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ZINZF.NPORF PROYIPF.NTIAT.I.Y PEMYEREP. 
 

 WYOMING; 
 
 ITS 
 
 HISTORY, STIRRING INCIDENTS, AND 
 
 ROMANTIC ADVENTURES. 
 
 By GEORGE PECK, D.D. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 1858. 
 
2> 
 
 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. 
 
 /- K 
 
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 
 
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. Rev. Sclah Stocking, of Pittston, thanks for orig- 
 inal sketches of Campbell's Ledge and Falling Spring ; 
 to Mrs. Dr. Crane, of Pennington, N. 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. 
 
 Sckanton, 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 CAMPEN, 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 — rrospect Kock — Harvey's Lake — Toby's Ed- 
 dy — Toby's Cave — Seminaries. 
 
 INDEX 431 
 
WYOMING. 
 
 i. 
 
 ITS HISTORY. 
 
 Among the mountains which lift up their heads, in 
 countless numbers and in all shapes, between the Blue 
 Eidge 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 
 
 v 
 
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 Yalley, 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, Blackening 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 Delawares, 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 
 
14 
 
 WYOMING. 
 
 OOTTNT ZINZENDOEP. 
 
 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 
 
16 
 
 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, 
 Unlimited, 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 HISTORY. 17 
 
 the imagery wliich 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 Woyomoek 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; 
 1 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.' 1 '' 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 
 prince or state." — See Col. Stone's History of Wyoming. 
 
 By the terms of this charter, the people ofConnecti- 
 
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 lands 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 Eevolution. 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 "y e colony of Connecticut, in New England," 
 some "of the colony of Khode Island," some "of the 
 government of Pennsylvania," some "of the province 
 of y e 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 Biver, 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 
 
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 
 
 B 
 
26 WYOMING. 
 
 themselves m 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 kee}:> 
 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 thej^ 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, Richard Jackson, 
 and J. Dunning, all famous for their learning in the 
 law, who gave a \mited 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." 
 
 "At 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 y e town." 
 
 In November of this memorable year (1776), West- 
 moreland was, by the Legislative Council of Connccti- 
 
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 toivn 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 Eevolutionary 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 
 Claus, 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 Try on — 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 HISTORY. 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 Rome now stands. 
 The French had built a fort here called Tort 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 
 Schuvler. 
 
 B2 
 
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 
 
36 WYOMING. 
 
 shook his head mysteriously, and pointed to the leaves 
 of the trees to intimate that the army was large — be- 
 yond 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. 
 
88 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 grpat 
 danger, but I can go as far as any of you," and " the 
 column, consisting of about three hundred men, old 
 
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 Ransom 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 bottomdand 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 kcj:>t 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. l 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 fine. 
 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 I" 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 WYOMTNtt. 
 
 " 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. IV. That Colonel Butler will use his utmost 
 influence that the private property of the inhabitants 
 shall be preserved entire to them. 
 
 " Art. V. That the prisoners in Forty Fort be de- 
 livered up. 
 
 " Art. YI. 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. YII. That the inhabitants which Colonel 
 Denison capitulates for, together with himself, do not 
 take up arms during this contest. 
 
 (Signed), ■ "John Butler, 
 
 "Nathan 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" to Strouds- 
 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, FEOM THE EAST BANK OF THE SUSQUEHANNA. 
 
 " A sliort 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. Ho 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. ■ All this is mighty good 1 replied the savage- 
 hearted brother of the supplicating man, ' hut 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 1 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 
 Rock," 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 
 
 C 
 
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 Eansom, 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 off, 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 farther 
 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 OTHEtt 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 Loyalists*)* 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. 
 
 X Here the number is greatly exaggerated ; but, as the colonel 
 Avished 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. — See 
 the account of Richard Gardner, p. 355. 
 
ITS HISTORY. 53 
 
 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. 
 
 t 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. 
 
 % 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. 
 Their "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 ns 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 Rangers, 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.^: 
 
 " I have also the pleasure to inform you that the 
 officers and Rangers 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. 3G3. 
 
 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. 
 
