,%' 
 
 
 
 ) * 
 
 « o ' -^^ 
 
 ..0 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 •"y 
 
 ''^''7^^ 
 
 
 
 .V 
 
 r-^ * O v ' -^^ 
 
 
 
 
 .'^. 
 
 
 
 .-^^ ^':>;l^. "^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 --,- ,-», ,,;c\ ■ 
 
 ^^0^ 
 
 
 iV-^^ =Y///^^'\\'? 
 
 4 o 
 
 
 .-?►' 
 
 •^ .^ 
 
 -^-0^ 
 
 c 
 
 0' 
 
 -^o 
 
 A > 
 
 
 ^. 
 
 <^. 
 
 ^ -. '?-'>'- ^ 
 
 > 
 
 •^0 
 
 •^f-. 
 
 
 •1 q 
 
o .^ 
 
 '^. .v 
 
 
 v.'-'W'V"" "-^^."-W-'y \'--S»Srv\.' 
 
 
 
 
 <<"<: 
 
 9'.' 
 
 
 ^oV 
 
 
 ^<. '°* 
 
 ^ * 
 
 
 ■«^.. 
 
 
 f 
 
 ■5' . 
 
 
 C^ 
 
 i>'. fu. 
 
 0^ 
 
 
 y / 
 
 °^ 
 
 
 • -; 
 
 c 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 '^-s 
 
 -_^ 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 V ^ ' 
 
 , s " 
 
 -t- 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 -X 
 
 <*■ 
 
 o 
 
 ^^o 
 
 v^^-. 
 
 •> 
 
 o'^ 
 
 ^« 
 
 
 .i.*' .- 
 
 ^° ■■■ 
 
 
 
 
 «?=^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 V-^^ 
 
 " ■.- 
 
 
 
 I " 
 
 
 
 ^<^ -r^ 
 
 
 
 
 ,Q- .r 
 
 o"H 
 
 / ■'. 
 
 ; ^ 
 
 .'- -^ ^■■■ 
 
 • 
 
 65^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 ■• ^V 
 
 
 
 
 -^^0^ 
 
 ''^.r 
 ^'-' 
 
 < o 
 V^ ^^. ..^ / % <: 
 
 o > 
 
 /■ o 
 
 iS;*^- 
 
 o. *..,•■* ^0 
 
HISTORY 
 
 THE INDIAN WALK 
 
 I'ERFORMED FOR THE 
 
 Proprietaries OF Pennsylvania in 1737; 
 
 TO WHICH IS APPENDED A 
 
 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL, 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM J. BUCK, 
 
 Member of the Histobical Society of Pennsylvaitia ; 
 
 Author of " History of Bucks County," "History of Moreland,"' '-His- 
 tory of Montgomery County Within the Schuylkill Valley," " History of 
 Montgomery County," " Life of Chief Justice Langhorne," '• Contribu- 
 tions to the History of Bucks County," '-The Cuttelossa," -'The 
 Local Historian," " Early Discovery of Coal in Pennsylvania," 
 '• Early Accounts of Petroleum in the United States," Etc. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 1886. 
 
Kditioii limited tf) Two Huiulred and Ten Copies. 
 
 Kntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, by 
 
 WILLIAM j. i:i(^K. 
 In the Office of the Lil)rarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Of all that has been pubhshed relating to the his- 
 tory of Pennsylvania nothing probably has been more 
 contradictory than that relating to the famous Indian 
 Walk. Its beginning, general course and termina- 
 tion have more or less puzzled all writers who have 
 attempted to treat upon it, without suspecting that it 
 was on the part of the Proprietaries intentionally done 
 to cover or conceal their proceedings. The date of 
 its performance has also been a matter of speculation, 
 owing to the conflicting character of the materials, 
 without knowing until quite recently that there really 
 had been a preliminary or trial Walk, which came thus 
 to be confounded with the former though happening 
 several years apart. 
 
 Since the publication of his history of Bucks county, 
 in 1855, the writer has been a devoted collector of 
 materials on this matter, but circumstances in a busy 
 life have heretofore prevented their earlier prepara- 
 tion for the press. It was his fortune, however, to 
 be employed by the Hi.storical Society of Pennsyl- 
 vania, to arrange the recently acquired Penn Papers 
 from P2ngland, which occupied him more or less from 
 October 1 872, until 1 876. While engaged in this labor 
 pains were taken to secure extracts of whatever had 
 a bearing on the subject. This enabled him after- 
 wards to prosecute additional researches in the records 
 
4 PRE FACE. 
 
 of Philadelphia, Bucks and Northampton counties, and 
 also to seek the descendants of Edward Marshall and 
 others to help explain and make uj) deficiencies of 
 what was most needed. As the collection was thus 
 increasing, the many hundreds of items were classified 
 under appropriate heads. These were next carefully 
 compared and whatever was considered and believed 
 to be the most reliable was made use of, giving con- 
 temporaneous documents the preference. While noth- 
 ing of interest was omitted that appeared truthful a 
 considerable amount, chiefly traditionary matter, had 
 to be rejected, because so utterly at variance with 
 original existing materials. Pri\ate correspondence 
 of the period has been of great service in establish- 
 ing facts and revealing the mysteries of the affair, 
 showing that there was a design in keeping the mat- 
 ter concealed as far as possible from the public, and 
 hence the cause of so many errors. No wonder the 
 extensive Penn papers were so long withheld by the 
 family until through their own dissensions they were 
 hurried from out their possession and sold. 
 
 This may be well considered a labor of love. The 
 long interval of one-third of a century has passed 
 away since it was commenced. It was some incentive 
 that on the line of the Walk the writer's ancestors 
 have lived for several generations, and where also he 
 was born, spent his early youth, and received his first 
 traditions thereon. Not many miles away was also 
 the Island home of Edward Marshall, which led to 
 an acquaintance with a number of his descendants, 
 
PREFACE. 5 
 
 whose assistance has since proved of great service as 
 well as that of several others in the county, though now 
 nearly all deceased. The information thus sought and 
 obtained was fortunately noted down at the time and 
 is now first made use of in this work. Authorities on 
 all leading points have been carefully given in sup- 
 port of the writer's statements or where contrary views 
 have been heretofore maintained. 
 
 In its beginning the Indian Walk appeared but a 
 small affair that lay chiefly between the Proprietaries 
 of Pennsylvania and the native Indians. With time 
 the results of its injustice became more and more ap- 
 parent and on the part of the Indians culminated in 
 war and the most determined efforts for the recovery 
 of their favorite hunting grounds of which they were de- 
 frauded by the extraordinary head-line drawn from the 
 end of the Walk, costing the lives of hundreds of the 
 unfortunate settlers. The Assembly of Pennsylvania, 
 through their agent Dr. Franklin, had the affair laid be- 
 fore the King and Government of Great Britain for in- 
 vestigation, thus claiming attention on both sides of 
 the Atlantic, and resulting in considerable feeling. 
 However, the excitement attending it in Pennsylvania 
 was preparing the people more and more for inde- 
 pendence. The Indian Walk had a more important 
 bearing on the history of Pennsylvania than has gen- 
 erally been supposed. 
 
 With these remarks the work is respectfully sub- 
 mitted to the judgment of candid and impartial readers. 
 
 W. J. B. 
 
 Jenkintmun, Pa., September, 1886. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. — The Proprietary Government, .... 7 
 
 II. — The Rights of the Indians, .... 20 
 
 III. — Lands Sold Not (^ranted by the Indians, . . 36 
 
 IV.— The Trial Walk, ..... 53 
 
 V. — The Walking Purchase, . . . .64 
 
 VI. — Preparations for the Walk, .... 82 
 
 VII.— The Indian Walk, ..... 91 
 
 VIII. — Observations on the Walk, .... 99 
 
 IX. — Results of the Walk, . . . .112 
 
 X. — What Brought Forth the Documents, . . 121 
 
 XI. — The Proprietaries and the Society of Friends, . . 137 
 
 .\II. — Biographical Sketches of Prominent Persons Concerned in 
 
 the Walk, ..... 151 
 
 LIFE OF EDWARD M.VKSli.M.L. 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. — His Early Career, ..... 203 
 
 1 1. ^His Account of the Walk, .... 209 
 
 III. — Removes to Northampton County, . 209 
 
 IV. — Indian Attacks on His Family, . . . 222 
 
 V. — Bounties for Destroying Indians, . . . 230 
 
 VI. — Returns to Bucks County, .... 239 
 
 VII. — Family Reminiscences and Traditions, . . . 247 
 
 VIII.— Marshall's Island, ..... 254 
 
 I.\. — His Descendants, . . . . . 259 
 
THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. 
 
 For a proper understanding of the Indian Walk, both 
 as to its cause, effect and general results, a knowledge 
 of the Proprietary government is necessary. During 
 almost a century it exercised its powers over the des- 
 tinies of what is now a great state, subject only to the 
 King and Parliament of Great Britain. What that gov- 
 ernment was, its rights, duties and requirements, we 
 propose to briefly investigate. Much has been written 
 of what transpired during the colonial period, but 
 not on this subject. Some had no desire to touch on it 
 for the purpose of giving an expression of their views, 
 and others again have so omitted it as to make it appear 
 of small account, or only incidentally to show by its ac- 
 tions that there was such a power. 
 
 The Royal Charter was granted by King Charles II. 
 to William Penn in 1681, as a reward for the merits and 
 services of his father Admiral Penn, and to indulge 
 his desire to enlarge the British Empire and civilize 
 the savage natives. The form of government was to 
 be proprietary ; that is, the soil was given to him in 
 fee, but he, his heirs and assigns and tenants, were to 
 bear true faith and allegiance to the Crown. Penn 
 
8 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 and his successors were authorized to govern the 
 country by a legislative body, to erect courts of jus- 
 tice and administer the laws, and generally do all 
 things needful for the well-being of the inhabitants, so 
 long as they kept within the statutes of the realm. An 
 appeal to the tribunals of England was allowed, but in 
 all cases the power there was to be regarded as final 
 or conclusive. An agent was required to reside con- 
 stantly in Great Britain to answer to alleged abuses, as 
 for instance the acts of the Assembly here. 
 
 It will be seen from this that the proprietary gov- 
 ernment of Pennsylvania was nothing less than a he- 
 reditary monarchy invested in William Penn and his 
 descendants, but at the same time dependent on Great 
 Britain ; the" King being the source of all power, be- 
 yond whom there could be no appeal. In the third 
 section of the Royal Charter is found the following 
 feudal relic required in addition by the King from his 
 liege subjects the Proprietaries: "paying thenceforth 
 to us, our heirs and successors, two beaver skins, to 
 be delivered at our Castle of Windsor, on the first 
 day of January in every year; and also tlie fifth part 
 of all gold and silv^cr ore, which shall from time to 
 time happen to be found within the limits aforesaid, 
 clear of all charges." This tribute of two beaver 
 skins was actually paid by the Penns from 1753 to 
 1780 we know, having sec;n the original receipts for 
 the same. 
 
 By said charter the whole province was made the 
 property of one man — that is, in a two-fold sense, of its 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. 9 
 
 soil and its government; and all this for the discharge 
 of a debt, regardless of the rights of the Indians or of 
 the people residing there. In the exercise of the 
 legal power conferred on him Penn proceeded to 
 frame a government and a code of laws of his own 
 device, subsequently the cause of so much trouble. 
 For one thing, however, he deserved credit, and that 
 was for religious toleration; but from the force of cir- 
 cumstances, even had he been otherwise desirous, it 
 could not have been well avoided, from the example 
 set him some time before by the colonies of Rhode 
 Island and Maryland. 
 
 Whenever the proprietaries were not disposed to 
 come here and carry on the government themselves, 
 they appointed by the right they possessed the dep- 
 uty governors, who only held the office during their 
 permission, and placed them under bonds of ;^5O0O 
 and approved security for their faithful performance 
 and requisite loyalty, first due to the King and Brit- 
 ish government, next to the Proprietaries, and third- 
 ly and, it might be added, lastly, to the province or 
 colony. 
 
 This was a difficult task to assume, for there were 
 three masters to serve, for what they owed to those 
 abroad and what was due to the circumstances by 
 which they were surrounded. It may be surpris- 
 ing that with all the power exercised over them yet 
 the province paid their salaries, which were fixed and 
 allowed by the Assembly. 
 
lO THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 There was a Council, which at first was elected 
 every three years, consisting of eighteen persons and 
 an Assembly, annually. The Council could only act 
 with the advice of the Governor and with him pos- 
 sessed the appointing power. The powers of the 
 Assembly extended little beyond making laws re- 
 lating to the collecting and appropriating revenues. 
 
 The greatest power of the Penns to carry through 
 any unjust designs against the will of the people or ot 
 the Assembly, who it appears were generally disposed 
 to justice, lay in the appointing power. Thus the 
 judges of the courts, the attorney general, surv^eyor 
 general, and, if required, down to all their deputies, 
 were appointed and commissioned by the governors 
 and council through the instructions of the proprie- 
 taries, and should the governor disobey he would at 
 once be set aside. The Council though in one sense 
 independent was completely subordinate to the 
 governor, without whom they could not act. Again, 
 when duly obedient or passive, themselves and sons 
 would likely at some time be rewarded by office or 
 promotion. This was the general character of those 
 in the courts as well as in other provincial offices. 
 Likewise in the election of the various county officers 
 by the people, the governor had still the right to ap- 
 point and commission either one of the two receiving 
 the highest vote for the office. Thus in looking over 
 our published Colonial Records and Archives, one will 
 be struck at the appointing occasionally to office the 
 one that received the next highest vote. This seems to 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. I I 
 
 hav'e been most frequently exercised with regard to the 
 sheriff's office, and which unfortunately was held only 
 one year at a time. This information becomes import- 
 ant to explain in part how the Penns were enabled to 
 plan, execute and carry out such an unjust act as the 
 Walk on the Indians, and afterwards so successfully 
 to smuggle away and conceal the public documents 
 concerning the same that did not favor their interests. 
 The Penns being themselves almost continually in- 
 volved in law suits in Great Britain, had acquired in 
 this respect considerable experience, which knowledge 
 they would turn to account in the government of 
 Pennsylvania. Hence they kept a vigilant eye on 
 those designed to be judges of the courts as well as 
 sheriffs who had the selection of jurors. So much 
 were those holding these positions their creatures, that 
 in any case in which the interest of the Penns would be 
 involved there could be but a poor chance for justice. 
 It is doubtful whether in any of the other English colo- 
 nies there could have been found so servile a set af 
 judges and so devoted to the proprietary interest as 
 those of Pennsylvania down to the Revolution. Thus 
 in the collection of their quit rents and other revenues, 
 the leasing and disposing of lands and in the disputes 
 arising therefrom, they wielded a power that now can 
 scarcely be credited. In those matters the royal 
 government had no interest and was consequently 
 indifferent, but it was otherwise with the people, who, 
 as a general thing, were too liberty-loving to be blind 
 to such gross abuses of power ; and we need not 
 
12 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 wonder that there was such a spirit of opposition to 
 the proprietaries, and that they preferred a govern- 
 ment directly under the crown. 
 
 On the other hand the home government had its 
 pecuHar interests involved and to see after, about 
 which the Penns were equally indifferent, yet which 
 bore sorely on the province. The Assembly, as an 
 instance, had here passed a law laying a duty on the 
 importation of slaves and convicts from abroad. The 
 following is a copy of instructions issued by com- 
 mand of the King to Governor George Thomas in re- 
 gard to the same, dated the loth of December, 1731 : 
 " Whereas Acts have been passed in some of Our Plan- 
 tations in America for laying Duties on the Importation 
 and Exportation of Negroes, to the great Discourage- 
 ment of the Merchants trading thither from the coast 
 of Africa ; and Whereas Acts have been likewise passed 
 for laying of Duties on Felons imported in Direct oppo- 
 sition to an Act of Parliament passed in the fourth year 
 of Our late Royal F'ather's Reign, for the further pre- 
 venting Robbery, Burglary and other Felonies, and 
 for the more effectual Transportation of Felons — it is 
 our Will and Pleasure, that you do not give your As- 
 sent to or pass any Law imposing Duties upon Ne- 
 groes into Our Province of Pennsylvania payable by 
 the importer, or upon any slaves exported, that have 
 not been sold in Our said Province and continued 
 there for the space of Twelve Months. It is our further 
 Will and Pleasure, that you do not give your Assent 
 to or pass any Act whatever for imposing Duties on 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT, 1 3 
 
 the Importation of any Felons from this Kingdom into 
 Our said Province of Pennsylvania." 
 
 The first Charter of Privileges for the province was 
 made in England April 25, 1682, and the second, April 
 2, 1683. These were set aside by Penn for a new one 
 he framed, signed October 28, 1701, and which con- 
 tinued in force till into the Revolution, when, of course, 
 it was supplanted by a state constitution. On this last 
 it becomes us now to touch, for compared to the pre- 
 vious ones as respects privileges the people were made 
 considerably the losers while the proprietary powers 
 were greatly strengthened. The Council, or what we 
 might call the Senate, were no longer elective ; the 
 Proprietary had now assumed the sole right to select 
 and dismiss them at his pleasure. In the third article 
 of this charter (see the whole in Colonial Records, 
 Vol. II, pp. 56-61) we find "That the freemen in 
 .each respective county, at the time and place of meet- 
 ing for electing their representatives to serve in As- 
 sembly, may, as often as there shall be occasion, choose 
 a double number of persons to present to the gover- 
 nor, sheriffs and coroners, if so long they behave them- 
 selves well, out of which respective elections and pre- 
 sentments the governors shall nominate and commis- 
 sionate one for each of the said offices." Though 
 elections were held and appeared free, yet with such 
 restrictions they could amount to little but to render 
 officials extremely pliant and tractable to the measures 
 or designs of the proprietaries. We need not wonder 
 at the high-handed or arbitrary proceedings of such 
 
14 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 men as deputy governors Evans and Denny, backed 
 as they were by the powers to which they owed and 
 held their positions. 
 
 Gordon in his History of Pennsylvania (pp. 12 1-3) 
 mentions another strong point gained by the Proprie- 
 tary in the new charter. " Nor was the Council re- 
 cognized as a part of the government, unless a prohi- 
 bition to the Governor and Council to take cognizance 
 of any complaint relating to property, except appeals 
 should be allowed by law from the ordinary tribunals, 
 may be considered as such recognition. The practice 
 of trying causes relative to real estate, before the Gov- 
 ernor and Council, as well as those in which private 
 citizens were parties, as those in which the Proprietary 
 was interested, had been continued. This made him 
 a judge in his own cause, and was highly objectionable 
 when the Council was elected by the people ; it became 
 wholly admissible when that body became the mere- 
 creature of the Governor." 
 
 Just before his final departure, Penn appointed ten 
 persons for the Council, of whom four were to be a 
 (juorum. Respecting these he says, "to continue in 
 place till my further order shall be known: and I 
 further hereby grant to my Lieutenant Governor for 
 the time being full power and authority upon the de- 
 cease or removal of any of the said Council, to nomi- 
 nate and appoint others to serve in their place and 
 .stead, also to add to the number of the Council now 
 appointed." So passed away the independent elective 
 Council, and other extensive powers of the people. 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. 1 5 
 
 Ellis in his Life of Penn (p. 372) is therefore consid- 
 erably mistaken when he says that "the new frame of 
 Government was essentially the same, except in allow- 
 ing the territories to separate from the government of 
 the Province". Janney still more absurdly remarks 
 ( Life of Penn, second edition, p. 45 1 ) that " in some re- 
 spects was even more liberal than those which pre- 
 ceded it." Penn signed at New Castle, October 31, 
 1 70 1, the charter for the borough of Chester, wherein 
 he styles himself, perhaps for the first time, "true and 
 absolute Proprietary and Governor-in-Chief of the 
 Province of Pennsylvania, and Territories thereunto 
 belonging." 
 
 Coming down to a later period, the Indian war of 
 1754 broke out, one of the causes of which was at- 
 tributed to the unfairness of the Walk, and the ad- 
 vantage taken therefrom by the Proprietaries to de- 
 fraud them of a great quantity of land, and even sell- 
 ing it to speculators some time previous to their legal 
 ownership of the same. The war thus brought about 
 involved considerable expense and bore rather heavily 
 on the colony. With a view of equalizing taxation, the 
 Assembly passed a bill levying iJ"ioo,ooo upon all es- 
 tates, real and personal, including alike, and for the 
 first time, that of the Proprietaries. Governor Denny, 
 as their deputy, rejected it, and, however unjustly, 
 the people were forced to submit to the exemption. 
 But the Assembly determined to send two commission- 
 ers to England, to present their grievances before the 
 throne, and obtain relief Isaac Norris and Benjamin 
 
1 6 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Franklin were selected for this purpose ; but the former, 
 on account of ill health and his private affairs, did not 
 accept, and the latter proceeded alone, arriving in 
 London in July, 1757, and laid his instructions before 
 the government. This at once raised the ire of the 
 Penns, and involved considerable controversy. How- 
 ever, in 1759, a final decision was given on this vexed 
 question, favoring the province, which was looked 
 upon as a signal triumph by Franklin and his party. 
 From the " Heads of Complaint, " presented by 
 Franklin as agent, August 20, 1757, we give the follow- 
 ing extracts : "That the reasonable and necessary power 
 given to Deputy Governors of Penns\'lvania by the 
 Royal Charter, sections 4th and 5th, of making Laws 
 with the Advice and Consent of the Assembly for 
 raising Money for the Safety of the Country and other 
 public uses according to their best discretion, is taken 
 away by Proprietary Instructions enforced by penal 
 Bonds, and restraining the Deputy from the use of 
 his best discretion, tho being on the spot, he can 
 better judge of the emergency, state and necessity of 
 affairs, than the Proprietaries residing at a great dis- 
 tance. That the indubitable right of the Assembly to 
 judge of the Mode, Measure and time of Granting 
 supplies, is infringed by Instructions that enjoin the 
 Deputy to refuse his assent to any Bill for raising 
 money, unless certain Modes, Measures and Times in 
 such Instructions directed, make a part of the Bill 
 whereby the Assembly in time of, war are reduced to 
 the necessity of either losing the country to the 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. 1/ 
 
 Enemy, or giving up the Liberties of the People and 
 receiving Law from the Proprietary. That the Pro- 
 prietaries have enjoined their Deputy by secret in- 
 structions to refuse his assent to any law for raising 
 money by a Tax though ever so necessary for the 
 Defence of the country, unless the greatest part of 
 their estate is exempted from such tax. This to the 
 Assembly and people of Pennsylvania appears both 
 unjust and cruel. The Proprietaries are now re- 
 quested seriously to consider these complaints and 
 redress the aggrievances complained of in the most 
 speedy and effectual Manner, that Harmony may be 
 restored between the several Branches of the Legisla- 
 ture and the Public service be hereafter readily and 
 fully provided for." 
 
 Sherman Day, in his able work on Pennsylvania, 
 speaking of the troubles existing at this time, truth- 
 fully remarks: ".On the one side was the proprietary 
 family, with their feudal prerogatives, their manors 
 of 10,000 acres, their quit-rents, and baronial pomp, 
 — alienated in their sympathies from the colony — 
 preferring the luxuries of aristocratic life in P!ngland, 
 to the unostentatious manners of the new world — rul- 
 ing the colonies by capricious deputies — and ever re- 
 fusing to be taxed for the common defence of the 
 country. On the other side was a hardy and enthu- 
 siastic band of colonists, free in this new world to cle- 
 velop the great principles of civil liberty, then just 
 dawning upon the human mind — willing to bear their 
 
15 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 share provided the proprietaries would consent to be 
 equally taxed." 
 
 In a letter from Thomas Penn, dated July i, 1755. 
 to Isaac Norris, we take the following extract, from 
 which it appears he was not by any means ignorant of 
 the feeling engendered against himself and several of 
 the family: "I am greatly concerned to find such a 
 spirit of discontent gone forth in Pennsylvania, against 
 us and our government, as I think we have not given 
 any just cause for it. However, I hope the people 
 themselves will soon be convinced they have been 
 most grossly imposed upon." 
 
 " In Franklin's day," remarks his biographer, James 
 Parton, "the Proprietaries were two in number, 
 Thomas Penn, who owned three-fourths of the prov- 
 ince, and Richard Penn, who owned one-fourth. 
 Thomas Penn was a man of business — careful, saving 
 and methodical. Richard Penn was a spendthrift. 
 Both were men of slender abilities, and not of very 
 estimable character. But, unhappily, they cherished 
 those erroneous tory notions of the rights of sover- 
 eignity which Lord Bute infused into the contracted 
 mind of George III., and which cost that dull and 
 obstinate monarch his colonies. These Penns, in ad- 
 dition to the pride of possessing acres by the million, 
 felt themselves to be lords of the land they owned, 
 and of the people who dwelt upon it. And it must 
 be confessed, they were long upheld in this belief by 
 the Pennsylvanians themselves. When one of the 
 Proprietaries deigned to visit the province, he received 
 
THE PROPRIETARY GOVERNMENT. 1 9 
 
 the address, as a king might from his subjects, and 
 replied to them with a brevity more than royal. The 
 tone and style of all their later communications to the 
 Pennsylvanians was that of offended lords to coun- 
 tenanced vassals. And yet, at home, as William 
 Franklin wrathfully records, they were so insignificant 
 as 'hardly to be found in the herd of gentry; not in 
 court, not in office, and not in parliament.' " 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIAN'S. 
 
 We now come to the subject of what were the recog- 
 nized rights of the Indians to the soil under the royal 
 charter, and by the proprietaries, and what obligations 
 the latter were under to observe justice towards them in 
 taking their lands or disposing of them to others. It 
 appears that the Dutch, from the earliest occupation 
 of both sides of the Delaware, recognized a right in 
 the Indians to the soil, by the repeated purchases made 
 from them, up even to the mouth of the Schuylkill, 
 previous to 1648. In the instructions from Queen 
 Christina, of Sweden, in 1643, to Governor John Printz, 
 he was particularly directed, in his dealings with the 
 Indians, to confirm the former purchases of lands and 
 treaties of peace, and as far as practicable to win them 
 over to embrace Christianity and adopt the manners 
 and customs of civilized life. The Rev. John Cam- 
 panius. Chaplain of the Colony from 1642 to 1648, was 
 so encouraged by the kindness and docility of the 
 natives, that he learned their language and translated 
 Luther's catechism into it, of which Charles XL, in 
 1696, had 500 copies printed and sent over here to be 
 distributed by his countr}men among the Indians with 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 2 1 
 
 a view to their religious instruction and mental im- 
 provement, though now for fourteen years the colony 
 of Penn. We find a similar act of kindness exhibited 
 by the small band of Moravians who first settled in 1 740 
 within the present limits of Northampton county, and 
 who through the long and devoted labors of that pi- 
 ous missionary. David Zeisberger, established schools 
 among them with spelling books and other works in 
 their language, to advance their moral and intellectual 
 condition. As we have examined the works of these 
 Swedish and German missionaries, and reflected on 
 the sway here of the Penns for nearly a century, the 
 question would naturally arise, what acts of disinter- 
 ested benevolence towards them did they or even the 
 kings of England exhibit ? 
 
 It was the fortune of William Penn in the formation 
 of his colony to have dealings with the gentlest natives, 
 and endowed with the noblest traits of all those found 
 inhabiting the eastern portion of the present United 
 States. The many acts of kindness exhibited to the 
 early Swedish, P^nglish and German settlers of Penn- 
 sylvania, and transmitted by them to us, if collected, 
 would readily fill a volume; nay, the writings of Wil- 
 liam Penn himself bear evidence of this, and are quite 
 full on the subject. In corroboration of what has been 
 said of the Delawares, we have also the high authority 
 of General William H. Harrison, expressed as late as 
 the beginning of this century, when it is likely that 
 they may have become more corrupted by intercourse 
 with the whites. "A long and intimate knowledge of 
 
2 2 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 them, in peace and war, as enemies and friends, has 
 left upon my mind the most favorable impressions of 
 their character for bravery, and fidelity to their en- 
 gagements." 
 
 Among the papers of Thomas Penn was found a 
 printed broadside, without date, but evidently before 
 1750 ; and we have reason to believe, published as in- 
 structions by order of the British government to the 
 several proprietaries and governors, and from the na- 
 ture of its injunctions kept confidential. The follow- 
 ing is an extract: "From September, 1745, to the 
 present time His Majesty's province of New Jersey is 
 in open Rebellion ; and unless some speedy and effec- 
 tual measures are soon taken, his Majesty's govern- 
 ment, Laws and Authority, not only in this, but 
 in the neighboring Provinces, whose inhabitants, for 
 the most part, are but too well inclined to receive 
 the infection, will in all probability be absolutely de- 
 stroyed. The pretense for the Rebellion on foot is, 
 that the Right to the soil of that Province is in the 
 native Indians, and Persons claiming under them, and 
 not in the Crown or its Grantees, and that no title is 
 good but that from the Indians ; thus unhinging all 
 Property there, denying the rights and prerogatives of 
 the Crown, and setting up the Indian's Right in oppo- 
 sition thereto." 
 
 An examination of the royal charter shows nothing 
 in it recognizing any right or title of the Indians what- 
 ever to the soil, or that they possessed any other 
 claims. Next we went over the " Frame of Govern- 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 23 
 
 ment " prepared by Penn in 1682, and also the charters 
 of 1686 and 1696; but with no more satisfaction. 
 Again, in Smith's Laws of Pennsylvania, published in 
 Philadelphia in 18 10 (Vol. ii, p. 137), is an able arti- 
 cle on Indian titles, from which the following extract 
 is taken : " By force of the royal charter, William Penn, 
 and his successors as proprietaries were the undoubted 
 lords of the soil. They stipulated, however, with the 
 purchasers under them to extinguish the right of the 
 natives. They alone had this power. No individual, 
 without their authority, could purchase of the Indians; 
 and the people themselves, by legislative acts, recog- 
 nized and aided them to enforce this important prin- 
 ciple." We readily admit the truth of the aforesaid, 
 with but a single exception, that "They," the said 
 proprietaries, " 5'/z/?//rt/'iY/ with the purchasers under 
 them to extinguish the right of the natives." These 
 stipulations we should like to see, as to their nature, 
 and whether they were so worded as to show an intent 
 to deal fairly and honorably. 
 
 In respect to this we have the opinions of some of 
 the most intelligent people in the colony at the very 
 time that William Penn was with us, who publicly 
 charged him with his conduct though members of 
 the same religious denomination. Turning to the ap- 
 pendix of Proud's History of Pennsylvania (Vol. 1 1 , 
 p. 40), we find an address drawn up by the Assembly 
 and signed by Joseph Growdon, Speaker, and delivered 
 September 20, 1701, in contemplation of his speedy 
 departure. Disposed to be brief, we shall only take a 
 
24 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 short extract from it : " May it please the Governor. 
 That before the Proprietary go to England, he grant 
 us such an instrument as may absolutely secure and 
 defend us in our estates and properties, from himself, 
 his heirs and assigns, for ever, any claiming under, 
 him, them, or any of them, as also to clear all Indian 
 pmcliases and others." Though a reply was made to 
 the address, no notice whatever of the aforesaid peti- 
 tion, however just and reasonable, was taken, and so 
 the Governor left it to his posterity, and they in turn, 
 as we shall see, did not improve upon it. The mem- 
 bers composing that Assembly nearly all belonged to 
 the Society of Friends. They were good men and 
 peaceably disposed, and would not have thus pressed 
 on him a deferred matter at the very last opportunity, 
 if they had not known injustice had been done the In- 
 dians, which, if not checked in time, must end in open 
 hostilities, and in consequence looked to the future 
 with serious apprehensions. 
 
 Without peace, Penn well knew that his interests 
 must suffer, and seriously interfere in the disposal of 
 lands to actual settlers and the peopling of his- colony. 
 He knew the power he possessed and he meant to 
 keep it, and consequently would purchase in his own 
 luav and manner, as best suited him. It was a market 
 in which he alone could bu\- if he desired, and in which 
 there could even be no interference. This will account 
 for the vagueness of the deeds of purchase and the 
 tri\'ial nature of many of the articles paid, which some 
 in their ignorance ha\'e gone so far as to call presents. 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 25 
 
 as if no consideration had been given. Further, he 
 could not well shirk the examples set by the repeated 
 purchases made by the Dutch, Swedes and English 
 before him, in now his own territory ; as in the case 
 of Governor Andros, of New York, in 1679, of no in- 
 considerable tract along the Delaware within the limits 
 of the present Bucks county. 
 
 There is no evidence that we know of before Penn's 
 day of any dissatisfaction here on the part of the In- 
 dians on this subject ; in proof they were easy to deal 
 with and entertained every confidence. His corre- 
 spondence during his residence here contains numer- 
 ous aspersions of the character and dishonesty of those 
 with whom he had dealings. An opinion of the man 
 both in this and in many other respects may be formed 
 from reading his correspondence with James Logan, 
 lately published by the Historical Society in two 
 volumes. This is also exhibited in his establishing 
 " Courts of Inquiry" the loth of December, 1700, in 
 the several counties, and appointing three judges to 
 each with the intent of " examining, searching and in- 
 quiring into the rights, titles and claims of all free- 
 holders," and to make them produce their titles or 
 claims to the same, and " also carefully to enquire into 
 all escheats, fines and forfeitures " that are fallen to 
 him and also of his quit-rents. To carry this into exe- 
 cution they were empowered to call to their aid " all 
 needful officers, especially ye Constables." But where 
 was the power to similarly enquire as to his dealings 
 with the Indians ? 
 
2 6 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 By the deed of Jul\- 15, 1682, a purchase was made 
 by his agent and cousin, WilHam Markham, from the 
 mouth of the Neshaminy up the Delaware to a corner 
 spruce tree standing on the river's bank " about Ma- 
 keerickkitton and from thence running along the ledge 
 or foot of the Mountains, West North West to a corner 
 White Oak marked with the letter P, standing by the 
 Indian Path that leadeth to an Indian Town called 
 Playwicky, and from thence extending Westward to 
 the Neshaminy Creek." This boundary or limit is 
 copied from a paper furnished by the Penns and con- 
 sequently should appear to be to their satisfaction. 
 In vain, it would seem, have all efforts been made 
 ever since by disinterested persons to satisfactorily es- 
 tablish this line. Where it should really be we will 
 not take upon us to say, but Benjamin Eastburn, the 
 surveyor general and agent for the proprietaries, es- 
 tablished it fifty-five years later evidently to his satis- 
 faction and to that of his employers. This map, pre- 
 pared expressly for Thomas Penn, and long in his 
 possession and closely kept, has at last found its way 
 back here again, and we have kindly been permitted 
 to examine and cop)- it. To the surprise, we know, 
 of many in that vicinity, this boundary is placed at or 
 \'ery near Hough's creek on the Delaware, thence by 
 the Newtown and Wrightstown township line to the 
 Neshaminy. Comparing Thomas Holmes' Map of 
 original purchasers with Eastburn's Map, confirms this 
 opinion the more. Whatever views may be entertained 
 or expressed hereafter as to the locality, we shall as- 
 
THE RIGHTS OK THE INDIANS. 27 
 
 sume this as the proper line, and in consequence see 
 here the cause for an early expression of dissatisfac- 
 tion on the part of the Indians. 
 
 John Chapman, in 1684, purchased a tract of up- 
 wards of five hundred acres, located on the north side 
 of said line, and on which he settled with his family. 
 Though this land was here laid out to him, no satis- 
 faction whatever had been made to the Indians for it, 
 as well as that sold to all others settling in what are 
 now the present townships of Wrightstown, Upper 
 Makefield, Buckingham, Solebury and several others 
 situated northwards. Samuel Smith, in his History 
 of the Province of Pennsylvania (see Hazard's Reg- 
 ister, Vol. I, p. 215), in speaking of Chapman's early 
 settlement, goes on to say : " The Indians were now- 
 numerous hereabouts, and used to frequent Chap- 
 man's house in great companies as they had occasion 
 to pass that way, but behaved themselves civilly. One 
 of the Chiefs, however, one day coming to him, in an 
 angry tone told him it was their land he was settled on, 
 pointing to a small distance, where he said the bounds 
 of the English purchase were, and borrowing an axe, 
 marked a line to the southeast of his house, and went 
 away without giving him any further trouble at that 
 time." The chief aforesaid may possibly have been Id- 
 quahon, also called Nicholas, a son of Tamany, and one 
 of the signers to the deeds of July 15, 1682, and of July 
 15, i694,andwould therefore be likely to have a knowl- 
 edge of the true boundary, which agrees with that on 
 Kastburn's map. In the Colonial Records (Vol. I, p. 
 
28 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 396), we hav^e additional information about him. At 
 a Council held in Philadelphia December 19, 1693 : 
 " The informant, Polycarpus Rose, saith, that about 
 five weeks since, having some discourse with a certain 
 Indian King called Hicquoqueen, the said Indian re- 
 sented the unkindness of the English to the Indians 
 here, and further said, that they were not like to hold 
 the Land much longer ; for that they were not satisfied 
 for it." 
 
 No satisfactory authority has yet been produced, 
 that north from said line of Newtown township to the 
 Delaware, and up along said river to the south side of 
 the Lehigh hills above Durham, and thence westward, 
 any purchase had ever been made of the Indians pre- 
 vious to the deed of September 17, 17 18. Yet in the 
 interval of 1682 to the aforesaid date, considerable of 
 this land had been sold to speculators and actual set- 
 tlers, by order of the Proprietary, William Penn, or 
 his family, through their agents. This, it should be 
 remembered, was done while he was living ; for he 
 died July 30, 171 8, only forty-eight days before the 
 completion of that purchase. That the Indians did 
 not bear this very well we ha\e further evidence. 
 John Streiper, a natix'c and resident of the Duchy of 
 Julicrs, on the borders of Germany, in 1683, purchased 
 of William Penn 5000 acres of land, which was located 
 by the commissioners of property, and surveyed and 
 laid off to him March 26, 1701, between the Tohickon 
 creek and Delaware river, now in Tinicum township. 
 Said tract was further confirmed to him under the 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 29 
 
 great seal of the Province, June 24, 1705. Now, the 
 said John Streiper, also his attorney, and after his 
 death in 1717, his heirs, tried in various ways to sell 
 it, but in vain, alleging that all their endeavors ''Jiad 
 no effect, because of a claim made to the land by the In- 
 dians, wlio say they never yet sold it.'' This matter, 
 sorely against their wishes and earnest remonstrances, 
 lingered till 1725, when it was, through the hands 
 of James Logan, returned to the heirs of William 
 Penn. We have in this a strong instance of a pow- 
 erful, virtuous sentiment prevailing here among the 
 mass of the people, not only in respecting their own 
 rights but the rights of others. 
 
 In making researches in the Bucks county records, 
 a deed was found given by William Penn the 17th of 
 I ith month, 1701 (see Deed Book 6, p. 275), for ;^ioo, 
 to George Beale, of Surry, England, for 3000 acres of 
 land " to be clear of Indian Incumbrances, in said prov- 
 ince, between the rivers of Susquehanna and Dela- 
 ware." This is the only instance in our knowledge of 
 any stipulation whatever from Penn respecting the In- 
 dian title. His vexatious and numerous lawsuits, pe- 
 cuniary embarrassments, increasing debts and extrava- 
 gant children, may have brought him to this issue, 
 with a purchaser whose will was fully as strong as his 
 own when the choice was presented of no sale or such 
 conditions. 
 
 The relations existing between the Penns and the 
 colonists were unfortunate. By their actions the for- 
 mer exhibited, beyond their own interests, but little 
 
T,0 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 regard for the rights of either the Indians or the peo- 
 ple. Coming here on occasional visits, when it suited 
 them, and with attachments so strong for the old world 
 that even the bodies of those of the family dying were 
 sent back for interment, we need not wonder that the 
 people cared as little for them, and were made still 
 worse by their own profligate conduct. The royal 
 charter sets forth that it is to indulge the desires of 
 William Penn in enlarging the bounds of the British 
 Empire and to civilize the savage natives there, as 
 among the reasons for giving him the grant. It might 
 now well be asked : What was even attempted in the 
 way of civilizing the Indians ? Yet it would appear 
 as one of the reasons pleaded b}' him in his petition to 
 the King. 
 
 As a sneer at Christianity ,Voltaire said, nearly a cen- 
 tury after the occurrence, that Penn's great treaty with 
 the Indians had been the first not ratified by an oath 
 and never broken. Such a random conjecture, however 
 eloquent it may sound, scarcely merits a reply. To 
 know whether it was not broken, if there really was 
 such a one, even shortly after it was made, lae must 
 possess (he evidence on what it zvas founded and the ob- 
 ligations there entered into by the contracting parties. 
 That there has never been anything of the kind since 
 produced to either justify or establish such claims, is 
 well known. As other documents have been ab- 
 .stracted, forbidden inspection, and missing, in relation 
 to certain interests, why may not this too explain in 
 part the mysteries that have ever since invested the 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 31 
 
 great treaty, and about which so much has been said 
 and httle or nothing known ? The charges and ap- 
 prehensions of the Assembly on this subject, so pub- 
 licly expressed, and to which Penn did not deign even 
 an allusion, and the selling of lands to speculators and 
 actual settlers without regard to the claims of the In- 
 dians being first satisfied, is too strong for an impartial 
 historian to pass by or to justify. 
 
 Respecting the merits of William Penn in his deal- 
 ings with the Indians, Peter Du Ponceau and J. Fran- 
 cis Fisher, in "A Memoir on the Celebrated Treaty " 
 (see Memoirs of Hist. Soc. Penn., Vol. Ill, p. 192), 
 make these sensible remarks : " We must observe in 
 the first place that it is not on this treaty that depends 
 the fame of our illustrious founder, nor is it on his 
 having purchased his lands of the Indians ; instead of 
 taking them by force. Others before him, had made 
 treaties of friendship and of alliance with the original 
 possessors of the American soil ; others had obtained 
 their lands from them by fair purchase ; in Penn- 
 sylvania the Swedes, the Dutch and the P^nglish, who 
 governed the country during the space of eighteen 
 years under the Duke of York, had pursued the same 
 peaceable system ; it is, therefore, not only unjust, but 
 it is extremely injudicious, to endeavor to ascribe to 
 William Penn the exclusive merit of a conduct pointed 
 out, not only by the plainest rules of justice and the 
 example of his predecessors, but also by prudence and 
 the soundest policy, particularly when it is considered 
 how much easier and cheaper it was to purchase the 
 
32 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 lands of these savage tribes than to attempt to take 
 them by force, which in tlie infancy of colonies would 
 not have been an easy task." 
 
 James Logan, in a letterto James Steel, dated Phila- 
 delphia, November i8,*i729, remarks : " Save it is now 
 not only Sassoonan our \^ery good friend and his peo- 
 ple of our own Indians that we have to deal with but 
 the lands also on Delaware above Tohickon creek 
 must be purchased of others. But the main business 
 of all is to induce John Penn himself to come over. 
 The Indians all expect him next spring, every body 
 expects him and it is in \-ain for him to expect that 
 others wall do his business for him." Here is a can- 
 did admission from one who had been so long Penn's 
 secretary that, even down to 1729, the Indians had 
 not been treated with, or paid, for lands above To- 
 hicon, and for which they have always contended, yet 
 considerable tracts had there for sometime previously 
 been sold. 
 
 A petition dated 13th of 9th month, 173 1, was sent 
 to John, Thomas and Richard Penn, by Isaac Norris, 
 Samuel Preston and James Logan, wherein they say : 
 " We have divers times jointly, but we suppose James 
 Logan oftener, represented to you the state of this 
 Province and the necessity there appeared that one of 
 you should hasten over as well to settle your affairs 
 of Property as to enter on Treaties and to take meas- 
 ures with tlie native Indians for continuing that peace 
 and good understanding \\ith them, and these repre- 
 sentations we hoped would ha\-e had the desired effect. 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 33 
 
 But your coming being from time to time deferred we 
 thought it proper that James Steel, now two years ago, 
 should take a voyage over in order more earnestly to 
 press and if possible prevail with you to resolve on it 
 without more delay, and on the account he gave us at 
 his return we fully depended on seeing Thomas the 
 same fall, but with the following spring and another 
 fall are all passed away without now giving us much 
 more hopes of what has been so long expected as 
 three or four years ago. But a treaty we must have 
 with them if possible if we would expect to continue 
 in any manner of safety." What evidences we see 
 herein of dissatisfaction on the part of the Indians 
 through the continued neglect or indifference of the 
 Penns,thus promoting with the increase of population 
 the encroachments of the whites and inciting the In- 
 dians to hostilities in self defence. 
 
 The Delaware Indians, having become independent 
 of the Six Nations, induced Thomas and Richard Penn 
 as proprietaries to issue to them a most flattering 
 " Address " from London February 28, 1759, from 
 which we give an extract in contrast with the aforesaid : 
 " To our Friends and Brethren the Indians of the Dela- 
 ware Nation. We assure you since you have chose to 
 lay this matter before the King we will answer it as 
 speedily as possible and do every thing to shew you and 
 all the W'orld our desire to act a fair honest and kind 
 part by you, and do expect when you shall be satisfied 
 that we have not been guilty of so base an act as to 
 forge or alter a Deed, that you will openly and plainly 
 
34 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 declare such your belief. As you are now restored by 
 the consent of the Six Nations to tlie power of hold- 
 ing Treaties, we shall alwa\'s confer with you with 
 great pleasure." The principal aim of this was, of 
 course, for affect among the colonists here, to mollify 
 censure. 
 
 As a result of the complaints of the Delaware In- 
 dians before Sir William Johnson at Easton in June, 
 1762, a Royal Proclamation from George III. was is- 
 sued dated October 7, 1763, which was required b\' 
 order of the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plan- 
 tations to be published by Gov. John Penn. From 
 this we take an extract seeming to reflect on the con- 
 duct of the proprietaries : " And whereas great Frauds 
 and Abuses have been committed in the purchasing 
 Lands of the Indians ; in order therefore to prevent 
 such irregularities for the future and to the end that 
 the Indians may be convinced of our justice, and de- 
 termined Resolution to remove all reasonable Cause 
 of Discontent, We do, with the Advice of our Privy 
 Council, strictly enjoin and require, that no private 
 person do presume to make an}' Purchase from the 
 said Indians of any lands reserved to the said Indians 
 within those Parts of our Colonies where we have 
 thought proper to allow settlement ; but that if, at any 
 Time, any of the said Indians should be inclined to 
 dispose of the said Lands, the same shall be purchased 
 only for us, in Our Name, at some public Meeting or 
 Assembly of the said Indians, to be held for that pur- 
 pose by the Governor or Commander-in-Chief of our 
 
THE RIGHTS OF THE INDIANS. 35 
 
 Colonies respectively, within which they shall lie ; and 
 in case they shall lie within the limits of any Proprie- 
 taries, conformable to such Directions and Instructions 
 as we or they shall think proper to give for that pur- 
 pose." Here is seen, probably for the first time, some 
 acknowledgment on the part of the Royal Govern- 
 ment that the Indians did possess some right to the 
 soil. But it came rather too late for justice and good 
 faith to the few dwindling natives who had survived 
 the Walk of more than a quarter of a century before, 
 with the exterminating wars waged almost continu- 
 ously against them from 1754 to the date of this pro- 
 clamation. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED BY THE INDIANS. 
 
