closes. What re-

MRS. MYERS. 185

mains to be done is to give a more particular account
of the conclusion of this unfortunate struggle, and a
brief sketch of the subsequent history of the relater of
the stories which we have endeavored faithfully to re
cord.

The Pennamite and Yankee war was finally termi
nated on the principle of mutual concession, but not
without great difficulty. At the close of the Kevolu-
tionary war, the "Superior Executive Council of Penn
sylvania" petitioned Congress for a hearing in relation
to the Connecticut claim, " agreeable to the ninth ar
ticle of the Confederation. ' ' Connecticut promptly met
the overture. A court was constituted by mutual
consent, which held its session in Trenton, New Jersey.
The decree was awarded, on the 80th of December,
1 782, in favor of the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania. The
Pennsylvanians, of course, were pleased, and the New
England people made up their minds to submit to the
decision. There was, however, still a question left
open of vastly greater importance than the jurisdiction
over the country ; that question was the right of the
soil. The Pennamites thenceforward made every ef
fort to drive out the Yankees, and to possess their
lands. A military force was employed to drive off
"the intruders," and to take from them the fruit of
their toils and sacrifices. Blood again began to flow,
and there were prospects of a more terrible conflict
than had yet taken place in the ill-stared valley. In
the sanguinary conflicts which now occurred Swift was
wounded, and Stevens and Smith were killed on the
Yankee side, and Bolin and others fell on the side of
the Pennamites. Untold hardships were inflicted upon
the greatest portion of the settlers ; they were abso
lutely driven out of the Valley by the point of the

186 WYOMING.

bayonet. They were driven through the swamp, that
being the nearest way to Connecticut. This way con
sisted of sixty miles of wilderness, and it had to be
traced on foot. Esquire Elisha Harding, one of the
sufferers, gives the following graphic and touching ac
count of the exodus: "It was a solemn scene: par
ents, their children crying for hunger; aged men on
crutches — all urged forward by an armed force at our
heels. The first night we encamped at Capouse, the
second at Cobb's, the third at Little Meadow, so called.
Cold, hungry, and drenched with rain, the poor wom
en and children suffered much. The fourth night at
Lackawack, fifth at Blooming-grove, sixth at Shehola ;
on the seventh arrived at the Delaware, where the
people dispersed, some going up, and some down the
river. I kept on east, and when I got to the top of
Shongum Mountain, I looked back with this thought :
Shall I abandon Wyoming forever ? The reply was,
No! oh no! there lie my murdered brothers and
friends. Dear to me art thou, though a land of afflic
tion. Every way looks gloomy except toward Wyo
ming. Poor, ragged, and distressed as I was, I had
youth, health, and felt that my heart was whole. So
I turned back to defend or die." — Miner's History, p.
346.

"And oh! ye fountains, meadows, hills, and groves,
Think not of any severing of your loves :

I love the brooks which down their channels fret
E'en more than when I tripped lightly as they.
The innocent brightness of a new-born day

Is lovely yet ;

The clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober coloring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality :
Another race hath been, and other palms are won. "

WORDSWORTH.

MBS. MYERS. 187

Public sentiment in Pennsylvania condemned this
brutal outrage upon the common laws of humanity, and
the land-sharks who were concerned in it were compel
led to modify their course. The Legislative Council
of Pennsylvania found it necessary to adopt concilia
tory measures, and finally put the New England peo
ple into peaceable possession of their homes, on terms
which the considerate were willing to accept. There
was an ultra Yankee party, which sprung up under the
leadership of Colonel John Franklin, and they openly
opposed the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania. A series of
conflicts followed between Franklin and his party on
the one hand, and Colonel Pickering, the government
functionary, and his party on the other, during which
Franklin, upon the charge of treason, was seized and
sent in irons to Philadelphia ; and, in retaliation, Pick
ering was abducted and carried off into the woods, and
kept on short allowance among the musquitoes for
near three weeks. Franklin was tamed by his long
imprisonment of more than one year, and the people
of Wyoming had rest.

It is a curious fact that, in all these troubles with
the State of Pennsylvania, the Yankees had the sym
pathies of a multitude of the people in this state ; and
there were those who suffered in common with them,
not only from Pennsylvania, but from various other
states. The Shoemakers and M'Dowells were Pennsyl-
vanians, and Esquire Lawrence Myers was from Mary
land. No matter where they were from, to Connecti
cut they must go, and they were pushed off through the
swamp. Myers escaped at Capouse, and * ' the widows, ' '
after the brave posse of " militia" had quit them at the
Delaware, went down stream to their friends. The
guilt of these people, it is presumed, consisted in their

188 WYOMING.

having formed alliances with the Yankees, or taken a
Connecticut title for their lands. Myers had married
a Yankee wife, and that was a sufficient reason why
he should be marched off through the swamp toward
Connecticut.

The Eevolutionary war closed, and peace blessed
all parts of the country except Wyoming. A five
years' war between two parties which had contracted
a bitter hatred for each other followed, in which prop
erty and life were sacrificed, and the bitter fruits of
civil war made up a fearful harvest. But peace — wel
come peace — finally came, and the wounds inflicted by
the sanguinary scenes of those fearful times were grad
ually healed.

In the midst of the terrible conflicts and unexampled
sufferings which we have been called to survey as we
have passed through the preceding pages, there were
tender greetings and matrimonial alliances. The brave
girls of those times found means of access to the hearts
of the brave lads, both in the army and among the
hardy settlers. As, in the popular romances, love and
murder hold prominence in the plot, and are closely
related, so, in the history of Wyoming, these two an
tagonisms stand out in bold relief, and are traced in
parallel lines, While the soldiers were guarding the
girls in their excursions over the plains in quest of
"five-finger-leaf," or the wild fruits which clustered
in abundance in the thickets- — while the thunder of
the battle roared, and while old and young fled in dis
may before the conquering foe, common danger and
mutual sympathy engendered attachments. Glances
were exchanged and hearts were won in the midst of
civil commotions, while the groans of the slain were
wafted upon the breeze.

MRS. MYERS. 189

" In peace Love tunes the shepherd's reed,
In war she mounts the warrior's steed ;
In halls in gay attire is seen,
In hamlets dances on the green."

SCOTT'S Lay of the last Minstrel.

The tender emotions originating under the fitful cir
cumstances of the times were often dissipated by the
sad rumors which were too common to excite surprise.
The cup of bliss was often dashed to the ground by
the chances of war ere it touched the fevered lip. The
affianced bade adieu to his loved one, to play the man
for his country or his party, and never returned. His
fall upon the battle-field or at the post of public duty
sent to one heart a deeper thrill of sorrow than that
which agonized the heart of the mother who bore him.
The story of his fate for long years with that one
would be the leading fact in the history of a most
eventful period.

The picture which is but faintly drawn above is not
an imaginary one. There were cases of the kind —
there may have been many — there certainly was one.
Martha Bennet and William Smith were solemnly
pledged to each other through life, for weal or woe.
Smith was shot in cold blood from the fort, when oc
cupied by the Pennamites, while walking across the
street in his shirt-sleeves in the evening, near the term
ination of that unnatural civil war. Miss Bennet was
disconsolate, and for a considerable time thought to
spend her life in a state of celibacy. William Smith
was a son of the wife of Doctor William Hooker Smith
by a former husband by the name of Smith. The
death of Smith created a deep sensation among the
settlers, and inflicted an incurable wound upon the
hearts of a large and respectable circle of relations and

190 WYOMING.

friends. Martha Bennet — subsequently Mrs. Myers —
was treated as a sister by the numerous family of Dr.
Smith — daughters and sons — until they had all gone
far down the vale of years.

In the great conflict for ascendency between John
Franklin and Timothy Pickering, many of the leading
spirits in the preceding conflicts on the Yankee side
were for submission to the laws of Pennsylvania, and
consequently arranged themselves on the side of Pick
ering. It was finally agreed to hold what, in modern
parlance, would be called a great mass meeting, on the
old battle-ground at Forty Fort, in May, 1787, and de
cide the question by popular vote. A stand was
erected for the moderator, clerk, and speakers, and the
hard-fisted settlers were assembled to listen to the
propositions of the parties and the pleadings of the
advocates. James Sutton, Esquire, was called to the
chair. Colonel Pickering made an eloquent speech in
favor of submission to the jurisdiction of Pennsylvania,
giving the most ample assurances that the government
would protect the settlers in all their rights as citizens,
and that there should be no more harassing proceed
ings instituted against them. Colonel Franklin then
arose and rehearsed the grievances of the settlers, and
denounced "the pretended compromise" and all its
supporters in the most unmeasured terms. The blood
of the old Yankees was stirred. Some were on one
side, and others on the other, but all were excited and
determined on victory. The old argument of physical
force was not yet quite out of date, and, in the absence
of fire-arms, each man ran to the grove hard by and
cut a club. Many blows were dealt out on both
sides, but were so adroitly parried off that no heads
were broken. There was a general melee. Esquire

MRS. MYERS. 193

Sutton was driven from the stage and disappeared.
Supposing that lie was spirited away, and was about
to be victimized by the hair-brained partisans of Frank
lin, a party scoured the wo'ods and by-places, and found
him, now left to himself. Colonel Hollenback cracked
Colonel Franklin about the ears with his riding- whip,
loading him with a volley of epithets. A rather in
formal vote to sustain the laws of Pennsylvania and ac
cept the proposed compromise was passed, and the gather
ing dispersed.

A new-comer mingled in this scene. The reader
has noticed the name of Lawrence Myers introduced
on several occasions in the preceding narrative. The
father of Esquire Myers removed, with his family, from
Germany in the year 1760, and settled in Frederick,
in the State of Maryland. He had four sons, Law
rence, Philip, Henry, and Michael. The two former
served the country in the Revolutionary war in the
Maryland line, and were in the battle of Germantown.
Lawrence had come to "Wyoming, and married, and
become identified with the New England settlers. He
was a man of spirit and enterprise, and was appointed
deputy sheriff under the laws of Pennsylvania, and ex
ercised his functions and his influence in quieting mat
ters under the compromise. His brother Philip came
on to Wyoming in 1785, and was present at " the club-
fight." He had sought the hand of Martha Bennet,
and they were joined in marriage July 15, 1787, he
being aged 27, and she 25 years.

Mr. Thomas Bennet gave his son-in-law a town lot
on the north line of old Forty Fort. On this he erect
ed a comfortable house, constructed of yellow pine
logs, hewed, and pointed with lime mortar, and lined on
the inside. This old relic still stands, and, if no vio-

194 WYOMING.

lence is done to it, with, reasonable repairs may live to
see the opening of the next century.

The storm of war had blown over, old grudges be
tween the two classes of settlers were fast fading away,
and society was assuming a condition of stability and
prosperity.

"Affliction's cloud, however dark,

Grows lighter by the lapse of years,
And many a sorrow now we mark,
Once deeply felt, whose very tears
Have left, as brighter scenes passed by,
Only a rainbow in the sky."

ROSCOE.

Mr. Myers purchased a lot of one hundred and fifty
acres, extending from Forty Fort to the top of the
mountain. He cleared up his farm, and raised a large
family of children. Mrs. Myers's great force of char
acter never forsook her. She possessed a strength of
will and a firmness of nerve which carried her through
dangers, sufferings, and toils enough to have broken
down many ordinary women. For many years Mr.
Myers kept a public house. His house being situ
ated on an eddy in the Susquehanna, it was a great
place of resort for the lumbermen bringing their
pine lumber from the upper part of the Susquehanna
and its tributaries, and taking it to the Baltimore and
Philadelphia markets. The consequence was that Mr.
Myers's house was thronged for weeks by the hardy
"raftsmen" every spring. The house would often be
literally jammed full, and nearly all the night would
be occupied by all the help that could be raised in
preparing for breakfast. But Mrs. Myers's resources
never failed her ; no one left her table without having
had set before him an abundant supply of food, pre
pared in the best style of the times. She was an ad-

MRS. MYERS. 195

mirable housewife down to old age; and when her
circumstances would have excused her from anxious
care, from mere habit she governed the kitchen and
directed all the cooking processes.

Mrs. Myers was a large-hearted, liberal woman. She
had the poor always with her. Upon the town lots at
Forty Fort were located a race of poor people — some
of them idle, some intemperate, and many of them
vicious. Whoever or whatever they were, worthy or
unworthy of her charity, they were never turned
away empty. Every day, summer and winter, poor,
squalid, ragged, barefooted women and children were
dismissed from her door with some of the necessaries
of life. And she did not always wait for an applica
tion on the part of the needy. Often at dinner she
would say, " Boys, I want to ride out this afternoon."
No questions would be asked, but at the proper time
the horse and carriage were ready, and often she was
her own driver. She first ordered her bags and bas
kets of good things deposited in the carriage, and then
oif she went to make the heart of the needy glad.
Mrs. Myers was no mean driver, even when she had
become advanced in age. "When between sixty and
seventy years of age, she was left in the carriage, in
the village of Kingston, by some male member of the
family. In his absence the animal became restive,
and set off at full speed. Instead of giving him a
chance for a fair run up the plain, smooth road home
ward, she obliged him to describe half a circle and
come up against a heavy " pair of bars." The animal
by this time had acquired a tremendous momentum,
and in an attempt to scale the bars he went through
them with a terrible crash ; then, being in a barn-yard,
his race ended. When a dozen men, who had started

196 WYOMING.

on the chase, came up, the old heroine was upon the
seat, with the reins fast in her hands, with nothing
about the carriage or harness injured at all. During
the whole operation she had not uttered a word, ex
cepting a moderate " whoa !" to the horse, and this she
ceased to do when she found it of no use. Upon her
return home she spoke of the event with perfect com
posure, attributing her safety entirely to the provi
dence of God.

Mrs. Myers was left a widow on April 2, 1835. Mr.
Myers had a protracted illness, and during his decline
and gradual approach to the hour of his departure his
ever-faithful and kind-hearted companion never left
him, scarcely for a day, to the care of others. On re
newing the fire one night, a spark of burning anthra
cite coal struck her eye near the pupil. This injury
brought on cataract. She had scarcely lost the sight
of one eye before the other began to fail, and she final
ly lost that, and the world was thenceforward shut out
from her vision.

"Thus with the year
Seasons return, but not to me returns
Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn,
Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose,
Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ;
But clouds instead, and ever-during dark
Surrounds me ; from the cheerful ways of mail
Cut off, and for the book of knowledge fair
Presented with a universal blank
Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased,
And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out."

MILTON.

She lived after this nearly sixteen years, an example
of pious resignation, and an interesting instance of
physical and intellectual vigor.

MRS. MYERS. ^

Mrs. Myers was visited by Professor Silliman previ
ous to her blindness. Mr. Miner gives an account of
the visit in his history. Colonel Stone and Mr. Los-
sing, in turn, with other interesting tourists and authors,
called upon her, as the most accurate chronicler of the
stirring and romantic events of the early history of
Wyoming. All make honorable mention of her. Her
accurate memory of the scenes which came under her
own observation, and those which were matter of com
mon report and universal belief in the olden time, is
remarked with admiration by the authors above re
ferred to. But those alone who had been accustomed
to hear these events related for years are prepared
fully to appreciate her extreme accuracy of recollec
tion. Her children, who heard her stories hundreds
of times, we will venture to say, never caught her in a
single contradiction or a material variation in relating
the same facts. She never obtruded her reminiscences
upon unwilling ears, but, when requested — and this
was often done — she was always prepared to recall the
strange events of her life.

What was very extraordinary in the case of Mrs.
Myers is that she continued, to the last point of life, to
remember recent occurrences as well as those which
transpired in the days of her youthful vigor. Her
activejiabits made it unpleasant to her to remain long
at the same place. She consequently itinerated around
among her children, who were settled in the neigh
borhood. While at one of these places she learned,
by overhearing conversation, and occasionally asking
a question, all that was going on upon the premises ;
and when she removed to another place, she related
all the domestic news, giving most accurate accounts
of the whole course of business. Let it not be sup-

198 WYOMING.

posed, however, that she exposed the imperfections or
weaknesses of one family circle to another. She nev
er dwelt upon the faults of the absent ; and, in speak
ing of one of her children to another, she always made
every thing as fair as possible. No mother was ever
more constant and earnest in the pursuit of the best
means to establish and maintain a most cordial family
feeling among her children.

Mr. Myers died at the old homestead, the house
which he first occupied after his marriage, and in
which all his children were born and reared. Mrs.
Myers died at the house of her son-in-law, Madison F.
Myers, on the old Lawrence Myers farm, January 3.
1851. She had been rather indisposed for a few days,
and required special attention. Her daughter visited
her room at about one o'clock in the morning, and,
finding her awake, asked her how she was. She made
no complaint, but urged her to retire and take some
rest. Upon receiving a spoonful of liquid to moisten
her lips, she said, " How good the Lord is." These
were her last words. The daughter retired, and the
nurse fell asleep. At early dawn she was found life
less. The lamp of life had quietly expired, no evi
dence being left of the slightest struggle, or the un
natural motion of a muscle — twelve days short of
eighty-nine years of age. «•

"Thrice welcome, Death !
That after many a painful, bleeding step,
Conducts us to our home, and lands us safe
On the long-wished-for shore. Prodigious change !
Our bane turned to a blessing ! Death disarmed,
Loses his fellness quite : all thanks to Him
Who scourged the venom out. Sure the last end
Of the good man is peace ! How calm his exit !
Night-dews fall not more gently to the ground,

MRS. MYERS. 199

Nor weary, worn-out winds expire so soft.
Behold him in the coming tide of life—
A life well spent, whose early care it was
His riper years should not upbraid his green :
By unperceived degrees he wears away,
Yet, like the sun, seems larger at his setting."

EGBERT BLAIR.

200 WYOMING.

SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MKS.
DEBORAH BEDFOED.

" Old men beheld, and did her reverence,
And bade their daughters look, and take from her
Example of their future life ; the young
Admired, and new resolve of virtue made."— POLLOK.

MRS. BEDFORD, at the time of this writing, is living
and enjoying comfortable health. She lives, as she
has done since the death of her husband, with her son,
Dr. Andrew Bedford, of Abington, Luzerne County,
Pennsylvania. From early childhood she has main
tained a character not only without reproach, but above
suspicion. She is the oracle of her family circle, and
is universally loved. She is one of the few instances
which are seen in a century of a contented, happy,
hopeful mind, which has borne the friction and sus
tained the hardships of eighty -five years. She joined
the first Methodist society which was formed in Wyo
ming in 1788, only ten years after the Indian battle.
Her memory of the events of the olden time is still
quite perfect, and her relations are given with more
emotion than is common to those of her years. There
is a remarkably matter-of-fact, business style about the
stories of the survivors of the old stirring and bloody
times ; but Mrs. Bedford seems to recall the fears, the
hopes, the sorrows, and the joys of the scenes in which
she mingled eighty years agone. Her sympathies are
so deep that time has labored in vain to extinguish
them. We are aware of the delicacy of writing of the
living ; thus much we have thought it proper to say,

MRS. BEDFORD. 201

and we hope that the modest self-distrust, and desire
to keep out of sight, which are characteristic of our
venerated friend, will not so far influence her mind as
that this just tribute to her virtues will cause her pain.

Mrs. Bedford was the daughter of James and Sarah
Sutton, and was born February 8th, 1773, in North
Castle, New York. Her father was engaged in mer
chandising, and, when British goods were interdicted,
he sold his property and removed to Wyoming, in
company with Dr. William Hooker Smith, his father-
in-law. Dr. Samuel Gustin married Susan Smith, his
wife's sister, studied medicine with Dr. Smith, and was
assistant surgeon with him in the army.

Mr. Sutton settled on Jacob's Plains, on the east side
of the Susquehanna, two miles above Wilkesbarre.
Before the Indian troubles he removed to Exeter, on
the west side of the river, about five miles above the
head of the valley of Wyoming. Here he built a grist
mill and a saw-mill upon a stream which gushes from
a notch of the mountain. His house was built in the
steep hill-side, and the scenery around him was wild
and picturesque. Mr. Sutton was possessed of unusual
mechanical genius. He was not a carpenter by trade,
but, aided by a Dictionary of Arts, he was able to do
most of the work of planning and constructing his
mills himself.

At this time the Indians were friendly, and often
visited Mr. Sutton's house. A company of them, made
up of both sexes, once came in and cut up various
pranks which greatly amused the children. They
danced before the looking-glass with long ribbons tied
to their hair behind, and seemed to feel no restraint
even in a house well fitted up and furnished. Mr.

202 WYOMING.

Sutton and his lady seldom opposed their wishes, as
they did not choose to offend them. An old Indian
once having brought a grist to the mill, after Mr. But
ton had taken out the toll, when he thought himself
unobserved, took the measure and put the toll back
into the hopper. Mr. Sutton thought this an occasion
for a little sternness. He charged the theft upon him,
and again took the toll. The savage was sullen, but
offered no resistance.

In the year 1777 — the year before the battle — there
was much talk of war with the Indians. Several per
sons were killed up the river, and others taken prison
ers. Mr. Sutton and John Jenkins, afterward known
as Colonel Jenkins, made a journey through the wil
derness to Queen Esther's Flats, in order to procure
the liberation of Mr. Ingersoll, who had been carried
into captivity. The distance of Queen Esther's town
from Wyoming was about ninety miles. The visitors
were treated very courteously by the queen, and she
was free in her communications with regard to the
prospect of war. She said she was opposed to war ;
she wished the Indians and white people to live in
peace with each other. Mr. Sutton belonged to the so
ciety of Friends, was a religious man, and talked with
the queen religiously. She seemed to have correct
views of religious and moral obligations.

They were invited to spend the night with the
queen, and the true spirit of hospitality seemed to
characterize all her communications and arrangements.
In the course of the evening, however, things took a
new turn, and the travelers, for a while, were at a loss
what construction to put upon the indications outside.
A company of Indians came before the house, and,
seating themselves upon a log, began to sing " the war

MRS. BEDFORD. 203

song." The old queen went out to them, and was en
gaged in an earnest conversation with them for a long
time. When she came in she frankly told her guests
that the Indians were determined to waylay and kill
them, adding, with great emphasis, " I can do nothing
with them. Now," said she, "you lie down until I
call you." They did so ; and when all was still in the
town, she called them, and then, said, " You must go
down the river. Go down the bank, and take my ca
noe, and paddle it without noise. Lift the paddles up
edgewise, so as to make no splash in the water, and
you may get out of reach before the war-party find out
which way you have gone." They slipped off and
found the canoe, which the queen had particularly de
scribed, scrupulously followed her directions, and found
their way home in safety.

The Indians which were prowling about now began
to be ill-natured, and to exhibit signs of hatred to the
settlers. On one occasion they made a war demon
stration on the opposite side of the river, in full view
from Mr. Sutton's house. There was a large company,
and they were seen gathering pine knots for the whole
day. They collected a vast pile, and when night came
they set them on fire. The flame seemed to go up
to the clouds, and sent out its glare over all the region
round about. The Indians danced and whooped, sung
and yelled, around the fire the whole night. The
spectacle was most terrific.

In the spring of 1778, Mr. Sutton rented his premises
in Exeter, and purchased a mill-seat in Kingston, in
the place since called Hartsift's Hollow, one mile from
Forty Fort. He sawed a quantity of lumber and
made a raft. Then, putting on board the raft his fam
ily and all his valuables, they were floated down to

204 WYOMING. '

" Forty Fort Eddy." Mrs. Bedford says : " We lived
in a shanty while our house was being built, and it
was nearly finished, when we were overwhelmed with
a tide of troubles. A malignant and contagious dis
ease, called the putrid fever, broke out in the settle
ment. My grandmother Smith and aunt Gustin died
of this disease. A young man who was at work upon
our house also died, and my mother, two sisters, and
myself caught the disease from him.

" The settlers now began to be apprehensive of an
attack from the Indians, and many of them removed
to the fort. My youngest sister died, and then our
nurse left us and went into the fort with her parents.
Doctors Smith and Gustin told us that there were so
many sick in the fort that if we went there we would
probably die ; that those who were as near the fort as
we were would do better to remain at their homes as
long as they could do so with safety. It was then ar
ranged that, if there should be a prospect of an attack,
three alarm-guns should be fired at the fort. One day
an old gray -headed Indian came and walked back and
forth before our door several times. Father, suppos
ing that there was a company of Indians on the hill,
and, if the old Indian was molested, they would come
and massacre us, gave him a loaf of bread, when he
went away, and we saw no more of him."

One morning early the alarm-guns were fired, and
Mr. Sutton went to the fort to ascertain the state of mat
ters. When he left he ordered things to be put in a
state of readiness to remove. He soon returned with
an officer, a team, and a file of armed men. Mrs. Sut
ton was fast recovering; Deborah was much better, but
not yet able to walk any distance; and the younger
daughter was yet extremely low, and was carried upon

MRS. BEDFORD. 205

a litter. Deborah, was taken on a wheelbarrow by a
young man by the name of Asa Gore, who belonged
to Captain Stuart's company, and was afterward killed
in the battle. They reached the fort, and the sick were
laid on beds spread upon the floor.

Lieutenant Hamilton had been to General Washing
ton's head-quarters, and most eloquently urged the
necessity of immediate assistance being sent on to
"Wyoming. He pointed out the defenseless condition
of the settlement, most of the effective force having
been drawn away, and a remorseless horde of savages
and Tories about to make a hostile demonstration upon
them from the north. He had just returned, and he
used his influence to prevail upon the companies which
had assembled in the fort to remain there, and, if need
be, to defend it until succor should be sent on from
the army. But Captain Stuart threatened to withdraw
his company if the commanding officers refused to go
out and meet the enemy. They finally resolved to go
but and fight. Stuart and his party were confident of
success. They had no idea of the odds they would have
to contend against, but were phrensied with the idea of
shooting down a few scattered bands of Indians and
Tories. Many of the people in the fort were not at all
sensible of the awful hazards of the movement.

Dr. Smith, and his family were in the fort at Wilkes-
barre. A short time before the battle the doctor went
to his house above the town to get some provisions.
He undertook to boil some potatoes, and, as he was
proceeding with, this business, he imagined that some
thing like a blanket was thrown over his head. He
supposed it to be a warning from the spirit of his de
parted wife of some approaching evil. He looked out
of the window, and saw several Indians standing * on

206 WYOMING.

the top of the hill, looking toward the house. He
went out at the back door and ran along the creek —
Mill Creek — until he came to the river, and then pro
ceeded on the beach, under cover of the river bank,
and so reached the fort in safety.

We set down the above somewhat singular story
without advancing any theory upon which it is to be
explained. It was taken from the lips of Mrs. Bed
ford, and must be altogether authentic. Dr. Smith,
during his latter years, was known to be somewhat
skeptically inclined. The idea of a warning from the
spirit of his departed wife proves that at the time he
had strong convictions of the existence of disembodied
spirits. Whether the serious circumstances by which
he was then surrounded for the time dissipated his
doubts, or the sense of personal security which super
vened in after years overcame the convictions of ear
lier life, we are not prepared to say. *

" On the 3d of July, 1778," says Mrs. Bedford, " our
little army marched from Forty Fort to meet the en
emy. Doctors Smith and Gustin went out mounted.
When our men turned and fled, and the work of
slaughter began, the doctors ran their horses, but were
hotly pursued. The Indians were so near that a ball
passed through Dr. Gustin's hat. They came in, and
brought us the sad tidings that our men were beaten,
and the Indians were pursuing them through the woods.
My father, although a Quaker, believed it right to fight
in self-defense, and would probably have been in the
battle had it not been necessary for him to stay with
the women and children, and to take care of the sick."

After the flag of truce had been sent up, and while
the negotiations for the capitulation were in progress,
a barrel of liquor which was in the fort was rolled

MRS. BEDFORD. 207

down the bank and the head knocked in, that it might
not fall into the hands of the Indians. When the In
dians came into Mr. Button's cabin they marked those
present as prisoners of war, and then proceeded to
plunder them of their goods. Mr. Sutton, presuming
too hastily that they would be left with the clothing
which they had on, put on his wedding suit — a fine
Quaker suit. Mrs. Sutton, a little more shrewd, left
her best clothing in her trunks, and covered them up
with rubbish, and so saved them from observation.
The first "big Indian" that came along after Mr. Sut
ton had rigged himself up in his best stripped him of
every article he had on excepting his shirt. How that
rascally savage looked in his " fine Quaker suit," with
his rifle, bullet-pouch, and powder-horn, and a string
of scalps around his waist, may be imagined. It was
no part of the policy of the Indians to have things in
keeping according to the tastes of civilization.

It was now sufficiently evident that there was no
safety for the settlers under the articles of capitulation.
Butler left the Valley, and the Indians that lingered
behind were under no manner of restraint. How Mr.
Sutton was to dispose of his family was a question
which had its serious difficulties. The youngest child
was still very low, while Mrs. Sutton and Deborah were
feeble, and the idea of a journey through the swamp
was not to be admitted for a moment. Mr. Sutton's
mechanical skill now came in play. He and Dr. Gus-
tin set themselves at work to build a boat. They took
timber and boards from deserted cabins, and drew out
old nails which had ceased to be of any service where
they were, and with such materials, "in nine days"
they had completed and launched their craft. Trunks,
boxes, and bundles were soon deposited in the boat,

208 WYOMING.

and the two families, fifteen persons all told, seated
xipon and among them. The ingenious and courage
ous navigators pushed off from the shore, and com
mitted themselves and their families to the care of a
gracious Providence upon the treacherous current of a
river so obstructed by rocks and rapids as to be scarce
ly navigable in low water except by canoes.

Their hastily -built craft had been calked, but no tar
or pitch could be obtained, and, consequently, it was
found to leak considerably. They hauled up for re
pairs, or "to overhaul her," at Captain Stuart's place,
in Hanover. The females went into the deserted man
sion and took refreshments, while the men proceeded
to " stop leaks." Poor Stuart was slain in the battle,
or, as has been reported, tortured the day following,
and his house was left desolate, but not yet consigned
to the flames. Mrs. Bedford says that up to the time
of their leaving the Valley nothing was said about
the houses of the settlers being burned. She saw no
smoke arising from burning houses, and heard no men
tion of it ; but when she returned to the Valley she
learned that the houses of the settlement had been con
sumed by fire soon after they left.

The difficulties which were overcome and the haz
ards which were run in this enterprise can now scarce
ly be estimated. Their craft was a slight flat-bottomed
boat, constructed of materials not designed for such a
purpose. Upon this frail vessel all the luggage which
they dared venture to take on was piled up, and then
fifteen persons, some of them sick, one utterly helpless,
were seated among the luggage. And now what was
before them ? A rapid, crooked river, several consid
erable falls, at best of dangerous navigation, and, for
aught that was known, many miles of the way they

MRS. BEDFORD. 209

would be exposed to the merciless savages. It re
quired courage and skill of no ordinary grade to exe
cute successfully such an enterprise. Mrs. Bedford pi
ously remarks, "We had a dangerous passage down
the river, but the hand of Providence preserved us."
"We will here give a portion of her narrative in her
own language.

"Just before night we came to a house on the bank
of the river, where we were kindly received and fur
nished with supper. We thought to have remained
here for the night, but, fearing the Indians, we con
cluded to trust the hand of Providence for a safe pas
sage through the Nescopeck Falls, at dead of night,
rather than run the risk of falling into the hands of
the savages. We arrived safely at Northumberland
the next morning. That day we learned that the wom
an and her two sons at the house where we took our
supper, and where we thought to remain over night,
were murdered by the Indians. Our apprehensions of
danger were well founded, and, had we remained at
that place, we should probably all have been either
murdered or led into hopeless bondage.

" From Northumberland we went on to Middletown,
but Dr. Gustin went to Carlisle, where he entered into
practice.* We remained in Middletown more than
two years. The town was full of ' Fleeters,' as we were
called, and provisions were extremely scarce. We
could procure none other than salt provisions, and for
them we had to pay very high prices. Learning that

* An infant daughter of Dr. Gustin, who constituted one of the
company in the boat, subsequently became the wife of the Rev. Mr.
Snowden, a Presbyterian clergyman, and the mother of lion. James
Boss Snowden, well known in Pennsylvania as having occupied va-
rious important and responsible public positions.

210 WYOMING.

there was a garrison established at Wilkesbarre for the
defense of such of the inhabitants as wished to return
to their possessions, we returned to the Valley. It was
not without great sufferings and fatigue that we final
ly reached Wilkesbarre.

" Our grist-mill and house at Exeter were burned by
the Indians and Tories. That the latter had a hand in
the matter is evident from the fact that the mill-irons
from both the grist-mill and saw-mill were all carried
off, and they were things that the Indians would not
take. Our house in Kingston had in some way es
caped the flames, but had been stripped of its cover
ing by our men to build barracks with in "Wilkes
barre. We consequently had no materials with which
to build us a house to live in. The ingenuity of my
father, however, was equal to the emergency. He
erected a frame, and filled it in between the posts with
split wood, and plastered it with clay mortar on each
side ; he then made a wash of white clay, and washed
it over with a brush, and gave it a very nice finish.
My mother prepared some coloring matter, and orna
mented the wall quite prettily. The house, when com
pleted, was considered as really a fine thing. It stood
in Wilkesbarre just above the fort, on ground occupied
subsequently by Arnold Colt, Esq., and at present by
Hon. John N. Cunningham.

" There was now no mill in the settlement. The
officers and men in the garrison had flour which was
brought in from below, but the people of the settlement
pounded Indian corn in a hominy block, of which
they made bread and mush, which was nutritious, and
not disagreeable food. It was, however, difficult to
procure this coarse breadstuff in sufficiency to meet the
necessities of the people. The pestle was in motion

MKS. BEDFORD. 211

night and day, each, one who came taking his or her
turn.

" My father now set himself at work to meet the
pressing wants of the settlement by building a mill on
Mill Creek, near the river. He found carpenters among
the soldiers who assisted him, and the mill was soon
put up. A sentry-box was constructed upon the top
of the mill, where a watch was kept day and night,
for the Indians were skulking about, plundering all
they could lay their hands upon, and killing all who
crossed their path. The mill was built of hewed logs,
and was on land belonging to Obadiah Gore. During
the Pennamite and Yankee squabbles it was seized by
a certain person under a Pennsylvania title. My fa
ther was absent, having gone up the river for personal
safety ; my mother went up to the mill, and ordered
the miller to clear out, informing him that the mill was
her husband's property, and that she would have a
company of men there immediately who would take
him into custody. Just then three men rode up — one
of them was Dr. Smith, my grandfather, and another
was William Smith, who afterward was shot by the
Pennamites — and the miller took the alarm and left.
The mill stood and did good service to the settlement
until the celebrated pumpkin flood, when it was car
ried away.*

* In October, 1786, a great flood occurred on the Susquehanna,
which was the occasion of an immense amount of damage. The
water was never known to rise so high except on the occasion of the
great "ice flood." Mills, houses, barns, and stacks of hay and grain
were swept away. Horses and cattle, pigs and poultry, in great
numbers, were carried down the current. Corn-fields were clear
ed of such quantities of pumpkins that the raging current was com
pletely speckled with them ; hence the name — the "pumpkin flood."
Wilkesbarre was partially inundated, great losses were sustained,

212 WYOMING.

" The settlers returned in great numbers, but such
was the exposure of the country to the savages at a
distance from the fort that they crowded into Wilkes-
barre until they were uncomfortably jammed together.
Mr. Eos well Franklin, a brother of Colonel John Frank
lin, had a farm upon the flats below "Wilkesbarre, not
far from the fort. His wife said that she would go
on to their farm if the Indians were as thick as the
pine-trees. She carried out her purpose, but it cost
her her life.

"Her daughter — a young woman — one day went
to the spring for water, and was gone so long that Mrs.
Franklin became alarmed, and sent some of the small
er children to see if they could find her. They soon
came running back in a great fright, informing her
that their sister was coming with a company of In
dians. Mrs. Franklin had been confined but two weeks
before. The Indians ordered her to get up and dress
herself. Difficult as was the task, it had to be done.
The Indians took what they wanted, and set off with
the mother and her children. As they left,. she saw
an Indian take a shovelful of live coals from the fire
and place it between two beds. The prisoners were
taken to the woods.

" Mr. Franklin was plowing upon the flats between
his house and the fort. He saw his house in flames,
and, judging of the instruments of the mischief, un
harnessed one of his horses, and rode to "Wilkesbarre
upon a jump. A company of men turned out and
pursued the party, overtaking them on the mount-

and great suffering during the following winter was endured by the
inhabitants of the ill-starred Valley in consequence of this fearful
flood. It is a wonder that not more than one or two lives wero
lost.

MRS. BEDFORD. 213

am this side of Meshoppen.* The Indians were worst
ed, and the prisoners brought back, excepting Mrs.
Franklin and her infant child.

" We saw people gathered on the outside of the
fort, and, not knowing the cause, went down to ascer
tain what it was, and there we saw Miss Franklin, who
related to us the whole story. She said, when our
people came so near as to fire, they called on the pris
oners to fall. They all fell ; but her mother lifted up
her head, and said, ' Your father is with them.' She
said to her mother, ' Put down your head ; there is an
Indian coming to kill you.' He fired, and she breathed
her last. After the first shot, our people called to the
prisoners to come to them: they then ran to them,
and the Indians which remained alive fled in every
direction. Some one saw an Indian put Mrs. Frank
lin's child behind a log ; but they must have removed
it to another place, or carried it off, for it was not to
be found. Miss Franklin said that when the Indians
had built their fire at night, they would conduct them
selves in the most brutal manner to the child and the
mother. They would not let the mother nurse the
child, and would often pinch the poor little creature to
make it scream.

" Frederick Follett, at the time of the battle, was
stabbed nine times, and scalped, and finally recovered.
Several years afterward he called upon Dr. Smith to
assist him in securing a pension. They made an ap
pointment to meet at my father's house. The doctor
examined his scars. He showed us where he was
stabbed, and it was evident enough that he had been
scalped. As to his being stabbed, he said it was done

* According to others, it was upon the Frenchtown Mountain,
above Wyallusing.

214: WYOMING.

by different Indians, each one giving him a stab in
passing. He endured the scalping and stabbing with
out making a motion, that they might suppose him
dead. When he was scalped, he supposed the next
thing would be the tomahawk; but the attention of
the Indian who did the deed being probably drawn
in some other direction, he neglected this part of the
operation. Those following on, supposing the work
completed, contented themselves with piercing what
they thought a dead man with their spears.

" A Mr. Corey, who had lost a son in the war, once
came to my father's house some years afterward. We
had been informed that he had learned the circum
stances of his son's death. Upon my mother request
ing him to tell us the story, he said, ' Mrs. Sutton, I
will.' He then said that when the roll was called on
the morning of the battle, he saw his son — a boy about
fifteen years of age — standing in the ranks. He said,
' Silas, go back ;' he answered, ' Father, I can do some
thing.' He told him the second time to leave the
ranks, and he went out of his sight. When they came
into the action he saw his son by his side ; it was then
too late to send him away. This was the last he saw
of him. A neighbor of his was taken prisoner, and
subsequently returned, and gave him a description of
the manner in which the boy came to his end. He
said that after the battle some prisoners were encamp
ed in the woods with the Indians and Tories, and that
one of the Tories told the Indians that this boy was a
captain of a company of boys- that were being trained
up to kill them. They then gathered a quantity of
pine knots, and dug a hole in the ground, and set
therein four bayonets with the points upward. They
then lifted the boy up, and let him fall down on the

MRS. BEDFORD. 215

bayonets, all of which pierced him, two just below his
hips, and two near his shoulder-blades. They then
built a slow fire under him with the pine knots, and
thus tortured him until near daylight, when he ex
pired.

" The witness of this horrible scene said that the
poor fellow uttered the most heart-rending cries, but
he durst not show the least emotion upon the occasion,
not doubting but any manifestation of sympathy would
subject him to the same fate. While the father was
giving the relation, the big tears rolled from his eyes
in quick succession. The whole story, and the man
ner of the old gentleman, are all now perfectly fresh in
my recollection. These terrible scenes used to prey
upon my thoughts, and harass me in my dreams, un
til they were imbedded in my very nature."

PENNAHITE AND YANKEE WARS.

The scenes of the last Pennamite and Yankee war
which Mrs. Bedford witnessed, or has related from her
immediate family connections, are given pretty much
in her own language, and contain several interesting
incidents which are not in the histories, and which we
have not learned from any other source.