 X "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- i;>risoners. 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. 
 
 t 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 Colonel John Butler did the one, the same Colonel 
 John Butler did the other. 
 
 X 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. 
 
56 
 
 WYOMING. 
 
 exit 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 fall understanding of the subject, the 
 
 
 \ flymi 
 
 >u&> v3k^ 
 
 Mjjp>* 
 
 
 susoot* 
 
 \ Sarvov^ jjgl 
 
 POSITION OF THE WYOMING FOKT8.* 
 
 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 ; B, Wyoming or Wilkesbarre Fort ; 
 C, Fort Ogden ; I), village of Kingston ; E, Forty Fort. [This, in 
 the early histories of the Revolution, is called Kingston Fort.] F, 
 the battle-ground ; G, Wintermoot's Fort ; JT, Fort Jenkins ; 7, 
 Monocasy Island ; I, the three Pittstown stockades. Tbe 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 mile?, 
 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. 
 
 C2 
 
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 
 180-1, 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 anew 
 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, 1831, are the following 
 short paragraphs : 
 
 " Mr. Eamsay, 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 haye 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. Eamsay ought to have sought for it." 
 
 All this is very sensible, but it is a curious fact that 
 "Mr. Eamsay" never " copied" Gordon's " statements." 
 In Eamsay 's " statements," both in his " History of the 
 United States" and his " American Ee volution," 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 Eamsay has 
 been associated with Gordon as authority for the fic- 
 tion of " the hatchet" and the " burning of women and r 
 
60 WYOMING. 
 
 children." Now we hope these authors may part com- 
 pany, and Dr. Kamsay 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. Eamsay 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 Ee volution ; 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 Ee volution." 
 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 theJOhemung 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- manv 
 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. 
 
 " 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 u 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 Eev. 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 "JSTewburg 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 
 
66 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 
 
68 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 Valley" in Easselas 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. 69 
 
 every page of the early history of Wyoming, and are 
 associated with every one of her ancient localities. 
 
 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 : thou 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." 
 
 IIalleck. 
 
BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 
 
 71 
 
 n. 
 
 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 lias 
 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 Bev. 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 TORY 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 snbject 
 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 ]3lace 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 we hear of Brant is 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, ' 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, and 
 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- 
 bell's 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 TORY 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 country, 
 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 N. 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 
 Yalley. He procured from his father, Colonel John 
 Butler, the command of a portion of his regiment, call- 
 ed "Butler's Eangers," 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 Yalley, 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. Rev. Mr. Dunlop, an old gentleman, was made 
 a prisoner, and robbed of his wig and a portion of his 
 clothing, and was hurried off, 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 River 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- 
 
 D2 
 
82 WYOMING. 
 
 dice, and this seems to lis by no means an uncharita- 
 ble conclusion. 
 
 The diabolical malice of "Walter N. 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 u 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 wh(*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 Middlefleld, 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 retnrn 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 Recter" — 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, 
 
8-i 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 Valley 
 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 Koss and Walter Butler 
 came down from Canada into the Mohawk Valley 
 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 
 
BRANT 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 Valley — 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 God 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 Indianfof 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 tJiey 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 enrms" 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 K. 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, tal»s the same view of the question ; while 
 Thomas Campbell, the poet, with our own poets, Hal- 
 leck 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 ivords 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 
 Cushing, 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 lie was not in the Valley 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 29-i 
 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 Valley 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 tvho 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 — jTy — at the left of 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 literaiy 
 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 
 Giicingeracton. 
 
 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 Eiver," 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 TORY ASSOCIATES. 93 
 
 11 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 
 Valley 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 11 perpetrated the u 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 rjroved 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 M 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, 
 
BRANT AND HIS TORY ASSOCIATES. 95 
 
 and he resented the treachery in the warmest terms. 
 Brant listened to him without concern, and, when he 
 had concluded, told him that he was sorry 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 Guy 
 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 Rangers 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 liUTLER UOUSE. 
 
 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 Lossing's Field-Booh. 
 
 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. 
 
 E 
 
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 
 
 HI. 
 