 As has been stated, all lands located and sold by 
 the proprietary or his agents between the years 1682 
 and 1 71 8, north of the Newtown township line and 
 Hough's creek, thence extending up the Delaware river 
 to the south side of the Lehigh hills and for some dis- 
 tance westward, were so disposed of without any title 
 from the Indians and, as we may well suppose, with- 
 out their knowledge or consent. No satisfactory e\i- 
 dence has yet been produced to the contrary in the 
 long lapse of time passed away, and we now come to 
 show that this unjust practice was knowingly contin- 
 ued by the sons of William Penn. 
 
 From the foot of the hills below the Lehigh and ex- 
 tending up along the Delaware to the extreme north- 
 ern line of Pennsylvania, and thence westward from 
 said river to the limits of the province, there is no 
 proof by an}- deeds on record or any other convey- 
 ances, that previous to the satisfactory adjustment of 
 the Walk of September 19 and 20, 1737, based on the 
 deed of August 25th preceding, any Indian title or 
 claim whatever had been extinguished to even a por- 
 tion of this territorv in all of said inter\'al. Yet with 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. T^y 
 
 the same recklessness or disregard for consequences 
 the Penns continued selhng to speculators and actual 
 settlers as it best suited them. There is something 
 remarkable about the deed of July 30, 171 8 — that the 
 proprietaries should in no way make any reference to 
 it in their subsequent dealings with the Indians. 
 
 James Logan, so long the secretary of William Penn, 
 principal commissioner of lands, and agent of Indian 
 affairs, demands our first attention. These offices we 
 believe Logan held till on or near the close of his life 
 in 175 I. Turning to Smith's Laws of Pennsylvania 
 (Vol. II., p. 113), the following information will be 
 found respecting Indian complaints, with this gentle- 
 man's reply: "When the natives sold their lands, it 
 was understood distinctly, that the white people should 
 not settle or encroach upon their hunting grounds, and 
 the lands reserved by them; nor was a single attempt 
 thus to settle, unattended by complaints and uneasi- 
 ness. The Indians observed their treaties with fidel- 
 ity, and the boundaries appear to have been always 
 accurately understood by them. The settlers notwith- 
 standing encroached on the Indian lands beyond this 
 boundary which occasioned great anxiety and uneasi- 
 ness among the Delawares. The complaints of the 
 aged Sassoonan were eloquent and pathetic." 
 
 At the treaty at Philadelphia, in 1728, Sassoonan, 
 addressing himself to James Logan, said "That he was 
 grown old, and was troubled to see the Christians set- 
 tle on lands that the Indians had never been paid for; 
 they had settled on his lands, for which he had never re- 
 
J 
 
 8 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 ceived an}-thing; that he was now an old man, and 
 must soon die; that his children may wonder to see 
 all their father's lands gone from them without his 
 receiving any thing for them ; that the Christians 
 made their settlements very near them, and they 
 would have no place of their own left to live on ; 
 that this might occasion a difference between their 
 children hereafter, and he would w'illingly prevent 
 any misunderstanding that might happen." Mr. Lo- 
 gan, with the leave of the Governor, answered that 
 "William Penn had made it a rule, never to suffer 
 any lands to be settled by his people, till they were 
 first purchased of the Indians; that his commission- 
 ers had followed the same rule." Now for a test as 
 to said reply and that he did knowingly purchase and 
 deal in such lands not only for himself but for others. 
 On the 29th of December, 1702, Mr. Logan pur- 
 chased of the Commissioners of Property, Edward 
 Shippen, Griffith Owen and himself, five hundred 
 acres, at the Great Spring, in Solebury township, 
 Rucks county, and which he some time afterwards 
 by will donated to the Philadelphia Library. As 
 one of the said commissioners he sold considerable 
 more to others in that section and further north; for 
 instance, the same year five hundred and eighty acres 
 to William Beeks, and in 1703 twenty-five hundred 
 acres to John White, near the present Lumberville. 
 We believe he was also one of the same who sold in 
 1 701 to John Streiper five thousand acres above the 
 mouth of the Tohickon, and ten thousand acres No- 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 39 
 
 vember 16, 1727, to William Penn, Jr., located be- 
 tween the mouth of the Lehigh and Lackawaxen. 
 Here are certainly strong and grave charges, and 
 they show complicity with the proprietaries through 
 his official relations. 
 
 In a tolerably lengthy report of a committee of As- 
 sembly to Sir William Johnson, dated Easton, June 
 22, 1762, and signed by John Hughes, Joseph Gallo- 
 way, Edward Pennington, John Morton, Joseph Fox, 
 Samuel Rhoads, Giles Knight and Isaac Pearson, we 
 believe nearly all Friends, his conduct is further ex- 
 posed. "To confirm," they say, "what we have al- 
 ready offered, we also lay before you a copy of a let- 
 ter, compared with the original now in our hands, 
 wrote by James Logan, Elsquire, formerly President 
 of the Council of this Province, secretary to the Gov- 
 ernor and near forty years Commissioner of Property 
 under the Proprietaries, directed to Thomas Watson, 
 declaring that the lands four miles above on the Le- 
 high Mountains and to the south of the Forks of the 
 Delaware were not on the 20th of November, 1727, 
 nine years after the deed of 1718, and forty-one years 
 after the Deed of 1686, purchased from the Indians; 
 and therefore forbade the said Watson who was then 
 the Proprietary Surveyor for Bucks county, to survey 
 the same for one Joseph Wheeler." 
 
 If he was " near forty years commissioner of pro- 
 perty," as is stated, and which we do not question, he 
 must have been instrumental in knowingly selling in 
 said time many thousands of acres of such lands, be- 
 
40 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 sides what he may have bought himself. We have 
 also proof in the case of John Streiper, even some time 
 before 171 7, about the Indian complaints at Tohickon, 
 that none of this land had in any way been cleared 
 from their claims. To rebut in any way the aforesaid 
 and what follows can only be done by records of the 
 time, that all of said tracts had been first previously 
 honorably purchased and paid for to the full satisfac- 
 tion of the Indians. Of course the due recording and 
 preserving of such contracts lay with the proprietaries, 
 who alone had the power and whose interest it was. 
 Of his eldest son, William Logan, however, we shall 
 have good words. He was awhile at first in the Gov- 
 ernor's council, but shortly after the death of his father 
 and a further acquaintance with the conduct of Thomas 
 Penn to the Indians, he openly opposed him, and the 
 result was a sharp correspondence on the subject; but 
 it sealed his fate in the future as to any favors from 
 that source. 
 
 That James Logan was not ignorant of the com- 
 plaints of the Indians and how far he was a party in 
 the disposal of their lands will be further revealed in 
 the following extracts taken from his correspondence. 
 On the 20th of Ninth-month, 1727, he wrote to Jacob 
 Taylor, the Surveyor General: "I have directed our 
 overseer Wm. Foy at Durham to supply you there- 
 with whatsoever you may want that they may have, 
 and particularly to deliver you four of the best strowds 
 blue and red for the present. It will require some 
 caution in managing the survey which )'ct ought to 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 4 1 
 
 be effectually done to prevent uneasiness to the Indians, 
 but you will want no advice on that head. I heartily 
 wish you success and a safe return." Five days later he 
 wrote to John Penn in England: "There is not above 
 two or three thousand acres of that rich land and the ad- 
 joining is all rocks and hills, yet it is not above sixty 
 miles or thereabouts from Hudson's river. The Dutch 
 people of New York government set a very great value 
 upon it and were it clear of Indian claims would sell 
 for good pay and at a high rate, perhaps 60 or 70^' per 
 100 acres if not more. Those bottoms, I mean, for 
 the rest is good for nothing. I wish we may get the 
 survey completed without any opposition from the 
 Indians for which I have taken all possible precautions 
 and these lands will be William's." On December 6th 
 following, Logan wrote agtin: " Late last night Jacob 
 Taylor and company returned from their journey up 
 the river to lay out those low lands on Delaware to 
 thy nephew William, in which they had no other suc- 
 cess than with a present to the Indians of about 6£ 
 value. The Indians would suffer no manner of sur- 
 vey to be made there on any account whatsoever. 
 There never was any pretence of a purchase made on 
 thy Father's account within thirty miles of the nearest 
 of these Indian settlements." 
 
 In regard to planning the Walk and in making the 
 most of it, few could be more pecuniarily interested 
 than William Allen, and in this respect he is placed 
 next only to Thomas Penn, who was the head and 
 power behind the throne. Though a native of Phila- 
 
42 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 delphia, for a long time through his wealth and posi- 
 tion he wielded a great influence. No man in the pro- 
 vince was more devoted, right or wrong, to the inter- 
 ests of the Penns; it was in fact the leading motive of 
 his life. The result was the reward of great favors 
 and official position. To show further his intimate 
 relations wath the family, Governor John Penn, the 
 grandson of the founder and the offerer of rewards for 
 Indian scalps, was married to his daughter Ann. His 
 wife was Margaret, the sister of Governor James Ham- 
 ilton, who also owed his elevation to the same source. 
 These matters are all essential to a knowledge of what 
 in modern parlance are called "ring movements." Mr. 
 Allen figures so much from the very beginning of the 
 Walk to its close, that for the present we will only 
 dwell superficially on his immense dealings in lands 
 uiipiircliased from the Indians. Could the whole be 
 brought together and investigated, the result of his 
 operations would be astonishing and would show an 
 amount of injustice scarcely to be imagined. 
 
 William Penn, the founder, by \\\\\ granted to his 
 grandson, William Penn, Jr., ten thousand acres, w hich 
 the latter sold to Mr. Allen, August 29, 1728. As 
 soon as selected it was laid out by warrant to Jacob 
 Taylor, the surve)'or general, dated November 16, 
 1727. Perhaps the first thus taken up inside of a 
 year from this date, was part of a larger tract, but we 
 know by the Bucks county records (see Deed Book, 
 No. 6, pp. 86,87), that this portion comprised over 
 three-hundred acres in the .Minisink region, some dis- 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 43 
 
 tance above the Water Gap. This was sold Septem- 
 ber 10, 1733, to Nicholas Depue. The information in 
 this grant is very important, for just such proceedings 
 have involved civilized nations of latter times in war, 
 and no doubt was one of the causes that led not long 
 afterwards to such savage attacks on the devoted set- 
 tlers by the exasperated Indians, who had been de- 
 prived of their favorite hunting grounds. First is 
 mentioned an "Island situate in the river Delaware, 
 commonly called Mawwallamink, lying opposite to 
 the Plantation where the said Nicholas Depue now 
 dwels and contains 126 acres. The second Island 
 called the Great Shawna Island, is situated in the 
 river Delaware over against the Shaivna Toivn, con- 
 taining 146 acres. The third tract or Island situated 
 between the creeks or small Branches of the said 
 Riv^er Delaware and bounded by the same and the 
 adjacent land to the southward being lately held by 
 John Smith, and that to the Northward is the said 
 Shawna Town, containing 31 acres." These bounds 
 are certainly obscure, and it is hard to tell whether 
 this town or Indian settlement is included ; but it is 
 immaterial, though in a time of peace it was certainly 
 very closely encompassed. In it is this strange pro- 
 viso, that betrays something wrong: "The said three 
 islands or tracts of land hereby granted or mentioned 
 to be granted, with their appurtenances, unto the said 
 Nicholas Depue, his heirs and assigns, against him 
 the said William Allen and his heirs and the heirs of 
 the said William Penn, Esq., and against all and e\'ery 
 
44 Tine INDIAN WALK. 
 
 other person and persons whatsoever Lawfully claim- 
 ing or to claim by, from or. under him, them, or an\' 
 of them, shall and will warrant and forever defend b\" 
 these presents." Here is evidence, that should the 
 Indians resist or attempt at any time to retake said 
 Islands by force, the said Allen and the Penns "would 
 warrant and forever defend" it against all others ex- 
 cept those holding from him. Judging by this, the 
 great land speculator must have had something simi- 
 lar from the proprietaries. The aforesaid Indian town 
 was no doubt the same spoken of by Thomas Budd in 
 1685, which he says was called the Minesinks, imme- 
 diately on the river side, in a rich section of countr\- 
 and about eighty miles above the falls of the Delaware. 
 \^an Der Donck goes still farther back, and mentions 
 it in 1656. From time immemorial, this section was 
 a favorite hunting ground of the Indians, who would 
 not therefore be readily induced to part with it. 
 
 These operations were so extensive that we shall now 
 only briefly notice them while going superficially over 
 the records. There was also a considerable tract of 
 land laid out for the same purchaser about the same 
 time by said Surveyor General, about twenty-four miles 
 above the Blue Mountains, from which Mr. Allen, in 
 1751, sold thirty-one acres to Andrew Dingman, who 
 established here what has been so long known as 
 Dingman's Ferry. The forming of this tract no 
 doubt was wh)' the line from the end of the Walk 
 was made to run at right angles so as to terminate 
 about the mouth of the Lackawa.xen, and would then 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 45 
 
 be embraced inside of said limits, and be rid of In- 
 dian claims. This we believe has heretofore escaped 
 all writers on the Indian Walk — that Allen held 
 lands so far up nine years before said occurrence. ''By 
 order of yohii, Thomas and Richard Pinny there was 
 surveyed and located five thousand acres of land "sit- 
 uated in the Forks of the Delaware River, according 
 to a draft of Benjamin Eastburn, surveyor general." 
 This tract was conveyed by James Logan and Peter 
 Lloyd, attorneys for Letitia Aubrey, to Mr. Allen, on 
 the loth of April, 1735, and by him sold for twenty- 
 two hundred pounds sterling "to George Whitefield 
 of the Province of Georgia, April 30, 1740." This 
 purchase appears, by tracing the title, to hav^e formed 
 the present township of Upper Nazareth, and in which 
 also the town of Nazareth is situated, being a very de- 
 sirable tract. 
 
 In regard to the latter transaction, John Heckewel- 
 der (Hist. Indian Nations, Phila., 18 19, p. 337), gives 
 us the following additional information: "In the year 
 1742, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield offered Nazareth Manor, 
 as it was then called, for sale to the United Brethren. 
 He had already begun to build upon it a spacious stone 
 house, intended for a school house for the education 
 of negro children. The Indians, in the meanwhile, 
 loudly exclaimed against the white people for settling 
 in this part of the country, which had not yet been 
 legally purchased of them, but, as they said, had been 
 obtained by fraud. The brethren declined purchasing 
 any lands on which the Indian title had not been prop- 
 
46 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 erly extint^uished, wishing to live in peace with all the 
 Indians around them. Count Zinzendorff happened 
 at that time to arrive in the country; he found that 
 the agents of the proprietaries would not pay the In- 
 dians the price which they asked for that tract of land ; 
 he paid them out of his private purse the whole of the 
 demand which they made in the height of their ill tem- 
 per, and moreover gave them permission to abide on 
 the land, at their village, where they had a fine large 
 peach orchard, as long as they should think proper." 
 He then mentions that, owing to their highly re- 
 spected chief, Tademi, being murdered by a white 
 man, together with the threats of other persons ill dis- 
 posed towards them, was the cause of leaving their 
 settlement on this manor, and removing to places of 
 greater safety. These statements are also corroborated 
 by Loskiel in his History of Indian Missions, Crantz's 
 History of the Moravians, and Spangenberg's Life of 
 Count Zinzendorf. 
 
 Thomas Penn, by a warrant given at Philadelphia, 
 February 24, 1736, directs the aforesaid Surveyor Gen- 
 eral to further lay off and survey for Mr. Allen, " 3000 
 acres in six parcels or tracts of 500 acres each, situate 
 upon or near the West Branch of the Delaware in our 
 county of Bucks, for which he has paid 465 pounds 
 current money and has requested us to issue our War- 
 rant to establish said surveys." These tracts, it is be- 
 lieved, were situated in or near the present towns of 
 Bethlehem and Allentown. We find also at the same 
 time other tracts were surveyed in the same vicinity; 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 47 
 
 as, for instance, two thousand acres to Thomas Gramme, 
 two thousand acres to James Bingham, fifteen hundred 
 to Caspar Wistar, one thousand to James Hamilton, 
 and one thousand to Patrick Greeme. The conduct of 
 Allen has been pretty severely handled by Charles 
 Thomson in his "Alienation of the Indians," and by 
 Sherman Day, as well as by other writers, and we be- 
 lieve his course has never been defended even b)' his 
 friends. His life, however, had its vicissitudes, for 
 after being chief justice of the province for twenty-four 
 years, on account of his tory principles, he fled at the 
 commencement of the Revolution to England, where 
 he died an exile to his native land. We find by the 
 records that Thomas Penn granted to Ferdinand John 
 Paris and John Page, his particular friends and attorn- 
 eys, residing in London, fifteen-hundred acres each. 
 That of the former was located on the Delaware, about 
 six or eight miles above the present town of Easton, 
 and the other we believe between the present towns 
 of Bethlehem and Nazareth. It appears also, that in 
 the following year considerable was surveyed and laid 
 off to purchasers and settlers in the vicinity of the lat- 
 ter place, b)' Nicholas Scull as deputy for Benjamin 
 PLastburn. 
 
 In a joint letter from John, Thomas and Richard 
 Penn, in P^ngland, to James Logan, dated January 
 20, 1 73 1, is found this extract: "We observe what 
 you write about the warrant to John Page and we 
 only give it to .secure him that land when the Indian 
 Claims can be taken off He himself tells us he 
 
48 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 would much rather lose the land than it should 
 occasion disputes between the Indians and us and 
 we think it very reasonable that after that is made 
 easy he should have it, for which purpose we have 
 given him fresh warrants endorsed on the back that 
 they are not to operate till those disputes are settled 
 and then the surveyor is immediately to finish and 
 return the survey." "The Manor of Chawton," Mr. 
 Page's tract of fifteen-hundred acres, was patented to 
 him, September 11, 1735, and located between the 
 Hockendauqua creek and the Lehigh. The patent 
 for Mr. Parris' tract was given at the same time, and 
 mentions "that in consideration of the many faithful 
 services to us rendered and as an instance of our 
 friendship and regard to him." The requirement, 
 however, was to pay a yearly quit-rent of one shilling 
 sterling, for every one-hundred acres. Recorded in 
 Patent Book A., vol. 7, p. 68, September 18, 1735. 
 What a deliberate falsehood is here exposed by their 
 own statements. 
 
 We have been struck by the various ingenious ef- 
 forts at this time used by the principal actors to con- 
 ceal the dates of their transactions, so as to cover the 
 nature of the offences. As an instance the following 
 abridgment from the Bucks county records: "On 
 the 5th of December, 1740, for the consideration of 
 iJ^ioo currency, William Allen and wife Margaret 
 convey to Issac Iselstein of Bucks county, yeoman, 
 178 acres, and an island containing about 10 acres, in 
 said West Branch of Delaware Ri\er, which said Tract 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTED. 49 
 
 and island were laid out to the said William Allen 
 under the right of John and Ann Sharlot Lowther to 
 5000 acres in the Province aforesaid, with all houses 
 and improvements." As this was Mr. Allen's deed, 
 we must conclude that it was his work, and will 
 equally apply to him in quite a number of other cases. 
 This grant no doubt was made to him sometime be- 
 fore the Walk of September, 1737. However, this 
 appears more obvious in the records and documents 
 of Thomas Penn, and which ha\'e so lately passed out 
 of the family, after being so long and closely kept. 
 They are complete from 1701 to 1779, with the ex- 
 ception of from July 2, 1736, to November, 1738, 
 which are wholly missing, and were no doubt inten- 
 tionally destroyed between the years 1756 and 1759, 
 to prevent investigation and exposure. Transactions 
 between March 23, 1729, and September 10, 1735, are 
 lumped together, but before and after these dates they 
 are readily understood, and names of purchasers, dates, 
 areas and localities, are fully specified. 
 
 A letter was .sent by the Delaware Indians to Chief 
 Justice Jeremiah Langhorne, dated Smithfield, March 
 26, 1 74 1, wherein they complain that there was "about 
 one hundred families of whites settled on their lands 
 which these folks say Thomas Penn had sold them the 
 land. If he has it never was his to sell, that their lands 
 extend down along the Delaware to the mouth of the 
 Tohickon, thence up said .stream to its very source, 
 thence by a straight line to Patquating.and thence by 
 a straight line to the Blue Mountains, thence to a place 
 
50 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 called Mahaning, thence along a mountain called Nes- 
 samack, thence along the great swamp to a branch of 
 Delaware river, and so to the Delaware to the place of 
 beginning. They state that they had sold the tract at 
 Durham, Nicholas Dupue's and Weiser's tracts, and 
 now desire that Thomas Penn would take these people 
 off from our land in peace, if not that they would be 
 compelled to do it, but would prefer to live in peace 
 and friendship." This in the end proved no idle threat 
 to the unfortunate settlers thereon, for it was here 
 that the Delawares fought with the most determined 
 fury for the recovery of their favorite hunting grounds, 
 of which the avariciousness and trickery of the Penns 
 and their officials had dispossessed them, and that too 
 by force through a connivance with the more power- 
 ful Iroquois. 
 
 A Council was held with the Indians in Philadel- 
 phia, July 6, 1742, by Governor Thomas, at which 
 were present Sassoonan, Nutimus and other chiefs. 
 ( )n this occasion Canassatego, chief of the Onanda- 
 goes, made a speech in behalf of the Delawares: "We 
 know," he said, "our lands are now becoming more 
 valuable. The white people think we do not know 
 their value, but we are sensible that the land is ever- 
 lasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon 
 worn out and gone. For the future we will sell no 
 lands but when Brother Onas is in the country; 
 and will know beforehand the quantity of the goods 
 we are to receive. Besides we are not well used with 
 respect to the lands still unsold by us. Your people 
 
LANDS SOLD NOT GRANTP:i). 5 I 
 
 daily settle on these lands and spoil our hunting. We 
 must insist 6n your removing them, as you know they 
 have no right to settle to the nothward of Kittoch- 
 tinny Hills. We desire they may forthwith be made 
 to go off the land, for they do great damage to 
 our cousins the Delawares." Here several grave 
 charges are made ; one that they had not received the 
 amount of goods promised them for their lands. We 
 also perceive that he was ignorant of the claim set up 
 by the proprietaries through the Walk to all that sec- 
 tion by the extraordinary manner they had the head 
 line extended. 
 
 As to the character of Thomas Penn on these mat- 
 ters, Robert Vaux, in a discourse delivered before the 
 Historical Society (Memoirs, Vol. ii, p. 31) January 
 I, 1827, gives the following account: "The proprietor 
 had several meetings with the Indians, in order to ar- 
 range their land affairs, which, however, did not result 
 to their satisfaction. He also, with a view to raise 
 money, devised a lottery for the disposal of one hun- 
 dred thousand acres of land. This was an original at- 
 tempt to introduce legalized gambling into Pennsyl- 
 vania, and though the mischievous plan was frustrated, 
 the mere proposition, seriously, and with good reason, 
 impaired the confidence which some of the people of 
 the province had been wont to repose in the proprie- 
 tary. Part of the land selected for prizes in the con- 
 templated raffle, lay within the region claimed by the 
 natives, who, on being apprised of the fact, uttered 
 loud complaints, and for the first time threatened to 
 
52 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 resist any invasion of their territory. Thomas Penn's 
 visit to the province certainly did not contribute to 
 strengthen the friendship of the Indians, and when lie 
 returned to England in 1741, the Assembly in address- 
 ing him, said 'whatever differences of opinion may 
 have happened between us, we hope thou wilt believe 
 the freemen of the province retain a proper regard for 
 the proprietary.' Plainly showing that a disagreement 
 had existed, and that their separation was not on the 
 cordial terms of their meeting." We see in this state- 
 ment a resemblance to the final departure of his father 
 in 1 70 1. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE TRIAL WALK. 
 
 William Penn died July 30, 171 8, at the age of 74 
 years, leaving six children. The Province of Penn- 
 sylvania he bequeathed to the three sons of his second 
 marriage, John, Thomas and Richard, giving to the 
 eldest a double portion. John, who thus became the 
 proprietor of one -half the province, died in 1746, 
 and left his whole estate to his brother Thomas. The 
 latter came over to attend to affairs here in August, 
 1732, and remained till August, 1741 ; making a stay 
 of nine years. John, the elder brother, arrived here 
 in September, 1734, and returned near the close of 
 that month in the following year to P^ngland to op- 
 pose the pretensions of Lord Baltimore respecting 
 the boundaries of Maryland. These were the only 
 visits they made here. In the case of John Penn, as 
 will be observed, the stay was quite brief Thomas 
 Penn was a shrewd, designing, close-fisted business 
 man. His character has been pretty severely spoken 
 of by Benjamin Franklin, Charles Thomson, John F. 
 Watson, Sherman Day and others. He was here in 
 the interval of 1732 and 1741, a very interesting period, 
 and long enough to get sufficiently acquainted to cause 
 
54 'I'HE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 considerable trouble to the colonists and the Indians. 
 On his arrixal he was thirty-one years of age and old 
 enough to have shown more discretion. 
 
 We have said that there had been a great deal of 
 mystery about the Indian Walk; its date, beginning 
 and ending have alike puzzled the ablest minds with- 
 out thinking there was a design in it. W^e now come 
 to a still greater mystery, the Trial Walk; the truth 
 of which the private papers of Thomas Penn have at 
 last revealed. The great wonder is how this could be 
 so long and completely kept a secret by those engaged 
 in it; that in the great investigation from 1756 to 1760, 
 or later, on the misgovernment of the Penns, it should 
 have escaped also the notice of such men as Benjamin 
 Franklin, Charles Thomson, Isaac Norris, Israel Pem- 
 berton, Thomas Lightfoot, the Friendly Association, 
 and a host of others, so ardently engaged in ferreting 
 out their abuses. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, and ev^en sometime before, as 
 we have shown, the attention of Thomas Penn was 
 called by his particular friends to the Indian com- 
 jjlaints and the encroachments of speculators and set- 
 tlers on their lands, which, if not soon satisfactorily 
 adjusted, might terminate in open hostilities and war. 
 In October, 1734, John and Thomas Penn, by appoint- 
 ment, met the Indians at Durham, where a company 
 had purchased a desirable tract containing six thous- 
 and acres, before 1727, and erected iron works thereon. 
 As James Logan, one of the proprietary commissioners 
 of property, ^nd William Allen, of whom we have 
 
THE TRIAL WALK. 55 
 
 already spoken, were among these purchasers, it 
 may not appear so strange that on dividing it De- 
 cember 24, 1773 (Bucks Co. Records, Deed Book 
 F, p. 192), it was found to contain eight thousand 
 Jive hundred and eleven acres and one hundred perches. 
 What was said and done at the meeting here has 
 never been made public. It is known that Tishco- 
 han and Nutimus were present, and that the prelim- 
 inaries relating to the Indian Walk must have been ar- 
 ranged, and another meeting agreed upon the follow- 
 ing spring at Pennsbury. But before that meeting 
 was to take place a trial or experimental walk was de- 
 termined on as quietly as possible, and, of course, un- 
 known to the Indians. Without further introduction 
 we are now brought to this subject. 
 
 The earliest mention we have found relating in any 
 way to this Walk, is in an account of having paid 
 "April 12, 1735, Timo. Smith, Expenses on travelling 
 ye Indian Purchase ;^5," and six days afterwards for 
 "sundries" sent the same £2 s\\. The gentleman 
 here mentioned was a resident of the present township 
 of Upper Makefield, and at this time the high sheriff 
 of Bucks county, owing his commission to his em- 
 ployer, who had appointed him, with James Steel his 
 receiver general, to conduct and oversee this walk with 
 the assistance of John Chapman, of Wrightstown, dep- 
 uty surveyor of the county. Smith, with his assist- 
 ants, must have commenced near the beginning of 
 April to locate and clear the route for travelling the 
 line. To a manuscript book (p. 137), written by John 
 
56 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 Watson, afterwards deputy surveyor of the same 
 county, we are indebted for some important informa- 
 tion which he copied from Chapman's memoranda 
 made while engaged in this work : 
 
 " From Wrightstown, where the first Indian purchase 
 came to, to Pkimstead, is a Httle to the North of the 
 North West along the Road 9 or 10 miles, and the 
 sev^eral Cources of the Road from Pkimstead to Cata- 
 tuning Hills (Blue Mountain) is North West 8 miles to 
 the head of Perkiomen Branch, North West by North 
 4 miles to Stokes' Meadow, North I mile by the old 
 Draught. North North West 16 miles to the West 
 Branch, then by the same North 30 chains, North 
 North West 25 chains. North West 6 chains, North 
 90 chains, North North West 117 chains, North 74 
 chains, North North P^ast 30 chains, North West by 
 North 410 chains to the Mountain. Begun to be run 
 or surveyed 22d of 2 Mo. and ended the first of May 
 in the year according to English Account, 1735, by 
 John Chapman. Almost a copy b}' Jno. Watson." 
 
 From the aforesaid we obtain the following: That 
 from Wrightstown to Plumstead is 9 or 10 miles, from 
 the latter place to the head branch of Perkiomen 8 
 miles, to Stokes' Meadow 4 miles, and to the West 
 Branch or Lehigh river 17 miles, making, from 
 Wrightstown to the Lehigh, 39 miles, and to the Le- 
 high Gap of the Blue Mountain a total of 48-)^ miles. 
 These facts prove that this route was laid through Bed- 
 minster township near the ])resent village of Strawn- 
 town, keeping west of the Haycock, or it would not 
 
THE TRIM, WALK. ' 57 
 
 have passed over the head of Perkiomen and through 
 Stokes' Meadow, which was the place lately owned 
 and occupied by General Paul Applebach. By com- 
 paring the line of this route with late maps it will be 
 found on a pretty direct course towards the Lehigh 
 Gap. 
 
 It would appear that these preparations involved so 
 much time and labor that John and Thomas Penn be- 
 came uneasy, and James Steel was instructed to write. 
 April 26th, to Timothy Smith as follows : " The Pro- 
 prietaries are impatient to know what progress is made 
 in travelling over the land that is to be settled in 
 the ensuing treaty that is to be held with the In- 
 dians at Pennsbury on the fifth day of the next month, 
 and therefore desire thee, without delay, to send 
 down an account of what has been done in that affair, 
 and if anything is omitted or neglected which should 
 have been pursued, the same may be yet performed 
 before the intended time of meeting the Indians." 
 Only three days after this he sends another letter to 
 Smith and Chapman, in which he says: "The Pro- 
 prietaries are very much concerned that so much time 
 hath been lost before you begun the work recom- 
 mended so earnestly to you at your leaving Philadel- 
 phia, and it being so very short before the meeting at 
 Pennsbury, the fifth of the next month, that they now 
 desire that upon the return of Joseph Doane, he to- 
 gether with two other persons who can travel well, 
 should be immediately sent on foot on the day and 
 half journey, and two others on horse-back to carry 
 
5o THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 necessary provisions for them and to assist them in 
 their return home. The time is now so far spent that 
 not one moment is to be lost; and as soon as the)' 
 have travelled the day and half journey, the Proprie- 
 taries desire that a messenger may be sent to give 
 them account, without delay, how far that day and half 
 travelling will reach up the country. Pray use your 
 utmost diligence, and let nothing be wanting to be 
 done on this important occasion, which will give great 
 satisfaction to the Proprietaries, who will generously 
 reward you, and those you employ, for }-our care and 
 trouble." 
 
 What do these confidential extracts reveal : " Let 
 nothing be wanting to be done on this important oc- 
 casion, which will give great satisfaction to the Pro- 
 prietaries, who will generously reward you and those 
 you employ." No foul means are asked, but anyhow, 
 so it be done to the advantage of the employers. The 
 exact date of this one and a half day's walk it has been 
 impossible for us to fix, but it is believed from some 
 of the attending circumstances, that it was made be- 
 tween the first and eighth of May. Neither can we 
 jjositively give the names of the three walkers, but no 
 doubt they were t^dward Marshall, Joseph Doane and 
 probably James Yates. In a letter from Steel to Smith, 
 dated the 27th of August, 1737, relative to the final 
 walk, we find an intimation that Marshall was certainly 
 meant — "and for that purpose our Proprietor would 
 request thee to speak to that man of the three which 
 traxelled and held out the best when the\' walked o\er 
 
THE TRIAL WALK. 59 
 
 the land before, to attend that service at the time men- 
 tioned." We have thought in consequence of Edward 
 Marshall being a. chain carrier for either Benjamin 
 Eastburn, surveyor general, or Nicholas Scull, his 
 deputy, or perhaps for both, may have led to his being 
 appointed one of the walkers. The fact would be cer- 
 tainly interesting could it be ascertained what brought 
 his engagement about. 
 
 The Penn accounts state that Timothy Smith was 
 paid twice for going over this walk, the second time. 
 May 31st, £10, we suppose for attending the walkers. 
 We next find that he was paid for " ye 3 men who 
 travelled ye Purchase ^^15," which, in our present cur- 
 rency, is about $11 to each one. John Watson, Sr., 
 of Buckingham, in his communication on the Walk in 
 1 81 5, is correct in the following extract if applied to 
 this walk, though like all other writers heretofore on 
 the subject, ignorant of this experimental trip : " In 
 the spring of the year 1735, a surveyor employed for 
 the purpose run and measured a line beginning where 
 the northwest boundary of the first purchase crossed 
 the Durham road, and thence northwesterly on the 
 .said road to somewhere about Haycock, and then 
 turned more to the left thro' the woods to the Lehigh 
 Gap in the Blue mountain, blazing the southeast side 
 of the trees and saplings in the woods within sight of 
 each other." 
 
 We have both the authority of James Steel and Tim- 
 othy Smith, that Thomas Penn selected the walkers, 
 though, as we shall show hereafter, he professed an 
 
6o THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 entire ii^norance on the subject. Steel's letters also 
 prove that before undertakin<^ the charge of the Trial 
 Walk, Timothy Smith and John Chapman had both 
 been to Philadelphia diWdreceivedtJicir instructions from 
 one or both of the proprietaries, hozu to conduct and carry 
 it out to their satisfaction. In the testimonies of several 
 that were present at the final Walk of 1737, we find 
 some allusions to this, but without the aforesaid in- 
 formation could not have been well understood. Tim- 
 othy Smith, on his affirmation, says that he was em- 
 ployed "the May preceding [1735] the going the said 
 W^alk to get some persons to try the course in order 
 that the said Walk might go by a straight Line as near 
 as it could, he accordingly did with some other Per- 
 sons try the proposed course by as near a straight 
 Line as they well could, but it leading them over the 
 Mountains and thro' a very rocky broken way which 
 as this affirmant conceived, could not answer, he there- 
 fore advised that in going the said Walk they should 
 keep the great Road and old Paths as much as might 
 be." From a personal knowledge, there is no question 
 that this route did lead through an uncommonh' rock}- 
 country, particularly in the present townships of Hay- 
 cock and Springfield, and in fact almost to the Lehigh, 
 which was a serious impediment to opening the road 
 as laid out for traxel. 
 
 P2phraim Goodwin, of Springfield township, who 
 was present at the Walk of 1737, in his testimon}-, 
 says: "There had been, as he was informed, a course 
 by marked trees, run and laid out previous to going 
 
THE TRIAL WALK. 6 1 
 
 the said walk." John Heider, another witness of 1737, 
 says, after passing through Lehigh Gap they con- 
 tinued the walk a northwest course for seven or eight 
 miles, "by trees which had been marked for a good 
 part of the Way." Alexander Brown, of Buckingham, 
 also affirms that in going from George Wilson's plan- 
 tation, believed to be near the present village of Spring- 
 town, to Lehigh, they sometimes went " by an old path 
 and sometimes by marked trees which he understood 
 had been made sometime before by the surveyors, who, 
 as this affirmant heard and understood, had tryed 
 the course that the said walkers were to go, and 
 where there were neither roads and paths to walk in, 
 had marked trees to direct them in the straight course 
 to avoid hills." Joseph Knowles, a nephew of Timo- 
 thy Smith, who lived with him at this time, in speak- 
 ing of the Walk of 1737, says : " I went sometime be- 
 fore to carry the chain, and to help to clear a road as 
 directed by my uncle." Moses Marshall, the son of 
 Edward, related to John Watson, Jr., in 1822, that he 
 had learned from his father that a line " had been run 
 and marked for them to walk by to the top of the Blue 
 Mountain." In all this testimony how ingeniously 
 the Trial Walk has been kept concealed. 
 
 The Trial Walk, as stated, came off in the beginning 
 of May, 1735, and what is popularly denominated the 
 Indian Walk not till the 19th and 20th of September, 
 1737. As will be seen, this experimental walk was 
 made two years and about four months previously. 
 The leading object of this was no doubt to ascertain 
 
62 'I'lIK INUIAX \VAIJ<. 
 
 first how far said walk might extend up into the coun- 
 tr\-, and in consequence be the better prepared to deal 
 with the Indians on this matter at Pennsbury, where a 
 meeting" had been appointed to be held the previous 
 summer. James Steel's letters to Timothy Smith 
 clearly reveal how anxious and impatient the proprie- 
 taries had become to have the Walk made and reported 
 to them in time for the Pennsbur\^ meeting, which took 
 place the 9th of May, 1735, immediately afterwards, 
 at which Lapowanzo, Nutimus, Tiscohanand other In- 
 dians were present; the same who met in Philadelphia 
 in August, 1737, when the deed was made and signed 
 in the presence of Thomas Penn and then determined 
 to be publicly walked out. 
 
 The chief object of the Trial Walk was no doubt to 
 make it certain of going far enough up into the coun- 
 try, and by drawing a line at right angles from its ex- 
 tremity, to take in all the desirable lands for a con- 
 siderable distance above the Blue Mountains along the 
 Delaware, even, if necessary, to the mouth of the Lack- 
 awaxen, where, as we have stated, the Pcnns had sold 
 thousands of acres to William Allen and others as 
 early as 1728, without any regard to honor, justice or 
 the rights of the Indians ; yea, ivitlioiit ci'en their knoivl- 
 edsre or consent. 
 
 o 
 
 From the testimony of the witnesses present at tlie 
 Walk of 1737, we get considerable information respect- 
 ing this; for instance, that it was laid out by a compass 
 and made as direct as possible, and where there were 
 no roads or paths trees were marked to indicate the 
 
THE TRIAL WALK. 65 
 
 proper direction for the walkers. According to the 
 affidavit of John Heider, the trees had been marked for 
 seven or eight miles beyond the Lehigh Gap. So we 
 can be sure of this Walk having at least gone that 
 far, but more likely some distance beyond. 
 
 There is no question that this Walk has puzzled 
 Avriters by being confounded with the one of 1737. 
 For instance, John Watson, Sr., who was once the pos- 
 sessor of the manuscript book of John W^atson, the 
 deputy county surveyor, by the information contained 
 therein, was led into the error that the real or final 
 W^alk had taken place in the spring of 1735. The se- 
 crecy of this affair for so long an interval was really 
 wonderful, and cannot in any way redound to the 
 credit of those engaged in it. If done in the first place 
 through ignorance of its ultimate objects, the Walk of 
 1737 must have revealed to them the nature of the busi- 
 ness they had been engaged in and the consequences 
 that must surely follow. John Chapman died in 1743, 
 and Timothy Smith at a very advanced age in the 
 spring of 1 776, and we suppose the descendants of 
 their old neighbors in Upper Makefield and W^rights- 
 town townships have no traditions respecting it, as ap- 
 pears to be verified in the writings of John Watson, 
 Sr., Joseph Smith, John Watson, Jr., Samuel Preston, 
 Charles B. Trego, Dr. Charles W. Smith, Thomas 
 Warner, Michael H. Jenks, Benjamin W'iggins, and 
 others of that vicinity. That there was an experimental 
 walk is proved beyond a doubt, and the secrecy that 
 so long enveloped it bodes that it was not done for any 
 good or noble purpose. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE WALKING PURCHASE. 
 
 The Swedes arrived in the Delaware in 1638 with 
 two vessels under the command of Peter Minuet. They 
 brought a number of colonists with provisions, ammu- 
 nition and merchandise for traffic, and first landed at 
 a spot near Cape Henlopen, which was called Para- 
 dise. The colonists conciliated the natives, and pur- 
 chased from them the land on the west side of the 
 bay from Cape Henlopen to Sankhicon, or the falls at 
 Trenton. This they called New Sweden. Minuet, as 
 well as those who succeeded him, sedulously cultivated 
 peace with the natives. The Dutch, having wrested 
 the country from the Swedes in 1655, were succeeded 
 nine years after by the English, and its government 
 vested in that of New York. A purchase was made 
 from four Indian chiefs in 1679, in the name of Sir 
 P'dmund Andros, governor of the colony, for the Duke 
 of York, of a tract in the present Bucks county, ex- 
 tending as far as eight or nine miles above the falls, 
 and about the same distance below, without exactly 
 defining the limits westward. 
 
 The next purchase of lands above the Neshaminy 
 was most probabh' made by William Markham.as the 
 
THE WALKINC; PURCHASE. 65 
 
 agent of William Penn.onthe 15th of July, 1682; nearly 
 four months before the arrival of the latter. It was 
 made with thirteen chiefs, and appears to have been 
 in part based on the purchase of 1679. ^^ ^'^^ to ex- 
 tend from a white oak on the land in the tenure of 
 John Wood, opposite the falls of Delaware, and to go 
 thence up the river side to a corner spruce tree, marked 
 with the letter P, at the foot of a mountain, and from 
 the ledge or foot of said mountain west-southwest to 
 a corner white oak, marked with the letter P, standing 
 by the Indian path leading to an Indian town called 
 Playwicky, and near the head of a creek called Tow- 
 sisnick; thence westward to the Neshaminy and along 
 the same to its mouth ; then up the river Delaware 
 aforesaid to the white oak on John Wood's land. 
 Though its upper limits are so vaguely defined, we 
 believe the genuineness of this conveyance has never 
 been questioned. It would extend from somewhere 
 in or adjacent to Wrightstown to the foot of the hills on 
 the south side of the Lehigh. 
 
 On the 17th of September, 171 8, a deed of release 
 was given by sundry Delaware Indian chiefs, Sassoonan 
 and six others, for all the lands situated between the 
 rivers Delaware and Susquehanna, and on the south 
 from Duck creek to the mountains this side of Lehigh, 
 with an acknowledgment that they had seen and heard 
 divers deeds of sale read unto fhetn, under the hands 
 and seals of former kings and chiefs of the Delaware 
 Indians, thetr ancestors and predecessors, who were 
 the owners of these lands, by which they had granted 
 
66 TIIK INDIAN WALK. 
 
 the lands to William Penn, for which they were satis- 
 fied and content, which, for a further consideration of 
 goods delivered them, they then confirmed. This 
 was recorded May 13, 1728, yet the Penns made no 
 use of these deeds. 
 
 We now come to the preliminaries attending; the 
 Walking Purchase; on what it was based, and how it 
 was finally agreed upon by the proprietaries and In- 
 dians, with the proceedings connected therewith as set 
 down at the time with the approbation of Thomas 
 Penn. We know that it has been said that Penn was 
 not present, and in the examination in 1756—59 he 
 tried to leave this impression in his writings, with the 
 evident design to clear himself by throwing whatever 
 blame there might be on his agents. Turning to the 
 Pennsylvania Archives (Vol. I, pp. 539 to 543), we shall 
 find what is now wanted. That a council was held 
 with the Delaware Indians at Philadelphia, August 24, 
 1737, at which was present "The Hon'ble Tho's Penn, 
 Iisqr., Prop'r," James Logan, Plsq., President, and Sam- 
 uel Preston, Clement Plumstead,J. Lawrence, Richard 
 Assheton, I. Hasell, J. Griffitts. Alexander Hamilton, 
 and William Allen, of the Council. 
 
 "The Proprietor informed the Gentlemen present, 
 that his PLlder Brother and himself, having some time 
 since had two Meetings with the Delaware Indians, 
 one at Durham, and the other at Pennsbury, not only 
 for the Renewal of Friendship with the People, but 
 likewise to adjust some Matters relating to Lands ly- 
 ing in the county of Bucks, which tho' formerly fully 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE, 67 
 
 and absolutely, released by the Indians, then inhabit- 
 ing those Parts, to his Father, yet they had of late 
 made some claim to them. That the Indians who met 
 at Pennsbury, having represented that some of their 
 Chiefs were then absent, who ought to be consulted 
 on the Occasion, nothing was then concluded on; but 
 that now a great number of those Indians, with sev- 
 eral of their Chiefs and ancient Men, were come hither 
 to proceed on the Business, and he the Proprietor had 
 given the Gentlemen the trouble of meeting to hear 
 what is offered ; but that the whole might be the better 
 understood, several Papers containing what had passed 
 at Pennsbury were read. 
 
 "The Indians being then called in and seated, they 
 were thus spoke to, Barefoot Brunston being Inter- 
 preter. That on the Proprietor Thomas Penn's com- 
 ing into the Country, he was very desirous of seeing 
 his Brethren the Delaware Indians; that on his elder 
 Brother John Penn's coming hither, he had likewise 
 the same Inclination, and they, the Proprietaries, to- 
 gether, had once met those Indians at Durham, and 
 afterwards at Pennsbury; that they could have wished 
 to have seen those old Men who are now here at those 
 Meetings; that nevertheless, they are now pleased to 
 see them, are always glad of such opportunities to re- 
 new the old League and Friendship that had been es- 
 tablished with them. 
 
 "That all the Indians must be fully sensible as well 
 of the Justice of William Penn as of his great love for 
 all the Indians, since he made it a Rule, constantly to 
 
68 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 be observed, neither to take possession himself, nor 
 suffer others to possess themselves of any Lands with- 
 out first purchasin<^ them from the Indians, who had 
 a right to them. That when William Penn's sons saw 
 the Indians at Durham, they mentioned the old friend- 
 ship which their Father had established with all the 
 Indians, and entered into some discourse about the 
 Lands lying — [Here is left a blank space, for what 
 purpose will be shown hereafter]. That at Pennsbur\' 
 these Matters were again spoken of fully, but as se\- 
 eral of the Indians now here were not then present, it 
 might be convenient that they should hear what then 
 passed. 
 
 "And the speech of May 8th was read and inter- 
 preted to them, Upon producing the Deeds referred to 
 in that speech, to wit: one from Mayhkeerukkisho, &c., 
 dated the 28th of August, 1680, and the other from 
 Idquhon and several southern Indians, dated 1 5th 
 July, 1682. The Indians now fully acknowledged and 
 owned the last mentioned Deed to be true, and added 
 that they had not a sufficient knowledge of it when 
 they were at Pennsbury; but having since conferred 
 with some of the ancient Men of the Southern Indians, 
 they are convinced of the truth of it. As to the other 
 Deeds, the Indians making some Hesitation, the same 
 was not only read and fully interpreted to them, but 
 likewise the Deposition of Joseph Wood, who was 
 present at the said sale, and has signed as a Witness 
 to the Deed, and likewise the Deposition of William 
 Biles, who was present at this transaction, and remem- 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 69 
 
 bers well all that then passed ; and the whole matter 
 being fully stated to the Indians, they desired till the 
 afternoon to consider the same. 
 