" The wars between the Pennsylvania and New En
gland people were terrible. Dr. Smith took sides with
the Yankees in the first struggle before the war with
the Indians. I remember to have heard it said that,
when Colonel Plunkett was about to invade the settle
ment, the doctor harangued the people eloquently.
He told them that every man who had no gun or sword
must make swords of their scythes, and every boy who
could lift a bush must be on hand. The spirit of the
people was up; men, women, and children were all

216 WYOMING.

engaged in doing something. The old rusty guns and
bayonets were scoured up, and those who had no guns
took their scythes and attached them to poles, with
which, in a close encounter, they could do terrible exe
cution. Others seized their axes, hoes, picks, crow
bars, and whatever they had which would serve the
purpose of defense, or be useful in building breast
works. My father, Quaker as he was, shouldered his
gun among the rest. They took their position at the
foot of the valley, on both sides of the river, and when
Plunkett, with his men, reached the head of Nanticoke
Falls, they were met with a deadly fire, first from one
side and then from the other. They looked up the
mountain sides, and the waving boughs of hemlock,
pine, and laurel, and the fearful yells and shouts which
echoed from mountain top to mountain top, made a
terrible impression on the minds of the assailants. The
woods seemed to be alive, and the very trees in motion.
The idea that thousands of the 'Green Mountain
Boys' had come down from Vermont and New Hamp
shire seized the mind of the gallant colonel and his
men, and they retreated without making a respectable
effort to accomplish their object.

" After the Indian troubles began to abate, this un
natural war was resumed. One of my uncles lived in
Forty Fort, and kept an open house for the accommo
dation of l the Yankee Boys.' I kept house for him,
and always had a supply of bread, meat, milk, and
vegetables, and gave them free access to the pantry,
where they would help themselves. The poor fellows
would come in weary and hungry, set up their guns,
and rush to the table like starving wolves.

"When Armstrong and Patterson came on, they
commenced a series of efforts to drive the Yankees

MRS. BEDFORD. 217

out of the country. One of their schemes was to bur
den the settlers with their men. They quartered their
soldiers around among the people, and gave some one
of them charge of the house. Six of Armstrong's men
were quartered upon us, and the meanest one of the lot
was put in charge of the house. He swelled and
swaggered, and gave out orders with the authority of
an absolute monarch. Mother was pleasant, and did
the best for them she could, not wishing to offend
them. Father thought he would leave the Valley,
and he took a canoe load of our goods up to Black
Walnut, intending to return and take his family, but
he was taken sick there, and we heard nothing from
him for near six months.

" Armstrong had a very bad felon, and applied to
Dr. Smith for medical treatment. The doctor told him
that he would not go into the fort to attend to his case,
but if he would take board among the citizens he
would do what he could for him. It was finally ar
ranged that he should meet the doctor at our house.
We gave him all the comforts which the house afford
ed, and his felon was soon cured. When the Yankees
were all ordered off, Armstrong came to our house
and said to my mother, 'Mrs. Sutton, you will not
like to go with the rabble ; you may stay a day or two,
and then go at your leisure.' The gallant officer
doubtless thought this indulgence an ample compensa
tion for our attentions during his severe afflictions.
Mother was about to be confined, and father was gone
up the river, and she told him she could not go.
'Oh,' said he, 'you must go, but we will make it as
agreeable for you as possible.' Soon after a file of
armed men came in and ordered mother to clear out.
When they left they said she might have fifteen miri-

218 WYOMING.

utes to leave in. She told them she could not go at
all. Soon after they returned, and found mother lying
on a bed on the floor. They told her to get up and
be off immediately. She flung the clothing off, and,
rising up, said, ' Here I am, take my life as soon as
you please.' A ruffian pointed his bayonet at her,
and swore he would kill her, taking a step toward her
as though he would execute his threat, when one of
them stepped up and turned his gun away, saying,
' Come along, and let the woman alone.'

" The Yankees were on Redoubt Hill, and our house
was in range between that point and the fort, and they
told us they should burn all the houses between the
fort and the hill. They commenced firing the houses,
and the bullets began to whistle around us. We then
found we must flee, or lose our lives either by~ the
bullets or the flames. We gathered up what we could
carry and went to my uncle Bailey's — the location
now occupied by Steele's hotel. Our house was burn
ed and all there was left in it. We remained at my
uncle's undisturbed.

" When father returned we removed across the riv
er, and built a house in Forty Fort. Here we were
during the conflict between Pickering and Franklin.
When the people were called together to vote upon
the question of submitting to the laws of Pennsylva
nia, my father was appointed moderator, and it de
volved upon him to receive the votes and report the
result. The Franklin men, beginning to doubt their
strength, took father away, and carried him into the
woods. A general melee followed. The men rushed
into the thicket and cut clubs : it was an awful scene.
The young hickories bent and fell before the great
jack-knives of the men, and the heavy green clubs

MRS. BEDFOED. 219

were lifted and brandished in all directions. Father
was found and brought back ; and, after a slight brush,
in which no one was killed or very seriously injured,
the men scattered and went home. Poor Franklin
came along with his face bleeding from wounds re
ceived in the squabble.

" This was the winding-up of the civil wars of the
famous Valley of Wyoming. Grievous and cruel wars
and destructive floods desolated this lovely spot until
many were driven to despair, and finally abandoned
the place and settled elsewhere. Under the severe
losses and untold hardships which we were compelled
to endure from the causes which I have endeavored
to describe, we had passed through a discipline which
had its favorable influence through after-years. We
were taught the vanity and uncertainty of all human
things, and had received many lessons in relation to
God's providential dealings.

"We returned to our place in Hartsift's Hollow,
and remained there a while. Then my father, in con
nection with Dr. Smith, built a forge at Lacka wanna ;
but, not succeeding as he desired in making iron, he
returned to Exeter, where he and my mother both fin
ished their earthly career.

" In 1788 I became interested in a new religious
movement, commenced at Eoss Hill, in Kingston, un
der the labors of Anning Owen. Nearly all my fa
ther's family fell under the same influence, and from
that time we were identified with the Methodist Epis
copal Church.

"In 1799, May 16th, I was married to Jacob Bed
ford, Esq. He died August 23d, 1849. I am now in
my 85th year, July 13th, 1857."

220 WYOMING.

YI.

INCIDENTS OF THE WARS IN THE LACKAWANNA POR
TION OF THE SETTLEMENT, BELATED BY MRS.
MARTHA MARCY.

THE incidents recorded below have been communi
cated to us by the venerable JOSEPH MARCY, now —
1858 — seventy-one years of age. He is the only sur
viving son of the lady upon whose authority they are
now transmitted.

Ebenezer Marcy came to the Valley from Fishkill, '
on the Hudson, and settled upon the lands now owned
by his grandchildren, situated below the Lackawanna
bridge, and about three miles above the village of
Pittston. A block-house was built by the settlers in
1770 on the plain, in what is now called Upper Pitts-
ton. After the Indian troubles had subsided, Mr.
Marcy took possession of his house, which by some
strange providence had escaped the flames. It was
"a double log house," built in the style of the times,
with a "back wall," against which, during the cold
season, a large fire, made of logs, was kept burning
day and night. In the corner, near the fire, stood that
necessary article of Yankee furniture, "the dye-tub,"
in which the "blue stockings" were "dyed in the
wool" or "in the yarn." The dye-tub usually consti
tuted a seat for some one, and it was upon this seat
that the lad Joseph learned his lessons in the history
of the olden time.

When Mrs. Marcy had visitors who wished to hear
about the Indians and the Pennamites, Joseph would

MRS. MARCY. 221

take his favorite seat, and listen with all the ears he
had. After he had heard the stories a thousand and
one times, they still produced the same excitement in
his mind. He knew what was coming next, yet he
listened, and gazed, and gaped with as much eagerness
as if he had been listening to the romantic tales of a
new novel. Ah ! they were tales of the sufferings and
adventures of his father, mother, brothers, and sisters.
These stories he now relates with the greatest particu
larity, and seems as familiar with them as with any
portion of his own history.

When John Butler arrived at Sutton's, he sent a
scouting party down the river, who secured all the
water-craft belonging to the Lackawanna people, and
deposited them at the head of the island. The settlers
at that point were consequently left without the means
of crossing the Susquehanna, and this is the reason
why several able-bodied and brave men were not in
the battle, but were with their families in the fort on
that fatal day. The fort consisted of a block-house, or
probably three block-houses, surrounded by pickets
made of split logs set in the ground and standing eight
feet above the surface. Here the families who had
settled on the Lackawanna, near its confluence with
the Susquehanna, were quartered on the 3d of July,
1778.*

Soon after the tide of battle had turned against the
patriots, a man who had been wounded in one foot,

* The following " Articles of Capitulation for three Forts at Lacu-
wanack," dated " July 4, 1778," are published by Mr. Miner:

" AKT. 1st. That the different commanders of the said forts do im
mediately deliver them up, with all the arms, ammunition, and stores
in the said forts.

" ART. 2d. Major Butler promises that the lives of the men, wom
en, and children be preserved entire."

222 WYOMING.

and liad managed to swim the river, brought over the
sad tidings of the defeat and slaughter of the little
army. After a few words upon the subject, he mount
ed a horse which belonged to Mr. Marcy, and laid his
course across the mountains. All was stir, alarm, and
confusion in the fort. The darkness of night came on,
but not to hide from the eyes of the Lackawanna peo
ple the horrors of the scene which was being enacted
on the west side of the Susquehanna. They saw across
the river the Indians making preparations for their
fiendish orgies. They kindled fires, and filled the air
with their terrible yells. At length two prisoners
were brought up. One was tied to a tree in a sitting
posture, with his hands and feet bound to stakes driven
in the ground, and a train of pine knots laid, extend
ing some twelve feet, and terminating at his bowels.
The farther end of the train was fired, and then the
Indians commenced dancing around the poor creature,
while the flame gradually approached him, and he was
filled with the most indescribable horror at its prog
ress. Splinters of pine knots were stuck into the flesh
of the other and set on fire. The poor victims of sav
age cruelty shrieked, and called on God for help.
Their wailings and the unearthly yells of the savages
mingled together, and were wafted by the breeze across
the plains, and echoed back from the hills. That was
an awful night for the Lackawanna people. What
would be their fate they could not foresee, but imme
diate flight was impossible. The best they could do
was to throw themselves upon the mercy of the con
querors.

The morning came, and they raised a sheet upon a
pole on the river bank. The uflag of truce" was dis
covered, and several British officers, attended by a

MRS. MARCY. 225

posse of Indians, came over and demolished the pick
ets around the block-house, and the Indians painted
the prisoners. The people had hid their provisions in
secret places ; their flour and meal were concealed in
hollow logs, and their meat was buried in the ground.
A wretched old squaw soon came over, having seven
teen scalps strung on a stick. She spoke broken En
glish, and talked of being "dreadful tired," having, as
she said, " been out all night scalping the Yankees" A
plan was soon set on foot still further to torture the
feelings of the prisoners. An old mare belonging to
Mr. Marcy was brought up, and Mrs. Marcy's side-sad
dle placed upon her back, with the hind part before,
and the crupper tied in the mane. The squaw was
then seated upon the saddle astride, a looking-glass
being held in one hand and the string of scalps in the
other. In this plight the animal was led by one In
dian and driven by another back and forth before the
fort, while the Indians hooted and laughed, and other
wise insulted the prisoners. There were men there
who, if their wives and children had not been in the
power of the savages, and they had had in hand their
trusty rifles, would have sent a ball through the heart
of the old limb of Satan, and run the hazard of dying
the next moment. But, grinding their teeth, they
smothered their wrath as well as they could.

Parties of the enemy went and collected the horses
and cattle, and turned them into the fields of grain ;
this saved them the necessity of destroying the crops
by other and more laborious means. The officers or
dered the prisoners to milk the cows and bring in the
milk for their use. It was soon found that, without a
resort to some stratagem to save a portion of the milk,
the children in the fort must starve; then the cows
K2

226 WYOMING.

were left but half milked, and the operation was finish
ed under cover of the night.

At evening the Indians made large fires of the pick
ets,* and lay down before them, and soon fell into a
dead sleep. This was the tune for the prisoners to
take their meal. The men stole away and finished
milking the cows, while the women proceeded to bake
their johnny cakes. The milk brought in and the
cakes baked, the prisoners proceeded to take the only
meal which they had the privilege of enjoying during
the twenty -four hours. All this process of cooking and
eating had to be conducted with the utmost silence
and care. The prisoners were not cared for at all by
the British officers, and could only furnish themselves
and their helpless children with food, and avoid utter
starvation, by stealth. Were not these British and
Tories magnanimous conquerors ?

Ori one occasion the prisoners were left by them
selves," and the wife of Zebulon Marcy resolved upon
trying to bake a loaf of light bread. Just as her loaf
was well done, it was announced that "an Indian was
coming." The loaf was rolled in a towel, and hid in
the foot of the bed. The Indian came in, and, snuffing
and looking about, he said, " Me want bread." One of
the women replied, "We have none." Continuing his
snuffing, he said, " Ah ! me smell 'em ;" and, going di
rectly to the place where the loaf was deposited, he
took it out. Mrs. Marcy cried, "You sha'n't have that
bread : I want it to keep the children from starving ;"
and, springing forward, she seized the stolen loaf by
one end, and in the contest it was broken in two, she
retaining her half, while the Indian seemed satisfied
with his portion. Well, thought the brave lady, " Half
a loaf is better than no bread," and so it was.

MRS. MARCY. 227

Butler and his men left the Yalley a few days after
the battle, but parties of Indians were prowling about,
plundering property, and burning the houses of the
settlers as opportunity served and their feelings in
clined them. About two weeks after the battle an
Indian came to the fort and said, "Wild Indians come
soon : kill Yankee and eat 'em." The settlers had grad
ually disappeared, and few besides the family of Eb-
enezer Marcy were left. Mrs. Marcy was in a delicate
state of health, and, besides, was lame in her feet from
rheumatism; but there seemed no alternative: she
must undertake the journey across the mountains on
foot.

Mr. Marcy's family consisted of himself, his wife, and
five small children, the oldest a girl of eleven years
of age. There was but one other individual in the
company, and that was an old lady still more of a crip
ple than Mrs. Marcy. • The exigencies of the journey
would necessarily require covering at night, and hence
the necessity of taking along blankets. Mr. Marcy
was the only individual in the company who could
carry any burden. He made a large bundle, in which
he had carefully stowed away a family Bible, which
Mr. Joseph Marcy has now in his possession, and pre
serves as a precious relic. It contains the family rec
ords, and settles some facts of public interest. All be
ing ready, Mr. Marcy shouldered his burden, and or
dered all hands to move on.

The little company commenced their perilous and
doubtful journey probably on the 20th of July. Their
course lay through Jacob's Plains, up Laurel Eun to
the path from Wilkesbarre- to Stroudsburg, which they
fell into on the mountain. They had nearly exhaust
ed their provisions, and had to be put on short allow7

228 WYOMING.

ance. They fed themselves mostly on the twigs of
sassafras bushes, roots, and berries. Mrs. Marcy had a
cane in one hand and a spikenard root in the other,
and would frequently take a little of the root in her
mouth and chew it, swallowing the juice, making it
serve, as she ever after maintained that it did, the
double purpose of food and medicine. On the even
ing of the 22d of July, "on. the Tobyhanna Hill," Mrs.
Marcy was taken ill, and Mr. Marcy left her and the
old lady, while he went forward a short Distance with
the children, and deposited them in the bushes. He
then returned, and soon he was the father of another
child. The new-comer was a daughter, and was wel
comed and provided for as well as the circumstances
would admit. Early in the morning Mrs. Marcy arose,
and set off upon her journey with good courage, and,
for her, at a brisk pace. The little piece of humanity
which had been sent to them in the mountain was
added to Mr. Marcy's burden, and that day they trav
eled the astonishing distance of sixteen miles, which
brought them to Captain Spaulding's encampment.
The captain kindly sent on two soldiers, each having
a horse, to help on Mr. Marcy and his family as far as
the Delaware.

• When they came to "Dingman's Ferry," they asked
for lodging, but were told in reply, by the good man
of the house, that " the Wyoming people had eaten
him out of house and home," and he could not keep
them. Mrs. Marcy sat on a log before the door nurs
ing her baby. "How old is that child?" asked the
man. " Not quite two days," was the answer. " Good
woman," said he, "you look tired; you ought not to
go any farther, but I can not keep you." Then tak
ing from a shelf a loaf of bread, he gave them " the

MES. MARCY. 229

half of a slice apiece," and said, "About two miles
aliead you can get entertainment." They moved on,
and found hospitality in the house of a farmer.

In the evening a man drove briskly by in the di
rection of the Delaware. It was a man whom Mr.
Jonathan Spencer — Mrs. Marcy's father — had sent on
to meet Mr. Marcy and his family. The man, learning
at the ferry that he had passed the company, returned
the next morning, and now the severest of the labors
and trials of the pilgrims were ended. Eight days after
the birth of her child Mrs. Marcy reached her father's
house, near Fishkill, in much better condition, both
physically and mentally, than could have been expected.

Mrs. Marcy " was very tired," and took her bed ;
but how long may it be supposed that she kept it?
A month or two, with good nursing and skillful med
ical aid? No, indeed; it was only "for the greater
part of the next day." The condition of her children
brought her to her feet again after a few hours of rest.
"When they left the Valley their clothes were " mend
ed up and were comfortable," but the long journey
through the wilderness, often penetrating the thick
brush and briers in quest of berries to save them from
absolute starvation, reduced their garments to shreds
and tatters. Mrs. Marcy's old friends and neighbors
made large contributions in "old clothing," and "the
girls" came in and helped her sew, and "in about a
week" the little folks were all " decently clad."

The little "woods girl," as she was called, was an
object of no little curiosity. Mrs. Marcy "felt thank
ful to God for her strange preservation and that of her
infant, and for the deliverance of herself and family
from the tomahawk and scalping-knife ; and, in accord
ance with her feelings, she called her girl Thankful."

230 WYOMING.

The child lived to the age of seventeen, and then died
with measles.

The Marcjs were among the persecuted Yankees
during the Pennamite and Yankee wars. Mrs. Marcy
used to tell a ludicrous story of some of Armstrong's
men, who came up to Lacka wanna in the way of ful
filling their mission. They seemed to be hard pressed
for provisions. They found " an old sow with a litter
of young pigs ;" they butchered and devoured the
whole family. Not yet satisfied, or desiring something
in the line of poultry and eggs, they took " an old hen
that had been setting seven days," and they cooked
and devoured the hen and her stock of eggs. There
must have been a little touch of the savage in these
zealous votaries of the land-jobbers of Pennsylvania.

At the time Armstrong was disarming the Yankee
settlers, two of his officers visited Lackawanna, and,
entering Mr. Marcy's house, inquired for arms. There
were seven guns in the house, which they proposed to
disable by taking off the locks. Mrs. Marcy remon
strated against their proceedings, informing them that
" the men folks" were not at home, and declaring that
it was not handsome for them to take advantage of the
circumstances. At that moment young John Carey,
one of her boarders, came in. Seizing his rifle, he
cocked it, and, pointing the muzzle toward the unwel
come visitors, he said, with a firm tone, " Stop your
work, or you will have what there is in my rifle."
The rifle was not loaded, but the threat was enough.
The gallant subalterns turned about and left. The
arms which were thus saved from being made useless
subsequently did good service in the Yankee cause.

Mrs. Marcy outlived her husband, and finally died
full of years and much respected.

MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT. 231

YII.

MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE
AND FLIGHT.

[Taken from the Presbyterian.']

MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT, who now resides with her
son-in-law, Joshua Mullock, Esq., of Mount Hope,
Orange County, New York, was one of the occupants
of Forty Fort at the time of the massacre. She was
then fourteen years old, making her now eighty-seven.
In the spring of 1775, her father, Jedediah Stephens,
with his family, consisting of five sons, five daughters,
and two sons-in-law, removed from Canaan, Connecti
cut, and settled in the Valley of the Susquehanna.
Here he prospered abundantly for a little more than
three years, when this beautiful vale was laid waste.

During the progress of the Eevolution, the boys re
siding in the Valley of the age of sixteen and under
had voluntarily formed themselves into a military
company, and had elected from their own number
William Mason for their captain, and for lieutenant,
Kufus Stephens, a brother of Mrs. Seybolt. These
heroic boys formed part of that ill-fated band that left
the fort under Colonel Zebulon Butler, and fell a prey
to Tory and Indian barbarity. While the battle was
raging, an Indian, pleased with the appearance of Ma
son, took him under his protection, intending to save
his life ; but, being afterward told by a Tory that he
was captain of a rebel company, the Indians kindled
a fire, and, with fiendish delight, placed him on it, and
held him there with their bavonets until life was ex-

232 WYOMING.

tinct. Lieutenant Stephens was found dead, his body
being literally covered with bullet and tomahawk
wounds.

An older brother, Jedediah Stephens, was among
the few who escaped. While running toward the
river, two Indians sprang suddenly out of the bushes
and fired upon him, one bullet passing through his
clothes between his side and arm. One of the In
dians then commenced reloading his gun, while the
other gave full chase. The latter soon overtook and
attempted to seize him, but Stephens, eluding his
grasp, felled him by a blow with the breech of his
gun, and struck him a second blow after his fall, which
doubtless killed him. He soon reached the river and
plunged in ; here he was again fired at, and again es
caped unhurt. He swam across the river, and secreted
himself under the boughs of a tree that had fallen into
the water. In this shelter he remained until after
dark, when he recrossed the river and entered the fort.

The next day after the surrender of the fort, an In
dian, with a large knife in his hand, came up to Ste
phens, and. taking hold of him, says to him, " White
brother, in the battle yesterday you killed my brother,
now me kill you." Stephens denied, at the same time
saying, "We are all good brothers now." The Indian
then examined him thoroughly to see if he was not
wounded ; but, with all his thirst for vengeance, he fail
ed to recognize him as the slayer of his brother, say
ing as he let him go, " Well, me don't know ; he look
like him."

While the plundering was in progress, Mrs. Sey-
bolt saw an Indian break open her sister's trunk, in
which he found a bottle of camphor. He took it up,
and, smelling of it, asked if it was poison. The owner

MRS. SYLVIA SEYBOLT. 233

replied that it was not ; he then made her taste it,
after which he drank it off, and went and lay down by
the river. The doctor was soon informed of the cir
cumstance, and, on examining him, pronounced him in
a dying state.

Five days after the massacre the survivors were or
dered to leave the valley. They all set out on foot
across the Great Swamp, in which they lay during
two nights ; on the third they arrived at Stroudsburg,
near the Delaware. In this company was a sister of
Mrs. Seybolt, with a child only two weeks old. From
Stroudsburg they proceeded to the Hudson, near
Newburg, where they obtained a conveyance as far as
Sharon, Connecticut, in wagons employed in carrying
provisions to the American army. From Sharon they
again traveled on foot until they reached their former
homes.

The incidents related above I received from the lips
of Mrs. Seybolt a few days since, and as every thing
connected with the Eevolution is filled with interest, I
hope they may prove acceptable to your readers. Al
though there is here and there a survivor of the Eev
olution, yet we must soon cease to hear these thrilling
tales from the lips of those who were participants or
eye-witnesses. May we prize as we should the pre
cious boon of liberty which cost our forefathers so
much suffering. — W. F. M.

284 WYOMING.

VIII.

THE CAPTIVE GIRL, FRANCES SLOCUM.

MAKING captives, particularly of children, and
adopting them as their own, is one of the laws of In
dian warfare. Usually the little captive is adopted by
a mother who has lost a child. If a son falls in battle,
or a daughter perishes by hunger or fatigue, or dies by
disease, the vacancy, if possible, is supplied by some
pale-faced prisoner, who is imagined to bear some dis
tant resemblance to the lost one. An attachment form
ed in the mind of a savage female for a beautiful child
which she had been accustomed to fondle in time of
peace, has led to the capture of the coveted object when
war has broken out. But it is probable that the main
ground of this species of plunder is a part of the system
of cruel vengeance with which the savage heart delights
to glut itself for real or supposed wrongs. The unedu
cated minds of the Indians enter into no analysis of civ
il society, distinguishing between the innocent and the
guilty, but lay to the charge of the whites in general
all the wrongs which they may have received at the
hands of individuals, and often, by the mode of redress
here referred to, strike the innocent — even break the
hearts of unoffending mothers. The savage mind con
demns in the gross ; and for robberies and murders in
flicted on them by lawless banditti, heartless specula
tors, or oppressive governmental expatriation, they
hold the white race, generally and singularly, respon
sible. Hence they take sweet vengeance upon all

FRANCES SLOCUM. 235

white individuals or communities, as occasion offers,
for their numerous and grievous wrongs.

When a boy in our native town, near " the sources
of the Susquehanna," in the State of New York, we
knew a young man who was with the Indians from the
commencement to the close of the Kevolutionary war.
He was the son of our father's next-door neighbor, and
we were a close observer of his manners and habits,
seeing him every day, and often spending hours, and
even days, in his company. "We often listened to his
romantic story at our father's fireside, both from him
and from his old mother.

Daniel M'Allum — ordinarily called Dan M'Allum,
and Indian Dan — was stolen when he was two years
and a half old from the head of Eed Creek, Middle-
field. Before the commencement of hostilities be
tween the parent government and the colonies, an old
squaw was in the habit of coming from an Indian camp
in the swamp, which lay hard by, and spending hours
with " Aunt Molly M'Allum," and caressing little Dan,
showing him her trinkets, and allowing him to play
with them. When the war broke out, the savage
woman set her heart on making the child a prize. She
was hid in the brush for days, waiting for an opportuni
ty to effect her object. At length the little fellow was
taken by his father to "the sugar-bush" in the month
of March, and becoming weary, and wishing to go to
his mother, he was put into the path to return alone to
the house, which was only a few rods distant. The
squaw slid from her hiding-place, seized her prey, and
bore him away. The mother was at ease until near
night, when her husband came in, and, to their great
consternation, it was discovered that the child was spir
ited away, and the agency by which he had disappear-

236 WYOMING.

eel was shrewdly suspected. It might be that a wild
beast had devoured him, but it was deemed more prob
able that he had fallen into the hands of the Indians.
The woods were scoured, and the cry for help sent
through the settlements, but all in vain. The Mo
hawks, and with them the squaw with her prize, had
fled to the north, and the child was given up for lost.

At the close of the war he was a stout- lad and a
perfect Indian. When the prisoners were required to
be given up, Dan said his old "Indian mother cried
bitterly ;" but there was no evading the requisition of
the British authorities, and she made her preparations
for the separation. She filled a little bag with parched
corn and dried venison, and, putting it in his hand,
she went with him near to the place where the prison
ers were rendezvoused — either on the Mohawk Eiver
or at Cherry Valley, we are not certain which — and,
pointing him out the way, "she flung her blanket over
her head, and turned about and ran. He paused, look
ed after her, and his heart almost came into his mouth.
He maintained that no one could have felt deeper sor
row at burying his own mother. He could not endure
the separation, and set off at full speed after her. She,
however, managed to elude him, and he was found by
some one in the path, giving boisterous vent to his
sorrow, and was taken to the depot of the prisoners,
where his father found him and bore him to his
mother.

And now another trial awaited the poor boy. The
usages of civilization were like the chains of slavery to
him. To wear pants and jacket, and sleep upon a bed,
and to eat bread, and salt meat cooked in an iron pan
— all this was so strange — every thing so unnatural,
that he sighed and cried, and said a thousand times

FKANCES SLOCUM. 237

over, "Oh that I was again in the wild woods, chas
ing the deer and the bear, and enjoying the luxury of
sleeping upon the ground, under a blanket, with my
feet before a great warm fire I"

"Dan M'Allum," so long as we knew him, which
was until we entered our eighteenth year, exhibited
strong traits of Indian character. He was fond of hunt
ing, loved rum, would have his Indian pow-wows, and,
when under the influence of the intoxicating draught,
his Indian whoop rang through the neighborhood, but
excited no terror. Dan was not quarrelsome when
sober, and when intoxicated he had neither the power
nor tact of a warrior or a bully. When so drunk that
he could not stand, he would ride his horse upon a
run perfectly erect, and scarcely ever fell from his
horse's back. Often have we heard the poor fellow
say, apparently from the bottom of his heart, "I wish
to God I had never left the Indians, for I was a good
Indian, but I shall never make a white man." He
finally married and settled, and his character became
much modified by the kindly influences of home, and
the independence and associations gathering round the
husband and the father. When he was no longer re
garded as "a fool," "an Indian booby," and the like,
his manhood developed, and he became a respectable-
citizen ; but the process of transformation was slow and
painful.

A curious fact in this case was that the poor Indian
captive seemed not to have much affection for his real
mother. He never made a secret of the fact that he
loved his " Indian mother" the best. He declared that
the moment in which she tore herself from him was
the most sorrowful moment of his life, and her tears,
sobs, and wild shrieks, as she ran away, were the very

238 WYOMING.

sorest of his remembrances. Such is habit, such edu
cation, such the impressions of childhood. How per
fectly imbedded in the human heart is the image of
that being whose watchful care and sympathies are as
sociated with our earliest recollections, although it be
the image of a wild savage woman !

Dan M'Allum is not the hero of our story, but a
specimen of a class, the whole of which constitute a
series of illustrations of the principles of savage life,
and specimens of human nature in its vast general
ization. The more particular relations of his Indian
life we simply recollect were curious and interesting,
but the details are not now sufficiently clear in our
mind for record, and, with the brief notice of his case
which we have taken, we shall dismiss it, and proceed
to another case characterized by a different class of cir
cumstances and a different sequel.

Among the enterprising emigrants from the east to
the famous Valley of Wyoming was a member of the
society of Friends by the name of Jonathan Slocum.
The place of his previous residence was Warwick,
Ehode Island. He emigrated in 1777, with his wife
and nine children. The road through the swamp had
now been so far improved as to allow, although with
great difficulty, wagons to pass. Mr. Slocum removed
with his family and effects in a. large covered wagon.
He located himself near the fort, on lands a portion of
which is now in possession of the family, within the
present borough of Wilkesbarre, near the public
square. Mr. Slocum, being from principle a noncom-
batant, considered himself and his family comparative
ly free from danger from the attacks of the savages.
His son Giles, not practicing upon the principles in

FKANCES SLOCUM. 239

which he had been trained at home, took up arms with
the settlers in defense of their hearths and homes
against the anticipated attacks of the Indians and To
ries. He was in the famous Indian battle in 1778,
and it is supposed that this circumstance was the occa
sion of the terrible vengeance taken upon the family.
The battle had taken place in July, and thenceforward,
until the conclusion of peace with England, parties of
Indians continued to visit the Yalley to steal, make
prisoners, kill, and scalp, as opportunity offered.

On the second day of November of this year, a party
of Delaware Indians visited Wyoming, and directed
their way to Mr. Slocum's residence. Nathan Kings-
ley had been made prisoner by the Indians, and his
wife and two sons were taken in by Mr. Slocum, and
afforded the protection and comforts of a home. When
the Indians came near, they saw the two Kingsley boys
grinding a knife before the door. The elder of the lads
was dressed in a soldier's coat, which, it is presumed,
was the special reason of his being marked as a victim.
One of the savages took deadly aim at this young man,
and he fell. The discharge of the gun alarmed Mrs.
Slocum, and she ran to the door, when she saw the In
dian scalping the young man with the knife which he
had been grinding. She secreted herself until she saw
a stalwart Indian lay hold of her son Ebenezer, a little
lad, who, by an injury in one of his feet, had been made
lame. The idea that the little fellow would fail to
keep up with the party, and would be cruelly butch
ered, rushed with such force upon the mind of the
mother that she forgot all considerations of personal
safety, and, running up to the Indian, and pointing
at the foot of the boy, she exclaimed, " The child is
lame ; he can do thee no good." Little Frances, about

2-iO WYOMING.

five years old, liad hid, as she supposed, under the
stairs, but had been discovered by the Indians. The
savage dropped the boy and seized the little girl, and
took her up in his arms. All the entreaties of the
mother in this case were treated with savage scorn.
The oldest daughter ran away with her youngest
brother, about two years old, with such speed and in
such affright that the savages, after yelling hideously
at her, roared out laughing. They took the remaining
Kingsley boy and a colored girl, and away they went,
little Frances screaming to " mamma" for help, hold
ing the locks of hair from her eyes with one hand, and
stretching out the other.

There were three Indians in the gang, and each
having a prisoner, they fled to the mountain. An
alarm was given at the fort, which was not more than
a hundred rods from Mr. Slocum's house, but the wily
savages escaped with such celerity, and hid themselves
so securely, that no traces of them could be found.
That was a gloomy evening in the Slocum family.
Mr. Slocum was from home when the descent upon
his peaceful dwelling was made by the ruthless sav
ages. He returned to see the gory corpse of young
Kingsley, and to find Mrs. Slocum writhing in agony
on account of poor little Frances, who was in the
hands of a band of Indians, whom her phrensied imag
ination pictured out as so many demons just let loose
from Tophet. Mr. Slocum was petrified with horror ;
but the deep current of his grief, with characteristic
self-control, was not allowed to break over all its natu
ral barriers. Sobs and broken sentences gave charac
ter to the scene around that desolate hearth. Sleep
fled from that family circle. The last look at the in
nocent little creature, with outstretched hands, and

FRANCES SLOCUM. 243

streaming eyes, and disheveled locks, and her shrieks
of "mamma! mamma!" haunted their imaginations
like ghosts of darkness. And then the question, which
no human reason could solve, was, " What would be
come of the child?" Would she be cruelly murdered?
or would she be worn out with fatigue ? or would she
suffer a lingering death from want of comfortable food
and clothing? Any supposition which was at all
probable seemed worse than death. The heart-strick
en family passed a little more than a month in sad
ness and gloom, not then to find relief to their aching
hearts, but to feel another blow from savage hands still
more terrible.

The venerable historian of Wyoming, Hon. Charles
Miner, says : " The cup of vengeance was not yet full.
December 16th, Mr. Slocum and Isaac Tripp, Esq., his
father-in-law, an aged man, with William Slocum, a
youth of nineteen or twenty, were feeding cattle from
a stack in the meadow, in sight of the fort, when they
were fired upon by Indians. Mr. Slocum was shot
dead ; Mr. Tripp wounded, speared, and tomahawked ;
both were scalped. William, wounded by a spent ball
in the heel, escaped and gave the alarm, but the alert
and wily foe had retreated to his hiding-place in the
mountain. This deed, bold as it was cruel, was per
petrated within the town plot, in the centre of which
the fortress was located. Thus, in little more than a
month, Mrs. Slocum had lost a beloved child, carried
into captivity; the doorway had been drenched in
blood by the murder of an inmate of the family ; two
others of the household had been taken away prison
ers ; and now her husband and father were both strick
en down to the grave, murdered and mangled by the
merciless Indians. Verily, the annals of Indian atroc-

244 WYOMING.

ities, written in blood, record few instances of desola
tion and woe to equal this."

The husband and the father were dead, and their ash
es reposed beneath the green turf. Time gradually mod
ified the poignancy of the widow's grief, occasioned by
the cruel death of her loved husband and venerated fa
ther; but Frances, poor child ! she knew not where she
was. Suspense more terrible than death hung over her
fate. The lapse of time only increased the vividness of
the traces of memory relating to the minutest circum
stances connected, nearly or remotely, with the sad trag
edy of her capture. The mother called up all the little
griefs and disappointments which family discipline had
inflicted upon her dear child. One circumstance dis
tressed her almost incurably. Frances had a pair of
new shoes, and, as a matter of economy, she had been
required to lay them up for colder weather. She went
away with bare feet, and in that condition would doubt
less be obliged to travel rough roads, and perhaps
through the frost and snow to make long journeys.
"Oh! if the poor little creature only had her shoes!"
The little shoes were a source of torture to the soul of
the bereaved mother for long and weary years.

Time passed, and Mrs. Slocum's sons had become
prosperous business men ; and peace having been con
cluded with Great Britain, and every effort made upon
the part of Congress to conciliate the Indian tribes, the
young men began to meditate serious efforts to recover
their sister, or, at least, to ascertain her fate. In 1784,
two of the brothers visited Niagara, and made inqui
ries of the Indians, and offered them liberal rewards
if they would give any information concerning their
sister. Their mission was without the least shadow of
success, no trace of the lost one having been discover-

FRANCES SLOCUM. 245

ed. They returned, after an absence of several weeks,
with the impression that Frances was dead. They
thought it almost impossible that the secret should be
kept if Frances were above ground, especially as a re
ward had been offered for the information which would
be exceedingly tempting to the cupidity of the Indians.
They did not consider that, when an Indian undertakes
to keep a secret, nothing can break the seal of his lips,
nor especially the criminality and disgrace of betray
ing to white men secrets confided by Indians. Little
Frances was extensively known among the Canadian
and Western Indians, but she was now a treasure which
Indians felt a common interest in concealing.

Four years subsequently the Slocums were 011 a
search among the Western Indians for several months,
Indian agents .and traders giving them every facility
in their researches, and again offering the large reward
of five hundred dollars for any information with regard
to their sister's whereabouts, but all to no purpose.

In 1789, when a large number of Indians assembled
at Tioga Point to make a treaty with Colonel Proctor,
and a large number of prisoners were brought in to be
surrendered to their friends, Mrs. Slocum made a jour
ney, with great labor, to the place, and, after weeks of
examination among the prisoners, found no one she
could own as Frances.

Still the bereaved mother entertained the idea that
her child was alive, and might, after all, be found. The
zeal of the brothers in the search did not decline with
the lapse of years, and the four brothers undertook an
other expedition in 1797, and were traveling in the
western wilderness, among the Indian settlements, for
nearly the whole summer. They conversed with the
Indians — offered, as they had done before, the reward

246 WYOMING.

of five hundred dollars for any information with regard
to their sister: they found captives and examined
them, but Frances they neither found nor heard from.

A female captive, hearing of the efforts made by the
Slocums to recover their lost one, and hoping that she
might be recognized as the real Frances, came to Mrs.
Slocum, and told her that she was taken prisoner some
where on the Susquehanna when a child, and she was
anxious to find her friends. She knew not the name
of her father, she knew not her own name, but she had
come to see if she, Mrs. Slocum, was not her real moth
er. Mrs. Slocum saw at once that it was not Frances,
but bade her welcome. "Stay with me," said Mrs.
Slocum, " as long as thee pleases ; perhaps some one
else may extend the like kindness to my dear Fran
ces." The poor stranger, after a few months, finding
herself regarded as a mere object of charity, without
the sympathies and attachments of natural relation
ship, left, and the Slocums heard no more of her.

Mrs. Slocum went down to the grave without find
ing the least trace of her lost one, but left with her
sons a charge never to give up the search so long as
the possibility remained of their recovering their sis
ter, or their learning the circumstances of her story or
her fate. Mrs. Slocum's death occurred in 1807.

When the mission among the "Wyandots became a
matter of public interest, and the chiefs Between-the-
Logs and Menuncu were converted, the report that
Between-the-Logs had a white woman for his wife, the
idea of the possibility of her being the lost Frances
Slocum induced Mr. Joseph Slocum, attended by a
nephew, to visit the mission. In 1826 they made a
weary and expensive journey to Upper Sandusky, and
found the woman, but were convinced that she was

FRANCES SLOCUM. 247

not Frances. They were treated with great hospitality
and kindness, and received strong impressions with re
gard to the influence of Christianity upon the moral
character and social condition of the Wyandot Indians.
Hope had been fondly cherished in the mind of the
Slocums of some light upon the history or fate of
Frances for many long years, but all efforts to gain in
formation with regard to her having utterly failed,
they began to despair. They had spent time and
money ; they had performed long and perilous jour
neys ; they had enlisted Indian agents and traders in
the object, but not the slightest trace, as yet, had been
found of the little captive. The last they knew of her
was that she was borne away by a stout Indian, who
disappeared among the trees and shrubs, while the
shrieks of the child died away in the distance. From
that moment an impenetrable cloud of darkness had
enshrouded her story, which all efforts had failed to
penetrate. The probability of the removal of the veil
of mystery from the subject was now becoming so ex
ceedingly faint, if it had not, indeed, wholly passed
away, that the search was given over, and the subject
ceased to be matter of conversation, excepting as the
capture of the child, and the great efforts which had
been made for her discovery, were connected with
the history of the classic vale. This was the con
dition of things when a new scene opens to our vis
ion, apparently by accident, but really under the guid
ing hand of Providence. A train of circumstances
brought to light the whereabouts of the long-lost
FKANCES SLOCUM.