 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 HOLLENBACK. 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. Hollenback 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 Hardings, 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 
 Valley, and in great strength compared with those who 
 were to resist theiru 
 
 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 
 
104 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 acAfive 
 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 'Eetreat a little,' instead of 
 ' Fall back and flank out? 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 our 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. 
 
 11 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 j)oint 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. Eising 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. 
 
 Remaining 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 !" 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 
 Rock," 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 Valley 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 
 Spauldings 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 u 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, 
 " Eush 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 scarped and 
 otherwise mutilated. Mr. Cooper, who afterward lived 
 at the c 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 Button wood, 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, lias 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 liad 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 HOLLEXBACK. 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. 
 " 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 Dunker 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 Mm home 
 rejoicing. 
 
 At one of the halting-places on the ronte 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 kim, 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 
 mat, 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 
 ji 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- 
 
 F 
 
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 "mush 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 1824-5, 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 Eke 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 
 
 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 Revolutionary 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 Revolutionary 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 
 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 19 th 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 County, 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 Yalley of Wy- 
 oming. This was in the autumn of 1769. From this 
 period the history of his long and eventfiil 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 Revolutionary 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 ISTew 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. 
 
 F2 
 
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 Yalley 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 Yalley. 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. 
 
 11 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 Valley, 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. 
 
 11 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 he 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. 138 
 
 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." 
 
 Shakspeaee. 
 
 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 Valley, 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-hoo years of age, it is a 
 pleasure to sit by her side and hear 
 
134 WYOMIXG. 
 
 "'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. 
 1 1 am hke 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, Vdi> 
 
 on which Martha Bennet was born, a settlement of 
 Connecticut people was commenced in Wyoming, and 
 Mr. Bennet rented a valuable property in Khode Isl- 
 and, and removed to the Delaware, near to Stroucls- 
 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, New 
 York, and rented a farm for six vears. 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 Rhode 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, "Kit 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 
 unterrined 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 
 
MKS. 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. 141 
 
 nearly all the respectable Yankee settlers then in the 
 country. Thomas Bennet was among these so called 
 11 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 
 
142 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 Scofleld's Island — near the 
 head of the Valley. 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 Valley, 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. MYERS. 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 1^71. 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 Val- 
 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 ha(J 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- 
 
 G 
 
1*16 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 Miners 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, came 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 ' ' 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." 
 
 t 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. 
 
 tlic breastworks below Shawnee for two weeks, and 
 Mrs. 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 
 
MKS. MYERS. 151 
 
 from wliicli 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 y° proprietors and settlers of y e 
 
MRS. MYERS. 153 
 
 town of Westmoreland, August 1, 1775, Mr. John Jen- 
 kins was chosen moderator for y e work of y e day. 
 Voted, that this town does now vote that they will 
 strictly observe and follow y e rules and regulations of 
 y e honorable Continental Congress, now sitting at Phil- 
 adelphia. 
 
 " Resolved by this town, That they are willing to make 
 any accommodation with y e Pennsylvania party that 
 shall conduce to y e best good of y e whole, not infring- 
 ing on y e property of any person, and come in com- 
 mon cause of liberty in y e defense of America, and 
 that we will amicably give them y e offer of joining in 
 y e 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 
 
 G2 
 
154 WYOMING. 
 
 the defense of the inhabitants of said town and parts 
 adjacent." Robert Durkee and Samuel Ransom 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 of the Revolutionary 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 grav, 
 and she seemed to be old. She remained there about 
 a fortnight. 
 
 Mrs. Myers says, "Not long after Queen Esther left 
 
MRS. MYERS. 155 
 
 the Valley 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 Sutton'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 Valley 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 day 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/ear 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, 
 11 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 lie 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." 
 
 Whartox. 
 
 When they came to S wetland' 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 fl} T ing, 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, 
 whom 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. Bonnet's 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. Gustin 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. MYEKS. 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 nio-ht 
 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 hat. 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 icoman. 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 
 
MKS. MYEKS. 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 onr 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 3'ears 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. MYERS. 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 he 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 she, " 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 " 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 finding 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, " 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 Kirke 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 Valley. 
 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, afl- 
 
 II 
 
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 
 he 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 utterly exhausted. This 
 
MRS. MYERS. 17 L 
 
 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 "Ked 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.' 1 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, ISTobletown, 
 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- 
 
MKS. MYERS. 173 
 
 racks, just opposite to Wilkesbarre, for a house." 
 They had an abundance of corn and garden vegeta- 
 bles, but no flour, 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. 
 