 " P. M. The Proprietor, President and several Gen- 
 tlemen of the Council, being met, the Indians came, 
 and being seated, Manawkyhickon, their speaker, de- 
 livered himself thus by the Interpreter. That he is 
 much rejoiced to see the Proprietor, whose P'ather was 
 a good Man, and in his stead his son now stands; that 
 being desirous to preserve and continue the same Love 
 and Friendship that had subsisted between William 
 Penn and all the Indians, he now presents the Pro- 
 prietor with a belt of Wampum of four Rows; that he 
 should be sorry if after this mutual Love and Friend- 
 ship anything should arise that might create the least 
 misunderstanding, which they will carefully endeavor 
 to avoid. That the Proprietor knows well how the 
 Lines mentioned in the deeds from Mayhkeerichshoc, 
 &c.. are to run; but they do not fully understand 
 them. 
 
 " Hereupon, a Draught was made, and the same be- 
 ing explained to the Indians, and they conferring to- 
 gether, their speaker proceeded and said: That upon 
 considering all that they had heard touching the said 
 Deed, and now seeing the Lines in it laid down, they 
 are sufficiently convinced of the truth thereof, and that 
 they have no objection, but are willing to join in a full 
 and absolute Confirmation of the said sale. That, 
 nevertheless, as the Indians and white People have 
 ever lived together, in a good understanding they, the 
 
70 riri-: ixdiax walk. 
 
 Indians, would request that they may be permitted to 
 remain on their present settlements and Plantations. 
 tho' within that purchase, without being molested. In 
 answer to which the assurances that w^ere given on 
 this head at Pennsbury, were repeated and confirmed 
 to them, and the Proprietor told them he would speak 
 further to them to-morrow." 
 
 DEED AUTHORIZlNf; THE WALK. 
 
 We, Teeshakomen, alias Tisheekunk, and Nootamis, 
 alias Nutimus, two of the Sachemas or Chiefs of the 
 Delaware Indians, having almost three years ago, at 
 Durham, begun a Treaty with our honourable Brethren 
 John and Thomas Penn, and from thence another Meet- 
 ing was appointed to be at Pennsbury, the next Spring 
 following, to which We repaired with Lappawinzoe 
 and several others of the Delaware Indians, At which 
 Treaty several Deeds were produced and Showed us 
 by our said Brethren, concerning Several Tracts of 
 Land which our Forefathers had, more than fifty years 
 ago, Bargained and sold unto our good F'ricnd and 
 Brother William Penn, the Father of the said John 
 and Thomas Penn, and in Particular one Deed from 
 Maykeerickkisho, Sayhoppy and Taughhaughsey, the 
 Chiefs or Kings of the Northern Indians on Delaware, 
 who, for large Quantities of Goods delivered by the 
 Agents of William Penn, to those Indian Chiefs, Did 
 Bargain and Sell unto the said William Penn, All those 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 7I 
 
 Tract or Tracts of Lands lying and being in the Prov- 
 ince of Penns}-lvania, Beginning upon a line fornierh- 
 laid out from a Corner Spruce Tree, by the River Del- 
 aware, about Makeerickkitton, and from thence run- 
 ning along the ledge or foot of the Mountains, West 
 South West to a corner White Oak marked with the 
 letter P, Standing by the Indian Path that leadeth to an 
 Indian Town called Playwicky, and from thence ex- 
 tending Westward to Neshaminy Creek, from which 
 said line the said Tract or Tracts thereby Granted doth 
 extend itself back into the Woods as far as a man can 
 goe in one day and a half, and bounded on the West- 
 erly side with the Creek called Neshaminy, or the most 
 Westerly branch thereof, so far as the said Branch doth 
 
 extend, and from thence by line 
 
 to the utmost extent of the said one day and a half's 
 Journey, and from thence to the aforesaid River Del- 
 aware, and from thence down the Several Courses of 
 the said river to the first mentioned Spruce Tree. And 
 all this did likewise appear to be true by William Biles 
 and Joseph Wood, who upon their affirmations, did 
 solemnly declare that they well remembered the Treaty 
 held between the Agents of William Penn and those 
 Indians. But some of our Old Men being then Ab- 
 sent, We requested of our Brethren John Penn and 
 Thomas Penn that we might have more time to Con- 
 sult with our People concerning the same, which re- 
 quest being granted us, We have, after more than two 
 years since the Treaty at Pennsbury, now come to Phil- 
 
72 THE IXDIAX WALK, 
 
 adelphia, together with our chief Sachems Monocky- 
 hickon, and several of our Old Men, and upon a further 
 Treaty held upon the Subject, We Do Acknowledge 
 Ourselves and every of Us, to be fully satisfied that 
 the above described Tract or Tracts of Land were truly 
 Granted and Sold by the said Mayhkeerickkishsho, 
 Sahoppy, and Taughhaughsey, unto the said William 
 Penn and his Heirs, And for a further Confirmation 
 thereof, We, the said Monockyhickon, Lappawinzoe, 
 Tisheekunk, and Nutimus, Do. for ourselves and all 
 other the Delaware Indians, fully, clearly, and Abso- 
 lutely Remise, Release, and forever Quit claim unto 
 the said John Penn, Thomas Penn, and Richard Penn, 
 All our Right, Title, Interest, and pretensions what- 
 ever of, in, or to the said Tract or Tracts of Land and 
 every Part and Parcel thereof. So that neither We, or 
 any of us, or our Children, shall or may at any time 
 hereafter, have Challenge, Claim, or Demand any 
 Right, Title, Interest, or pretensions whatever of, 
 in, or to the said Tract or Tracts of Land, or any 
 Part thereof, but of and from the same shall be ex- 
 cluded, and forever Debarred. And We do hereby 
 further Agree, that the extent of the said Tract or 
 Tracts of Land shall be forthwith Walked, Tra\'elled, 
 or gone over by proper Persons to be appointed for 
 that Purpose, According to the direction of the afore- 
 said Deed. In Witness whereof, We have hereunto 
 set our hands and Seals at Philadelphia, the Twenty- 
 fifth day of the Month called August, in the Year, Ac- 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 73 
 
 cording to the English Account, one thousand sev^en 
 hundred and thirty-seven. 
 
 Manawkyhickon, his x mark, 
 Lappawinzoe, his x mark, 
 Teeshacomin, his x mark, 
 NooTAMis, his X mark. 
 
 " It was therefore necessary," remarks Charles Thom- 
 son in his AHenation of the Indians (p. 36), "in order 
 that things might be carried on quietly, that the Deed 
 of 1718 should be passed over in silence, and that Sas- 
 soonan should not be present, nor any of those who 
 signed that Deed. If it be asked what advantage could 
 be gained by getting the Deed of 1686 confirmed, 
 we shall easily see by an account of the Walk, and of 
 the advantage taken of the Blanks in the Deeds of re- 
 lease. Great stress is laid on a Deed (ib., pp. 47, 48), 
 said to be granted above fifty-five years ago. This is said 
 to be the Deed of 1686. Yet, tho' it is mentioned here 
 as lying on the Table; nay, tho' the Indian Speaker 
 says that he had seen it with his own Eyes, yet still it 
 is doubted whether there really was such a Deed. It 
 is certain there is none such now in being, nor re- 
 corded: For, at the Treaty at Easton, 1757, when the 
 Indian King demanded that the Deeds might be pro- 
 duced, by which the Proprietors held the lands, and 
 the Governor and his Council determined to follow 
 the Course the Proprietor had chalked out, and to 
 justify their claim by the Deed of 1686, and the Re- 
 lease of 1737, they had no deed of 1686 to produce: 
 
74 'I'Hl' IM>IA\ WALK. 
 
 but instead thereof, produced a \Vritin<^, said to be a 
 copy of that Deed, not attested, nor even signed by 
 any one as a true Copy. From whence some have 
 been ready to conclude that the Charge brought by 
 the Indian chief, at the Easton Treaty in 1756, is not 
 without grounds ; where he says, that some lands were 
 taken from him by Fraud and Forgery ; and afterwards, 
 when called upon to explain what he means by the 
 Terms, says, 'When one Man had formerly Liberty to 
 purchase Lands, and he took a Deed from the Indians 
 for it, and then dies ; and after his Death the Child- 
 ren forge a deed like the true one, with the same In- 
 dian names to it, and thereby take Lands from the In- 
 dians which they never sold. — This is Fraud.' It is 
 further asked, if there was such a Deed, why was it 
 not recorded as well as the Release of 1737 answ^er- 
 ing thereto? A Paper (ib., p. 128), said to be a Copy 
 of a Deed, dated 28th of 6th Month 1686, and en- 
 dorsed, 'Copy of the last Indian Purchase.' To give 
 it some Credit, it has been confidently asserted, that 
 the said Indorsement is of the Hand-Writing of Wil- 
 liam Penn; but on its being produced at Easton, and 
 examined, it appeared clearly, and was confessed by 
 the Secretary and several others acquainted with Mr. 
 Penn's Hand-Writing, not to be his, nor indeed is it 
 like it. Its chief Mark of Credit is that it appears to 
 be ancient Paper. But there is no certificate of its 
 being a Copy, nor was it ever recorded. As the name 
 of JoscpJi Wood is put as one of the Evidences, and 
 as a Person of that name declared at Pennsbury in 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 
 
 /D 
 
 1734, he was present at an Indian Treaty in 1686, 
 and it is not known there was any other of that Name, 
 it seems extraordinary if this be a genuine Copy, tliat 
 he was not then called upon to make some Proof of it." 
 No one, we believe, has ever pretended that the 
 Deed of 1686 was not a forgery. Such it appears from 
 our observations to have been, and different writers 
 have pronounced it so. This deed, whatever worth, 
 was brought to light by Thomas Penn, and in his cor- 
 respondence he confessed that the original could not 
 be found. It was highly important for him to go by 
 this document on account of its blanks, in the filling 
 of which he might turn the Walk to the highest pos- 
 sible advantage. In a letter from Philadelphia to his 
 brothers John and Richard in England, dated August 
 20, 1737, but five days before the walking purchase 
 was agreed upon, he says: "I should have acquainted 
 you that just now several of the Delaware Indians who 
 were at Pennsbury when John Penn was here are 
 come, I hope to put an end to the dispute, the partic- 
 ulars of which he is acquainted with." On the iith 
 of October following he writes again to the same and 
 says : " Since I wrote you last at no very great expence 
 concluded with the Delaware Indians on the Foot of 
 the Agreement made in 1686, which thd done to their 
 satisfaction takes in as much ground as any person here 
 ever expected. I would not take their conveyance as 
 it would have lessened the validity of the former deed, 
 but only a release of their claim with an acknowledg- 
 ment of their ancestors before mentioned sale." Here 
 
76 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 is evidence of the importance he attached to that deed, 
 and on which the walk of 1737 is based, and why he 
 had them so firmly bound, even to acknowledgments 
 about which they could have known but little or noth- 
 ing, admitting" it true after upwards of half a century 
 had passed away. 
 
 As will be observed, in the Walking Purchase of 
 August 25, 1737, reference is made of the meeting held 
 at Durham in the summer of 1734: " At which Treaty 
 several Deeds were produced and Showed us by our 
 said Brethren, concerning Several Tracts of Land 
 which our Forefathers had more than fifty years ago, 
 Bargained and sold." In this extract some ingenuity 
 is exhibited, for it is impossible to tell what deeds are 
 meant, whether that of 1680, 1682 or 1686, or even 
 others. It is enough to confirm the truth of what 
 Charles Thomson has said in relation to this matter, 
 or else why so skillfully evaded? Again from the 
 same, "not only for the Renewal of Friendship with 
 those People, but likewise to adjust some Matters re- 
 lating to Lands lying in the county of Bucks, which 
 tho' formerly full)' and absolutely released by the In- 
 dians, then inhabiting those Parts to his Father, yet 
 they had of late made some claim to them. That all 
 the Indians must be fully sensible as well of the Justice 
 of William Penn as one of his great Love for all the 
 Indians, since he made it a Rule, constantly to be ob- 
 served, neither to take possession himself, nor suffer 
 others to possess themselves of any lands without first 
 purchasing them from the Indians, who had a right to 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. ']'] 
 
 them." Though this, coming from Thomas Penn, is 
 but self praise, yet it deserves some reply. If all be 
 as here declared, much of what is stated in this work 
 would be untrue though extracted from Penn's own 
 papers. 
 
 It is here said that these lands had been "fully and 
 absolutely released " to Thomas Penn's father by the In- 
 dians. We challenge the proof! As mentioned, the 
 deed of 1 718 is the only exception between 1682 and 
 1737, yet established from records, and where, in this 
 interval, in the great quantities of lands sold to specu- 
 lators and settlers, could any regard be exhibited for 
 the rights of the Indians? William Penn, on his sec- 
 ond visit here, was so remiss as not to pay any atten- 
 tion to the matter though earnestly pressed by the 
 Assembly. John F. Watson, in his Annals, alluding 
 to John Watson's account of the Walk, says: "He 
 argues, and supposes, that all the country north-west 
 of Wrightstown meeting-house was taken from the 
 Delawares without compensation." This coincides 
 with our views, and nothing, we believe, has ever been 
 established to the contrary. 
 
 What did the King, or William Penn, or any of his 
 successors, stipulate to do for the Indians? Go over 
 this chapter and observe closely the transactions con- 
 nected with the Walking Purchase of 1737, and that in- 
 strument itself — how completely one-sided it is ! How 
 binding on the Indians, for a consideration neithey 
 specified nor cmtmenited, yet meant for an equivalent ! 
 Here can be no prejudice exhibited towards the Penns, 
 
78 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 for it is their own work and will speak for itself Ob- 
 serve that the Indians "do hereby further agree, that 
 the extent of the said tract or tracts of Lands shall be 
 forthwith walked, travelled, or gone over by proper 
 persons to be appointed for the purpose according to 
 the direction of the aforesaid Deed." F"rom this it 
 would appear that the selection of the walkers was with 
 the consent of both parties, which would have been 
 but justice. Timothy Smith, however, in his affirma- 
 tion on the Walk of 1737, says: "James Yates, Ed- 
 ward Marshall and Solomon Jennings, who were ap- 
 pointed to go the said walk on the part of the said 
 Proprietaries." Well might it now be asked, where 
 was the authority derived to do this? Not certainly 
 from the release. And, if so desired, why was it not 
 placed there? These are not solitary examples, for 
 the conduct of the several Proprietaries in their inter- 
 course with the Indians exhibits only too many such 
 over-reach ings. 
 
 Mention is made in the minutes the day before sign- 
 ing the release of the Walking Purchase, "that the 
 proprietor knows well how the lines mentioned in the 
 deed are to run; but they do not fully understand 
 them. Hereupon a draught was made, and the same 
 being explained to the Indians and now seeing the 
 lines laid down, they are sufficiently convinced of the 
 truth thereof, and that they have no objection, but are 
 willing to join in a full and absolute confirmation of 
 the sale." We find further mention of this draft in 
 a letter from Thomas Penn, dated London, April 14, 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 79 
 
 1759, to William Logan, a member of the Council, in 
 which he says: "We must insist on the terms of the 
 deed and to the day and half's Walk, and as to tne 
 course that was laid down in Andrew Hamilton's Draft 
 of the land, by which the deed was explained and which 
 is at right angles with the lower part of the Delaware." 
 It was our good fortune to find this very draft among 
 the papers of Thomas Penn, by which he attempted to 
 explain to the Indians the proposed course of the Walk. 
 Any one can readily see, on inspecting and comparing 
 it with our present maps, that it was purposely gotten 
 up to deceive. It is a rude affair, on which the Dela- 
 ware is represented from the mouth of the Neshaminy 
 to the Lehigh river. The forks of the Neshaminy are 
 placed considerably more than half-way towards the 
 Lehigh, when in reality they do not nearly approach 
 half this distance. The " Spruce tree P " is marked on 
 the Delaware a short distance above the " Great Creek 
 Mackerickhitton," from the head of which a line is 
 made westward to the Neshaminy, and serves as abase 
 from the middle of which another line is represented 
 nearly due north with the Lehigh and no further, and 
 inscribed "The supposed Day and Half's journey into 
 ye Woods." The deception lies in making this line ex- 
 actly parallel xvith the Delaware, and not representing 
 it any further to the north or north-northwest. Tho- 
 mas Penn very well knew, by the Trial Walk, made 
 more than two years previously, that the Lehigh was 
 only half the distance walked, and that the Delaware 
 above it extended towards the northeast, and the fur- 
 
8o THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 ther the Walk would reach towards the north-north- 
 west the greater must be the divergence and conse- 
 quently the amount of territory embraced within it. 
 
 The reservation by the Indians, we believe, has hith- 
 erto escaped all writers on this subject. We mean the 
 "request that they may be permitted to remain on 
 their present settlements and Plantations, tho' within 
 that purchase, without being molested. In answer to 
 which the assurances that were given on this head at 
 Pennsbury, were repeated and confirmed to them." 
 What an answer to a reasonable request! But it was 
 characteristic of Thomas Penn. Little did they then 
 think that before many years he would employ the 
 Iroquois or Six Nations in New York, regarded by 
 our early writers as the most ferocious Indians inhab- 
 iting the New World, to come down on this very tract, 
 and, contrar}' to ordinance, forcibly eject the Dela- 
 wares, who.se only alternative was to retire to Wyom- 
 ing with another outrage rankling in their hearts. 
 
 In the release of 1737 not an Indian name is gi\'en 
 that was on the deed of 171 8. We know that Sassoo- 
 nan, Shickalimy and Civility, distinguished chiefs, were 
 all living at this time. The two former lived for years 
 afterwards, yet it is believed they were in no way con- 
 sulted, or that they even knew anything about it. 
 William Allen confessed, in an affidavit, that he knew 
 Tedyuscung ten years previously. From other ac- 
 counts we know he was at this time about thirty-two 
 years of age. Why was he not also consulted? If 
 these were deemed worthy of some consideration on 
 
THE WALKING PURCHASE. 51 
 
 other matters before and after 1737, why not then? 
 The transactions of white men with the Indians have 
 reached us wholly through the hands of the former; 
 therefore, under the most favorable circumstances, it 
 will be still impossible to do them justice. Those who 
 dealt with them, like the Penns, for instance, unfor- 
 tunately possessed such extraordinary powers as to 
 keep down all expressions of opinion that did not favor 
 them, and which the strong arm of the Revolution 
 could alone overthrow. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR THE WALK. 
 
 W'e have in the progress of this work got through 
 with the final adjustment of the Walking Purchase, 
 and now come to the preparations attending it and 
 deemed requisite for a satisfactory consummation. 
 
 Prom the date of the release to the actual Walk 
 was twenty-four days, but had it taken place on the 
 1 2th of September, as had been arranged, it would have 
 taken seven days less. From the shortness of the time 
 it will appear that despatch was necessary, so as to 
 bring it to the most successful issue for the proprie- 
 taries. John Watson. Jr., about the year 1821, visited 
 Moses Marshall, the son of PMward, then in his eigh- 
 tieth year, and for that age possessed of remarkable 
 memory and understanding, and received from him 
 additional information respecting the Walk, which, as 
 related, he set down. He said that " notice was given 
 in public papers that the remaining day and a half's 
 walk was to be made, and offering five hundred acres 
 of land anywhere in the purchase and £s in money to 
 the person who should attend and walk the farthest in 
 the given time. By previous agreement the governor 
 was to select three persons and the Indians a like 
 number of their own nation. The persons employed 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE WALK. 83 
 
 by the governor were Edward Marshall, James Yates 
 and Solomon Jennings. One of the Indians was called 
 Combush,but he has forgotten the names of the other 
 two." We would say that by Governor here is meant 
 Thomas Penn, as his brother John returned to Eng- 
 land in 1735, where he remained till his death in 1746. 
 There was at this time no other acting as Governor, 
 though James Logan, president of the Council at this 
 time, was next in rank. 
 
 Being desirous of seeing the advertisement relating 
 to the Walk, if in the newspapers of the time, and what 
 reward was really promised, we went over every num- 
 ber of The Pennsylvania Gazette, from December 26, 
 1732-33 to 1738, and The American Weekly Mercury, 
 from December 2 1 , 1732-33 to December 28, 1739, with- 
 out finding it, after devoting several days' labor to this 
 object. In the Mercury was an advertisement by Tim- 
 othy Smith, sheriff, offering a reward for two persons 
 who had broken jail in Bucks county in 1735. This 
 would indicate that if he had done the advertising 
 in the way of offering a reward for the best of three 
 walkers it would have appeared most likely in that 
 paper. These two weekly papers were then the only 
 ones published in Pennsylvania. We do not doubt, 
 however, public notice was given, but it may have been 
 done by written or printed notices posted up at the 
 most public places, along or near the beginning of the 
 Walk ; as, for instance, Newtown, then the county seat 
 of Bucks — as it was to the interest of the proprietaries 
 to get the very best and fastest walkers that could pos- 
 
84 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 sibly be obtained. What Moses Marshall has said on 
 this subject will be regarded as of some authority. 
 
 John Heider, a resident of the same county, in his 
 examination on the Walk, says that in the month it 
 came off he was induced to offer himself to be one of 
 the walkers, but was refused by the proprietary officers, 
 when, out of curiosity, he attended to witness its per- 
 formance. Joseph Furniss, a resident of Newtown, 
 and a near neighbor of James Yates, relates that his 
 situation gave him an easy opportunity to ascertain 
 the time of setting out on the walk; some asserting 
 it was to be made by the river, others that it was to 
 be gone by a straight line somewhere in Wrightstown, 
 opposite a spruce tree on the river's bank said to be 
 the boundary of a former purchase. We see by these 
 statements that as soon as it was generally known the 
 walk was to come off it created some excitement as to 
 its results, but that it must ha\'e been pretty quietly 
 conducted we can judge by persons being so puzzled 
 to know when, where and how it was to be performed. 
 Yet Timothy Smith and John Chapman had upwards 
 of two years before opened the way by compass, and 
 had it travelled over and the result reported to the pro- 
 prietaries, it is supposed, with a view of making sure 
 of securing the Minisink lands to the satisfaction of 
 William Allen and other land speculators, which they 
 had bought some years before, and might not other- 
 wise have been so soon rid of Indian claims. 
 
 James Steel, the receiver-general of the proprietaries, 
 and acting under their authorit)', on the 27th of Au- 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE WALK. 85 
 
 gust, 1737, two days after signing the release of the 
 Walking Purchase, wrote to Timothy Smith as fol- 
 lows: "The treaty which was begun at Durham, and 
 afterwards held at Pennsbury now finished at Phila- 
 delphia, and the time appointed for walking over the 
 land is to be the 12th of September next, and for that 
 purpose our Proprietor would request thee to speak 
 to that man of the three which travelled and held out 
 the best when they walked over the land before, to at- 
 tend to that service at the time mentioned, when Solo- 
 mon Jennings is expected to join and travel the da}^ 
 and a half with him. Thou art also requested to ac-. 
 company them, and to provide such provisions for 
 those men as may be needful on the occasion desired. 
 John Chapman is also to go along, and with you — and 
 be sure to choose the best ground and shortest way 
 that can be found. The Indians intend that two or 
 three of their young men shall be present, and see the 
 land fairly walked over." In consequence of the Court 
 of Quarter Sessions being held at Newtown, requiring 
 the attendance of the sheriff as well as some others 
 concerned, the Walk was postponed to the 19th. No- 
 tice of this change was at once forwarded to Solomon 
 Jennings to be on hand at the proper time and place 
 and be prepared accordingly. 
 
 We see in these letters that Thomas Penn particu- 
 larly requests Mr. Smith "to speak to that man of the 
 three which travelled and held out the best when they 
 walked over the land before, to attend to that service 
 at the time mentioned." This also shows the great per- 
 
86 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 sonal interest, if not anxiety, of the proprietary to secure 
 every possible advantage of the Indians. That this 
 walker was Edward Marshall there is no doubt. As 
 additional evidence, he said in his examination in 1757, 
 that Timothy Smith had employed him for the Walk, 
 but by direction of said order. Here is further proof 
 of the characteristic meanness of Thomas Penn, in not 
 afterwards fully compensating him for his hard-earned 
 reward, and thus by serving him too well was to cost 
 him the lives of a wife and son from the long injured and 
 enraged Indians. Samuel Preston, in a visit to Edward 
 Marshall on his island home in 1783, states that he then 
 told him that as a hunter and chain carrier he had 
 been greatly accustomed from his youth to travel on 
 foot, and after he had been appointed to the walk, "he 
 put himself in keeping according to his best judgment 
 full)' determined to win the prize of five hundred acres 
 of land where Allentown now stands and the mouth of 
 the Little Lehigh or lose his life in the attempt." 
 
 How it came that Edward Marshall, Solomon Jen- 
 nings and James Yates were appointed it is now difficult 
 to state, but it is well known that they were all three 
 stout, athletic men and distinguished hunters. Marshall 
 was now about twenty-four years of age. Solomon Jen- 
 nings, we know, had his home at this period in a bend 
 of the Lehigh about two miles above the present town 
 of Bethlehem, being one of the very few whites then 
 living there. The Moravians did not settle in the 
 vicinit}' till 1741. James Yates, if not a native, mu.st 
 ha\'e resided for some considerable time previous in 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE WALK. Sy 
 
 Newtown township. As Joseph Doane must have un- 
 doubtedly participated in the Trial Walk, and why 
 now overlooked, is hard to tell. Jennings, in our opin- 
 ion, must have been appointed in his place. The four 
 chiefs who signed the release for the Walking Pur- 
 chase, appointed on their part three Indians whose 
 names were John Combush, Neepaheilomon alias Joe 
 Tuneam, and Tom, his brother-in-law, to accompany 
 the walkers and see that justice was done ; as, for in- 
 stance, that the Walk was fairly performed within the 
 prescribed time, and to note particularly its beginning 
 and termination. Whether Captain Harrison, " a noted 
 Indian," was also selected by them, we are unable to 
 state; but it is certain that he, with Lappawinzo, ap- 
 peared on their side to take the greatest interest in the 
 matter. 
 
 Timothy Smith was particularly charged to accom- 
 pany the walkers, "and to provide such provisions as 
 may be needful on the occasion. John Chapman is 
 also to go along and be with you, — and be sure to choose 
 tJic best ground and shortest way that can be found. 
 The Indians intend that two or three of their young 
 men shall be present, and see the land fairly walked 
 over." As instructions coming from Thomas Penn, 
 they contain some interesting information, and the 
 most positive proof of a desire to make the very best 
 of it, and, as is always the case, without any injunctions 
 whatever as regards justice or honorable proceedings. 
 
 In order to carry out their instructions, Timothy 
 Smith and John Chapman again went over the ground 
 
88 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 in the beginning of September and ga\-e it a more care- 
 ful inspection, so as to have the nearest and best pos- 
 sible route for the walkers to travel over, and in so 
 doing made some deviations from that used in the 
 Trial Walk. The route for travel now agreed upon 
 was to start from the place of beginning, near Wrights- 
 town meeting house up the Durham road, to the pres- 
 ent village of Stony Point, in Springfield township ; 
 thence by the present villages of Bursonville and 
 Springtown, striking the Lehigh river a short distance 
 below Bethlehem. This undoubtedly was a much 
 better selection, thus entirely avoiding the rocky sec- 
 tions of Haycock, Springfield and Saucon. The route 
 of the Trial Walk must have left the Durham road at 
 or near the present village of Gardenville, in Plum- 
 stead township, and did not meet again till a short 
 distance this side the Lehigh. With this exception, 
 we believe they were all the same. For this distance 
 they were parallel to each other for about twenty miles, 
 and nowhere beyond four and a half miles apart, which 
 was most likely at the Haycock. Timothy Smith, in 
 alluding to this section and the cause for making the 
 change from a straight line, says : " it leading over the 
 mountains and through a very rock)- broken way, con- 
 ceived that it could not answer, and therefore advised 
 in going the said walk to keep the great road and old 
 paths as much as might be." 
 
 It may not prove amiss to make a few additional re- 
 marks on the actual condition and improvement of the 
 lower portion of the country through which the Walk 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE WALK. 89 
 
 was made. The Durham Iron Company was formed 
 March 4, 1 727, and composed of some of the wealthiest 
 and most influential men in the province, where they 
 took up in one tract six thousand acres of land on the 
 river Delaware. The iron works were commenced the 
 same year, as well as other extensive improvements. In 
 1 732 they petitioned to the Court of Quarter Sessions for 
 Bucks county, stating that they stood greatly in need of 
 a road leading from there to Bristol, and prayed that 
 one might be speedily granted and opened. It was 
 accordingly laid out that fall from its upper terminus, 
 called Bristol road, below Pidcock's creek, in Bucking- 
 ham, and extended to the Tohickon, "near where the 
 Deep Run empties into it ;" being somewhat over eleven 
 miles in length. This was the origin of the road and 
 why so called. It was not, however, extended as a 
 highway to the Durham Forge till 1746, and nine 
 years afterwards was continued to Easton. So by the 
 information derived from the records, we know that 
 on the hne of the Walk in 1737 the public highways 
 did not extend further north than the Tohickon creek, 
 though there was at that time a wagon road from there to 
 the iron w^orks, but which must have been very little 
 travelled, from the sparseness of the population. Yet 
 Marshall, in his examination, calls it "the great Dur- 
 ham road," and which he says was followed "to Gal- 
 lows Hill," where is now the present village of Stony 
 Point, when they took "a lesser road," and so by paths 
 and marked trees for the remainder of the journey, 
 which extended some seven or eight miles beyond the 
 
90 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 present Maucli Chunk, or about half-way between that 
 place and where is now the village of White Haven, 
 in Carbon county, terminating only about twenty miles 
 this side the Susquehanna. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 We now come to treat of this celebrated walk, and 
 to make it the more reliable our account of it shall be 
 prepared only from the information transmitted to us 
 by those who were actually present either as partici- 
 pants or witnesses. As aids for this purpose, we pos- 
 sess the narratives of Edward Marshall, Timothy 
 Smith, Alexander Brown, Nicholas Scull, Benjamin 
 Eastburn, John Heider, Ephraim Goodwin, Joseph 
 Knowles, Thomas Furniss and James Steel, who were 
 all present and more or less interested in it. These 
 accounts were nearly all taken down in 1757, twenty 
 years after the occurrence, for the investigation before 
 the King and government of Great Britain into the 
 cause of the Indian wars, and the alleged abuses and 
 misconduct of the Penns in the colony. The long in- 
 terval that elapsed after the Walk till the general at- 
 tention became so directed as to collect all facts pos- 
 sible in regard to it on both sides, will account for 
 some of the numerous contradictions which necessarily 
 must occur in such cases, where the testimony is 
 taken apart and by different persons. Our aim has 
 been to collect and diligently compare these various 
 
92 THP: INDIAN WALK. 
 
 statements, and from the mass to give what appears 
 to be the most reh'able with the fullest possible amount 
 of information. 
 
 Early on Monday morning, September 19, 1737, an 
 interesting group may have been seen in the Durham 
 road near a large chestnut tree standing on the line 
 and corner of John Chapman's land, but a few rods 
 from Wrightstown meeting house, in Bucks county, 
 brought thither by the sons of William Penn, late Pro- 
 prietary and Governor of Pennsylvania, with the in- 
 tention of having walked out a purchase made with 
 the Indians the 25th of August preceding. Timothy 
 Smith, sheriff of the county, had charge of the affair, 
 assisted by Benjamin Eastburn, surveyor general, and 
 his two deputies, Nicholas Scull and John Chapman, 
 also James Steel, Jr., nephew and clerk of the receiver 
 general, who was present from Philadelphia to report 
 to Thomas Penn his observations concerning the mat- 
 ter. Pklward Marshall, James Yates and Solomon 
 Jennings were the appointed walkers. To see that 
 the whole would be fairly conducted according to 
 agreement, the Indians had deputed three of their 
 young men to be present, whose names were John 
 Combush, Neepaheilomon, more commonly called Joe 
 Tuneam, who could speak English well, and Tom, his 
 brother-in-law. There were also present P'noch Pear- 
 son, one of the brothers of Edward Marshall, Samuel 
 Hughes, and a number of others whose names have 
 not reached us. Precisely at si.x o'clock, as the sun 
 rose in the eastern horizon, Timothy Smith, by his 
 
THE INDIAN WALK. 93 
 
 watch and that of Nicholas Scull, gave the signal to 
 the walkers, who started from the chestnut tree, which 
 had been fixed upon by the proprietaries as the place 
 of beginning, on the day and a half's journey before 
 them, followed by a somewhat motley crowd chiefly 
 on horseback. Timothy Smith had already sent on 
 in advance his nephew, Joseph Knowles, and others, 
 with horses carrying provisions, liquors and bedding 
 for the convenience and comfort of the walkers and 
 his several assistants. They proceeded on the Dur- 
 ham road, and before they got to Buckingham, Joseph 
 Furniss came up with the company, and Alexander 
 Brown joined them in Plumstead. 
 
 It appears that near the beginning Yates got some- 
 what in advance of Marshall, who, in order to over- 
 take him, hurried his steps sufficiently to attract the at- 
 tention of Joe Tuneam, who cried out in the hearing 
 of John Heider, "that it was not fair." Nothing of 
 particular interest occurred till they arrived about two 
 miles beyond Tohickon creek, at or near Red Hill, 
 between ten and eleven o'clock in the forenoon, when 
 Jennings gave up and joined the rest of the company, 
 with whom he continued till they arrived at the Le- 
 high, when he left for his home two or three miles dis- 
 tant. When the walkers arrived near Gallows Hill, 
 they turned to the left from the Durham road on an 
 old Indian path through the woods, partly directed by 
 blazed or marked trees, till twelve o'clock, or noon, 
 when they arrived in the meadows of George Wilson, 
 an Indian trader near Durham, or Cook's creek, but 
 
94 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 now occupied by his widow, where they stopped only 
 fifteen minutes to dine. They then set off again, con- 
 tinuing about the same general course of north-north- 
 west on an old beaten Indian path. Thomas Furniss 
 asserts that during the journey one of the Indians re- 
 peatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the Walk, 
 that it should have gone along the river, and com- 
 plained of the unfitness of his shoes for travelling, stat- 
 ing that he had expected that Thomas Penn would 
 have made him a present of a pair. As no accommo- 
 dations whatever, it appears, had been provided for the 
 Indians, some of the company out of compassion let 
 them ride their horses by turns. 
 
 The walkers kept on the Indian path and marked 
 trees, crossing Saucon creek and the Lehigh river, then 
 better known as the West Branch of the Delaware, at 
 a ford near the residence of Ebenezer Pettit, a short 
 distance below where is now Bethlehem. This was a 
 little after one o'clock. They followed on the same 
 path leading to the north-northwest. A little after 
 four o'clock, on the authority of Ephraim Goodwin, 
 Marshall, dropping a little behind Yates, hastened his 
 steps for a few paces to come up with him, which Com- 
 bush observing called to him that he must walk fair. 
 They pursued their journey by paths and marked trees 
 till fifteen minutes past six o'clock in the evening, and 
 extending almo.st into twilight, the quarter of an hour 
 additional being for the time taken at noon. The two 
 walkers had now been kept twelve hours on their feet, 
 and on the authority of Thomas P^urniss, Timothy 
 
THE INDIAN WALK. 95 
 
 Smith, with his watch in his hand, bid them hurry up 
 for a few minutes, as the time was almost out and a 
 piece of rising ground was to be ascended, which they 
 did so briskly that when he announced its expiration 
 Marshall clasped a sapling to support himself The 
 sheriff asked him what was the matter, when he said 
 he was nearly gone and could not have proceeded 
 much farther. 
 
 Where they left off for the day a white oak was 
 marked about half a mile from an Indian town called 
 Hockyondocquay, where Tishecunk, or Tiscohan, lived. 
 They lodged here in the woods this night by ample 
 fires, and heard the shoutings of the Indians at a can- 
 tico in the place, to which Combush directed his steps, 
 excusing the party from accompanying him. Tuneam 
 and Tom had left the company several hours before 
 sunset, but were all dissatisfied, saying they were badly 
 cheated, and that the walkers had run and would pass 
 the good land, and did not care how far or where they 
 went to. Next morning brought dull and rainy wea- 
 ther, and to add to their discomforts, several of the 
 horses having strayed away, about two hours were 
 spent in hunting them. On the authority of Edward 
 Marshall, the Indians not appearing, Benjamin East- 
 burn, Nicholas Scull, and another person, went earl)- 
 in the morning to the Indian town where Lappawinzo 
 lived, and desired him to send some other Indians to 
 accompany them, when he replied that they had got 
 "all the best of the land and they might go to the 
 devil for the bad and that he would send no Indians 
 
()6 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 with them." However, Combush returned with two 
 other Indians, and accompanied them, according to 
 Timothy Smith, for about ten miles, when, the rain in- 
 creasing, he said he would proceed no farther. 
 
 At eight o'clock they started from the place where 
 they had left off in the evening, and continued on the 
 same Indian path till they came to an Indian settle- 
 ment beyond the Blue Mountains called Pokopogh- 
 cunk,and near the Lehigh river, where a noted Indian 
 called Captain Harrison lived; that from thence they 
 proceeded through the woods in a northwest direction 
 chiefly by marked trees and compasses carried by 
 Marshall, Nicholas Scull and perhaps Benjamin East- 
 burn, and crossed a large creek which appears to have 
 been the Lehigh, near which Yates gave out from 
 growing "lame and tired," as Timothy Smith sa}'s, 
 and which was, according to John Heider. about half 
 an hour before the termination of the Walk. Marshall 
 walked on, accompanied by Alexander Brown, Enoch 
 Pearson, and others, on horseback, till two o'clock in 
 the afternoon, when the time of eighteen hours expired 
 and the north side of the Pocono Mountain was reached, 
 which by some is called the Second or Broad Moun- 
 tain. Here five chestnut oaks were marked as the ex- 
 tent of the Walk, and on which, according to Benjamin 
 Eastburn, was " cut the Proprietary's name and the 
 year 1 737," and also says was " about sixty miles " from 
 the starting place in Wrightstown, but in reality it was 
 considerably more, as will be shown in the following 
 chapter. 
 
THE INDIAN WALK. 97 
 
 Having reached the farthest Hmits of the Walk, it 
 now remained, through the Proprietary's orders, to run 
 not a direct Hne,but one at right angles from said five 
 chestnut oaks to the Delaware river, making a distance 
 of about sixty-six miles or more in a northeast direc- 
 tion, and terminating near the mouth of the Lacka- 
 waxen. This survey was immediately made under the 
 charge of Benjamin Eastburn, assisted by Nicholas 
 Scull, John Chapman and James Steel, Jr. The re- 
 ceiver general, James Steel, in a letter to the Proprie- 
 tary, dated Philadelphia, November 28, 1737, thus ex- 
 presses himself on the subject : " The surveyor-general 
 with my nephew afterwards continued their journey 
 from the upper point or end of the day and half's walk 
 to the river Delaware and which employed them four 
 days." Benjamin Eastburn calls it on his map, "A 
 right line from the end of the day and a half's walk 
 through a mountainous barren country, abounding 
 with pine trees to a Poplar tree by Delaware River 
 marked with the letter P." So in accomplishing about 
 the same distance it cost, by said confession, almost 
 three times the amount of time. 
 
 "On the return," relates Thomas Furniss,"we came 
 through this Indian town (Hockyondocquay) or plan- 
 tation, Timothy Smith and myself riding forty yards, 
 more or less, before the company ; and as we approached 
 with about one hundred and fifty paces of the town, 
 the woods being open, we saw an Indian take a gun 
 in his hand, and ad\-ancing towards us some distance, 
 placed himself behind a log that laid by our way. I 
 
98 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 think Smith was surprised, as I well remember I was 
 through a consciousness that the Indians were dis- 
 satisfied with the walk, a thing the whole company 
 seemed to be sensible of; and upon the way in our re- 
 turn home frequently expressed themselves to that 
 purpose." In further confirmation of the dissatisfac- 
 tion expressed by the Indians, Edward Marshall states 
 in his testimony, "that about eight weeks after the 
 performing the walk, happened to be in company with 
 the Indian chief Lappawinzo at the Indian town Ho- 
 cyondocquay, with Tishecunk and some other Indians, 
 being the first time he had seen them after the said walk. 
 He then heard Lappawinzo say that they were dis- 
 satisfied with the walk; and that they would go down 
 to Philadelphia next May with every one a buckskin, 
 to repay the Proprietor what they had received from 
 him and take their land again, and the said Indian 
 complained that the walk was not fairly performed nor 
 the courses run as should have been; and that he has 
 heard Lappawinzo and other Delaware Indians fre- 
 quently say that the said walk should not go the 
 course agreed on between the Indians and the Pro- 
 prietors, for they should have went along by the 
 courses of the Delaware or the next Indian path." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. 
 
 During the Indian Walk it should be remem- 
 bered that of the three proprietaries Thomas Penn was 
 alone in this country, his brother John having returned 
 to England about two years previously. So the former 
 must be chiefly responsible for whatever trickery or 
 fraud practiced in carrying it out for his benefit. 
 He was now about thirty-six years of age, certainly 
 old enough to have reformed somewhat over the fol- 
 lies of youth. As regards the Walk from its first con- 
 ception to the end, it would appear as if he viewed it 
 as a matter out of which a good thing might be made. 
 He, as one of the proprietaries, alone had the right to 
 treat with the Indians, and there was no power in his 
 colony that could call him to account for any abuse. 
 Further, the royal charter, through which he derived 
 this sway, did not recognize that the Indians had any 
 rights whatever in the soil, neither did either party in any 
 way ever attempt to civilize, instruct or convert them 
 to Christianity, though this had been done to some 
 extent before by the Swedes, and later by the Mora- 
 vians. But after the breaking out of a long and bloody 
 Indian war, the people, in 1757, as their only recourse, 
 appealed to the king and government of Great Britain 
 
lOO THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 for an investigation into the conduct of the proprieta- 
 ries with the Indians based on Tedyuscung's charge, 
 and were at least partially heard. Now came the cause 
 for hiding away, mystifying, abstracting and prohibit- 
 ing what should have been public documents. Re- 
 garding those matters now from a present standpoint, 
 the question arises, what good had they done to have 
 even merited so long a toleration ? One thing is cer- 
 tain, that little justice could be expected from such 
 sources for the colonist and much less for the red man. 
 It was therefore noble in Edward Marshall, though 
 savage vengeance had fallen hea\'ily on his family, to 
 maintain to his latest breath that the Indians had been 
 grossly wronged by the government of the Penns. 
 
 For more than a century it has been a matter of 
 dispute where this celebrated Walk did actually be- 
 gin. We have the authority of Benjamin Eastburn, 
 who was present and acted under the orders of the 
 proprietaries, that it should have commenced at the 
 intersection of the Durham or Bristol road and the 
 township line between Newtown and Wrightstown. 
 This is corroborated by comparing Eastburn's with 
 Thomas Holmes' map of original surveys, com- 
 menced in 1682 and filled up for about ten years later. 
 Thomas Furniss, a resident of Newtown township, 
 says: " When the walkers .started I was a little be- 
 hind, but was informed that they proceeded from a 
 chestnut tree near the turning out of the road from 
 Durham road to John Chapman's." Edward Mar- 
 shall states that the)' started "from a chestnut tree in 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. lOI 
 
 the line of John Chapman in Wrightstown." Timo- 
 thy Smith asserts that the walkers started " from a 
 chestnut tree near the Wrightstown meeting-house." 
 John Heider testifies that the walk was begun "at a 
 tree within a few rods of Wrightstown meeting-house, 
 and about four miles from the river Delaware." Eph- 
 raim Goodwin says it commenced at Wrightstown 
 meeting-house. Benjamin Eastburn places it at the 
 south corner of John Chapman's (the first settler) tract 
 on the Newtown township line, about three-quarters 
 of a mile from the east corner of Wrightstown town- 
 ship and about tJie same distance below the vieeting- 
 liouse. Should Eastburn be correct, the Towsisnick 
 would prove to be the present Newtown creek. All 
 the aforesaid authorities were present at the Walk. 
 
 Joseph Smith, born in 1753, in his account of the 
 Walk, written in 1826, says that when John Chapman 
 ran the line " he marked a chestnut tree three-quarters 
 of a mile below the meeting-house," as the place of 
 beginning, which was no doubt the true starting point. 
 Moses Marshall told John Watson, Jr., in 1822, that 
 his father had told him that the Walk commenced "at 
 the old chestnut tree below Wrightstown meeting- 
 house," but this is not confirmed by his evidence. It 
 is now certain, after weighing all testimony carefully, 
 that the walkers, by direction of those concerned, ac- 
 tually started a few rods above .said meeting-house, as 
 has been corroborated by several members of the 
 Chapman family, and which has been concurred in 
 by Dr. Charles W. Smith in his History of Wrights- 
 
I02 THE INDIAN WALK. . 
 
 town, Benjamin Wigijins, Thomas Warner, and also 
 by the late Hon. Michael H. Jenks, of Newtown, who, 
 in a letter to the writer, dated May, 1858, thus ex- 
 presses himself: "Upon the farm now owned by Ed- 
 ward Chapman once stood the celebrated chesnut tree 
 from which the famous Indian Walk commenced. A 
 chesnut tree is yet pointed out to the curious stand- 
 ing by the side of the old Durham road, as the one 
 alluded to, but this is not the fact. I have seen the 
 stump of the tree some forty years ago, when there 
 were many living to establish the fact." In regard to 
 the upper line. Dr. Smith says that it "is south 43^ 
 degrees west, and is parallel with the southern line of 
 the township, and about a mile north of it." This 
 fact is interesting and shows that there is a mile dif- 
 ference in the two, and it seems to strengthen the evi- 
 dence with what has been given, that the township 
 line was the proper boundary. Hence our belief, 
 from the authorities given, where the Walk should 
 have honestly commenced, and the further up the ac- 
 tual starting point so much the more of course were 
 the Indians wronged and the walkers enabled the 
 further to extend their journey, adding still more to 
 the catalogue of outrages hitherto named. The con- 
 duct of Timothy Smith and John Chapman, life-long 
 residents of that vicinity, in the matter, well deserves 
 consideration. 
 
 The route of the W^alk as mentioned was on the 
 Durham road, by the present villages of Centreville, 
 Pipersville, Bucksville, Springtown, and crossing the 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. 1 03 
 
 Lehigh river a short distance below Bethlehem, then 
 through the Lehigh Water Gap, and crossing the said 
 river near the present town of Mauch Chunk, where 
 Yates gave out and Marshall proceeded beyond it, 
 according to Eastburn's map, about four and a half 
 miles, where the Walk terminated on Broad or Sec- 
 ond Mountain. The general course was but very 
 little north of northwest. The distance walked in 
 this one and a half day's journey has been variously 
 estimated by different writers. But we need not 
 wonder at this, for the map of the W^alk was kept 
 concealed, and whatever else related to the same that 
 might be turned in any way against the interest of 
 Thomas Penn, for which purpose he had in advance 
 carefully instructed those who were his subordinates. 
 Never had a prince more faithful followers, and the 
 result proves that in their selection he was a pretty 
 good judge of character, though, as we shall see, he 
 failed in this matter with William Logan and Benja- 
 min Shoemaker of the Council, and finally with Gov- 
 ernor Denny and others, after he had got through 
 with their services. How men otherwise regarded 
 with respect, should have died with such secrets is an 
 absolute wonder, and can only be attributed to their 
 own implication. 
 