248 WYOMING.

THE DISCOVERY OF FRANCES.

Colonel Ewing, a gentleman connected with the
public service among the Indians, having acquired
the language in use among the Western tribes, and
having business with these tribes, made frequent jour
neys through the wilderness and among the Indian
settlements. On one of these journeys he happened
to be benighted near what was called "The Deaf
Man's Village," on the Missisinewa, a branch of
the Wabash. He asked for and received the hospi
talities of a respectable Indian dwelling. The mis
tress of the house was a venerable and respectable-
looking Indian woman, to whom great deference was
paid by the whole family circle, composed of children
and grandchildren. Colonel Ewing was weary and
rather indisposed, and, after taking some refreshments,
he laid himself down to rest upon some skins in a cor
ner of the room. The family disappeared, with the
exception of the venerable head of the circle, and she
lingered, being busy with some of her small arrange
ments for the night. The colonel's attention was at
tracted by the color of her skin and hair, and, shrewdly
suspecting that she was a white woman, he commenced
conversation with her. She said she was a white wom
an, and was carried into captivity by the Indians
when a child, and her father's name was SLOCUM. She
had never revealed her history before, for fear that her
white relations might come and take her away. But
she was now old, and should not stay much longer;
and she was willing, if any of them were alive, that
they should know where she was.

The colonel, presuming that the information which
had been communicated to him might be of great im-

FRANCES SLOCUM. 249

portance to persons still living, concluded to take meas
ures to make the matter public. He accordingly ad
dressed the following letter to the postmaster of the
city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania :

"Logansport, Indiana, January 20, 1835.

"DEAR SIR, — In the hope that some good may re
sult from it, I have taken this means of giving to your
fellow-citizens — say the descendants of the early set
tlers of the Susquehanna — the following information ;
and if there be any now living whose name is Slocum,
to them, I hope, the following may be communicated
through the public prints of your place.

"There is now living near this place, among the
Miami tribe of Indians, an aged white woman, who a
few days ago told me, while I lodged in the camp one
night, that she was taken away from her father's house,
on or near the Susquehanna Kiver, when she was
very young — say from five to eight years old, as she
thinks — by the Delaware Indians, who were then hos
tile toward the whites. She says her father's name was
Slocum ; that he was a Quaker, rather small in stature,
and wore a large-brimmed hat ; was of sandy hair and
light complexion, and much freckled; that he lived
about half a mile from a town where there was a fort ;
that they lived in a wooden house of two stories high,
and had a spring near the house. She says three Dela-
wares came to the house in the daytime, when all were
absent but herself, and perhaps two other children:
her father and brothers were absent making hay. The
Indians carried her .off, and she was adopted into a
family of Delawares, who raised her and treated her as
their own child. They died about forty years ago,
£omewhere in Ohio. She was then married to a Mi-
L2

250 WYOMING.

ami, by whom she had four children ; two of them are
now living — they are both daughters — and she lives
with them. Her husband is dead; she is old and
feeble, and thinks she will not live long.

" These considerations induced her to give the pres
ent history of herself, which she would never do be
fore, fearing that her kindred would come and force
her away. She has lived long and happy as an In
dian, and, but for her color, would not be suspected of
being any thing else than such. She is very respect
able and wealthy, sober and honest. Her name is
without reproach. She says her father had a large
family, say eight children in all — six older than her
self, one younger, as well as she can recollect ; and she
doubts not there are yet living many of their descend
ants, but seems to think that all her brothers and sis
ters must be dead, as she is very old herself, not far
from the age of eighty. She thinks she was taken
prisoner before the two last wars, which must mean
the Kevolutionary war, as Wayne's war and the late
war have been since that one. She has entirely lost
her mother tongue, and speaks only in Indian, which
I also understand, and she gave me a full history of
herself.

" Her own Christian name she has forgotten, but says
her father's name was Slocum, and he was a Quaker.
She also recollects that it was upon the Susquehanna
Eiver that they lived, but don't recollect the name of
the town near which they lived. I have thought that
from this letter you might cause something to be in
serted in the newspapers of your country that might
possibly catch the eye of some of the descendants of
the Slocum family, who have knowledge of a girl hav
ing been carried off by the Indians some seventy years

FRANCES SLOCLJM. 251

ago. This they might know from family tradition.
If so, and they will come here, I will carry them where
they may see the object of my letter alive and happy,
though old and far advanced in life.

" I can form no idea whereabout upon the Susque-
hanna Eiver this family could have lived at that early
period, namely, about the time of the Eevolutionary
war, but perhaps you can ascertain more about it. If
so, I hope you will interest yourself, and, if possible,
let her brothers and sisters, if any be alive — if not, their
children — know where they may once more see a rela
tive whose fate has been wrapped in mystery for seven
ty years, and for whom her bereaved and afflicted pa
rents doubtless shed many a bitter tear. They have
long since found their graves, though their lost child
they never found. I have been much affected with
the disclosure, and hope the surviving friends may ob
tain, through your goodness, the information I desire
for them. If I can be of any service to them, they
may command me. In the mean time, I hope you will
excuse me for the freedom I have taken with you, a
total stranger, and believe me to be, sir, with much re
spect, your obedient servant,

" GEO. W. EWING."

The letter reached its destination, but the post
master, considering it a hoax, flung it by, and for two
years it lay among a quantity of old letters and papers
in the office which were deemed worthless. There
was a providence in the discovery of the lost one, and
will that providence, which was concerned in the first
development, allow the light to die out, and the whole
matter to be hid from the vision of those so deeply in
terested in the revelation ? We shall see. The post-

252 WYOMING.

master died, and, for some reason — possibly mere curi
osity — his wife overhauled the mass of old papers be
longing to the office, among which she found and read
Colonel Ewing's letter. She was more confiding than
her husband in the truthfulness of the tale, and she
sent the letter to the editor of the Intelligencer, by
whom it was published. Here providence seems to
have again interfered, and saved the letter from final
oblivion. Another interesting fact worthy of special
attention is, that the letter came to hand just in time
to make its appearance in an extra number contain
ing some temperance documents, and these were sent
to the clergymen generally through that part of the
state. One of these fell into the hands of the Eev.
Samuel Bowman, a native of Wilkesbarre, and inti
mately acquainted with the Slocum family. He had
from his childhood been accustomed to hear the mel
ancholy story of the captivity of little Frances Slocum,
and well knew the efforts which the brothers had made
to find her. He immediately mailed one of these
papers to her brother, who lived in Wilkesbarre, and
the wonderful development which the letter contained
flung the whole community into a state of excitement.
There was no father or mother living to say " Frances
is yet alive, and I will go and see her before I die,"
but there were brothers, a sister, and a large circle of
nephews and nieces, whose hearts leaped for joy at
the prospect of at least learning the veritable history
of Frances, who had been for sixty years in savage life,
but utterly lost to her kindred and friends.

A correspondence ensued between Jonathan J. Slo
cum, Esq., son of Mr. Joseph Slocum, and Colonel
Ewing, which speaks for itself, and here follows :

FRANCES SLOCUM. 258

" Wilkcsbarre, Penn., August 8, 1837.

" GEORGE W. EWTNG, Esq. :

"DEAR SIR, — At the suggestion of my father and
other relations, I have taken the liberty to write to you,
although an entire stranger.

" We have received, but a few days since, a letter
written by you to a gentleman in Lancaster, of this
state, upon a subject of deep and intense interest to
our family. How the matter should have lain so long
wrapped in obscurity we can not conceive. An aunt
of mine — sister of my father — was taken away when
five years old by the Indians, and since then we have
only had vague and indistinct rumors upon the sub
ject. Your letter we deem to have entirely revealed
the whole matter, and set every thing at rest. The
description is so perfect, and the incidents (with the
exception of her age) so correct, that we feel confident.

" Steps will be taken immediately to investigate the
matter, and we will endeavor to do all in our power to
restore a lost relative who has been sixty years in In
dian bondage.

" Your friend and obedient servant,

" JON. J. SLOCUM."

"Logansport, Indiana, August 26, "1837.

" JON. J. SLOCUM, Esq., "Wilkesbarre :
" DEAR SIR, — I have the pleasure of acknowledging
the receipt of your letter of the 8th instant, and in an
swer can add, that the female I spoke of in January,
1835, is still alive ; nor can I for a moment doubt but
that she is the identical relative that has been so long
lost to your family.

" I feel much gratified to think that I have been thus
instrumental in disclosing to yourself and friends such

254 WYOMING.

facts in relation to her as will enable you to visit her
and satisfy yourselves more fully. She recovered
from the temporary illness by which she was afflicted
about the time I spent the night with her in January,
1835, and which was, no doubt, the cause that induced
her to speak so freely of her early captivity.

" Although she is now, by long habit, an Indian,
and her manners and customs precisely theirs, yet she
will doubtless be happy to see any of you, and I my
self will take great pleasure in accompanying you to
the house. Should you come out for that purpose, I
advise you to repair directly to this place ; and should
it so happen that I should be absent at the time, you
will find others who can take you to her. Bring with
you this letter ; show it to James T. Miller, of Peru,
Ind., a small town not far from this place. He knows
her well. He is a young man whom we have raised.
He speaks the Miami tongue, and will accompany you
if I should not be at home. Inquire for the old white
woman, mother-in-law to Brouriette, living on %the
Missisinewa River, about ten miles above its mouth.
There you will find the long-lost sister of your father, and,
as I before stated, you will not have to blush on her
account. She is highly respectable, and her name as
an Indian is without reproach. Her daughter, too, and
her son-in-law, Brouriette, who is also a half-blood,
being part French, are both very respectable and in
teresting people — none in the nation are more so. As
Indians they live well, and will be pleased to see you.
Should you visit here this fall, I may be absent, as I
purpose starting for New York in a few days, and
shall not be back till some time in October. But this
need not stop you ; for, although I should be gratified
to see you, yet it will be sufficient to learn that I

FRANCES SLOCUM. 255

have furthered your wishes in this truly interesting
matter.

u The very kind manner in which you have been
pleased to speak of me shall be fully appreciated.

" There perhaps are men who could have heard her
story unmoved, but for me, I could not ; and when I
reflected that there was, perhaps, still lingering on this
side of the grave some brother or sister of that ill-fated
woman, to whom such information would be deeply
interesting, I resolved on the course which I adopted,
and entertained the fond hope that my letter, if ever it
should go before the public, would attract the attention
of some one interested. In this it seems, at last, I have
not been disappointed, although I had long since sup
posed it had failed to effect the object for which I wrote
it. Like you, I regret that it should have been delay
ed so long, nor can I conceive how any one should
neglect to publish such a letter.

" As to the age of this female, I think she herself is
mistaken, and that she is not so old as she imagines
herself to be. Indeed, I entertain no doubt but that
she is the same person that your family have mourned
after for more than half a century past.
" Your obedient humble servant,

" GEORGE W. EWING."

The way was now plain, and there was no delay in
taking measures to visit the locality where, it was
now nearly reduced to a certainty, the Slocums would
find their long-lost sister. Mr. Isaac Slocum and Mrs.
Mary Town resided in Ohio, but not in the same
neighborhood. It was arranged by correspondence
that Mr. Joseph Slocum should visit Ohio by private
conveyance, take Mrs. Town in his carriage, and that

256 WYOMING.

they should meet their brother Isaac somewhere near
the " Deaf Man's Village," perhaps in the nearest white
settlement. Isaac pushed on by public conveyance,
and, accompanied by Mr. Miller, the interpreter, went
directly to the residence of the old woman described
by Colonel Ewing. He found her, to all appearance,
a perfect Indian. He had fixed in his mind an infal
lible mark of distinction. Before she was carried off,
her brother Ebenezer had struck her fore-finger on the
left hand with a hammer, in the blacksmith's shop, and
so injured the bone that the nail was permanently
destroyed, and the finger otherwise disfigured. Mr.
Slocum accordingly took hold of her hand, and brought
her to the light, and saw the mark still remaining,
with very little variation from the changes of time.
" How came that finger jammed?" asked he, through
the interpreter. " My brother struck it with a ham
mer in the shop, a long time ago, before I was carried
away," was the answer.

She, however, said but little ; she was coy and sus
picious, and manifested no confidence in the claims of
the stranger to be her brother. Mr. Slocum was satis
fied beyond a doubt that he had found the real Fran
ces Slocum, for whom he and his brothers had so long
and so often been employed in ineffectual searches.
He now returned to a small village nine miles distant,
called Peru, and anxiously waited the arrival of his
brother Joseph and sister Town. Here he spent sev
eral weary days in great anxiety and suspense.

At length, after hard toiling most of the way over
horrible roads through a new country, the brother and
sister arrived. For persons in advanced life they had
almost performed miracles of endurance; they were
much fatigued, but they did not delay long until they

FRANCES SLOCUM. 257

were on the line of march for the house of Frances.
On their way they paid their respects to Godfrey, the
second chief of the Miamis, who was an exceedingly
large man, of fine proportions and noble bearing. The
chief received them with great courtesy, and promised
them his good offices in the matter of their visit, should
they be needed.

The party left the chief and hastened on to the point
of interest. They entered the decent Indian cabin —
constructed of logs, and quite roomy — and found the
mistress of the house sitting in her chair. Still she
was not disposed to converse freely. She gave a brief
account of her family and the circumstances of her
capture, but seemed utterly unmoved, and not free
from suspicion that there was some plan in operation
to take her away or to get her land. The brothers
walked the floor with emotions too deep and over
whelming for utterance — the sister wept. Could it be
possible that this Indian woman was the dear little
Frances, whose sweet smiles lingered in their memory,
and which they could scarcely do any other than
identify with her still? Has she — dear Frances — been
metamorphosed into this stoical, iron-hearted Indian
woman — old, wrinkled, and cold as an iceberg ? But
there could be no mistake about it. She said her
father's name was Slocum; he was a Quaker, and
wore a broad-brimmed hat ; he lived near a fort by a
great river ; she had seven brothers and two sisters ;
her brother hammered off her finger nail ; she was
taken from under the staircase ; three Indians took
her, with a boy and a black girl, a great many winters
ago, when she was a little child. The question was
settled ; this was Frances.

She was now a widow. Her husband was a chief.

258 WYOMING.

She had two daughters : the younger of the two had
lost her husband ; the husband of the elder was a half-
breed — his father a Frenchman — and his name was
Brouriette, who managed the out-door affairs of the
family, subject always to the views and feelings of the
queen mother-in-law. The family circle scrupulously
followed the lead of the venerated head of the house
hold, making no advances, exhibiting no emotion.
On this occasion only one tender chord was- touched.
The long-lost sister had forgotten her own name. She
was asked if she thought she could remember it if she
should hear it mentioned. Her answer was, "It is a
long time ; I do not know." " Was it Frances ?"
Something like emotion instantly agitated her iron-
cast features, and, with a smile, she answered in the
affirmative, " Franca, Franca."

Things changed a little, but by very slow degrees.
The hospitalities of the house were never denied to
respectable strangers, and, of course, would be offered
to the Slocums. When the conversation was con
cluded, the Indian queen went about her business, ap
parently with as much indifference as though nothing
of interest had happened. The party surveyed the
premises, and were pleased to find every thing in ex
cellent order for an Indian residence. Keturning from
a stroll, they observed the sister seated on the floor, at
work at a deerskin, which was nearly ready for use.
She was scraping the rough places with a knife, and
reducing its rigidity by friction. She paid little atten
tion to the strangers, only answering when addressed
through the interpreter. The daughters evidently ob
served the strangers with interest, but, Indian-like, only
cast at them side-glances when they thought they were
not observed.

FRANCES SLOCUM. 259

The company proposed to the sister to accompany
them, with her son-in-law and daughters, to Peru.
She could not fully pledge herself to comply with this
request until she had consulted Godfrey, the chief.
He advised her to comply with the request, assuring
her that she would be in no danger from the respect
able strangers; that, being her relations, they had cer
tainly visited her with none other than the most friend
ly intentions. The arrangement was completed, and
the party returned.

On the Sabbath, the sister, her son-in-law, and two
daughters came on horseback, in single file, and pre
sented themselves before the door of the new hotel of
the little town, the queen before, the daughters next,
and Captain Brouriette bringing up the rear. They
were met by the brothers with great cordiality, and re
quested to alight, and were conducted into the house.
Before any intimacy could be entered upon, the stran
gers must receive a present. The eldest daughter
brought something in a clean white cloth and laid it
upon the table, which, upon examination, was found
to be the hind-quarter of a deer. After a brief expla
nation through the interpreter, Mrs. Town advanced
and took possession of the present, which was the
proffered token of friendship, when confidence was es
tablished.

There was now only one drawback to the circum
stances of the meeting, and that was the fact that it
was the Sabbath. And was it possible that Frances
had lost the idea of the sacredness of the Sabbath ?
that " she did not know when Sunday came ?" Here
was an evidence, among many, that Frances Slocum
had become an Indian in every thing excepting her
parentage, and that she was, in fact, a heathen. Noth-

260 WYOMING.

ing else could have been expected, and yet the fact
seemed surprising, as it was afflicting, to the Slocums.

The best provisions were now made for the enter
tainment of the Indian party, and Frances was some
what more free. She listened with interest to a his
tory of the Slocum family, a part of which was the
cruel murder of her father soon after her capture, and
the deep anxiety of their mother, while she lived, to
find her lost child. They assured her that Mrs. Town
was the sister who ran away to the fort with her little
brother in her arms, and that Mr. Joseph Slocum was
that very little brother. In due time preparations
were made to take down in writing her Indian history.
To this she seemed to have some aversion until the
reasons for it were explained by the interpreter. She
then proceeded with a brief account of her captivity,
and her Indian life down to the present time, which,
as it was more fully recited on the occasion of a sub
sequent visit, we shall reserve for record in connection
with that visit.

This was a most extraordinary meeting, and excited
no little interest in the community. People gathered
in and around the house, gaping and listening with
amazement. They crowded the doors and windows,
and so interrupted the free circulation of the air, that
the Indian party, so accustomed to the free air of the
woods and the prairies, were almost suffocated. The
food, too, seasoned with salt and pepper, was not only
unpalatable, but was scarcely endurable. The circum
stances, altogether, had an injurious influence upon the
health of Frances, and she sought relief in accordance
with the habits of savage life. She quietly slipped
away, and in five minutes was found with her blanket
pulled over her head, lying on the floor of the stoop,

FRANCES SLOCUM. 261

fast asleep. The two parties remained at Peru three
days. They had frequent conferences, during which
the following questions and answers are reported :

"Were you ever tired of living with the Indians?"

" No ; I always had enough to live on, and have lived
well. The Indians always used me kindly."

" Did you know that you had white relations who
were seeking you for so many years?"

" No ; no one told me, and I never heard of it. I
never thought any thing about my white relations un
less it was a little while after I was taken."

" We live where our father and mother used to live,
on the banks of the beautiful Susquehanna, and we
want you to return with us ; we will give you of our
property, and you shall be one of us, and share all that
we have. You shall have a good house, and every
thing you desire. Oh, do go back with us !"

" No, I can not. I have always lived with the In
dians ; they have always used me very kindly ; I am
used to them. The Great Spirit has always allowed
me to live with them, and I wish to live and die with
them. Your Wah-puh-mone (looking-glass) may be
larger than mine, but this is my home. I do not wish
to live any better, or any where else, and I think the
Great Spirit has permitted me to live so long because
I have always lived with the Indians. I should have
died sooner if I had left them. My husband and my
boys are buried here, and I can not leave them. On
his dying-day my husband charged me not to leave the
Indians. I have a house and large lands, two daugh
ters, a son-in-law, three grandchildren, and every thing
to make me comfortable : why should I go, and be like
a fish out of the water?"

Brouriette spoke and said ;

262 WYOMING.

" And I know all about it. I was born at Fort
Harrison, about two miles from Terre Haute. "When I
was ten years old I went to Detroit. I was married
to this woman about thirteen years ago. The people
about here and at Logansport and at Miamisport have
known me ever since the country was settled by the
whites. They know me to be industrious, to manage
well, and to maintain my family respectably. My
mother-in-law's sons are dead, and I stand in their
place to her. I mean to maintain her well as long as
she lives, for the truth of which you may depend on
the word of Captain Brouriette."

"What Captain Brouriette says," added the old
lady, u is true. He has always treated me kindly, and
I am satisfied with him — perfectly satisfied; and I
hope my connections will not feel any uneasiness about
me. The Indians are my people. I do no work. I
sit in the house with these my two daughters, who do
the work, and I sit with them."

"But will you at least go and make a visit to your
early home, and when you have seen us, return again
to your children?"

" I can not. I can not. I am an old tree. I can
not move about. I was a sapling when they took me
away. It is all gone past. I am afraid I should die
and never come back. I am happy here. I shall die
here and lie in that grave-yard, and they will raise the
pole at my grave with the white flag on it, and the
Great Spirit will know where to find me. I should
not be happy with my white relatives. I am glad
enough to see them, but I can not go. I can not go.
I have done."

" When the whites take a squaw," said Brouriette,
with much animation, as if delighted with the decision

FKANCES SLOCUM. 263

of tlie old lady, " they make her work like a slave. It
was never so with, this woman. If I had been a
drunken, worthless fellow, this woman could not have
lived to this age. But I have always treated her well.
The village is called Deaf Man's Village, after her hus
band. I have done."

The eldest daughter, whose name is Kick-ke-se-qua,
or " cut-finger" assented to all that had been said, and
added that " the deer can not live out of the forest."

The youngest daughter, 0-show-se-quah, or "yellow
leaves" confirmed all, and thought that her mother
could not go even on a visit, " because," said she, " the
fish dies quickly out of the water."

The talk closed. The Indian sister was weary and
sick, and anxious to return to her wilds, so congenial
to her feelings, and so endeared to her heart by many
tender associations. There was her home, and there
were the graves of her husband and her sons, and there
she could enjoy the mode of life which, by long and
invincible habit, had become her element, and was nec
essary to her being.

The brothers and sister returned to their homes
with mingled emotions of pleasure and pain. They
had found their long-lost sister Frances, but they had
found and left her an Indian, with almost every trace
of Christian civilization erased, both from her soul,
body, and being. She looked like an Indian, talked
like an Indian, lived like an Indian, seated herself like
an Indian, ate like an Indian, lay down to sleep like
an Indian, thought, felt, and reasoned like an Indian ;
she had no longings for her original home, or the so
ciety of her kindred ; she eschewed the trammels of
civilized life, and could only breathe freely in the great
unfenced out-doors which God gave to the Eed Man.

264 WYOMING.

There was, however, this to comfort the Slocums : their
sister was not degraded in her habits or her charac
ter ; there was a moral dignity in her manners entirely
above ordinary savage life ; her Anglo-Saxon blood
had not been tainted by savage touch, but bore itself
gloriously amid the long series of trials through which
it had passed. She was the widow of a deceased chief;
she was rich; all that abundance and respectability
could do for a woman in savage life was hers. Such
was the former Frances Slocum, of "Wyoming, now
Ma-con-a-qua, the Indian queen of the Miamis. The
problem was settled — the veil of sixty years cast over
the history and fate of a captive child was now finally
removed.

On Mr. Joseph Slocum's return to his family in
"Wilkesbarre, his relations were listened to with the
most intense interest. Every body had a long cata
logue of questions to ask about Frances, which he was
always ready to answer. He seemed never weary of
conversing upon the subject of the captivity — the
mysterious history — the visit. But Mr. Slocum was
not quite satisfied with that visit; he consequently
resolved upon another, and this time he took with him
his eldest and youngest daughters.

Mr. Slocum and his two daughters — Mrs. Bennet
and Harriet, now Mrs. Drake — left home upon this in
teresting trip September 10th, 1839. Their route was
through Montrose, Owego, Ithaca, the Cayuga Lake,
and by the Erie Canal to Niagara Falls. Mr. Slocum's
memorandum of the journey contains many interest
ing entries, besides an account of his expenses ; Mrs.
Bennet kept a regular journal. Both of these are be
fore us, and, so far as facts are concerned, will be strict
ly followed.

FRANCES SLOCUM. 265

After a thorough examination of that great natural
curiosity, the Falls, the party took the cars for Buffalo,
and thence came, by steam-boat, to Sandusky City.
After a short visit at Mr. Isaac Slocum's, who resided
a few miles back in the country, they took another
steam-boat for Maumee. Thence they came by stage,
via Fort Defiance, to Fort Wayne, through the rain,
over horrible roads, heavily loaded : nothing is noted
very favorable to the stages or drivers. Here they
took passage on a canal packet to Logansport, and
thence to Peru, where they arrived September 28th,
having been eighteen days on their journey. Mrs. Ben-
net says, " We found comfortable lodgings at Mr. Bur
nett's, a temperance house. This place has only been
settled four years ; the country is rich, but unhealthy."
Mr. Miller, the interpreter, called upon them; they
spent the Sabbath here. On Monday morning they
chartered a wagon, and proceeded to " the Deaf Man's
Village." The company consisted of Mr. Slocum, his
two daughters, Mr. Miller, and two gentlemen — Mr.
Taylor and Mr. Fullweller. " Our charioteer likes a
dram : to be sure of a supply, he carried a bottle in his
pocket ; if he had spent the money in getting his har
ness mended it would have been better for us:" so
says Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Slocum says, " Had some trou
ble with breaking our harness; got up there about
half past twelve o'clock."

Having received intelligence of the coming of the
party, Brouriette, according to the custom of the Mi-
amis when visited by distinguished guests, came well
mounted to meet them. He dismounted and shook
hands with them all, and bid them welcome. He then
mounted his horse, and galloped off through the woods
with great speed to apprise the family of the approach

266 WYOMING.

of the company. He spoke broken English, and Mrs.
Drake says, "He is a very fine, tall Indian; his head
was covered with a handkerchief something like a tur
ban, with nearly a yard of red calico hanging down
behind." As he ran his horse through the woods,
with his red streamer flying after him, " he made," as
she says, " a grotesque appearance."

The Slocums and their friends arrived at the resi
dence of Frances September 30. Captain Brouriette
met them at the door and brought them into the
house. Mrs. Drake says, " "We found our aunt seated
in a chair, looking very much as represented in the
water-colored portrait now in possession of Judge Ben-
net, with her two daughters standing by her."

Mr. Slocum, after the accustomed salutations, told
his sister that he had brought his eldest and youngest
children to see her. The coldness and reserve of the
former visit were now entirely gone, and Frances ex
pressed great joy upon the occasion of again seeing
her brother, and particularly that he had brought his
daughters so far to see her. The mother and daugh
ters immediately commenced an animated conversa
tion upon the subject of the family resemblances
which were observable. The old lady, looking at the
ladies earnestly, passed her hand down her cheeks,
stopping the motion at the posterior point of her lower
jaw. There is an unusual fullness and prominence at
that point of the Slocum face.

The preparations for dinner were soon commenced.
They spread the table with a white cotton cloth, and
wiped the dishes, as they took them from the cup
board, with a clean cloth. They prepared an excellent
dinner of fried venison, potatoes, shortcake, and cof
fee. Their cups and saucers were small, and they put

FRANCES SLOCUM.

267

MA-OON-A-QUA.

three or four table -spoonfuls of maple sugar in a cup.
They were told by their white visitors, " Our way is
not so much sugar." They seemed very anxious to
please, and would often ask, "Is that right?" The
eldest daughter waited on the table, while her mother
sat at the table and ate with her white relations. After
dinner they washed the dishes, and replaced them upon
the shelves, and then swept the floor. The ladies were

268 WYOMING.

surprised at these evidences of civilization, and upon
asking their aunt why they did these things, she made
answer that her mother used to do so, and she had al
ways done it, and learned it to her daughters. It was,
therefore, a uniform rule in her house to wipe the dust
from the dishes when they were put upon the table,
and when the meal was concluded to wash them and
return them to the cupboard, and then to sweep the
room.

In the afternoon all left but Mr. Slocum, his daugh
ters, and Mr. Miller ; the last remained till near night,
when he returned. They strolled over the prem
ises, and visited the burying-ground. They raise a
pole over the grave fifteen or twenty feet high, with
a white cloth at the top, which remains until destroyed
by time. The premises showed great skill and indus
try for savage life, and no little order and attention to
comfort in its arrangements. The house was "a dou
ble hut." A neighboring squaw came in to help do
the work, and the Indian daughters kept close to their
white cousins, and talked with them incessantly. They
supposed candles would be wanted, and, to meet the
emergency, the squaw melted some tallow, twisted
wicking on a stick, and with a spoon poured the tal
low down the wicks until " quite a respectable candle"
was produced.

For supper they had the breast of a wild turkey
stewed with onions — " quite a delicate dish." When
they came to retire, " the pillow" all there was in the
house, was assigned to Mr. Slocum by the Indian sis
ter. " They pay great respect to age. They had six
beds, principally composed of blankets and other goods
folded together," says Mrs. Bennet. " They were made
of almost every thing," says Mrs. Drake. The visitors

FRANCES SLOCUM. 269

slept sweetly, and, after taking " a comfortable break
fast," they commenced their arrangements to return
to Peru.

After breakfast a white man came to purchase a
steer, and brought with him a colored man as an in
terpreter. He could not trade for the want of the
money, as "he might move away," and that would be
the last of it. No business transaction takes place in
the family without the consent of Frances. She usu
ally makes the bargains herself.

The colored man served so well in the capacity of
an interpreter that he was retained by Mr. Slocum
for the purpose. Frances was more free in her com
munications through him than she had been through
Mr. Miller, and gave many circumstances in her his
tory and recollections which she had not previously
given.

They seemed anxious to tell their white relatives
as much as possible about themselves, and to make as
favorable an impression as possible. They had made
in the spring " eleven barrels of sugar," " She says
she could have a better house, but fears -to do it on
account of the jealousy of the Indians. She has
money ; some that has been saved since the 'treaty of
St. Mary's, eighteen years ago. They had cloths and
calicoes enough to fill a country store. They have a
looking-glass — several splint-bottomed chairs — a great
many trinkets hung about the house — beads and
chains of silver and polished steel. Some of their
dresses are richly ornamented with silver brooches,
seven or eight rows of them as close as they can be
put together — many silver ear-rings: my aunt had
seven pairs in her ears ; her daughters perhaps a
dozen a piece. They have saddles and bridles of the

270 WYOMING.

most costly kind — six men's saddles and one side
saddle. They have between fifty and sixty horses,
one hundred hogs, and seventeen head of cattle.
They have geese and chickens. Their house is in
closed with a common worm fence, with some out
houses, principally built of logs. A never - failing
spring of excellent water is near the door, with a
house over it." This is Mrs. Bennet's description,
with some items added by Mrs. Drake. From the
same sources I give the following description of the
family.

" My aunt is of small stature, not very much bent ;
her hair clubbed behind in calico, tied with worsted
ferret; her dress a blue calico short-gown, a white
Mackinaw blanket, a fold of blue broadcloth around
her, red cloth leggins, and buckskin moccasins. Her
hair is somewhat gray, her eyes a bright chestnut, clear
and sprightly for one of her age, her face very much
wrinkled and weather-beaten. She has a scar on her
left cheek, which she received at an Indian dance.
Her skin is not so dark as would be expected from
her age and constant exposure. Her teeth are remark
ably good,"

This extraordinary family had not been without
their griefs. The first husband of the youngest daugh
ter had died, and the second had been killed in a fight.
The only child of the eldest had been poisoned by a
desperate lover, son of Godfrey the chief, because her
family would not consent to her marrying him on ac
count of his intemperance and idleness. These sad
events had left traces behind them which death alone
would efface.

At the time the whole family gave themselves up
to inconsolable grief.

FRANCES SLOCUM. 271

'•'•Lady Cap. Alack the day! she's dead, she's dead, she's
dead.

Cap. Ha ! let me see her. Out, alas ! she's cold ;
Her blood is settled, and her joints are stiff;
Death lies on her, like an untimely frost
Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.
Accursed time ! unfortunate old man !

Nurse. O, lamentable day !

Lady Cap. O, woeful time !

Cap. Death, that hath ta'en her hence to make me wail,
Ties up my tongue, and will not let me speak.

Lady Cap. Accurs'd, unhappy, wretched, hateful day !
Most miserable hour that e'er time saw
In lasting labor of his pilgrimage !
But one, poor one, one poor and loving child,
But one thing to rejoice and solace in,
And cruel death hath catch'd it from my sight."

SHAKSPEARE — Romeo and Juliet.

The following is from Mrs. Bennet's journal : " The
•eldest daughter is large and fleshy — I should think
would weigh near two hundred pounds. She is act
ive, observing, and intelligent, thirty-four years of age.
The youngest is smaller — is quiet and very retiring —
is twenty-four years of age. The mother's name is Ma-
con-a-qua, a young bear. The eldest daughter's name
is Kich-ke-ne-che-qua, cut-finger. The youngest is
0-saw-she-quah, yellow leaf. The grandchildren's names
are Kip-pe-no-quah, corn-tassel, Wap-pa-na-se-a, a Hue
corn, Kim-on-sack-quah, young panther.'1'1

As to the religious notions of Frances, Mrs. Bennet
says, " She is well apprised of a heaven and hell, and
the necessity of living a sober, honest, and quiet life,
and if she does she thinks she will be happy when she
dies, having been taught these things by her adopted
parents." The heathenism of the Delawares, into whose
hands she fell, had been much modified by Christian
influences and instructions, through the agency of the

272 WYOMING.

Moravian missionaries. It is not at all unlikely that
the Christian ideas of a state of future rewards and
punishments had made a deep impression upon the
general mind of that tribe far beyond what was devel
oped in the form of a profession of Christianity. These
ideas, being in harmony with the childish impressions
and early instructions of Frances, would be likely to
take a deeper hold upon her heart and life than upon
those of native Indians. There was a high moral
bearing in this adopted Indian mind that well accords
with this theory ; and how far the Holy Spirit may
have wrought these principles into the texture of her
soul, and, through them, finally sanctified that soul, is
not for us to know. But it would scarcely border
upon presumption to entertain a hope of the final hap
piness of Frances Slocum.

To proceed with the visit. It had been arranged
that Frances, her eldest daughter, and Captain Brou-
riette should accompany the visitors to Peru, in the
way of an interchange of hospitalities. After break
fast Captain Brouriette left upon some business, prom
ising to meet the company at Peru at three o'clock
P. M. The arrangements for proceeding on horseback
were nearly completed. Frances had but one side
saddle, and she went to the brink of the river, and
took off her moccasins and leggins, waded the river,
and went a mile and borrowed another side-saddle,
that both of her fair nieces might be accommodated.
As for herself, like the Indian women generally, she
rode a man's saddle.

About noon the horses were all rigged and at the
door. When the company were all seated in their
saddles, Frances started off, followed by her eldest
daughter. Mr. Slocum rode on next, followed by his

FRANCES SLOCUM. 273

two daughters, " all in Indian file." They- forded the
Missisinewa twice and the Wabash once. Just be
fore they arrived at Peru, Frances and her daughter
fell behind, wishing her white relatives to take the lead
as they entered the village. They arrived a little be
fore three, and, punctual to the minute, Captain Brou-
riette rode up at three. They were now all seated in
the parlor, with Mr. Miller, the interpreter, and visit
ing proceeded briskly. The Indian portion of the
party were now more observing than ever, and did not
try to conceal their preferences for many of the usages
of the whites. They would neither eat nor do scarcely
any thing else until they saw how their white friends
did it. They spoke of many things they saw upon
the table, and said they must get some like them.
Harriet had knitting, and the Indian daughter would
scarcely allow her to lay it down until she had learned
"the stitch." She said she would knit herself a pair
of stockings, "they were so comfortable." At night
the ladies all retired to the same room. Here Fran
ces and her daughter closely observed the garments
of the ladies, and, so far as was physically practicable,
tried them on. The bulky young Indian woman, by
shrewd signs, intimated that if she had stays to wear
she would be small too. When their curiosity was
gratified, the queen Ma-con-a-qua and her daughter
lay down upon the floor, not listening for a moment to
the solicitations of the ladies to take a bed, and in a
few minutes were sound asleep.

We will now proceed to give the history of Frances
as she gave it, piecemeal, during the two visits.

She said that before her father removed to Wyo
ming they lived by a great water. They had a large
house, and she thought her father had sold it, as she
M2

274- WYOMING.

saw a great heap of paper money counted out on the
table. In a few days there was a large new wagon
brought up, and they were all put into it like a flock of
quails or chickens. The wagon had a sail or tent over
it. They used to peep out sometimes, and her broth
er, who rode on one of the horses, would strike at them
with his great whip. He called her "red-head," and
told her to keep her head in, or it would get knocked
off against the trees. She said, they would take us
out and feed us, and then put us back again under the
tent. She remembered her mother — remembers see
ing her spin : she was a large woman, and she would
make her mind, and make her work. She tells this to
her girls : when she was small, her mother would make
her wash up the dishes as soon as they had done eat
ing, and she taught them the same thing. When they
came to Wyoming they lived by a long river near a
fort. On being asked if they had any black people in
the family, she said they had, and the Indians took a
black girl before they took her.

THE CAPTIVITY.

We will now proceed to the story of the captivity
of Frances Slocum as related by herself. " Three Del
aware Indians came suddenly to our house. They
killed and scalped a man near the door. A boy ran
into the house, and he and I hid under the staircase.
The Indians came into the house and went up stairs.
They took some loaf-sugar and some bundles of other
things. They carried us through the bushes. I look
ed back, but saw no one except my mother. They
carried us over the mountains — it seemed to me a long
way — to a cave where they had left their blankets
and some other things. There was a bed of leaves,

FRANCES SLOCUM. 275

and here we staid all night. We reached this place
while it was yet light. I was very tired, and I lay
down on the ground, and cried until I fell asleep.

" The next morning we set off early, and we traveled
many days in the woods before we came to an Indian
village. When we stopped at night, the Indians would
make a bed of hemlock boughs, and make up a great
fire at their feet which would last all night. They
roasted their meat by sticking a stick into it, and hold
ing it to the fire. They drank at the brooks and
springs, and made me a little cup of birch bark to
drink out of. The Indians were very kind to me ;
when they had any thing to eat, I always had the best;
when I was tired, they carried me in their arms ; and
in a short time I began to feel better, and stopped cry
ing. I do not know where the Indian village was
which we first stopped at ; we only staid there a few
days." It was probably Sheshequin.

" Yery early one morning two of the same Indians
took a horse, and set the boy and me on it, and set off
upon a journey. One Indian went before, and the oth
er behind, driving the horse. We traveled a long way,
when we came to the village where these Indians be
longed. I now found that one of them was an Indian
chief whom they called Tack-horse. I do not know
what that name means." The name, it is probable,
has allusion to some fact in the chief's history while
he mingled with the whites, for we shall subsequently
see that he had quite a sprinkling of civilization in his
character. Her story proceeds: "Early one morning
Tack-horse took me and dressed my hair in the Indian
fashion, and painted my face. He then dressed me up,
and put on me beautiful wampum beads, and made me
look very fine. I was much pleased with the wampum,

276 WYOMING.

"We then lived on a hill not far from a river" —
probably the Genesee River. " I was now adopted by
Tack-horse and his wife in the place of one they had
lost a short time before, and they gave me her name.
When the Indians lose a child, they often adopt some
one in its place, and treat that one in all respects as
their own. This is the reason why they so often carry
off the children of white people.

" It was now the fall of the year, for chestnuts had
come. There were a great many Indians here, and
here we remained all winter. The Indians were fur
nished with ammunition and provisions by the British.
In the spring we went to Sandusky, and staid there
through the summer, but in the fall we came back, and
we lived one year at Niagara. I recollect that the In
dians were afraid to cross above the Falls on account
of the rapidity of the water. I also recollect that they
had a machine by which they raised goods from below
the Falls, and let things down." This was, no doubt, a
tackle erected by the English.

"We went from Niagara near Detroit, where we
lived three years. My adopted father made chairs,
which he sold ; he also played on the fiddle, and fre
quently went into the white settlements and played,
and received pay for it. My adopted mother made
baskets and brooms, which she sold. The British
made them presents of ammunition and food, which
they had to go after in the night.

"In the spring we went down to a large river —
Detroit Eiver — where the Indians built a great many
bark canoes. When they were finished we went up
Detroit River, where we remained three years.

" There had been war between the British and
Americans, and the American army had driven the

FRANCES SLOCUM. 277

Indians around the fort where I was adopted. In
their fights, the Indians used to bring home scalps. I
do not know how many. When peace was made be
tween the British and Americans, we lived by hunt
ing, fishing, and raising corn. The reason why we
staid here so long was that we heard the Americans
had destroyed all our villages and corn-fields."