 General 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 
 
MBS. 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'Clure, 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 
 
 tlie 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. Myers says: "We remained under cover of the 
 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 mouth while he 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. 
 
 La 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 
 
MRS. MYERS. 179 
 
 to S wetland' 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!" 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 families 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 Yan 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 could 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 Slocum, 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 and his posse came up, having 
 pressed a Mr. Roberts, with his team, to carry off our 
 goods. Van 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 com ; 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 Eoberts 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, u 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?" 
 "1ST6," 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 difncidt 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 "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. M}^ers, 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- 
 
MKS. 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 30th of December, 
 1782, 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 suii 
 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. 
 
MRS. 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 Kevolutionary 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 reel. 
 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 solemnlv 
 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 Bermet — subsequently Mrs. Myers — 
 was treated as a sistei* 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 he was spirited away, and was about 
 to be victimized by the hair-brained partisans of Frank- 
 lin, a party scoured the woods 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 laivs 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 Eevolutionary war in the 
 Maryland line, and were in the battle of Oermantown. 
 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- 
 
 I 
 
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 
 off 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 man 
 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." 
 
 Miltox. 
 
 She lived after this nearly sixteen years, an example 
 of pious resignation, and an interesting instance of 
 physical and intellectual vigor. 
 
MRS. MYERS. 197 
 
 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 
 active habits 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- 
 
 O O CO 1 
 
 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." 
 
 Robert Blair. 
 
200 WYOMING; 
 
 V. 
 
 SKETCHES AND INCIDENTS COMMUNICATED BY MES. 
 DEBORAH BEDFORD. 
 
 "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 resolTe of virtue made." — Pollok. 
 
 Mrs. Bedford, at the time of tins 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. 
 
 12 
 
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. Sut- 
 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 winch 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 alarimguns 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 } r ounger 
 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 haying 
 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. kJ>. 
 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. Sutton'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 
 upon 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 Yalley 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 Kescopeck 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 Hon. James 
 Ross 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 
 
MRS. 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 WW 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 were 
 lost. 
 
MRS. BEDFORD. 213 
 
 ain 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, 
 1 Silas, go back ;' he answered, l 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 
 
MES. BEDFOKD. 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." 
 
 PENNAMITE AND YANKEE WAES. 
 
 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 JSTew 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 ^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 ' 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 cf 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 min- 
 
 K 
 
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, 
 1 Come along, and let the woman alone.' 
 
 " The Yankees were on Eedoubt 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. BEDFORD. 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 HartsifVs Hollow, 
 and remained there a while. Then my father, in con- 
 nection with Dr. Smith, built a forge at Lackawanna ; 
 but, not succeeding as he desired in making iron, he 
 returned to Exeter, where he and my mother both fin- 
 ished their earthly career. 
 
 u In 1788 I became interested in a new religious 
 movement, commenced at Boss 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. 
 
 VI. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF THE WAES IN THE LACKAWANNA POR- 
 TION OF THE SETTLEMENT, RELATED 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 Yalley 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, jaear 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: 
 
 "Art. 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 had 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 "flag 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 scaling the Yankees." A 
 jDlan 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 time for the prisoners to 
 take their meal. The men stole away and finished 
 milking the cows, while the women proceeded to bake 
 their johnnycakes. 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 ? 
 
 On 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 Valley 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 hi 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 Kun 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 allowr 
 
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 
 
MRS. MARCY. 229 
 
 half of a slice apiece," and said, " About two miles 
 ahead 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 Fiskkill, in much better condition, both 
 physically and mentally, than could have been expected. 
 
 Mrs. Marcy u 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 Grod 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 Lackawanna 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 
 
 VII. 
 
 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 Kevolution, 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 bayonets 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. 
 
234 WYOMING 
 
 vni. 
 