 John Watson, the surveyor, it appears, some how 
 got access to John Chapman's memoranda, made in 
 the spring of 1735, for the Trial Walk, from which 
 we learn that he surveyed the distance from the start- 
 ing place to the Blue Mountains, making it forty- 
 
I04 THP: INDIAN WALK. 
 
 eight and three-quarter miles. Edward Marshall, in 
 his examination, estimated the distance walked from 
 the said mountain to the end of the journey, as twenty 
 miles, and John Heider on his oath testifies that Ben- 
 jamin Kastburn had told him that he had measured 
 the distance and found it seventeen and three-quarter 
 miles, which with John Chapman's survey would 
 make sixty-six and one-half miles, and Marshall's 
 sixty-eight and three-quarter miles. Yet Eastburn, 
 on his map, says that the distance walked by Marshall 
 and Yates " was about sixty miles," as if he had never 
 measured it ! This is a very ingenious statement, and 
 will bear several constructions. It may be that the two 
 walkers did together make sixty miles, but to say 
 that they had walked the whole distance would be a 
 direct falsehood, for Yates gave out several miles be- 
 fore Marshall reached the point marked as the termi- 
 nation. Hence another reason for concealing the ac- 
 tual distance. Nicholas Scull, another assistant sur- 
 veyor present, on his affirmation, said, "that he be- 
 lieves the whole distance walked not to be more than 
 fifty-five statute miles." About the conduct of these 
 surveyors we will have more to say hereafter. They 
 were thus absolutely required to hide or falsify their 
 proceedings to suit their employer, or lose their situ- 
 ations. This is all the information respecting the dis- 
 tance we have been enabled to secure from those who 
 were actually present at the Walk. 
 
 Joseph Smith, in his account, makes the distance 
 seventy-two miles; John Watson, Sr., states it to be 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. IO5 
 
 one day's walk of sixty miles, and John Watson, Jr., 
 on the authority of Moses Marshall, makes it eighty- 
 six miles. On applying the scale on Eastburn's map 
 to the line of the Walk, we made it on the original 
 sixty-five miles, and a friend of ours makes the same 
 sixty and three-quarter miles, the mode of following 
 the curves probably making the difference. Samuel 
 Preston caps the climax by stating that the walk was 
 from sunrise to sunset and the distance estimated from 
 one hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty 
 miles. Our opinion is that the whole distance must 
 have been between sixty-five and seventy-two miles, 
 and w^e think the aforesaid sixty-six and one-half miles 
 to be the best supported by evidence, and therefore 
 likely to be the most correct. Taking this distance 
 as the true measurement, and made in eighteen hours, 
 it would give very nearly an average of three and 
 three-quarter miles per hour, which is certainly rapid 
 walking. To maintain this speed for a day and a half, 
 or eighteen hours, would be found to be such as few 
 constitutions could endure. We must remember too 
 that after Marshall got twelve miles on his journey, he 
 had, for the want of bridges, to wade all the streams. 
 and that there were no public roads for half the dis- 
 tance, the remainder being on Indian paths and by 
 marked trees through the woods. Several writers, we 
 are aware, have recently said that this walk was no ex- 
 traordinary performance, and that persons could be 
 found in these degenerate days who could equal if not 
 surpass it. We think it so extraordinary that we should 
 
I06 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 decline attempting it, and which opinion we shall hold 
 till some one of these gentlemen shall show us that they 
 can do as well or better under the circumstances. 
 
 From the accounts of Thomas Penn we get some 
 additional information respecting the Walk, as for in- 
 stance that Timothy Smith was paid September i , i J^"/ , 
 for a canoe, sixteen shillings ; October 5th, for "ye men 
 who travelled ye Purchase ^10.3.9"; February 15, 
 1738, balance of his expenses on the travelling pur- 
 chase iJ"i 4.2.5 ; October i, 1737, "expenses of B. East- 
 burn, N. Scull, and J. Steel, Jr., for running ye pur- 
 chase ^17.4. 1 1" ; April I, 1740, "John Chapman, 8 
 days attending ye Indian purchase ;^2.8.o." The sum 
 paid Eastburn, Scull and Steel was chiefly for running 
 the head line from the end of the Walk to near the 
 mouth of the Eackawaxen on the Delaware, which 
 cost them four days' labor. John Chapman also as- 
 sisted, and, as may be seen, was engaged during the 
 whole of this Walk eight days. 
 
 After the performance of the Walk, Thomas Penn 
 sent a letter from Philadelphia, dated October 1 1, 1737, 
 to his brothers in England, of which the following is 
 an extract: "Since I wrote you last, I have at no very 
 great expense concluded with the Delaware Indians 
 on the P'oot of the Agreement made in 1686, and with 
 their consent the lands in the upper part of Bucks 
 County have been measured by walking a day and a 
 half's journey, which tho' done to their satisfaction 
 takes in as much ground as any person here ever ex- 
 pected. I would not take their conveyance as it would 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. ID/ 
 
 have lessened the vahdity of the former deed, but only 
 a release of their former Claim with an acknowledg- 
 ment of their ancestors before mentioned sale. The 
 Minutes of the Treaty are not settled in so exact a 
 manner as I shall have them reduced to, but I will 
 send you a copy of them with one of the deed by the 
 next ship to London." Having copied this from the 
 original, we would say that he certainly must have 
 attached great importance to this information, from 
 the fact that it occupies the first paragraph enclosed 
 in a brace, and marked " Delaware Indians." He 
 here makes the confession that he had "at no very 
 great expense" accomplished his purposes, and that 
 it takes " in as much ground as any person here ever 
 expected," and that the whole was done "to the .satis- 
 faction of the Indians." Who will vouch as to the 
 truth of the last assertion ? He here fully exposes 
 himself as to his intentions in having them so strictly 
 bound in the release. 
 
 Some time after Thomas Penn's return to England, 
 he wrote from London under date of February 8, 1759, 
 in which he says, " No regular return was made by 
 Benjamin Eastburn, who as the surveyor general was 
 the proper person to make it, but the persons who 
 walked the walk might have signed it." To William 
 Logan, a member of the Council, June 21, 1757, he 
 remarks, " I suppose proper persons used to walk were 
 got, but I hope nothing unfair was done, if there was 
 it was contrary to my knowledge or desire. Those 
 Indians had been very troublesome, and even pre- 
 
I08 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 tended right to land about Jeremiah Langhornes. I 
 mean Nutimus and his associates, being quite ignor- 
 ant of former sales. I shall say no more on this sub- 
 ject, but I can assure you, I desire to support my 
 character whenever it is necessary, at the expense of 
 my interest." He here admits that the Indians had 
 been troublesome respecting their lands. As to his 
 hoping that nothing unfair was done in the Walk, it 
 u'ill do very well to say twenty years after the occur- 
 rence, when it was about to be investigated by author- 
 ity of the royal government. In a letter of March 1 1, 
 1757, to Richard Peters, he says: "The Deed of 1737 
 from the Delaware Indians, does not mention any 
 boundary on the north but the line from the end of a 
 Day and an Half's journey to the River Delaware. 
 If their is a release of all their claim in the year 1683, 
 it may be mentioned. But I think we should rely on 
 the bounds of the Day and an Half's walk, which may 
 be estimated to the Kittannin Hills fairly by the walk, 
 and could not be said to run back from the river fur- 
 ther than till it met the springs of the Schuylkill 
 Creeks." Here is an admission, twenty years after 
 the Walk, that he was satisfied to have it extend only 
 to the Blue Mountains. Why did he not state this 
 long before? And above all why not confess to the 
 thousands of acres he had sold north of those moun- 
 tains, between 1727 and the Walk as mentioned in a 
 previous chapter? To William Logan, he writes, 
 April 14, 1759, that "we must insist on the terms of 
 the Deed and to the Day and a Half's Walk is not 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK, IO9 
 
 above forty-five miles, which surely is moderate walk- 
 ing." Having had the map of Benjamin Eastburn in 
 his possession which states the Walk to be "about 
 sixty miles," this he must have known was a falshood. 
 If he meant the Blue Mountains to be the northern 
 limits, John Chapman, by his survey, makes them 
 forty-eight and three-quarter miles distant, and East- 
 burn, by his scale, forty-nine miles. Forty-five miles 
 would certainly be moderate walking if they had not 
 gone any further. 
 
 Timothy Smith, in his affirmation, made before Gov- 
 ernor Denny, March 15, 1757, states "that previous 
 to going the said walk he was requested by the said 
 James Steel by order of the said Proprietor to ac- 
 quaint the Persons who were to perform the walk that 
 he was desirous they should not overwalk themselves, 
 that he was not anxious or coveted to have so much 
 land beyond mountains, as tjiat it should oc- 
 casion their hurting themselves." There is something 
 suspicious in this blank. Our opinion is that Timothy 
 Smith gave the name of this mountain, and that 
 Thomas Penn, in his papers before the king and gov-- 
 ernment, from policy, had it expunged, so as to appear 
 as if it had always been so. It is our belief that 
 Thomas Penn was not present at either of the Walks, 
 as would appear too by the correspondence relating 
 to it. The city had too many attractions for one of 
 his tastes, and it was only during the summer heats 
 that he would leave it for the country. 
 
TIO THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 It must follow, where documents relating to any 
 subject are kept concealed and access prohibited, that 
 many errors must occur, particularly in the case of 
 this Walk, where after the matter had lain dormant 
 for nearly twenty years it was suddenly brought into 
 notice by the complaint of the Indians and, to their 
 honor, the Society of Friends, in part through the 
 wrongs perpetrated in this affair. These errors have 
 been so numerous, that we shall only pretend to notice 
 a few. John Watson, Sr., says the walk was made the 
 1 2th of September, 1735, and occupied but one day. 
 We find a number of writers say that the walk was 
 eighty-six miles, based on Moses Marshall's state- 
 ment. That Yates got blind and died three days 
 afterwards from the effects of the walk, and that Jen- 
 nings had so injured his health as to have lived but 
 a few years. This was published by Samuel Preston. 
 The fact is, Yates was living in 1750, and Jennings till 
 1757. Biographical sketches of both these indixid- 
 uals will be found in another cliapter. The Walk 
 was not made through the Blue Mountains at either 
 Smith's Gap or the Wind Gap, but at the Lehigh Gap. 
 In both Day's Historical Collections and Armor's 
 Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania, the Walk is 
 stated to have been in September, 1733. There is no 
 evidence of any walk having taken place in that year. 
 The Trial Walk came off privately as stated, in the 
 spring of 1735, and has been mistaken for the Walk 
 of 1737. The witnesses agree that the distance was 
 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE WALK. I I I 
 
 travelled from Wrightstown to Durham creek, in six 
 hours, which may be fairly estimated at thirty miles, 
 averaging five miles per hour, which may well be re- 
 garded as most extraordinary walking. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RESULTS OF THE WALK. 
 
 The writer has pretty freely expressed his opinion in 
 the foregoing chapters regarding the conduct of the 
 Penns in their intercourse with the Indians and colo- 
 nists, which is regretted as anything but favorable, and 
 what follows will be but little to their advantage. Truth 
 and candor compel us to say this ; and he who will over- 
 look or gloss errors is not fitted for the duties of an 
 impartial historian. Reviling is unpleasant, overrating 
 is flatter}^, but vindicating the rights of the weak and 
 the ignorant is noble. The oppressor, by virtue of his 
 power, for the general ^ood, needs a bringing down, 
 and the degraded to be upheld and elevated ; the effect 
 is a moral improvement in both. It is a law of nature 
 that there shall be a regular series of v^egetable changes 
 for the general well being; so in the human race that 
 families shall have their successive chances to rise and 
 dwindle away. The Penn family has had its day, and 
 in name now no longer exists. Here the two parties 
 contended, but in a century they disappeared together. 
 One withdrew slowly to the west and the other to a 
 more congenial home across the broad Atlantic ; while 
 in the place of both the despised colonists have now 
 become the citizens of a mighty republic. 
 
RESULTS OF THE WALK. I I 3 
 
 To prove that we have not been prejudiced in our 
 views, we now propose to give extracts showing the 
 opinions of various writers as to the results of the 
 Walk. "The farthest point," remarks A. B. Burrell. 
 in his Reminiscences of George La Bar, "that the In- 
 dians had supposed the walk to extend had been pass- 
 ed three hours before. They began to murmur at the 
 cheat, and when Marshall started the next morning he 
 had to go alone. The country north of the Forks was 
 the Indians' favorite ground. They feared it would 
 now be lost; the whites wanted to reach around the 
 Minisink. Taking advantage of the curve, it was de- 
 clared that the line strike the river at Lackawaxen. 
 Thus the Minisink was swooped into the Penn colony. 
 From the point where Marshall ended his walk it took 
 four days to reach the river. Had they aimed for the 
 nearest point, they would have reached it at the Water 
 Gap in less than a day. But then it would not have 
 taken in the coveted prize. The great Indian W'alk, 
 which took place just twenty-six years before 1763, 
 was the first great source of contention and bloodshed 
 to the settlers of the Forks region. Previous to that 
 Walk the settlers of Penn's Colony had dwelt together 
 in peace with the Indians. The kindness of Penn 
 created a corresponding spirit in them which lasted 
 through many years ; but after the father of the colony 
 was gone, the white man's treachery revealed itself, 
 stirred up the savage nature of the red man, and many 
 an innocent mother and child paid the penalt}' with 
 their lives." 
 
I I 4 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 " Most of the Assembly," says Samuel Preston, "and 
 many other judicious persons thought the whole affair 
 a species of gambling worse than horse racing, and 
 threatened the peace of the country. No further steps 
 were taken in the matter, and Thomas Penn, seeing 
 how his views and measures were treated, returned to 
 England. This may be the reason why Robert Proud 
 has omitted the whole transaction, as also the two 
 treaties held in Easton in 1756 and 1758, and which 
 were most important in the history of those times." 
 "The name of William Penn," remarks Mr. Armor in 
 his Lives of the Governors of Pennsylvania, "has by 
 some persons been unjustly coupled with this disgrace- 
 ful transaction, which did not take place till many years 
 after his death. The Indians felt themselves much ag- 
 grieved by this unfair admeasurement of their lands ; 
 it was the cause of the first dissatisfaction between 
 the Indians and the people of Pennsylvania; and it is 
 remarkable that the first murder committed by them 
 in the province, seventy-two years after the landing of 
 Penn, was on this very ground which had been taken 
 from them by fraud." 
 
 "During the administration of Governor Thomas in 
 1742," says Mr. Gordon in his History of Pennsylva- 
 nia, "a convention of deputies from the Six Nations 
 and Delaware Indians, was held at Philadelphia, for 
 the purpose of terminating some dispute which had 
 arisen between the latter tribe and the proprietaries, 
 relative to a cession of lands. A tract, lying in the 
 forks of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, extending 
 
RESULTS OF THE WALK. I I 5 
 
 back into the woods as far as a man can go in a day 
 and a half, denominated the ivalking purchase, had been 
 sold by the Delawares in 1736 and confirmed by the 
 same tribe by their deed, dated 25th of August, 1737. 
 The Hues of this purchase having been traced by very 
 expert walkers, and including more land than the In- 
 dians expected, increased the dissatisfaction which had 
 prevailed among them in relation to the grant of 1736. 
 The Indians complained that the walkers, who out- 
 stripped them, ran, and did not pursue the course of 
 the river, as they anticipated. The chief Nutimus and 
 others, who signed the treaty of 1737, refused to yield 
 peaceable possession of these lands, and declared their 
 intention to maintain themselves by force of arms. 
 Under these circumstances, the proprietaries invoked 
 the interposition of the Six Nations, whose authority 
 over the Delawares was well known. Upon this invi- 
 tation, a deputation of 230 from these powerful tribes 
 visited Philadelphia where they were met by delegates 
 from the Delawares, who had also been invited." 
 
 "The northwest boundary," says John Watson, Sr., 
 in his account of the Walk, "was afterwards run on 
 the Pocono, and to the river at the short bend, and 
 down the courses of the Delaware, by a measurement 
 then made more than one-hundred miles to the spruce 
 tree. This scandalous transaction was the subject of 
 much conversation, and an apprehension prevailed 
 that it would some time produce serious consequences. 
 Surveyors were sent for six years successively to 
 locate large tracts of land in the Forks, even among 
 
Tl6 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 the Indian towns. They therefore procured letters to 
 be sent to Jeremiah Langhorne and the governor, ad- 
 vising to remo\e the settlers or they would take up 
 the hatchet against them, and the affair was now be- 
 come serious, and therefore a deep laid scheme was 
 contrived and carried into execution." " It appears," 
 says Charles B. Trego, in his Relation of the Walk, 
 "from the written statements of persons who were 
 present as well as from various traditionary accounts of 
 the proceedings connected with it, that there was a 
 studied intention, and a preconcerted scheme on the 
 part of the proprietary agents, to extend the walk as 
 far as possible in the most favorable direction ; and 
 that a line was drawn from its termination by such a 
 course to the river as should include within the limits 
 of the survey all the desirable land in the forks of 
 Delaware, and along the river above the Blue ]\Ioun- 
 tain." 
 
 "The Indians did not value," says M. S. Henr}-, in 
 his History of the Lehigh Valley, "the lands south of 
 the Blue Mountains very highly ; their favorite hunt- 
 ing grounds at that time were in the Minisink country, 
 or the valley north of that mountain, extending from 
 the Wind Gap into the state of New York, near the 
 Hudson River; and as a rectangular line was drawn 
 from the terminating point of the walk to the Dela- 
 ware River, many miles northward of the Minisinks 
 were included in the purchase, as well as their favorite 
 hunting-grounds along that river, a result which was 
 contrary to their expectations, and which caused them 
 
RESULTS OF THE WALK. II7 
 
 to be much dissatisfied, and eventually, through the 
 agency of some of the enemies of the proprietaries, be- 
 came exasperated ; the consequence of which was that 
 they committed many murders, and finally became in- 
 volved in a war with the whites from 1755 to 1758." 
 "Public notice having been previously given," says 
 Day in his Historical Collections, "in the papers, the 
 famous Indian Walk was performed by Edward Mar- 
 shall. This walk was the cause of jealousies and heart- 
 burnings among the Indians, that eventually broke out 
 in loud complaints of injustice, and atrocious acts of 
 savage vengeance." "The unfairness practiced in the 
 walk," says Thomas Furniss, who was present, "both 
 in regard to the way, where, and the manner how, it 
 was performed, and the dissatisfaction of the Indians 
 concerning it, were common subjects of conversation 
 in our neighborhood, for some considerable time after 
 it was done." "As we have observed," remarks Drake 
 in his Book of the Indians, " the end of these affairs was 
 war. The Delawares were driven back, and they 
 joined the French against the English." 
 
 " When they arrived at the Blue Mountain," as Moses 
 Marshall informed John Watson, Jr., in 1822, "they 
 found a great number of Indians collected expecting 
 the walk would there end, but when they found it was 
 to go half a day further they were very angry, and said 
 they were cheated. Penn had got all their good land, 
 but that in the spring every Indian was to bring a 
 buckskin and they would have their land again, and 
 Penn might go to the devil with his poor land. An 
 
Il8 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 old Indian said ' no sit down to smoke, no shoot a squir- 
 rel, but lun,lun,lun all day long.' He says his father 
 never received any reward for the walk, although the 
 governor frequently promised to have the five hundred 
 acres of land run out for him, and to which he was 
 justly entitled. His father said the Indians always in- 
 sisted that the walk should have been up the river, 
 along the nearest path, which was also his opinion, and 
 that they had been improperly dealt with, and cheated 
 out of their land, but would have quietly submitted if 
 the walk had not extended beyond the Blue Mountain." 
 " Having reached the farthest possible point," re- 
 marks Dr. Charles W. Smith in his History of Wrights- 
 town, "to the north-westward, it now remained to draw 
 a line from the end of the Walk to the river Delaware. 
 The course of this line not being described in the Deed 
 of Purchase, the agent of the Proprietaries, instead of 
 running by the nearest course to the river, ran north- 
 eastward across the country, so as to strike the Dela- 
 ware near the mouth of the Lackawaxen — thus ex- 
 tending far up the river, taking in all the Minisink terri- 
 tory, and many thousand acres more than if they had 
 run by the nearest course to the Delaware. It is well 
 known that the Delaware Indians immediately saw 
 and complained of the manner in which these things 
 were done, as a fraud upon them ; nor would they re- 
 linquish the land until compelled to do so by the dep- 
 uties of the Six Nations, at the treaty of 1742. The 
 proceedings at this walk are mentioned as one of the 
 causes of the hostile feelings of the Indians, which 
 
RESULTS OF THE WALK. II9 
 
 eventually led to war and bloodshed ; and the first mur- 
 der committed by them in the Province was on the 
 very land they believed themselves cheated out of. 
 The Indians always contended that the Walk should 
 be up the river by the nearest path, as was done in the 
 first day and a half's walk by William Penn ; and not 
 by the compass, across the country, as w'as done in 
 this case. It is said that afterwards, when the surveyor 
 general, and other persons to assist him, passed over 
 this ground, it employed them about four days to walk 
 to the extent of the purchase." 
 
 "This walk extended, it is said (Smith's Laws of 
 Penna. Vol. II, pp. 1 16-17), about thirty miles over the 
 Kittatinny Mountain ; and a draught of it w^as made by 
 Surveyor General Eastburn, including the best of the 
 lands in the forks of Delaware and the Minisinks. 
 The walkers were experts, and the Indians who could 
 not keep up with them complained that they ran ; and 
 moreover it would appear that their expectation was 
 that the walk was to be made up the river, by its 
 courses. It is not intended to enter further into the 
 controversy than to exhibit the general grounds which 
 are said to have estranged the Delawares from our in- 
 terest, and drove them into that of the French, who 
 were always ready, in those times, to increase their 
 dissatisfaction with the English. Nutimus and others 
 who signed the release of 1737 were not willing to 
 quit the lands nor give quiet possession to the people 
 who came to take up lands and settle in the forks. 
 They remonstrated freely, and declared their resolu- 
 tion of maintaining possession by force of arms." 
 
1 20 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Thomas Penn, in a letter supposed to be addressed 
 to Isaac Norris, dated Braywick, July i, 1755, says: 
 " I am greatly concerned to find such a spirit of dis- 
 content gone forth in Pennsylvania against us and our 
 government, as I think we have not given any just 
 cause for it. However, I hope the people themselves 
 will soon be convinced they have been most grossly 
 imposed upon." Judge Langhorne, under date of May 
 20, 1737, not two years after the Trial Walk, thus 
 writes to John Penn, in England: "It is very plain to 
 me that there are a set of people about Philadelphia 
 that have no good liking to the government under 
 your family, but could they have their desires hav^e it 
 under the crown." In a letter to Thomas Penn, by 
 the Rev. Richard Peters, dated Philadelphia, Decem- 
 ber II, 1756, is this extract: "Be assured that the 
 bulk, nay seven-eighths of the Society of Friends, are 
 determinately your enemies. They do say, and will 
 publish in England, and will assure the ministry, that 
 the Delawares would have never taken up the hatchet 
 against the Province, if the Proprietors had done the 
 Indians justice — that Mr. Thomas Penn knew they 
 complained of that scandalous Walk, and instead of 
 pacifying them, set their Uncles the Six Nations 
 against them, and they have been at variance e\-er 
 since to the great injury of the British interest, and 
 the particular damage of this Province. I hope the 
 ■Proprietors will not fail to consider whether it may 
 not be proper to offer them a present to take off their 
 particular complaint, as to the land of the Forks." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHAT BROUfiHT FORTH THE DOCUMENTS. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin, as agent appointed by the As- 
 sembly for Pennsylvania, referred his petition to the 
 Committee of the Board of Trade and Plantations in 
 London, Feb. 2, 1759, and which was addressed "To 
 the King's Most Excellent Majesty." Among a num- 
 ber of charges relating to the conduct of the proprie- 
 taries, mention was made therein "That at some of 
 their conferences, particularly at one holden at Easton, 
 in Pennsylvania, the 13th of November, 1756, Teedy- 
 uscung complained that the Indians had been unjustly 
 dispossessed and defrauded of large quantities of Land, 
 by your Majesty's subjects, particularly of the Lands 
 which are included within the Forks of the River Del- 
 aware, and also of other lands, on both sides of said 
 River. That, at another conference holden at Easton 
 in July, 1757, Tedyuscung having earnestly desired 
 that all differences between the Indians and your Ma- 
 jesty's subjects might be referred to your Majesty's 
 Royal Determination, and that the same might be pub- 
 lished throughout all Your Majesty's Provinces, it 
 was finally agreed (among other things) by the said 
 George Croghan, the said Lieutenant Governor and 
 Tedyuscung, that all the Purchase Deeds and Writ- 
 
122 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 ings, by which the said Thomas and Richard Penn, or 
 their ancestors, or the grantees of their Ancestors, now 
 hold any Lands, within the back Parts of the Province 
 of Pennsylvania, should be examined, and copies there- 
 of laid before your Majesty, for Your Royal Decision, 
 of the Bounds and Limits, between the Lands hereto- 
 fore bought of the Indians and those yet unpurchased." 
 
 This accounts for the cause that led to the inquiry 
 and origin of the documents relating to the Indian 
 Walk and its results. This, it will be seen, was about 
 twenty years after that occurrence, when it had almost 
 been forgotten, and thus suddenly and unexpectedly 
 revived with increased interest. Little did that crowd 
 think that assembled around the chestnut tree in 
 Wrightstown at sunrise on the morning of September 
 19, 1737, to see the walkers start, that the proceed- 
 ings of that and the following day would thus some 
 time afterwards produce the excitement it did and be 
 laid before the King, and in which some of the prom- 
 inent characters of the age should figure. 
 
 In behalf of Thomas and Richard Penn, their lieu- 
 tenant governor, William Denny, held a meeting in 
 Philadelphia, December 14, 1756, in which he "re- 
 commended it to Council to make P^nquiry into the 
 state of the Proprietary Indian purchases, and particu- 
 larly of such as were made of any Lands comprised 
 within the bounds mentioned by Tecdyuscung, in his 
 speeches at P^aston, and to examine the Council Jour- 
 nals, and all other Books, Papers and Evidences re- 
 latinu^ to the late and former transactions with the In- 
 
WHAT TRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 23 
 
 dians, and particularly the Evidences who were pres- 
 ent at the one and half day's Walk, performed in pur- 
 suance of the Deed of 1686, and Confirmation Deed 
 in 1737, and every thing else that may give light into 
 this Affair, that he might be furnished in Time with 
 all necessary Informations and Materials to enable him 
 to make a proper Defence for the Proprietaries and 
 government against the Charges made by Teedyus- 
 cung at the late Treaty. All the Members of Council 
 promise to give their Assistance in and to meet as 
 often as called upon to Expedite the Enquiry ; but 
 the care thereof is more immediately committed to 
 Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Shoemaker and Mr. Logan, and 
 the secretary is ordered to furnish and lay before the 
 Committee all the Proprietaries' Deeds for the Indian 
 purchases, together with the Council Books, Minutes 
 of Property, Indian Treaties, and every other matter 
 necessary for the said Enquiry." This was about the 
 first step taken by the proprietary side towards their 
 defence, brought about by the Treaty held at Easton 
 with the Indians, November 8th, previous. Governor 
 Denny now exerted his utmost for his employers, and 
 accordingly issued his summons to witnesses present 
 at the Walk. Nicholas Scull's deposition was taken 
 January 25, 1757, Edward Marshall's, March 2; Al- 
 exander Brown's, March 5 ; Timothy Smith's, March 
 15; John Heider's, March 21; and Ephraim Good- 
 win's, August 3, of said year. Four of these were 
 then residents of Bucks county. 
 
 At a council held March 29, 1757, "The Governor 
 enquired of Mr. Logan, what Progress was made by 
 
124 'I'HE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 the Committee in their examination of the Charges 
 made by the Indians at Easton, against the Proprietors, 
 and was told by him that all the Indian Deeds were 
 read over, the Minutes of Council extracted and the 
 Witnesses examined who were present at the day and 
 half's Walk, but it was difficult to get a Meeting of 
 the Committee, and more of the Council might be ad- 
 ded to it." Several months afterwards we find addi- 
 tional information in the Minutes of the Council in 
 relation to the aforesaid : "That a long time elapsing 
 and nothing done, it was mentioned at the next Coun- 
 cil held after the Treaty at Easton, in Jul\' and Au- 
 gust, 1757, and the uneasiness the Governor was 
 under at this delay, appearing very great, he then re- 
 peatedly afterwards desired all the Members would 
 give their attendance and go through with it, and that 
 accordingly the Members frequently met at the sec- 
 retary's, Mr. Shoemaker being sometimes present, and 
 the Indian Deeds and other Papers relative thereto 
 were read and examined, and abundance of conversa- 
 tion passed ; but coming to no conclusion, and more 
 time still elapsing, a report was drawn up by the other 
 Members and the Council regularly summoned in 
 order to have the same read ; and it was accordingly 
 very carefully read in Council, examined and ap- 
 proved." 
 
 William Peters, in a letter from Philadelphia, of 
 October 19, to Thomas Penn, thus expresses himself 
 on the subject: "My Brother and the Committee of 
 Council for incjuiring into and answering the Indian 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 25 
 
 or rather Quakers' heavy charge against you at Eas- 
 ton, November 8, 1756, havhig soon after that Treaty 
 desired me to take Depositions of the Witnesses about 
 the one and a half day's Walk in 1737 and undertake 
 the drafting of the Report, &c. I endeavored to make 
 myself master of the Affair by perusing all the Indian 
 Deeds, Minutes of Council and ancient papers ; and 
 draw up a Draft, but it was laid aside for some time. 
 But on Mr. Hamilton's proposing to go to England, 
 it being thought necessary that some kind of Answer 
 to that Charge should be settled to take with him, 
 I prevailed on that gentlemam that no way of doing 
 it could be so effectual as by Report of a Committee 
 of the Council purposely appointed and to introduce 
 all the Proofs in a schedule, and not by way of loose 
 Ex Parte Afifidavits, and then send home a copy under 
 the sanction of the great Seal and having your Appro- 
 bation and being an Act of the Governor and Council, 
 supporting it with such ample proofs as would fully 
 answer and confute all that vile charge against you to 
 obtain a Decree in Chancery to establish a good 
 title on the ancient copy of the Deed of 1686. From 
 that Deed being lost and the old Copy produced in 
 lieu of it, I presume these wicked people found that 
 base charge of Forgery and your cheating the Indians 
 of their land, and expect to establish their grand scheme 
 of throwing the odium of the Indian ravages on you, 
 as being the consequence of the Indians' Dissatisfac- 
 tion and Resentment for which your iniquitous treat- 
 ment of them as those vile Enemies of yours would 
 
126 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 have it believed and imputed, and not to the true cause, 
 their refusing to give those Indians the hatchet and to 
 protect and join with them against the French when 
 they so warmly and repeatedly solicited us, particu- 
 larly Scarroyady addressed to Governor Morris and 
 the Assembly in August, 1/55 ; ^"^ when if they had 
 in earnest struck in with and made a proper use of 
 those Indians, — a great part of those fatal mischiefs, 
 which immediately followed, might have been pre- 
 vented. The Committee hav^e had my draught of the 
 Report under consideration sometime and understand 
 some of them think it too long; but in an affair of 
 such consequence and which so much affects your 
 Honour and Interest I thought I could not be too full; 
 and I hope we shall prevail on them to sign it and then 
 send you a copy by Mr. Hamilton." 
 
 As just stated the report of council was duly pre- 
 pared on the Indian complaints and signed by five of 
 its members, two dissenting. We propose to give a 
 few more extracts therefrom to show its contracted and 
 illiberal views, and which is by no means truthful. It 
 is just what might be expected from the circumstances 
 under which it was produced. The Governor was yet 
 the faithful servant of the one who gave him the posi- 
 tion, though he nev^er furnished him a penn)- in the 
 way of compensation, and a majority of the council was 
 but a packed body controlled by the said Governor 
 and Richard Peters, the secretary who acted under in- 
 structions from Thomas Penn, as we find by his cor- 
 respondence and how he had his every wish obeyed. 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 27 
 
 For their services Lynford Lardner and Benjamin 
 Chew were both well rewarded by official positions. 
 As to John Mifflin, Joseph Turner and Thomas Cad- 
 wallader we are at present unable to say much. The 
 report was addressed to Governor Denny, and was ap- 
 proved and signed January 6, 1758. 
 
 It commences by stating that "agreeably to the or- 
 der of Council, appointing us a Committee to enquire 
 into the pretended causes assigned by the Indians at 
 J:he said Treaty for their striking the English, and de- 
 stroying so many of our back inhabitants, and their 
 complaints of injustice said to be done them by the 
 Proprietaries in some of their Indian Purchases, we 
 have carefully looked into and considered the same, 
 and also the Proprietaries' Deeds for their several In- 
 dian Purchases, from the first settlement of the Province 
 down to this time, with other, the instruments, books, 
 papers and evidences which could furnish us with any 
 lights into the affair. That instead of (the walkers) 
 beginning at Wrightstown and going back into the 
 woods a north-westerly course, as they did, they should 
 have gone along by the courses of the river Delaware 
 or the nearest path to it; that they walked too fast, 
 and should not have kept walking constantly, but have 
 frequently stopped to smoke a pipe, &c., and that the 
 length of the walk was unreasonable and extravagant. 
 In answer to which objections, we beg leave to observe, 
 that in the month next after the date of the said Con- 
 firmation Deed, and in pursuance of the Agreement 
 therein specified, the said One and a Half Day's walk 
 
128 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 was regularly performed in the presence of Mr. East- 
 burn, the then surveyor general, since deceased; Mr. 
 Timothy Smith, the then high sheriff of Bucks county, 
 in which those lands lay, who were appointed, by and 
 on the part of the Proprietaries, to superintend and see 
 the same fairly performed, with Mr. Scull and divers 
 other persons, and of some Delaware Indians ap- 
 pointed by their chiefs for that purpose; and after the 
 same had been fairly performed, as set forth in the 
 hereto annexed affidavits of Edward Marshall, th^ 
 survivor of the walkers, Mr. Scull, the present sur- 
 veyor general, the said Mr. Smith, and several others 
 present thereat. 
 
 "The said Mr. Eastburn laid down the tract, course, 
 beginning and end of the said Walk in a fair Map 
 which he drew of the contiguous lands, &c., in order 
 to ascertain and complete the extent and description 
 of the said disputed Lands, in the parts for which 
 Blanks had been left, until the one and half day's 
 journey or Walk should be performed, and that the 
 said map was accordingly lodged and is now found 
 with the proprietaries' Indian Deeds, as mentioned in 
 the heretofore annexed affidavits. And then as the 
 Deed requires that the head or cross line shall go 
 directly from the end of the said south westerl)- side 
 line and of the Walk to the River Delaware in one 
 line or course, as we understand it, we cannot but 
 think as Mr. Eastburn did, that it is most rational and 
 equitable that the said Head or Cross line should run 
 at rieht angles from the course of the walk and end 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 29 
 
 of the south westerly side Hne. And it was not to be 
 such a walk, but a real Day and Half's journey on an 
 affair of so much consequence as the settling the 
 boundaries of so large a purchase, and considering 
 that according to the natural construction of those 
 words (a journey as far as a man can go in a Day and 
 a Half), the walkers were not strictly to be confined 
 to walking, though by the affidavits of the said persons 
 present it appears they did. We think the length of 
 the Walk (especially stopping at the Kittatinny Moun- 
 tains, where, according to Mr. Thomas Penn's direc- 
 tions, as mentioned in Mr. Smith's deposition, and 
 where by the said purchase in 1749, that head line 
 was fixed as aforesaid), it being only, as we are well 
 informed, about forty-seven miles from Wrightstown 
 to those mountains, was not at all extravagant or un- 
 reasonable and ought not to have been objected to. 
 We don't find that any of the Proprietary Indian Pur- 
 chases were ever run out by a compass, nor can we 
 apprehend that it could be of any use in laying them 
 out, as they seem all to be described in the Deeds by 
 natural bounds ; and therefore we are very much at a 
 loss to understand what Tedyuscung means by that 
 part of his charge against the Proprietaries, wherein 
 he complains 'that when he (meaning, we suppose, the 
 ancestors of the present Delaware Indians) had agreed 
 to sell the land to the old Proprietary by the course 
 of the River, the young Proprietaries came and got it 
 run out by a straight line by the compass, and by that 
 means took in double the quantity intended to be sold.' " 
 
130 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 The report further states that the}- cannot under- 
 stand that there were any grounds for a charge of 
 forgery against the proprietaries except in offering 
 the copy of the deed of 1686. They confess that no 
 original could be produced ; but they offer no apology 
 for its not having been recorded or that it was ren- 
 dered obsolete by the purchase of 171 8. About the 
 Trial Walk, of Allen's purchases, and others, nothing 
 is said, or w'hy anything relating to the Walk was 
 withheld from public inspection, except such as they 
 permitted. They profess great ignorance about the 
 use of the compass in this transaction. Its advantage 
 was in the use made with it by John Chapman in lay- 
 ing out the most direct route through the woods for 
 the Trial Walk, and at the close of the Walk of 1737, 
 so that it should run exactly southwest, that the north- 
 east line at a right angle should strike the Delaware 
 near the mouth of the Lackawaxen, thus taking in 
 double the quantity of land it otherwise should, and 
 which on a map is quite apparent. They further say 
 that those witnesses are the most worthy of credit who 
 mention that the Indians expressed no dissatisfaction 
 about the Walk. Though Benjamin Eastburn's map 
 is mentioned, of which it appears they had the use, 
 nothing is said of the distance thereon ''of about sixty 
 miles y 
 
 We now approach an interesting subject, the effort 
 made by Thomas Penn, through his agents, to entrap 
 William Logan and Benjamin Shoemaker of the Coun- 
 cil, without their knowledge, into his infamous schemes. 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. I3I 
 
 The plot was pretty ingenious and such as we might 
 expect from one who but a few years before had dis- 
 played such extraordinary skill in getting possession 
 of the present Franklin Square, under the design of 
 pretended benevolence. In this affair it is regretted 
 that all our information comes from the proprietary 
 side and therefore the more favorable. In the Colo- 
 nial Records (Vol. VIII., p. 245) we learn that Mr. 
 Logan and Mr. Shoemaker, having perused the Report 
 of Council which lay on the table, declared that it was 
 a transaction utterly unknown to them, and that the 
 secretary had never given them notice that such a re- 
 port was drawn. That they had further been told by 
 some Friends, that a report was sent by the Governor 
 to the Proprietary, in which their Society was abused ; 
 and that a copy of it had been produced from London ; 
 that their characters suffered on this account, it being 
 known that they were of the committee appointed to 
 inquire into the causes of the complaint and charge of 
 forgery made by Tedyuscung at the Treaty of Easton 
 in November, 1756, and therefore desired that their 
 ignorance of this transaction might be entered, which 
 was agreed to. They were further desired to give 
 their own sentiments and account of it, in order that 
 they might be inserted in the minutes. 
 
 To cover this affair, Thomas Penn sent a letter to 
 William Logan, dated London, April 14, 1759, in 
 which he says : " I had sent me a Report of some 
 Members of Council, which I thought you must have 
 seen, as you wrote me long since that you did not 
 
132 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 agree to ever)^ part of the Report that was then draw- 
 ing, and at the same time sent me )'our narrative of 
 the proceedings on this purchase." Some time pre- 
 vious to the above, Richard Hockley had sent a letter 
 to the proprietary in which he says : "As I was in- 
 strumental in renewing correspondence between you 
 and Mr. Logan, I think it my duty to offer some 
 thought on that subject for your consideration. Mr. 
 Logan is a very honest man, has the character, and I 
 believe is so, as well attached to your family, but his 
 connections and attachment to Friends is so manifest 
 that I am apprehensive he cannot be of that service as 
 I could wish; he will draw a veil over their most glar- 
 ing mistakes." 
 
 From Thomas Penn's correspondence we are en- 
 abled to furnish some additional information respect- 
 ing William Logan and this affair. He writes to Rich- 
 ard Peters, April 12, 1759: " I am very sorry you have 
 had so much trouble about the Report of the Coun- 
 cil, and am as certain as I can be of anything the)' had 
 not their Copy from mine, as it has caused a difference 
 betweeen the Members much to be regretted. Mr. 
 Logan mentions it to me, and says its being kept se- 
 cret from him, was from a subscription, that now the 
 other Members of Council are satisfied was without 
 foundation, so that I hope he will not think more 
 about it. I am concerned in particular for your situ- 
 ation, but hope Mr. Logan will not long continue his 
 resentment, as he knows the reason for it. I desire 
 you will inform the gentlemen, that the Friends could 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 33 
 
 not have the information from my Copy unless it was 
 opened at the Post Office." Under date of Stoke, 
 August 7, 1764, to Governor John Penn, he says: "As 
 to Mr. Logan I expect nothing good from him, but 
 wish you would show civility to him unless he gives 
 you personal cause to alter your conduct in that re- 
 spect, as his family have been so long concerned in 
 our affairs, tho' I have had great objections to his 
 Father's conduct on some occasions. I did not think, 
 however, he would have abetted openly the signing the 
 petition to the King." To Governor Hamilton, Octo- 
 ber 9, 1 761, he wrote: "I am much concerned to hear 
 Israel Pemberton still acts so bad a part and think he 
 should be well watched to see whether he makes him- 
 self liable to be prosecuted for scandal either against 
 us or those we have employed, or else for misdemeanor 
 in case he acts any part that may tend to alienate the 
 Indians from the rest of his Majesty's subjects, or 
 cause them to distrust those employed in the Govern- 
 ment of his provinces." 
 
 We would say that in the minutes of Council no 
 papers whatsoever are to be found respecting the dis- 
 sent of William Logan and Benjamin Shoemaker to 
 the Report which had been endeavored to be imposed 
 upon them. That there must have been such we 
 think the aforesaid sufficiently reveals, but like other 
 papers through the proprietary orders must have been 
 either abstracted or destroyed. The whole w^as a 
 gross outrage of which the most prominent actors 
 were Thomas Penn, Governor Denny, Richard Peters, 
 
134 THE LXDIAN WALK. 
 
 Richard Hockley and perhaps Benjamin Chew. It 
 was very important in this Report for Thomas Penn 
 in his defence before the King to quiet and smooth 
 over these transactions, and at the same time secure 
 the influence of Wilham Logan and Benjamin Shoe- 
 maker and have them in opposition to his leading op- 
 posers, who were also Friends, and thus have them 
 divided, but in which he was completely foiled. The 
 result was a letter from Thomas Penn, dated London, 
 March 1 1, 1763, and addressed to Lieutenant Governor 
 James Hamilton, in which he says : " Mr. Logan has 
 sent me a most insolent letter, of which I shall send 
 you a copy by the next Packet. You speaking to him 
 I thank you for, and am of opinion that he has not 
 acted a fair part in his professions to me." That 
 "most insolent letter," could it be found, would no 
 doubt throw much additional light on the subject and 
 supply considerable which is now wanting. Such 
 missives to him, however, were not infrequent. 
 
 The true representatives of the people, we mean the 
 members of Assembly, also became interested in the 
 affairs that were now agitating, and in their proceed- 
 ings we find that on the 1 2th of July, 1757 : "In obedi- 
 ence to an order of the House we made application to 
 Richard Peters, Lsq., Clerk of Council, and requested 
 that he would permit us to inspect the minutes of 
 Council, and furnish us with a fair transcript of such 
 Minutes as related to Indian affairs ; but he informing 
 us, that he could not grant our Request without con- 
 
WHAT PRODUCED THE DOCUMENTS. 1 35 
 
 suiting the Governor, and receiving the said Request 
 in writing, we wrote him the following letter : 
 
 Sir, The Application of the Committee of Assembly 
 to you yesterday, was made in pursuance of an Order 
 of the House, which was to inspect the Minutes of 
 Council, respecting Indian Purchases. They are de- 
 sirous of seeing and having fair transcripts of all the 
 Minutes that relate to the Purchase made by William 
 Penn about the year 1700, of the Lands on Tohiccon, 
 Neshaminy, the Lehigh, and the Forks of Delaware, 
 or any of them. The Minutes relating to the con- 
 firmatory Purchase of the same Lands in 1737 : The 
 Minutes relating to the Purchase of the Lands on 
 Brandywine : The Minutes relating to the Purchase 
 of the Juniata and Conedaquinet Lands ; and those 
 relating to the Purchase made at Albany. We are, 
 sir, your humble servants. 
 
 Joseph Fox, 
 Thomas Leech, 
 Joseph Galloway, 
 William Masters, 
 William West, 
 Thomas Yorke. 
 
 And the next day we received for answer the fol- 
 lowing letter from the secretary, viz.: 
 
 Gentlemen, I have laid before his Honor the Gov- 
 ernor your Application for an inspection and fair tran- 
 scripts of the Minutes of Council, respecting the sev- 
 eral Indian Purchases mentioned in your letter of this 
 
136 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 date. In answer to w hich liis Honor has ordered me 
 to let you know, That he will not [)ermit you to in- 
 spect the Council Books. That he is now too much 
 engaged in public business, and in preparing for his 
 journey to Easton, to admit of time for m\' searching 
 the Council Books for the Minutes you apply for; but 
 that on his return he will take care you shall be fur- 
 nished with fair transcripts of them. This, he pre- 
 sumes, will not be attended with an\' inconvenience 
 to you as a Committee of Assembly, as the house does 
 not meet by their adjournment till the 8th day of 
 August next. I am, Gentlemen, your most humble 
 
 servant. 
 
 Richard Peters. 
 
 " Since which," the said Committee of Assembly 
 reports, " we have never heard from, or received any 
 of, said Minutes, either from his honour the Governor, 
 or the said clerk." 
 
 This was on the 28th of September following and 
 immediately on their adjournment. So it will be seen 
 that these efforts met with as little success as the 
 Friendly Association. Who on reading such high- 
 handed proceedings will not rejoice at the triumph of 
 the Revolution that overthrew this corruption — the 
 growth of nearly a century? 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE PROPRIETARIES AND THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 
 
 The many wrongs practiced by the proprietaries in 
 the government of their colony, particularly on the In- 
 dians, originated in part in the Walk, and it comes 
 within the scope of the present work to set this matter 
 in a true light. The consequences hav^e been actually 
 attributed "to the Quakers," and we have seen it so 
 published both here and abroad. This statement, from 
 its novelty, would to many residing in the southeastern 
 section of Pennsylvania appear absurd because un- 
 founded. Not so, however, with many outside of these 
 limits, as, for instance, in New England and among the 
 descendants of the Connecticut settlers in the more 
 northern portion of the State, who, if we are to believe 
 what has been lately said in some of their accounts, 
 have been in times past a dangerous people to those 
 who were so unfortunate as to come within their power. 
 Now w^e mean to prove that the aforesaid opinion is 
 incorrect, and that the Society of Friends, as a body, 
 did nobly stand by the Indians, in the various wrongs 
 that were inflicted on them, not by empty words and 
 actions, but by the better Christian example of extra- 
 ordinary acts of disinterested benevolence and friend- 
 ship, which it is not likely was shown to an equal ex- 
 
138 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 tent in any of the other English colonies. The erro- 
 neous ideas to which we have alluded, had their origin 
 in the misconception that Penn and Quaker were s)'n- 
 onymous or identical. 
 