Frances had now been among the Indians eight
years, and was thirteen years of age. She had been
tenderly treated, and taught that the white people were
enemies to the Indians. She had adopted the Indians
for her people, and had a dread of being recaptured
and taken back among the whites. She was taught
the use of the bow and arrow, and became expert in
all the wild sports and athletic exercises of the squaws.
She was a successful hunter. She would mount an In
dian pony, and gallop through the woods with almost
the speed of the wild deer, and with the spirit of the
most romantic princess of the Western forests.

" Soft was the light that filled her eye,

And grace was in her every motion ;
Her tone was touching, like the sigh

When young love first becomes devotion.
Among a savage people, still

She kept from savage moods apart,
And thought of crime and dream of ill
Had never swayed her maiden heart."

Pocahontas, by W. G. SIMMS.

" She'd often wander in the wood, or roam
The wilderness in quest of curious flowers,
Or nest of bird unknown, till eve approach'cl,
And hemm'd her in the shade."

LOGAN.

But let us proceed with our story.

278 WYOMING.

EEMOVES TO FORT WAYNE.

"After three years, my family and another Dela
ware family removed to Fort Wayne, after Wayne's
victory. I do not know where the other Indians went.
This was now our home, and I suppose we lived there
thirty years. We lived on Eel Eiver, three miles from
Fort Wayne. I was there at the time of Harmer's
defeat. At the time when this battle was fought, the
women and children were all made to run north. I
do not know whether the Indians took any prisoners,
or brought home any scalps at this time. After the
battle they all scattered and returned to their homes.
I then returned to Fort Wayne again. The Indians
who returned from this battle were Delawares, Pota-
watomies, Shawnees, and Miamis."

" There stood the Indian hamlet, there the lake

Spread its blue sheet that flashed with many an oar ;
Where the brown otter plunged him from the brake,
And the deer drank : as the light gale flew o'er,
The twinkling maize-field wrestled on the shore.

And while that spot, so wild, and lone, and fair,
A look of glad and innocent beauty wore,

And peace was in the earth and in the air,
The warrior lit the pile, and bound his captive there.

"Not unavenged, the foeman from the wood

Beheld the deed; and when the midnight shade
Was stillest, gorged his battle-axe with blood ;

All died : the wailing babe, the shrieking maid ;
And in the flood of fire that scathed the glade,

The roofs went down ; but deep the silence grew,
When on the dewy woods the day-beam played ;

No more the cabin smokes rose wreathed and blue,
And ever by their lake lay moored the light canoe."

BRYANT.

"I was always treated kindly by the Delawares;

FRANCES SLOCUM. 279

and while I lived with them I was married to a Dela
ware by the name of Little Turtle. He afterward left me
and went west of the Mississippi. I would not go with
him. My old mother staid here, and I chose to stay
with her. My adopted father could talk English, and
so could I while he lived. It has now been a long
time since I forgot it all.

" The Delawares and Miamis were then living to
gether as one people. I was afterward married to a
Miami, a chief, whom the white people called ' The
Deaf Man.' His Indian name was She-poe-ken-ah.
"We came to this reserve about twenty -four years ago.
I had no children by my first husband, but by the last
one I had four — two boys and two girls. My boys
died while they were young ; my girls are still living,
and are here with me." At the period of the last
visit her husband had been dead six years. As to the
Indian wars, she says :

"I can not tell much about the Indian wars with
the whites, which were so common and so bloody. I
well remember a battle and a defeat of the Americans
at Fort Washington, which is now Cincinnati. I re
member how Wayne and ' Mad Anthony' drove the
Indians away, and built the fort. The Indians then
scattered all over the country, and lived upon game,
which was very plenty. After this they encamped on
Ked River. After peace was made we all returned
to Fort Wayne, and received provisions from the
Americans, and there I lived a long time. I had re
moved with my family to the Missisinewa Eiver some
time before the battle of Tippecanoe. The Indians
who fought in that battle were Kickapoos, Potawato-
mies, and Shawnees. The Miamis were not there. I
heard of the battle on the Missisinewa ; but my hus-

280 WYOMING.

band could not hear, and never went into the wars,
and I did not know much about it."

The day after their arrival at Peru, Frances was
prevailed upon to have her likeness taken. An artist
was sent for from Logansport, but, for some reason, he
did not arrive as was expected, and the consequence
was that the adieu was not so formal as it would have
been. Frances went home with Brouriette and her
daughter, expecting to return, and, after having her
portrait taken, to bid the visitors a formal farewell.
After waiting two or three days, the party became
weary and set off for home. Arrangements were,
however, made for the portrait, and the painting was
executed. Subsequently another was taken, and both
are in the possession of her friends in Wilkesbarre.

Before leaving, Frances made a serious effort to pre
vail upon her brother to come and live with her. Not
to be outdone by her brothers, who had made her such
liberal offers if she would come and live with them,
she told Mr. Slocum that, if he would come to her vil
lage and live, she would give him half of her land, and
this would have been no mean present. Her sincerity
and earnestness in this proposition were affecting. No
arrangement could be made by which the brother and
sister — so long separated, and to each other as dead,
and now so mysteriously brought together and united
in affection — could spend their remnant of life in the
same neighborhood. They both bowed submissively
to what was evidently the order of Providence, and
tried to adjust their feelings to the separation.

The Indian daughter took a fancy to Harriet Slo
cum, dressed her in beads and wampum, and said she
looked like her daughter, who had been cruelly pois-

FRANCES SLOCUM. 281

oned. "Would I not make a nice squaw?" asked
Harriet. " Yes, beautiful squaw ; will you be in the
place of my daughter, and live with me ?" On being
told that her friends could not spare her, she was sat
isfied. She seemed sensible that she was asking too
much ; but, could the boon have been granted, it would
have been most grateful to her heart.

Frances, Brouriette, and his wife finally gave their
white relatives the parting hand, expressing their high
gratification with the visit and the affection which
they had manifested for them in coming so far to see
them.

But, before the final adieu, Captain Brouriette gave
Mr. Slocum the most ample assurances that he would
take good care of his mother-in-law while she lived.
He said he had never left her but once, and that was
because of a disagreement with his brother-in-law, who
was a drunken, lazy Indian, and would do nothing for
himself or any one else. He was now dead, and they
lived in the utmost harmony.

They shook hands and parted, expecting to meet
in a day or two ; but this was the final adieu. Mr.
Slocum and his daughters returned from this most in
teresting visit via Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Pitts-
burg. They brought home many little remembrances
of their Indian relatives.

ACT OF CONGRESS IN FAVOR OF FRANCES.

"When arrangements were being made by the gov
ernment to settle the Indians of Indiana west of the
Mississippi, Mr. Slocurn did not forget his*sister. He
petitioned Congress in her behalf, and succeeded in en
listing powerful support. Hon. B. A. Bidlack took
charge of the bill, and John Quincy Adams made one

282 WYOMING.

of his strong speeches in its support, and it became a
law. The bill provided that one mile square of the
reserve, embracing the house and improvements of
Frances Slocum, should be granted in fee to her and
her heirs forever. She remembered the kindness, and
went down to the grave, in a goodly old age, with the
gratitude of a warm heart, and wishing many blessings
upon her good brother.

LAST DAYS OF FRANCES SLOCUM.

The Miamis had removed "West, in accordance with
the policy of the government. Frances Slocum was
surrounded by white settlers, of whom she naturally
entertained suspicions which were not calculated to
promote the comfort and quiet of her latter days. She
was, in fact, suspicious that she and her family might
at last be robbed of the home to which the govern
ment had given them a title. She sent word to her
brother Joseph to come and protect her from the frauds
which she apprehended were likely to be practiced
upon her. As the best that could be done for her, a
son of Isaac Slocum took charge of her business. But
all her old associates were gone, and a new order of
things was established around her. Despairing of the
return of the scenes of the past, she sighed for release
from the associations and vices of civilization. Con
trasting the freedom and the romance of savage life
with the thirst of gain and the overreaching policy of
a white frontier settlement, she thought she had truly
fallen upon evil times, and was really weary of life.
The prestige of her character and her name had de
parted with her tribe, and she was looked upon simply
as a favored old Indian woman, whose claims to equal
rights with her white neighbors were entitled to very
little respect.

FRANCES SLOCUM. 283

During her last sickness, which was brief, Frances
Slocum refused all medical aid, declaring that, as her
people were gone, and she was surrounded by stran
gers, she wished to live no longer. She departed this
life March 9th, 1847. She had Christian burial, a
prayer being made at her house, and her remains con
ducted to the grave by a clergyman. Her daughter,
the wife of Captain Brouriette, overcome with toil and
grief, followed her mother to the Spirit-land four days
subsequently.

Frances Slocum sleeps upon a beautiful knoll near
the confluence of the Missisinewa and the Wabash, by
the side of her chief and her children, where her ash
es will rest in peace until the morning of the resur
rection. The tenacity with which she clung to that
spot, and her obstinate refusal to leave it for the asso
ciation of civil society, is one of the prominent facts in
her wonderful story.

284 WYOMING.

IX.

QUEEN ESTHER'S KOCK.

THIS celebrated rock is situated east of a direct line
between the monument and the site of Fort Winter-
moot, on the brow of the high, steep bank which is
supposed to have been the ancient bank of the river.

The rock is a boulder, and is a sort of conglomerate,
principally composed of quartz. It rises about eight
een inches above the surface of the ground. A por
tion of this rock is of a reddish color, which some have
been credulous enough to believe to be a blood-stain ;
hence the name of "Bloody Kock," by which it is
known in the neighborhood. This stain — like that,
with equal credulity, which is supposed to have been
made by the blood of Kizzio upon the floor of Ilolyrood
Palace — is believed to be judicially and miraculously

QUEEN ESTHER'S KOCK. 285

indelible. We need not say that this is a mere fancy,
while it is an undoubted historical fact that blood was
spilled upon this rock.

Perhaps the night after the battle, sixteen prisoners
were arranged in a circle around the rock in question,
to be sacrificed by Queen Esther to the manes of a
son who had been killed by a scouting-party before
the battle. According to a usage of savage warfare, it
was the right, if not, indeed, the duty of the old queen
to take sweet vengeance upon the prisoners which
had fallen into her hands for the loss of her son.
Armed with a death-mall and hatchet, she now as
sumes the office of executioner, according to the most
approved Indian forms. The prisoners, one after an
other, were seated upon the rock, held by two strong
Indians, while the priestess of the bloody rites which
were performed upon that fatal altar chanted a savage
dirge or Indian war-song, and raising the death-mall
with both hands, dashed out the brains of the helpless
victim, or with one hand buried her hatchet in his
skull.

This was a terrible tragedy, but we are happy to
know that there was one relieving circumstance con
nected with it. There were two men in that devoted
circle possessed of strong will, iron nerve, and almost
lightning agility. Lebbeus Hammond and Joseph El
liott were near each other, and their turn was about to
come. Eleven had been sacrificed, and Hammond's
brother was seated upon the rock, and the ceremony
was proceeding: Hammond's soul was stirred to the
very bottom. As all eyes were fixed upon the bloody
tragedy, Hammond, in a low tone, muttered, "Let's
try." In an instant they were both free: they had
taken their keepers by surprise. With a sudden jerk

286 WYOMING.

and spring the bloodhounds that held them were
shaken off, and, like two wild deer, they bounded
down the bank. They expected to be shot dead, but
such was the confusion of the moment that the Indians
simply trusted to their legs. Elliott, in relating the story
to a friend who related it to us, said he was surprised
that they were not fired upon. Their line of flight di
verged, a circumstance which the Indians did not ob
serve. Hammond steered up the river, and, glancing
his eye over his shoulder, he discovered that the In
dians were shaping their course with the expectation
of intercepting the fugitives in the direction of Forty
Fort. He then turned still more directly up stream.
He had, however, not proceeded far before a root
caught his toe, and he was plunged headlong down
the bank under a tree-top with thick foliage, where he
immediately judged that he was more secure than he
would be upon the run.

When the Indians returned from the pursuit of El
liott, they scoured the hill side in search of Hammond.
As they were peeping here and there among the brush
and old logs, he tried to hold his breath and to keep
his heart still, but in spite of him his breathing seemed
to amount to a roar, and the beating of his heart to be
like the pounding of a beetle. Once he thought they
saw him, and for a moment his heart sunk. He was
soon measurably relieved by observing that the In
dians seemed to give up the pursuit as hopeless, and
directed their course toward the fatal rock.

Hammond remained in his concealment until all
was still, and then swam the river, crossing Monocasy
Island, and found his way to the fort at "Wilkesbarre.
There he found his friend Elliott. He had swum the
river to the bar 011 the lower point of Monocasy Isl-

QUEEN ESTHER'S ROCK. 287

and, as he thought, all the distance under water, when,
rising above the water, he received a shot in his shoul
der which seriously disabled him. On reaching the
opposite side of the river he providentially found a
horse, which he managed to ride, using the bark of a
hickory sapling for a bridle. Here Dr. Smith dressed
his wound, and the next morning he went down the riv
er, with his wife and child, in a canoe managed by a lad,
and found sympathy among kind friends at Catawissa.
These two brave fellows lived long to enjoy their well-
earned reputation for good conduct under the most ap
palling circumstances.

It has been made a question whether indeed Queen
Esther was the savage executioner of the prisoners at
"Bloody Eock," and there are some circumstances
which would really seem to militate against such a sup
position. Her strong expressions in favor of peace to
Esquire Sutton and Colonel Jenkins, and the deep sym
pathies for the settlers which she manifested when visit
ed at her camp by Mrs. Bennet but a short time before
seem to indicate a degree of civilization and a spirit of
humanity which would render improbable the part at
tributed to her in the awful tragedy at Bloody Eock.
In addition to all this, Colonel Stone considers u the
statement improbable" upon more general grounds.
He says, " Catharine Montour, sometimes called Queen
Esther, was a half-breed, who had been well educated
in Canada. Her reputed father was one of the French
governors of that province when appertaining to the
crown of France, and she herself was a lady of com
parative refinement. She was much caressed in Phil
adelphia, and mingled in the best society ; hence the
remotest belief can not be entertained that she was the
Hecate of that fell night."

288 WYOMING.

All this seems very fair, but it is not only against
the best established traditions of the times, but the
clearest testimony of contemporaries. Colonels Deni-
son and Franklin and Mrs. Myers agree in sanction
ing "the statement." Mr. Miner represents Queen
Esther as entering Forty Fort at the head of the In
dian warriors. She here met Colonel Denison, and,
drawling out his name, she insultingly said, "Colonel
Denison, you told me to bring more Indians ; see here,
I have brought you all these." " Be silent," said Col
onel Butler ; " women should be seen, but not heard."

The historian of Tryon County, Hon. William "W.
Campbell, says, " Catrina Montour, who might well bo
termed a fury, acted a conspicuous part in this tragedy.
She followed in the train of the victorious army, ran
sacking the heaps of the slain, and, with her arms cov
ered with gore, barbarously murdering the wounded,
who in vain supplicated for their lives." — See Border
Warfare of New York, p. 305.

Another illustration is given by Mr. Campbell of the
character of this woman. One of her sons made Mr.
Cannon a prisoner on the destruction of Cherry Yalley.
He was an old man, and was severely wounded with a
musket ball. When Kate Montour saw him she fell
into a rage, and reproached her son for his humanity.
" Why," said she, " did you bring that old man a pris
oner ? Why did you not kill him when you first took
him?"— Ibid., p. 219.

Elliott and Hammond lived long after the conclu
sion of the war. They received a pension from the
government, and were universally considered men of
honor and veracity. These men, who so narrowly es
caped the death-mall or the hatchet — who witnessed a
portion of the bloody ceremonies which Queen Esther

QUEEN ESTHER'S ROCK. 289

is charged in the popular belief of the times with hav
ing performed with her own hands, give their sanction
to the common opinion. These facts are not easily
disposed of. The name of the supposed " Hecate of
that fell night" being " Catharine Montour" — her be
ing "a half-breed" — her having been "educated in
Canada" — her "refinement" — her having been "ca
ressed in Philadelphia," and " mingling in the best so
ciety" there in 1744, may have furnished ground of
doubt with regard to the truth of the story of " Bloody
Eock" to the mind of Colonel Stone, but to minds less
predisposed to vindicate the Indian character from the
charge of inhuman cruelties, will do but little toward
unsettling the best established traditionary belief and
the positive statements of contemporaries, and even of
eye-witnesses.

The history of "Kate Montour," as a whole, fur
nishes no evidence of the improbability of the story
of " Bloody Rock." Indeed, her savage nature exhib
ited itself on other occasions in a manner which proves
but too clearly that it had not all been eradicated by
the refined education which she received " in Canada."
— See Lossintfs Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. i., p.
358.

The horror in which this same "Catharine Mon
tour" was held is seen in the treatment which she re
ceived from Colonels Hartley and Butler, and General
Sullivan. In October, after the Wyoming massacre,
Colonel Hartley, of the Pennsylvania line, joined Colo
nel Z. Butler, and they proceeded with 130 men to
Sheshequin, where they met the Indians in a battle,
burned the Indian settlement, and destroyed Queen
Esther's palace, and laid waste her plantation. And
when General Sullivan proceeded to the Lake country,

290 WYOMING.

the first town he ordered destroyed was Catharine, at
the head of the Seneca Lake, the town which was
named in honor of Catharine Montour, and in which
she resided. These proceedings seem consonant with
the idea that Catharine Montour deserved special chas
tisement.

It is not doubted but that this " half-breed" woman,
uninfluenced by the war spirit, had amiable qualities,
and a certain polish in her manners. But the sound
of the battle and the sight of human gore aroused the
demon within her. She who u shed tears" at the pros
pect of war, when it began to rage entered into its
spirit. She had lost a son in the expedition, and she
must avenge his death, or, in the estimation of her peo
ple, be " no good squaw." Her feelings of resentment
and her reputation with the Indians united to urge her
on, if, indeed, she needed any urging, to acts of savage
barbarity. Then, if she had not been predisposed to
take a part in the murder and plunder of the settlers,
why was she on hand at all ? Her age, if no other rea
son — for she must have been near eighty — would have
justified her remaining at home, instead of following
Butler and his Indians and Tories in a murderous on
slaught upon a defenseless settlement.

Upon the whole, we see no good reason for doubt
ing the part attributed to Catharine Montour, or Queen
Esther, in the affair of Bloody Eock, in the popular
traditions of Wyoming. A little examination into her
character will explain the mystery of her being, under
some circumstances, almost a saint, and under others a
very fiend.

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 291

CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDKEW
BENNET AND LEBBEUS HAMMOND.

" Near where Meshoppen meets our river,

When in the quiet night
Through trees we saw the star-beams quiver,

We nerved us for the fight.
Where stood the arms we quickly drew,

No gentle blows to strike or die ;
Two wounded fled, the rest we slew,
In ghastly death we saw them lie :
E'en now I see them glare, as in cold death they lie."

Susquehanna, an unpublished Poem.

IN 1779 General Sullivan had pursued the Indians
with the scourge of war, and driven them west of the
Genesee Eiver. Colonel John Butler and Brant had
been worsted at every point, and had fled to Niagara.
It was obvious enough to the fierce braves that it was
in vain to attempt to meet the Americans in force in
the open field, but they shrewdly concluded to take
vengeance upon them by visiting their settlements
in small parties, and by stealthy approaches to take
property and prisoners, or murder and scalp, as the
case might be. They consequently, in small gangs,
followed down General Sullivan upon the very heels
of his army, and he had no sooner disposed the garri
son at Wilkesbarre, and crossed the mountain with
his army, than the work of plunder and murder was
resumed on the north and the west branches of the
Susquehanna and on the Delaware. In some instances
these parties were fearfully successful, and in others
they met with a terrible retribution.

292 WYOMING.

The following is a true account, communicated by
the parties engaged, of one of these savage expeditions,
and the tragedy with which it wound up.

On the 27th of March, 1780, Thomas Bennet, with
his son Andrew, a lad of thirteen or fourteen years of
age, commenced plowing on the flats on land now
owned by Elij ah Shoemaker, of Kingston. They took
their guns with them, and tried to shoot some ducks
in the river. Hiding their guns, they commenced
their work. Their team consisted of a yoke of oxen
and a horse, the boy riding the horse. They had been
watched by four Indians, who stole up to the place
where the guns were concealed and broke them. They
then sprang upon Mr. Bennet and his son, and iiurried
them away.

On the same morning, Lebbeus Hammond had left
"Wilkesbarre in pursuit of a fine horse, which he found
on a place he had occupied a few miles up the river,
on the west side. He made a bridle of hickory withes,
sand was proceeding homeward, when he saw moccasin
tracks. He was much alarmed, and expected every
minute to be fired upon. All at once two Indians
leaped from the bushes, and one seized his horse, while
the other pulled him off. After a brief consultation
in Indian, which Hammond did not understand, they
led him a short distance into the woods and pinioned
his arms, and then tied him to a tree. In this situa
tion they left him for about an hour, when they re
turned with four others, having Bennet and his son as
prisoners. Their greetings were such as might have
been expected. Hammond had made an almost mi
raculous escape from " Bloody Rock," and Bennet was
a notorious patriot, and their prospects now were any
thing but agreeable.

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 293

An Indian mounted Hammond's horse, but when
they came to the marsh, which lies between the river
and the mountain, he ran the horse into the mire and
left him there. The Indians hurried on with their
prisoners over the mountain, and lodged that night
near the foot of " Cummings's Pond," in what is now
Northmoreland. The Indians evidently did not know
the prisoners, for they left them unbound ; and Bennet
was for attempting to escape, but Hammond thought
it not possible to succeed, and the idea was given up.
The next day they proceeded on to Bowman's Creek,
and when they came into "the green woods" they
found the snow " waistband deep." Of course it was
laborious traveling, especially for a man of years like
Mr. Bennet. But the party pushed on, and made what
progress they could. Occasionally one of the Indians
would yell horribly, as though he wished to attract
the attention of another party. At length they met a
party of about forty Indians, commanded by a white
man — a Tory, of course. An old Indian belonging to
the party sung out, " Ah! old Bennet; I'd rather see
your scalp."

Some of the Indians fell back and held a council,
while the Tory asked Bennet many questions with re
gard to the situation of the fort, the number of fight
ing men, the number of inhabitants in the settlement,
and the like. He was told that there were three hund
red fighting men in the fort, that they were well
armed and provisioned, and that they had cannon, and
that the settlers had all taken refuge there. They then
concluded to strike the river below the fort. They
divided their company into three parties, and com
mitted various outrages, some of which will be noticed
in another connection. Before the two parties sep-

294 WYOMING.

arated, an Indian went up to a burnt stump and black
ened his face, and coming up to Mr. Bennet, lie directed
his attention to his face, with the significant sentence,
" Ho ! Bennet." The movement was well understood.
One of the party of Indians which they met joined
their party, which made seven.

That night the prisoners were pappoosed, that is, fast
ened down with poles laid across them, with an Indian
on each end of the poles. The prisoners had as yet
little or nothing to eat, and were heavily burdened
with the luggage belonging to the Indians. Of course,
they were worn down, and nearly ready to give up
and die. The next day — the third day of their cap
tivity — Mr. Bennet accidentally pulled a button from
his coat, and put it in his pocket. They were now
searched, and the button being found, Bennet asked
for it, saying he wished to put it on again. The In
dian flung it away, saying, "Fool, Bennet; only one
day more. You die at Wyallusing." That day the
Indians hunted for deer, and starting one, left the pris
oners a few rods behind, and gave them an opportuni
ty to consult. Bennet said to Hammond, " We must
rise upon them to-night." " It will be a great under
taking," said Hammond, "but it may be our last
chance." "They will kill me," answered Bennet,
"and I know not with what cruel tortures. It may
be we shall succeed, and if we do we will again return
to our families ; but if I am to die, I will sell my life
as dearly as possible." In the consultation the boy
said little, but thought much. In his heart he said
with Percy,

" I tender you my service,
Such as it is, being tender, raw, and young,
Which elder days shall ripen and confirm
To more approved service and desert."

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 295

How he acted his part will appear as the story pro
ceeds. The arrangement was made by the time the
deer was taken, and the party proceeded to cross the
river. They came up to the Meshappen, which was
much swollen by the melted snow, and before they
could venture to wade the stream they went up two
or three miles.

Having crossed the creek, and descended to the
place of encampment near the Susquehanna, they
built a fire under a shelving rock. While the Indians
were seated around the fire, roasting and eating the
meat of the deer, the leader of the party entered into
conversation with Mr. Hammond. He spoke tolera
ble English, and seemed particularly free and commu
nicative. He said he had expected to meet a large
company of Indians at that place, but he supposed
they had encamped farther up the river. He then
asked him various questions about the war. "Would
there be peace? Did the white men wish to make
peace with the red men ? He had been told so. Did
he know Lieutenant Boyd ? Hammond said he was
intimately acquainted with him. In September Boyd
had been sent out with a reconnoitring party by Gen
eral Sullivan, in Grenesee, and had been surrounded by
a superior force, taken, and most barbarously tortured.
The Indian said he led the party that took Boyd, and
he further said, " Boyd brave man — as good a soldier
as ever fought against the red man." He said they
tortured Boyd, cut off his fingers and toes, plucked out
his eyes, etc., "still brave Boyd neither asked for mer
cy nor uttered a complaint." Ah! "brave Boyd"
knew very well the character of the Indians.

"You may as well go stand upon the beach,
And bid the main flood bate his usual height ;

296 WYOMING.

You may as well use question with a wolf,

Why he hath made the ewe bleat for the lamb ;

You may as well forbid the mountain pines

To wag their high tops, and to make no noise

When they are fretted with the gusts of heaven ;

You may as well do any thing most hard,

As seek to soften that — than which what's harder ?

His [Indian] heart." SHAKSPEARE.

He then brought a sword and said, " There Boyd's
sword." Hammond took the sword, and discovered
the initials of Boyd's name stamped on the blade near
the hilt. To the whole tale Hammond listened with
out expressing the slightest emotion, well knowing the
consequences of the least manifestation of the indigna
tion which he felt burning in his bosom.

When the Indians were ready to lie down, they
pappoosed the prisoners as on the preceding night ; then
they drew their blankets over their heads and fell into
a sound sleep. One only seemed to be on the watch.
About midnight Bennet manifested great uneasiness,
and asked to get up. He received for answer, " Most
day — lie down, dog." He insisted that he was sick, and
must get up. About one o'clock the Indians all got
up and relieved the prisoners, allowing them to get
up and walk about. Bennet brought wood and flung
it on the fire. In about two hours all the Indians
were snoring again except the old watchman, and he
commenced roasting the deer's head, first sticking it
in the fire, and then scraping off the meat with his
knife and eating it. Finally the old fellow began to
nod over his early breakfast. Hammond placed him
self by an Indian axe, and Andrew Bennet, the boy,
stood by the guns, which were stacked. Both watched
the movements of Mr. Bennet, who was poking up the
brands. He had on a long great-coat, and, as he came

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 299

round near the Indian, he cautiously took hold of a
spontoon, or war-spear, which lay by his side, and
stepped back with the instrument covered by his coat,
holding it in a perpendicular position behind him.
When he had reached the right point behind the In
dian he plunged it through him. He gave a tremen
dous jump and a hideous yell, and fell upon the fire.

"If death so terrible appear, die thou.
With cruel spear he lanced his naked side,

Warm streams of blood his arms o'erflow :
His panting bosom heaves with dying signs,

Hard lab'ring to retain departing breath ;
At length he yields ; black darkness veils his eyes,

Sealed in eternal sleep of iron death."

SAMUEL WESLEY — Battle of the Frogs and Mice.

The spontoon was so firmly fixed in the body of the
Indian that Bennet was obliged to abandon it, and to
use a gun and a tomahawk during the rest of the fight.
Hammond used the axe, dashing it into the head which
was first lifted. The old Indian who had given the
account of Boyd's massacre was the first to take the
alarm. He yelled out " Chee-woo ! chee-woo /" when
Hammond buried the head of the axe in his brains,
and he fell headlong into the fire. The next blow
took an Indian on the side of the neck, just below the
ear, and he fell upon the fire. The boy snapped three
guns, not one of which happened to be loaded, but his
operations made the Indians dodge and jump straight
under Hammond's axe, or the breech of a gun which
old Mr. Bennet had clubbed, and with which he did
terrible execution. A stout Indian undertook to se
cure a weapon by a rush upon the boy. He sprang
upon him with the fury of a demon, his eyes seeming
to blaze, when the brave little fellow swung the breech
of a gun, and buried the cock in the top of his head.

300 WYOMING.

Just at that moment the only two Indians remaining
alive took to their heels, when Mr. Bennet, who could
throw a tomahawk with the precision and force of any
red-skin on the frontier, picked up a tomahawk and
let it slip, and it stuck in the back of one of them.
The Indian turned round, being at about the distance
of forty feet, and hollowed out " whoo," and his blanket
fell from his shoulders, and the hatchet was left with
it on the ground, he running off naked.

It was an awful struggle, but it was not long. A
minute and a half or two minutes, and the work was
done. Five of the savages were piled up on and around
the fire, and two had fled badly wounded. There was
a great contrast between the present appearance of the
Indian camp under the rock, and that same camp the
evening before, when the bloodthirsty savage glo
ried in the barbarous deed of cutting off Boyd's fin
gers and toes, and pulling out his eyes ; and looked
forward to, perhaps, the next night, when he would
glut his savage vengeance in a similar manner upon
the prisoners, who were obliged to listen to the recital
without the slightest expression of sympathy for their
brave companion and friend. The prisoners were now
free, and no time was lost. They supplied themselves
with good moccasins from the feet of the dead and
dying Indians, and took guns and ammunition for de
fense, and blankets for their protection from the cold,
and fifteen minutes from the moment the last blow
was struck they were upon the line of march for their
home and friends.

THE FLIGHT OF HAMMOND AND THE BENNETS.

The wounded Indians took a position on the side
of the mountain where they had a fair view of the

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 301

camp, and watched the movements of the victors.
When they had gone, the poor wretches returned to
see if any thing remained by which they might be
saved from freezing or starvation. Here the misera
ble savages saw their companions, with whom they
had shared common dangers and hardships, all gory
and cold in death. They laid them down to sleep
the stern, cruel masters of a band of helpless captives ;
they awoke to see their own weapons in the hands of
those captives, and to feel the cold steel which they
had often stained with the blood of the white man.
Their comrades were dead, and they were naked and
helpless. This was a terrible lesson to the infuriated
savages, and one they did not forget.

The victors made their calculations to take as straight
a course as possible through the woods to the "Ca-
pouse Meadows," near where the nourishing town of
Scranton is now located, avoiding all Indian trails.
They pushed on up the Meshoppen about three miles.
The stream was high and the current rapid ; but there
was no alternative ; they must wade it, if possible, at
that point. The two men took the boy between them,
lest the angry current should sweep him away, and,
with tremendous efforts, succeeded in reaching the
other shore. The morning was extremely cold, and
they had proceeded but a short distance before their
clothes were frozen stiff. They had brought away with
them no provisions of any kind, and such was the ex
citement under which they labored that they scarcely
felt the need of any. They toiled on, alternately in
spired by hope and depressed with fear. The danger
was that a fresh party of Indians might get upon their
track and overtake them.

They had reason to think that there was a large

302 WYOMING.

party above, and that party might meet the wounded
Indians, and learn, the story of the slaughter of their
fellows, and give the escaped prisoners chase, or they
might meet a party crossing over from the Delaware
to the Susquehanna, and in either event there would
be scarcely a ray of hope of their escaping the most
barbarous tortures. The images of their loved ones
at home stood before them every moment, and stimu
lated them to hold on their way. Every step brought
them nearer the goal, and enlarged the space between
them and the scene of the fearful tragedy at Meshop-
pen. The excitement of the journey was little inferior
to that of the terrible struggle with the savages through
which they had just passed. Such fearful tension of
the nerves can not long be endured, but for a time will
almost perform miracles. They were hungry, but
thought not of food ; weary, but there was no place of
rest short of friends and home. From early dawn till
late at night they were on full stretch, heeding noth
ing which they passed, and taking no note of time,
simply marking the ranges of the hills which bordered
the large streams which empty into the Susquehanna
from the east. When they saw the last range peering
up in the distance, they, like Paul when he saw " the
Three Taverns," "thanked God and took courage."

SAFE AT HOME AGAIN,

Mr. Bennet was an old hunter and understood the
ground. They kept their course, crossing the high
ridges and deep valleys which lay across their path,
generally being able to walk on the frozen crust, un
til, on the second day, they reached the south side of
the mountain range northwest of the Lacka wanna val
ley. Here they found bare ground, and now they
paused occasionally for a few minutes and picked win-

THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 303

tergreen to eat. They pursued their journey down
the side of the mountain to the mouth of the Lacka-
wanna, and so found their way to the fort at Wilkes-
barre after an absence of six days. The appearance
of the Bennets and Hammond at the fort was an oc
casion of great joy, as they had been given up for
lost. When the excitement passed off, there was little
of life left in the returned captives. Nursing and rest
finally brought up their emaciated forms and their ex
hausted spirits to their former condition.

Lieutenant Boyd's sword was brought away by
Hammond, and was afterward presented to his brother,
Colonel John Boyd.

As to the two Indians who escaped, one died in
the woods from his wounds and subsequent expo
sure, and the one tomahawked by Mr. Bennet was
taken up in a state of insensibility by a party of
Indians coming over from the Delaware. After they
had restored him to consciousness, he gave an account
of the slaughter of the Indians by Hammond and the
Bennets, which was communicated to Mr. Bennet in a
letter from Esquire Consollus, who was a prisoner in
the party, and listened to the Indian's story.

Seven years after the terrible scene which we have
described, at an Indian treaty held at Kewtown, Ham
mond saw the old Indian who had been wounded by
the tomahawk, considerably disfigured, walking with
his head bowed. Hammond was not altogether.certain
that he was the same Indian, and requested a friend
to ask him what was the cause of his stooping. When
the question was asked, the Indian promptly replied,

" A Yankee tomahawk me at Wyoming." The

poor fellow lingered out a wretched existence for sev
eral years, and then was drowned in crossing the Ca-
nisteo, falling from a foot-bridge.

304 WYOMING.

XI.

THE CAPTUKE AND ESCAPE OF JONAH ROGERS, MOSES
VAN CAMPEN, PETER PENCE, AND ABRAM PIKE. ^

"To kill man-killer, man has lawful power,
But not the extended license to devour."

DKYDEN.

IN the account given in the preceding section of
the capture of the Bennets and Hammond, it is stated
that they met a large party of Indians, led by a Tory,
on their way to Wyoming. This company divided
into three parties, and made their descent upon the
settlers at the foot of the valley, and on the west
branch. The information which they received from
Mr. Bennet induced them to keep clear of the neigh
borhood of the fort, which was what he designed to
accomplish by his strong representation of the strength
of the garrison and the security of the settlers.

On the 29th of March, ten of these Indians in a
gang, at daybreak, surprised Upson and Kogers, who
were camped out, making sugar, on what was called
"Stuart's Flats," at the lower extremity of Wyoming
Yalley. Upson was killed and scalped. Mrs. Myers
says the Indians poured boiling sap down his throat
as he lay on his back asleep, with his mouth open.
This account was extensively circulated and believed,
but Rogers says he was shot. Eogers was thirteen
years of age, and has left a written statement of his
captivity and deliverance, which is now before us.
He was taken prisoner, and told that he "must go to
Niagara." They put a blanket around him, and ho

ROGEKS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 305

submitted with apparent cheerfulness, saying, "I will
go and be an Indian too." They left the river, and
went through the woods to " Big Fishing Creek."
Here they surprised another encampment, where Mr.
Van Campen, his two sons, and Peter Pence were mak
ing sugar. This was on the morning of the 30th of
March. Mr. Yan Campen was shot and speared, and
one of his sons tomahawked and flung into the fire,
while the eldest son and Pence were made prisoners.
The savages hastened on to another "sugar camp,"
where they found another Yan Campen and two sons,
brother to the one previously killed. They murdered
Mr. Yan Campen and his youngest son, and took the
other, a lad twelve years of age, and took the back
track. On the road from Shickshinny to Huntington,
the Indians saw " signs of Yankoos." Six of the In
dians took the road, and surprised four men. Shots
were exchanged, and Parks and Kansom were wound
ed ; but, taking refuge in a house near by, the Indians
left them. The two fractions of the company were
united the next morning in Dallas. They started early,
and soon saw fresh shoe-tracks. The leader, who spoke
good English, said to Yan Campen, " Call." On his
doing so, some one answered, and soon Abram Pike
came in sight, and nine Indians seized him. He fell
on his knees, and cried " Quarter ! quarter !" His
wife and a child were with him in a sugar camp, and
the Indians painted her, and told her to go home. The
leader of the party said, u Joggo-squaw, tell Captain
Butler me captain too."

This gang were now well freighted with prisoners.
Besides the boys and young Pence, they had two mil
itary characters of considerable importance. Yan
Campen had been lieutenant in a company of volun-

306 WYOMING.

teers, and quarter-master under General Sullivan dur
ing his expedition against the Indians, and Pike was a
British deserter. Pike had been in the Continental
army under General Washington ; came into the Val
ley before the Indian battle ; had his thigh broken in
the battle, and escaped down the river before the ca
pitulation. He had on a coat of the Continental uni
form, which marked him in the eye of the Indians as a
considerable prize. They knew not his former rela
tions to the English army, but from the buttons on his
coat they concluded he was an American officer, and
they called him, by way of eminence, " Congless."

Pike was an Irishman, strongly marked with the
peculiarities of his race. He was witty and roguish,
presuming and adventurous. It used to be told of
him that, when in Washington's army on the Hudson,
he and three other fellows stole by the sentry in the
night, crossed the river, and broke into a store near
the enemy's lines. His comrades were shot, and he
narrowly escaped. He was reported in the morning,
and, on being brought before the general, he said,
"Plase your excellency, I went over with three boys
to make . a prisoner of the English officer, but we had
bad luck." The general, turning to his staff and smil
ing, said, " Did you ever see such a set of foolhardy
fellows? Four of them went to capture the British
general ! Pike, go to your duty."

Pike was always poor, but always preserved an air
of independence. He used to say, " The world owed
him a living, and he was determined not to be chated
out of it." He sometimes committed petty thefts, and
always avoided the penalties of the law, either from
the kind consideration of the party injured, or by some
stroke of Irish wit. He was once brought before a

ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 307

magistrate charged with having stolen a silver spoon.
The evidence was circumstantial, and not very con
clusive. Pike solemnly denied the charge, and ap
pealed to all the saints for the truth of the denial.
"Well," said the squire, "I will swear you, Pike."
" Jist as your honor plases about that," was the re
ply. Pike kissed the Bible, and still positively denied
any knowledge of the spoon. The complainant, being
shrewd, and knowing the soldier well, then said, u Now,
Pike, if you will lift up your hand, and swear by the
honor of a soldier that you did not take the spoon, I
will let you off." The court said, " Pike, lift up your
hand." Pike looked wise, and, shrugging up his
shoulders and shaking his head, said, " The de'il a bit ;"
and, thrusting his hand into his bosom, he drew out
the spoon and dashed it upon the table, exclaiming,
" Troth, an' I'll not violate the honor of a soldier for
all the spoons in America." The owner took his
spoon, and the squire laughed heartily. Pike was
finally discharged with a reprimand.

The company now commenced their march for the
north. They encamped before they reached Bau-
man's Creek. Early the next morning they set off,
and that day came to their canoes, in which they cross
ed the Susquehanna above Tunkhannock, and then set
them afloat. That night they encamped on the Me-
shappen, but how they passed without observing the
scene of Bennets' and Hammond's slaughter of the In
dians, which had occurred but two days before, direct
ly in their path, it is difficult to say. There was no
doubt a providence in this, for the discovery would
have provoked them to put their prisoners to torture
without delay, or would at least have put them upon
their guard.

308 WYOMING.

On the next day, April 1st, Mr.Eogers says, "There
was some talk of trying to make our escape, as we came
across flocks of deer, which gave the prisoners an op
portunity of being by themselves. Pike, upon inquiry,
found out who was the commanding officer at Niagara,
and said he knew him as well as he did his father. He
swore that he would that night be a free man or a dead
man. He well knew his fate should he reach Niagara."