 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 Eevolutionary 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. 
 
 ed 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 Kiver 
 or at Cherry Yalley, 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 
 
FRANCES 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, had 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 on 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 
 Frances 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 
 
 portancc 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, 
 somewhere 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 SLOOUM. 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 River this family could have lived at that early 
 period, namely, about the time of the Revolutionary 
 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 Rev. 
 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. 253 
 
 " Wilkesbarre, Penn., Augusts, 1837. 
 
 " George W. Ewing, 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. 
 
 11 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. 
 
 11 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. 
 
 " 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. 
 M 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 
 
FKANCES 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. Returning 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." 
 
 M 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, " 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?" 
 
 M 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 
 
FRANCES SLOCUM. 268 
 
 of the 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, O-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 fife, and could only breathe freely in the great 
 unfenced out-doors which God gave to the Ked 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 
 
 M 
 
266 WYOMING. 
 
 of the company. He spoke broken English, and Mrs. 
 Drake says, "He is a very tine, 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 Sloeums 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-CON-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 
 
PRANCES 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. ISTo 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 Grodfrey 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." 
 
 Shakspeabe — 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 
 O-saw-she-quah, yellow leaf. The grandchildren's names 
 are Kip-pe-no-quah, corn-tassel, Wap-pa-na-se-a, a blue 
 corn, Kim-on-sack-quah, young panther. 11 
 
 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 
 u 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. 
 
 "Very 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 Grenesee 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. 
 
 11 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 River — 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. SlMMS. 
 
 " She'd often wander in the wood, or roam 
 The wilderness in quest of curious flowers, 
 Or nest of bird unknown, till eve approach'd, 
 And hemm'd her in the shade." 
 
 Logan. 
 
 But let us proceed with our story. 
 
278 WYOMING. 
 
 REMOVES 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." 
 
 11 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 Eiver. 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. Slocum 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. 
 
PRANCES 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 rock: 
 
 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. 
 
 &2* 
 
 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 Eizzio upon the floor of Holyrood 
 Palace — is believed to be judicially and miraculously 
 
queen Esther's rock. 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 ofiice 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 on 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 Rock. 
 In addition to all this, Colonel Stone considers " 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, bnt 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 Try on 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 Neiv 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?"—- 2&&,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 
 Rock" 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 Lossing's 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 jjroceeded to the Lake country, 
 
 N 
 
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 " 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 Rock, 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 
 
 X. 
 
 CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF THOMAS AND ANDREW 
 
 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 Biver. 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 Elijah 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 hurried 
 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, 
 and 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 Kock," and Bennet was 
 a notorious patriot, and their prospects now were any 
 thing but agreeable. 
 
THE BENNETS AND HAMMOND. 293 
 
 An Indian monnted 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 
 ISTorthmoreland. 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 np to a burnt stump and black- 
 ened his face, and coming up to Mr. Bennet, be directed 
 bis attention to bis 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, 
 
 11 1 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 Genesee, 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 greatcoat, 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 sighs, 
 
 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 u Ca- 
 pouse Meadows," near where the flourishing 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 Lackawanna 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 Newtown, 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. 
 
 XL 
 
 THE CAPTURE 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." 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 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 Eogers, who 
 were camped out, making sugar, on what was called 
 " Stuart's Flats," at the lower extremity of Wyoming 
 Valley. 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 Eogers 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 he 
 
ROGERS, 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 Eansom 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, " 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, " 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/ree 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 Eogers had not 
 been pinioned, it was presumed he would still be left 
 
ROGERS, 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 Van Campen, and returned to his place. " Pike 
 cut himself loose, and then cut the other prisoners 
 loose." So says Mr. Eogers, albeit Mr. Van 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 Rogers, that he cut (fie prisoners loose. And, 
 according to him, while he took away the guns, Van 
 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 Van 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 
 rifted up his head and exclaimed " Woo !" Then the 
 slaughter began. Rogers says, "An Indian awaked 
 and began to jabber." Van 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 Kogers 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, 
 
ROGEKS, 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. Kogers'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 Eogers 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 Sutton'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 scarcelv credible; 
 
 O 
 
814 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 
 Ransom, 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 Revolutionary 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 Ransom 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. 
 