 Gordon, in his History of Pennsylvania, makes the 
 following remarks concerning the Society of Friends, 
 and our own investigations lead us to concur in their 
 truthfulness: "Their firm attachment to liberal politi- 
 cal principles; their courage in resisting, by invincible 
 moral force, every encroachment on the rights of con- 
 science; their justice and kindness to the aborigines; 
 their unostentatious but efficient charities, have all 
 been noticed. If some inconsistencies between their 
 principles and their practice are discovered, they prove 
 onl)' that our best resolutions are not always proof 
 against the storms of passion or the wiles of expedi- 
 ency." At the commencement of the Indian troubles 
 in 1755, the Society formed an organization called the 
 Friendly Association, whose object was to redress the 
 grievances of the Indians and preserve peace by more 
 amicable relations between the parties. We have au- 
 thorit}' to show that between the years 1756 and 1765 
 ^^"45 23 provincial money was expended by the Asso- 
 ciation and distributed among the Indians, besides 
 goods to the value of ^815, from Friends in England. 
 "I assure you," wrote Richard Peters to Thomas Penn, 
 August 4, 1756, "if the Quakers had not been com- 
 plying, and their large present to that provided by 
 the Assembly, we should ha\e been ruined, the In- 
 dians would ha\'e gone awa)- dissatisfied, and matters 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. I 39 
 
 made infinitely worse." The subscriptions were not 
 exclusively confined to the Friends, for ;^430 of the 
 amount named was contributed by the Mennonists, and 
 other German sects. A large portion of the money 
 was applied to the purchase of clothing and sundry 
 articles of value to the Indians, which were presented 
 either collectively at the treaties or on special oc- 
 casions to individuals acting as interpreters, messen- 
 gers, &c. We have in confirmation seen a receipt 
 dated, Richland Monthly Meeting, Bucks county, 4 
 mo. 16, 1759, which informs us that there was "re- 
 ceived of William Heacock, 12 shillings as one year's 
 interest for £10, which he subscribed to ye Friendly 
 Association for regaining and preserving peace with 
 ye Indians," signed by Samuel Foulke as treasurer. 
 
 Besides this charity the Association went still further, 
 for which they certainly deserve great credit, as it at 
 once brought them in opposition to the proprietaries, 
 and for which they had to suffer gross insults and 
 slanderous charges. This was to examine into the 
 justice of the claims made by the Indians for alleged 
 abuses practiced on them for some time. This step 
 was certainly one of the boldest mentioned in our co- 
 lonial history, and for its moral execution required a 
 degree of courage even greater than that often exhib- 
 ited on the field of battle. It was in reality a political 
 attempt to uphold the rights of the people and protect 
 the weak and oppressed from the power of the strong. 
 The sons of William Penn were here to be taught for 
 the first time, and by this sect, that they were but men, 
 
140 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 and if scrupulously honest would in no respect fear 
 investigation. 
 
 "Sorry I am," wrote Richard Peters, December 1 1, 
 1756, to Thomas Penn, "to see the vindictive spirit of 
 the Quakers increase against the Proprietors, so con- 
 trary to faith plighted. Those who signed the address 
 to you, were some of them deceived, and others de- 
 ceivers ; for, be assured that the bulk, nay seven- 
 eighths of the Society, are dcteniiinaiely your enemies, 
 and intend, in conjunction with Mr. Franklin and Mr. 
 Norris and their dependents, to push against you with 
 all the strength and fury they are able. They do say, 
 and will publish in England, and will assure the min- 
 istry, that the Delawares would have never taken up 
 the hatchet against this Province, if the Proprietors 
 had done the Indians justice, that Mr. Thomas Penn 
 knew they complained of that scandalous Walk, and 
 instead of pacifying them set their Uncles the Six Na- 
 tions against them, and they have been at variance 
 ever since, to the great injury of the British interest 
 and the particular damage of this Province." 
 
 The following is an extract of a letter dated Phila- 
 delphia, 21 of I mo., 1757, prepared in behalf of the 
 Society of Friends, and addressed by William Callen- 
 der and Israel Pemberton to Richard Peters, secretary 
 of the Council : "An apprehension of difficulties which 
 may probably arise between the Proprietaries and the 
 Representatives of the People, in the adjusting of the 
 Quotas of the P2xpenses which will attend a final Ad- 
 justment with the Indians, hath induced us to be pre- 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, I4I 
 
 pared to contribute thereto, in order speedily to regain 
 their Friendship, and that good understanding, which 
 hath unhappily been interrupted, and as we find by 
 the express terms of our original Deeds the Proprie- 
 taries are obliged to clear the Lands from all Titles, 
 Claims or demands of the Natives, we apprehend we 
 have a Right to be satisfied whether and how this has 
 been done. And if we can at the next Treaty inform 
 the Indians, that agreeably to their desire at the least, 
 we have had full opportunity of searching into the 
 Grounds of their claims, and that we find them under 
 misapprehensions therein (which we have reason to 
 believe is the case in some particulars), we are in 
 hopes of being instrumental to engage them the more 
 readily to comply with such measures as may then be 
 proposed for an amicable settlement of all differences 
 between them and this Government, which is what we 
 sincerely desire." 
 
 In regard to the aforesaid matter, Mr. Peters thus 
 expressed himself six days later to Thomas Penn : 
 "Another troublesome application has happened since 
 my last. The Quaker Association have taken it into 
 their heads, that they have a right to search the Min- 
 utes of Council, and to inspect the Proprietary Deeds 
 from the Indians, and Mr. Callender and Mr. Israel 
 Pemberton were deputed to make the demand of me, 
 as Provincial secretary, which they did verbally, but 
 afterwards at my instance in writing, which is copied, 
 together with my answer, dictated at the Council 
 Board, and is one of Mr. Hamilton's draft. I hear the 
 
142 THE INDIAX WALK. 
 
 Club of Friendly Associators have my answer under 
 their consideration, and being refused the Examina- 
 tion will probably be made a charge against the Gov- 
 ernor." In his reply, Thomas Penn stated that, "The 
 refusal of suffering Mr. Pemberton and Mr. Callender 
 to examine the Council Books was perfectly right and 
 proper, and the letter of Mr. Hamilton's well known. 
 If they apply to the Assembly and the Assembly de- 
 mand to examine them, your answer should be the 
 same; they have no right to examine Council Books, 
 and therefore should be flatly refused. Let them make 
 complaint, I am prepared to answer it." 
 
 At a Council held on the 25th, Mr. Hamilton and 
 Mr. Mifflin laid before them a reply which was agreed 
 to and delivered to the aforesaid by the secretary, who 
 had signed it. As may be seen it is both arrogant and 
 evasive: "I laid your Application in regard to the 
 Inspection of the Council Books before his Honor the 
 Governor, and in Answer thereto, I am commanded 
 to acquaint you, that as those Books contain the most 
 important Affairs of Government, many of which re- 
 quire the greatest secrecy, he cannot allow the per- 
 usal of them to any but those concerned in the Ad- 
 ministration. And further, that he looks upon the 
 transacting of Business with the Indians in this Pro- 
 vince, to be a Matter so entirely pertaining to himself, 
 that he cannot permit any but such as are immediately 
 empowered by the King's Authority, or by his own, 
 to treat with, or intermeddle in the affairs of that People. 
 Nevertheless, if it be conceived that an\-thing is con- 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 1 43 
 
 tained in the Minutes of Council that does or may 
 concern the Rights or Property of any Person whatso- 
 ever, such Person, by a proper Application, and by 
 particularly pointing it out, may be furnished with a 
 copy of it." 
 
 As a result soon after the Friendly Association pre- 
 pared an Address to Governor Danny, in which they 
 say, that "At the Governor's lodgings we first saw 
 Tedyuscung, the Delaware chief, to whom we were 
 before utterly strangers : on our coming in he imme- 
 diately expressed his regard for and confidence in the 
 Quakers" (this was in the hearing of Governor Morris, 
 at Easton), and declared " He would not proceed to 
 any business unless we were present ; and confirmed 
 it so evidently by his subsequent conduct, at that time, 
 and the ensuing treaty, that we would not without un- 
 justifiable neglect of our duty, decline contributing our 
 utmost endeavors to improve this disposition to the 
 interest of our country, so far as we might be able to 
 do it, consistent with our respective stations in life. 
 From that time it was generally known, that one cause 
 of the alienation of that friendship was some injustice 
 they had received, or supposed to be done them, in 
 the purchases, and the running out of their lands. 
 They complained of divers kinds of frauds, which had 
 been committed, repeatedly urged, that an impartial 
 inquiry should be made into the grounds of their com- 
 plaints, by searching all our records, and by the strong 
 motives of regard to our temporal and eternal interest, 
 urged the Governor to give liberty to all persons and 
 
144 'I'^^E INDIAN WALK. 
 
 friends to search into those matters. Thus we thought 
 ourselves under the strongest obligations to make all 
 the inquiry in our power, into the true state of the 
 Indian claims, whether or not such care had been 
 taken to purchase, and pay them for the lands, as the 
 Proprietaries' Agents had constantly asserted. The 
 right of many of us who hold large tracts of land under 
 the first settlers, the Governor's repeated declarations, 
 both in public and in private, that those matters should 
 be honestly and fully inquired into, and the Indians' 
 injunctions that this should be done, not only by the 
 persons thus complained of, or their Agents, but by 
 others likewise interested therein, united in engaging 
 our particular attention, and gave us a reasonable pros- 
 pect of meeting with the Governor's approbation, and 
 though the secretary refused to permit us to proceed 
 therein, by inspecting the records in his office, we still 
 had cause to think our farther application to the nec- 
 essary and important concern of regaining peace, was 
 not contrary to the Governor's inclination." 
 
 Thomas Penn, in a letter to Richard Peters, dated 
 London, March ii, 1757, says: "The malice of the 
 Quakers in assisting the Indians to make the charge 
 is very visible, and I make no doubt will by you be 
 discovered. You see in the General Instructions there 
 is no mention made of the Walk, but the directions to 
 remove any other pretense for complaint were meant 
 with a particular view, to the dissatisfaction, which you 
 in your letters .say some of the Indians have expressed 
 with respect to it." Again, under date of November 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, 1 45 
 
 II, 1758, to the same : "Israel Pemberton's hints are 
 very impertinent, and will not be the means of gain- 
 ing for the Indians one shilling more from me that 
 they would otherwise have. The Indians I think 
 should be made sensible, that it is to their interest to 
 preserve a good understanding with the governments, 
 for these only give temporary presents, and it may be 
 many years before they receive any presents again, 
 and upon the same principle they should not assist 
 our own people to be troublesome to government." 
 To Governor Denny he writes, April 13, 1759: "Mr. 
 Pemberton's behaviour at the Treaty at Easton, was 
 void of all decency, and as you will observe must tend 
 to distract all business. This intrusion of those people 
 into Public business is under consideration and must 
 if possible be prevented." This coming from one who 
 w^as not only the son of William Penn, but had actu- 
 ally come here in 1732, with a Friend's certificate of 
 removal, addressed to the Philadelphia Monthly Meet- 
 ing, sounds oddly enough as may be seen on record, 
 and shows only the more his lack of moral principle. 
 Richard Hockley, the receiver general, under date 
 of Philadelphia, June 30, 1757, to Thomas Penn, says: 
 " Many Quakers are gone up to the Treaty, at Easton, 
 and I am the more rivetted in my opinion of their mis- 
 chievous intentions to do you all the injury that they 
 possibly can, notwithstanding their audacious profes- 
 sions to the contrary as a body politic. I wish the 
 treaty may turn out to your satisfaction and the good 
 of the Province, but cannot say I have such sanguine 
 
146 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 expectations as some others as I dread the worst that 
 can happen. I firmly beHeve that some of them were 
 wicked enough to inveigle Tedyuscung to say what 
 he did about the purchase of Lands, and endeavor to 
 throw an odium on you of the blackest dye, to cover 
 if possible their mal-administration and abuse of 
 power." 
 
 A committee of Council consisting of Joseph Turner, 
 Lynford Lardner, Benjamin Chew, John Mifflin and 
 Thomas Cadwallader, drew up a Report addressed to 
 Governor \Vm. Denny, on the Indian Complaints, pur- 
 porting to be chiefly prepared from the proceedings 
 of the Treaty, held at Easton, November 8, 1756, but 
 was not approved and signed by them until January 6, 
 1758. The object of this Report of course was to 
 screen the conduct of the proprietaries from the grave 
 charges that had been made against them by the In- 
 dians, more especially Tedyuscung. It may be seen 
 in full, in the Colonial Records (Vol. VIII., p. 254), 
 but from its length we can only make such extracts as 
 relate to our purpose. They thus allude to the Friendly 
 Association and their motives: "To Tedyuscung's 
 making that base Charge of Forgery against the Pro- 
 prietors to the malicious suggestions and management 
 of some wicked people, enemies to the Proprietaries, 
 who had come to the knowledge of that circumstance 
 of the said Deed being lost, and that there was nothing 
 but a copy of it now to be found, which they would 
 have it believed to be a forged one, being ignorant 
 that the truth and fairness of the said copy would be 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. 1 47 
 
 SO well proved ; and perhaps it would not be unjust in 
 us if we were to impute it to some of those busy for- 
 ward people, who, in disregard of the express Injunc- 
 tions of His Majesty's Ministers against it, and your 
 Honor's repeated Notices thereof served on them, 
 would nevertheless appear in such crowds at all the 
 late Indian Treaties, and there shew themselves so 
 busy and active in the management and support of the 
 Indians in these complaints against the Proprietaries." 
 This Report concludes with the following scurrilous 
 attack on the Friends : " But the people who have since 
 that time appeared so indefatigably industrious to en- 
 gross all the management of the Indians to themselves, 
 were chiefly the same who made up a great majority 
 of the Assembly at the time when the House from 
 their avowed religious principles, or from what other 
 motives they best knew, refused or declined to concur 
 with the Governor in giving up the hatchets to and 
 joining with those Indians against the enemy, and as 
 they cannot but be conscious that they justly deserve 
 and must have incurred great blame on that account, 
 if the Indians should have given that for the reason of 
 their joining with the French against us, we are better 
 able to account for these people being so numerous at 
 at all the late Indian Treaties, and upon all occasions 
 so very forward and anxious to ingratiate themselves 
 with the Indians ; and for Tedyuscung's choosing to 
 offer these imaginar yreasons for their quarrel with us, 
 rather than the true one." 
 
148 THE IXDIAX WALK. 
 
 Thomas Penn's correspondence reveals the fact that 
 the Report of Council was prepared according to his 
 instructions, and as soon as signed was confidentially 
 transmitted to him for his defense before the King and 
 the Board of Trade. The Friends having receiv^ed in- 
 formation of a slanderous attack made on them, very 
 probably through William Logan or Benjamin Shoe- 
 maker of the council, on being requested to sign it 
 were astonished at the nature of its contents, and of 
 course very properly refused to do so, which afterwards 
 led to a sharp controversy with Thomas Penn, as has 
 been mentioned in the previous chapter. The result 
 was the following correspondence : 
 
 To William Denny, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor 
 of the Province of Pennsylvania, and the three Lower 
 Counties of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, upon Del- 
 aware. 
 
 The Address of the Meeting for Sufferings of the 
 People, called Quakers, for the said Province and New 
 Jersey, met at Philadelphia 14 of 12 month, 1758, Re- 
 spectfully sheweth : That we have been lately informed 
 that a report of a Committee of thy Council, appointed 
 to inquire into the Complaints of the Indians, at the 
 Treaty of P^aston, the 8 of November, 1756, hath been 
 some Months past drawn up and laid before the Gov- 
 ernor, and since transmitted to England, and that there 
 are some Matters alleged therein, in which the Rep- 
 utation and Interest of our religious Society are im- 
 mediately concerned. We, therefore, request the Gov- 
 ernor would be pleased to order a true cop\- thereof to 
 
PROPRIETARIES AND SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. I 49 
 
 be made out and communicated to us, in order that 
 we may have an opportunity of perusing the same, 
 and be more perfectly acquainted with the contents 
 thereof Signed in behalf and by appointment of our 
 said Meeting. James Pemberton, Clk. 
 
 At a Council held at Philadelphia, Wednesday, Jan- 
 uary 10, 1759, present the Hon. Wm. Denny, Esq., 
 Lieut. Governor and Lynford Lardner and John 
 Mifflin, Esquires, the Address of the Meeting of 
 Sufferings, presented the 14th of December last, was 
 again considered, and a draught kept under advise- 
 ment was amended and agreed to, in these words : 
 
 Gentlemen : After Tedyuscung had in the Treaty at 
 Easton, publicly charged the Proprietaries of this Prov- 
 ince, with defrauding them of their lands ,1 desired the 
 Council to examine into the State of the Indian Treat- 
 ies, Purchases, and all other Transactions with them, 
 for my own satisfaction ; and they were kind enough 
 to do it, and to make a Report to me of their Exami- 
 nations, which fully convinced me of the P'alsehood of 
 the Charge. This Report I transmitted to the Pro- 
 prietaries at London, together with Copies of the 
 Deeds and other Papers referred to therein ; and as 
 this matter principally affects those Gentlemen, who 
 are to make their defence against this Charge, before 
 His Majesty, you will easily perceive that I cannot, 
 consistent with my Trust, order you the Copy you 
 desire. I can only say that there is not the least Re- 
 flection in it upon any Religious Society, and I con- 
 ceive the meeting of Suffcrinefs have nothinsf to do 
 
150 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 with it. If they think otherwise, I refer them to the 
 Proprietaries. And am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your Most Humble Servant, 
 
 William Denny. 
 Now what must we think of the character of Gov- 
 ernor Denny for veracity when he says, " I can only 
 say that there is not the least reflection in it upon any 
 Religious Society." Poor Denny! he little thought 
 how soon aftwards he would have to refer himself to 
 the proprietaries in his pecuniary distress. Their 
 tender mercies he at last found out, and his reward 
 was like Edward Marshall's, but fair promises. The 
 Friends, however, renewed their application on the 
 13th of the following month, to have a copy of the 
 Council's Report, so as to defend themselves from any 
 base charges which they feared might be contained 
 therein, and closed by saying: "We desire the Gov- 
 ernor and Council may not be displeased with this 
 Application, but may give it the most charitable con- 
 struction, and grant this our reasonable request." 
 This we believe was about the last of the matter, but 
 it conclusively proves that the Society of Friends 
 took a bold stand on the side of freedom, and were 
 the staunchest friends of the Indians against the con- 
 duct of the proprietaries and their agents. W^e thus 
 perceive that they have been erroneously charged 
 with aiding and abetting the Penns at the very time 
 when these respective parties were almost alone in 
 opposition to each other, e\'en to the end of the pro- 
 prietary rule. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT PERSONS 
 CONCERNED IN THE WALK. 
 
 THOMAS PENN. 
 
 The subject of this notice was the son of WiUiam 
 Penn, by his second wife, Hannah Callowhill, who on 
 his death in 171 8 left six surviving children. The 
 province of Pennsylvania he bequeathed to the three 
 sons of this marriage, being John, Thomas and Rich- 
 ard ; the first mentioned being the eldest, received a 
 double portion. John was born here on his father's 
 last visit, and returned in September, 1734, but went 
 back the following year, in order to oppose Lord Bal- 
 timore respecting the boundary. He died unmarried 
 in October, 1746, and by his will left all his part of the 
 province, which consisted of two shares or half the 
 whole, to Thomas, who thus became the owner of 
 three-fourths, and with his youngest brother Richard 
 now the sole proprietor. 
 
 Thomas Penn arrived here August ii, 1732, and 
 like his elder brother received from the colonists and 
 the Assembly those marks of respect regarded as due 
 their stations and as the sons of the illustrious founder. 
 Aided by special commissioners, he entered upon the 
 adjustment of the boundary, according to articles of 
 
152 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 agreement made the previous loth of May. New 
 points of dispute, however, arose ; the matter was 
 again adjourned, and was not finally settled until 1761. 
 On his arrival here he was in his thirty-second year, 
 and exhibited in his conduct the occasional pranks 
 and follies of youth. He was cold in his manners and 
 distant in his intercourse with society, a general char- 
 acteristic of the famil)', and consequently unpopular. 
 A part of his time he spent in fox hunting \vith horses 
 and hounds that he had specially imported from Eng- 
 land, and at least a portion of the balance, with all his 
 pretentions, in no very select company. 
 
 It is useless to mention certain of his habits, which 
 John F. Watson in his Annals and Sherman Day have 
 had the manliness to expose, and we will therefore men- 
 tion other occurrences in his life deemed essential and 
 sufficiently well supported to show off the man who 
 was at the head of outraging the Indians, and a cause 
 for entailing a long and bloody war and countless mis- 
 ery on the people of a colony over whom he ruled 
 through a grant given his father by the King for the 
 naval services of an ancestor. 
 
 In the Pennsylvania Archives (Vol. I., p. 546), we 
 find that Thomas Penn in company with Roger Freame, 
 Robert Charles and four others from Philadelphia, only 
 two months after the Walk, went over to Newtown, 
 Gloucester county, N. J., and on -the affirmation of 
 Joseph Mickle, a respectable member of the Society 
 of Friends, did there "enter in a riotous manner 
 his enclosures, did beat and maim him and forcibly 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 53 
 
 enter his house and spoil his goods, and declared that 
 he was afraid of further harm to be done by the above 
 persons, therefore he prayed surety of the peace against 
 them." James Hinkon, the magistrate, accordingly is- 
 sued a warrant to the constable for the arrest of the 
 parties. What further was done in the matter we are 
 unable to say, but suppose, as in the crimes committed 
 some time previously by William Penn, Jr., in Phila- 
 delphia, the matter was dropped, owing to the influ- 
 ence and power of the parties. Joseph Smith, who 
 was born in 1753, in his account of the Walk, states 
 that though the Indians had been so grossly wronged, 
 they could scarcely believe the wickedness of the sons 
 of Penn when represented to them by the whites. 
 
 Though Thomas Penn had the Walks of 1735 and 
 1737 carried out, we are inclined to believe that he 
 was not present at either, but that they were done by 
 his instructions, through deputies. His residence in 
 Pennsylvania was exactly nine years, a sufficient length 
 oftimetohave become tolerably familiar with the people 
 and the province, and to have seen what their neces- 
 sities were in the way of a good and wise gov^ernment. 
 As he returned in August, 1741, it must have been 
 before this date that Samuel Preston relates that Ed- 
 ward Marshall had told him that shortly after the 
 Walk he went to see Thomas Penn, in Bucks county, 
 probably at Pennsbury, and demanded from him a 
 warrant for the five hundred acres that had been prom- 
 ised him as the best walker, to be located at Allentown, 
 in compensation for his services, and that the onh' sat- 
 
154 I'HE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 isfaction he got was an offer of £^ for the same, when, 
 for this exliibition of his meanness, he became so pro- 
 voked as to curse him and his " half wife" to their faces. 
 
 In 175 I, when in his fiftieth year, he married Lady 
 Juliana, fourth daughter of Thomas Fermer, first Earl 
 of Pomfret. We have seen the original marriage set- 
 tlement of the parties, and it appears by the numerous 
 papers relating thereto, that they had quite a time till 
 it was adjusted to the satisfaction of both ; employing 
 for the purpose some of the ablest lawyers in England. 
 What is generally regarded as an affair of the heart, 
 seems to have been a matter of money with a strong 
 persistence that neither should overreach the other. 
 For the old Earl seems to have been very cautious on 
 this matter, as if he had not been altogether ignorant 
 of the person he had to deal with. While this busi- 
 ness was in progress, he met with a singular accident, 
 that might ha\'e turned out seriously. On account pro- 
 bably of robbers that frequented the highways at this 
 period, he had with him a pair of loaded pistols under 
 the seat of his chaise, and when about twelve miles 
 from Bath, one of them accidentally discharged, and 
 wounded him so severely as to have cost him several 
 months surgical treatment. 
 
 The character of the man ma}- be \-er}' well arri\'ed 
 at b}- his correspondence. To attain any particular 
 end he would approach the person with the most en- 
 dearing epithets and flattery. This is particularly ob- 
 servable in a correspondence he opened with his 
 hitherto neglected nephew, William Penn, with a \-iew 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 ^.^ 
 
 of getting the Pennsbury estate, in Bucks county, from 
 him at his own price. The following is an extract 
 from a reply dated Dublin, February 4, 1741 : "Dear 
 Uncle Thom., I received thine of the 7th January with 
 no small surprise, because I see there an affirmation 
 that Pennsbury contains no more than 4000 acres of 
 land, which is contrary to thy own repeated declara- 
 tions and to the survey sent me, both of them calling 
 it 5000 acres, but I have as good an authority as either 
 to produce, which is a letter of my grandfather's, that 
 expressly says it is 7000 acres ; indeed if I had no 
 such letters I should think it hard, and I would think 
 it is strange that the deposition of hearsay should 
 swear me out of 1000 acres of my property." 
 
 The following from another of his kindred is a more 
 serious charge, and is extracted from a letter of Dr. 
 Franklin (Sparks' Works of Franklin, Vol. VII., pp. 
 227-28), dated London, May 9, i76i,to Edward Pen- 
 nington, an eminent merchant of Philadelphia, whose 
 ancestors were related to William Penn's first wife, 
 who was Gulielma Maria, daughter of Sir William 
 Springett : 
 
 "I enclose you a letter from your kinsman, Mr. 
 Springett Penn, with whom I have no acquaintance, 
 until lately, but have the pleasure to find him a very 
 sensible, discreet young man, with excellent disposi- 
 tion, which makes me the more regret that the gov- 
 ernment as well as property of our province should 
 pass out of that line. There has, by his account, been 
 something very mysterious in the conduct of his uncle, 
 
156 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 Thomas Pcnn, towards him. He was his ouardian; 
 instead of endeavoring to educate him at home under 
 his eye in a manner becoming the elder branch of their 
 house, he has from his infancy been endeavoring to 
 get rid of him. He first proposed sending him to 
 the East Indies. When that was decHned, he had 
 a scheme of sending him to Russia; but the young 
 gentleman's mother absolutely refusing to let him go 
 out of the kingdom, unless to Pennsylvania to be ed- 
 ucated in the college there, he would by no means 
 hear of his going hither, but bound him an apprentice 
 to a country attorney, in an obscure part of Sussex, 
 which after two years' stay, finding that he was taught 
 nothing valuable, nor could see any company that 
 might improve him, left, and returned to his mother, 
 with whom he has been ever since, much neglected 
 by his uncle, except lately that he has been a little 
 civil, to get him to join in a power of attorney to W. 
 Peters and R. Hockley, for the sale of some Philadel- 
 phia lots, of which he is told three undivided fourth 
 parts belong to him. But he is not shown the right 
 he has to them; nor has he any plan of their situation, 
 by which he may be advised of their value; nor was 
 he told, till lately, that he had any such right, which 
 makes him suspect that he may have other rights that 
 are concealed from him. He has refused to treat about 
 it at present, as well as to sign the power of attorney, 
 for the sale of the city lots; upon which his late guard- 
 ian has brought an account against him, and demands 
 a debt of 400^,"., which he urges him to pay, for that, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, I 57 
 
 as he says, he very much wants the money, which does 
 not seem to look well. Not only the Land office may 
 be searched for warrants and surveys to the young 
 gentlemen's ancestors, but also the Record office for 
 deeds of gift from the first proprietor, and other sub- 
 sequent grants or conveyances." 
 
 James Parton, in his Life of Franklin, in speaking 
 of Thomas and Richard Penn, remarks with consider- 
 able truth: "They were haughty and reserved, they 
 evaded and quibbled. Such men offend by their very 
 concessions and disgust by their generosity ^ In speak- 
 ing further of their meanness he says : " But in the im- 
 position of the trifling sum of 550^^. a year as tax on 
 their estates, all of which was to be expended in the 
 defence of what the proprietaries had the ill taste to 
 style, 'our province of Pennsylvania,' and 'our city of 
 Philadelphia,' they resisted with a blind obstinacy that 
 was only surpassed by the enlightened firmness of the 
 Assembly in insisting upon it. During the first years 
 of the French war, from 1754 to the end of 1758, the 
 ravaged colony contributed to the king's service, in 
 defending its own borders and aiding other colonies 
 to strike at the common foe, the sum of 2 1 8,000^. ster- 
 ling. Still the proprietaries would not be taxed." 
 
 In confirmation that even the generosity of Thomas 
 Penn was insulting, the following instances will show: 
 He donated by deed dated July 21, 1759, twenty-five 
 hundred acres of land in the Manor of Perkasie, in 
 Bucks county, in support of the college in Philadel- 
 phia, now better known as the University of Pennsyl- 
 
158 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 vania, but with this proviso: That should the institu- 
 tion fail the land was to revert to himself and heirs, 
 and when the income from it should amount to 200;^. 
 per annum, they should educate, maintain, and clothe 
 two persons of the nomination of the grantor or his 
 heirs. In a previous letter sent to Richard Hockley, 
 dated October 9, 1756, he says: "I have also agreed 
 to give on my private account 50^^ a year towards the 
 salary of the Provost of the College, provided he is 
 approved by me, to commence from Christmas, 1755." 
 We presume, from the conditions imposed, the offer 
 was not accepted. 
 
 In the address of Dr. George Wood on the Cen- 
 tennial Celebration of the founding of the Pennsylva- 
 nia Hospital, deliv^ered June 10, 185 1, we get some 
 additional information. After a charter had been 
 granted and a sum of money voted by the Assembly 
 and considerable subscribed for the purpose of erect- 
 ing a building, application was made to Thomas and 
 Richard Penn for a plot of ground on which to build, 
 "so that all concerned in the Province might partici- 
 pate in the honor, merit and pleasure of so good a 
 work." A suitable place was designated on the unap- 
 propriated portion of the square on the south side of 
 Mulberry between Ninth and Tenth streets, being a 
 part of the city in which the value of land had not in- 
 creased for several years, and which was not likely to 
 be occupied. But, instead, they transmitted to their 
 Lieutenant Governor, James Hamilton, an instrument 
 from themselves for a small lot of ground, lying on 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 59 
 
 the north side of Sassafras street, between Sixth and 
 Seventh streets, being a portion of the grounds now 
 known as FrankHn Square; under the condition, how- 
 ever, that should there not be a constant succession of 
 contributors to meet and choose managers, the tract 
 of land thus conveyed should revert to them or their 
 heirs. Now as this with the adjoining grounds had a 
 long time before been granted by the founder, their 
 father, to the city for public uses, it could not be ac- 
 cepted under the instrument conveying it "without an 
 inplied acknowledgment on their part of the Proprie- 
 taries' right to the remainder of the grounds." The 
 managers therefore unanimously felt themselves con- 
 strained to decline the grant of the Proprietaries. De- 
 sparing now of any donation from the Penns, they 
 purchased the square on which it now stands, in De- 
 cember, 1754. for 500^, to which however ten years 
 afterwards they did grant an adjoining lot fronting on 
 Spruce street, of sixty feet in depth and an annuity of 
 40^. They thus offered to convey ground for which 
 they had not been asked and never even owned ; hav- 
 ing been granted to the city about seventy years pre- 
 vious. 
 
 There are other similar occurrences in the life of 
 Thomas Penn that will be found elsewhere in this 
 work, and to which from their connection they more 
 appropriately belong. Between him and Dr. Franklin 
 an old antipathy existed, perhaps originating from a bill 
 many years due for printing and stationery, which the 
 latter, losing all patience from his quibbling, compelled 
 
l6o THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 him to pay. In a letter to Richard Peters, dated London, 
 July 5, 1758, he says: "How Mr. Franklin looked 
 I cannot tell, but my brother says like a malicious 
 
 V as he always does; how from this time I will 
 
 not have any conversation with him on any pretense." 
 Again, to the same, under date of February 10, 1759: 
 " He has just now presented a Petition to the King on 
 the Delaware Indian Complaints, a copy of which I 
 send you." This related to the Walk, and the con- 
 duct of the Penns in their intercourse with the Indians. 
 June 13, 1764, he writes again respecting Franklin to 
 Lieut. Gov. James Hamilton, in which he says, "we 
 are not in fear of your mighty Goliath, whose schemes 
 of government are not approved of here, and who may 
 lose the government of a post office by grasping at 
 that of a province." Could he have lived twenty years 
 later he would have found himself in a rather humili- 
 ated condition; his province forever lost him, and his 
 King and government compelled to acknowledge it, 
 and his antagonist prominent in bringing it about and 
 serving twice as its chief executive. 
 
 After six years of severe suffering, Thomas Penn 
 died March 21, 1775, when he had completed his sev- 
 enty-fourth year, about the age of his father, and was 
 his last surviving child. He had a large family, but 
 most of his children died young. A son John was the 
 author of two volumes of poems, but of no striking 
 original merit. Another son, Granville, in 1834, pre- 
 .sented the two Indian portraits to the Historical So- 
 ciety. His widow survi\ed until 1801. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. l6l 
 
 For the loss of the province, considering the con- 
 duct of the proprietaries, the Legislature of Pennsyl- 
 vania certainly exhibited liberality. The act was passed 
 November 27, 1779, that abolished their hereditary 
 powers and other extraordinary privileges. It states 
 "that the sum of 130,000 pounds sterling (^577,778) 
 be paid to the devisees and legatees of Thomas Penn 
 and Richard Penn, late proprietaries of Pennsylvania 
 respectively, and to the widow and relict of the said 
 Thomas Penn, in such proportions as shall hereafter 
 by the legislature be deemed equitable and just upon 
 a full investigation of their respective claims. Provided 
 that no part of the said sum be paid within less than 
 one year after the termination of the present war with 
 Great Britain ; and that no more than 20,000 pounds 
 sterling, nor less than 15,000 pounds sterling, shall be 
 paid in any one year, until the whole sum be fully 
 paid and discharged." It appears that they gladly ac- 
 cepted it, and in 1791 the State had paid the whole off 
 with interest. For their losses the British Govern-' 
 ment allowed the family an annuity of ;^4000 to con- 
 tinue forever. Thus did Pennsylvania prove a fortu- 
 nate venture to the founder's descendants. 
 
 If it were asked in the rule of almost a century, 
 what beneficial works of enterprise the Penns had per- 
 formed for the good of the people and Province, we 
 think it would be rather difficult to answer, while, on 
 the other hand, the abuse of power in the government, 
 and their neglect and mismanagement of business, 
 caused incalculable injury. In that long period, they 
 
102 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 constructed no useful public works, founded nor en- 
 dowed no humane or benevolent institutions, organ- 
 ized no schools or colleges; made even no attempts to 
 civilize, instruct or convert the native Indians, or amel- 
 iorate the condition of the negroes. However, with 
 all these drawbacks, the Province flourished, and was 
 bringing in immense revenues to those who would 
 not be taxed, who cared not even to reside here nor 
 do anything for it, and yet whose vast possessions 
 were augmenting in wealth through the labors of the 
 hardy and enterprising settlers. 
 
 In concluding this sketch we shall leave the Rev. 
 Israel Acrelius (Hist. New Sweden, ed. 1874, p. 131) 
 furnish a parting salute: "Thomas Penn came in 
 1733 to visit his country, and examine into its re- 
 sources. But as he and his brother Richard had en- 
 tirely fallen away from the Quaker connection, and he 
 inquired more about the government than the uphold- 
 ing of Quakerism, he was met by his father's old 
 friends with uncommon disesteem, and after six or 
 seven years' intercourse with them, instead of any 
 other token of honor, had a gallows erected for him 
 on the side of the road alonsj which he travelled." 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. l6 
 
 WILLIAM ALLEN. 
 
 In his day, William Allen was one of the most in- 
 fluential men in Philadelphia, if not in the Province. 
 He was the son of William Allen, an eminent mer- 
 chant in the city, of whom Robert Proud speaks as 
 "a considerable promoter of trade and a man of good 
 character." He died in the summer of 1725, and left 
 to his son a considerable fortune. Mr. Allen, with 
 James Logan and ten others, in the spring of 1727, 
 took up what was called the Durham tract on the river 
 Delaware in Bucks county, and which they said con- 
 tained by estimation six thousand acres, which on a 
 division in 1773 was found to contain eight thousand 
 five hundred and eleven acres. His operations were 
 now extensive, and being a man of wealth, and the 
 Penn family at this period, through their extravagan- 
 cies, needy, a remarkable spirit of accommodation was 
 extended to him, such as we believe was given to no 
 other individual. He was a prudent business man and 
 at once made use of his power in selecting and taking 
 up only such lands as suited him. As for Indian 
 rights or claims, he had as little regard for them as 
 those he dealt with, providing he could have their 
 strong arms to shield and protect him. Thus in 1727 
 and 1728, he purchased thousands of acres of the best 
 land above the Kittatinny or Blue Mountains — one 
 tract of five thousand acres in 1735 at the present Naz- 
 areth, and three thousand acres in 1736 in six parcels 
 
164 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 along the Lehigh river, in and around the present Al- 
 lentown, which in consequence was called after him. 
 These tracts, it must be remembered, were all pur- 
 chased some time before the Walk and without any 
 right or even the knowledge of the Indians. He had 
 the sagacity in selling these lands to purchasers to 
 omit the date when he received said grants. This, in 
 our observations among records outside of his trans- 
 actions, was an unusual proceeding, and there is no 
 question but what there was an understanding on this 
 subject with Thomas Penn. It is remarkable too with 
 what success the secret was kept, especially of the 
 lands around Dingman's Ferry, twenty -four miles 
 above the Blue Mountains, regularly surveyed and 
 purchased by him upwards of nine years before the 
 Walk. The running of the line from the termination 
 of the one and a half day's journey to near the mouth 
 of the Lackawaxen on the Delaware, was done no 
 doubt chiefly to accommodate him so as to be rid the 
 sooner of Indian claims. In his visits to Durham 
 Iron Works on and after 1727, he tells us, he there 
 became acquainted with Tishcohan, Nutimus and 
 Tedyuscung. 
 
 Mr. Allen was mayor of Philadelphia in 1735, and 
 recorder from 1741 to 1750. He was commissioned 
 chief justice of the Supreme Court, September 20, 
 1750, and continued in the office till the spring of 
 1774, when owing to the troubles of the times he re- 
 signed. It will thus be seen that he had much ex- 
 perience in public affairs. He was married to Mar- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 65 
 
 garet, the daughter of Andrew Hamilton, the celebrated 
 lawyer, and the sister of Lieut. Gov. James Hamilton. 
 He had sons, Andrew, William, John and James, who 
 at first were vacillating, but in the end proved royalists. 
 It is said, in 1761, he was only one of three persons in 
 Philadelphia who kept a coach drawn by four horses 
 and driven by an imported coachman. Much of his 
 wealth as well as his positions he owed to the Penns, 
 and with the troubles of the Revolution approaching, 
 as a royalist, he was placed in no enviable situation. 
 Accustomed to regard the King as the source of 
 power, the proprietaries as only secondary, and the 
 popular cause increasing, he concluded to leave his 
 native land for an asylum in Great Britain, where he 
 resided until his death in September, 1780. Unlike 
 the Penns, Mr. Allen was a man of enterprise and 
 public spirit. The college in Philadelphia was chiefly 
 established through his and Dr. Franklin's exertions. 
 The latter, while in command of a regiment, named 
 Fort Allen, on the Lehigh, after him in 1756. Mr. 
 Allen, from his strong prejudices and his devoted at- 
 tachment to the interests of the Penns, was not quali- 
 fied to sit as an impartial judge in the Supreme Court. 
 An examination of his papers also indicates that he 
 had not the ability requisite for that position. 
 
 Mr. Allerj's correspondence reveals that he was im- 
 portunate for office, as confirmed by the following ex- 
 tracts : Gov. John Penn, in a letter to his uncle Tho- 
 mas, dated Philadelphia, March 17, 1764, thus ex- 
 presses himself: "Before I finish I must observe that 
 
1 66 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 many good people in this city have been disgusted at 
 the particular regard always paid that gentleman's re- 
 commendations to every office that fell vacant, in pre- 
 judice to any pretensions they might have from their 
 own merit and superior qualifications, and look upon 
 themselves as neglected and unnoticed only because 
 they happen to be obnoxious to him. I take him to 
 be a very good man, but too easily biased at the ex- 
 pense of his judgment, and very open to flattery, fond 
 of popularity, but mistaking the ends of obtaining it." 
 In reply to his nephew's letter respecting his contem- 
 plated marriage, Thomas Penn does not appear to give 
 his hearty approval. Under date of London, April 
 12, 1765, he says : " In this case you must on consid- 
 ering it closely be of opinion that the party who think 
 Mr. A. and his friends direct every thing, will suppose 
 with great reason that his influence will be greatly in- 
 creased, and on appointment of any one of his family 
 to an office they will make great clamor and sa}' all 
 offices are to be swallowed up by them ; his family is 
 numerous, this must cause other connections, and it 
 will be a very difficult part for a goxernor to refuse 
 applications from persons he must necessarily be un- 
 der great influence to oblige. Besides considering 
 how ready the people are to suppose we have an un- 
 due influence over our judges, and even r^ow press us 
 to an appointment during good behavior, can it be 
 thought they will not increase the clamor of their gov- 
 ernor, the next heir to one of the Proprietors should 
 marry the Chief Justice's daughter. I think Mr. A. could 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 67 
 
 not prudently continue in the office, that we could not 
 with any degree of prudence permit him, tho' I be- 
 lieve a man of too much honor to be under any in- 
 fluence." 
 
 The aforesaid John Penn was the son of Richard. 
 He came over in 1763 as Lieutenant Governor of the 
 Province, and was married to Ann, the daughter of Mr. 
 Allen. In 1764 he offered increased bounties for the 
 killing and scalping of all Indian enemies above ten 
 years of age. He was very near-sighted, possessed 
 the reserved family characteristic, and by no means 
 popular. He died in Bensalem, Bucks county, in 1 795 , 
 aged 67 years. He was buried in Christ Church yard 
 and afterwards taken up and carried to England, "thus 
 adding," as John F. Watson remarks, "to the strange 
 aversion which members of the Penn family generally 
 showed to remaining with us, either living or dead." 
 
 BENJAMIN EASTBURN. 
 
 As surveyor general of Pennsylvania at the particu- 
 lar request of Thomas Penn, Benjamin Eastburn was 
 present at the Walk for the purpose of noting the dis- 
 tances and making a map of the same, assisted by his 
 deputies, Nicholas Scull and John Chapman. Of his 
 early history we know little more than that he was 
 born in the year 1696 and resided a brief time in Ab- 
 ington township, where he married Ann Thomas 29th 
 of 8-mo., 1722. He was appointed to succeed Jacob 
 
l68 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Taylor as surveyor general (3ct. 29, 1733, and con- 
 tinued in said office until on or near his death, his 
 successor being William Parsons, who was commis- 
 sioned August 22, 1 741. We are satisfied that he was 
 not present at the Trial Walk in 1735, it being in 
 charge of John Chapman. At the termination of the 
 one and a half day's journey he ran the line in a north- 
 east direction to near the mouth of the Lackawaxen, 
 a distance of about sixty-six miles, and requiring four 
 days' additional labor. 
 
 That Mr. Eastburn did not perform an honorable 
 part in this transaction is certain from his map, both 
 in the manner he conducted the survey and endeav- 
 ored to conceal thereby the advantages taken of the 
 Indians, which however his employer may have im- 
 peratively demanded from a too complying agent. 
 As surveyor general, by the direction of Thomas Penn, 
 he laid off many thousand acres of land in the present 
 county of Northampton, in the years 1735 and 1736, 
 which had been sold to purchasers, and which he must 
 have known had never been acquired by any right or 
 purchase from the Indians. He says on his map, "A 
 day and a half's walk on the 19th and 20th of Septem- 
 ber, 1 737, by Edward Marshall and James Yates, being 
 about si.xty miles." This statement is very ingenious 
 and worthy of Thomas Penn himself The whole dis- 
 tance marked on the map was not walked by the two, 
 James Yates having given out sometime before, but 
 together they may have gone the sixty miles; and if 
 they had it is still incorrect, for it should have been 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 69 
 
 not less than sixty-six, and perhaps nearer seventy-two. 
 Neither does he give the distance on the northeast 
 h'ne, but instead says "a right line through a moun- 
 tainous, barren country" — the object being to get in 
 all the Minisink territory above the Blue Mountains 
 sold nine years before to William Allen, under a pre- 
 text of "a right line," and deceive by a "barren coun- 
 try," as if there was no good land within the purchase. 
 The map thus leaves the impression that whatever was 
 comprised within the Walk could possess little value. 
 The next fact is, as to the starting point. He places 
 the beginning of the Walk at the intersection of the 
 Durham road and Newtown township line, and yet the 
 mass of evidence states and is confirmed by tradition 
 that the walkers actually started about a mile further 
 up so as to be enabled to extend the journey that much 
 more at its close. This was another cheat which he 
 has knowingly through his presence striven to cover. 
 By John Chapman's memoranda of the Trial Walk he 
 found the distance from Wrightstown to the Lehigh 
 river 39 miles. Applying Eastburn's scale to his map 
 the distance is but 32 miles, which, to the present town 
 of Bethlehem, where the river was crossed, is incor- 
 rect. 
 
 Respecting his defence before the King against the 
 Delaware Indian complaints presented by Dr. Frank- 
 lin, Thomas Penn thus writes under date of London, 
 March 11, 1757,10 his secretary, Richard Peters: "Of 
 the Map of Benjamin Eastburn, on looking over which 
 I observe what you say as to the head line going the 
 
I/O THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 shortest way to the River Delaware, instead of being 
 run at right angles. I do not know that any line was 
 run, or what was done upon it, that you will find by the 
 Letters and Minutes at the time, but you know and 
 will observe that we do not claim any above the Kit- 
 tannin Mountains, which is almost as short a distance 
 to the Delaware as any other by virtue of this Pur- 
 chase ; and as to the walk to that place, it cannot be 
 above forty miles, as you say the whole is not more 
 than fifty. I am very well pleased you have found 
 some Minutes of my having blamed Benjamin East- 
 burn for having ran into the lands of the Six Nations, 
 in extending the Walk beyond Kittannin Hills, which 
 you will remember to mention to the Indians." 
 
 In the foregoing there Js a general lack of veracity. 
 That Benjamin Eastburn did actually run the said 
 northeast line, and that he was duly paid therefor, his 
 own accounts would have shown. As to his not claim- 
 ing any land beyond the Kittatinny or Blue Mountains 
 in 1757 by virtue of said map and Walk, places him in 
 a still worse fix had his opponents known it, by his 
 having sold thousands of acres there to William Allen 
 and others, almost thirty years previously, and chiefly 
 a secret to this day, and which to our personal knowl- 
 edge the records of Bucks and Northampton coun- 
 ties conclusively prove. As to the Walk being only 
 thirty miles to the mountains, he must have known 
 by said map was a falsehood, for it makes it forty- 
 nine. We question that even Peters said that the 
 whole was but fifty, when it really was somewhere be- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I / I 
 
 tween sixty-five and seventy-two miles. If he had 
 blamed Benjamin Eastburn for extending the Walk 
 so far, why did he not relinquish the land and disclaim 
 selling beyond the mountains ? Who will attempt to 
 prove that the Six Nations had any bona fide claims 
 there? His friend William Allen, under oath in 1762, 
 fiv^e years later, said that all that land belonged to 
 Tishcohan, Nutimus, and their descendants, who were 
 Delawares. 
 