Van Campen says, "It came into my mind that
sometimes individuals performed wonderful actions,
and surmounted the greatest dangers ; I then thought
that these fellows must die, as well as of the plan to dis
patch them." Their views were compared and their
plans matured. That night was the time, for later than
that time they might be in the hands of a large body
of Indians, who would certainly put to torture the first
prisoners they should secure after the ravages of the
American army in their country. Such was the rea
soning of the prisoners, and such their conclusions.

The spirit of liberty struggled in the bosom of these
brave fellows : to them the hazards of an unequal fight
were preferable to the exigencies of captivity among
the savages. With the poet they said :

"Thy spirit, Independence, let me share,
Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye :
Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare,

Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky."

SMOLLETT.

That night they encamped near the river, about fif
teen miles below Tioga Point, not far from the mouth
of the Wysox. The prisoners brought wood and made
up a good fire. How they were to get loose from their
pinions was a question. As the boy Kogers had not
been pinioned, it was presumed he would still be left

KOGEKS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 309

free, and he could help them to the " wood-hatchets"
and a knife. The prisoners were pinioned and laid
down, each one between two Indians. When all were
sound asleep, Kogers arose, and secured a knife and
gave it to Pike, and at the same time put an axe in the
way of Yan Campen, and returned to his place. " Pike
cut himself loose, and then cut the other prisoners
loose." So says Mr. Kogers, albeit Mr. Yan Campen
says, " I slipped to Pence, who rose ; I cut him loose,
and handed him the knife ; he did the same for me.
I, in turn, took the knife and cut Pike loose ; in a mo
ment's time we disarmed them." Pike's account agrees
with that of Kogers, that he cut the prisoners loose. And,
according to him, while he took away the guns, Yan
Campen and Pence, each with an axe in his hand, re
sumed their position, with the understanding that,
should the Indians take the alarm before the guns
were removed, they should each dispatch the two In
dians which lay by their side. The guns were all re
moved, and set up by a tree at a short distance. All,
so far, seems probable and well planned; but after
this, Pike's story and Yan Campen's differ widely.
According to Pike, he next proceeded to take the
blankets from the Indians, that they might freeze if
they should escape. He pulled off their blankets, and
they shrugged their shoulders and shivered, but slept
on until he had uncovered the last one, when, in step
ping over him, he hit him with his toe, upon which he
lifted up his head and exclaimed " "Woo !" Then the
slaughter began. Kogers says, "An Indian awaked
and began to jabber." Yan Campen and Rogers agree
in saying that Pence fired upon them ; he, of course,
must have sprung to the guns during the first on
slaught. Several — it is not certain how many — were

310 WYOMING.

slaughtered at the first onset, and the remainder fled
a few paces to the woods ; but, finding themselves
naked and defenseless, they made a rush upon the
prisoners, when nearly all shared the same fate. Pence
fired ; Pike dealt out heavy blows with his axe, first
using the head and then the edge, as Rogers reports,
while Yan Campen had a grapple with a stout fellow
whom he had wounded, which is thus graphically de
scribed by himself: " There was one — his name was Mo
hawk — a stout, bold, daring fellow. In the alarm he
jumped off about three rods from the fire ; he saw
that it was the prisoners that made the attack, and,
giving the war-whoop, he darted to take possession of
the guns ; I was as quick to prevent him ; the con
test was then between him and myself. As I raised
my tomahawk, he turned to jump from me ; I followed
him and struck at him, but missed his head : my toma
hawk struck his shoulder, or, rather, the back of his
neck ; he pitched forward and fell ; at the same time,
my foot slipped, and I fell by his side ; we clinched ;
his arm was naked ; he caught me around the neck ;
at the same time, I caught him with my left arm around
the body, and gave him a close hug, feeling for his
knife, but could not reach it. In our scuffle my toma
hawk dropped out ; my head was under the wounded
shoulder, and I was almost suffocated with the blood.
I made a violent spring, and broke his hold ; we both
arose at the same time, and he ran. It took me some
time to clear the blood from my eyes ; my tomahawk
got covered up, and I could not find it in time to over
take him. He was the only one of the party that es
caped."

"Now cuffing close, now chasing to and fro,
Now hurtling round advantage for to take,

ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 311

As two wild boares together grappling go,
Chaufing and foaming choler each against his foe.
At last they have all overthrown to ground
Quite topside turvey, and the pagan hound
Amongst the iron hooks and grapples run,
Torn all to rags, and rent with many a wound."

SPENSER.

The bloody tragedy closed, and Eogers began to
jump up and down. Pike, frantic with joy, gave him
a blow on the side of the head which felled him to the
ground. They remained in the camp until morning ;
Yan Campen, recovering the scalps of his father and
other relatives, and scalping the Indians, strung the
scalps on his belt. Early in the morning the victors
gathered up the plunder and proceeded to the river.
They constructed a raft, which proved insufficient ; it
sunk under them, and they lost nearly all their plun
der. They traveled down as far as "the Narrows,"
where they saw a smoke, and had no doubt an Indian's
*camp was there. After a little reconnoitring, they dis
covered that the Indians had left, probably upon a
hunting expedition. They found a new raft, which
they immediately took possession of, and paddled off
with all their might. Just as they were out of danger,
the Indians made their appearance on the shore and
fired upon them, but without effect. They landed on
an island, and made themselves as comfortable as pos
sible for the night.

Yan Campen tells a ludicrous story of Pike, of what
he says occurred that night. They heard a noise, and
Pike, supposing it to be the tread of an Indian, was
much alarmed. He, Yan Campen, " kept watch, and
soon a noble raccoon came under the light." He
shot the raccoon, " when Pike jumped up and called
out, ' Quarter, gentlemen — quarter, gentlemen.' " He

312 WYOMING.

took the raccoon by the leg, and threw it down by
the fire, saying, " Here, you cowardly rascal, skin that,
and give us a roast for supper." This story is wholly
incredible upon any other supposition than that Pike
was merely exhibiting a little of his Irish humor;
more, it is wholly inconsistent with Mr. Rogers's ac
count of the facts of this famous retreat.

According to Mr. Eogers, they left the scene of con
flict, and landed on the island on the 2d of April.
He says, " April 3d, early, crossed on to the west side,
and traveled with nothing to eat. We have now been
two days without any thing to eat." Where was that
"noble raccoon" which the "cowardly rascal" Pike
was ordered to dress and prepare " a roast for sup
per?"

" April 4, traveled all day ; nothing to eat but a
small piece of dead deer we found." The deer had
died of wounds which it had received, and had began
to decay. The flesh was a sorry morsel for any but
starving men. At this point the boy Rogers became
overcome with fatigue, and besought his friends to let
him lie down and die. Pike took him upon his back,
and encouraged him to keep heart. He said to his
companions, "I'll tak' the boy to his mother, or I'll
die in the struggle." After a little rest on the back
of the old Irish soldier, the lad plucked up courage
and went on.

" April 5, traveled all day ; nothing to eat. April
6, came to the river not far from Esquire Button's, in
Exeter. About the middle of the afternoon we killed
a deer. I ran, and before it was dead I had a piece in
my mouth." He paid but little attention to the "hair
and skin," but forced the quivering flesh between his
teeth, as he says, " until the blood dropped from my

ROGERS, VAN CAMPEN, PENCE, AND PIKE. 313

mouth. It was the sweetest morsel I ever tasted."
The same day, at nine o'clock, they arrived at Wilkes-
barre. The journal concludes:

" Friday, April 7, I went from Wilkesbarre to
Plymouth, to my parents, who received me as one from
the dead."

This wonderful tale we have drawn up partly from
Mr. Van Campen's narrative, found in his memorial to
Congress asking for a pension, partly from a brief nar
rative written by Mr. Eogers, which has been in the
hands of John Bennet, Esq., of Kingston, since 1830,
and which he has kindly allowed us to use, and part
ly from our own recollection of a verbal relation of
the circumstances by Abram Pike in 1818. There is
some clashing between Yan Campen's story and Pike's.
Each makes himself the great hero of the tragedy, and
makes the other a "coward." In this they were both
influenced by prejudice, and are both wrong. Colonel
Stone, in the second edition of his history of Wyoming,
fully credits Yan Campen, and brands Pike with cow
ardice. The colonel was misled by Yan Campen's me
morial. Pike was a regularly disciplined soldier; was
in the Indian battle, and escaped by swimming down
the river a mile or more with his thigh broken. " Ser
geant Pike, the Indian Killer," as he was often famil
iarly called, was no coward ; nor were either of his
comrades in that heroic exploit "at the mouth of the
Wysox" cowards. The testimony of Jonah Eogers,
which we now have in writing from under his own
hand, is entirely reliable, and he gives the two con
testants for the honor about an equal measure of
credit.

The account which Pike gives us of his pulling off
the blankets from the Indians is scarcely credible;

314 WYOMING.

and a portion of the story of Van Campen's grapple
with " Mohawk," while Pike and Pence were on hand,
is doubtful. It is hardly likely that they would stand
by and see their comrade so near being killed by a
wounded Indian, and finally let him escape, when all
the company excepting him were dead or dying.
The main facts are indisputably true; as to some of
the particulars, it is not strange that there should be
some diversity, and even contradictions in the differ
ent relations. Van Campen's story was published
after Pike and Eogers were both dead, and, so far as
it is unnaturally in his own favor, and against one
of his companions in captivity and danger, it is to be
taken with a large discount.

The stories of Pike and Rogers were as familiar in
the country as household words for many years, while
they were both living in the same neighborhood, and
they were always understood to agree in all essential
particulars. When Pike related the tale to us, it was
in the presence and at the instance of old Mrs. Reyn
olds, of Truxville, who had heard it so often that she
understood it perfectly, and would have marked the
slightest variation from the known truth of the his
tory. We have made these remarks from a regard to
historical truth, and without the slightest prejudice
against or in favor of either of the parties.

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 315

XII.

THE CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF GEORGE P. RANSOM
AND OTHERS.

GEORGE P. EANSOM was the son of Captain Samuel
Eansom, who was one of the three men who arrived
just in time to engage in the battle and fall upon the
field of gore and slaughter. — See Mrs. Myers's account
of the battle, p. 158.

The subject of this sketch entered the army at the
commencement of the Kevolutionary war, at the age
of fourteen. He served for two years as his father's
waiter. When Wyoming was threatened with an in
vasion from the Indians and Tories, two companies
which had been raised in Wyoming, under the com
mand of Captains Eansom and Durkee, were consoli
dated into one, and sent on under the command of
Captain Simon Spaulding. This company was en
camped at Merwin's, thirty-three miles from the Val
ley, on the night of the battle.* On the following day,
a scout was sent on in advance to learn the position
of affairs. The scout met the fugitives, who gave
them the sad intelligence of the defeat and slaughter
of the little patriot army, and that the settlement was
in the possession of the Indians and Tories. Upon
their return, Captain Spaulding proceeded with his
men to Stroudsburg.

After a delay there of several weeks, Spaulding's

* So say the historians ; but Colonel Hollenback is represented as
locating Spaulding's company on that night at Bear Creek, twenty-
four miles nearer Wyoming.

316 WYOMING.

company, together with some of the settlers under the
leadership of Colonel Butler, proceeded to the Valley,
and buried the dead who lay upon the battle-field.
Young Ransom was in the company, and, after diligent
search among the slain, was finally enabled to identify
the body of his father from his ^shoe and knee buckles.
His head was severed from his body, and the body
was much burned. Another son of Captain Ransom
who was in the battle had his arm broken by a ball,
and escaped by swimming the river and diving when
the savages shot at him from the shore.

George P. Ransom joined Sullivan's army, was in
the battle at Newtown, and shared in all the dangers
and hardships of the expedition into the Indian coun
try. He related with much interest the circumstance
of Luke Swetland's meeting the army. Swetland had
been taken prisoner by the Indians in August, 1778,
and had managed to make his escape. "When he met
the army, supposing he had fallen in with Butler's
Tories, he asked if they had heard any thing of " the
rebel army," when, taking him for a stray Tory,
the soldiers commenced abusing him with kicks and
cuffs. Fortunately, young Ransom happened to be
•near him, and sung out, "Is that you, Swetland?"
"Good God!" exclaimed Swetland, "is there any one
here that knows me?" The course of treatment was
now suddenly changed from abuse to hearty congrat
ulations, and the supposed Tory was taken into the
arms of his Yankee brothers, and, with them, returned
to his beloved Wyoming after more than a year's ab
sence.

Upon the return of the army to the Valley Mr.
Ransom obtained a furlough, and visited his friends at
Plymouth. On one Sunday evening in December,

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 817

1780, young Ransom, with two other young men, paid
a visit to a house where were three young ladies, for
the purpose of whiling away an hour or two in pleas
ant chat. When they had become agreeably engaged
in soft nonsense and relating yarns, three heavy raps
fell upon the door. The party knew well the signal,
and looked around for some way of escape. Upon
looking out of the windows they found them guarded,
and, turning to the door, in rushed a band of Indians
and Tories, and made captives of the whole company.
The lovers were now, in sorry plight, hurried up the
mountain, and at a suitable distance from the settle
ment the Indians and Tories prepared to encamp.
Before they had concluded their arrangements for the
night they let the girls go. Two of them — Lucy Har
vey and Eachel Bullock — took a bee-line to the fort
at Wilkesbarre.

The venerable Charles Harris, now eighty-nine years
of age, was on duty as a sentinel that night. He was
then a lad, and wide awake for Indians. He says, "I
saw something black, and I thought it moved. I was
first at a loss to know what to do ; I thought it might
be an Indian stealing up to shoot me ; but, as it might
be a friend, I concluded to call out. ' Who is there ?'
I demanded. A female voice answered, 'A friend.'
Then advance, said I, and up came the two girls, and
told me the story of their capture and release, and said
that the Indians and Tories had the three young men,
and were going off with them to Niagara. I awoke
Colonel Butler, and he ordered the alarm-gun fired.
When it was fired it created terrible confusion; an
Irishman jumped out of his bed and ran to the door
roaring, and appeared to be half scared to death."

The prisoners on the mountain heard the alarm-

818 WYOMING.

gun, and from that concluded that their lady-loves had
safely reached the garrison. The prisoners were tied,
and the Indians and Tories lay down in a ring around
them. Before they laid themselves down, one of the
Tories told the prisoners, with great emphasis, that if
either of them escaped, the Indians would kill the oth
ers. When all were asleep, Eansom thought of mak
ing his escape, and succeeded in untying the rope
which confined his arms. They were situated on the
brow of a hill, and he had no doubt but he could dash
down the hill among the bushes, and escape without
harm. But then he thought of his companions in cap
tivity. From the manner in which the Tory had pre-
monished them of the consequences of the escape of any
one of them, he had no reason to doubt but the threat
would be executed, and that, too, under circumstances
*of savage barbarity. Upon reflection, he tied the rope
as it was before. He could not sleep; his thoughts
were busy. What would become of him ? He wore the
uniform of Sullivan's army ; he remembered the fate
of "brave Boyd ;" and, almost without willing it, the
rope was again slipped. He looked upon the darkness
down the hill side ; he was upon the point of leaping
over the ring of Indians and Tories ; he held himseli
down ; he did the deed in imagination over and over.
But ah! his two companions in captivity — their fate
brought him up again. He could have no hope of
releasing them. One might escape, loose as he then
was, but to liberate the other two, and for all to run
away, would be beyond the bounds of all rational prob
ability. Here he paused, and finally drew the knot up
again, and waited for daylight, resolving to share a
common fate with his companions in captivity.

When the day broke the company made prepara-

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 319

tions to move on. They loaded the prisoners with
heavy packs, and moved up the river. It was in the
month of December, and they suffered much from fa
tigue and cold, besides being nearly starved. At
Tioga Point they killed a horse, and kept in tolerable
case while their horse-beef lasted. Eansom was known
from his dress to have been in the army which had
devastated the Indian country, and of course was
singled out as a special object of vengeance. Before
they reached Niagara they fell in with a large body
of Indian families, and now it was time to proceed with
some ceremony of savage cruelty, in which all who
had suffered from the invasion of the "rebel army"
might have a taste of sweet vengeance on their ene
mies. The method resorted to was one of the milder
sort in use among the Indians.

Kansom was seated on a log, and was told by the
Tories that the Indians were about to whip him. The
law which governed this ceremony was that the whole
body of Indians, squaws, and pappooses would pass by
him in single file, and each one would give him a blow :
he might dodge, but must not leave the log ; if he did,
he would be killed. The procession was formed, ev
ery one having in hand some weapon, generally being
armed with sticks or whips. The old chief came up
at the head of the procession, and, taking him by the
hand, muttered out something in his own language,
and gave him a blow. Then came the queen squaw
and did the same. Then followed about forty Indians,
then about as many squaws. Last of all came on the
young brood, and they struck their blow, some of them
showing the venom of young vipers. The victim of
this savage cruelty dodged the blows so adroitly that
he was not much injured excepting in one instance : a

320 WYOMING.

young Indian, with murderous intent, flung a toma
hawk at his head, which would have cloven his skull
had he not dropped his head down as quick as light
ning. The deadly weapon passed over his head, but
struck his back near the lower extremity of the spine,
and inflicted an injury, the effects of which he felt, at
times, through the rest of his life.

The prisoners were ten or twelve days in reaching
Niagara. They were soon removed to what was call
ed "Prisoners' Island," in the St. Lawrence, forty -five
miles above Montreal, where there were one hund
red and sixty-six American prisoners. The follow
ing account of the treatment which the prisoners re
ceived there is from Mr. Hansom's own hand, and is
taken from Miner's History. He says, " We were
guarded by Kefugees, or what was called Tories, that
belonged to Sir John Johnson's second regiment.
The commanding officer of the guard on the isl
and was a young Scotchman by the name of M'Al-
pin, about eighteen years of age. The winter was
very severe, and a great snow-storm came and drifted
before the door of the guard, who sent for some of the
American prisoners to come and shovel it away.
They refused, saying they were prisoners of war, and
he had no right to set them at work for his pleasure.
Enraged at this, the officer ordered them into irons,
and directed others to take the shovels and go to work:
these also refused and were ironed. So he went on
commanding and meeting with resolute disobedience
to what they considered a tyrannical order. They
had taken up arms and periled their lives to resist
British tyranny, and would not now, though prison
ers, submit to it. Some were ironed two together,
some to a bar four together ; but he kept putting on

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 321

irons as long as he had handcuffs left. Among the last
who refused were myself and one William Palmeters.
We were then put into an open house without floor
or windows, and directions given that we should have
neither victuals, brandy, nor tobacco ; but our faithful
friends contrived to evade the guard, and we were fur
nished with all. There we remained all night, suffer
ing extremely from the cold. The next morning
M'Alpin came, thinking our spirits were broken, and
demanded if we would not shovel now. All answered
in a word, 'Not for a Tory.' He then took us out
of that place and put us into a hut just finished, with
a good floor, and we sent for a black man, a good fid
dler, for we had two on the island. We then opened
our ball, dancing, to keep ourselves warm, jigs, horn
pipes, four and six-handed reels. Where four were
ironed to one bar, they could dance the cross-handed,
or what we called the York reel. We continued in
this merry mood until our Scotch gentleman found the
place was too good for us. He then took us out and
put us into a loft of one of the huts, which stood so
low that a man could stand up only under the centre
of the ridge. There we were kept in extreme suffer
ing two days and nights. In the mean time, M Alpin
sent for Charles Grandison, our fiddler, and ordered
him to play for his pleasure. The black went, but
firmly declared that he would not play while his fel
low-prisoners were in irons. The officer then ordered
a sort of court-martial, composed of Tories, who, of
course, brought in the poor negro guilty. The sen
tence of the court was that he should be stripped, tied
up, and receive ten lashes on his naked back, which
was done. While smarting with the lash, the officer
asked if he would fiddle as he was ordered. * No ;
02

322 WYOMING.

not while my fellow-prisoners are in irons,' was his
answer. Again he was tied up and ten lashes laid on ;
but his firmness was not to be shaken, and the officer
sent him to his hut.

" M'Alpin then sent a party of soldiers to bring up
some of the prisoners, several of whom were flogged
severely ; and one, against whom the Tories had a par
ticular spite, was tied neck and heels, a rope put around
his neck, and he was thus drawn up to the chamber
floor and kept until he was almost dead, let down and
then drawn up again. One John Albright, a young
Continental soldier, was flogged almost to death for
speaking his mind freely. But not one American was
found to shovel snow."

On the opening of spring, Eansom and his two fel
low-prisoners, James Butterfield and John Brown,
were permitted to make gardens for themselves. They
planned their beds with some taste. They now con
ceived the project of making a raft and escaping on it.
They laid out their work and proceeded, one keeping
watch while the other two worked. They put to
gether old sticks, and whatever they could procure
that could be used, and bound them together, and, as
fast as they proceeded, they contrived to bury their
work under the sand, leaving the surface in the form
of a bed, the outer rails of their raft seeming to be de
signed to keep the earth from washing away.

There is some truth as well as poetry in the lines of
Dryden :

"For there's the folly that's still mixed with fear,
Cowards more blows than any heroes bear ;
Of fighting sparks some may their pleasures say,
But 'tis a bolder thing to run away."

They provided themselves with some bread, pork,

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 323

and salt, and on the 9th of June, just after sundown,
they dug out the raft and committed themselves to the
treacherous current. Their paddles were round sticks
flattened at the end with a pocket-knife. They pulled
out with might and main, and had but just got under
way before the alarm-gun bellowed and reverberated
like terrible thunder. The thick darkness now cover
ed the fugitives, and they were borne down the cur
rent on their crazy raft, to what haven they knew not.
Their raft being constructed of old materials, it absorb
ed the water until it ran so deep that the adventurous
passengers sat in the water some eighteen inches. That
was an anxious night, and as perilous as anxious. The
doubt which harassed their minds was whether they
would not be wrecked and drowned, or be obliged to
land where they would be an easy prey to the British
soldiers or the Indians.

At daybreak they landed on the Canada side, and
when they attempted to raise themselves to their feet
they found it impossible. Their lower limbs were
stiff, being benumbed with their long continuing mo
tionless under water. They succeeded in pulling
themselves to land by some bushes, and then com
menced rubbing their legs and whipping them with
switches. Finally they could walk, and they moved on
down the river, and concealed themselves for the day
under the trees in a windfall. When night came they
started on, looking out for some sort of craft in which
they could find their way across to the American side.
They saw a bark canoe, but were kept at bay by two
savage dogs, which it was not possible for them to paci
fy. Soon after this they found two bark canoes lying
near each other. They took possession of these light
vessels, and soon found the American shore. They

324 WYOMING.

now directed their course toward the head of Lake
Champlain.

Their bread was wet and spoiled ; they saved their
meat and salt. In a written account of this wonderful
escape, which we have received from Mr. Samuel Kan-
som, son of Colonel George P. Eansom, it is said that
their meat lasted them seven days, and then they were
left without food. They concealed themselves in the
daytime for six days, and traveled by night. Their
way lay through a fearful swamp, where for more than
a week they could find no water fit to drink. They
traveled with forked sticks, and with these they cap
tured snakes and frogs, upon which they lived for
more than a week.

They all became exceedingly weak, and one of the
company came to the conclusion that he must lie down
and die. The other two stimulated him on by telling
him that if he died they would fill their packs with
his flesh and eat it. This terrible threat drove him on
for a while, but he became feverish, and evidently could
go no farther. Providentially they came to a beautiful
spring of water. He drank, and lay down by the side
of it. He insisted upon being left, as it was better for
him to die alone than for the whole company to per
ish, and no one be left to tell their story. Upon the
whole, it was concluded to make the best provision
for the poor fellow they could, and then go on. They
accordingly gathered a pile of wood, caught a quantity
of frogs and snakes, and built a brush booth over him,
and bade him farewell.

Now Mr. Kansom and one of his companions pro
ceeded, but with feeble and faltering steps, being near
ly exhausted. On the fourteenth day of their adven
turous journey they found two old horses. Their first

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 325

idea was to kill one of them and fill their packs. The
next thought was the wisest one — that was, to mount
the horses, and let them go where they would, presum
ing they would take them to some habitation of man.
This plan succeeded. The horses brought them to a
house where there was a kind-hearted old lady. She
saw their condition, and gave them half a pint of milk
each, mixed with about as much water, and a lit
tle bread. They took their scanty ration, and lay
down upon the floor. They reached this hospitable
hut just before night. They slept until about twelve
o'clock, and then awoke with such a voracious appe
tite that they could almost bite the flesh out of each
other, or devour their own fingers. They called to
their benefactress, who arose and gave them the same
allowance as before. They then lay down and slept
until morning. They remained here three or four
days, and became so recruited that they proceeded
with good heart upon their journey.

They came to the lake, and three days after reached
Hubbertston, Yermont ; the next day they reached a
fort at Castleton ; then they came to Poultney, where
Mr. Kansom found a home for the time being with an
uncle. Some three weeks after their arrival at Poult
ney, who should make his appearance but the poor fel
low they had left to die by the spring ! Eest under
his booth, the frogs, broiled by the fire, seasoned with
a little salt his companions had left him, and the pure
cold water, sustained nature until she had rallied ; the
fever left him, and he set off upon the track of his com
rades, and came through in safety.

Colonel Eansom says, "My companions went on to
Albany, and there proclaimed the cruelty of the Scotch
officer: it was published in the papers. A flag was

326 WYOMING.

dispatched to remonstrate against such abuse of our
men ; and we had the pleasure to hear, not long after,
that M'Alpin was tried and broke, the prisoners be
ing called to witness against him."

Some of the Wyoming prisoners had the pleasure of
seeing M'Alpin drummed out of the camp. About
this time a prisoner brought in a report that Cornwal-
lis was taken at Yorktown, and the American prison
ers, after due consultation, concluded to give vent to
their feelings upon the occasion. Accordingly, on a
signal being given, at dead of night, the very ground
was made to tremble with three cheers for General
Washington. The officers sprang from their beds, and
the sentinels almost jumped out of their boots ; but,
upon examination, all was order and quiet among the
prisoners. The iron rule had ended. The time had
now come to begin to arrange for the exchange of pris
oners, instead of tying Yankees neck and heels, and
hanging them up. Henceforth law and decency ob
tained on "Prisoner's Island."

After becoming sufficiently recruited, Mr. Ransom
visited his friends in Canaan, Connecticut, and then,
after a short stay in Wyoming, returned to the army
at West Point, where he remained until the conclusion
of the war, when he was honorably discharged.

Mr. Ransom married and settled upon lands which
his father had occupied before the war in Plymouth.
Like nearly every body else in Wyoming, the young
couple had hard work to live until they could raise
what was necessary for their comfort from the rich
flats which they commenced tilling. The greatest dif
ficulty was to obtain materials for clothing. Mr. Ran
som sowed flaxseed in the spring, but it would not
grow in a day. Before his flax had come to maturity

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 327

lie found on the flats a luxuriant growth of nettles ;
these he mowed, and rotted by sinking them in a pond
of warm water, and then drying them in the sun, and
of the fibres Mrs. Eansom made coarse cloth for pants
for her husband. They were neither elegant nor dur
able, but they held out until the flax came to maturity.
Such was now the pressure of Mr. Eansom's necessities
that the flax was pulled, rotted, dressed, spun, woven,
and a shirt and pants made in eight days ! The ninth
day after the flax was pulled the enterprising young
farmer was dressed in the fabric which was manufac
tured out of it. The thing seems scarcely possible, but
such, we are assured, was the fact.

Mr. Eansom graduated in regular course to the of
fice of colonel of the regiment, and spent a long life on
the place upon which he first commenced housekeep
ing. He lived much respected, and departed this life
in September, 1850, in the ninetieth year of his age.

Colonel Eansom was a man of high spirits, and was
an uncompromising patriot. We are indebted to his
son Samuel for the following anecdote, illustrative of
the permanence and strength of his feelings as a Eev-
olutionary soldier. "While in one of the old taverns in
Wilkesbarre, when quite advanced in years, he heard
a windy young man speak very disrespectfully of
General Washington. The general, he said, was not a
great man nor a great soldier, but had taken advantage
of fortunate circumstances to palm himself off upon
the world as such. This was more than the old sol
dier could well bear, and he lifted his cane and felled
the impudent young sprig to the floor. The whipped
puppy prosecuted the colonel for assault and battery.
When the case came on, Colonel Eansom appeared in
court without an advocate, and simply pleaded guilty,

328 WYOMING.

and flung himself on the mercy of the court. Hon.
David Scott was presiding judge ; his associates were
the venerable Matthias Hollenback and Jesse Fell.
Judge Scott remarked, This is a case which I choose to
leave to my associates, as they are old soldiers, and can
fully appreciate the circumstances of the case, and
then left his seat. Judge Hollenback asked Colonel
Eansom where he was at such a date. The answer
was, "In my father's company, in Washington's army."
"And where on the 3d of July, 1778?" Answer,
"With Captain Spaulding, on my way to Wyoming."
* ( And where the following summer ? ' ' Answer, "With
General Sullivan in the Lake country, flogging the
Indians." "And where the next fall and winter?"
Answer, " A prisoner on the St. Lawrence." " Ah !"
said the judge, " all that is true enough, Colonel Ean
som. And did you knock the fellow down, colonel ?"
"I did so, and would do it again under like provo
cation," was the answer. "What was the provoca
tion ?" asked the judge. " The rascal abused the name
of General Washington," was the answer. The judge
coolly said, "Colonel Eansom, the judgment of the
court is that you pay a fine of one cent, and the pros
ecutor pay the cost." A roar of applause succeeded,
during which the prosecutor fled from the court-house
in great consternation, and immediately left the place
for parts unknown.

During this singular trial the colonel stood in the
calm dignity of a soldier of the old school, with his
son standing by his side, indulging no little anxiety
with regard to the event. When the affair had term
inated, the boy walked out of the court-house with
his father, proud of his courage and of his noble bear
ing before the court, and abundantly flattered with the

GEORGE P. RANSOM AND OTHERS. 329

public demonstrations of approbation of an act which,
whatever might have been the result of it under other
circumstances, he considered both lawful and expe
dient.

We give this anecdote as we received it, for the pur
pose of illustrating the spirit of the parties concerned,
judging comments entirely unnecessary.

330 WYOMING.

XIII.

BENJAMIN BIDLACK — CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES
AND SINGULAR ESCAPE.

"Therewith, in all this world, no nightingale
Ne coude by an hundre'd thousand dell
Singen so wonder merrily and well."

"Full fairc was Mirthe, full long and high,
A fairer man I never sigh ;
As round as apple was his face,
Full roddie and white in every place."

WlOLIF.

MR. BIDLACK came to Wyoming at an early period
with his father, mother, and several brothers. He
served his country under General Washington through
nearly the entire period of the Kevolutionary war. He
was at Boston when Washington took charge of the
patriot army to oppose Greneral Grage. He was at
Trenton on the taking of the Hessians. He was at
Yorktown on the occasion of the surrender of Corn-
wallis ; and was in Washington's camp, at Newburg,
when the army was disbanded.

One of Mr. Bidlack's brothers was captain of a com
pany of volunteers in the Indian battle, and fell at the
head of his men. The year after, his father was taken
prisoner by the Indians from Plymouth. After his
father's imprisonment, his mother earnestly requested
that her son Benjamin might be permitted to return
home on furlough, to assist her in her lonely and help
less condition ; but such were the necessities of the
country that it was thought the example would be
dangerous, and her prayer was not granted.

BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 331

When peace was concluded, Captain Bidlack was
released from Ms captivity ; and when the army was
discharged, his son Benjamin returned home; and
now those who remained of the family were once more
together. They were a family of patriots — were all
tall, large-boned, powerful men, and good soldiers.
Mr. Bidlack passed through the perils of the war with
out seeming to realize his exposure to death, until,
about the time of its close, he came near being killed
by the accidental explosion of a bomb-shell, which ig
nited on being flung from a wagon. The fragments
flew, apparently, within a hair's-breadth of him on ev
ery side, and yet he escaped without harm. The event
led to much serious reflection, which he never forgot.

He assisted in building "the Temple of Liberty,"
and in constructing a causeway across the marsh which
lay between the two lines of the encampment at New-
burg. The "temple" lingered in his memory as a great
institution ; he almost seemed to regard it with super
stitious veneration. There they had religious worship,
and the " splendid singing," in which he took a prom
inent part, was with him the beau ideal of harmony.
"I never," said he to us, "heard such singing in my
life. Some of the officers from New England were
trained singers, and many of the men could sing well,
and they made the temple ring with sweet and power
ful melody."

"For the armony

And sweet accord was so good musike,
That the voice to angels most was like."

CHAUCER.

'• She said, In air the trembling music floats,
And on the winds triumphant swell the notes ;
So soft, though high — so loud, and yet so clear,
Ev'n listening angels lean from heaven to hear." — POPE.

332 WYOMING.

He here witnessed the debates of the officers upon
the subject of disbanding the army. They spoke in
their uniform, with their swords by their sides. On
one occasion, one of them, laying his hand upon the
hilt of his sword, demanded, with great vehemence,
" Gentlemen, are you prepared to give up these swords,
which have procured freedom for the country, and for
yourselves glory and renown ? Can you retire to your
farms or shops, and ingloriously abandon the profes
sion of arms? Will you not rather spill your hearts'
blood in defense of rights which have been so dearly
bought in the camp and upon the field of battle?"

Here " the Armstrong Letters" originated, and here
the feelings of General Washington were sorely tried.
We once took a stroll over the ground of the old en
campment, saw the rude masonry and portions of the
foundations of the huts, and some vestiges of " the
Temple of Liberty," and here the whole story, so elo
quently told by " Father Bidlack," as he was then call
ed, before his intellect had begun to fail, was revived
in our recollection. We imagined we saw him before
us, describing the scenes which took place during that
interesting and critical period of our national history,
shaking his venerable head, and remarking, with deep
gravity and with great earnestness, "Ah! that was a
trying time ; but the wisdom, firmness, and patriotism
of General Washington were equal to the emergency.
He might have kept the army together and have been
king of the country, but he preferred to be the farmer
of Mount Yernon under a republican government."

Some time before the conclusion of the last Penn-
amite and Yankee war, young Bidlack undertook some
sort of a commercial expedition down the river in a
boat. At Sunbury he was made a prisoner by the

BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 335

Pennsylvanians, and confined in a place which they
called a jail. He was a splendid singer and a merry
fellow. Like many of the old soldiers, he was " ad
dicted to strong drink," and on evenings, when jolly
circles love to assemble to while away an hour, to shake
off the burdens of business, or to stimulate their ex
hausted nerves by the exhilarating draught, a company
were accustomed to gather upon the stoop and hear
Bidlack sing songs, of course affording him a suffi
ciency of the desired stimulant. The numbers of those
evening gatherings increased from evening to even
ing, and the songs, the romantic stories, and the jokes
of the soldier became increasingly interesting, until he
had become an object of more absorbing interest in
the little town of Sunbury than a company of min
strels is now in one of our large cities.

The company were finally not quite satisfied with
seeing the face of their interesting prisoner through
the grates of the prison, but wished to view him at full
length as he poured out his harmonious and powerful
numbers. The door was accordingly opened, and he
stood upon the threshold ; but here he was too much
cramped, and his gestures were evidently impeded by
his position. "What's the use?" said one; "let him
have room." And he was then allowed to come out
and give himself free scope in gesticulation. He was a
tall, straight, majestic figure. The more room he had,
the more fully did his sallies, cuts, and thrusts illus
trate and enforce the sentiment — either sense or non
sense — of the poetry, and the higher was the excite
ment and the louder the bursts of laughter among the
merry companions of the gathering.

Evening after evening passed away in these exer
cises without the least abatement of the interest, when,

336 WYOMING.

at a late hour, the gallant hero of the farce would
throw himself upon his pallet of straw, and sleep away
the excitement of the maddening bowl. As Bidlack
seemed to enjoy the company of his new associates,
they began to regard him as a sort of fixture of the
place, and to suppose that perhaps to be lionized would
be thought a fair compensation for the loss of his lib
erty; but they did not know the man. He was al
ways ready to make the best shift possible when un
der pressure. He would be merry in prison if in
prison he must be, but it was not a place to his taste
at all. Liberty had cost him too much to be bartered
away for a mess of pottage.

Understanding perfectly his position, and noticing
that the sympathies of his nightly visitors and the
confidence he had inspired in their minds had com
pletely put them off their guard, he began to meditate
turning the advantages of these circumstances to his
account. He studied the matter thoroughly, and ar
ranged his plans.

"Now, since I have performed every part

Of thy command as near as tongue can tell,
Content thee yet, before my sense depart,
To take this sonnet for my last farewell."

GASCOYNE.

He finally came out with a new song, entitled " The
old Swaggering Man." "That's the song for me,"
said one. "The best one yet," said another. "Let's
have that over again," roared a third. "Well," said
the performer, " let me rest a little, and take a good
drink." " Yes, yes," all responded. After a few min
utes' intermission, and the " drink," of course, " Now,"
says the actor, " if you want a rouser, I must have a
cane, and room to act it out. T want the whole length

BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 339

of the stoop." "Bring on the cane! clear the way!
clear the way I" bawled a dozen. He sung one stanza,
and then came on the chorus, "Here goes the old
swaggering man." He brandished his cane, and stag
gered, and plunged from end to end of the stoop. A
roar of merriment and shouts of applause resounded
through the whole neighborhood. He now faced about,
breathed hard, took another drink, and this time his
movement was in the direction of Wyoming. He sang
another verse, and then he roared out the chorus,
"Here goes the old swaggering man," and in a trice
sprang from the stoop, leaped the six-foot rail-fence
which surrounded the premises, and was out of sight.

Some were petrified with astonishment, others cursed
and swore, while others laughed immoderately. "Aft
er him ! after him !" cried the jailer. Half a dozen
ran a few rods in the dark, and then, pausing to listen,
heard his heavy, hurried tread dying away in the dis
tance. " There's no use," said they ; "he can outrun
a deer." They returned to have a hearty laugh over
the romantic adventure of the jolly Yankee prisoner.
They separated, more regretting the loss of the amuse
ment which Bidlack had afforded them while detained
as a prisoner, than the success of the ruse he had prac
ticed upon them.

As may well be supposed, the fugitive made great
progress during the night. He had fifty miles to
travel, and the dawn of day found him on the home
ward half of his journey. He often laughed to him
self at the mere fun and romance of his escape so loud
as to scare the night-birds of the mountains and glens.
He repeated over with great glee the talismanic cho
rus, "Here goes the old swaggering man," and then
he would skip and bound like the buck which had

340 WYOMING.

swum the river, reached the shore, and left the hounds
on the other side. As he hies along the bank of the
river, over the flats and through the narrows, we may
imagine him singing Hudibras, slightly altered, to suit
the occasion.

He that sings and runs away,
May live to sing another day ;
But he that doth in jail remain,
May never sing at home again.

Chorus. Here goes the old swaggering man.

The next day our hero safely arrived at his father's
house in Plymouth. It was soon noised abroad that
" Ben Bidlack had sung himself out of jail, and was at
home safe and sound."

Young Bidlack married an Alden, a descendant of
a family by that name which came to this country in
the May-Flower. He struggled hard with poverty,
and still harder with his army habits, but made no
progress, and there seemed no human probability of
his improving either his character or his fortune. At
length he became awakened through the instrumentali
ty of the pioneers of Methodism, and finally became a
Methodist preacher. He sustained this character to
the termination of a protracted life. He had great
power in the pulpit, and was as great a singer of the
songs of Zion as he had been of the old patriotic bal
lads. He was for many years a most laborious and
successful minister of the Gospel. He lost his wife
while engaged in the active duties of the ministry,
and was united in marriage to the widow of Lawrence
Myers, Esq., of Kingston. He lived for many years in
that place, a superannuated minister, much respected
and beloved by all his neighbors. He finally died from
a cancer on his nose.

BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 341

In the year 1825, we think, the citizens of Wilkes-
barre called upon the venerable man for a Fourth of
July oration. The surviving soldiers of the Kevolu-
tion were invited in from all the region round about,
and they constituted quite a respectable company. Each
had a sprig of laurel attached to the left breast of his
coat. The orator was then as straight as an arrow,
and marched to the music like any trained soldier,
keeping the step while the band poured out the old
national air, Yankee Doodle, in the very best style.
The oration consisted principally of a narrative of the
events of the Eevolutionary war as they came under
his own observation. His text or motto was, "For
consider how great things the Lord hath done for
you." His doctrine was that the hand of God was
evidently concerned in the events of the Revolution.