816 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. 317 
 
 1780, young Kansom, 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- 
 
318 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, Kansom 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. Kansom 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. Kansom'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 lie 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 
 
822 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, Kansom and his two fel- 
 low-prisoners, James Butterfleld 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 Ran- 
 som, son of Colonel George P. Ransom, 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. Ransom 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. 825 
 
 idea was to kill one of them and lill 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. Ransom 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! Rest 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 Ransom 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. Eansom 
 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. Ean- 
 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. Kansom 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. Kansom 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 Kev- 
 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 Ran- 
 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 Ransom, 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 
 Lis 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. 
 
 XIIL 
 
 BENJAMIN BIDLACK — CAPTURE BY THE PENNAMITES 
 AND SINGULAR ESCAPE. 
 
 "Therewith, in all this world, no nightingale 
 Ne coude by an hundred thousand dell 
 Singen so wonder merrily and well." 
 
 "Full faire 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." 
 
 WlCLIF. 
 
 Mr. Bidlack came to Wyoming at an early period 
 with his father, mother, and several brothers. He 
 served his country under Greneral 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 his 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 arinouy 
 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 mercy 
 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." 
 
 Gascotne. 
 
 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. I want the whole length 
 

 
BENJAMIN BIDLACK. 339 
 
 of the stoop." "Bring on the cane! clear the way! 
 clear the way !" 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. Haifa 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 
 
840 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 Revolu- 
 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 Revolutionary 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 Kev. Marmaduke Pearce, 
 it is supposed, after hearing the old patriarch preach a 
 funeral sermon in his own neighborhood. 
 
 / 
 
344 WYOMING. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 a view from Campbell's ledge, contributed by 
 rev. l. w. peck. 
 
 At the head of "Wyoming Yalley 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 Yalley 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 Kuskin : 
 
 II 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 
 by the Indians. He had taken refuge in the ravines 
 of this mountain, where are many fine living springs, 
 and where the thick foliage afforded a safe shelter. 
 But the fierce Eed 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. 
 

THE FALLING SfBING. 
 
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 Kevolutionary 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 npon 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, 4 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 
 
RICHARD GARDNER. 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 
 Februar}'-. 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 unimpaired 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. 
 
 Q 
 
362 WYOMING. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE OF RUFUS BENNET ON 
 THE FATAL 3D OF JULY. 
 
 " Woe to the vanquish'd ! was stem 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." 
 
 The 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. 
 Yery 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 Red Men who fell upon that 
 memorable day.* 
 
 In the flight and chase down the plains, there were 
 hair-breaclth and providential escapes as well as dia- 
 bolical deeds of cruelty. Among the strange escapes 
 we would notice that of Rufus 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 1 820 — 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.* 
 
 Kufus 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 Richard'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 witV 
 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 npon 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 36^ 
 
 xvn. 
 
 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- 
 
 Q2 
 
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 Yalley 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 anions: 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. 875 
 
 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 !" 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 Y alley, 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 Boss, 
 who was present, informed Professor Silliman, when 
 he was in the V alley 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 Yalley 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 
 time 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, Kev. 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. Gay, 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. 
 
 U 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. Bansom, Sharp D. Lew- 
 is, Pierce Butler, Charles D. Shoemaker, Fisher Gray, 
 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. Boss, Charles 
 Dorrance, Jonah Bogers, Francis Dana, Hiram Deni- 
 son, Jonathan Stephens, Asa Stephens, John Bennet, 
 Dr. John Smith, Isaac Harding, John Gore, Jr., Henry 
 Pettibone, Daniel Boss, 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 : 
 
 u Those who may be present who were in the battle. 
 
 " The soldiers of the Be volution. 
 
 " The connections and descendants of those who fell 
 in the battle. 
 