 Mr. Eastburn, in the spring of 1739, commenced 
 surveying the boundary line between Pennsylvania 
 and Maryland, to the Kittatinny hills in Cumberland 
 comity, a distance of one hundred and thirteen miles 
 westward from the present state of Delaware. He 
 made a report (Archives, Vol. I., p. 614), on the sub- 
 ject, at Philadelphia, April 24, 1740, by which we 
 learn that he was appointed to the undertaking De- 
 cember 5, 1738, as principal surveyor, and Lawrence 
 Growdon and Richard Peters to be present as com- 
 missioners on the part of Pennsylvania. In a letter 
 from Thomas Penn to Richard Peters, dated London, 
 February 8, 1743, he reflects severely on his character: 
 "We all look upon Benjamin Eastburn's secreting the 
 Tract of Land so long before surveyed as a very dis- 
 honest action, and shall nev^er allow his heirs to take 
 one acre of it, so that they need not expect the least 
 favor." Mr. Eastburn resided in 1733, in Lower Mer- 
 ion, where it is supposed he subsequently died. 
 
172 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 NICHOLAS SCULL. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the son of Nicholas 
 and Abigail Scull, who settled in Whitemarsh, where 
 it is known the family had resided for some time. 
 He was born October 26, 1701, and must have re- 
 ceiv^ed for this early day a fair education. That he 
 was of studious habits is confirmed by Franklin in his 
 autobiography, who says that he was a member of his 
 club and that he "loved books and sometimes made 
 verses." Having acquired a knowledge of the Indian 
 language, he was occasionally employed by the gov- 
 ernment and others as interpreter. In May, 1728, he 
 was sent by Governor Gordon with his brother, John 
 Scull, to treat with the Indians about some difficulties 
 that had occurred at Manatawny. In 1731 we know 
 that he resided in Philadelphia, and for several years 
 afterwards. As deputy of Benjamin Eastburn in the 
 fall of 1736, he made several surveys in the vicinity of 
 the present Bethlehem and Nazareth for those who 
 had taken up tracts there. According to Samuel Pres- 
 ton, Edward Marshall about this time assisted him as 
 a chain carrier. It is very likely owing to this cir- 
 cumstance that he became engaged in making the sur- 
 veys at the time of the Walk in 1737. He also as- 
 sisted in running the northeast line to the Delaware, 
 Alexander Brown says in his testimony that on his 
 return to Captain Harrison's at the upper Indian set- 
 tlement, as well as at Hockyondocquay, the Indians 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 73 
 
 expressed to Mr. Scull their displeasure at the way the 
 Walk was performed. 
 
 Governor Thomas, in May, 1740, sent him to the 
 Minisinks to settle a difficulty that had arisen between 
 a white man by the name of Henry Webb and an In- 
 dian, by which the former was wounded. He was ac- 
 companied by John Lukens, and they had to hold 
 their conversation, strange to say, with the Hollanders 
 settled there, in the Indian language. They met with 
 a very hospitable entertainment from the venerable 
 Samuel Depue. In October, 1744, he was commis- 
 sioned sheriff of Philadelphia county, which office he 
 held for several years. In the previous August a del- 
 egation of the Six Nations, with Shickalamy and others, 
 visited Philadelphia to arrange some matters of busi- 
 ness, when he again performed the duties of interpreter, 
 and also in July, 1745, for the Indians from Shamokin. 
 Owing to ill health, William Parsons, the surveyor 
 general, resigned his office, when Mr. Scull was ap- 
 pointed June 10, 1748, in his place. The county of 
 Northampton was formed from Bucks in 1752, and the 
 following year he was elected sheriff of the same, and 
 continued in the office for three years, during which 
 time he resided in Easton, after which he again re- 
 moved to Philadelphia to follow surveying. 
 
 On the agitation of the complaints of the Delaware 
 Indians against the conduct of Thomas Penn, Governor 
 Denny through his orders acted for his defence, and on 
 January 25, 1757, took Mr. Scull's deposition on the 
 Walk. It may be seen in full in the Colonial Records 
 
1/4 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 (Vol.VII., p. 399), and commences in a manner which is 
 in itself sufficient evidence that as a witness he was nei- 
 ther disinterested nor impartial. " Mr. Nicholas Scull, 
 surveyor general, came into Council, and acquainted the 
 Governor that in September, 1737, he was present in 
 running the Line of the Indian Purchase of the lands 
 in the Forks of the Delaware, with respect to which 
 the Proprietaries were, as he was informed, publickly 
 charged with defrauding the Indians, that he had put 
 down in writing what he remembered about it, and re- 
 quested he might be examined thereto, which being 
 done, he signed the Paper, and affirmed to Truth there- 
 of before the Governor in Council and his affirmation 
 was ordered to be entered as follows :" In his depo- 
 sition, which was to be laid before the King, the fore- 
 going was omitted, for the reason that it would appear 
 that he was interested, and to have nothing said about 
 the report of defrauding the Indians, while in the re- 
 cords here it should be entered as if he had voluntarily 
 come forward to defend the proprietaries of so vile a 
 charge. His principal testimony consists in stating 
 that he believes the Walk was fairly performed, and 
 that he had heard no Indians complain about it. He 
 says the Walk was continued some distance beyond 
 the Blue Mountains, and that the whole distance walk- 
 ed was about fifty-five statute miles. He is too much 
 contradicted by several other witnesses that were also 
 present for us to dwell on the veracity of his state- 
 ments. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 75 
 
 He could not have been ignorant as a surveyor of 
 the true distance, and why did he not give that with- 
 out any supposition? The favors he had received from 
 the proprietaries in several ways and to which he was 
 still beholden as surveyor general, were too strong for 
 his better judgment, but there was perhaps a still 
 stronger tie to bind him to Thomas Penn. He had 
 prepared just then a large map of the Province, which 
 he had dedicated to Thomas and Richard Penn, as 
 " true and absolute Proprietaries and Governors," which 
 the former was expected to liberally patronize. This 
 map was published in 1759, and was entitled a map of 
 the improved parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
 chiefly prepared from his own surveys. It was un- 
 doubtedly the first correct map published of the Prov- 
 ince on a large scale, embracing more than half the 
 present area of the State. Copies of it are rare, the 
 writer having seen but one, and for that early time, 
 when the population probably did not exceed 200,000, 
 it exhibits certainly no small degree of enterprise. 
 
 Nicholas Scull was married to Rebecca Thompson 
 October 7, 1732, and had children, Nicholas, John, 
 Jasper, James, Mary, Abigail, Edward and Elizabeth. 
 Nicholas, his eldest son, was married to a daughter of 
 Solomon Jennings, and he has been mistaken by sev- 
 eral writers for his father. The latter died in the fall 
 of 1 76 1, and was succeeded the following December 
 by John Lukens, of Horsham. It will be seen by the 
 foregoing that he held the office of surveyor general 
 for thirteen years, besides a number of other official 
 
176 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 positions. As Indian interpreter, and for the publica- 
 tion of several valuable maps relating to the Province, 
 he certainly deserves our regard. It is to be regretted 
 that a man of his acquirements did not also devote a 
 portion of his time to literature and the hi.story of the 
 times. This probably was prevented by his pecuniary 
 condition, of which Richard Peters wrote in 1753, that 
 though "industrious and enjoys a good office yet he 
 has a large family and is not beforehand in the world." 
 His five sons, it is said, were all surveyors. His grand- 
 son, William Scull, also published a large and com- 
 plete map of the Province in 1770. 
 
 It may be mentioned that of the six depositions taken 
 in behalf of Thomas Penn in 1757 relating to the Walk, 
 Nicholas Scull's was the only one inserted in the min- 
 utes of the Council, for the reason of its being the most 
 favorable ; the five others were transmitted to England 
 and probably no copies retained here. One thing is 
 certain, that these depositions were kept concealed, 
 and only such uses were made of them as was thought 
 would best answer the purpose. Taken collectively 
 they do not favor the proprietaries, and there is one 
 evidence at least that they were tampered with after be- 
 ing first taken. Thomas Penn, in a letter to Richard 
 Peters, dated London, May 12, 1757, appears not to 
 have been fully satisfied with Mr. Scull's mention of 
 the whole distance, and says : " I wish he had men- 
 tioned the distance to the foot of the mountains only." 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I// 
 
 TIMOTHY SMITH. 
 
 The parentage and early history of Timothy Smitli 
 we are unable to give, but as he lived for some time 
 and died in the township of Upper Makefield, it may 
 possibly be that he was a native of that section, for the 
 surname is early known in that vicinity. He was first 
 elected sheriff in 1728, and continued until 1730, and 
 again from the fall of 1734 to 1737, when he was suc- 
 ceeded by John Hart. He was also county treasurer 
 at various times. As it has been published that the 
 Walk came off in the fall of 1733, it will be seen by 
 this that he was not sheriff at that time. It was no 
 doubt owing to his official position that led to his be- 
 ing appointed to have charge of the Trial Walk, and 
 for which purpose he had been to the city with John 
 Chapman and received his instructions personally from 
 Thomas Penn. In April, 1735, it appears by the Penn 
 Accounts that he selected, with John Chapman, the 
 route, and had men employed to clear the way and 
 mark the trees as a guide for the walkers to go by in 
 the absence of roads and paths. The opening of the 
 way involved considerable labor owing to its having 
 been laid out by the compass to go in as direct a line as 
 possible to the Lehigh Water Gap, if no further, lead- 
 ing part of the way through a very rocky, hilly coun- 
 try — as, fpr instance, through the present townships 
 of Haycock, Springfield and Saucon. The total ex- 
 pense allowed him was ;^33, js, or $89.33 of our pres- 
 ent currency. 
 
1/8 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Respecting the Walk of 1737, he says in his depo- 
 sition that he "was employed by Thomas Penn, Esquire, 
 one of the Proprietors of this Province, and James 
 Steel, their Receiver General, to superintend the go- 
 ing a day and half's Walk." Edward Marshall, Moses 
 Marshall and Joseph Smith, have respectively stated 
 that Mr. Smith had offered a reward of five hundred 
 acres of land to the one that should walk the farthest 
 of the three in eighteen hours. We need not wonder 
 that under such conditions, by the competition thus 
 encouraged, there would be rapid walking, at the cost 
 of the Indians and to the benefit of the proprietaries. 
 Joseph Knowles, the nephew of Mr. Smith, and who 
 was present and assisted at the Walk, says at about 
 one o'clock of the first day " The Indians began to look 
 sullen, and murmured that the men walked so fast; 
 and several times that afternoon called out and said to 
 them — you run — that's not fair — you was to walk. 
 The men appointed to walk paid no regard to the In- 
 dians, but were urged b\' Timothy Smith and the rest 
 of the proprietor's party." He was at this time in his 
 forty-seventh year, and no doubt from the great age sub- 
 sequently attained, must have been still in his prime. 
 The sum allowed him for this service was £26, 2s, 2d, 
 and which includes the expense of a change in the 
 route, compensation and entertainment of the walkers 
 and several assistants. In the fall of 1739 he was 
 elected a county commissioner, and in 1752, with five 
 others, had the building of Makefield Meeting House. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 79 
 
 Owing to the repeated charges made against the 
 conduct of the proprietaries toward the Indians and 
 the investigation demanded, at the request of Thomas 
 Penn Governor Denny summoned Timothy Smith to 
 Philadelphia, before whom, March 15, 1757, he testi- 
 fied in regard to the Walk, only such evidence being 
 set down, of course, as policy permitted. As far as it 
 goes it appears to be pretty fair testimony, and admits 
 the efforts made to have the Walk laid out as direct 
 as possible, and that Benjamin Eastburn or Nicholas 
 Scull had made use of a compass from the Indian set- 
 tlement of Pocopoghcunk to the end of the Walk. 
 That part of his evidence where he says the Proprietor 
 did not covet so much land beyond the Blue Moun- 
 tains was undoubtedly afterwards erased, as may be ob- 
 served, with the view of this name not appearing, under 
 any such circumstances, before the King. Hence we 
 may conclude, where one such liberty was taken more 
 followed, so as to garble and misconstrue as much as 
 possible matters in favor of Thomas Penn, who, judg- 
 ing from his actions, was doubtless the guilty party. 
 
 As we learn by the Penn Accounts, Mr. Smith, 
 John Heider and some other persons, were sent by the 
 proprietary party to Easton in 1758 to attend the 
 conference held there with the Indians and "to con- 
 front and confute the false stories raised about the 
 Indian Walk," for which services they were allowed 
 i^20. He died in the beginning of May, 1776, at the 
 advanced age of 86 years, leaving a wife Rachel and 
 
l8o THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 six children, namely : Timothy, Isaac, Joseph, Pleasant, 
 Ruth and Rachel. 
 
 Owing his appointment and compensation to Tho- 
 mas Penn, and to whose influence he was also indebted 
 for his commissions as sheriff, it is no doubt these 
 several matters biased him in his favor, at a time too 
 when there was no opposing interests. He doubtless 
 meant to do his duty to his employer, and it is very 
 likely that he had no knowledge of the circumstances 
 attending the Trial Walk and the Walk of 1737, ex- 
 cept as they revealed i/icmselves, and \\hen too late 
 found himself a party to proceedings from which, had 
 he known in time, he would have shrank in amaze- 
 ment. However, he lived to see the consequences 
 of a long Indian war and the powerful opposition 
 engendered thereby, with the investigation of the 
 matter, and, however innocent, it must have caused 
 him serious reflections. As a witness he appears pos- 
 sessed of considerable candor with no undue partiality 
 for the party that required his testimony. That he 
 should, like John Chapman, have kept the Trial Walk 
 so completely secret from his neighbors, or descend- 
 ants, is remarkable, but he may have acted thus from 
 an implied understanding with Thomas Penn, or 
 from circumstances that it was not politic for him to 
 reveal. Respecting his participation in the Walk, 
 Richard Peters wrote from Philadelphia, November 
 22, 1756, to Thomas Penn: "Timoth}- Smith was then 
 sheriff and had the direction of the whole affair, and is, 
 I assure you, a man who will not flivor the Proprie- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. l8l 
 
 taries, nor disoblige the Quakers, who have extreme- 
 ly interested themselves in this inquiry." 
 
 JOHX CHAPMAN. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the eldest son of 
 John and Jane Chapman, born near Stanhah, York- 
 shire, in 1679, who arrived here with his parents in 
 1684, and were among the earliest settlers of Wrights- 
 town. He was early known as a practical surveyor 
 there, having' in 1719 divided the Park, as it was call- 
 ed, containing 650 acres in the centre of the town- 
 ship, among the adjoining landholders. In April, 
 1723, he laid out by order of the court the road lead- 
 ing from the county line near Governor Keith's resi- 
 dence in Horsham to the south corner of John Dyer's 
 land, being at the present Cross Keys. This was in 
 consequence long known in old deeds as Dyer's 
 road, and now the principal highway passing through 
 Doylestown towards Philadelphia. 
 
 At how early a period he was appointed deputy 
 surveyor for Bucks county we are unable to state. 
 
 We do know that he was personally engaged by 
 Thomas Penn to make the requisite surveys for the 
 Trial Walk from Wrightstown to the Lehigh Gap if 
 not further. P'or this purpose he was specially em- 
 ployed under the superintendence of Timothy Smith, 
 then sheriff of the county. He commenced his labors 
 April 22d, and did not get through till May i, 1735, 
 
1 82 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 and by the Penn Accounts was allowed the sum of 
 £4, paid him the following July 23d. This route 
 passed up the Durham road to the present Garden- 
 ville, thence west of the Haycock and near the pres- 
 ent villages of Strawntown and Appelbachsville. From 
 his memoranda copied years afterwards by John Wat- 
 son we learn that he made the total distance to the 
 Kittatinny or Blue Mountains 48^ miles. As related 
 in a previous chapter the Trial Walk accordingly 
 came off in the beginning of May, about which, as we 
 learn from James Steel's correspondence, the proprie- 
 tors were very anxious to know the result, particu- 
 larly how far it had extended up into the country, so 
 as to know the better how to treat with the Indians 
 in relation to it at the next meeting held a few days 
 afterwards at Pennsbury. 
 
 Thomas Penn appears to have been sufficiently sat- 
 isfied with his services as to engage him for the one 
 day and a half's walk of September, 1737, which em- 
 ployed him eight days in making the necessary sur- 
 veys and in having the line of the Walk sufficiently 
 cleared to expedite travel. The compensation given 
 .him for these services was £2, Ss. He was in his 
 fifty-eighth year at the time of this occurrence, and 
 must have certainly possessed a vigorous consti- 
 tution for one of that age to have thus been enabled 
 to undergo, as he did, all the fatigues of travel and ex- 
 posure attending it. Near the close of 1739 he mar- 
 ried Ruth Wilkinson, and died in 1743 at the age of 
 65 years. He left a son John who became a physi- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 8^ 
 
 J) 
 
 cian and the owner of considerable real estate in the 
 county. 
 
 After the conclusion of John Chapman's labors re- 
 specting the Walk, it is reasonable to suppose that he 
 could not have failed to observe therein the various 
 studied and deep laid plans of Thomas Penn to take 
 ev^ery possible advantage of the Indians. Having 
 been a deputy surveyor of the county for twenty years 
 and holding the office through the influence and con- 
 sent of the proprietaries, may have been one reason 
 why his participation therein remained so quiet and 
 so completely escaped even the notice of the people 
 of his neighborhood. From the Penn MSS. we also 
 learn of his having been sent by James Logan in the 
 fall of 1727 as a guide to the Minisinks in company 
 with Nicholas Scull as Indian interpreter respecting 
 the encroachments of the whites. In the chapter on 
 Indian rights mention has been made of the displeas- 
 ure exhibited by an Indian chief on his father having 
 settled over the line of the Indian purchase, and of 
 which it is most likely he must have had a knowledge. 
 The evidence now is too strong to be rebutted that the 
 walkers really started from a chestnut tree on the cor- 
 ner of his land a few rods above the meeting house, 
 while Benjamin Eastburn on his map denoted its com- 
 mencement about a mile below, which no doubt was 
 the true line and agreed with the said Indian chiefs 
 observation. Now, as a life-long resident in the neigh- 
 borhood and as an assistant in the survey, we cannot 
 see how he could have been ignorant of a serious 
 
184 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 fraud practiced here in the \'ery be^innin<^ of tlie Walk, 
 ant! w hich has also so long remained a mystery and 
 which he has done no more to reveal, explain or es- 
 tablish, than lie has of the Trial Walk. Hence the 
 question will arise, from his participation therein as a 
 surveyor, how far can his reputation be creditably sus- 
 tained. 
 
 JAMES YATES. 
 
 Like most of those mentioned in this work, the writer 
 has heretofore seen no notice of this indixidual what- 
 ever, except an incidental allusion in connection with 
 the Walk. His father, James Yates, arrived at Phila- 
 delphia as an indentured servant for fixe years with 
 Henry Baker, in the Vine of Liverpool the 17th of 7- 
 month, 1684. We know that he resided in Newtown 
 township, Bucks count}', some time before 171 3, and 
 that he sold this year a lot. of land containing twenty- 
 two acres for £\6 to Daniel Doan, of the vicinity. He 
 died in the spring of 1733, and by his will we ascer- 
 tain that his wife Agnes sur\i\ed him, and that he had 
 the following children: Josei:)h, James, Petjr, Robert, 
 Sarah, Agnes, Margaret and Llizabeth. Judging by 
 the foregoing, James ma\' have been the second son, 
 who we know was married to Rachel Routledge at 
 Wrightstown in the fall of 1727. 
 
 There is no direct evidence that he was one of the 
 three engaged in the Trial Walk of 1735, but the pre- 
 sumption is strong enough to warrant the belief, and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 85 
 
 that through this circumstance he was again employed 
 to be one of the walkers in 1737. Thomas Furniss, in 
 his statement, says : "At the time of the walk, I was a 
 dweller at Newtown and a near neighbor of James 
 Yates. My situation gave him an easy opportunity of 
 acquainting me with the time of the setting out." It 
 appears that on the first day of the Walk it was almost 
 as much as Edward Marshall could do to keep up with 
 him. On the forenoon of the next day, being rainy, 
 Timothy Smith says from growing lame and tired he 
 gave out just before they crossed the Lehigh river, 
 which in the evidence was here called TobyJianna creek, 
 as is confirmed by N. Scull's map of 1759, probably about 
 six miles before the journey was ended. John Heider, 
 in his evidence, gives quite a different phase to the 
 matter, for he says " that the said James Yates, having 
 on the second day of the Walk drank rather too much, 
 as he heard him declare, gave out and stopped, to the 
 best of his remembrance about half an hour before 
 the expiration of the time fixed, which was twelve 
 o'clock at noon, but Marshall held out to the end of 
 .said time." In corroboration, Alexander Brown says 
 that " a short time before the Walk was finished the 
 said James Yates having drank rather too much gave 
 out and stopped." There is no doubt at the time he 
 ga\'e out he must have accomplished at least sixty 
 miles of the journey, to which Benjamin Eastburn on 
 his map may probably have reference. 
 
 The next mention we find of him is in 1 750, when 
 by order of Abraham Chapman he was to receive from 
 
1 86 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 the count}' treasurer for 17 squirrel scalps and one 
 wolf's head, the sum of £\, 4s, thus indicating that 
 he was, like the other walkers, fond of hunting at a j^e- 
 riod when game was still abundant. hLdward Mar- 
 shall, in his testimony, taken before Governor Denny, 
 March i, 1757, states that "James Yates and Solomon 
 Jennings both since deceased." Again, in the report of 
 the Council on the Walk, January 6, 1758, mention is 
 made of Marshall as " survivor of the Walkers." This 
 would prove that he must have died somewhere be- 
 tween 1750 and 1757. In the Penn Accounts, men- 
 tion is made of ;620 having been paid September 
 7, 1758, to " Heider, Yates and Smith for their attend- 
 ance at Easton to confront and confute the false stories 
 raised about the Indian Walk." Judging by this, the 
 VaUs mentioned must have been some other person. 
 The family appear to have been in humble circum- 
 stances, and we believe but few or none of the name 
 reside at present in the county. Samuel Preston was 
 therefore c]uite mistaken when he said he had been 
 informed " that James Yates, who led the way for thirty 
 miles or more, was quite blind w hen taken out of the 
 Durham creek and lived but three days afterwards." 
 This statement, in connection with the Walk, has been 
 repeatedly published, even quite recentl)'. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1 87 
 
 SOL OJ/O-V JENX/NGS. 
 
 The name of Jennings occurs as early as 1683 in 
 Friends' Records of Burlington Monthly Meeting and 
 is also mentioned in Philadelphia a few years later, 
 hence the subject of this sketch may be either a rela- 
 tive or a descendant of one of those families. The 
 earliest we know of him is that under a grant from 
 the proprietors, dated March 5, 1736, he took up 200 
 acres of land in a bend on the south side of the Le- 
 high river about two miles above the present town of 
 Bethlehem, on which he settled and chiefly resided 
 the remainder of his days. It is our opinion that he 
 was not engaged on the Trial Walk of 1735, but was 
 afterwards substituted in the place of Joseph Doane. 
 At a Council held at Philadelphia, Feb. 8, 1736-7, we 
 learn " That one Solomon Jennings being recommend- 
 ed as a man of discretion and conduct, the sheriff had 
 constituted him his deputy for the preservation of the 
 peace and the execution of those warrants lodged 
 with him for apprehending several of the rioters" at 
 Wyoming on the west side of Susquehanna, and "to 
 prevent any further violence from Higgenbothem and 
 his associates." 
 
 From the services rendered he appears to have be- 
 come somewhat of a favorite, for James Steel in a let- 
 ter to Timothy Smith, dated August 27, 1737, in 
 speaking of Edward Marshall, says, "when Solomon 
 Jennings is expected to join and travel the day and a 
 half with him." Whatever expectations had been 
 
l88 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 formed of him as a walker were to be met with dis- 
 appointment. On the first day of the Walk when he 
 arrived about two miles beyond the Tohickon, at a 
 place called Red Hill, which was between ten and 
 eleven o'clock in the forenoon, he withdrew from the 
 contest, and, as John Heider says, continued "with 
 the rest of the compan)- till they came to the west 
 branch of Delaware ; he there left them entirely and 
 returned home." The distance traveled from Wrights- 
 town to Red Hill was about eighteen miles. 
 
 From the Northampton county records we learn that 
 on the formation of the county in 1752, his petition was 
 granted to keep a public house, and in 1753 the court 
 appointed him an overseer of highways in Salisbury 
 township, where he resided, and which office he re- 
 tained for several years. In October, 1755, he was 
 elected one of the county commissioners. On the 
 breaking out of the Indian War he was appointed to 
 the command of a company, in the fall of 1756 passed 
 through Nazareth and the Wind Gap to scour the 
 woods in search of the enemy and the bodies of 
 those that may have been slain beyond the mountains. 
 It ap])ears he did not long survixe this scrxice, has- 
 tened perhaps by exposure, for he died February 17, 
 1757, and was buried near his residence, where his 
 grave may be seen. I^dward Ship])en, in December, 
 1755, speaks of him as a "courageous and resolute 
 fellow." 
 
 His will, which we have examined, is written on 
 l)archment and (juite length}'. To his name is affixed 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I 89 
 
 his mark, possibly indicating that he could not write. 
 He appears to have been possessed of some property. 
 He appointed his sons John and Isaiah, and his son-in- 
 law Nicholas Scull, his executors. His children's 
 names mentioned therein are John, Rachel, Elizabeth, 
 Isaiah, Susanna, Ezekiel and Judith. The death of 
 Solomon Jennings occurred but twelve days before 
 the examination of Edward Marshall, and had he 
 lived but a little longer he would also have been re- 
 quired to give his testimony respecting the Walk in 
 behalf of the proprietaries. John Jennings, his eldest 
 son, became sheriff of Northampton in 1762, and 
 again in 1768, and proved himself an energetic officer 
 in the Wyoming troubles. 
 
 INDIANS. 
 
 Concerning the Indians that once inhabited this sec- 
 tion of Pennsylvania there will always be felt consid- 
 erable interest. Though without civilization, and but 
 a very rude knowledge of the arts, they were yet a 
 people endowed with some of the noblest traits. Per- 
 haps the aborigines of no other country possessed so 
 free a form of government, and to which talent alone 
 was the only qualification for position and preferment. 
 Many of the relics of barbarism found in P^urope were 
 unknown among them. They had neither castes nor 
 rank, nor even hereditary privileges, which have been 
 
190 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 so ]on<^ tlie bane of the old world, and tiie means of ele- 
 vating the few at the expense of the many. Our In- 
 dians were endowed with too inanK' and independent 
 a spirit to tolerate the degrading effects of inferior po- 
 sition. There were no feudal laws or privileges for the 
 benefit of the few ; all had an equal right to the lands, 
 to the game and to the fruits of the earth, without any 
 restriction or limitation whatever. This condition had 
 doubtless prevailed among them for thousands of years. 
 When the whites came here they were justly aston- 
 ished at their covetousness for lands, on which they 
 had set no particular value except so far as it benefited 
 all. This will account win- the Penns, who alone had 
 the power to deal with them, found it so easy to take 
 every advantage. The forcing of the Minisink lands 
 from them, their favorite hunting grounds, in the man- 
 ner they did must redound to their eternal disgrace, 
 and for which they fought with so determined a resist- 
 ance to recover as to cause Governor John Penn to order 
 them to be most wantonly butchered and scalped. The 
 Indians who were concerned in the Walk by which 
 they were so grossly wronged deserve a tribute to 
 their memory. 
 
 S.ISSOOX.LV. 
 
 The earliest we know of this chief was at a Council 
 held at the house of F^dward Farmer, in Whitemarsh, 
 May 19, 1712, at which were ptesent Governor Charles 
 Gooken and several of his friends, besides a number 
 of Indians. With .Sassoonaii, P>alochelan and Scho- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. I9I 
 
 litchy were present, the latter being the principal ora- 
 tor. The next we know of him is in the deed of Sep- 
 tember 17, 1 71 8, by which is purchased from him and 
 six other Delaware chiefs for the proprietaries, all the 
 land from Duck creek to the south side of the Lehigh 
 Hills and from the Delaware river to the Susquehanna, 
 being about one-eighth of the present area of the State. 
 Even with this extensive purchase, made at this early 
 period, the settlers kept encroaching beyond its bound- 
 ary, which occasioned great anxiety and uneasiness 
 among the Delawares ; so much so that preparations 
 had been made and alliances formed for war, which by 
 prudence and skill was alone averted. 
 
 Logan, in a letter to James Steel, November 18, 
 1729, calls him "Sassoonan our very good friend." At 
 a meeting in Philadelphia, August 13, 173 1, the former 
 said to him: "We will discourse to you about the 
 lands you claim, and shall speak of those affairs." As 
 to selling the lands, he replied he could not answer 
 till he had discoursed with the rest of his people. 
 Here we see the cause in part no doubt of James Lo- 
 gan writing unfavorably of him from Stenton, Oct. 18, 
 1736, to Conrad Weiser. In a joint letter to the pro- 
 prietaries from Isaac Norris, Samuel Preston and James 
 Logan, dated Philadelphia, Nov. 13, 1731, is this ex- 
 tract: "In 1718 a release was obtained of the chiefs 
 of our Indians, for all the lands on .this side of Lehigh 
 Hills, and beyond these it was resolved no settlements 
 should be made till the lands were purchased of the 
 Natives. In the mean time all possible care was taken 
 
192 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 to preserve Sassoonan or Ollamapis.thc old King of our 
 Delaware Indians, and the two young men who were 
 to succeed him in strict friendship with us til! on your 
 coming over, which they were constantly given to ex- 
 pect that a Treaty might be concluded." The said 
 young men, it appears, were Opekasset and Shacka- 
 lawlin, who died shortly after said chief, one from 
 small-pox and the otlier from an accident. Attention 
 is here called again to the repeated violation of the 
 foregoing declaration that beyond said Hills "it was re- 
 solved no settlements should be made till the lands 
 zvere purchased from the natives." 
 
 The Penn Accounts tell us of several visits Sassoo- 
 nan paid, with other Indians, to Philadelphia in Jan- 
 uary, 1732, August, 1733, and July, 1734, for which 
 their expenses had been borne. On the \'ery day of 
 the Walk several barrels of meal are mentioned as 
 having been sent to him costing i^2. August 18, 1740, 
 C. Grassold is allowed for making him a coat, &c., 
 ;^3, 2.y, yd. As we see by the foregoing that he was 
 still living, it must appear remarkable why he should 
 have been entireh' omitted with Shicka!im\'and Civilit}' 
 in the release of August 25, 1737. There is certainly 
 cause here for suspicion of unfair dealing. On this matter 
 Charles Thomson, in his Aliejiation, ^uh\'\s\\c:d in 1759, 
 (p. 36) remarks: " It was therefore necessary in order 
 that things might \>e carried on quietly, that the Deed 
 of 1 71 8 should be passed over in silence, and that Sas- 
 soonan should not be present or any of those who 
 si'nied that deed." ♦ 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. T93 
 
 At a meeting held in Philadelphia before Governor 
 George Thomas, from July 6 to 12, 1742, we find Sas- 
 soonan or " Olumapies, chief of the Delawares of Sha- 
 mokin,"as he is styled in the proceedings; at the con- 
 clusion of which, with Nutimus, he was most grossly in- 
 sulted in a speech made by Conassatego, an Iroquois 
 chief, at the instigation of the Governor, who gave 
 them immediate orders to remove from the territory 
 they occupied and claimed or he would see that it should 
 be done. In a letter from Conrad Weiser to Logan, 
 dated Tulpehocken, September 27, 1747, he mentions 
 that he had heard that Sassoonan or Olumapies was 
 dead, but was not positive as to the fact. 
 
 SHICKALIMY. 
 
 However little known, this chief appears to have 
 been of some note among the Indians, being mentioned 
 in October, 1704, by James Le Tort. In a letter from 
 James Logan to John Petty in 1728, he states: "Pray 
 by all means bring Shakellamy either with you or as 
 soon after as maybe with conveniency. Tell him partic- 
 ularly that as he is set over the Shawaneh Indians, I 
 hope he can give a good account of them ; they came 
 to us strangers, about thirty years ago; they desired 
 leave of this government to .settle amongst us as 
 strangers, and the Conestogoe Indians became security 
 for their good behavior. They are also under the pro- 
 tection of the Five Nations, who have set Shickellamy 
 over them." 
 
194 'fJ^E INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Respecting this chief of the Oneidas, Logan wrote 
 to Thomas Penn, Now 13, 1731 : " Shakcl!am\-, one of 
 the Six Nations, was despatched with a small but hand- 
 some present to invite some of their chiefs hither to 
 treat of some affairs nearly concerning" their own safety. 
 That man has ahva\'s been looked upon as sincere!)' 
 our friend and entirely to be depended on. We just 
 now hear he is returned to his own house about one 
 hundred and twent\- miles distant and those people 
 will be with us in the spring as he says." The infer- 
 ence from these extracts is evident that he was insti- 
 gated to lend his aid in keeping the Dclawares and 
 Shawanese in submission prior to their forcible re- 
 moval from the Minisinks. 
 
 In the Penn Accounts we find eight bushels of wheat 
 being delivered to him in 1733, and about the time of 
 the Walk, meal to the value of £2, ys, '6d. Again, 
 Feb. 9, 1738, a hand vice and a saddle costing £2, 2s,gd. 
 He was present with a delegation of the Six Nations 
 and several other Indians in Philadelphia at the meet- 
 ing held in July, 1742, and August, 1744. On the 
 latter occasion Nicholas Scull acted as interpreter. 
 Conrad Weiser wrote, April 15, 1746, that"Shicke- 
 limy is to be depended on very much in Indian affairs." 
 This is the latest information we have obtained re- 
 specting him. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1 95 
 
 TISHCOHAX. 
 
 From an affidavit made by William Allen in 1762, 
 we learn that as one of the owners of Durham Iron 
 Works, he became, whilst on his visits there, person- 
 ally acquainted with "Tishecunk, who was reputed to 
 be an honest upright man," and with " Nutimus had 
 always been esteemed to be the chief original owners 
 of the land in and about the Forks of Delaware and 
 adjacent lands above Tohiccon." This, coming from 
 the great land speculator, is pretty good evidence that 
 they had recognized rights there, and that any dissent 
 from either as regards unfair dealings in obtaining said 
 lands must be of some weight. By his o\\\\ oath, as 
 we shall see, Allen has farther implicated himself with 
 the Penns in depriving at least those Indians of a con- 
 siderable portion of their lands, long before they had 
 obtained any right to them, either by purchase or 
 treaty, as has been mentioned in a previous chapter. 
 
 By appointment, Tishcohen and Nutimus, in Octo- 
 ber, 1734, had met John and Thomas Penn at Durham 
 in relation to a treaty and sale of lands, and also in 
 May, 1735, at Pennsbury, but no particular business 
 was accomplished, except to have the Trial Walk se- 
 cretly made in order to have things in readiness for 
 the signing of the release for the Walking Purchase, 
 which was duly concluded in Philadelphia in the pres- 
 ence of Thomas Penn, William Allen, James Logan 
 and others, August 25, 1737, and to which Tishcohan, 
 
196 THE INDIAN WALK, 
 
 Nutimus and two other Delaware chiefs affixed their 
 marks, which was walked out so rapidly the followint^ 
 19th and 20th of Se[)teniber by Edward Marshall that 
 Solomon Jennings and James Yates were compelled 
 to succumb. From the testimony of Kphraim Good- 
 win, who was present at the Walk, we learn that Tish- 
 cohan was then an aged man, and lived at the Indian 
 village called Hockendocqua, near which the walkers 
 and company staid over night on their first day's jour- 
 ney. 
 
 Like nearly all Indian names, it has been variously 
 spelled or called, as Teshakomen, Tiscoquam and Cap- 
 tain John Tishekunk, perhaps according to the fanc}' 
 of the several writers. The Historical Society have in 
 their possession two original portraits, one of Tishco- 
 han and the other of Lappawinzo, presented by Gran- 
 ville Penn in December, 1834. They cannot fail to 
 be regarded with interest, for it is said of all the early 
 Indians once inhabiting Pennsylvania those are the 
 only ones existing, and by the Penn Accounts we learn 
 were painted by order of John Penn in the summer of 
 1735 by Hesselius. In this portrait, which is nearly 
 life size, he is represented with a Roman nose, a large 
 mouth and several deep wrinkles reaching nearly across 
 his forehead. He appears of a stout, muscular frame, 
 about forty-five or fifty years of age, and what is sing- 
 ular for an Indian a bunch of hair is growing from his 
 under lip and chin. He has a blue blanket around 
 him, and a scjuirrel skin pouch hanging on his breast 
 in which there is a plaster of Paris j^ipe, thus proving 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 197 
 
 it to be his tobacco pouch and that he was a consumer 
 of "the weed." His hair is so long as to be gathered 
 together on the back of his head. 
 
 According to Heckewelder, Tishcohan means in the 
 Delaware language '"He ivJio never blackens himself." 
 In referring to the likeness, we find the truth of this 
 definition, in the absence of those daubs of paint with 
 which many of the Indians were in the practice of dis- 
 figuring themselves. We are thus minute because few 
 opportunities can occur of similar descriptions respect- 
 ing those who so long dwelt here and occupied im- 
 portant if not conspicuous positions in our early his- 
 tory. We give the following extract from the report 
 of the committee (Memoirs Historical Society, Vol. 
 III., pp. 2 1 i-i 2,) respecting those portraits : " Of Lap- 
 pawinzo we have been able to discover no further no- 
 tice in history. James Logan speaks of him in 1741 
 as an honest old Indian. Tishcohan seems to have 
 moved to the West, and was met by Frederick Post 
 when he made his first journey to visit the Indians on 
 the Ohio, in July, 1758. Such is the whole result of 
 the inquiries of this committee, although they have 
 examined all the documents printed and manuscripts 
 within their reach. They have only to regret that they 
 have been able to give so little interest to their Report, 
 and that so little has been handed down to us of the 
 history of the only two chiefs of the Lenni Lenape 
 whose portraits have been preserved." 
 
198 THK INHIAN WALK, 
 
 .\Y 77.)/r.V. 
 
 The earliest we know of this chief is in the Penn 
 Accounts, where mention is made that Joseph Hitch- 
 cock was paid Nov. 16, 1732, £i,6s "for entertaining 
 Nutimus and co." We next learn that in company 
 with Tishcohan and Tunam he visited Thomas Penn 
 June 9, 1733, on matters relating to lands. On the 
 proprietaries' trip to Durham in October, 1734, it ap- 
 pears he resided at the Nockamixon flats, some six 
 miles distant, to which a messenger had been sent for 
 his presence. On this occasion he complained of the 
 increasing encroachments of the whites and expressed 
 a disposition to act a fair part with them. He was 
 also at Pennsbury, May 9, 1735, being a few days after 
 the Trial Walk, of which of course he was ignorant. 
 
 In a letter of instructions from James Logan to Con- 
 rad W^eiser, Oct. 18, 1736, he speaks unfavorably of 
 Nutimus ; that he was a Jersey Indian and had no riglit 
 to lands on this side the Delaware, and that he wanted 
 to excite a war between the Indians and the pjiglish. 
 He is also unfavorable therein to Sassoonan and Man- 
 awhyhickon, the latter being one of those who signed 
 the deed of Aug. 25, 1737, for the Walk. We cannot 
 learn that Nutimus was present at the Walk, or that he 
 even had any knowledge of its coming off, yet accord- 
 ing to Allen's testimony in 1762, he was one of the 
 original owners of the lands above Tohickon and the 
 Forks. On ascertaining the results of the Walk, he 
 
bioc;rai'hicai, sketches. 199 
 
 became still further dissatisfied and in consequence his 
 name is found attached, with those of six other Indians, 
 to the paper sent to Judge Langhorne, dated Smith- 
 field, Jan. 3, 1740-41, in which they complain of the 
 continued encroachments of the whites, and that it 
 zvas not safe for the lives of any persons to take their 
 part. As a result, when Nutimus, Sassoonan and the 
 other Delawares went to Philadelphia in July, 1742,10 
 attend a Council with Governor Thomas, the latter in- 
 stigated Conassatego, an Iroquois chief, through pres- 
 ents given him, to grossly insult them, and order them 
 at once to remove from the lands they occupied or 
 else he would enforce the demand. 
 
 Of the foregoing, Gordon, in his History of Penn- 
 sylvania (pp. 253-4), makes the following remarks: 
 "During the administration of Governor Thomas in 
 1742, the Indians complained that the walkers who 
 outstripped them, ran, and did not pursue the course 
 of the river, as they anticipated. The chief Nutimus, 
 and others, who signed the treaty of 1737, refused to 
 yield peaceable possession of these lands, and declared 
 their intention to maintain themselves by force of arms. 
 Under these circumstances, the proprietaries invoked 
 the interposition of the Six Nations, whose authority 
 over the Delawares was well known. Upon this in- 
 vitation, a deputation of two hundred and thirty from 
 those powerful tribes visited Philadelphia, where they 
 were met by delegates from the Delawares, who had 
 also been invited." On which occasion they were or- 
 dered to leave their lands, though reserved in the deed 
 
200 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 of 1737, in tlie presence of Thomas Penn, tlic right to 
 "be permitted to remain on their present settlements 
 and plantations, though within that purchase, without 
 being molested." 
 
 Samuel Preston, in a communication written in 1826, 
 says that Nutimus and his daughter lived in a cabin 
 for some time in Nockamixon,and had been regarded as 
 a physician, and that he was then "a feeble gray headed 
 old Indian who could not speak much luiglish." Col. 
 Shippen, in a letter dated Fort Augusta, Jan. 20, 1758, 
 states that several "small parties of Delaware Indians 
 have arrived here with skins to trade at the store; 
 among them old King Nutimus." The Rev. David 
 Zeisberger gives him an excellent character; that he 
 was born near Philadelphia, and never drank liquor; 
 that his name implies a striker of jisJi zvitJi a spear, and 
 that he moved with his brother Isaac to Ohio, a short 
 time before 1750, where he died on the Muskingum in 
 1780. 
 
 I.APPOIVIXZO. 
 
 At the treaty held at Pennsbury May 9, 1735, with 
 John and Thomas Penn, the proprietaries, this chief 
 distinguished himself as the principal orator. On this 
 occasion Nutimus, Tishcohan, Lesbeconk and others 
 were present. Another meeting was agreed upon in 
 Philadelphia, which was accordingly held on the 24th 
 and 25th of August, 1737. in the presence of Thomas 
 Penn, and on the latter day Lappowinzo. Manawhy- 
 hickon, Tishcohan and Nutimus signed the release for 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 20I 
 
 the Walking Purchase, witnessed by fourteen whites 
 and twelve Indians. Barefoot Brinston acted as inter- 
 preter. 
 
 From the Penn Accounts we receive sufficient in- 
 formation to believe that the portraits of Lappowinzo 
 and Tishcohan were taken by order of John Penn dur- 
 ing the Pennsbury meeting by Hesselius, a Swedish 
 artist. Lappowinzo is represented as a stout Indian of 
 about forty years of age. A few black marks are 
 painted on his forehead and cheeks. His hair is long 
 and brought to the back part of his head, with a blue 
 blanket thrown around him and a pouch on his breast 
 fastened to his neck. 
 
 From Edward Marshall's testimony, taken in 1757, 
 we learn that on the night of the first day's Walk they 
 lodged near an Indian town called Hockyondocquay, 
 and that early next morning Nicholas Scull, Benjamin 
 Eastburn and another person went to said settlement 
 and spoke with Lappowinzo, who lived there, to send 
 some other Indians to accompany the walkers for the 
 remaining distance, when he replied "that they had got 
 all the best of the land and they might go to the Devil 
 for the bad and that he would send no Indians with 
 them." He further stated that about eight weeks after 
 the Walk he was again at the Indian town, when the 
 same chief said that "they were dissatisfied with the 
 Walk, and that they would go down to Philadelphia 
 the next May with every one a buckskin to repay the 
 proprietor for what they had received from him and 
 take their land again." He also complained that the 
 
202 THE INDIAN WALK. 
 
 Walk was not fairly performed, and should not go the 
 course fixed on by the proprietors, but should have 
 gone along the Delaware, or b)' the nearest Indian 
 path, as the proper direction. Ale.xander Brown, in 
 his evidence, corroborates the foregoing. 
 
 It was Lappowinzo that Moses Marshall had refer- 
 ence to in his reminiscences taken down by John Wat- 
 son, Jr., in a visit in 1822, in which "An old Indian 
 said 'no set down to smoke, no shoot a squirjel, but 
 lun, lun, lun all day long.'" B}' this it would appear 
 he had been pretty well up in years. Heckewelder 
 says that his name signifies going aiv ay to gather food. 
 It would seem by some of the .statements as if he had 
 been chiefly instrumental in the selection of John 
 Combush, Neepaheilomon alias Joe Tuneam, who 
 could speak English, and his brother-in-law, Tom, the 
 three young men appointed on the side of the Indians 
 to be present as deputies to see that the Walk was 
 fairly performed. James Le Tort, an Indian trader, 
 mentions dealings with Lappowinzo in 1704, if not 
 somewhat earlier. According to the report of the 
 committee on his portrait, James Logan, in 1741, men- 
 tions him "as an honest old Indian." 
 
AVE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS EARLY CAREER. 
 
 An interest taken in the life of an individual usually 
 extends itself to his family and to the name by which 
 it is known and distinguished from others. By its very 
 signification the name of Marshall could not likely 
 have originated from humble circumstances or applied 
 to a lowly condition of life. It has about the same 
 application in English as in French and German; in 
 its general sense an office, particularly given in ancient 
 times to one who had command of all persons be- 
 low the dignity of princes. As a surname it is in 
 consequence known from an early period, as is con- 
 firmed by works treating on heraldry. At the present 
 time it has a broader application, and its orthography 
 varies to conform to the language that uses it. Judg- 
 ing by Burke's General Armory, there are now a num- 
 ber of families bearing it in Great Britain. 
 
 As to the ancestry of Edward Marshall the opinions 
 of his descendants vary, some stating that he was born 
 in England ; but this we do know that he was here at 
 
204 I-Il'E OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 least when quite a young man and prior to 1733. In 
 his examination before Governor Denny in 1757, he 
 said that he was " of the people called Quakers," aged 
 forty-two years and "a husbandman" b)' occupation. 
 According to the inscription placed on his tombstone 
 b\' his famil)^ he was born in 1710, but on the author- 
 ity aforesaid in 1 71 5. One tradition is that he was 
 twenty-four years old when he performed the Walk, 
 which would make it about 171 3. The greatest dis- 
 crepancy here is, however, but fi\e }-ears, and the latter 
 date would prove a medium. One century and three- 
 cjuarters ago is no inconsiderable lapse of time, which 
 records alone can make clear. These facts are men- 
 tioned as some of the man}- instances of the difficulties 
 that beset historians and biographers at the very com- 
 mencement of their labors. 
 