He kept General Washington constantly before the
audience. " When the Hessians were captured," said
he, " the general rode round among the men, who were
falling upon the spoils, and said, * My brave fellows,
don't drink and become intoxicated. God has given
us the victory, but the enemy, in large force, is just at
hand, and, should they find any of you lying upon the
ground, which they will be sure to visit in a few hours,
you will lose your lives.' He rode from company to
company, repeating the same caution with the greatest
earnestness."

His description of the cannonading of the British
works at Yorktown was most thrilling. " For four
teen days and nights," said the orator, "there was one
continual thunder and blaze. At night it was so light
that you could see to pick up a pin. A white flag was
raised from the British breastworks, and the firing
ceased. It seemed as though the wheels of nature

342

WYOMING.

stood still; the silence was really distressing. Corn-
wallis proposed to leave the ground with the honors
of war, with colors flying, and to embark his army on
the English ships in the nearest harbor. 'No,' was
the answer, and the parley closed. ' Now,' said Wash
ington, ' give it to them hotter than ever.' And, sure
enough, the storm of the battle raged more terribly
than ever. They soon came to terms, and the heart
of the war was broken."

BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 343

The illustration is a truthful representation of the
Kev. Benjamin Bidlack in his preaching attitude in a
private house, behind an old-fashioned chair. The
sketch was executed by the Eev. Marmaduke Pearce,
it is supposed, after hearing the old patriarch preach a
funeral sermon in his own neighborhood.

WYOMING.

XIV.

A VIEW FROM CAMPBELL'S LEDGE, CONTRIBUTED BY

REV. L. W. PECK.

AT the head of Wyoming Valley is Campbell's
Ledge. The Susquehanna comes in from the north
west, and the Lackawanna winds around the base of
the mountain from the northeast to mingle with the
larger and bolder river. The mountain whose base
they thus lave, and separate from the valley, is crowned
by Campbell's Ledge. Having a few hours at Pitts-
ton, I cast my eye wishfully over at the mountain, a
distance of about two miles, and resolved to make the
ascent. I was alone. My way led over the canal bridge,
over the viaduct, and across the meadows to the mount
ain. I had just entered the wood and begun the as
cent when a beautiful pheasant started out near my
feet, and ran some distance through the leaves, and then
flew into the deep forest. I pursued my way, follow
ing an old mountain road, or making a path for my
self through the underbrush. At length I came out
upon a plateau of ground gently sloping to the north ;
but the thick foliage would permit no view of the val
ley, which I was looking for as one looks for the genial
face of an old friend. Still I wandered on, seeking the
higher ground, but no ledge was visible. A pile of
rocks, crowned with a scraggy oak, now and then ap
peared, but nothing was to be seen that answered the
description I had received. I began to reproach my
self for coming without a guide, and wondered whether
I should know Campbell's Ledge if I should happen

A VIEW FROM CAMPBELL'S LEDGE. 347

to come in sight of it. The woods at last became
more open, and I saw the mountains at the west nearer.
I turned at once toward them, when I found myself
just ready to step off from the abrupt brow of a fright
ful precipice. I seized hold of a tree and hung upon
the verge, and gazed down with awe upon the calm
river, the green fields, and the grazing flocks hundreds
of feet below. This, said I, in a subdued breath, is
Campbell's Ledge.

I sank back upon the grass, and looked down upon
Wyoming cradled between the mountains. The view
of the Valley here presented differs from every other.
The hilly portions are more prominent, and undulate
far away southward till they terminate in the mount
ains. The river, like a broken belt of steel, is seen
here and there glittering in the sun. I have often
wandered in Wyoming, admiring her beauty, but
Campbell's Ledge inspired me with a new emotion,
- that of overpowering sublimity. This view reminds
me of the Hudson and the Catskills, but the precipice
is more stupendous than that on which stands the
Mountain House. Ye grand old mountains, which
laugh in the sunshine and reverberate in the storm,
" ye are wondrous strong, yet lovely in your strength."
I have been carrying in my mind, amid these scenes,
the stirring words of Buskin :

"Mountains are to the rest of the earth what mus
cular action is to the body of man. The muscles and
tendons of its anatomy are, in the mountains, brought
out with force and convulsive energy, full of expres
sion, passion, and strength ; the plains and lower hills
are the repose and the effortless motion of the frame,
when its muscles lie dormant and concealed beneath
the lines of its beauty, yet ruling those lines in their

348 WYOMING.

every undulation. This, then, is the first grand prin
ciple of the truth of the earth. The spirit of the hills
is action, that of the lowlands repose ; and between
these there is to be found every variety of motion and
of rest, from the inactive plain, sleeping like the firma
ment, with cities for stars, to the fiery peaks, which,
with heaving bosoms and exulting limbs, with the
clouds drifting like hair from their bright foreheads,
lift up their Titan hands to heaven, saying, ' I live for
ever.' "

There is a wild legend which has given the name
to this ledge. A man named Campbell was pursued
bv the Indians. He had taken refuge in the ravines
01 this mountain, where are many fine living springs,
and where the thick foliage afforded a safe shelter.
But the fierce Ked Men are on his track. He is an old
enemy, and is singled out for special torture. He
knows his fate if taken. He tries every path that
winds out into the deeper forest, but without success.
He is hemmed in like the roe by the relentless wolves.
But he does not hesitate; he springs forward to the
verge of the hanging rock. One glance behind him
shows him that escape is utterly hopeless. The shouts
of the savages are heard as they rush upon their prey.
With a scream of defiance, he leaps into the friendly
arms of death.

The solemn traditions of the olden time were steal
ing around me like an enchanter's spell as I gazed
down upon the plain and the river where once my
kindred struggled with the dusky foe. A loud yell,
as if a thousand Indian warriors were in the wood,
started me to my feet ; it was the whistle of the loco
motive, which told of civilization bursting through the
ancient gloom.

TIIK FALLING

RICHARD GARDNER. 351

XV.

AN INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD GARDNER.

" So must thou live till, like ripe fruit, thou drop
Into thy mother's lap, or be with ease
Gather'd, not harshly pluck'd, for death mature :
This is old age." MILTON.

WE had been told that "old Mr. Gardner, of Ex
eter," was " almost a hundred years old," and that he
could give a great amount of information in relation
to Revolutionary times ; that he had been a prisoner
among the Indians for a long time, and had suffered
untold miseries in cruel captivity. We resolved upon
an early visit to the residence of the centenarian. On
a beautiful morning early in June, 1857, we took the
cars for Pittston, where we procured a horse and bug
gy, and proceeded through the long narrows on the
east side of the Susquehanna. Passing the bold front
of Campbell's Ledge, we wound our way along on the
North Branch Canal, which is protected on the river
side by a sea-wall. A short distance above Campbell's
Ledge a beautiful cascade comes rushing from the
height, called Falling Spring. Upon the top of the
mountain is a small spruce swamp, formed by never-fail
ing springs. From this swamp issues the rill which falls
over the precipice, and presents the beautiful object
copied in the accompanying picture. On the road-side
a perpendicular wall is built to the level of the road,
but there is no barrier whatever to prevent the traveler
from being precipitated into the canal in case a horse
should be frightened and become unmanageable.

352 WYOMING.

The road is narrow, in general not affording room
for two carriages to pass. The almost perpendicular
ledge of rocks has been blasted out to make room for
the canal and the road. The rocky steep above frowns
down upon the passenger in awful majesty. Now you
find the broken fragments of trees which have been
precipitated from the lofty height above, and then vast
masses of rock which have been rent from their an
cient beds by the frost, tumbled down the steep, and
have filled up the narrow pass, a portion of them hav
ing been removed, leaving space barely sufficient for
the passage of a carriage. Often the awful visage of
the mountain height seems to assume an air of pen-
siveness, and weeps streams and gushing rivulets, as
though in grief for the wounds and fractures inflicted
upon her slopes and precipices, and her separation from
immediate communion with her ancient friend and
companion, the great and noble Susquehanna. Such
havoc do modern improvements make of the sublime
beauties of nature that the very rocks and hills are
convulsed with agony.

We have often passed these terrible narrows, but
never without a sort of terror. We can never help
asking ourselves, What if some of the huge masses of
rock, which seem just ready to topple from their foun
dation, should take a leap just as we are passing? In
a moment we should be ground to powder. A mere
pebble falling down the precipice might at any time
frighten the horse of the traveler, and occasion an un
lucky leap into the canal. Either of these events are
possible, and more or less probable, at any moment;
the providence of God, however, preserved us, and we
made the trip in safety.

In due time we reached " Gardner's Ferry," six miles

RICHARD GARDNER. 353

above the mouth of the Lackawanna. Coming up to
an ancient dwelling — one with which we were famil
iar near forty years ago — upon the stoop we saw a
venerable man, much bent down, leaning upon a cane.
"We asked him if his name was Gardner. " Yes ; but
you have the advantage of me : I don't know you,"
was the response. After being informed of the object
of our visit, he commenced conversation standing. His
position seemed so uneasy that we were pained, and
we suggested that perhaps he had better be seated.
We were then invited into the house, and shown to a
chair. Several respectable-looking females were pres
ent, who looked inquisitively as we, without farther
ceremony, entered into conversation.

Mr. Gardner had never been a prisoner among the
Indians. His father was made a prisoner when the
Hardings were killed, as he was in the field at work
with them at the time, on the west side of the river.
He never returned, but, as they learned, was cruelly
tortured by the savages, being burned alive.

Mrs. Alexander, from whom we received much in
formation in relation to Colonel Hollenback, has fur
nished us with the following painful tale of the last in
terview between Mr. Gardner and his afflicted compan
ion. She says:

" I will relate a fact which was told to my mother
and myself by Mrs. Jenkins, the wife of Lieutenant
Jenkins. She, with a Mrs. Gardner, was at Fort Jen
kins after its capitulation. The husband of Mrs. Gard
ner was a prisoner in the hands of the Tories and In
dians, and she wished much to see him once more, and
asked Mrs. Jenkins to accompany her. Having con
sented and obtained leave, they went, under escort of
young Wintermoot, who was a Tory, and offered to go

354 WYOMING.

with them upon the condition that they would mani
fest no surprise or sorrow at the sight they might see,
telling them, at the time, that they would behold many
strange and heart-rending ones.

" They therefore schooled themselves to appear in
different, and entered the camp as coolly as possible.
Mrs. Gardner obtained an interview with her husband,
who told her that he was well aware they would never
meet again. He was lame, and knowing that if unable
to keep pace with his captors when on the march they
would kill him, he advised her to take their two little
boys and go to Connecticut, and remain with her
friends until, the troubles being over in Wyoming, it
would be safe to return and live upon the farm he had
purchased her, bidding her a lasting farewell. During
all the time she had such possession of herself as to
exhibit no outward sign of sorrow. Mrs. Jenkins also
told us- that the Indians were at that time busily en
gaged in burning their victims. They had thrown
down an old dry pine fence, and piled upon it the
dead, wounded, and some unhurt white men, added
more combustible matter, and set it on fire ; and that
the whole line of the fence was filled with the charred
bones and flesh of the poor creatures, and men still
burning : an awful sight, and I do not doubt her state
ment of the facts."

Mr. Miner gives the following account of Mr. Gard
ner's captivity and death : " One taken at Exeter the
first of July, when the Hardings and Hadsels were
massacred, deserves our special notice. Mr. John Gard
ner was a husband and a father, a highly respectable
man, against whom some unappeasable spirit of enmity
is supposed to have existed. On the morning of the
fourth, his wife and child were permitted to see and

RICHARD GARDNER. 355

take leave of him. Elisha Harding, Esq., then a boy,
was present, and represents the scene as extremely af
fecting. When the last adieu was exchanged, an In
dian placed a grievous load on his shoulders which he
could scarcely raise, then put a halter round his neck,
and led him off as he would a beast. The farewell ex
pressed the sentiment, 1 1 go to return no more.' Ex
hausted with fatigue before he arrived at his captor's
home, he fell, crushed by the weight of his load, when
he was handed over to the squaws, who tortured him
to death by fire. Daniel Carr, a fellow-prisoner, saw
the remains the following day, and represented it as a
sight to awaken the deepest pity."

At the time of the Indian battle Mr. Gardner was
eleven years of age, and was with his mother in a fort
on the west side of the river, immediately opposite the
place where Pittston now stands; he knew not by
what name the fort was called. The fort consisted of
a house built of hewed logs, and surrounded by a
stockade : it was Fort Jenkins.

They heard the firing plainly on the day of the bat
tle, and on the day following learned that " our army
was cut off." On that day Butler sent in a flag, and
demanded the surrender of the fort.* There was no
body there to defend the fort but women and children,
and a few old men. The gate was opened, and the In
dians and Tories came in. They ordered all the things
taken out of the house and spread upon the ground.
They then set fire to the house, and, after taking what
they wanted of the goods which lay upon the ground,
they went away, and no more was seen of them.

* The articles of capitulation are signed July 1, 1778, but it prob
ably was not thought necessary to enter it, as it was a small, helpless
concern.

356 WYOMING.

" Several of the Tories who were with the Indians,"
said Mr. Gardner, "had often been at my father's
house, and been kindly treated there. One by the
name of Vanderlip, and another by the name of Show
ers, I distinctly recollect. I saw upon the Indians
clothes taken from the bodies of our men covered with
blood." This is the amount of Mr. Gardner's personal
knowledge of the wars of Wyoming. The first Penn-
amite and Yankee war had subsided when his father
came into the country, and the last was concluded be
fore he returned finally to remain.

The old men, with the women and children who
were in the fort, left the country and returned to Con
necticut. Mr. Gardner's mother had a young child,
which she nursed and carried in her arms. The feeble
and defenseless little company traveled through the
swamp on foot. There was no road but a mere foot
path, and no bridges across the streams. They suffer
ed indescribably from hunger and weakness, but, by
the most indomitable perseverance, they finally reach
ed the settled country, where they received aid and
comfort from the people.

What fearful times were these! The strength of
the settlement was gone. The husbands, sons, and
brothers, who were expected to clear the farms and
raise the bread, had perished upon the field of battle,
or been led away into hopeless bondage. A few old
men leaning upon their staves, mothers with infants
at their breasts, and boys and girls of tender age, were
left in a country overrun by murderous savages, with
out food, and often stripped of their clothing, until not
enough was left to screen their bodies from the ex
tremities of the weather, and in this condition obliged
to undertake a long journey through the wilderness

RICHAKD GAKDNER. 357

on foot. The fathers and mothers had lost the sup
port of their age, and the wives and the children their
natural protectors and their only earthly source of de
pendence. One old gentleman lost three sons in the
battle, and thus, in an hour, was left with three widows
and twelve helpless, fatherless children upon his hands
to provide for ! What were the sufferings of the be
reaved fathers, mothers, wives, and children on that
memorable occasion, it is impossible to tell or even to
conceive. Look for a moment at the mother of Mr.
Gardner — made a widow under the most heart-rending
circumstances, with a child hanging to her breast, and
a little boy scarcely able to take care of himself, on so
long and laborious a journey. Why did she not faint,
or give herself up to inconsolable grief or to utter de
spair ? Ah ! the women of those times were made of
stern stuff. How nobly they bore themselves when
the storm beat furiously upon them, when the iron
entered into their souls. There was a religious ele
ment in their character, which came to their relief in
that terrible day of need. When they could truly
say, "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over
me," they could also add, "Yet the Lord will com
mand his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the
night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto
the God of my life."

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Gardner married and
returned to Wyoming. He settled upon land which
his father had occupied, and there he has lived from
that day to the present. He established a ferry, and
often was subjected to great labor, and exposed to great
danger on the river. He is now a most remarkable
man. He was ninety years of age the eighth day of last
February. He has suffered from several casualties,

358 WYOMING.

but still his constitution remains unbroken, and his in
tellect is sound.

Soon after he settled in the country he received an
injury in one of his elbows, which has ever since been
to him a source of trouble, although it did not make
him a cripple. In a bear-hunt, one of his companions,
not perceiving that Mr. Gardner was nearly in range
between him and a ferocious old dam with two cubs,
drew up his piece and fired just, as his friend was in
the same act. Unfortunately, the ball struck his el
bow. " I've hit her," exclaimed the delighted hunter.
" You've hit me," answered Mr. Gardner. The blood
streamed from the arm of the wounded man, while the
bear escaped unhurt. They were in the woods some
miles east of the settlement. One of Mr. Gardner's
companions accompanied him home, while the other
took a straight course through the woods to Lacka-
wanna to procure the services of Dr. Hooker Smith.
It was two days after the wound was inflicted before
Dr. Smith could be on hand. When he came the arm
was much inflamed and swollen, and the probing, cut
ting, and picking out splinters of bone was a most ter
rible operation, but it had to be endured. The wound
was some time in healing, and the injury of the joint
was such that the consequences were permanently
troublesome.

Two years since, Mr. Gardner received an injury to
his spine by a fall in the barn. This much increased
his stooping position, and considerably diminished his
power of locomotion. He assured us that, before he
received the last-mentioned injury, he could walk to
Wilkesbarre, the distance of fourteen miles, and back
again the same day ; indeed, he affirmed he could do
so now if his back had not been injured. Summer

RICHARD GARDNER. 359

before last, he said, he laid up thirty rods of stone
fence, and he should do a good business in that line
this season, if his son could find time to draw the stone.
On the day before our visit he had crossed the river,
walked three miles, helped his son-in-law plant his po
tatoes, and returned before sundown. If he stood
erect, he would appear to be about seventy years of
age — perhaps not so old. He is one of that small class
of human beings who seem to defy the laws of natu
ral decay.

Mr. Gardner had been twice married, and been
blessed with thirteen children, two of whom died in
childhood, while the remaining eleven lived to mature
years. Two of the number have been cripples from
early youth. A son had his lower limbs paralyzed
when a child, and they have ever since been almost
incapable of locomotion. He hitches about on his
hands and hips, but is cheerful, and converses sensibly
and with animation. He is sixty-one years of age.
A daughter walks upon crutches in consequence of
having lost the use of one of her limbs by a fever-sore.

Before we left dinner was announced, and we were
invited to "sit by" and share in the repast, which we
did with a relish. The table was well supplied, and
the cookery done up in comfortable country style.
When all were seated, the old gentleman craved a
blessing, somewhat in the ancient Puritanic style as to
length and particularity. We found he had long been
a member of the Baptist Church, and should judge him
a truly religious man. We asked him how he enjoyed
life ; his answer was, " Oh, very well. I have always
enjoyed very good health — have never been sick
much, and have no reason to complain."

Mr. Gardner said that when he first came into the

360 WYOMING.

country, and for a long time afterward, game was
abundant every where in the woods, and the waters
furnished plenty of the finest fish. In the spring the
shad were abundant in the river, and in the little
stream not far from his house, called Gardner's Creek,
a mess of the finest trout could be caught at almost
any time except in winter.

Many years since, a company of Indians passed down
the river on their way to Philadelphia, to conclude a
treaty with the government. There seemed to be two
parties, one taking the east and the other the west side
of the river. Several of them lodged in an old, de
serted house near by. He visited them, and one of
them spoke good English. The Indian asked him if
he ever saw an Indian before. " Yes," said he, " at
the time of the Wyoming massacre." " Ah ! you live
there?" responded the Indian. "Yes," was the an
swer. From that moment the Indian seemed shy.
He finally said his tribe, the Oneidas, were not here
on that occasion, but some of the other company were
here, and he and his friends would not go in their com
pany, for they expected every one of them would be
killed. "How many Indians do you think were in
the battle?" asked the Indian. "I do not know; I
have heard about a thousand," answered Mr. Gardner.
"Oh no," responded the Indian, "not near so many."

We take the following account of this visit of the
Indians to Wyoming from Mr. Miner : " Fifteen years
after the battle, a number of Indians, among whom
were several chiefs of distinction, passed through Wy
oming on their way to Philadelphia, on business with
the government. Apprehending danger, they sent
word to Wilkesbarre, and an escort of respectable cit
izens turned out to accompany them into the town.

RICHARD GARDNER. 361

In the evening a council was held in the court-room,
where mutually pacific assurances were given. It is
not surprising, considering their cruel conduct during
the war, that the Indians entertained fears for their
safety. On their return, passing on the opposite side
of the river from the battle-ground, the old braves
showed much excitement, talking and gesticulating
with great emphasis and spirit, as they seemed to be
pointing out to the younger savages the position and
incidents of the conflict. I met Eed Jacket at Wash
ington in 1827 or '8, and strove to lead him to talk of
Wyoming, but on that subject his lips were hermetic
ally sealed."

From this time, we believe, no Indians visited Wy
oming until the summer of 1852, when a company of
performers made their appearance in Wilkesbarre.
They rode through the town in single file in native cos
tume, and whooped, and yelled, and performed many
curious feats. At night they had a war-dance on the
bank of the river, on the ground of the old fort. Few
of the people who had been raised in the Valley ever
saw an Indian before, and, of course, they were objects
of great curiosity.

Mr. Gardner's conversation is all in a plain, straight
forward style, without a particle of enthusiasm, and
exhibits evidence of an xmimpaired intellect. We left
him, and returned right well satisfied with our trip
through the Narrows. We had learned some things,
and among them was the fact that there were some
other things not to be learned.

362 WYOMING.

XVI.

PKOVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE OF EUFUS BENNET ON
THE FATAL 3D OF JULY.

" Woe to the variquish'd ! was stern Runo's word
When sunk proud Rome beneath the Gallic sword :
Woe to the vanquish'd ! when his massy blade
Bore down the scale against her ransom weigh'd ;
And on the field of foughten battle still,
War knows no limit save the victor's will."

Tlie Gailliard.

" Slaughter grows murther when it goes too far,
And makes a massacre what was a war."

DRYDEN.

THE retreat of the patriot army on the fatal 3d of
July became a flight and a massacre. Each man shift
ed for himself as best he could, and the more swift on
foot took the lead. The Indians, frantic with the war
spirit and thirsty for blood, shot down, scalped, and
tomahawked those they overtook. More than two
hundred of the New England people fell in that ill-
judged and disastrous encounter. A portion of these
were first captured, and then massacred in cold blood.
Very few — it is thought only two — of those who were
captured upon the field of battle escaped torture. Of
Butler's Loyalists and Indians from fifty to eighty are
supposed to have fallen, but no reliable report of the
number has ever been made. It is reported that all
the "shovels and picks" which could be raised were
put into requisition the next morning. This certainly
was not for the purpose of burying our people, for they
were all left above ground. The facts will probably

RUFUS BENNET. 363

never be revealed until the morning of the resurrec
tion, when it is probable that " the marsh" will yield
up some scores of the Ked Men who fell upon that
memorable day.*

In the flight and chase down the plains, there were
hair-breadth and providential escapes as well as dia
bolical deeds of cruelty. Among the strange escapes
we would notice that of Eufus Bennet, a young man
of seventeen years of age. He was tall and slender,
but resolute and quick of foot. He was hotly pur
sued by two stalwart Indians, one of them close be
hind him. Colonel Butler, who was almost the last to
leave the ground, galloped his horse close by Bennet.
Quick as lightning he seized the long switch tail of
the colonel's horse. He now made long strides, and
hoped to out-distance his pursuers. They, however,
presuming upon the fact that he would not be able
long to keep his hold, kept on at the top of their speed,
although for a few moments they fell in the rear.

Bennet broke his hold, and his spirit sunk. He and

* Since writing the above, we have learned from John Bennet,
Esq., of Kingston, that when his uncle Solomon was in Wyoming
last — in 1820 — he went with him upon the battle-ground, and show
ed him where he stood when the battle began, and how far they
pushed John Butler's men. He also pointed out the spot where the
British and Indians who were killed were buried. It was on what
was called "the Island," in the marsh, under some large yellow
pines which were then standing. There sixty were consigned to
their long resting-place by their fellow-royalists— British, Tories, and
Indians. The number of the slain and the place of burial were com
municated to Mr. Solomon Bennet by the Wintermoots and Secords
in Canada in 1812. Mr. Bennet was in Canada upon a visit to a
daughter when the late war broke out, and there was obliged to re
main for about two years, and during this period he had frequent
interviews with his old Tory acquaintances above named, who were
perfectly frank in their communications.

364 WYOMING.

the Indians had severally discharged their guns and
could not take time to reload, and there was no hope
for the poor fellow but in a deadly close encounter
against great odds. The foremost of the two, toma
hawk in hand, now rapidly gained upon his supposed
victim, and, with a yell which echoed from mountain
to mountain, bounded forward like the bloodthirsty
wolf in pursuit of the exhausted fawn. A few more
leaps, and his prey would be secure.

On the march of the little army up the plains, Rich
ard Inman had fallen back from the ranks, and lay
down in a wheat-field just above Tuttle's Creek. It
is said that he had "taken a little too much," and re
quiring a nap, he flung himself upon the ground and
fell asleep. By the time the fugitives came rushing
down from the battle-field Inman had come to him
self, and when he heard the heavy tread of Colonel
Butler's horse he began to rub open his eyes. The
colonel saw him lift his head and lay his chin in his
hand, his elbow resting on the ground. Throwing the
point of his sword back, Colonel Butler roared out,
" Inman, shoot that Indian !"

Inman was a dead shot, and the order was no soon
er given than it was obeyed. Crack went Inman's
rifle, and down fell the Indian brave. He fell within
a few feet of the exhausted fugitive, and his compan
ion was not far behind him.

The next moment, and Bennet would have spent
the last remnant of vital power, fallen prostrate upon
the ground, and been scalped and tomahawked. He
was a young man of nerve ; he neither fell into a
swoon nor forgot that another foe was upon his track.
Gathering up his energies, he was now ready, sup
ported by his friend, to give battle hand to hand to
the remaining savage ; he, however, came to a sudden

RUFUS BENNET. 367

pause, turned about, and took to his heels. The crack
of Inman's rifle and the fall of the Indian warrior had
measurably restored the equilibrium of Bennet's sys
tem, and, after a few long breaths, he and his com
panion were on their way to the fort, where they ar
rived without farther molestation.*

Eufus Bennet married Martha Bennet, a young
woman of the same name, but not immediately related
to him, and settled in Hanover, where he raised a large
family, and lived to advanced years. His wife out
lived him, and after long having been called " Aunt
Martha," was by every body called "Grandmother."
She died one mile below Wilkesbarre in the year
1853. "We visited her upon her dying-bed, and, al
though in the very jaws of death, she entertained us
for an hour or more with accounts of "the battle"
and the flight " through the swamp."

The company she was in " went through Capouse
on to Shehola, and across Jersey." They were in con
stant excitement from fear of Indians. At Capouse
they found one of the settlers — if we recollect right, a
Mr. St. John — lying dead in the road, who had the
same day been shot and scalped, f

* The Inman family were great patriots, and suffered severely from
the Indians. Three of Kichard's brothers fell victims to their bar
barous cruelty. Richard lived to old age, and, after the termination
of the wars, became a religious man. Colonel Edward Inman, his
brother, was also, to the day of his death, a man of influence and re
spectability. Both these veteran pioneers had a high reputation for
hospitality, and were gratefully remembered by the early itinerant
ministers.

t Mr. Miner gives the following account of the Capouse murders.
"News came down from Lackawanna that Mr. Hickman, his wife
and child, were murdered at Capouse. The very next day, two men,
by the name of Leach and St. John, who were removing with their
families, were shot six miles up the Lackawanna. One of them had
a child in his arms, which, with strange inconsistency, the Indian

368 WYOMING.

It is not wonderful that impressions made upon the
minds of children by these bloody scenes should be
durable. Seventy-five years had elapsed, and Mrs.
Bennet was all but in her death-struggle, and yet she
seemed to have a passion for thinking and conversing
of those awful scenes. True enough, " The ruling
passion strong in death." The day following she
breathed her last.

"We offered her the consolations of religion, and com
mended her soul to God, but have one thing to regret.
We made no memorandum of the particular facts
which she communicated, and which are now beyond
recovery. Thus are the materials of history constant
ly perishing through the mere thoughtlessness of those
whose duty it is to give them permanence. Our ac
quaintance with Eufus and Martha Bennet was long
and somewhat intimate, and we have general impres
sions of the stories which we heard from their lips of
the troublous days of Wyoming, but the particulars,
except in a few instances, are indistinctly marked upon
the tablet of our memory. The same remark we may
make in relation to a score or more of those who were
sharers and actors in the same scenes which are pre
sented in this volume, who were active members of
society when we first entered the Valley. Diligence
in committing to writing what we then heard from the
early settlers would have furnished us with a maga
zine of facts which, at this time, we should prize above
silver or gold. Most of these opportunities are now
gone beyond the possibility of recovery. All we can
now do is to use what has escaped the ruins of a past
generation.

took up and handed to the mother, all covered with the father's
blood. Leaving the women in the wagon unhurt, they took the
scalps of their husbands and departed."

NOAH HOPKINS. 369

XYII.
NOAH HOPKINS — HIS LIFE SAVED BY A SPIDER.

"To turn purveyor to an overgorged
And bloated spider, till the pampered beast
Is made familiar, watches his approach,
Comes at his call, and serves him for a friend." — Task.

"It is not, I say, merely in a pious manner of expression that
the Scripture thus ascribeth every event to the providence of God,
but it is strictly and philosophically true in nature and reason that
there is no such thing as chance or accident." — Dr. S. CLARKE.

THE following singular and providential escape we
copy from the second edition of Colonel Stone's His
tory of Wyoming.

" Among the individual incidents marking this sin
gular tragedy was the following : Some of the fugitives
were pursued for a time by a portion of the Indians,
and among them was a settler named Noah Hopkins
— a wealthy man, from the county of Dutchess, in the
State of New York, bordering upon Connecticut. He
had disposed of a handsome landed patrimony in his
native town, Amenia, and invested the proceeds as a
shareholder of the Susquehanna Company, and in
making preparations for removing to the new colony.
Finding, by the sounds, that the Indians were upon
his trail, after running a long distance he fortunately
discovered the trunk of a large hollow tree upon the
ground, into which he crept. After lying there sever
al hours, his apprehensions of danger were greatly
quickened by the tread of footsteps. They approach
ed, and in a few moments two or three savages were
actually seated upon the log in consultation. He heard
the bullets rattle loosely in their pouches. They ac-

370 WYOMING.

tually looked into the hollow trunk, suspecting that he
might be there ; but the examination must have been
slight, as they discovered no traces of his presence.
The object of their search, however, in after-life at
tributed his escape to the labors of a busy spider,
which, after he crawled into the log, had been indus
triously engaged in weaving a web over the entrance.
Perceiving this, the Indians supposed, as a matter of
course, that the fugitive could not have entered there.
After remaining in his place of concealment as long as
nature could endure the confinement, Hopkins crept
forth, wandering in the wilderness without food until
he was on the point of famishing. In this situation,
knowing that he could but die, he cautiously stole
down into the Valley again, whence five days before
he had fled. All was desolation there. The crops
were destroyed, the cattle gone, and the smouldering
brands and embers were all that remained of the
houses. The Indians had retired, and the stillness of
death prevailed. He roamed about for hours in search
of something to satisfy the cravings of nature, fording
or swimming the river twice in his search. At length
he discerned the carcass of a wild turkey, shot on the
morning of the massacre, but which had been left in
the flight. He quickly stripped the bird of his feath
ers, although it had become somewhat offensive by
lying in the sun, dressed it and washed it in the river,
and the first meal he made therefrom was ever after
ward pronounced the sweetest of his life. Upon the
strength of this turkey, with such roots and herbs as
he could gather in the way, he traveled until, after
incredible hardships he was obliged to encounter — his
clothes being torn from his limbs in the thickets, and
his body badly lacerated — he once more found him
self among the dwellings of civilized men."

THE FRATRICIDE. 371

XVIII.
THE FRATRICIDE.

THE story of a Tory shooting his brother on Mono-
easy Island on the day of the battle, which we have
told from the historians, we believe has never been
questioned. Such an astonishing instance of deprav
ity would be past belief if it were not well authenti
cated ; but, giving it due credit upon the credibility
of the witnesses, we naturally desire to know some
thing of the subsequent history of the perpetrator of
so unnatural and barbarous a deed. We have obtain
ed some reliable information upon this subject, which
we will now proceed to give.

The name of the brothers was Pencil. The Chris
tian name of the patriot was Henry, and that of the
Tory was John. When John Pencil deliberately shot
his brother Henry, the Indians who witnessed the hor
rible crime seemed shocked, and shook their heads,
muttering, "Too bad — too bad; kill his brother."

John Pencil fled to Canada with the other refugees,
and settled in a wilderness. He was twice chased by
wolves, and each time rescued by the Indians. The
savages, however, began to think there was something
judicial in the matter, and concluded to leave him to
the retributions of Providence. They said, "He too
wicked — too wicked; Great Spirit angry; Indian no
more help him." It was not long before another pack
of the ferocious wild dogs scented the fratricide, and
this time they were left to satisfy their thirst for his
blood. The miserable wretch was killed and devour
ed, an end well becoming such a monster.

372 WYOMING.

The death of John Pencil occurred not many years
after the perpetration of the crime which has given
him eminence among the greatest and vilest of sin
ners. It is not our object to moralize much upon the
circumstances of the death of the fratricide. It is,
however, not unworthy of notice, that, as the man's
crime was stupendous, his death was marked by ex
traordinary circumstances, and such as indicate that
"there is a God that judgeth in the earth."

The fact of Pencil's death, under the circumstances
above described, was communicated to Mrs. Alexander
by a gentleman from Canada who professed to know
the truth of what he related, and, so far as could be
known at the time, was perfectly reliable.

The following lines are by a literary friend :

The morning sun rose bright and clear,
The birds sang blithely on the bough ;

But many an eye held trembling tear,
And many a one show'd troubled brow.

******

And there was one, a tear was in her eye,
As silently she gazed upon her Henry dear,

Which spoke a language that all words defy —
That jewel of the heart, a sympathetic tear.

"Oh, Henry, go not out to-day,"

His good companion cried ;
"Can fiends snatch thee from me away?"

She wept, and sobbed, and sighed.

One moment in each other's arms entwined

They stood, as one united strong ;
The next saw Henry tread the wild,

Toward the muster, 'gainst the wrong.

At what befell that gallant little band,
Mem'ry would shrink in horror to relate ;

How some did fall by cruel savage hand,
And some had torturing, lingering fate.

THE FRATRICIDE. 375

But Henry fled to Susquehanna's isle,

And sought a covert in Monocasy ;
And thought himself secure from Indian wile —

Equally safe from treacherous Tories' eye.

But hark ! he hears a crackle and a tread,
And, looking up, his Tory brother spies ;

Then shrinking back instinctively with dread,
He finds himself perceived, and upward hies.

" Oh, it is you I" the haughty brother said ;

"You are a d — d rebel, and not fit for life !"
Then raising up his gun, the fatal bullet sped,

Making children orphans, a widow of his wife.

John Pencil wander'd outcast and alone ;

The Indians shunn'd him — were themselves afraid —
The awful deed soften'd their hearts of stone,

They thought his company a curse was made.

He tried to flee ; Conscience always pursued,
And found him ev'ry where — asleep, awake ;

His brother's blood was in his soul imbued,
Himself a fiend, and it a burning lake.

The hungry, ravenous wolves pursued him twice ;

As many times the Indian saved his life ;
They thought, "Great Spirit angry" at his vice,

And would not save again : they came on thrice,

And, seizing him, his limbs from limb they tore,
And cracked his living bones with bloody jaw,

And quench'd their thirst upon his spouting gore,
And yet alive, his flesh they tear and gnaw.

Some scatter'd bones, uncover'd in the wood,
Now mark the spot where died the fratricide ;

"Where he by living inches served for food,
Because by him his brother Henry died.

Oh, justice ! Retribution, it is right
That thou shouldst fix upon the soul thy doom,

And on the body exercise thy might,

And stigmatize the name beyond the tomb.

376 WYOMING.

XIX.

THE MOMUMENT.

COLONEL BUTLER returned to the Valley in August,
but no attempt was made to gather up the remains of
those who fell upon the battle-field until October. On
the 21st of October he issued an order " that there be
a party, consisting of a lieutenant, two sergeants, two
corporals, and twenty -five men, to parade to-morrow
morning, with arms, as a guard to those who will go
to bury the remains of the men who were killed at the
late battle at and near the place called Wintermoot's
Fort." On the day the settlers, who had returned to
the Yalley, assembled and proceeded, protected by the
military escort provided by Colonel Butler, to perform
the melancholy duty of interring what remained of
their comrades, relations, and neighbors in as decent a
manner as possible. The late General William Eoss,
who was present, informed Professor Silliman, when
he was in the Valley in 1829, that, "owing to the in
tense heat of the weather, and probably the dryness of
the air, the bodies were shriveled, dried, and inoffens
ive, but, with a single exception, their features could
not be recognized."

The bodies were taken up with pitchforks and car
ried upon a cart to the place of sepulture, where they
were buried in a common grave.

Strange as it may seem, the grave of the patriots
who fell in the fatal " Indian battle" was for years
wholly lost. It was known to be located not far from
the main road, in a field belonging to Fisher Gay,

THE MONUMENT. 377

Esq. This field had long been cultivated, the plow
and the scythe alternately passing over the remains
of the relatives and friends of nearly every leading
family in the Valley, and yet there was none to rise up
and claim for Wyoming's heroes the respect accorded
in all civilized countries to the ashes of the common
dead. Public sentiment was finally directed to the
subject, and there was an awakening of the feelings
of virtuous shame for a delinquency so strange and
unnatural. A suitable monument over the bones of
the patriot band finally came to be talked of as a mat
ter of decency, to say nothing of the gratitude to which
their memory was entitled. So early as 1809, Hon.
Charles Miner published several essays upon the sub
ject in a Wilkesbarre paper, but it was not until 1832
that any thing like a decided movement was made to
carry out the project.

Several leading citizens of the Valley becoming
deeply interested in the question of the proposed mon
ument, the first thing which it was thought necessary
to settle was the precise spot where the bones of the
patriots lay. The ground was originally owned by
"the widow Lee," and she subsequently married
Philip Jackson, long after her death a resident at Forty
Fort. Jackson remembered the mound which indi
cated the place of interment, and was employed to
identify it. But little effort was necessary to effect the
object. The common grave, where were mingled to
gether the bones of brothers and neighbors, officers
and common soldiers, in close contact, was opened in
the presence of several of the citizens residing in the
vicinity.

Some of the most interesting specimens of the re
mains were deposited in a box, and were kept for the

378 WYOMING.

examination of curious visitors, until most of them
finally disappeared. We saw them before any of them
had been conveyed by sacrilegious hands to parts un
known. The skulls exhibited the marks of the toma
hawk and scalping-knife. Some of them had been
broken in with the head or spike of the tomahawk,
and others chipped with the edge by a glancing stroke.
One had been broken in with the rim of the pipe of
a smoking-tomahawk. We can imagine with what
gusto the murderous wretch tasted the fumes of "the
weed" taken in from the bowl of his favorite smoking-
hatchet while it was yet stained with the blood of his
victim. One skull was perforated by a bullet, and a
thigh-bone had a bullet hole in the centre, which was
made without effecting a lateral fracture, leaving the
bone entirely sound with the exception of the smooth
perforation.

What awful associations did these memorials of the
fatal 3d of July, 1778, bring up ! The bones are with
out sense or motion, but once they were the framework
of bodies like our own — bodies which were inhabited
by intelligent immortal spirits. They were deprived
of their conscious reasoning tenant in a moment, or by
slow, lingering agonies. The separation was violent,
but, when consummated, the shouts of the victors and
the clangor of the battle, which echoed from mountain-
top to mountain-top, no more shocked the ear nor
quickened the pulsations of the slain. They sleep in
death until the morning of the resurrection.

These sacred relics were now objects of universal
curiosity and no ordinary veneration, and increased
the tendency of the public mind in the direction of
the monument which had been commenced. The
tune for action had -come, and " a meeting of a number

THE MONUMENT. 379

of the early settlers of Wyoming Valley, who had rel
atives and acquaintances in the Wyoming massacre,
and other citizens of Luzerne County, convened at the
house of Major 0. Helme, in Kingston, on the 16th
day of June, 1832, to take into consideration the sub
ject of erecting a monument to the memory of those
who fell in that disastrous conflict. General William
Eoss was appointed chairman, and Charles D. Shoe
maker secretary." After the object of the meeting
had been stated by the chair, the following persons
were appointed a committee to draft resolutions : John
Carey, Colonel Benjamin Dorrance, Eev. Benjamin
Bidlack, Colonel George P. Ransom, Calvin Wadhams,
John Gore, Sen., Anderson Dana, Sen., Joseph Wright,
and Benjamin Reynolds.