 11 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. Bev. James May, now Bev. Dr. May, of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church, was the orator. Associ- 
 
THE MONUMENT. 381 
 
 ated with him in the services were Rev. Nicholas Mur- 
 ray, now Rev. Dr. Murray, of the Presbyterian Church, 
 and Rev. Charles Nash, 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 
 ot 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 8d 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- 
 art, James Wigton. Lieutenants : A. Atherton, Stoddart Bowen, 
 Aaron Gaylord, 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, 
 
 E 
 
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, Darius 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 lion. 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, Ehode 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, 0. 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 Revolution, 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 Eev. 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 Eevolution. 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 Eiver. 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 
 
 E2 
 
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 
 
COLOXEL JOHN JENKINS. 395 
 
 public mind, lie 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 manu- 
 
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 Lion. 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 11th 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 hi 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.-)- 
 
 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. 
 
 t "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. 
 
 % "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, 8£ cents." 
 — Miner's History, p. 454. 
 
COLONEL JOHN JENKINS. +<>:; 
 
 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 WYOMING. 
 
 OLD JE>*KIN8 HOUSE. 
 
 Colonel Jenkins had his share of the sufferings and 
 misfortunes of Wyoming. The great "ice-flood" car- 
 ried away his house and furniture, he rec6vering 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.) 
 
JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER HURLBUT. 405 
 
 XXI. 
 
 ORIGINAL JOURNAL OF CHRISTOPHER nURLBUT. 
 
 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 time, 
 Ere human statute purged the gentle weale : 
 Aye, and since too, murthers have been performed 
 Too terrible for the eare." — Shakspeare — Macbeth. 
 
 "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. 
 
•±06 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 HUBLBUT. 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. 
 
 11 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 Nanticoke 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 River, and in October returned to 
 Wilkesbarre, and so back to join the main army, leav- 
 ing a garrison in Wilkesbarre. 
 
 "After Sulli van'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 Rogers 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 HURLBt'T. 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. Bansom 
 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 
 
 S 
 
410 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 commission 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 breadstuff's 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 
 
•112 WYOMING. 
 
 thein 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 loth 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 body 
 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 : 
 
41-i 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-TREK. 417 
 
 XXII. 
 MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 
 
 THE CMBRELLA-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 th<> 
 variety Pimis rigida, or pitch pine ; is about ninety feet high, and tw< 
 and a half feet in diameter at the base. It is apparently, at ■ 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 n< t 
 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 eonspicuity 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 eonspicuity 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 heAvn 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. " Tuttle's Creek" passes through the 
 culvert which appears on the right of the foreground. The house partly cou- 
 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. L:i 
 son— 185T— it exchanged its original red covering for a new white one, and, but l 5>r 
 its antique form and large chimney, would now exhibit quite a modern appearand'. 
 The house on the left was the residence of the late Mrs. Tuttle, only sifter of Mr-. 
 Myers. This is the spot where stood the four block -houses from which M the Van- ' 
 kee Boys" 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 mountain's height. 
 
 S2 
 
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." - * * * 
 
 PROSrECT ROCK 
 
 is situated on the eastern mountain, directly back of Wilkesbarre, 
 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 jind 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 (he 
 course offences 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 Rocks, 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 ai 
 
£J II IN 
 
HARVEY'S LAKE. 4^ 1 
 
 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 ounell 
 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, w r e 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 mountain-, 
 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 is 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 quite 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, w r e 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, says 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 thi9 article is the great-granddaughter of Thoraa9 Bennet. 
 
TOBY S EDDY. 
 
 tort's oavk. 
 
TOBY S ED1»V. 1" j 
 
 whose name we have forgotten, made an actual survey for the In 
 efit of visitors. We give it as it appears their. 
 
 Lovely as the lake is in the rich glow of the morning fanlight, 
 its romantic beauty is by no means diminished when bathed in the 
 glorious coloring of the afternoon sun. The rippling current BashM 
 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 son 
 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 Ross 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 Eoss 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 W r YOMING- 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- 
 
SEMTX ARIES. 42 7 
 
 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 erection 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 15th 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. R. Nelson still presides over the 
 institution with great ability and success. 
 
 The catalogue just issued shows an attendance of G76 students dur- 
 ing the year. The success of this institution is without a parallel in 
 the state. 
 
r 
 
 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 Rev. 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 1819. 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. 42!» 
 
 preparing for the ministry, while others of them arc already pro- 
 claiming the Gospel to a dying world. 
 