 Samuel Preston, in a communication written in 1826, 
 says Marshall was a native of Bucks county, but this 
 is questionable. There- is a famil)- tradition that he 
 was either born or lived when quite young in or near 
 Rustleton, Philadelphia county, that he subsequently 
 resided in the vicinity of Newtown, for a long period the 
 county seat of Bucks ; was passionately fond of hunt- 
 ing, and to his having served several surveyors as chain 
 carrier, especially Nicholas Scull and perhaps Benjamin 
 P'.astburn. It may be that it was through this acquaint- 
 ance and from a residence in the vicinity that led to 
 his being selected one of the three to attempt what 
 has since become so widely and popularl\- known as 
 the Indian Walk, which was afterwards to be reported 
 
HIS EARLY CAREER. 205 
 
 and laid before the King. He had at least three 
 brothers, William, Moses and John, and a sister Re- 
 becca. The former two it would appear were older 
 than himself From this it would seem probable that 
 the father may have accompanied the family here if he 
 did not actually precede it. 
 
 Edward was married, it is believed, in 1735 or the 
 following year. According to his descendants his 
 first wife was Elizabeth Oberfeldt, anglicized Overfelt 
 or Overfield. She was of German origin and a resi- 
 dent of New Jersey. No doubt the acquaintance was 
 in part brought about by a brother a short time pre- 
 viously having married his sister. Edward, with his 
 brothers William and Moses, made application for un- 
 settled lands above Tohickon creek, and for which 
 warrants were granted as early as 1733. In conse- 
 quence, Nicholas Scull, deputy surveyor general, laid 
 off the lands on the 9th of May, 1738, in three tracts. 
 Edward's contained 164 acres and 1 14 perches, the 
 east corner of which touched on the Delaware, stated 
 to be bounded on the ea.st by the London Company's 
 land and on the south by Mathew Hughes'. William 
 Marshall's 162 acres and 1 17 perches were laid off ad- 
 joining his brother's tract on the northwest. Moses 
 Marshall's tract of 174 acres and 28 perches was laid 
 off about three-fourths of a mile west of the above, 
 and we infer from the original draft is the tract that 
 contains the present Marshall's graveyard, which will 
 account for its location from near this early period. 
 
206 1.IFI-: OF KDWARI) MARSllAl.I.. 
 
 These several tracts were taken from what was 
 known as the Streiper Tract, containing originally four 
 thousand four huntlred and fort\'-eight acres, and ]:»ur- 
 chased of William Penn in March, 1682, by John 
 Streiper, a native and resident of the Duchy of Juliers 
 on the borders of German}'. It was actually located, 
 surveyed and laid off to him the 26th of March, 1703, 
 and confirmed under the great seal of the Province the 
 24th of June, 1705. Now the said John Streiper, also 
 his attorney, and after his death in 171 7, his heirs, state 
 in a petition that they had tried in various ways to sell, 
 but in vain, alleging that all their endeavors on this 
 matter "had no effect, because of a claim made to the 
 land by the Indians, who say they never yet sold it." 
 This matter, sorely against their wishes and earnest 
 remonstrances, lingered until 1725, when it was, through 
 the hands of James Logan, returned to the heirs of 
 Wm. Penn. We hav^e in this a strong instance of a 
 powerful virtuous sentiment j)re\ailing among the mass 
 of the people here, not only in respect to their own 
 rights but those of others. This curious bit of history 
 has only recently come to light through the original 
 documents obtained in England. But this is only one 
 of numerous other exceptions of which no records 
 have been yet produced, that the Indian title thereof 
 had been prexiously extinguished even at so long a 
 period before the Walk, thus actuall}' confirming what 
 the Indians hav^e always claimed, that north of the To- 
 hickon the lands had been sold b\- the Penns and set- 
 tled upon b\' the whites without an)- previous com- 
 
HIS EARLY CAREER, 207 
 
 pensation to or purchase from them. It was no doubt 
 owing to this circumstance that immediately after the 
 Walk the Marshalls were induced to locate and settle 
 on their respective tracts, as well as the other early immi- 
 grants to this section, for we possess no knowledge of 
 any having preceded them. 
 
 The names of these three brothers in corroboration 
 is found with twenty-three others on a petition to the 
 Court of Quarter Sessions of Bucks county, dated 
 March 12, 1738, asking for the organization of a new- 
 township to be called "Tennicunk," in which they call 
 themselves "divers inhabitants of the lands adjacent to 
 Plumstead." Thus soon after came the present town- 
 ship of Tinicum into existence, so long the homes of 
 the Marshalls, and where now reside hundreds of their 
 respected descendants and still holding many acres of 
 its best soil. It was through this family that it derived 
 its name. The tract of William Marshall lay imme- 
 diately opposite what has been so long known as Mar- 
 shall's Island, but not approaching the Delaware by 
 about half a mile, a strip of the London Company's 
 land intervening. Having become its earliest pos- 
 sessor, he called it Tenicunk, being its original Indian 
 name, which in the Delaware language signified an 
 island covered with timber, and Tekene or Tacony, a 
 place abounding with woods. 
 
 The first public road to this section was laid out by 
 John Watson the 7th, 8th and 9th of June, 1747, from 
 the landing at London Ferry (now PVenchtown) by 
 the mouth of Tinicum creek, crossing the Tohickonat 
 
208 l.IFK OF KDWAKl) MAUSHAl.l.. 
 
 Mearn's Ford and strikintr the Durham road at wliere 
 is now Hinkletown, being twelve miles and thirty-one 
 perches in length, the name of said ferry being derived 
 from the London Company's purchase, which lay here 
 immediately along the river and extending northwards 
 from Edward Marshall's corner. The opening of this 
 highway no doubt greatly promoted the improvement 
 of this section. It was over the Durham road that the 
 Walk was made, and which in 1 746 was opened north- 
 wards to the iron works that gave it the name. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HIS ACCOUNT OF THE WALK. 
 
 We have now approached, in these scanty materials 
 legarding Edward Marshall, to the period of the "fa- 
 mous Walk," that through its results became so long 
 a subject of intense interest not only throughout this 
 country but in Europe, and upon which volumes were 
 written during the sway of the Penns, who, it will ap^ 
 pear, did not without cause style themselves "true and 
 absolute Proprietors" of what is now the noble Com- 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania. The Penn Papers, ac- 
 quired a few years ago in England, reveal the singular 
 fact that before a meeting should take place with the 
 Indians at Pennsbury, John and Thomas Penn had or- 
 dered a trial or experimental walk to be secretly made. 
 For this purpose a road was opened through the woods 
 and a survey made under direction of Timothy Smith, 
 sheriff of Bucks county, James Steel, receiver general, 
 and John Chapman, deputy county surveyor, all hold- 
 ing their commissions from the proprietaries. Steel 
 sent a second letter, dated April 29, 1735, to the above 
 named on this matter, in which he says: "The Pro- 
 prietaries are very much concerned that so much time 
 hath been lost before you began the work recom- 
 mended so earnestly to you at your leaving Philadel- 
 
2IO LIFE OF FDWARl) MARSFIAl.l,. 
 
 phia; they now desire that upon the return of Joseph 
 Doane, he together with two other persons who can 
 travel well, should be ininiediatel)- sent on foot on the 
 day and half journey, and two others on horseback to 
 carry necessary provisions for them and to assist in 
 their return home. The time is so far spent that not 
 one moment is to be lost ; and as soon as they have 
 travelled the day and half journey, the Proprietaries 
 desire that a messenger may be sent to give them an 
 account of without delay how far that da\' and a half 
 travelling will reach up the country." 
 
 Two days after the signing of the release for the Walk- 
 ing Purchase of August 25, 1737. James Steel wrote to 
 Timothy Smith that "the time for walking over the 
 land is to be the 1 2th of September next, and for that 
 purpose our Proprietor would request thee to speak to 
 that man of the three which travelled and held out the 
 best when they walked over the land before to attend 
 to that service at the time mentioned, when Solomon 
 Jennings is expected to join and travel the day and a 
 half with him. Thou art also recjuested to accompany 
 them, and to provide such provisions for these men 
 as may be needful on the occasion desired. John 
 Chapman is also to go along and with you, — and be 
 sure to choose the best ground and shortest way that 
 can be found. The Indians intend tliat two or three 
 of their young men shall be present and see the land 
 fairly walked over." That man of the three who had 
 " held out best when they walked over the land before," 
 \\c have e\'erv reason to belie\c, was Edward Marshall, 
 
HIS ACCOUNT OF THE WALK. 2 I I 
 
 whom Thomas Penn was now again anxious to secure, 
 the more successfully to accomplish his object, in the 
 greatest possible extent of the walk. In consequence 
 of the court being in session at Newtown, it was de- 
 ferred until the following Monday (September 19th), 
 when the Walk was commenced and completed the 
 next day, the walkers accomplishing upwards of sev- 
 enty miles in eighteen hours, averaging about four 
 miles an hour. The several witnesses agree that the 
 distance was traveled from VVrightstown to Durham 
 creek in six hours, which may be fairly estimated at 
 thirty miles, averaging five miles per hour, which may 
 well be regarded as most extraordinary walking. Had 
 this speed been maintained throughout, the distance 
 made would have been ninety miles. 
 
 The narration of Edward Marshall, we believe, has 
 not heretofore been published, and we shall therefore 
 now present it as copied from the original document. 
 We regret to say that owing to certain parts of it hav- 
 ing become either purposely defaced, or obliterated 
 through time, we arc obliged to make a slight abridg- 
 ment, which we suppose does not e.xceed one-sixteenth 
 part of the whole. We have no doubt that, particu- 
 larly near its beginning, some important information 
 has thus become lost. 
 
 "The examination of Edward Marshall of Mount 
 Bethel township, Northampton county, husbandman, 
 aged forty-two years, taken the Finst day of March, 
 1757, who being of the people called Quakers on his 
 solemn affirmation, accordingly saith : that on the 
 
2 12 LIFE OF EDWARD .MARSIE\EL. 
 
 Twelfth day of September in the year 1/37, as this 
 affirmant believes, he was employed by Timoth)- Smith 
 pursuant to a purchase and begun the said walk at 
 six o'clock in the morning from a Chestnut tree in 
 the line of John Chapman in Wrightstown. Bucks 
 count)- : that they kept the great Durham road from 
 Wrightstown which they were directed to go, about 
 north northwest and continued walking by the said 
 ^reat road to Gallows Hill, and from thence b\- a lesser 
 road till twelve o'clock noon and then halted at the 
 Widow Wilson's plantation on a branch of Scook's creek 
 in order to dine and stayed there fifteen minutes, and 
 then set off again, continuing about the same course 
 by an old beaten Indian path, and crossing Saucon 
 and the Lehigh, where Bethlehem now stands ; con- 
 tinued the walk by the same old Indian path till fifteen 
 minutes past six o'clock in the evening, when the)' 
 halted near an Indian town called Hockyondocqua 
 and there stayed all night: saith that the reason of 
 their continuing their walk fifteen minutes after six 
 o'clock was to make up the time which had been taken 
 up in their halting at noon as aforesaid. The next 
 morning some of the company's horses having strayed 
 away, they went about two hours in looking for them, 
 and then returned to the station where they had fixt 
 and left the staves in the evening before. They began 
 the walk again without any Indians with them at eight 
 o'clock from where they left off and continued it by 
 the said old Indian path for about one hour, until they 
 came to Pokopoghcunck ; then continued their walk 
 
HIS ACCOUNT OF THE WALK. 213 
 
 through the woods north northwest b)' a compass, 
 which this affirmant then carried in his hand, but had 
 not used before; and pursuing that course all the time 
 and the said Yates having given out and stayed at 
 Tobyhanna creek, this affirmant continued the walk in 
 company with Alexander Brown, who carried the 
 watch, and Enoch Pearson, being both on horses, until 
 two o'clock in the afternoon and then stopped, in order 
 to close and determine said walk on the north side of 
 Pokono Mountain, where they marked five Chestnut 
 oaks by putting stones in the forks of them. This 
 affirmant saith that the reason of his continuing to 
 walk two hours after twelve o'clock noon was to make 
 up for the same time which they had lost in the morn- 
 ing in seeking the strayed horses as aforesaid. That 
 the said affirmant did not run all of said time of going- 
 said eighteen hours walk from beginning to the end 
 thereof This affirmant being asked why the Indians 
 who were with them the first day did not continue 
 the second half day, replied that the Indians who had 
 set out with them in the morning of the first day left 
 them the next morning. Nicholas Scull, Benjamin 
 Eastburn, and another person whose name he has 
 forgotten, went early the next morning to the Indian 
 town half a mile distant, where the Delaware chief 
 Lappawinso then lived, to desire he would send some 
 other Indians to accompany the walkers for the rest 
 of the walk, but they returned with the following an- 
 sw^er from the said chief, which was that the .said walk- 
 ers had got all the best of the land and that they might 
 
2 14 '-'I"l'^ "'■' J-1>^VARI) MARSIIAI.I,. 
 
 go to the Devil for the bad, and that he would send 
 no Indians with them. Being further asked if he 
 had ever heard an\' of the Indians express any un- 
 easiness about tile said walk, saith that about eight 
 weeks after performing said walk he happened to be in 
 compan)' with Lappawinso at the said Indian town of 
 Hockyondocqua with Tishacunch and some other In- 
 dians, being the first time he had seen them after said 
 walk, he then heard the said Lappawinso say that they 
 were dissatisfied with the said walk and that they 
 would go down to Philadelphia next Ma\' with every 
 one a buckskin to repay the Proprietor for what the\' 
 had received from him and take their land again, and 
 complained that the said walk was not fairly perform- 
 ed nor the courses run as they should have been. 
 That he has heard said Lappawinso and other Dela- 
 ware Indians frequently say that the said walk should 
 not go the course agreed on between them, the Indians 
 and the Proprietors, for that they should have gone 
 along the courses of the Delaware. This affirmant 
 further saith, that the place where the said walk end- 
 ed at the said Five Chestnut (\aks as aforesaid was as 
 he believes twenty miles* or thereabouts bexond or to 
 the northward of the Kittatinny Hills. 
 
 Subscribed and affirmed to by Pxiward Marshall, 
 2d March, 1757, before William Denny." 
 
 We must remember that the foregoing was taken 
 upwards of nineteen )'ears after the Walk, and the 
 
 *'rhis distance, with [ohii Ciiapinan's survey to said mountains, 
 \v<)ul<l make the Walk si\t\-nine and three fourtli miles. 
 
HIS ACCOUNT OF THE WALK. 215 
 
 time set for its performance was to have been Septem- 
 ber 1 2th, but it was postponed until the 19th, which will 
 account for the discrepanc}- in regard to the exact 
 date. This testimony was brought about through 
 the charge of Tedyuscung that the Proprietaries of 
 Pennsylvania had defrauded the Indians of great quan- 
 tities of lands, partly through this Walk and a forged 
 deed. Governor Denny, before whom this testimony 
 was taken, owed his position at that very time to the 
 Pennsand he cannot therefore be judged as impartial. 
 We more particularly mean in omitting what did not 
 suit his or their views, through the instructions that 
 he may have previously received. 
 
CHAPTKR III. 
 
 REMOVES TO NOKITIAMPTOX COUXTV. 
 
 From his testimony on the Walk we learn that Ed- 
 ward Marshall, about the middle of November, 1737, 
 had been at the Indian town of Hockyondocqua and 
 at the time had a conversation with the Delaware chiefs, 
 Lappawinzo and Tiscohan, who it appears resided 
 there. Judging by the time of year he was no doubt 
 on one of his usual hunting campaigns into that sec- 
 tion, the location of which was but a few miles below 
 the Lehigh Gap. At what time he remo\'ed his family 
 from Tinicum to Mount Bethel township we are unable 
 to state, but it was at least as early as 1752, judging 
 from a record of wolf and fox scalps that he had then 
 been paid for in Northampton county. His love for 
 game and the pursuit of lumbering may also have 
 materially aided in his coming hither. Further, his 
 brother John Marshall and his nephews Abnor and 
 Benjamin Overfield, the sons of his sister Rebecca, 
 also resided in this section but on the north side of 
 the Mountain in Lower Smithlield township, as also 
 several of his wife's relations, which ma)' ha\'e given ad- 
 ditional inducement. Jacobus or Cobus creek emp- 
 ties into the Delaware about four miles below the 
 Mountain or Water (iap. It is tnir opinion that he 
 
REMOVES TO NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 21/ 
 
 resided within a mile or two of the mouth of this stream. 
 One account makes it about eighteen miles from Easton, 
 which would make it further south. However, this 
 we know from his own statement that it was in Mount 
 Bethel township. 
 
 It may be well enough before we proceed further 
 to give at this period some account of Northampton 
 county, which had been formed from Bucks in the 
 spring of 1752. Easton had been laid out a town as 
 early as 1738, but made very slow progress as regards 
 growth until it became the county seat. At its for- 
 mation Northampton is supposed to have contained 
 between five and six thousand inhabitants, settled in 
 ten townships, of which number about one-tenth were 
 Scotch-Irish, three hundred Dutch in Smithfield, and 
 the rest chiefly Germans. By the original Forks was 
 meant all that section of country lying between the 
 confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, extend- 
 ing northwards to the Kittatinny or Blue Mountain, or 
 sometimes applied beyond this in the early settled 
 portions. It contained ten grist mills at this time. 
 Acgording to N. Scull's map of 1759, Northampton 
 county possessed several public roads ; one extending 
 from Easton through the Wind Gap thence northeast 
 to Fort Hamilton, now Stroudsburg, by Broadhead's, 
 thence to Depue's on the Delaware about four miles, 
 thence up the same to Hyndshaw's eight miles, where 
 was a mill, and also one at Quick's, sixteen miles fur- 
 ther. A road is represented from Easton to Bethle- 
 
2l8 I. IKE OF EL)\VARI) M ARSl I Al.l,. 
 
 hem and from thence to Philadelphia and one to Berks 
 county. 
 
 As it has been published that Marshall's creek had 
 received its name from h'.duard Marshall, we will here 
 state that we cannot find that he had any residence in 
 that vicinit)^ and we believe that it was so called after 
 his brother John Marshall who we know by records 
 M'as still living there in 1 774, having two children under 
 twenty-one years of age residing with him and tax- 
 able for two head of cattle. This stream is about eight 
 miles in length and is a branch of the Anolomink or 
 Kroadhead's creek, emptying into it about a mile from 
 the Delaware. It is represented on N. Scull's map 
 of 1759 and William Scull's of 1770, but we cannot 
 find it named earlier than on Reading Howell's large 
 map of 1792, without an\- mills being denoted along 
 its course. It is a wild romantic stream and its scener\- 
 has formed favorite subjects for the painter. 
 
 As orders had been given by the British govern- 
 ment that the conduct of the Proprietaries of Penn- 
 sylvania should be enquired into regarding their trans- 
 actions with the Indians and the cause of the war, the 
 Penns, in self-defence, secured the influence of their 
 Deputy Governor, William Denny, who issued a sum- 
 mons on P2dward Marshall, and by an express, Janu- 
 ary 23, 1757, conveyed him from his home here to 
 Philadelphia and actually kept him there until the 
 following March 2d before he was released for an ac- 
 cc^unt of his knowledge respecting the famous Walk, 
 which has just been given. The charge made to the 
 
REMOVES TO NORTHAMPTON COUNTY. 2I9 
 
 Penns for his delivery in the city was ^i, i8s, 6d, and 
 he was rewarded with only ^5 ($13.33) ^or about forty 
 da}'s' detention. Of this affair Moses Marshall re- 
 lated to John Watson in 1820, that "a person came to 
 their house with a summons for his father to appear 
 before Lord Loudoun in Philadelphia, and was very 
 particularly examined respecting the Walk, his ac- 
 count taken down in writing to be sent to England. 
 While in Philadelphia he was strictly guarded by two 
 grenadiers, and not suffered to talk to any other 
 person respecting the W'alk or his present business." 
 After some research we are inclined to believe the 
 foregoing an actual fact. Lord Loudoun's army was 
 quartered in Philadelphia in December, 1756, and re- 
 mained there until into the following spring, whilst 
 he chiefly resided in New York. He proved to be an 
 overbearing scion of the British aristocracy, dictating 
 to both the Governor and Assembly through his in- 
 structions. In the Colonial Records (Vol. VH, p. 
 379) under date of March 21, 1757, we find that he 
 had actually requested Governor Denny to issue war- 
 rants for the arrest of suspicious persons for confine- 
 ment in the Philadelphia prison and he may therefore 
 have been present at this examination. W^e know he 
 was in the city a few days thereafter. 
 
 The following circumstance goes to show the silli- 
 ness of some people. David Broadhead and Edward 
 Biddle certified at Easton, July 27, 1757, (see Penna. 
 Archieves, Vol. I, p. 244) that they had "heard Wil- 
 liam Marshall say the following words, or words to 
 
2 20 THE LIFE OF EDWARD .MARSHALL. 
 
 the same effect, namely, that the Proprietors had 
 wronged the Indians out of their lands ; and he would 
 prove it, and in that respect he abided with the In- 
 dians." This charge was made against the second 
 son of Edward Marshall, who we know at this time 
 was not over nineteen years of age, and after his moth- 
 er had been killed by the Indians only about nine 
 \veeks. This Edward Biddle was the son-in-law of 
 Nicholas Scull. 
 
 We have supposed that Rebecca Marshall was the 
 wife of Paul Overfield, who we know was a taxable 
 in Lower Smithfield in 1761 to 1765. Mention is 
 made in the will of her brother William Marshall, de- 
 ceased, in Tinicum, in 1757, of a legacy left to his 
 two nephews Abner and Benjamin Overfield. The 
 former in 1774 is stated to. have two children under 
 twenty-one and taxed for 130 acres of land with ten 
 acres of grain, two horses, three cattle and ten sheep. 
 The latter with one child under age, 80 acres of land, 
 seven acres of grain, two horses, two cattle and seven 
 sheep. The latter is mentioned in the census of 1790, 
 as having in family eight persons, three being males. 
 Paul Overfield, a smith, and probably a relative of 
 the aforesaid, is also mentioned in 1774, as hax'ing 
 eight children under twent\'-onc, 160 acres of land, 
 seven in with grain, two horses, two cattle and se\'en 
 sheep. In the census of 1790 we find also a William 
 Overfield with a family of five, whereof three are fe- 
 males. Pre\ious to 1775 these are all represented as 
 living in Lower Smithfield, and in 1790 in Chestnut 
 
REMOVES TO NORTHAMITON COUNTY. 22 1 
 
 Hill township, from which it had been formed. Sarah, 
 the widow of Martin Overfield, was still living near 
 Dingman's Ferr}- in 1845, aged ninety-one years, and 
 was born in that section. William Overfield, her son, 
 represented Monroe county in the Assembly fifty years 
 ago. Conrad Overfield, of Monmouth county, served 
 in the army during the Revolution. They appear to 
 have been a numerous and respectable family in the 
 Minisink region, and we cannot find, excepting Edward 
 Marshall's wife, that any members thereof had been 
 injured by the Indians. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 INDIAN ATTACKS ON HIS I A.MILV. 
 
 Indian hostilities began in this section Nov^ember 
 24, 1755, by an attack on Gnadenhutten, a Moravian 
 settlement situated on the east side of the Lehigh about 
 twenty-eight miles northwest from Bethlehem, where 
 eleven persons were killed. So vigorously did they 
 prosecute the war in Northampton count}- that by Sep- 
 tember, 1757, from a list made out by Capt. Jacob 
 Orndt, one hundred and fourteen persons were killed 
 and fifty-two taken prisoners,,of whom se\en afterwards 
 returned. Among these sufferers in December, 1755, 
 was the Weiser famih', and that of Edward Marshall 
 in May, 1757, and in the following August. Accord- 
 ing to John Hackett's list, made down to December 
 19, 1755, upwards of fift\' persons had been killed and 
 forty-one houses burnt in the county among a sparse 
 and wide!)' scattered jjopulation w ithin so short a time 
 as four weeks. 
 
 A letter from hLaston, dated 25th of December, 1755, 
 states that "the country all abo\e this town for fift}' 
 miles is mosth' ewacuated and ruined, excej^ting only 
 the neighborhood of Dupue's five families which stand 
 their ground. The people have chiefl)' fled into Jer- 
 sev. Man\' of them haxe threshed out their corn, and 
 
INDIAN ATTACKS ON HIS FAMILY. 223 
 
 carried it off with their cattle and best household goods, 
 but a vast deal is left to the enemy; many offered half 
 their corn, horses, cows, goods, &c., to save the rest, 
 but could not obtain assistance enough to remove them 
 in time. The enemy made but few prisoners, murder- 
 ing almost all that fell in their hands, of all ages and 
 both sexes. AIL business is at an end, and the few re- 
 maining starving inhabitants in this town are quite de- 
 jected and dispirited. Captains Ashton and Trump 
 march up to Dupue's this day, and are to build two 
 block houses for defence of the country between that 
 settlement and Gnadenhutten, which when finished, 
 the inhabitants that are fled say that they will return." 
 
 Another writer, under date of December 31, says 
 that " Indians known to be principally from Susque- 
 hanna have during this month been making incursions 
 into the county of Northampton, where they have al- 
 ready burnt fifty houses, murdered above one hun- 
 dred persons and are still continuing their ravages, 
 murders and devastations, and have actually overrun 
 and laid waste a great part of the country even as far 
 as within twenty miles of Easton its chief town, and 
 for the more ea.sy annoyance of our inhabitants and 
 the better security of their prisoners and plunder these 
 Indians have fixed their headquarters at Neskopeck, 
 which is not thirty miles from the inhabitants." 
 
 From Franklin's paper, the Pennsylvania Gazette, of 
 January 8, 1756, we learn that "The Quakers of this 
 city have made considerable contributions for the re- 
 lief of our frontier inhabitants, who have been lately 
 
224 '•"'- ^^^' l^l'WARl) MARSIIALI,. 
 
 driven from their settlements, and plundered of every- 
 thing, by the savage cruelt)- of the Indians. And we 
 hear from Bucks county, that some of the society there 
 are collecting a quantity of corn, and other necessaries, 
 for the like purpose. The calamitous circumstances 
 of these unhap])y people are much aggraxated b\' the 
 most horrid murders being committed on their nearest 
 and dearest relations and friends, and by the present 
 inclemency of the season. Wherefore it is to be hoped 
 the example will become general, and that every one 
 will assist according to his ability, in alleviating the 
 distresses of his fellow subjects." 
 
 This state of affairs actually continued with but little 
 intermission until into 1764, a period of over eight 
 years, during which time scenes of the most atrocious 
 character were enacted, as if each side endeavored to 
 excel the other in cruelty, it appearing on the part of 
 the Delaware and Shawanese Indians as their last and 
 most determined efforts to secure the lands out of 
 which they belie\ed they had been unjustly defrauded 
 by the proprietaries, and which records establish were 
 conveyed unto William Allen as earl\- as No\-ember 
 16, 1727, and from which afterwards forcibly dispos- 
 sessed through a conni\ance with the powerful Iro- 
 quois. 
 
 After the Indian hostilities had fairh' commenced, 
 some time in the latter part of 1755, or in the follow- 
 ing year, as a matter of security Kdward Marshall re- 
 moved his famih' into New Jersey where they re- 
 mained until the spring of 1757. when apprehending 
 
INDIAN ATTACKS ON HIS FAMILY. 2 25 
 
 the greatest danger over he returned to his former 
 residence below Jacobus creek. Somewhere about 
 the 23d or 25th of May in company with Matthew 
 Hughes, a former neighbor of his in Tinicum, but now 
 boarding with him, he went up the above named stream 
 within three miles of the mountain to cut logs and 
 while thus engaged a company of sixteen Indians at- 
 tacked the house. One of them threw his match coat 
 on a bee hive by the side of the garden, which caused 
 the bees to rush out to sting them, which fortunately 
 by arresting their attention enabled five of the young- 
 est children to get off and conceal themselves among 
 the bushes. The eldest daughter Catharine, aged about 
 fourteen, was shot at in running; the ball entered her 
 right shoulder and came out below her left breast, 
 but she ran on and hid herself in a stream of water 
 by which she staunched the flow of blood and eluded 
 their search. They took no property but a coat be- 
 longing to Matthew Hughes, in the pocket of which 
 was £t, in money. Mrs. Marshall they made a prisoner 
 and at once proceeded northwards. Being within a 
 month of becoming a mother and not able to travel 
 fast enough, when they reached the mountain they 
 killed and then scalped her. 
 
 From Captain Van Etten's Journal of the following 
 23d of June, we learn that a party of thirteen men 
 from Jersey were making a search for the remains of 
 Mrs. Marshall which had not yet been found. Some 
 accounts say that they were not discovered for above 
 six months afterwards. It is a family tradition that 
 
2 26 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 when found word was sent to the husband to \-isit 
 them for identification. He readily satisfied himself 
 by a peculiarly formed tooth and the dress she wore 
 which was but little decayed. On examination the 
 scull and breast bore evidences of the tomahawk and 
 the remains of twins were discovered. Judge of the 
 feelings of any man when placed under such circum- 
 stances. Edward Marshall had nine children living 
 with this wife, of which se\eral of the oldest ma\- have 
 been with him from home when the attack was made. 
 Their names were Peter, William, Moses, Martin, Cath- 
 arine, Elizabeth, Jemima, Naomi and Amy. The 
 papers of the Friendly Association state that the In- 
 dians in going and returning on this expedition did 
 no other mischief within eight miles of his house. 
 
 The second attack was made in August of the same 
 year, by which his eldest son Peter Marshall was killed, 
 but accounts of which greatly vary. One tradition is 
 that he was shot whilst engaged in covering a stack. 
 Another, that with others he had sought the protection 
 of a fort, and without their knowledge the Indians 
 had thrown down a fence and driven the cattle into a 
 field of corn, which on being observed five young 
 men rushed forth to them to turn them out and in so 
 doing were fired at in ambush, killing two of the num- 
 ber, one being Peter Marshall. We are inclined to 
 believe the first account the most probable. The date 
 we are only enabled to fix from written evidence that 
 proves that he was alive at least in the previous month. 
 In either event we are informed that Edward Marshall 
 
INDIAN ATTACKS ON HIS FAMILY. 2 2/ 
 
 was not present or the rest of the family injured. We 
 must remember that when so many murders were 
 committed that the circumstances became in time con- 
 founded with each other, hence the habihty to such 
 discrepancies unless immediately written down. 
 
 Sometime in the latter part of 1758, Edward Mar- 
 shall was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of Nich- 
 olas Wiser, who was now in her thirtieth year. Her 
 father was a native of Nieuwied on the Rhine and in 
 1748 he purchased by patent a tract of land contain- 
 ing 133 acres situated in Chestnut Hill township, about 
 five miles north of the Wind Gap, on which he made 
 the first improvements. As is not unusual with Ger- 
 man immigrants, he appears to have flourished here 
 until the beginning of the war, when he became one 
 of its early victims. Mutual sympathy in part must 
 have aided to draw Edward Marshall and his bride 
 together. He had lost a wife and son and she had lost 
 her father by the Indians, and also witnessed the de- 
 struction of his property by the devouring flames. 
 This relationship induces us to give an account of the 
 affair as taken down from her brother Leonard imme- 
 diately on his return from captivity in the following 
 summer. 
 
 His father resided on the north side of the Moun- 
 tain and on the 31st of Dec, 1755, he was attacked by a 
 body of thirty Indians, taking him and his brother W^il- 
 liam prisoners. After being pinioned they proceeded 
 onwards until night. The next day they were left under 
 the care of fi\'e Indians who went towards the Sus- 
 
228 LIFE OF FDWARI) MARSHAIJ,. 
 
 quehanna, and the rest returned for further deeds of 
 \'iolence. After several weeks the other Indians re- 
 turned with more captives, taken in the neii^hborhood 
 where they had hved. They now all went up the 
 river in canoes to Tioga and from thence up the Cayuga 
 Brancli about two hundred miles, where they lix^ed in 
 scattered parties. The prisoners were as well used as 
 could be expected, living as the Indians did, only that 
 thev were obliged to do their servile work. Sometime 
 in the spring while Tedy uscung was twenty miles above 
 Tioga, two Mingo or Iroquois Indians came on a 
 message from their nation, stating that if they did not 
 desist from their hostilities against the English the\- 
 would come and destroy them and all the Indians on 
 the Susquehanna river. Owing to this circumstance 
 he with his brother and two other captives were brought 
 to Fort Allen and released through presents given to 
 the captors. 
 
 On the following 17th of Januar}-, John Adam Huth, 
 in company with several others, proceeded beyond the 
 Blue Mountain, and when they came to the late resi- 
 dence of Nicholas Weiser all was found in ashes, and 
 the cows, sheep and hogs lying dead around the place. 
 Besides Mrs. Marshall and the two mentioned there 
 were two more sons, Frederick and Nicholas. The 
 latter afterwards moved to Montgomer\- count}', New 
 York, where he was still residing in 1792, when he 
 sold the homestead to Jacob Stroud. Leonard Weiser, 
 in I 761, resided in Lower .SmithfieJd, and in the sum- 
 mer of 1763 joined Capt. John Van Campen's company 
 
INDIAN ATTACKS ON HIS FAMILY. 229 
 
 to resist further Indian incursions into Northampton 
 county. The effects of these ravages had been such 
 that on an enumeration made in 1758, there were as- 
 certained to be only thirty-five horses and nine wagons 
 remaining in Mount Bethel township, the home of 
 Edward Marshall. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 BOUNTIES FOR DESTROYING INDIANS. 
 
 After these several attacks by the Indians on the 
 famih'and relations of Edward Marshall, and perchance 
 his own very fortunate escape therefrom, the question 
 arises whether any efforts were made on his part to 
 retaliate or resist their further incursions and ravages? 
 On no subject connected with the life of this indi\idual 
 have we felt more disposed to exercise caution from 
 the very nature of its seriousness. Back even into the 
 clays of our boyhood, and not many miles from his 
 island home, we had heard of numerous traditions still 
 lingering of the merciless revenge he sought and found 
 in the wanton destruction of the savages. As years 
 rolled on and we had attained manhood and the experi- 
 ence of an author, it gleamed on us that the biography 
 of the hero of the famous Indian Walk was deserving 
 a record. This now brought us more in contact with 
 his numerous descendants. We were surprised in our 
 inquiries that they seemed to have faith in the truth of 
 the traditions that he had sought and found retaliation 
 during the Indian war \vhilst a resident of Northamp- 
 ton county, or in New Jersey, opposite. From the ex- 
 cellent character that he, his brothers and the family 
 always have borne among their neighbors and acquaint- 
 
BOUNTIES FOR DESTROYING INDIANS. 23 1 
 
 ances, it is right that we should seek some palHation 
 therefor in this chapter. 
 
 As far as Pennsylvania was concerned, the earliest 
 information, or rather suggestion, on this matter that 
 we have found, is in a letter from Edward Shippen, 
 dated Lancaster, December 16, 1755, and addressed to 
 Wm. Allen, Chief Justice of the Province: "There is 
 one James Patterson," he writes, "who lives about fifty 
 miles from Harris' on Juniata where he has built a stock- 
 ade fort and has twenty men with him, which has been 
 the only means of protecting the settlers and to keep 
 them on their plantations. He is a courageous, reso- 
 lute fellow and is resolved to stand his ground, if he 
 can be encouraged with a few arms and some ammu- 
 nition. He wants very much to know whether any 
 handsome premiums is offered for scalps, because if 
 there is he is sure his force will soon be augmented." 
 
 William Peters wrote from Philadelphia, January 4, 
 1756, to Thomas Penn, that it is "the wish of almost 
 every body here that notwithstanding your most gen- 
 erous presents and the large sum granted for defending 
 the country and driving off the Indians, little good 
 will be done without giving handsome rewards for 
 scalps. And to set the example a subscription has 
 been handed about in the Coffee House to encourage 
 the bringing in the heads of these two villains Shingas 
 and Captain Jacobs. The two Delaware chiefs who have 
 been so remarkably carressed by us are said to have 
 the principal hand in drawing off the other Delawares 
 and Shawanese. Seven hundred dollars were presently 
 
232 LIKE OF EDWARD MAKSIIAl.E. 
 
 subscribed and this with the Governor's approbation 
 pubHshed in our newspapers. The Governor and 
 Commissioners being also convinced of its necessit\% 
 it is expected that as soon as they have settled with 
 our friendly Indians, if any come to the treaty, the 
 mode of doing it so that a proper distinction may be 
 made between the enemy Indians and those who are 
 or may be inclined to be our friends. The Governor 
 will then immediately issue a Proclamation for offering 
 proper rewards for Indian scalps." On the following 
 7th, he writes: "Since the encouragement proposed to 
 be given for scalping and the Governor and Commis- 
 sioner's tour amongst the people in the back counties, 
 their spirits seem to revive, and several companies, 
 chiefly composed of those who have been used to deer 
 hunting and are good marksmen, have voluntariK' of- 
 fered themselves and some of them actually gone and 
 others going against the Indians." 
 
 On the 1 2th of January, Dr. Franklin, as Colonel of 
 a Pennsylvania regiment, issued an order to Capt. John 
 Van Patten, of Upper Smithfield, Northampton county, 
 wherein 'he says: "You are to acquaint the men that 
 if in their ranging they meet with, or are at any time 
 attacked by the enemy, and kill an\- of them, forty 
 dollars will be allowed and paid by the government 
 for each scalp of an Indian enemy so killed, the same 
 being produced, properly attested." The Rev. Rich- 
 ard Peters, in a letter to Thomas Penn, dated -Philadel- 
 phia, February 17th, uses this strong language: "The 
 general voice of the people cries aloud for a Proclama- 
 
BOUNTIES FOR DESTROYING INDIANS. 
 
 •^J3 
 
 tion offering rewards for Indian scalps, and most are 
 of opinion that this will effectually engage numbers to 
 range and lie in the woods and surprise the Iifdians in 
 the same manner that they do our miserable people." 
 
 "If I was so happy," writes Conrad Weiser, Feb. 
 28th, to Thomas Penn, "as to have two or three hours' 
 conversation with you or with your Honor's brother, 
 Mr. Richard Penn, I flatter myself several things in 
 this Province would soon alter for the better, especially 
 Indian affairs. I fear that rudeness, lawlessness and 
 ignorance of the back inhabitants not only of this 
 but also of the neighboring Provinces will bring a 
 general Indian war over us. They curse and dam 
 the Indians and call them murdering dogs into their 
 faces without distfnction, when on the other hand these 
 poor Indians that are still our friends do not know 
 where to go for safety ; in the woods they are in dan- 
 ger of being killed, or their young men joining our 
 enemy. Among us they are in danger of being killed 
 by the mob, and what is pityful, we have little or no 
 government within our doors." 
 
 Thomas Penn wrote in reply to William Peters, 
 July 7th : " I wish," he says, " our people had been will- 
 ing to join in companies to destroy them and bring in 
 their wives and children, rather than money should 
 be publicly offered for scalps, which is much dis- 
 liked here, and in some of the French pieces lately pub- 
 lished we are reproached with it as a cruel and un- 
 christian-like practice. It certainly encourages base 
 private murders and should therefore be practiced only 
 
234 l'Il""I'- <*I'" 'EDWARD MARSH Al. I,. 
 
 in very particular cases, and I fear for the reward some 
 people may trespass beyond their bounds." The same 
 to Governor Hamilton, three days later: "When you 
 wrote me last, you regretted you were not at liberty 
 to declare war against the Delaware Indians, that you 
 might attack them in their towns. This inconvenience 
 is since removed, and I wish people enlisted in pay 
 could have been found to go in small parties and attack 
 them, making prisoners of their wives and children, 
 as a means to oblige them to sue for peace, rather than 
 rewards should be offered for scalps, especially of the 
 women as it encourages private murder." 
 
 As may be supposed the result of this was a proc- 
 lamation by Gov. Robert Hunter Morris at Philadel- 
 phia, April 14, 1756, from which we make this ex- 
 tract: "I have therefore by and with the advice and 
 consent of the Council, thought fit to issue this Proc- 
 lamation, and do hereby declare the said Delaware 
 Indians and all others, who in conjunction with them 
 have committed hostilities against his Majesty's sub- 
 jects within this Province, to be enemies, rebels and 
 traitors to his most sacred Majesty. And I do here- 
 by require all his Majesty's subjects of this Province, 
 and earnestly invite those of the neighboring Provinces 
 to embrace all opportunities of pursuing, taking, kill- 
 ing and destroying the said Delaware, and all others 
 confederated with them in committing hostilities, in- 
 cursions, murders or ravages upon this Province." In 
 consequence the following offers were made: for every 
 male Indian enenn- abo\e twcl\-e )'ears old taken pris- 
 
BOUNTIES FOR DESTROYING INDIANS. 235 
 
 oner 150 Spanish dollars; for the scalp of every male 
 Indian enemy above the foregoing age and killed 138 
 Spanish dollars ; for every female Indian taken pris- 
 oner under the age of twelve 138 Spanish dollars, and 
 the same for male ; for the scalp of every Indian 
 woman killed 50 Spanish dollars. 
 
 Richard Peters wrote to Thomas Penn, April 30th : 
 "Two of the Six Nations and four or five of the 
 friendly Delawares who went on Tuesday charged by 
 the Governor with a message to the Susquehanna In- 
 dians to certify to them what had passed between Col. 
 Johnson and the Deputy of the Six Nations, returned 
 from Obsaningo, and that they might not fall in the 
 way of our people who were extremely incensed and be 
 exposed to the scalping parties that might go out in 
 hopes of gain for scalps, the Indians were desired to 
 advise the Susquehanna Indians to keep a distance 
 and await the issue of the proposals that might be 
 agreed to by Col. Johnson." 
 
 Notwithstanding a war of extermination had been 
 carried on against the Indians for over eight and 
 a half years, Gov. John Penn issued an additional 
 proclamation, dated July 7, 1764, wherein he states 
 that he does " declare the said Delaware and Shawa- 
 nese Indians, and all others who in conjunction with 
 them have committed hostilities, and I do hereby re- 
 quire all his Majesty's subjects of this Province, to 
 embrace all opportunities of pursuing, taking, killing and 
 destroying the same and all others concerned in commit- 
 ting hostilities, murders, or ravages upon this Province. 
 
236 LIFK OF KDWAKl) MARSHALL. 
 
 And whereas it is necessary, for the better carryinjj^ 
 on to a close, that the greatest encouragement should 
 be given to all his Majesty's subjects to exert their ut- 
 most endeavors to pursue, attack, take and destroy our 
 said enemy Indians, that there shall be paid to all and 
 every person and persons not in the pay of this Pro\- 
 ince, the following several and respective premiums 
 and bounties: That is to say for every male prisoner 
 above ten years old 150 Spanish dollars, for every fe- 
 male and male under age 130 Spanish dollars. For 
 the scalp of every male above ten years 134 Span- 
 ish dollars and female 50 Spanish dollars, and to 
 all those as soldiers in the pay of this Prox^nce half 
 this sum. To be paid on the delivery at any Fort 
 garrisoned by the troops in the pay of this Province, 
 or at any of the county towns by the keepers of the 
 Common Gaols." 
 
 He excepts from the foregoing the .Si.x Nations and 
 some Delawares and Nanticokes who live in friend- 
 ship and under the protection of the Government. 
 The Governor who had now increased the bounties 
 for the destruction of Indians was the grandson of 
 Wm. Penn and before the arrival of the latter the 
 Swedes had lived with the Indians in harmony for forty 
 years. But in justice to Mr. Penn our historians have 
 generally overlooked the fact that his proclamation 
 on the subject had been preceded by a former one. 
 \\ hen this became known in PVance the press and 
 general opinion there was strongly against carrying 
 on so barbarous a system of warfare and which to 
 
BOUNTIES FOR DESTROVINC: INDIANS. 237 
 
 their great credit was not permitted, but who turned 
 it to greater account by additionally stimulating 
 their allies to greater exertions in resisting the further 
 aggressions of the English. Among those famed " for 
 searching for and killing the Reds" in Northampton 
 county, and no doubt incited thereto by the rewards 
 and encouragements thus offered, may be mentioned 
 George La Bar, Ulrich Hauser and Tom Caspar. It 
 may be well asked what has become of those Indian 
 scalps, and the documents and records connected with 
 this business? No information on this subject has 
 yet been elicited to our knowledge. 
 
 Edward Marshall is represented by his descendants 
 as rather taciturn, or having very little to say respect- 
 ing Indian exploits. One of the daughters of Martin 
 Marshall informed us over thirty years ago that her 
 father had said that on one occasion he had pressed 
 him to relate his adventures with the Indians. After 
 musing a few seconds, the only reply was, when he 
 discovered an Indian he would shut one eye and they 
 would not meet again. The stories generally circu- 
 lated about him on these matters have been so ex- 
 travagant that we have declined their use. However, 
 we will briefly relate two of his adventures that under 
 the circumstances seem plausible. While out hunt- 
 ing during the war he unexpectedly met an armed 
 Indian within one hundred and fifty feet of him. Both 
 immediately took to trees and kept manoeuvering for 
 each other's lives. After a long interval Marshall took 
 off his hat, placed it on his ramrod and kept operating 
 
238 LIFE OF EDWARD MAUSIIAI.I., 
 
 it now on one side the trunk of his tree and then the 
 other. Soon a report followed and he dropped the hat to 
 the ground. The Indian rushed forth w ith a yell, toma- 
 hawk in hand, for his scalp, but when within thirty 
 feet he aimed, shot and killed him. On another oc- 
 casion a somewhat similar occurrence happened. 
 After being behind their respective trees for some in- 
 terval, Marshall shouted out a proposal for relieving 
 themselves; that instead they would shoot at some 
 mark and offered to shoot first. The Indian approved 
 it and arranged for the mark, which was to be about 
 half way between them and some fifteen yards to one 
 side. Marshall said he was ready but to prevent dis- 
 pute must distinctly understand what mark. The In- 
 dian hereby lost his caution by projecting himself to 
 indicate it when Marshall shot and he dropped to the 
 ground. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RETURN TO BUCKS COUNTY. 
 
 In consequence of the several attacks made by the 
 Indians on the family of P^dward Marshall, and the 
 distress and loss occasioned thereby, his brother Wil- 
 liam, of Tinicum, being in a languishing condition, and 
 having no children, kindly remembered him in his will, 
 made on the 1 8th of August, 1757, and but a few weeks 
 before his death. He first requires therein that his 
 wife Ann shall have the full use and benefit of all his 
 estate for three years, and next states: "I give unto 
 my beloved brother Edward Marshall after the term 
 aforesaid all my estate, right, title and interest of, in 
 and to my leased lands and the Island in the Delaware 
 called Tinicum Island, together with all and every the 
 buildings and improvements to the said Land and Isl- 
 and belonging. Provided, that my said brother pay to 
 his four sons, Peter, William, Moses and Martin, the 
 sum of Fifty pounds like money aforesaid and a piece 
 as they come to the age of twenty-one years." It was 
 thus through the gift and remembrance of a brother 
 after his recent misfortune that Edward came in pos- 
 session of his island home, and to be retained and oc- 
 cupied by him to the close of his life, or for nearly the 
 third of a century. 
 