The resolutions proposed and passed expressed the
deep sympathy of the meeting with the movement,
and prescribed preparatory measures for the accom
plishment of its object. One resolution was, " That
we request the citizens of the Valley to meet at the
house of F. Gray, in Kingston, on the 3d day of July
next, at ten o'clock, for the purpose of adopting such
measures as may be thought necessary to insure the
erection of a monument." It was also "Resolved,
That we invite our fellow-citizens to unite with us in
paying a tribute of respect to the remains of those pat
riots on that day, it being the anniversary of the day
of their massacre, by visiting the spot where rest their
ashes."

A committee was then appointed to negotiate for
the purchase of " half an acre of ground, including the
burial-place of those who fell in the battle of Wyo
ming." The committee was composed of Benjamin
Dorrance, Calvin Wadhams, Anderson Dana, David
Scott, and George M. Hollenback.

380 WYOMING.

"A committee of superintendence" was then ap
pointed "to arrange the order of the day, and that
they be requested to procure a suitable person to de
liver an address on that day." The committee was as
follows : John Carey, George P. Kansom, Sharp D. Lew
is, Pierce Butler, Charles D. Shoemaker, Fisher Gay,
Elisha Harding, Sen., Ebenezer Slocum, Samuel Wad-
hams, Joseph Jameson, Edward Inman, Benjamin A.
Bidlack, Joseph Slocum, William Swetland, Harris
Jenkins, William C. Eeynolds, William S. Eoss, Charles
Dorrance, Jonah Eogers, Francis Dana, Hiram Deni-
son, Jonathan Stephens, Asa Stephens, John Bennet,
Dr. John Smith, Isaac Harding, John Gore, Jr., Henry
Pettibone, Daniel Eoss, Avery Gore, and Jeremiah
Gore.

The committee immediately arranged the following
programme for the proposed meeting :

" The procession will be formed at twelve o'clock,
in the following order :

" Those who may be present who were in the battle.

" The soldiers of the Eevolution.

" The connections and descendants of those who fell
in the battle.

" The orator of the day and the committee of super
intendence.

" The early settlers who were not in the battle.

" The citizens.

" The procession will march in silence, or with suit
able music, to the place where those who were massa
cred were interred."

The meeting was one of great public interest, and,
as might be expected, a vast concourse of people at
tended. Eev. James May, now Eev. Dr. May, of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, was the orator. Associ-

THE MONUMENT. 381

ated with him in the services were Eev. Nicholas Mur
ray, now Eev. Dr. Murray, of the Presbyterian Church,
and Eev. Charles ISTash, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, then all pastors in the borough of Wilkesbarre.
The oration of Mr. May and the remarks of Mr. Mur
ray were published in the papers, and are now before
us.

Mr. May's address consists of a brief sketch of the
objects of the meeting, the battle, and the consequences
which followed. Toward its close we have the fol
lowing beautiful paragraphs :

" When upward of fifty years have gone, we are in
quiet possession of this valley. The sun in his daily
journey looks upon few spots on which the Creator
has combined more of the materials necessary for
earthly happiness. No object of price in general can
be gained without painstaking and sacrifice. The in
dependence of our common country was not secured
without a long and toilsome struggle. This valley, so
rich in soil, so lovely in scenery, could not be pos
sessed securely till the sacrifice was made, and that, too,
of blood. The hands that more than half a century
ago first struck the axe into the forests that had for
ages shadowed these plains, lie mingled with the dust.
The troubles of those times, when the Indians de
scended upon this valley, were borne by heads that
are pillowed beneath the soil. See, fellow-citizens, the
sacrifice which was made by the first civilized tenants
of this valley. The grave containing their bones is
uncovered before you. You see for yourselves the
marks of the tomahawk and scalping-knife on the
heads which are here uncovered, after having rested
for more than fifty years. Peace be in this grave —
sacred be the memory of them that sleep here.

382 WYOMING.

"A few who were themselves sharers in the toils
and difficulties of those times yet survive, and are here
this day to bear witness for us. Venerable citizens,
we respect you for your years ; we honor you for the
part you bore in the doings and sufferings of those
days; we love and cherish the principles of liberty
which animated you ; we owe you a debt of gratitude
for the happy inheritance which you did your part to
preserve unimpaired for your children. You have
passed within the lines of the second half century since
you opened a grave here for your brothers whom the
Indians slaughtered on these plains. This valley,
which you saw as it was when but a frontier, you sur
vive to see in the midst of a population of many hund
reds of thousands overspreading the country beyond
you. But on this day, and where you now are, you
can not but think of what you once saw in this place.
We would stand aside while you look into this grave,
and see the bones of your brothers, which fifty years
ago you assisted in sadly laying here. We would not
intrude while, as you stand beside these bones, you
think how you stood beside your friends when they
lived. For your sakes we are glad, that this day has
come. We rejoice to think that you may see yet a
stone raised here, on which the names of those you
laid in this spot shall be engraven."

Mr. Murray made a few characteristic and happy
remarks, among which were the following :

" You see these bleached heads and bending forms
around me. These worthies have come down to us
from the last century, and are the companions of the
heroes to whose manly frames these mouldering bones
belonged. Could the breath of life be breathed into
these bones — could they rise in the possession of living

THE MONUMENT. 383

energy, they would find, even among this small rem
nant, a few brothers and sons. As the gentleman on
my right was narrating the incidents of the horrible
massacre, I saw the tear stealing down the furrowed
cheeks of these fathers of our community. That tear
told me that they felt — that they deeply felt ; and
methinks that there is not a heart in this vast con
course that does not sympathize with them. They de
sire that a monument should be erected over the com
mon grave of their fathers, and brothers, and compan
ions. And do you not sympathize with them? I
know you do. I feel persuaded that you are anxious
to place a liberal subscription on this paper before you
retire from this place. You court the honor of con
tributing to the erection of the Wyoming Monument.
My great fear is that we shall not all have the privi
lege of giving. I would therefore caution the rich
not to indulge their patriotic feelings too freely, lest
the poor should be debarred. We all want to have
our stone in the Wyoming Monument."

Our friend Murray's fears of being overwhelmed with
a deluge of money turned out not to have been very
well founded, for the subscription was so inadequate
that the enterprise rested for seven years. In 1839,
an able committee was sent to Hartford to solicit aid
from the Legislature of Connecticut. The claims of
the original settlers of Wyoming upon Connecticut
were ably advocated, and a report was presented which
proposed a grant of three thousand dollars to aid in
the erection of the proposed monument, but was not
acted upon. In 1841, another petition and another
deputation were sent on, and for a time the thing
seemed likely to succeed. The Lower House voted
the appropriation by a large majority, but the Senate
did not concur.

384:

WYOMING,

Having failed in their efforts to procure foreign aid,
like the wagoner in the fable who prayed to Hercules
for help, the people of Wyoming resorted to the bet
ter plan of putting their shoulder to the wheel. This
time the ladies took the matter in hand, and it was
bound to go. They formed what was denominated
" The Luzerne Monumental Association." The names
of the officers and committee were as follows : Mrs.
Chester Butler, President; Mrs. G. M. Hollenback and
Mrs. E. Carey, Vice-presidents ; Mrs. Butler, Mrs. Nich
olson, Mrs. Hollenback, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Eoss, Mrs.
Cunningham, Mrs. Beaumont, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Ben-
net, Mrs. Carey, Executive Committee ; Miss Emily Cist,
Treasurer ; Miss Gertrude Butler, Secretary ; Mrs. Don-
ley, Mrs. L. Butler, Corre
sponding Committee.

The ladies solicited do
nations, held fairs, and, by
dint of zeal and persever
ance, succeeded in raising
the funds for the erection
ol a monument at once of
the patriotic deeds of their
fathers and of their own
power. The monument is
constructed of granite, and
is sixty-two and a half feet
in height. On three mar
ble slabs are engraved the
following inscriptions.

On the front slab, composed by Edward Mallory,
Esq., is the following :

Near this spot was fought, on the afternoon of the 8<1 of July, 1778,
the Battle of Wyoming, in which a small band of patriotic Ameri-

THE MONUMENT. 385

cans, chiefly the undisciplined, the youthful, and the aged, spared by
inefficiency from the distant ranks of the Republic, led by Colonel
Zebulon Butler and Colonel Nathan Denison, with a courage that
deserved success, boldly met and bravely fought a combined Brit
ish, Tory, and Indian force of thrice their number. Numerical su
periority alone gave success to the invader, and widespread havoc,
desolation, and ruin marked his savage and bloody footsteps through
the Valley.

This monument, commemorative of these events, and in memory
of the actors in them, has been erected over the bones of the slain by
their descendants and others, who gratefully appreciate the services
and sacrifices of their patriotic ancestors.

On the other slabs the following :

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

Slain in the battle : Field-officers : Lieutenant Colonel George
Dorrance, Major John Garret. Captains : James Bidlack, Jun.,
Aholiab Buck, Robert Durkee, Rezin Geer, Joseph Whittlesey, De-
thic Hewit, William M'Karaghan, Samuel Ransom, Lazarus Stew-
sirt, James Wigton. Lieutenants : A. Atherton, Stoddart Bowen,
Aaron Gay lord, Timothy Pierce, Perrin Ross, Elijah Shoemaker,
Lazarus Stewart, Jun., Asa Stevens, Flavius Waterman, James
Wells. Ensigns : Jeremiah Bigford, Asa Gore, Silas Gore, Titus
Hinman, John Otis, William White. Privates : Jabez Atherton,

Christopher Avery, Acke, A. Benedict, Jabez Beers, Samuel

Bigford, Elias Bixby, David Bixby, John Boyd, John Brown, Thom
as Brown, William Buck, James Budd, Amos Bullock, Henry
Buck, John Caldwell, Isaac Campbell, Josiah Cameron, Joseph Ca
rey, Joel Church, James Coffrin, William Coffrin, Samuel Cole,
Robert Comstock, [three] brothers Cook, Christopher Cortright, John
Cortright, Anson Coray, Rufus Coray, Jenks Coray, Samuel Crock
er, Joseph Crocker, Jabez Darling, D. Denton, Conrad Devenport,
Anderson Dana, James Divine, George Downing, Levi Dunn, Will
iam Dunn, Ducher, Benjamin Finch, John Finch, Daniel

Finch, Elisha Fitch, Cornelius Fitchett, Eliphalet Follett, Thomas
Faxen, John Franklin, Thomas Fuller, Stephen Fuller, Gard
ner, George Gore, Green, Samuel Hutchinson, William Ham
mond, Silas Harvey, Benjamin Hatch, Cyprian Hebard, Levi Hicks,
James Hopkins, Nathaniel Howard, John Hutchins, Israel Inman,
Elijah Inman, Joseph Jennings, Samuel Jackson, Robert Jameson,

Henry Johnson, Lester, Joshua Landon, Daniel Lawrence,

William Lawrence, Francis Ledyard, James Lock, Conrad Lowe,

386 WYOMING.

Jacob Lowe, Nicholas Manvill, Job Marshall, New Matthewson, C.
M'Cartee, A. Meeleman, Robert M'Intire, Andrew Millard, John
Murphy, Joseph Ogden, John Pierce, Abel Palmer, Silas Parke,
William Packer, Henry Pencil, Noah Pettibone, Jun., Jeremiah
Ross, Reynolds, Elisha Richards, Elias Roberts, Enos Rock-
way, Timothy Ross, James Shaw, Constant Searle, Abel Seeley,
Joseph Shaw, Abraham Shaw, Darlxis Spafford, Levi Spencer, Jo-
siah Spencer, Eleazar Sprague, Aaron Stark, Daniel Stark, Joseph
Staples, Rufus Stevens, James Stevenson, Naler Sweed, Ichabod
Tuttle, John Van Wee, Abraham Vangorder, Elisha Waters, Barthol
omew Weeks, Jonathan Weeks, Philip Weeks, Peter Wheeler, Ste
phen Whiton, Esen Wilcox, John Williams, Elihu Williams, Jun.,
Rufus Williams, Azibah Williams, John Ward, John Wilson, Parker
Wilson, Wade, William Woodringer, Ozias Yale.

The plan of the monument has not, as yet, been
fully carried out. It has around it no railing of any
sort. The ground is not ornamented by trees, shrubs,
and flowers. The spot looks neglected ; and we are
free to confess, mortifying as it is for us to .say so, that
the Wyoming Monument — a thing that should be the
pride of the Valley — is indicative of too great a want
of public spirit in our citizens. Where are the ladies
of Wyoming ? Since the monument has been brought
to its present state, the daughters of those who did the
work have come upon the stage. Let them arise in
their might, and finish the work so well begun by their
noble mothers. Let the present generation of Wyo
ming ladies prove by their works that they are not
inferior to the preceding generation in patriotism, en
ergy, taste, and public spirit. A thousand dollars could
be well laid out upon the monument and grounds, and
ought to be forthcoming. Half that sum would re
deem this noble monument of patriotism rarely met
with on the pages of the world's history from the dis
grace which seems to rest upon it. Happy indeed we
are that the Wyoming Monument is a fact, but much

THE MONUMENT. 387

more happy should we be to see the original design,
so well conceived, fully completed, that visitors from
all quarters of the globe might be struck with admi
ration not only of the bravery of the patriots who fell
in the battle, but also of the pious gratitude, the lib
erality, the love of art, and the elevated taste of their
descendants. " The Monument" should be the most
beautiful and inviting spot in the Valley. It should
be surrounded with an iron railing, and the plot of
ground around it should be ornamented with the
choicest shrubbery and flowers. The genius of pat
riotism and of art should preside there. It should be
a place where one would love, in solitude, to spend
the twilight of evening in holy meditations, and in
reminiscences of the olden time. While it points back
to a stern, bloody period in our history, it should in
dicate the fact of progress, and prophesy a glorious
future.

388 WYOMING.

XX.

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS.

THE sketches of the historic life of Wyoming would
be incomplete without Colonel Franklin or Colonel
Jenkins. They were the representatives of one of the
two classes of opinions which divided the people of
Wyoming at an important period of its history. The
reader will already have been made acquainted with
the fact that, subsequent to the decree of Trenton, the
people of Wyoming were divided into two factions :
one was for yielding to the jurisdiction of Pennsyl
vania, and the other was for resistance. A series of
irritating causes on both sides served to embitter feel
ings and provoke violent hostility. Colonel Hollen-
back may be considered as representing the Pennsyl
vania side of this great question, and Colonel Jenkins
that of Connecticut. The former — after the question
of the* right of jurisdiction had been legally settled,
saying nothing about the justice of the decision — was
for giving up the struggle ; while the latter, believing
the decision unjust to the State of Connecticut, and es
pecially to the Connecticut settlers, and also that Penn
sylvania had acted in bad faith, was for defending
what he considered the right to the last. The two
men are historical characters, and each deserves an im
partial representation in these pages. The feud and
the embittered feelings which the struggle engendered
have long since passed away, and the time has come for
the historian to review the whole scene with calmness
and impartial justice.

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 389

The materials for the following sketch have been
derived partly from the contributions of Hon. Steuben
Jenkins and John K. Jenkins, Esq., grandsons of Col
onel Jenkins ; partly from the papers of Colonel Pick
ering, copies of which have been kindly furnished us
by Mr. Hollenback ; and partly from Mr. Miner's his
tory. The portion derived from Mr. Miner we have
faithfully quoted.

John Jenkins, the elder, was a lineal descendant of
Judge Jenkins, who was imprisoned by the Long Par
liament, was born in Wales, whence he migrated to
this country about the year. 1735, landing at Boston ;
but, being one of that " persecuted" sect called Quakers,
he was driven out, with others, and passed over into
Providence, Khode Island, and thence into Windham
County, Connecticut, where he became engaged in the
Susquehanna Purchase in 1754, and in 1762 he and
one hundred and eighteen others removed to Wyo
ming to possess themselves of the Purchase. In Oc
tober, 1763, they were driven off by the Indians, and re
turned again to Connecticut, where they remained un
til the spring of 1769, at which time they again, with
about three hundred others, removed to Wyoming,
and took possession of their lands.

John Jenkins took possession of and held all the
lands from the township line of Kingston and Exeter
to the head of Wyoming Valley, between the river and
the foot of the mountain. His residence was fixed just
above the northwestern end of the Pittston Ferry
Bridge, where he, in connection with others, built what
was known as Jenkins's Fort. He was driven thence
by the Indians, British, and Tories on the day before
the memorable "Wyoming massacre," on the 2d day

390 WYOMING.

of July, 1778, and fled into Orange County, New York,
where he died in 1785.

He was a surveyor and conveyancer by profession ;
was elected one of the members of Assembly for
Westmoreland in the Connecticut Assembly for its
session commencing in May, 1774 ; also for May, 1775 ;
and the session of May, 1777. He had the honor of
presiding at the town meeting on the 1st of August,
1775, when resolutions in favor of liberty were adopt
ed. — See Miner's History, p. 165.

His loss by the depredations of the Indians, as stated
in the journal of John Jenkins, Jr., was £598 Is. 3d

Colonel John Jenkins, the younger, was born in
Windham County, Connecticut, on the 27th of Novem
ber, 1751, O. S., and died in Exeter, Luzerne County,
on the site of Wintermoot Fort, where he settled im
mediately after the close of the Indian wars in the Val
ley, about 1780. He was married on the 23d of June,
1778, in Wyoming, to Bethiah Harris, who was born
in Colchester, Connecticut, on the 14th of September,
1752, and died August 12th, 1842, aged about ninety
years.

Previous to the Kevolution, Mr. Jenkins, with four
other men, were surveying in the State of New York,
and lived principally in cabins in the woods. On one
occasion five Indians came to their camp, and appear
ed very friendly. The Indians wanted some provis
ions, and said they were going down the creek hunt
ing, and would return in a few days and give them
venison.

That night those five Indians came back and fired
upon them as they lay asleep, killing one man and
wounding another: Mr. Jenkins jumped up, took his

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 391

compass-staff, and commenced operation in the way of
desperate self-defense. On looking behind him, he saw
an Indian with his tomahawk just in the act of strik
ing him in the head, but with one blow knocked the
Indian into the large fire that was burning before the
cabin door. On turning around again, he saw another
Indian in the act of striking him over the head with
his gun : he caught the gun and wrung it from the
Indian, and drove him through the fire. The Indians
then fled, leaving their bloody tracks on the snow as
they went. Jenkins and his surviving comrades made
a litter, and carried the wounded man to the settle
ment, leaving the dead one rolled up in his blanket.

A party of men went in pursuit of the five Indians,
which were soon found and delivered up as prisoners.
They were taken to Newtown, Elmira, where it was
determined that Jenkins should decide on the mode
of punishment. He found that four of the party had
been induced to commit the terrible act by an old
savage by the name of Big Hand — having previously
been wounded in the hand, making it considerably
larger than the other. The four young Indians caught
hold of Jenkins's coat and begged for mercy; Jenkins
had compassion on them and let them go; but old
Big Hand had to be punished, and his death-warrant
prescribed that he should be pounded to death with
pine knots, which was heartily done, most of those
present taking an active part in this terrible infliction
of capital punishment.

Mr. Jenkins was taken prisoner by the Indians in
November, 1777, and returned to Wyoming on the 2d
of June, 1778.

The following is Mr. Miner's account of Mr. Jen
kins's captivity and release : "In November, 1777, he

392 WYOMING.

was on a scouting party up the river near fifty miles.
Mr. York, father of the Kev. Miner York, was one of
his companions; Lemuel Fitch was another. They
were ambushed not far from Wyalusing captured by
a party of Indians, and taken to the British lines. An
Indian chief of some celebrity was a prisoner to the
Americans in Albany, and Colonel John Butler sent
Mr. Jenkins, under an escort of Indians, to be ex
changed for the chief. On the way he suffered ex
ceedingly, and,-had it not been that a young savage had
become warmly attached to him, Mr. Jenkins thought
he should have been massacred, and was almost sure
he should have been starved. Ardent and constant in
his attachments, as implacable and cruel in his resent
ments, the savage presents a character in which vice
and virtue are strangely mingled and strangely con
trasted. The young Indian, amid rum and riot, for
his sake kept himself sober and calm, fed him, protect
ed him ; and Mr. Jenkins was prompt, at all times, to
do justice to his faithful friend, though, from the cruel
ties practiced here, the savages were generally objects
of horror and detestation.

" Arrived at Albany, the chief for whom he was to
have been exchanged had just died of small-pox. The
Indians insisted on taking Mr. Jenkins back with them.
From their conduct and character, he felt certain that
they would take his life, in revenge for that of their
chief, the moment they were beyond reach of pursuit.
He was protected, and found his way home to a cor
dial welcome from his friends."

On the 5th of June, 1778, he commenced keeping a
journal of events transpiring in Wyoming and at oth
er points where he was called in the discharge of his
duties. He kept no journal during his captivity

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 393

among the Indians. He was not married previous to
his captivity, but three weeks subsequent to his return.
He was a surveyor and conveyancer by profession,
and he followed this business in early life, and for
many years after the Kevolution. It is understood
that at the time of the massacre he was in command at
Forty Fort. Immediately after the massacre, he, with
others, went out to meet Spaulding's company, which
they found at the Lehigh Kiver. He joined Spaul
ding's company on the 6th of July, 1778, and was in
vested with the position of lieutenant in it. He con
tinued in active service in this company until the close
of the campaign of 1782, when he resigned his commis
sion, and returned home to take part in the defense of
the Wyoming settlement.

In the winter of 1778 and 1779, General Hand, in
command of the forces at Minisink, New York, wrote
to Colonel Z. Butler at "Wyoming for information in
regard to the Indian settlements on the head waters
of the Susquehanna and in the west of New York, de
siring to know their strength and position, and the fa
cilities, if any, for an expedition against them by way
of the Susquehanna Eiver. Colonel Butler replied,
giving the information desired, and expressed in his
letter his obligations to Lieutenant John Jenkins for
the information he had been able to communicate.
Soon after General Hand had received the letter of
Colonel Butler, he ordered Lieutenant Jenkins to ap
pear before General Washington at head-quarters. In
pursuance of this order, he set out on the 1st of April,
1779, and on the 6th of April waited on General
Washington. From the facts laid before General
Washington at this interview, he planned and put
in execution the expedition under General Sullivan

394 WYOMING.

against the Western Indians. General Sullivan ar
rived in Wyoming June 22, 1779, and, taking Lieu
tenant Jenkins for his chief guide, started with his ex
pedition up the river on the 31st of July, 1779. This
expedition was entirely successful. The information
possessed by Lieutenant Jenkins in reference to the
Indians and their country was obtained by him dur
ing his captivity among them.

In her efforts to establish her jurisdiction over the
disputed territory, Pennsylvania found active and in
fluential opponents in Colonel John Franklin and Col
onel John Jenkins. Luzerne County was fully organ
ized in May, 1787, by the agency of Colonel Tim
othy Pickering, who was appointed for that purpose
by act of Assembly. Colonel Pickering was a New
England man, but had become a citizen of Philadelphia.
Having business in the northern part of Pennsylvania,
he passed through Wyoming. Upon his return, he
was questioned with regard to his impressions as to
the best method of quieting matters in that disturbed
district of country. He had conversed with many of
the people, and freely imparted the information which
he had received, and gave his views of their disposi
tion to have quiet upon reasonable terms. Presuming
upon the advantages he would have as a New England
man, as well as his capabilities, the appointment was
made, and he removed his family to Wyoming. He
was a man of fine address, and was a great tactician.
He soon raised a strong party among the old Yankees,
who preferred to be "quieted in their possessions"
under the laws of Pennsylvania to being in endless
strife and a state of insufferable vexation.

Colonel Franklin headed a counter movement.
While he was organizing his forces and agitating the

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 395

public mind, he was arrested upon a charge of treason
against the state, under a warrant issued by Judge
M'Kean, by four officers specially commissioned for
the purpose in Philadelphia. He was seized in " the
old red tavern" in Wilkesbarre. Colonel Pickering
says, " The four gentlemen seized him. Two of their
horses were in my stable, which were sent to them ;
but soon my servant returned on one of them, with a
message from the gentlemen that people were assem
bling in numbers, and requesting me to come with
what men were near me to prevent a rescue. I took
loaded pistols in my hands, and went with another ser
vant to their aid. Just as I met them, Franklin threw
himself off from his horse and renewed his struggle
with them. His hair was disheveled and face bloody
from preceding efforts. I told the gentlemen they
would never carry him off unless his feet were tied
under his horse. I sent for a cord. The gentlemen
remounted him, and my servant tied his feet. Then,
one taking his bridle and another following behind,
and the others riding one on each side, they whipped
up their horses, and were soon beyond the reach of his
friends."

This violent proceeding aroused the indignation of
Colonel Franklin's partisans, and Colonel Pickering,
anticipating retaliatory measures upon himself, fled to
Philadelphia. After it was presumed that the heat of
the excitement had passed, Colonel Pickering returned
to his family in Wyoming. It was not long before he
was taken from his bed at dead of night by a party
of men, and carried up the river and secreted in the
woods. Colonel Pickering has left a particular narra
tive of his abduction and detention, which will be found
published in Mr. Miner's History. We have a manu7

396 WYOMING.

script copy of the narrative, together with the whole
course of Colonel Pickering's proceedings under the
authority of Pennsylvania, now before us. Colonel
Pickering's views" of the whole question in difficulty
are herein lucidly set forth.

In his narrative of his peregrinations through the
wilderness, among the mountains and ravines of the
north, in the neighborhood of the Susquehanna, the
gallant colonel notes some instances of abuse and some
of kindness. He was bound with fetters of iron, and
a chain attached to him, because poor Franklin was
lying in jail in irons. But they roasted for him a
piece of meat occasionally, and once prepared him a
dish of " coffee," made of burned " Indian meal." He
says this " was an agreeable change for our green tea."
The " green tea" was made of wintergreen. He was
several times asked if he would " intercede for Colonel
Franklin's pardon," to which he uniformly answered,
"No, I will not."

The militia had been in pursuit of the party, and
some skirmishes occurred, in which men were wounded
on both sides, and one of "the ruffians" died of his
wound. But, finding Colonel Pickering inflexible, the
" rioters" sent him home down the river in a boat, and
he made his appearance at his own door, to the great
joy of his family. After washing, shaving, and chang
ing his clothes, the dignified functionary was himself
again. He had been absent twenty days.

Colonel Pickering speaks of Colonel Jenkins in
terms of great severity, and goes so far as to charge
him with being the contriver of his abduction, and
then meanly deserting his pliant tools. "After en
couraging and engaging them in the diabolical outrage
upon me," says he, " he had deserted them." This is

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 397

a most uncharitable and unwarrantable view of the
case. In the first place, Colonel Jenkins had nothing
to do with the abduction, and, in the next place, he
was too honorable and brave a man meanly to desert
his friends. The following may be presumed a fair
and truthful answer to this unjust and cruel imputa
tion, and is a complete vindication of the character of
Colonel Jenkins. It is from the pen of Hon. Steuben
Jenkins.

" There is a circumstance mentioned in Miner's His
tory, p. 423, upon which I deem a few words necessa
ry. Soon after the appearance of Stone's History of
Wyoming, about 1839, my attention was called to it
by seeing it in that history. I asked my grandmother
concerning the circumstances connected with the ab
duction of Pickering, and she gave me the following
account. A meeting of the friends of Franklin had
been warned on the night of his abduction, for the pur
pose of taking into consideration some measures by
which they might obtain his release. It was thought
by all that Pickering had the power to release him at
any time merely by writing to the proper authorities
for that purpose, and it was therefore proposed by
some to make an amicable adjustment of the matters
in dispute with Pickering ; by others it was proposed
to take Pickering, and confine him as a prisoner until
he should cause Franklin to be released. John Jen
kins, who until this time had taken part with the most
zealous friends of Franklin, was opposed to this last
proposition, considering that it would tend to exasper
ate the friends of Pickering, and render the confine
ment of Franklin more close, and would be productive
of no real utility, but, on the other hand, might result
in serious injury both to Franklin and his cause. The

398 WYOMING.

hot-blooded carried the day, and John Jenkins refused
to have any thing farther to do with it, and so declared
himself at the time. By those who failed to enlist
him in their schemes he was declared to be an obsti
nate man, and they attributed to his position in this
matter the defeat of their plans.

"It was one of Colonel Jenkins's distinguishing
traits, that when he once said he would or would not
do a thing, that was the end of it. To do as he agreed
was worth every effort of his nature, and he usually
gave it to that end. During the controversy between
the Connecticut and Pennsylvania settlers he declared
that he would never yield — that he would never hold
an inch of land under a Pennsylvania title. True to
his word, he never did own an inch of land with a
Pennsylvania title, and by reason of not taking title
under Pennsylvania he lost a large amount of valua
ble property. He owned six miles square of the town
ships of Blakely, Carbondale, Greenfield, etc., but re
fused to take title for it under Pennsylvania, and there
fore lost it all.

"In September, 1786, he and Colonel John Frank
lin, as a committee of the Wyoming settlers, went to
Philadelphia to fight against the Pennsylvania claim
ants, and against the Connecticut settlers being com
pelled to take out Pennsylvania titles, and to ask for
some measures of relief. On the llth of September
they had a conference with his excellency B. Frank
lin, President of Council, laid their affairs before him,
and were heard by him with great attention and re
spect. While in attendance there on council, to wit,
on the 25th of September, 1786, Luzerne County was
established, and that put an end to their mission by
effectually putting the territory under the laws and

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 399

officers of Pennsylvania. But still the fight with him
did not end here.

" He appealed, and went to Congress, where he was
in 1801 and 1802, asking relief from that source.
Failing in that, he returned to Wyoming, and was, in
1803, elected one of the members — Franklin being the
other — from Luzerne County. Here they renewed
the fight, but, being defeated, they gave it up, and con
cluded to let Pennsylvania rule, but still hold to their
Connecticut titles, which they did."

Colonel Pickering seems to have imbibed a strong
prejudice against Colonel Jenkins. This was natural
enough, as they had come into violent collision upon
a question which Colonel Pickering had greatly at
heart. What is a little strange, however, is the fact
that his dislike increased in acrimony with the lapse
of time. The conflict raged from 1787 on, and in 1798
Colonel Pickering drew up a statement of the whole
case, entitled, "A concise Narration of the Wyoming
Dispute," in which he gives a very fair view of the
reasonable expectations and just claims of the Connec
ticut settlers. In 1818, in connection with a history
of " the outrage committed on him, "in a letter to his
son, he reviews the matter of the Connecticut claim,
and sets it down as utterly baseless, and characterizes
Colonel Franklin and Colonel Jenkins, and those who
acted with them, as " rioters" and " traitors" for resist
ing measures which, according to his well-considered
opinions at the time, were oppressive and inhuman.

For a clear understanding of the position of Colonel
Jenkins on the question at issue — for this is the point
we are laboring to bring out — we need no informa
tion excepting that which Colonel Pickering gives us.

First. He admits that it is not " surprising that Con-

400 WYOMING*.

necticut should claim that part of Pennsylvania which
was comprehended in a charter twenty years older
than Mr. Penn's," and that, all circumstances consider
ed, the Legislature of Pennsylvania should be disposed
" to view the subject in dispute in the most favorable
light for the unfortunate settlers." — Concise Narrative,

P. 11.

Secondly. He admits that, when he took the appoint
ment from the Pennsylvania Legislature, it was with
the distinct understanding that the Connecticut people
would be quieted in their possessions, and their titles
under Connecticut would be confirmed; and that, in
his efforts to bring the people to terms, he had assured
them that this would be the case. — Concise Narrative,
p. 9.

Thirdly. Upon the presentation of a petition from
"near three hundred of the Connecticut claimants,
praying for a confirmation of their titles, to the Gen
eral Assembly," the petition was " substantially" grant
ed. — Concise Narrative, p. 9, 10.

Fourthly. " Instances of bad faith" on the part of the
General Assembly furnished ground of suspicion " that
the confirming law itself would be set aside as soon as
they should be effectually brought under the govern
ment of Pennsylvania.""* — Concise Narrative, p. 13, 14.

* In giving an account of a public meeting, which he held for the
purpose of explaining to the people the disposition of the General
Assembly of Pennsylvania to do them justice, Colonel Pickering
says, "But just as I was closing prosperously, as I thought, my
month's labor, a pretty shrewd man, John Jenkins, a major of their
militia, arose and said, ' They had too often experienced the bad
faith of Pennsylvania to place confidence in any new measures of its
Legislature ; and that, if they should enact a quieting law, they
would repeal it as soon as the Connecticut settlers submitted, and
were completely saddled with the laws of the state.' This was

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 401

Fifthly. " The confirming law" was repealed by the
Legislature in 1788. " This," says Colonel Pickering,
"always appeared to me unjust and cruel." — Letter,
p. 36.

Sixthly. The efforts to dispossess the Connecticut
settlers by law wholly failed. Suits were brought
against them, and " after eight years they had partly
tried one cause."* — Concise Narrative, p. 20.

Seventhly. What is called the compromise law was
passed in 1799, and this closed all farther legal pro
ceedings against the Connecticut settlers.f

By the terms of this law, " commissioners were to re-
survey lots claimed by the Connecticut settlers, whose
title — precisely as in the confirming law — originated
before the decree of Trenton. A certificate was to be
issued to the settler, on presenting which to the land-
office, and paying the compensation fixed, he should
receive a patent.":): — Miner's History, p. 454.

prophetic; but I had then no faith in the prophecy." — Letter, p.
15, 16.

* Colonel Pickering says: "Although one suit was brought by a
Pennsylvania claimant against an old Connecticut settler, and judg
ment in a court of the United States was given in favor of the plain
tiff, yet the Connecticut settlers kept possession of their farms. They
were too numerous to be removed and driven as vagabonds upon the
wide world. The magnitude of the evil became more sensible [evi
dent], and at length the Legislature yielded to expediency what they
had denied to equity." — Letter, p. 37.

f "They passed a law to secure the Connecticut settlers in their
possessions upon their paying some small prices — not a twentieth
part of the intrinsic value — for their lands, varied according to their
qualities. Thus the controversy was ended, but infinitely to the loss
of Pennsylvania." — Colonel Pickering's Letter, p. 37.

f "Terms of the compromising law of April 4, 1799. Commis
sioners were to divide the lands into four classes. Pennsylvania
claimants who preferred to release their lands to the state, rather
than have them appraised by a jury, were to receive, for the first

402 WYOMING.

A portion of the Connecticut settlers, as a matter of
principle, refused to pay to Pennsylvania the price for
their lands required by the compromise law, and Colo
nel Jenkins was one of these. He considered it a
piece of assumption — an act of injustice — and contin
ued to protest against it to the last.

The facts above presented, mostly from Colonel
Pickering, the Pennsylvania functionary, will present
the course pursued by Colonel Jenkins in its true light,
and will relieve his fair fame from the disparaging im
putations cast upon it by the same Colonel Pickering.
Had the latter gentleman been free from the prejudices
generated by opposition and disappointment, he would
probably have viewed the conduct of Franklin and
Jenkins with more charity. Both parties were pursu
ing what they considered the line of duty. Their in
terests and their opinions came into collision, and they
both fought with courage and ability.

How strongly Colonel Jenkins adhered to his posi
tion will farther appear by the following anecdote.
When the Pennsylvania commissioners were survey
ing the Wyoming lands, they found that the Connecti
cut settlers did not like the idea of having their lands
surveyed by the Pennamites. It was in the time of
buckwheat harvest, and Colonel Jenkins was drawing
in his buckwheat with a yoke of oxen and sled, and a
wooden fork. The commissioners came up to the line
on the flats, and John Jenkins commanded them to
stop, and not undertake to cross his land, at their peril.
They, seeing that Jenkins meant what he said, retired,

class, $5 00 an acre ; second class, $3 00 ; third class, $1 50 ; fourth
class, 25 cents. Connecticut claimants were to pay, for lands of the
first class, $2 00; second, $1 20; third, 50 cents; fourth, 8J cents."
— Miner's History, p. 454.

COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. 403

and returned to Wilkesbarre. Soon after, they took
Jenkins with a warrant and put him in prison. One
of the witnesses swore he had an iron fork, but after
ward proved that it was only a forked stick, with
which he beat back the corps of surveyors. Colonel
Jenkins was kept in jail until the commissioners com
pleted their survey, and while he lived he lived under
Connecticut laws, and would never succumb to Penn
sylvania " aggression." He was never conquered, but
went down to his grave protesting against " Pennsyl
vania usurpation."

A claimant of a still different character obtruded
himself upon the attention of Colonel Jenkins, who was
summarily disposed of.

One of the descendants of the Wintermoot family,
who formerly owned his farm, came to see Jenkins in
regard to title, etc. Wintermoot was quite inquisitive,
and asked a good many questions about the land and
title before he made himself known. As soon as he
said that his name was Wintermoot, Jenkins raised a
chair, and threw at him with such violence as to break
it in pieces ; but Wintermoot made good his escape.
Jenkins told him to leave, or he would put him in
possession of his land in short time.

Colonel Jenkins died March 19, 1827, aged seventy
years and almost four months. A large circle of his
descendants live in Wyoming and Exeter. The old
place at Wintermoot's Fort is still in the family, and
the antique residence is still in a good state of preser
vation. The glorious old spring, from which the Win-
termoots, and Colonel John Butler, and his Tories and
Indians, slaked their thirst on the memorable 3d of
July, is there yet, and there will doubtless remain till
time shall be no more.

404 \\'YOMTXG.

OLD JENKINS HOUSE.

Colonel Jenkins had Ms share of the sufferings and
misfortunes of Wyoming. The great "ice-flood" car
ried away his house and furniture, he recovering little
except " bed and bedding," which were found lodged
in the tops of the trees below Toby's Eddy.

In person Colonel Jenkins was of medium height,
stout, well-proportioned, framed for strength, endur
ance, and activity combined; extremely hospitable,
remarkably clever, yet grave almost to austerity when
in thought. When animated in conversation, there
was a pleasing expression on his countenance. His
style was brief and sententious. Like Atreus's son,

"He spoke no more than just the thing he ought."

(See Miner, App., p. 29.)

JOUKNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 405

XXI.

ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT.

THE following brief record of the events of the
wars in Wyoming was kindly furnished us by Samuel
Hoyt, Esq., of Kingston, and it is published, not so
much for its incidents, as for the confirmation which
it affords of the leading facts to which reference has
been made in the preceding pages. It is the testimo
ny of a witness and an actor in the scene. Mr. Hurl-
but was a man for the times, of more than usual ed
ucation — a good mathematician, and a practical sur
veyor. His plots of large tracts of lands surveyed by
him in the county of Luzerne are acknowledged data.
His field-books, plots, bearings and distances, are all
executed with great skill and accuracy.

" Blood hath been shed, ere now, i' th' olden lime,
Ere human statute purged the gentle weale :
Aye, and since too, murthers have been performed
Too terrible for the eare." — SHAKSPEARE — Macbeth.

11 REMEMBRANCE OF WYOMING WARS.

" First, of the Indian War. — In the year 1777, the
Indians and Tories up the river went with the British
army to besiege Fort Stanwix, and, failing in their ob
ject, they returned home in the fall of the year. Late
in the fall, Colonel Denison went up the river with a
considerable body of men, and took several Tories,
and wounded an Indian that attempted to run away
from them. The same fall the Indians took York and
Kingsley prisoners from Wyallusing, and carried them
to Canada.

406 WYOMING.

" Early in the spring, Colonel Denison, with about
one hundred and fifty men, went up to Wyalusing to
assist a number of families in removing from the place.
I was in the company. We made rafts of old houses,
and took on the people, with their effects, and went
down the river. This spring a company was raised
to garrison Forty Fort and to scout. Some time this
spring three Indians came to Forty Fort, doubtless as
spies. They were put in prison. The last of June I
went out to Lackawaxen to meet my father's family,
who were moving into the country, and was there un
til the result of the battle was known.

" On Tuesday, the last day of June, the Indian army
was discovered. On Wednesday the settlers collected
the men and went up to Sutton's Mills, where they
found that the people had been killed and the houses
burned.* It appeared that the Indian army had gone
into the woods, and proceeded over the mountain to
Kingston, and by that means the two armies did not
meet there. On the same day the Indian army took
Jenkins's and Wintermoot's Forts, f The alarm was
given, and the men assembled at Forty Fort.