 THE WILKESBARRE FEMALE INSTITUTE. 
 
 A number of gentlemen, citizens of the borough of Wilkesbanv, 
 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 
 bontfmgh 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 seminar}' 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 Sus- 
 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 winch 
 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; aeoounl of Mrs. Gardner, 868. 
 Armstrong, Colonel, comes on under authority of Pennsyl TSDh grow bencher Jf , 
 
 64, 217, 413. 
 Bedford, Mrs., character and parentage of, 901 ; her account of the Indiana, 
 of a mission to Queen Esther, 202 ; a war demonstration, 208 : the battle, 204 ; 
 of the flight to Middletown, 2u:t ; return, SlOj Franklin family, Hi ; keep! 
 house at Forty Fort, 218. 
 Bennet, Thomas, captivity and escape of, 291. 
 14 Rufus, wonderful escape of, 302. 
 " Solomon, escape of, 160. 
 Bolin, Captain, killed. 184 
 Bones of the patriots, 3T7. 
 Brant, history of, 71 ; at Unadilla, 73 ; at Oriskany, 74 ; ravages on the Mohau k, 
 
 78, S4 ; not in the battle of Wyoming, 87 ; cruelty of, 84 
 Brockway's, Widow, a fight there, 183. 
 Butler, Colonel Zebulon, commands at the battle, 3S ; report of, 4 '. 
 
 u ColonelJohn, invades Wyoming, 38 ; faithless conduct, 45 ; report of the 
 battle, 52 ; character of, 96. 
 Butler, Walter X., destroys Cherry Valley, SO ; Colonel Stone's apology for, 86; 
 
 cruelties of, 82 ; death, S5. 
 Campbell's Ledge, 10, 344. 
 (berry Valley destroyed, 81. 
 Connecticut people, object of, 26. 
 Corey, young, tortured, 214. 
 Decree of Trenton, 63. 
 Delaware 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, 14i>. 
 
 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, 208. 
 Hammond escapes from Bloody Rock, 2S5. 
 Hartley, Colonel, marches against the Indians, 60. 
 
 Hollenback, Colonel, comes to Wyoming, 100 ; enters the army. 102; escap 
 the battle, 106; engages in grubbing, 109; returns to Wyoming, 11" : tra 
 Canada — trip with John Jacob Astor, 116; followed by rdbhers, 118; i- a mag- 
 istrate and judge, 119; character, 121; residence, 123; anecdote «>f, 1 "24 ; reso- 
 lutions of the court— character by Judge Scott, 127 ; votes for Jackson, 131. 
 Hopkins, 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 Pickering, 
 394 ; employed by General Washington as a guide to General Bnlliran, .°> '?> : 
 the Pennsylvania claim, 402. 
 Johnson, :-ir William, 31. 
 
 " Guv, 32. 
 I.a.kawanna, events at, after the battle, 221 ; flag of trace, 222 ; a singular triumph 
 at, 225. 
 
432 INDEX. 
 
 Luzerne County organized, 398, 414. 
 
 Manning, Captain, his house defended by hot water, 141 ; removes to Lackawauna 
 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, 136 ; removing 
 his family, 137 ; his imprisonment, 143 ; hard toiling, 143 ; 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, 159. 
 
 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. 
 11 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, 24S ; visited by her brothers, 255 ; second visit, 264 ; portrait, 267 ; 
 her atory, 274 ; act of Congress, 2S1 ; 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 Wilkesbarre, 173. 
 
 Susquehanna Company, 22 ; purchase of the Indians, 23 ; send on forty pio- 
 neers, 25. 
 
 Sutton, Esquire, settled in Wyoming, 101 ; visits Queen Esther, 202 ; flees down 
 the river, 207 ; builds a mill, 210. 
 
 Toby' s Eddy and Cave, 425, 42S. 
 
 Tories, cruelties of, 46. 
 
 Umbrella-tree, 417. 
 
 "Van Campen, Moses, 304. 
 
 Westmoreland, town of, 27 ; town meeting of, 28 ; erected into a county, SB ; 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. 
 
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