"The next morning — the 3d of July — and toward
night, they joined battle with the Indians, and were

* This was the place where the Hardings were killed, and Gardner
made a prisoner.

t According to Mr. Gardner, Jenkins's Fort could not have been
taken on that day. He says it was the day after the battle that the
fort in which he was — the one opposite Pittston, which was Fort Jen
kins — was entered by the Indians. Mr. Hurlbut was not on the
ground, and might be mistaken. Mr. Gardner was in the fort, and
must know whether it was surrendered before the battle or afterward.
The theory which we have adopted elsewhere is, that the agreement
to surrender the fort was entered into two days before it was actually
entered by the enemy; but this was not on the last day of June, but
on the 2d of July.

JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 407

entirely defeated; only sixty escaped out of the battle.
The next day was spent in negotiating a capitulation,
and on Sabbath the fort was surrendered, when an in
discriminate plunder took place, and nearly all the
buildings in the settlement were burned. The people
escaped, none being killed excepting two, Mrs. Leech
and St. John.

" The beginning of August, Colonel Butler, with
Spaulding's company of the Wyoming soldiers, and a
few of the settlers, returned and took possession of the
place, and built a fort at Wilkesbarre, driving off what
few Indians were there. Shortly after the Indians kill
ed John Abbott, and some others, above Wilkesbarre.
"In September, 1778, Colonel Hartley went, with
two or three hundred men, by the West Branch, over
to Towanda and to Sheshequin, and collected a con
siderable number of cattle, and drove them down the
river. When he had got below Black Walnut Bottom,
he was fired upon by the Indians, and at Tuscarora
Creek a considerable action took place : some few were
killed on both sides. The next day after they arrived
at Wilkesbarre, the Indians killed two or three of his
soldiers at the lower end of Kingston Flats.

" In the fall the Indians took Swetland and Blanch -
ard at the ISTanticoke mill, and burned the mill. Ear
ly in November the Indians killed Jackson, Lester,
and Franklin, and wounded Hagaman ; they took pris
oners Pell and Lester's wife and daughter — a little girl
— from Nanticoke, in December. Tripp, Slocum, and
Kingsley's son were killed in Wilkesbarre, not far from
the fort, and a little girl carried off prisoner in Febru
ary, 1779. Buck, Williams, and Pettibone were kill
ed, and Follett scalped on Kingston Flats, and an In
dian was killed in an attack on the block-house. On

408 WYOMING.

the 20th of March Bidlack was taken, the block-house
attacked, and all the cattle and horses on that side of
the river driven off by a large party of British, In
dians, and Tories. On the 22d Wilkesbarre was attack
ed, as also Stewart's house, and all the cattle that were
out on that side driven off; and all the remaining
buildings on both sides of the river that were not
near the fort, or Stewart's house or block-house, were
burned.

" Shortly after the attack on Wilkesbarre, a consid
erable body of troops — the advance of General Sulli
van's army — arrived at Wilkesbarre, and early in April
another detachment coming in, two officers and five
soldiers, that were in advance of the main body, were
killed at or near Laurel Eun, in the mountain. Some
time that summer, Sherwood, at Huntington, was
wounded by the Indians while hunting, but escaped.

" Sullivan's army penetrated the Indian country as
far as Genesee Kiver, and in October returned to
Wilkesbarre, and so back to join the main army, leav
ing a garrison in Wilkesbarre.

"After Sullivan's expedition my father's family
moved into the country, and went on to his farm in
Hanover. The settlers were now getting on to their
farms, in expectation of not being farther troubled by
the Indians.

" The last of March, Hammond, Bennet, and son
went to plow on Kingston Flats, above Forty Fort,
and were taken by the Indians. Near the same time,
Upson was killed and Jonah Eogers taken prisoner
below Nanticoke Falls. Another party of Indians
took Yan Campen, Pence, and a boy, and killed sev
eral on Fishing Creek. On Harvey's Creek they took
Pike, but dismissed his wife. The same week Ham-

JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 409

mond and Bennet rose on the Indians, and escaped
and came in. Three or four days after Yan Campen
and company came in, having killed the Indians who
took them prisoners.

" After this no Indians appeared about Wyoming
until December, when twenty British soldiers and five
Indians came into Plymouth in the evening, and took
all the families which were there prisoners. Selecting
some men, that they carried off, they dismissed the
women and children. The last of March, 1781, a num
ber of families had begun to build houses, intending
also to build a fort on Shawnee Flats, where they
were attacked in the night by the Indians. Eansom
was wounded; one Indian was killed, and the rest
fled. In September the Indians took Franklin's boys,
with five horses, and burned all the grain — perhaps
twelve hundred bushels of wheat and rye — on Nanti-
coke Flats.

" In 1782 some men began a saw-mill in Hanover.
They raised the mill on Saturday, in April. The next
morning Franklin's family were taken prisoners, and
his house burned. Baldwin, with nine others, went
up the river and got ahead of the Indians, and on the
Frenchtown Mountain they had a severe engagement
of six or seven hours. Bennet was wounded, also
Baldwin himself, but none were killed. They retook
three of the family, the woman and a small child be
ing killed. In July Jamison and Chapman were kill
ed in the road in Hanover, near where the meeting
house was afterward built. Peace took place the win
ter following. The next spring, in 1783, Baldwin and
Garnsey were carried off by the Indians from near
Black Walnut Bottom, but no other mischief was done
by the Indians, as they were sent to take a prisoner

4:10 WYOMING.

by whom they might ascertain whether peace was re
ally made, as they had only heard a rumor of it at
Niagara. They were dismissed soon after their arri
val."

THE PENNAMITE WAR.

"In December, 1782, the Decree of Trenton was
passed, adjudging the right of jurisdiction and pre
emption to Pennsylvania. The next spring peace
took place between England and the United States,
and the garrison was removed from "Wilkesbarre, and
a company of Pennsylvania state troops took posses
sion of the fort. What pretense there was for contin
uing the garrison after peace, I know not. All was
peace that summer, and numbers of people moved in
from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, mostly persons
of no property or respectability. Toward fall it ap
peared that a number of Pennsylvanians met secretly
in the settlement and proceeded to elect justices of the
peace ; and in September the Assembly of Pennsyl
vania passed a law authorizing the President and
Council to corfimission those persons so unlawfully
elected ; and they soon began to execute the laws by
suing every Yankee that they could by any means
bring a charge against, and very soon the most violent
proceedings took place. Men were imprisoned by the
aid of the military, and sundry persons whipped with
gun-rods, and otherwise most shamefully abused. A
number of respectable men were confined in an old
house without a floor, and mud shoe deep. In cold
weather in the winter they were obliged to lie down
in the mud on pain of being shot. If three Yankees
were seen together, they were sure to be imprisoned
and otherwise abused.

JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 411

" At last, as our situation was no longer to be borne,
a number of us determined to draw up a petition to
the Legislature, then in session, stating our usage, and
begging for protection. As not more than two of us
dare be seen together, the difficulty was to confer to
gether. Our object was effected by going around and
notifying a meeting in the evening ; and, in order to
prevent suspicion, the meeting was appointed within
forty rods of the fort, where a number got together and
darkened the windows, and then drew and signed a
petition, and engaged a man to carry it to Philadelphia.
Upon the receipt of this petition, the Assembly ap
pointed a committee to repair to Wyoming and inquire
into the cause of the complaint. The committee came
to Wilkesbarre, and by testimony we established all
that we set forth in our petition, and much more. The
committee returned and reported, but nothing was
done to afford us redress.

"In March was 'the great ice-flood,' which nearly
ruined the people, drowning their cattle and horses,
and sweeping away their houses, as they were nearly
all built on the flats for safety against the Indians.
Most of their breadstuffs was also destroyed. In May,
after -the ice had melted away, and the people begun
to put up their fences, the Pennamites, with the sol
diers, went through the settlement in considerable
bodies, and took all the good guns, and the locks from
others, from every Yankee who had one, and direct
ly after this they turned all Yankee families into the
street, taking them under guard. A few only were
able to flee up or down the river; all the rest were
forced to go out east by the Lackawaxen. Thus the
Pennamites got full possession of the country. Short
ly after this the soldiers were discharged, but many of

412 WYOMING.

them continued in the country, and the Pennamites
kept up a garrison in the fort.

" The last of June the Yankees began to assemble in
the woods, in order, if possible, to regain their posses
sions. It should be remembered that all along, from
the first beginning of the outrages, applications had
been made to the legislative, executive, and judicial
authorities of the state for protection and redress, but
none was obtained. Also let it be understood that
those pretended justices before referred to as having
been unlawfully appointed, headed by Alexander Pat
terson, a man of considerable abilities, but bold, dar
ing, and completely unprincipled; aided by D—

M , insinuating, plausible, and flattering, covering

his enmity by pretended friendship — a most designing

enemy to the Yankees; and J S , with just

information enough to act out the villain without dis
guise, had no idea of doing justice to the Yankees, but
their object was to compel them to leave the country.

" About the 15th of July, a party of Pennamites and
another of Yankees, both armed, met in a piece of woods
in Plymouth unexpectedly to both parties. They fired
on each other ; two were killed, and several wounded ;
the Pennamites fled, and were pursued to the fort ; the
fort was immediately invested, and hostilities were
continued for several days. When information was
received that a party of men was coming in to relieve
the besieged Pennamites, twenty -seven Yankees went
out and met the party at Locust Hill. They fired
upon them, and they retreated to a house, and, as they
appeared sufficiently frightened, the Yankees left them
and returned. The party then left the house and fled
back. They had one killed and several wounded. Of
the Yankees, only one slightly wounded.

JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 413

"In the mean time, several justices and the sheriff
of Northumberland County came to Wilkesbarre to
try to put a stop to the fighting. After considerable
negotiation, both parties agreed to stop. The Penna-
mites remained in the fort, and the Yankees returned
to their deserted homes. In two or three days a loody
of two or three hundred men came in, headed by the
famous John Armstrong and a Mr. Boyd, two mem
bers of the Senate of Pennsylvania. The Pennamites,
in part, pretended to surrender, when they called on
the Yankees to surrender, as they said they were de
termined to disarm both parties, so that there should
be no farther resort to violence, but an acknowledg
ment of the supremacy of the laws. "When the Yan
kees laid down their arms they were made close pris
oners, and Pennamite sentinels set to guard them.
Those who were at Locust Hill were sent, under a
strong guard, being first ironed, to Easton jail, the
others to Sunbury ; those who went to Sunbury were
speedily admitted to bail, and returned home ; those
at Easton were kept close prisoners five or six weeks,
when they broke jail, and about half of them escaped ;
the remainder were kept until October, when the Su
preme Court was held at Easton; then the grand jury
found no bill against them for murder, and they were
discharged, after paying jail fees and other expenses
to the amount of twenty-five dollars each.

"In the mean time, those who had escaped, with a
few others — about twenty — headed by John Franklin,
had obtained arms, and kept together until about the
18th of October, when a body of men came into the
settlement and proceeded to make prisoners of such as
they chose. They had taken seventeen and confined
them in a corn-house, which they kept well guarded ;

414 WYOMING.

but they failed to take Franklin and his party, who
continually gained in numbers until after the company
returned home. After this the Yankees attacked the
fort in the night, and killed two officers. Shortly after
the fort was evacuated, and all the Pennamites who
had been fighting the Yankees were obliged to leave
the settlement.

" When they got out into the country they made a
loud outcry about the cruelty of the Yankees, and as
to how they were plundered of all they possessed,
and by this means prevailed with a number of the in
habitants of Northumberland County to petition the
Legislature in their behalf. The Legislature then ap
pointed three of their number to go to "Wyoming and
endeavor to put a stop to farther disorders. In the
beginning of May they came in, and, after conferring
with the Yankees, returned. Nothing was done ef
fectually until the fall of 1786, when a law was passed
erecting the disputed territory into a county, which
was called Luzerne. A time was appointed for hold
ing an election for county officers, with justices of the
peace. The election was held in July, 1787, and from
that time law reigned and peace was fully restored."

THE UMBRELLA-TREE. 417

XXII.

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.

THE UMBRELLA-TREE.*

THE umbrella, round-top, or signal-tree, is situated on the mount
ain west of the Valley, about four miles from its head. It is of the
variety Pinus rigida, or pitch pine ; is about ninety feet high, and two
and a half feet in diameter at the base. It is apparently, at a dis
tance, on the summit of the mountain, and surrounded by woods ; but
it is about forty rods from the apex, and stands in the centre of a ten-
acre field, on the estate formerly owned by Mr. Pierce Smith, now
by the Kingston Coal Company.

My imagination had pictured the tree to be something immense,
and, from the misconception, I was somewhat disappointed, as it is net
as large as one would be led naturally to suppose, judging of its ap
pearance at a distance, its longevity, etc. ; but it is more remarkable
for conspicuity of position than for size or height.

Many are the traditions in regard to this old stand-by, and per
haps nothing in our early history is more vague and unsatisfactory
than the reports in circulation concerning it. Its conspicuity from
the east and northeast made it a landmark through the unbroken
wilderness to this land of promise, and we can hardly imagine the
joy that its prospect lent, when at its sight the weary traveler con
sidered himself almost home. It is said that its lower branches were
clipped or hewn off, to render it more observable at a greater dis
tance ; and one tradition, or rather a more late fiction, says that they
were cut off as a signal of battle, and ominous of the dire fall of our
little army.

* Here is a group of interesting objects. " Tattle's Creek11 passes through the
culvert which appears on the right of the foreground. The house partly con
cealed by the shade of the trees is the veritable house erected and long occupied by
Colonel Denison, now occupied by his grandson, Hiram Denison, Esq. Last sea
son— 185T— it exchanged its original red covering for a new white one, and, but for
its antique form and large chimney, would now exhibit quite a modern appearance.
The house on the left was the residence of the late Mrs. Tuttle, only sister of Mr?.
Myers. This is the spot where stood the four block -houses from which " the Yan
kee Boys11 fired the last shot at the Pennamites and killed Captain Bolen. The
road which crosses the Creek here is the old road on which the little army marched
to attack the Tories and Indians. The umbrella-tree is seen in the distance, upon
the mountains height.

418 WYOMING.

We think that any other view than that it is just as God made it
would rob him of some of his due glory, and detract from it much
real beauty, as being remarkable from nature rather than art. This
view is substantiated by almost every physical sign, and the fact that,
upon close inspection, it bears no appearance of having had its
branches cut off. It has some dead limbs, which show no sudden
fracture, as would be the case if they had been hewn off, but, on the
contrary, extend several feet from the shaft ; and, besides, it has sev
eral large limbs, unperceivable at a distance, about half way up. Im
mediately under the top there is a space of ten or fifteen feet looking
quite smooth, showing no abrasion of knife or hack of hatchet. Its
top is rather small for the shaft to be compared to an umbrella, and
looks more like a delicate parasol put on a large umbrella handle.
It is the only tree in a large field, and, although the woodman has
cut down all around it, he has paused with a praiseworthy venera
tion to humble its proud crest in the dust. There it stands nearly as
it was a hundred years ago ; there it stands erect as God made it ;
there let it stand till He, in his wisdom, sees fit to fell it. We re
luctantly turned our back upon this old pine, and left it " alone in
its glory." * * *

PROSPECT ROCK

is situated on the eastern mountain, directly back of Wilkesbarrc,
and about midway between the two extremes of the valley. From
its prominent position may be distinctly seen both sections of the val
ley, above and below. It is a steep ledge of light conglomerate, com
posed of strata four or five feet thick, resting at about an angle of
forty-five degrees in position. Its eastern verge is quite precipitous,
showing an abrupt fracture from the plane of the strata below, which
was caused in its upheaving to its present position. The western
surface is convex, and more continuous with the slope of the mount
ain. A few small pines stand upon it here and there, and dip their
roots into its crevices, deriving their nourishment from an almost im
perceptible and inconceivable source. The upper section of the val
ley of Wyoming appears to be an extended plain ; the lower a series
of hills, undulating up higher and higher until they reach the Nan-
ticoke Mountains. Above, it seems continuous with the Lackawanna
Valley, and the gray front of Crag Campbell marks the entrance of
the Susquehanna ; below the mountains curve gracefully as the bow
in the clouds for the egress of the river.

To get a proper appreciation of the view from this rock, you should

PROSPECT ROCK. 419

spend a night at one of the hotels a short distance below, arise with
the sun, with the mental energies fresh and unimpaired with the toils
of ascent. It was in the month of July that I made my visit, and all
nature was dressed in her most varied and pleasing garb. Spread
out beneath were the fields of every shade of green and of gold.
There were the shock-dotted fields, where the farmer had been gath
ering together into convenient heaps his means of subsistence and
profit ; fields of still waving grain, interspersed with meads of fresh-
springing grass from newly-mown hay-fields. Black lines mark the
course of fences dividing possessions and fields, showing a beautiful
simile to the checkered scenes of life, where every man is moving for
his own advantage. Immediately beneath is the borough of Wilkes-
barre, with its small houses and tiny spires, as though contrived for
the habitation of Liliputians. Directly across from it is the village
of Kingston, below which are the scattered houses of Plymouth, and
above, toward the head of the valley, is the village of Wyoming, still
more diminutive in the distance. Here and there are scattered
throughout the country habitations and public works, showing the
insignificance of puny art in such a vast area of beauteous nature.
"Oh, pigmy man, how small thy workings are! Thy boasted rule
has not the power to even mock at heaven, for who could mountains
make, or paint a scene like this?" These are naturally the feelings
of an observer and student of nature when impressed with the power
of the magnificent and sublime ; he pauses in a reverie of inexpress
ible delight, and is forced to admit the inability of language to con
vey his thoughts to others. This rock has the advantages of position
in presenting to the view nearly all parts of the valley, neither ren
dering it dim by too great distance, nor unpicturesque by being too
near. A large area is here placed before the vision, concentrated
into one grand conception, subject to one contemplation. In the
west are the horizon, scalloping hills, giving glimpses here and there
between them of the country beyond. The Susquehanna is occasion
ally visible, and the three islands here seen seem like "Arks of na
ture's make floating on to join the sea."

There is another view from what is called the White Kocks, but a
short distance ascending to the right from the Spring House, which
has advantages in rendering some parts of the valley still more per
spicuous than Prospect Rock does, on account of their more jutting
position.

Time had been "winging us away" faster than we were* aware or
wished. The sun had already dipped his lower verge below the
western mountains, giving their tree-clad summits an appearance as

HARVEY'S XAKE. 421

if fringed with fire. As our little giddy world wheeled eastward,
leaving the king of day gradually sinking from the horizon, he seem
ed to kiss the western hills with his ruddy lips, and, bidding us good
night, sank in a sea of glory. * * *

HARVEY'S LAKE.

THE following sketch of a trip to Harvey's Lake is contributed by
Miss Miranda Myers, of Kingston :

Bright and early, long before the purple hill-tops environing Wyo
ming were illuminated by the rising sun, we presented ourselves at
the gateway, ready for a drive to this romantic summer retreat some
twelve miles distant.

Passing the wild scenery of the Narrows, and through a beauti
ful rural district, we inquired, for perhaps the dozenth time during
our ride, How far off is Harvey's Lake ? An honest-faced Hiberni
an answered, " Shure and you are right on it ; and you have only to
drive a bit ahead and turn into the lane, and you'll get there."
Thanking him, we prepared to follow the direction, if it only brought
us to our destination. We soon had the extreme satisfaction of see
ing the Lake House, with its fair proportions, loom up before us.
As we drove up, the accommodating proprietor, Mr. Clayton, met us
at the door, ready to attend to all our wants.

The house is built upon a slight elevation on the eastern shore, a
few rods from the water's edge. It is large and commodious,
handsomely furnished, and capable of accommodating a large number
of guests. From the verandas, which extend around two sides of
the house, a magnificent prospect feasts the eye — a scene of unrivaled
and quiet beauty — the calm and unruffled surface of the lake spark
ling in the sunshine, begirt with beautiful hilly woodlands. These
afford covert for herds of deer and other wild game, while the lake
furnishes an abundance of the finest fish. Harvey's Lake has been
resorted to for hunting and fishing ever since the first settlement of
the country, long before there was a road cut through the mountains,
the old hunters tracing their way through the dense forests by
means of marked trees. It is said that the lake was discovered by
one of the early settlers of the Valley noticing that the wild ducks flew
very high, and in a northerly direction, from which fact he concluded
that there must be quite a large body of water not far distant. *

* The lake derived its name from Benjamin Harvey, who settled upon the out
let below Plymouth, and it ia supposed by his descendants that he was the first
white man who discovered it. The descendants of Thomas Bennet suppose that

422 WYOMING.

Below us, in front of the house, a wagon-road winds along the
shore, and is soon lost from sight among the trees. Looking across
the lake toward the west, we observe a small clearing with several
dwelling-houses ; one is pointed out to us as the property of Hon.
Warren J. Woodward. Casting our eyes down along the shore in
the direction of the outlet, through a gap in the hills we behold the
faint outlines of distant mountains against the sky, in fine contrast
with those nearer by.

At our left is the inlet, though, properly speaking, the lake has
none, being fed by springs at the bottom. A rude, unfinished
bridge crosses the inlet. This can be used only by foot-passengers, as
it is sunken considerably near the centre.

Having finished our observations from the house, we betake our
selves to the boat, a number being always in readiness. The white,
pebbly bottom of the lake is distinctly visible for quitj a distance
from the shore ; but as we near the centre it gradually disappears,
the water becoming very deep, and assuming a look of inky black
ness. We were told that a line ninety feet in length had been sunk
here without reaching bottom.

We were recalled from our aquatic expedition to the house by the
sounding of the gong. Here we found an elegant dinner awaiting
us — fish, flesh, and fowl, served up in every possible style, with veg
etables, tarts, puddings, pastry, etc., in profusion, calculated to please
even the most epicurean palate. Dinner over, we again sallied forth
in quest of enjoyment.

Noticing upon one of the pillars of the lower veranda a diagram
of the lake, with the distances along the margins given, we made in
quiries of Mr. Clayton, and learned that some scientific gentleman,

he is entitled to the honor of the discovery of this lake, and that he was led to the
search for it by the flight of flocks of wild ducks. It is quite probable that these
hardy pioneers each made the discovery in the same way, one reaching it from
the lower extremity of the Valley, and the other from Forty Fort. It is certain
that Mr. Bennet cut through the first bridle-path from Kingston to the lake, as
that path is noted on the field-books of the earliest surveyors, and is called "Ben-
net's Path." Andrew Bennet, son of Thomas Bennet, launched the first canoe
upon the placid waters of this lake in the year 1800. John Bennet, Esq., son of
Andrew Bennet, saya that the canoe was made in the Valley, and shod with hick
ory saplings, and drawn over the mountain by two horses attached to it tandem,
and that he, then a lad, rode the leader, and that his father led the way on foot,
and that another man followed and kept the " dug-out" right side up. They ar
rived sufficiently early in the day to launch their craft, and steal upon a fine buck
standing in the edge of the lake, and shoot him down. The canoe was kept con
cealed at the head of the lake in a thicket of laurels. The lady traveler who con
tributed this article ia the great-granddaughter of Thomas Bennet.

TOJSY'S ETXDY.

TOBY'S CAVE.

TOBY'S EDDY. 425

whose name we have forgotten, made an actual stirvey for the ben
efit of visitors. We give it as it appears there.

Lovely as the lake is in the rich glow of the morning sunlight,
its romantic beauty is by no means diminished when bathed in the
glorious coloring of the afternoon sun. The rippling current flashes
and sparkles, the wild duck skims gayly over its surface, regardless
of the lurking sportsman, and the splashing oars of the pleasure-boat
keep time to the harmony of nature ; every tree growing upon the
margin of the lake has its counterpart slumbering motionless be
neath the water. But we must turn our backs upon this scene of be
witching loveliness, for the lengthening shadows warn us that the sun
is sinking in the heavens, and we have yet twelve miles between us
and our valley-home.

Persons visiting Wyoming should not fail to take a drive to the
lake ; we are certain they would be amply rewarded. Indeed, we
see no reason why Harvey's Lake may not become as fashionable a
resort during the summer as the more crowded watering-places, ac
cessible as it is from our cities, within twelve miles by railroad, and
affording every facility for enjoyment.

TOBY'S EDDY.

THIS famous locality is situated at the mouth of Toby's Creek,
near Kingston village. The beautiful scenery copied in the opposite
engraving lies between Boss Hill and the river, and is one of those
lovely, secluded spots where one delights to spend an hour or two in
retirement from the busy world. Here the students of the seminary
hard by often meet to shake off the blues and recruit their exhausted
energies. Here they bathe, walk, swing, and exchange pleasant
greetings. Here many a pleasant picnic has been held, and glances
have been exchanged full of meaning, and ominous of happy days at
new homes.

But, alas ! progress and civilization have made sad ravages upon
this sweet and beautiful spot. The railroad has utterly ruined its
beautiful unity. Its jagged, rocky embankment, running through
the centre of the little natural paradise, has broken its ancient en
chantments, and dispelled the bewitching associations which clustered
around it. So goes this world of ours. What God made is perpet
ually changed, if not improved, by the inroads of art and the spirit
of the age.

426 WYOMING.

TOBY'S CAVE.

WHAT is called Toby's Cave is found in the hill-side west of the
Eddy. It is not deep or large, but might once have constituted a
place of retreat for old Toby the Indian, whose haunts were once
along the creek to which his name has been given, and who planted
corn upon the flats above. It is said by some of the old talkers
that this cave once extended quite to the opposite side of Ross Hill,
the distance of three fourths of a mile. Curious legends of strange
supernatural appearances in this cave are told by an old gossip still
living, all of which may be doubted without just exposure to the
charge of unwarrantable skepticism. Stories of strange sights and
superhuman noises, which used to be told about Toby's Cave by super
annuated nurses, and believed without a doubt by children, are not
worth repeating ; still, they have left their impression, and they con
tinue to cling to the locality with which they were originally asso
ciated. Legends, however incredible, often constitute classic ground,
and give a sort of importance to objects and localities which other
wise have little about them to render them noticeable. There are in
the world many such objects, and among them is Toby's Cave.

SEMINARIES.

THE great changes which have taken place in Wyoming are remark
ed in nothing more clearly than in the means and appliances of edu
cation which constitute both its power and its pride. We give brief
sketches of the origin, progress, and present condition of the three
leading institutions of the Valley, arranging them in chronological
order.

THE WYOMING CONFERENCE SEMINARY.

This is a school for both sexes, and was opened September 24,
1844. The opening address was delivered by the Rev. J. P. Dur-
bin, D.D. The first seminary building was of brick, thirty-seven
feet by seventy feet, and three stories high. The cost of the building
and fixtures, $6089, of which about one fourth was contributed by
Thomas Myers, Esq., of Kingston. The building for the accommo
dation of the ladies and for a boarding-hall was erected by Mr. My
ers, and subsequently sold to the trustees.

The school opened with thirty scholars, and the whole number in
attendance the first term was forty-seven.

There were three teachers : Rev. R. Nelson, A.M., Miss Ruth In-

SEMINARIES, 427

galls, and Mr. E. F. Ferris. The patronage continued to increase for
every succeeding term until there arose a pressing necessity for an
additional building. In the winter of 1850-51, while the trustees,
without funds, were deliberating upon the subject, and vainly endeav
oring to devise a plan for enlarging the buildings, they were happily
relieved from their embarrassment by the noble and generous prop
osition of one of their number, William Swetland, Esq., to defray
himself all the expense of the ejection of such a building as the trus
tees should deem necessary to meet the wants of the school. Accord
ingly, a building was erected and finished in the fall of 1851, at a
cost of between three and four thousand dollars, and named " Swet
land Hall."

At the same time, Hon. Ziba Bennet, of Wilkesbarre, donated to
the institution $1000, to be expended in the purchase of a li
brary, which was appropriately named by the trustees "Bennet Li
brary."

Within six months from the completion of " Swetland Hall," all
the rooms in the whole establishment were occupied, and the trustees
began to arrange for putting up an additional building. They had
contracted for its erection, and excavating for the foundation had al
ready been commenced, when, on the loth of March, 1853, the build
ings were entirely destroyed by fire, supposed to have originated from
a stove in the third story.

While the ruins were yet smoking, the trustees were stimulated to
an immediate effort to rebuild by the remarkable liberality of Will
iam Swetland, Esq., already referred to, who, together with his son,
Mr. George Swetland, and his son-in-law, Payne Pettibone, Esq.,
donated to the institution in all something over $8000. They were
also greatly aided by the liberal donations of $1000 by Isaac C.
Shoemaker, Esq., of Wyoming, $500 by Hon. Urbane Burrows, of
Gibson, and $500 by Amos Y. Smith, of Wyoming. The above,
with other contributions, enabled the trustees to erect four buildings,
three of them being of brick.

The entire value of the whole establishment now can not be esti
mated at less than $30,000.

The institution has an experienced and efficient board of teachers,
a superior philosophical and chemical apparatus, an extensive library,
and a valuable cabinet. The Rev. K. Nelson still presides over the
institution with great ability and success.

The catalogue just issued shows an attendance of 676 students dur
ing the year. The success of this institution is without a parallel in
the state.

428 WYOMING,

LUZERNE PRESBYTERIAL INSTITUTE.

This institution is located in one of the pleasantest portions of the
Valley, in the village of Wyoming. Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, so wide
ly known for his able advocacy of the cause of temperance and relig
ion, first suggested and labored for the establishment of a literary in
stitution at this place, and has ever been most earnestly devoted to
its interests with time and means. ^ Not less indispensable have
been, from the first and always, the abundant services and liberal
benefactions of Mr. Thomas R. Atherton, or the efforts and coun
sels in its behalf of Eev. J. D. Mitchell, its first principal and al
ways firm friend and supporter, as well as those of others, its early
and constant, or more recent friends, among whom are the entire
board of trustees as at present constituted, consisting of Rev. T. P.
Hunt, Rev. N. G. Parke, H. Hice, T. F. Atherton, Hon. C. D. Shoe
maker, Rev. H. H. Welles, Rev. C. R. Lane, W. S. Shoemaker, Hon.
Steuben Jenkins, Theodore Strong, E. A. Lawrence, and Joseph P.
Atherton, with Rev. J. Dorrance and James Jenkins, former mem
bers.

The great aim of the institution is to furnish facilities for a sound
Christian education of youth. It is not sectarian in its teachings,
but Christian, and invites to the enjoyment of its privileges youth
from all denominations alike. Instruction is given in all the English
branches, sciences, mathematics, languages, and ornamental branch
es common to our higher seminaries, preparatory for college, for
teaching, or for the active duties of business and social life. It has a
male and a female department, a normal department at some sea
sons of the year, also philosophical and chemical apparatus, and geo
graphical, astronomical, and anatomical maps and charts. The in
stitute building is out of debt, and will be enlarged as soon as the
state of the times will permit. There is a good boarding-house ;
students also board in private families, while lads and others, as de
sired by parents, board with the principal.

Classes were first formed in 1849. An act of incorporation was
obtained the following year.

Rev. Reuben Lowrie, now a missionary in China, Rev. C. R. Lane,
now of Tunkhannock, and Rev. P. E. Stevenson, acted as principals
of the institution in succession. E. A. Lawrence, A.M., extensively
known and approved as a highly accomplished teacher, is now prin
cipal, and, although the pressure of the times has unfavorably affect
ed the attendance, as in many other institutions, the condition of the
institute is encouraging and promising. Several of its students are

SEMINARIES. 429

preparing for the ministry, while others of them are already pro
claiming the Gospel to a dying world.

THE WILKESBARRE FEMALE INSTITUTE.

A number of gentlemen, citizens of the borough of Wilkesbarre,
deeply sensible of the importance of a thorough and Christian educa
tion for their daughters, and believing that the female character re
quires a system of instruction and discipline differing somewhat from
that adopted in reference to the other sex, after consultation, determ
ined upon the establishment of a female seminary of a high order —
one which should preclude the necessity of seeking beyond their own
bowugh the facilities for a finished education.

Accordingly, a subscription for the erection of a suitable building
was opened, and some ten or twelve thousand dollars raised. The
subscriptions, several of which are very liberal, were principally from
members of the Presbyterian congregation. Of the whole sum, near
ly one half (including recent donations) is the contribution of George
M. Hollenback.

A charter for the contemplated institution was obtained in the
summer of 1854, during which year the seminary edifice was com
pleted. This is a neat and commodious building, three stories in
height, with suitable school and recitation rooms, lofty and well ven
tilated. There is also good accommodation in furnished rooms for
some forty or fifty boarders under the same roof with the family of
the principal ; the grounds are ample ; and the site, fronting the Su^-
quehanna, with an open common intervening, is one of unusual
beauty.

The school was opened in October, 1854, with some fifty young
ladies, under the charge of Rev. Joseph Eastburn Nassau, since which
time, though subject to temporary fluctuation, it has made encour
aging progress. Quite a number of young ladies have completed the
prescribed course of study, which is equally extensive and thorough
with that of our best seminaries, with honor to themselves and the
institution.

The average number of pupils in actual attendance is now about
seventy, and is steadily increasing. The principal, R. S. Howes,
A.M., who has had a successful experience of sixteen years at the
head of select and high schools, proves to be well fitted for his posi
tion, and gives to the trustees and patrons of the institution entire
satisfaction.

The institute is, by its charter, under the supervision of the,
presbytery of Luzerne, by which body the trustees are appointed.

430 WYOMING.

The object of this supervision is not the inculcating of sectarian te
nets, nor to render the institution an organ of proselytism, but to se
cure an enlightened, homogeneous, and salutary religious influence,
with the hope that our daughters, while subjected to thorough men
tal discipline, will also be adorned with those Christian graces which
are the highest and loveliest accomplishment of the female character.

INDEX.

Alexander, Mrs., her account of her father's death and mother's escape, 111;
character of her mother, 120 ; account of Mrs. Gardner, 353.

Armstrong, Colonel, comes on under authority of Pennsylvania — gross treachery,
64, 217, 413.

Bedford, Mrs., character and parentage of, 201 ; her account of the Indians, ib. ;
of a mission to Queen Esther, 202 ; a war demonstration, 203 ; the battle, 204 ;
of the flight to Middletown, 209 ; return, 210 ; Franklin family, 212 ; keeps
house at Forty Fort, 218.

Bennet, Thomas, captivity and escape of, 291.

Rufus, wonderful escape of, 362.
" Solomon, escape of, 160.

Bolin, Captain, killed, 184.

Bones of the patriots, 377.

Brant, history of, 71 ; at Unadilla, 73 ; at Oriskany, 74 ; ravages on the Mohawk,
78, 84 ; not in the battle of Wyoming, 87 ; cruelty of, 04.

Brockway's, Widow, a fight there, 183.

Butler, Colonel Zebulon, commands at the battle, 38 ; report of, 41.

" Colonel John, invades Wyoming, 38 ; faithless conduct, 45 ; report of the
battle, 52 ; character of, 96.

Butler, Walter N., destroys Cherry Valley, 80; Colonel Stone's apology for, 86;
cruelties of, 82 ; death, 85.

Campbell's Ledge, 10, 344.

Cherry Valley destroyed, 81.

Connecticut people, object of, 26.

Corey, young, tortured, 214.

Decree of Trenton, 63.

1 >elaware Indians, war, 11, 12.

Denison, Colonel, came from Hartford, 147 ; in the battle, 39 ; remonstrates with
J. Butler, 162 ; robbed of his shirt and hat, 163.

Dick, Captain, defeated, 146.

Esther, Queen, 152 ; prisoners escape from, 285 ; Colonel Stone's apology for, 287.

Follett stabbed and scalped, 213.

Fortifications, ancient, 13.

Forts, situation of, 56.

Forty Fort erected, 136; strengthened, 30; capitulation of, 43.

Franklin, Colonel John, opposes Colonel Pickering, 190.

" Roswell, family of, carried off by the Indians, 212.

Gardner, Richard, 351.

Gustin, Dr., carries a flag of truce, 162; assistant surgeon, 201, 206; settles in
Carlisle, 201).

Hammond escapes from Bloody Rock, 285.

Hartley, Colonel, marches against the Indians, 60.

Ilollenback, Colonel, comes to Wyoming, 100 ; enters the army, 102 ; escapes from
the battle, 106; engages in grubbing, 10!) ; returns to Wyoming, 110 ; trades in
Canada— trip with John Jacwb Astor, 116; followed by robbers, 118 ; is a mag
istrate and judge, 119; character, 121; residence, 123; anecdote of, 124; reso
lutions of the court — character by Judge Scott, 127 ; votes for Jackson, 131.

1 Fopkins, Noah, life saved by a spider, 369.

Hurlbut, Christopher, journal of, 405.

Ice-flood, 178.

Indians make preparations for war, 154 ; plunder the people in the fort, 162.

Jenkins, Colonel, 388 ; capture by the Indians, 391; opposes Colonel 1 ickering,
394 ; employed by General Washington as a guide to General Sullivan, 303 : fight*
the Pennsylvania claim, 402.

Johnson, !-ir William, 31.
" Guy, 32.

Lackawauna, events at, after the battle, 221 ; flag of truce, 222 ; a singular triumph

lit, 225.

INDEX.

Lnzerne County organized, 398, 414.

Planning, Captain, his house defended by hot water, 141 ; removes to Lackawanua
Island, 142.

Marcy, Mrs., history of her troubles, 220; flees across the mountain, 227 ; a child
in the woods, 228 ; reaches her father's, 229 ; account of the Pennamites, 230.

Massacre at Wyoming, erroneous accounts of, 56.

Monument, Wyoming, 376.

Myers, Mrs., character by authors, 133 ; her account of her father's leaving Rhode
Island, 135 ; coming to the Delaware, ib. ; visiting Wyoming, 130 ; removing
his family, 137 ; his imprisonment, 143 ; hard toiling, 148 ; affecting incident,
151 ; the battle, 156 ; separation of the family, 161 ; goes to Sunbury, 167 ;
crosses the mountain, ib. ; spends two years in the east, 171 ; returns to Wyo
ming, 172 ; usefulness, 173 ; account of the death of Satterlee, 183 ; married,
191 ; subsequent history, 151).

M'Allum, captivity of Daniel, 235.

Nanticoke Indians, 11.

Northern border wars, 31.

Ogden, Captain Amos, heads the Pennamites, 139 : repulsed, 145.
" Nathan, killed, 140.
" David, attempts the life of T. Bennet, 144 ; drowns Satterlee, 183.

Pencil shot by his brother, 371.

Pennamite and Yankee wars, 20, 26, 180, 184, 215, 410.

Pennsylvania, policy of the proprietors of, 19 ; lease Wyoming, 25.

Pickering, Colonel, 190, 304, 395, 399.

Pike, Abram, 304.

Plunket, Colonel, expedition of, 149, 215.

Plymouth Company, 21.

Prospect Rock, 418.

Ransom, Colonel George P., captivity, 317 ; whipped, 320 ; taken to Prisoners' Isl
and, 321 ; escapes, 322 ; great sufferings of, 324; marries and settles, 326; an
assault and battery, 327.

Rogers, Jonah, captivity and escape of, 304.

Schuyler, Fort, invested, 33 ; siege of, raised, 36.

Seminaries, 426.

Seybolt, Mrs., her story of the battle, 221.

Shawanese Indians, 11.

Slocum, Frances, captivity, 239 ; her father killed, 243 ; family seek for her, 244 ;
is discovered, 248 ; visited by her brothers, 255 ; second visit, 264; portrait, 267 ;
her story, 274 ; act of Congress, 281 ; last days of, 282.

Smith, Dr. W. Hooker, 181, 201, 206, 219.

Speedy, William, released from prison, 147.

Sullivan, General, expedition of, 61; leaves a garrison in W ilkesbarre, 173.

Susquehanna Company, 22 ; purchase of the Indians, 23 ; send on forty pio
neers, 25.

Button, Esquire, settled in Wyoming, 101 ; visits Queen Esther, 202 ; flees down
the river, 207 ; builds a mill, 210.

Toby's Eddy and Cave, 425, 426.

Tories, cruelties of, 46.

Umbrella-tree, 417.

Van Campen, Moses, 304.

Westmoreland, town of, 27 ; town meeting of, 28 ; erected into a county, 29 ; com
panies of, organized, 29.

Wyoming, name, 9 ; visited by New England people, 14 ; first settlement, 24 ; lives
lost in, 26.

Zinzendorf, Count, 14.

THE END.

U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES

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