240 l.IFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Of Edward Marshall's return to Bucks county with 
 his family we are not able to a certainty to fix the date. 
 His crranddaughter, Eliza Kean, informed us that his 
 sons Peter and Thomas, the first children by his sec- 
 ond wife, were born in Tinicum, which would fix the 
 date about 1759. The latter, from a family record, 
 was born January 19, I76i,and survived until 1831. 
 Farming, with hunting and fishing, chiefly engrossed 
 his attention. With the commencement of the Revo- 
 lution he must have been aged about sixty years, and 
 consequently no longer the hale and active or vigorous 
 man of his prime. He heartily concurred in the Inde- 
 pendence of his country, and we find that he gave in 
 his allegiance before his neighbor, Nicholas Patterson, 
 a Justice of the Peace, November 30, 1777, and his son 
 Moses the following 21st of July. For the use of 
 Washington's army, and to prevent their getting into 
 the hands of the British, or assist their crossing into 
 Penn.sylvania, all the boats, flats and scows were col- 
 lected up to his island. William and Moses, his eldest 
 sons, went with their boats, which had also been pressed 
 into the service, to render their aid in ferrying as well 
 as securing all boats to the west bank of the Delaware 
 until the danger of invasion from the Jersey side should 
 be over. This was particularly the state of affairs to- 
 wards the close 1776 and the beginning of 1777. In- 
 deed the British had made a forced march in the night 
 near the beginning of December to Coryell's Ferry 
 with this particular object in view, but found them- 
 selves disa})pointed and marched back to Pennytown. 
 
RETURN TO BUCKS COUNTY. 24 1 
 
 As publislied in Watson's Annals: "In the revolu- 
 tionary war, the Indians again returned from west of 
 the Ohio into Tinicum, still aiming at Marshall, and 
 he again escaped by being from home ; they then went 
 back through Jersey." We made minute inquiries into 
 this matter about forty years ago among some four or 
 five of his grandchildren, who were born and resided 
 all their days in that vicinity, as well as about a dozen 
 of his later descendants, and they all emphatically 
 deny this statement, that any efforts prompted by a 
 spirit of revenge had ever been made with any hostile 
 intent whilst he resided here. Had such an expedi- 
 tion been made it would have been doubtful if it would 
 have arrived safely through so thickl)' a settled country. 
 
 Samuel Preston relates in a communication written 
 in 1826, that in 1782 and the following year he had 
 formed his first acquaintance with Edward Marshall. 
 Having been called on as a sur\'eyor to settle some 
 old lines in Tinicum and Nockamixon townships he 
 required his assistance to show him the boundaries. 
 "To me," he says, "he appeared a respectable old man 
 of good memory and fair standing as to veracity, in 
 his testimony respecting lines and corners. He was a 
 native of Bucks county, and a large, heavy-set, strong- 
 boned man. He was then living on his large Island, 
 had been a noted hunter and chain carrier for Nicholas 
 Scull. He gave me a statement of his great Walk 
 in which he was fully determined to beat or die in the 
 attempt." 
 
242 I.IFK OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Almost to his last l£d\vard Marshall retained his 
 physical powers but little impaired by age. Laboring 
 under the effects of a severe cold with a short attack 
 of influenza brought about his death November 7, 
 1789, aged according to his own account seventy-four 
 years. His granddaughter Eliza Kean informed us 
 that his tombstone was not put up until about 1829 
 and that the inscription thereon was written by his 
 son Thomas, one of the administrators, which makes 
 him five years older, and in the absence of any written 
 record he may have been led into error. He died 
 on his Island and for greater convenience his bod\- 
 was conveyed to the house of his son Martin Mar- 
 shall, living opposite on the river road and a few yards 
 below the mouth of Tinicum creek, where the funeral 
 was held, on which occasion the Rev. Nicholas Cox, 
 a Baptist clergyman, delivered a discourse to a large 
 assemblage. He was buried in the Marshall family 
 burying ground, about one and a half miles distant. 
 His grave at the present time is located a few yards 
 west of its centre, over which a white marble .stone is 
 erected about three and a half feet high containing 
 this inscription: "In memory of Edward Marshall, 
 Sr., who died November 7th, 1789, aged 79 years. 
 
 Unveil thy bosom faithful tomb 
 And give these sacred relics room, 
 Take this frail treasure to thy breast 
 To slumber in tliy silent dust." 
 
 The house in which the funeral was held is still 
 standing, being a large substantial two-story stone 
 
RETURN TO BUCKS COUNTY. 243 
 
 edifice said to have been finished but a few days be- 
 fore this occasion, which its appearance would indicate. 
 It has long been in possession of Sarah, wife of David 
 Spear, who is a daughter of the said Martin Marshall, 
 to which is attached a farm of fifty acres. She had 
 previously been married to Samuel Weisel, deceased. 
 This property she received by inheritance. 
 
 At his death Edward Marshall left fourteen sur- 
 viving children, six sons and eight daughters, hence 
 we need not wonder at his having numerous descend- 
 ants. These were William, Moses, Martin, Catharine 
 married to William Ridge, Elizabeth to Immanuel Pid- 
 cock, Jemima, deceased, to Nathan Allen, but leaving 
 children, Naomi to William McCalla, Amy to Thomas 
 Tillyer, Peter, Thomas, Edward, Mary, Anne, Sarah 
 and Rebecca. Of these and their descendants we will 
 have more to say hereafter. His estate was settled 
 by Thomas Marshall and Thomas Tillyer and an ap- 
 praisement made of his personal property by Nicholas 
 Wyker and John Neis on the following 23d of De- 
 cember, amounting to £74.9, is, gd. In this was em- 
 braced wearing apparel, cash and bonds £l7g, i8.y, 
 \od; 300 bushels of corn in the ears and a mare and 
 colt £2>2 ; wheat. and rye and a field of grain ^^"94. 
 1 3 cattle, 22 sheep, 13 hogs £44,^5 ; wagon and gears, 
 3 cider barrels, cutting box, 4 spinning wheels, 6 bed- 
 steads and bedding, carpenter tools, 2 guns, 2 plows, i 
 boat, 2 canoes, a flat, etc. His real estate, besides the 
 island of 128 acres and improvements, consisted of a 
 plantation of 212 acres, which he had purchased May 
 
2 44 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 8, 1 787, of Rachel Stewart and son Robert, situated on 
 both sides of Tinicum creek and approaching' within 
 less than a mile of the island and adjoinin^j his other 
 land on the south. 
 
 We estimate that the total value of Edward Mar- 
 shall's real and personal estate at the time of his de- 
 cease was very nearly ^10,000, certainly a handsome 
 sum for this period. With all his proclivities for hunt- 
 ing, gunning, fishing and adventure, he was yet so 
 good a business manager, that from his first starting 
 out for himself until the close of his life financial dis- 
 tress was a matter unknown to him. Hence we do 
 not wonder at the independent spirit of his character. 
 From the records of Northampton county we have 
 ascertained that Elizabeth Marshall, the widow, was 
 still residing in Tinicum township, February 6, 1792, 
 when she conveyed for i^ioo all her right and title 
 unto her brother Nicholas Weiser of Cherry Valley, 
 New York, in the family homestead of 133 acres of 
 land in Chestnut Hill township, which the latter sold 
 a few weeks thereafter to Col. Jacob Stroud, of Strouds- 
 burg. She afterwards removed to the residence of 
 her daughter Rebecca, married to Neal Kean, a short 
 distance below Frenchtown, where she died October 
 12, 1807, aged nearly 80 years. A stone with an in- 
 scription denotes her burial place beside the remains 
 of her husband in the family graveyard. 
 
 William Marshall, the eldest brother of F:dward, 
 died in Tinicum, some time in September, 1757. In 
 his will, dated the i8th of August previous, he leaves 
 
RETURN TO BUCKS COLINTV. 245 
 
 his wife Ann the full benefit of all his estate for three 
 years, after which she is to have, in lieu of any dower, 
 all his best furniture and table ware, the " Negro wench 
 named Mooney," his mare and iJ^200 in money. To 
 his brother he leaves all his leased lands and the island 
 in the Delaware river called Tinicum, with all the 
 buildings and improvements thereon, providing that 
 he pay to his sons Peter, William, Moses and Martin 
 £^0 apiece as they come to the age of twenty-one 
 years; to his brother John Marshall ^^31, and his 
 sister Rebecca's two sons Abraham and Benjamin 
 Ov^erfelt ^20 each. His watch he leaves to his brother 
 Moses, after which the residue shall be equally divid- 
 ed between his brother John and the aforesaid men- 
 tioned nephews. John Watson, the well-known sur- 
 veyor of Buckingham, was appointed his executor. 
 In the inventory of his effects as appraised by Wil- 
 liam Nash and John Russell we find mention made 
 of "a negro man named Jim" valued at ^35, the 
 " molatto wench Mooney" ^^30, 16 head of cattle, 10 
 horses, 27 sheep, 27 swine, wagon, 3 guns, wolf trap, 
 boat, 2 canoes and a flat ; the whole of the personal 
 amounting to ^^558, 5^, 6d. This would indicate for 
 the times a productive farm of some size. 
 
 Moses Marshall, the second brother of Edward, is 
 said to have been a gunsmith by occupation and that 
 he followed this business to some extent in Tinicum. 
 We infer that he died in 1773, for Sarah, his widow, 
 it appears from a petition to the Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions for Northampton county, dated June 21, 1775, had 
 
246 IJFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 moved up there, and which states that Jacob Wood, of 
 Mount Bethel township, as administrator of her hus- 
 band's estate, was required on account of an error of 
 ^84 to resettle the same. In the assessment of Tini- 
 cum township for 1 779, we find his estate taxed for £"] 1 , 
 95 on 236 acres of land, 3 horses and 3 cattle, the 
 business probably beintj carried on by Thomas Tillyer, 
 "a single man," until at least to 1783. His son Jonas 
 Marshall and wife Hannah had moved in 1775 to 
 Surry county, North Carolina, and the following year 
 sold their place of 15 acres and "the Moses Marshall 
 Island" of 45 acres in the Delaware to William Ridge 
 for ^200. We thus perceive that the Marshalls were 
 successful business men of property, quite so for the 
 period, when we come to consider the limited means 
 of so new a country. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FAMILY REMINISCENCES AND TRADITIONS. 
 
 Edward Marshall is represented as having been a 
 tall, muscular and stoutly built man. He was at least 
 six feet one inch in height, and by some he is men- 
 tioned as having been even two or three inches taller. 
 He was never regarded as a fluent talker and had but 
 little to say on the most familiar subjects. He retain- 
 ed to the close of his life a fondness for smoking the 
 pipe. As a neighbor he w^as popular and we have not 
 been enabled to learn of any reflections regarding his 
 character. As respects the advantages of school learn- 
 ing they must have been limited. We cannot find 
 that himself or his brothers or second wife and sons 
 William and Moses could write their names, merely 
 making their initials or marks therefor. They could 
 read and make ordinary calculations and little more. 
 We must remember that in a country so new and 
 sparsely settled the means of acquiring an education 
 was not very readily secured, yet we find through their 
 good sense and native shrewdness that the Marshalls 
 were good and successful business men, proving that 
 they were possessed of no mean intellectual abilities 
 however neglected in early life. 
 
248 I.IKK OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Concerning" the reward that he may have received 
 for performing the Walk much has been said and writ- 
 ten of a contradictory nature. We have given this 
 matter sufficient attention to form thereon an opinion. 
 In the Penn Accounts for Indian charges under date 
 of 3d of 7th-month, 1735, mention is made of having 
 " Paid Timothy Smith for the three persons that walked 
 out the Indian Purchase in Bucks county iJ"i5." This 
 was for the Trial or Experimental Walk kept secret 
 from the Indians and which would be i^5 apiece. In 
 the said charges for October 5, 1737, we find "To 
 cash paid T. Smith for ye men who travelled ye Pur- 
 chase ^10, T,s, gd." This would denote that it had been 
 paid to Mr. Smith for the walkers about two weeks 
 after the occurrence, with perhaps no allowance to 
 Solomon Jennings for non-performance. Joseph Smith, 
 of Tinicum, whose father was a nephew of the said 
 sheriff Timothy Smith, stated, in a communication in 
 1 826, that the aforesaid had in addition to the ^"5 offer- 
 ed a reward of 500 acres of land within said purchase 
 to the one that should walk the furthest in eighteen 
 hours. In the papers of the Friendly Association 
 used at the Treaty at Easton in 1757, we find this in- 
 formation : " Marshall, on applying to the Proprietaries 
 for a reward, was offered five pounds, wliich he rejected 
 with contempt and has never had any reward." This 
 corroborates exactly what has always been attributed 
 to Marshall and confirmed by his descendants, of his 
 refusing anything short of the reward that had been 
 publicly offered and afterwards withlield by the Pro- 
 
FAMILY REMINISCENCES. 249 
 
 prietaries. However, he lived to see them lose "Our 
 Province of Pennsylvania," and the country and him- 
 self in the end were the better for it. Revolution with 
 retribution had come and the Marshalls were forever 
 rid of quit-rents or holding any longer leased lands. 
 
 In connection with the Walk there is a family tradi- 
 tion that Edward stated that when he had finished the 
 one and a half day's Walk at the Five Chestnut Oaks 
 with a hatchet he cut a small chip from out of one of 
 those trees for identity and brought it away with him 
 to retain in evidence should it be required in the future 
 the distance he may have traveled. 
 
 Samuel Preston, in a letter to John F. Watson in 
 1 828, states that Edward Marshall showed him a pocket 
 compass which had been given to him to use through 
 the woods near the termination of the Walk and his 
 retaining it was all the compensation he had received 
 for that undertaking. As his using a compass has 
 been denied by the Proprietary party, we give from 
 Timothy Smith's evidence this extract: "Kept on old 
 Indian path till they came to a place called Pocko- 
 poghkunck ; that from thence they proceeded through 
 the woods by a compass which was carried by Ben- 
 jamin Eastburn or Nicholas Scull and then stopped 
 at the top of the mountain where they marked five 
 chestnut oaks as the end of the said one and a half 
 day's walk." Respecting it Edward Marshall says that 
 from Pockopoghkunck continued the walk "through 
 the woods north-northwest by a compass, which 
 this affirmant carried in his hand, but had not used 
 
250 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 before, and pursuing that course or bearing hard all 
 the time and the said Vates having given out and stay- 
 ed at Tobyhanna creek, this affirmant continued the 
 walk in company with Alexander Brown who carried 
 the watch." Respecting this matter in the report b}" 
 the Council they say "we examined particularly Mar- 
 shall who says he carried a compass at the time, be- 
 sides his being contradicted in that circumstance, we 
 think it very improbable he should, as it must have 
 retarded his walking if he stopped frequently to make 
 any use of it, that he could not possibly walk so far 
 in the eighteen hours as he says in his deposition." 
 Here is an evident attempt at misconstruction, its use 
 being only requisite near its termination when they 
 had got beyond all the paths or routes that had been 
 previously opened to travel over, and as the result 
 indicates had extended further than those in the Pro- 
 prietary interests had anticipated. On inquiry as to 
 the whereabouts of this compass we were informed by 
 Dr. James Ridge, of Camden, N. J., a great-grandson, 
 that about forty-five years ago a member of the family 
 had accidentally dropped it in crossing the Delaware 
 and it was thus unfortunately lost. 
 
 His descendants relate that after his return to Tini- 
 cum he was in the practice late in the fall of going up 
 in the Beech woods hunting, for weeks, when he would 
 embrace the occasion to visit his numerous relatives 
 there, as the Marshalls, Overfields, Weisersand others. 
 Whilst up there on one occasion he observed across 
 a \'alley a herd of se\en deer; at the foremost, a noble 
 
FAMILY REMINISCENCES. 25 I 
 
 buck, he aimed with his rifle. The bullet took effect 
 at the root of the horn of a younger animal in the rear, 
 who dropped to the ground. In arriving there the 
 distance seemed so great that he concluded to satisfy 
 himself by stepping it off, and made it a trifle over 
 400 yards or about a quarter of a mile. However, it 
 must be remembered that this was over the surface of 
 the ground, the valley intervening. His friends up 
 there would relate of his saying on his return from 
 hunting, that if they were short of venision to go 
 to a certain place on a small tree or sapling, where a 
 saddle would be suspended. It is said that numbers 
 of poor families would go on such missions to their 
 surprise at his suggestion. In one of these adven- 
 tures he came to a bluff overlooking a deep narrow 
 glen through which flowed a small stream. A slight 
 noise there among the leaves attracted his attention, 
 when to his surprise he observed it occasioned by a 
 half grown panther, performing all the antics of a play- 
 ful kitten. The longer he stayed there witnessing so 
 singular a scene from its supposed savage nature the 
 more its novelty impres.sed him. As a consequence 
 he came away leaving it unharmed. 
 
 As Samuel Preston had stated that Edward Mar- 
 shall had found a silver mine in the vicinity of his 
 island and retained it a secret, we concluded to make 
 some inquiry on the subject. His granddaughter, Mrs. 
 Sarah Spear, informed us in May, 1873, that there had 
 been such a report and its location placed along the 
 hill sides of Tinicum creek and within less than a mile 
 
252 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 of its mouth. While havin^^ no knowledge of the 
 tradition WiUiam Ridge stated that ore had been found 
 there which on an analysis was found to contain silver. 
 The existence of lead, silver and gold in this imme- 
 diate vicinity has actually been mentioned by Linds- 
 trom, the Royal Swedish engineer, and also by Robert 
 Evelyn in 1648. The location was placed in "stony 
 hills" along the Delaware about thirty miles above 
 the first falls. It was prudent to keep such discoveries 
 secret, for under the Colonial rule the charters re- 
 quired from all the workers thereof three-fifths to tJie 
 King and Proprietary, and this excessive tax was st>'led 
 by William Penn an "encouragement ofsuchasare 
 ingenious and willing to search out gold and silver 
 mines in this Province." 
 
 In company with our antiquarian friends Joseph D. 
 Armitage and Cyrus Livezy of Lumberville, we visited 
 the Marshall graveyard September 24, 1 87 1 . It is situ- 
 ated on the south side of a hill about half a mile north 
 of Tinicum creek, comprising a quarter of an acre en- 
 closed by a substantial stone wall. The principal 
 names on the stones containing the inscriptions are 
 Marshall, Wood, Tillyer, Meyers, Ott and Mclntyre. 
 In the older portion a number of graves are denoted 
 by common stones. Besides Edward Marshall and 
 wife, some of his children, grandchildren and niniierous 
 relations repose here, of whom we shall have more to 
 say. It is a family tradition that this site came to be 
 selected under the following circumstances: That when 
 two young women of the Marshall family were taking 
 
FAMILY REMINISCENCES. 253 
 
 a stroll here, one of them expressed a wish that on 
 her death she be buried at this spot as an appropriate 
 place. Within a few weeks she was accidentally drowned 
 and this proved in consequence the first corpse interred 
 here. This must have occurred sometime before 1757, 
 or more than a century and a quarter ago, and they 
 may have been the daughters of William or Moses Mar- 
 shall, brothers of Edward. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Marshall's island. 
 
 We know, from tlie will of \Vm. Marshall, made in 
 1 75 7, that the original name of this island was Tinecong 
 or Tineconk, and that the stream emptying opposite as 
 well as the township thus received the appellation. Its 
 signification in the Delaware language was an island 
 covered with woods, and has with time become changed 
 into Tinicum. We have been unable in the records 
 to trace back its earlier title, and, as has been .stated, 
 it came into the possession of Edward Marshall through 
 his brother's legacy. The Commissioners of Pennsyl- 
 vania and New Jersey, in 1786, confirmed to Tinicum 
 township "Prall's two islands, Wall's island, Resolu- 
 tion island, Marshall's island, Wall's two islands. Fish- 
 ing island and Pennington's island." On the large 
 Township Map of Pennsylvania by Reading Howell, 
 published in 1792, "Marshall's Island" is represented 
 lying opposite the mouth of Tinicum creek, with a 
 house on it a little north of its centre. A road is rep- 
 resented as coming from "Irwin's" above to Tinicum 
 creek, thence turning southwestwards to the Durham 
 road. This island is correctly represented thereon as 
 situated almost in the middle of the Delaware. 
 
MARSHALL S ISLAND. 255 
 
 We would infer from said will that there were build- 
 ings on this island in 1757, but whether Wm. Marshall 
 resided thereon at that time we are unable to say. Ed- 
 ward Marshall is mentioned as having resided here in 
 a large two-story log house, which, from the size of 
 his family, and the amount of his household furniture 
 and fixtures mentioned in the inventory, would be 
 deemed necessary. It would appear that some time 
 after the death of Edward Marshall, a division of a 
 portion of his real estate was made among his heirs, 
 and that this island came into the possession of his son 
 Martin, whom we know died before 1821, and was sold 
 by his heirs April i, 1836, to Price Pursell, of Nock- 
 amixon township, for ^2,942.85. By a survey then 
 made it was found to contain eight perches less than 
 one hundred and twenty-eight acres. About 1850 it 
 was sold by John M. Pursell, trustee for Thomas Pur- 
 sell, to Henry S. Stover, and by the latter, in 1858, to 
 Hugh Capner, of Flemington, N. J., who deceased be- 
 fore 1873. 
 
 In company with Wm. Ridge, a great grandson of 
 Edward Marshall, we visited this island May 18, 1873. 
 It was one of those fine sunny spring days, tempered 
 by a light breeze from the north. We crossed in a 
 boat from Eichline's Hotel, which is nearly opposite 
 its central part, and found by our journey there that 
 the river was considerably wider than we had expected 
 and possessed a strong current. At our landing we 
 observed a very fine view looking north. The bridge 
 at Frenchtown, spanning the Delaware two miles off, 
 
256 I.IFK OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 with the spires and houses of said place in sight, and 
 beyond the long and high range of Musconetcong 
 Hills towards the northeast at a distance of from fifteen 
 to twenty miles, is still fresh in our recollection. Al- 
 though Mr. Ridge did not reside three miles from here, 
 he told us on this occasion that he had not been on 
 this island before for twenty years. We first directed 
 our steps to the house about forty yards from the land- 
 ing, where we formed the acquaintance of the tenant, 
 Howard Tettemer, who rented it on shares. Edward 
 Marshall's house stood a few yards south of the pres- 
 ent one, as did also his barn, from where it is now sit- 
 uated. A few old apple trees yet remained of its orig- 
 inal orchard, five or six of which were now over two 
 feet in diameter. The extreme length of the island is 
 above one and quarter miles, and its greatest width 
 about a fourth of a mile, and it is now assessed as con- 
 taining one hundred and sixteen acres, of which twenty 
 are still in woodland. It is undoubtedly the largest 
 island in the Delaware within a distance of thirty miles, 
 either above or below it. We should suppose that the 
 house stands about eighteen feet above the surface of 
 the river at its ordinary height. In the great freshet 
 of 1 841 three-fourths of the island was submerged with 
 the water pretty near the buildings. Everything sent 
 away or received here has to be ferried, for which pur- 
 pose a scow or flat boat has to be kept. The tenant 
 said the greatest objection he had to this was in trans- 
 porting a loaded wagon with horses during high winds, 
 which rendered it hazardous. The soil is sandy and 
 does not appear to take well with grass. 
 
MARSHALL S ISLAND. 257 
 
 In our strolls over its surface we were greatly im- 
 pressed with the beauty of the surrounding scenery. 
 The hills on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides 
 generally rise into elevations of from thirty to one 
 hundred and fifty feet above the Delaware. Tumble 
 Falls is about a mile below, where rise perpendicular 
 cliffs to upwards of one hundred feet in height, known 
 as Warford's Rocks. The upper end of the island 
 terminates in a point, where can be seen the effects of 
 high floods in wearing away the soil. To our surprise 
 on the shore here was lodged the trunk of a red maple 
 over four feet in diameter and upwards of fifty feet in 
 length that had been evidently brought hither from 
 above during a freshet. Trees are still standing here 
 of the original forest, consisting of chestnut, red and 
 black oak, hickory, buttonwood, poplar, ash, paper 
 birch, elm and linden. Some of these were above two 
 feet in diameter. The whole island along its banks con- 
 tains a fringe of trees about two rods in width, which 
 is necessary for its protection from floods. Among 
 these we observed several large and venerable chestnut 
 trees. Both its upper and lower extremities indicate 
 a considerable wearing away of its soil. Hence the 
 importance of promoting the growth of trees. Among 
 the most valuable for this purpose is the paper birch. 
 The abundance of stone axes, pestles, spear heads and 
 darts found would denote that here for a long period 
 must have been a favorite abode or resort for the In- 
 dians. Otters abound but are now becomins; rare. 
 
258 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 One was captured here in 1842 b)' John Weisel, also 
 a descendant of the famil}-. 
 
 As we were about to leav^e the island on this our 
 first and most probably last visit, a rush of recollections 
 came thronging to us in connection with the long and 
 last residence here of the famous pedestrian and hunter 
 of whose like few examples can be found. On what 
 his fame rests none now living can present experiences, 
 for these have as irrecoxerabh' gone as the time itself 
 We mean more particularly the Indians, the sway of 
 the Penns, the deer, wolves and other game, and the 
 associations connected therewith. In addition, we 
 thought it was something to be brought here and have 
 for our guide a descendant, a grandson too of his 
 daughter Catharine,* who had so narrowly escaped a 
 murderous assault from the savages. Now all was 
 peaceful, and the bustling noise made on one side the 
 river by the passing railroad train and the boatman's 
 horn on the other betoken a change not known half a 
 century ago; others even greater may soon follow. 
 It is the duty of the historian or biographer to seize 
 and collect these floating materials and prepare there- 
 from some memorials, that all is not lost. By such 
 aids posterity will be the better enabled to judge and 
 compare the past with times existing and the changes 
 effected thereb)-. 
 
 *\Villiam Ridee died in Tinicum in iS86. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIS DESCENDANTS. 
 
 William Marshall, the second son of Edward, was 
 born in 1737, or the following year. For expressing 
 himself against the conduct of the Penns in relation to 
 the Indians he was informed against at Easton, a few 
 weeks after the death of his mother, by Daniel Broad- 
 head and PZdward Biddle, though only about nineteen 
 years of age, but with what result we are unable to 
 state. He removed to Tinicum with his father and 
 entered into farming. On the distribution of the pro- 
 ceeds arising from his father's personal estate in 1 790, 
 as the eldest surviving son under the existing law, he 
 received a double share. With his brothers Martin 
 and Edward the following year he purchased a farm 
 of 100 acres for ^^"300 from Col. George Wall, situated 
 at the mouth of Tinicum creek, where they made their 
 residence. P^dward in 1800 sold his right in the farm 
 for ^^170. William remained unmarried and made 
 his home with Martin's famil)' until in the spring of 
 1823. when he died, aged 85 years. His will bears 
 the date of September i, 1821 ; wherein he gives ;^iOC 
 and interest thereon to Buckingham Monthly Meeting 
 "My rifle and shot gun with their accoutrements I 
 give to William IVIarshall," the son of his brothei 
 
26o LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Mo.ses. The balance of his estate he gives to his 
 nieces, Rebecca, Sarah and Ann Marshall, the daugh- 
 ters of his brother Martin, deceased. He adhered to 
 the principles of Friends, wore a plain coat and used 
 their language. 
 
 Moses Marshall, the third son of Edward Marshall, 
 was born in 1741. He was married to Agnes, daugh- 
 ter of Jacob Kulp, who had moved from Hilltown 
 township to Tinicum in 1761, where he had purchased 
 212 acres from the London Company adjoining Ed- 
 ward Marshall's land. Moses in 1782 purchased a 
 farm of 150 acres near the confluence of the North 
 Branch with Pine run in New Britain township, where 
 he resided until into the beginning of this century, 
 when he sold it and purchased another of 158 acres 
 near Mechanicsville, in Buckingham township, where 
 he continued until his death, which took place June 
 22, 1828, aged nearly 88 years. His wife died only 
 three months previously in her 87th year. Moses 
 was sixteen years old when the Indians attacked the 
 family of which he was a concealed spectator. He 
 took the oath of allegiance in Tinicum, Juh'2i, 1778, 
 where he continued to reside until the spring of 1782. 
 His will is dated Sept. 2, 1825, leaving to his sons 
 William and Martin each a farm of 79 acres and a 
 legacy to his daughter Mary. The sons afterwards 
 sold their places and moved to Ohio and have descend- 
 ants there. We were informed that the "rifle and shot 
 gun with their accoutrements" were taken along and 
 no doubt are still in possession of William's family. 
 
HIS DESCENDANTS. 26 1 
 
 We have supposed those to be the "two guns" men- 
 tioned ui the inventoiy of Edward Marshall's effects, 
 and if so the ones he may have frequently used. 
 
 Martin Marshall, the fourth son, in connection with 
 his brothers William and Edward, purchased from Col. 
 Wall a farm of 100 acres in Tinicum township op- 
 posite the Island in 1791, on which he continued to 
 reside until his death, which we know was previous to 
 1 82 1. He left four daughters, Sarah, Ann, Eliza and 
 Rebecca. Catharine, the widow and the aforesaid 
 heirs, sold the Island in 1836 to Price Pursell of Nock- 
 amixon for ^2,942.85. Sarah was married to Samuel 
 Weisel and after his decease to David Spear, became 
 the owner of the homestead and 50 acres of land, on 
 which she was still living in 1873, having been born 
 here August 11, 1803. It was in this house where 
 her grandfather's funeral was held in 1789, for which 
 purpose his remains were brought from the Island, 
 being on the way also to the family burying ground. 
 Eliza was married to Thomas Pursell of Tinicum and 
 Rebecca to Nelson Duckworth of Alexandria town- 
 ship, Hunterdon county. These three sisters were 
 still living in 1873 at advanced ages. Ann was mar- 
 ried to William Mclntyre of Tinicum and we know 
 she died before 1870. Nelson Duckworth and his 
 family afterwards moved to the city of New York, 
 having a son Morris who, we were informed, takes 
 an interest in the family history. With the sisters 
 Sarah, P^liza and Ann we were personally acquainted. 
 
262 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSIL\LL. 
 
 They furnished us interesting information for this 
 work. 
 
 "Of the seven sons of Edward Marshall but three 
 were married ; these were Moses, Martin and Peter. 
 The latter was the first child by his second wife, hav- 
 ing been born in 1759, and was called after his eldest 
 son whom the Indians had killed in 1757. He moved 
 from Tinicumto near Williamsport, Lycoming county, 
 where he died July 25, 1806, aged 47 years, leaving 
 also descendants. His son John died out there the 
 latter part of December, 1 87 1 , aged about 80 years. 
 Thomas, the sixth son of Edward, was born January 
 19, 1761, and survived until 1831. In connection 
 with his brother-in-law Thomas Tillyer he settled his 
 father's estate between December 1789 and April 5, 
 1792. In October 1791, he purchased his father's plan- 
 tation of 21 2 acres on Tinicum creek, which he sold the 
 following year to John Worman of said township. Ed- 
 ward Marshall, Jr., died February 4, 1802, aged 32 
 years, and with his brothers William, Martin and Tho- 
 mas was buried in the family cemetery. Thomas T. 
 Ridge informed us in 1873, that a tortoise had been 
 found in the woods on the hill of that vicinity that 
 had legibly cut on its under side the characters " E. 
 M., 1792," evidently done by him in his 22d year. 
 
 Catharine, the eldest of Edward Marshall's daugh- 
 ters, was born about 1743, consequently when the at- 
 tack was made by the Indians on the famih' in North- 
 ampton county she may have been aged 14 years. 
 She was shot with a bullet through the body in es- 
 
HIS DESCENDANTS, 263 
 
 caping and concealed herself in a stream of water by 
 which she staunched the flow of blood and eluded 
 the vigilance of the savages who a few hours after- 
 wards killed her mother. The wound occasioned 
 the loss of her breast, but she reared twelve children, 
 of whom eleven lived to be able-bodied men and 
 women, two of whom attained to upwards of ninety 
 years of age. William Ridge, her husband, was a car- 
 penter by occupation and came from Bensalem before 
 1 769. His father of the same name was a native of Eng- 
 land and had settled in said township, where he died in 
 1776, aged 80 years, and his wife Mary survived until 
 1 795, having attained the advanced age of 9 1 years. The 
 son in 1775 purchased a farm of 79 acres of Robert 
 Patterson, Esq., in Tinicum, for ^240. The following 
 year he purchased adjoining for ^200, 15 acres with 
 buildings and an island of 45 acres in the Delaware 
 from Jonas Marshall (son of Moses) and his wife Han- 
 nah who had moved to Surry county, North Carolina. 
 William Ridge died about 1821, aged 88 years. His 
 children were Elizabeth, Thomas, William, Mary, 
 Grace, Edward, Joseph, Catharine, Henry, Moses and 
 Rebecca. 
 
 The present owners of the homestead are Thomas 
 T. and Wm. A. Ridge, who are the twin sons of Moses, 
 who died in i860, aged 78 years. They informed us 
 in 1873 that the island mentioned as containing forty- 
 five acres, and so long known as Ridge's Island, had, 
 through the action of the current, become reduced to 
 a long, narrow gravel bar that at low water contained 
 
264 I-ItE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 but three or four acres, on which now neither ijrass 
 nor bushes grow. About forty years previously large 
 trees were still flourishing on it, and it was then the 
 resort of numerous birds. This purchase was origi- 
 nally made from John and Thomas Penn in 1769, and 
 lay about half a mile below Marshall's Island. The 
 aforesaid brothers are the present owners of a rifle that 
 is said to have belonged to Edward Marshall, made at 
 Rothenberg, Germany, and was purchased at the sale 
 of Martin Marshall's effects. It is a flint-lock, and has 
 the appearance of having seen considerable service 
 though still in good order. The barrel is three feet 
 one and a half inches in length, and the bore five- 
 eighths of an inch in diameter with six grooves. Its 
 total w'eight is nine and three-fourths pounds, and car- 
 ries an ounce ball, which is sufficiently large to prove 
 destructive. Dr. James Ridge, of Camden, N. J., is 
 also a brother, as was Edward, lately deceased in Tini- 
 cum. \Vm. Ridge, our guide to the island, is the son 
 of Joseph, who has also furnished us interesting in- 
 formation respecting the Marshall family, as well as 
 his cousins, with whom we have had an accjuaintance 
 for over forty years. 
 
 Elizabeth, the second daughter of Edward Marshall, 
 was married before his decease to Immanuel Pidcock, 
 and Naomi to William McCalla. Near the beginning 
 of this century both moved, with Peter Marshall, their 
 brother, to Williamsport, Lycoming county, where they 
 have also descendants. Jemima, who was married to 
 William Allen, died before her father and left .several 
 
HIS DESCENDANTS. 265 
 
 children. Amy married Thomas Tillyer, who, in a 
 list of taxables for Tinicum, is mentioned in 1779 as 
 "a single man living with Moses Marshall." He was 
 married before 1789, and himself and wife were buried 
 in the Marshall graveyard. The four remaining daugh- 
 ters, Mary, Ann, Sarah and Rebecca, were single in 
 1 79 1. Mary married John Long and died in Phila- 
 delphia, August 26, 1829. Ann married Joseph Hin- 
 kle and died March 26, 1837, aged 72 years. Sarah 
 died March 3, 1793, aged 25 years, and is buried in 
 the family graveyard. Rebecca, the youngest, married 
 Niel. Kean, and died at an advanced age near French- 
 town, N. J. A daughter Eliza w^as still living at the 
 latter place in 1873, to whom we are also indebted for 
 considerable information. She was the possessor of 
 her grandfather Marshall's high-case eight-day clock 
 and a chest of drawers that had been brought from 
 England. The Hinkles are ah old family in Plumstead 
 and Tinicum. Philip Hinkle, the father of Joseph and 
 Caspar, of Hinkletown, was a blacksmith in the Rev- 
 olutionary army and cried the sale of Edward Mar- 
 shall's personal effects in 1790. Dr. A. G. B. Hin- 
 kle, Rachel W., wnfe of Prof J. W. Shoemaker, now 
 of Philadelphia, and Mrs. Mary Wyker, of Tinicum, 
 are from whom we have also received information, 
 the children of William Hinkle, son of Joseph. 
 
 From what has been stated it will be observed that 
 the descendants of Edward Marshall at this day must 
 be numerous in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio. 
 Although they have lived and flourished so long in 
 
266 LIFE OF EDWARD MARSHALL. 
 
 Bucks county and in the name are extinct, yet his de- 
 scendants can there be numbered now by hundreds 
 through intermarriage into families bearing the names 
 of Ridge, Crout, Weisel, Hinkle, Meyers, Wyker, 
 Weidenmeyer, Bergstresser, Pursell, Morehead, Mcln- 
 tyre,Buck, Nace and others. We have thought if his sev- 
 eral thousand descendants, now so widely scattered 
 over the Union, could read this imperfect and hastily 
 prepared sketch, what an additional interest it would 
 awaken, not only as to their family history, but of the 
 hero of the famous Walk, with his extraordinary ad- 
 ventures and trials, that have been the subject hitherto 
 of so many lingering traditions, and of the most xague 
 and contradictory statements. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Acrelius on Thomas Penn 162 
 
 Address to Gov. Denny U3, 146 
 
 Agent to reside in England 8 
 
 Allen, Wm , land dealings, 41, 42, 
 44, 45, 62, Ki ; character, 42, 47, 49 ; 
 at Indian treaty, 66; biographical 
 sketch, 163; importunate for office, 
 165 ; on Nutimus, iilS ; on Tedyiis- 
 
 cnng 80 
 
 Andros, Gov., purchase 25 
 
 Attack on the Weisers 227. 228 
 
 Appointing powers of the Penns..lO, 13 
 Assembly, Governor's salaries, 9; 
 committee from, 131; li mi ted pow- 
 ers, 10 ; and the proprietaries. 24, 
 
 31,. 39,52,77 
 Beale, Geo., requires a clear deed, 29 
 
 Beaver skin tribute 8 
 
 Biles, Wm., deposition 68 
 
 Boinities for destroying Indians 230 
 
 Bounds of the Indian purchase 49,71 
 
 Broadhead and Riddle's charge 219 
 
 Brown, Alex., testimony, 61, 123, 
 
 172 202 213 
 
 Bucksvilleon line of Walk .' 1.102 
 
 Canassategosspeech.50,102,109, i:*, 
 
 193, 199, 210 
 Chapman, John, surveyor, 55, 60, 
 63,81,87, 102, 109, 11(1, 130 ; purchase, 
 27,101 ; memoranda, 103 ; biograph- 
 ical sketch 181 
 
 Character of proprietaries 18 
 
 Charters set aside by Penn 12 
 
 Civility, a Delaware chief 80 
 
 Cobus creek 216, 225 
 
 Colonial Records and Archives lo 
 
 Combush and Joe Tuneam 87,92, 95 
 
 Commissioners of property .38 
 
 Conference at Easton 121 
 
 Council, powers of, 10. 14; report 
 
 from 146 
 
 Courts of Inquiry established 25 
 
 Court at Newtown 85, 211 
 
 Day, Sherman. on misgovernment, 17 
 Deed to Lehigh Hills, 65; authoriz- 
 ing the Walk 70 
 
 Delaware Indians, complimented, 
 
 21 ; to Judge Laiichorne 49 
 
 Denny. Gov., and the Council, 122, 
 127, 215 ; reply to Friends, 149 ; ex- 
 amines Marshall 218 
 
 Depue, Kicholas, purchase 43 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Difficulties of Colonial governors 9 
 
 Dingman, Andrew, purchase 45 
 
 Doane, Joseph 67,58, 87, 210 
 
 Docnmenis on the Walk 121 
 
 DuPonceau on Penn's purchases 31 
 
 Durham purchase, 51; iron works, 
 89; road, 89, 93, 102,208,212; treaty. 
 
 76. 195 
 Dutch. Swedish and English pur- 
 chases 25 
 
 Eastburn.Benj..map,26,97,103,104, 
 109, 119, 12^, 130, 16S ; surveyor gen- 
 eral. 45, 47, 95,96, 101, 1U7, 119, 213; 
 
 biographical sketch 167 
 
 Elective covuicil abolished by Penn. 14 
 
 Expenses of the Walk .W, 106 
 
 Families related to the Marshalls...265 
 
 Feeling against the Penns 18 
 
 Felons, importation forced 12 
 
 Feudal prerogatives of the Penns 17 
 
 Franklin, Beiij., agent. 16,121 ; com- 
 missioner. 15 ; on the Penns, 19 ; 
 on Thomas Penn, 159; orders on 
 
 scalping 232 
 
 French opposed to scalping 236 
 
 Friendly Association, 54, 1.S6. 139, 
 
 143, 146, 248 
 Forgery, charge of. 74. 75. 125, 130, 
 
 146.215 
 Furniss, Thos.. testimony, 84,91,94. 
 
 97. 100 
 
 Gallows Hill 89,93.212 
 
 Gallows erected for Thos. Penn 162 
 
 Gnadenhutten massacre 222 
 
 Goodwin, Ephraim, testimony. 60. 
 
 91.94,123. 19C 
 
 Gordon's view of the Walk 114, 199 
 
 Governors bonds 9 
 
 Great Shawnee Island 43 
 
 Hamilton's, Andrew, draft 69, 79 
 
 Harrison. Captain 87, 96 
 
 Heckewelder on Indian purchases, 
 
 45; on Indian names 197,202 
 
 Heider. John, testimony, 63, 84. 91, 
 
 93, 104 123. 179, 188 
 
 Hinkle, family account of. 2G5 
 
 Hinkletown 208 
 
 Henry "s History of Dehigh Valley, 116 
 Hockley "s letters to Thos. Penn , 132, 145 
 Hockyondocqua, Indian town, 95, 
 
 97,196,201.212 
 
268 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Holme's map of original surveys. 
 
 26, 100 
 
 Hiishos, ]Matlie\v. at Marshall's 225 
 
 Ili(li:iiis, accniiHl (if Walk. HI; at- 
 tack (Hi .Marshall sramily,l!-."J. 22B; 
 ilissatislicd.-J?. l's.31,;i/, -11, IS, 50: 
 97, ll.-J, 114, no. 125, 172, 19!J, 201,206, 
 2U ; dangerof mobs, 233 ; desire to 
 treat for lands, 32 ; defended by 
 Logan, 37; kindness from. 21,25, 
 189; murders in Northampton 
 county ,222 ; furnished with books, 
 20, 21; purchases from, 2ii, 70; 
 meetingat Durham,6-J,56,67 ; por- 
 traits taken, 196, ]9( , 201, 202 : dan 
 gerous to take their part, 1^9; 
 their reservations not respected, 
 200; titles from, 23; language 
 spoken with Hollanders, 173; 
 treaty at Pennsbury , 57 ; war and 
 
 the Walk, 15: threats 50,199 
 
 Iroquois or Six Nations, 80, 115, 118, 
 
 193, 199 
 
 Jenks, Hon, Michael H 63, 102 
 
 Jennings. Solomon, notice of, 78. 83, 
 
 .Sti ; biographical sketch 187 
 
 Johnson,. Sir Wm.,at Easton 34,39 
 
 Judges, subserviency of. 11 
 
 Kindness of Delaware Indians 21 
 
 Kittatinny or Blue Mountains 49, 62 
 
 Knowles, Joseph 61, 91 
 
 I>a Bars reminiscenses 113 
 
 Lands sold not granted by the In- 
 dians 36 
 
 Langhorne. Judge, and the Penns. 120 
 
 Lawsuits of the Penns 11, 29 
 
 Lappawinzo, notice of, 62, 95, 98; 
 
 biographical sketch 200 
 
 Lehigh river called Toby hanna, 185, 
 
 213 ; hills of 191 
 
 LeTort Indian trader 202 
 
 Logan, James, purchases, SS. 39, 40, 
 2116, desires Indian purchases, 33, 
 37; conduct as commissioner, 39 ; 
 on Nutimus, 198; on Indian hon- 
 esty 197, 202 
 
 Logan. William, 40, 107, 108, 123, 131, 134 
 
 Lukens. John, succeeds N. Scull 175 
 
 Luther's catechism in Indian 20 
 
 Loudoun, Lord, conduct 219 
 
 Markham's purchase 26, 64 
 
 Mana wkyhickon s speech 69, 72 
 
 Manor of t'hawton 48 
 
 Mar,shall, Edward, mention of,83, 
 8ti, 92, 94, !t.'^, 98. 100. 105, 201 ; life of, 
 2(J3; his brothers, 205 ; purchase, 
 205 ; removes to Northampton 
 county, 216; wife killed, 225; son 
 Peter killed. -26; his account of 
 the Walk. 209.211 ; inconntcr with 
 Indians, 2.(7; returns to Bucks 
 county. 23.1 ; death and funeral. 
 242 ; j>ersonal and real estate, 244 ; 
 his widow's death, 244; his de- 
 scendants, 243, 2,59 ; reminiscenses 
 and traditions, 247 ; hisisland resi- 
 dence 256 
 
 Marshall, Catharine, wounded 225 
 
 Marshall, John , 2L5 
 
 Marshall, Martin 261 
 
 PAOR 
 
 Marshall, Moses, on reward, 82; 
 statement. 110, 117 ; notice of, 205 : 
 
 estate 246 
 
 Marshall W'm.. notice of, 205, 2o7 ; 
 will and estate, 239, 244 ; informed 
 
 against 259 
 
 Marshall's creek 218 
 
 Marshall graveyard 205, 262 
 
 Minisink settlement, 42, 44, 113, 116, 
 
 118, 194 
 Minisink visited by Scull and Chap- 
 man 183 
 
 Misconduct of the Penns 91 
 
 Morris, Oov., proclamation 234 
 
 Alount Bethel township 216.229 
 
 Mysteries of the Walk 64,76,79 
 
 Names of persons at the Walk 91, 92 
 
 Northampton county, early ac- 
 count of. 217 
 
 Nutimus notices of. 50,62,108,116, 
 
 119; biographical sketch 198 
 
 Observations on the Walk 99 
 
 Opekasset and Shackalawlin 192 
 
 Opposition to Indian rights, 22; to 
 
 the proprietaries 12, 16, 18 
 
 Overfield. Abner and Benjamin, 
 216; Elizabeth, 205; family ac 
 
 count of, 220 
 
 Page, John, refuses unpaid grants,,. 47 
 
 Peace was Penns policy 24 
 
 Pemberton, Israel, views on 145 
 
 Penn Accounts, ,55, j06, 170, 186, 192, 
 
 194,196 
 Penn, John, at Durham, 54; Gov- 
 ernor's marriage 166 
 
 Penn, Richard, character, 18; son 
 
 of William 53 
 
 Ptnn, Thomas, promises honesty, 
 33; e.xtensivc grant to .Mien, 46; 
 his character. IS. 51, ,53, sii, 99, 152, 
 154, 156, 162 r admits of discontent, 
 8, 120; address from the Assem- 
 bly, 52; at Durham, 54; gives in- 
 structions on the Walk, 60 ; treats 
 for the Walking purchase, 66; on 
 the Walk. 75. 79. 8'j, 106, 108,109; 
 paitieular re(iuest,S5; opinion of 
 \Vni, Logan, 134; biographical 
 sketch, 151 ; arrives with a 
 Friends' certificate, 145; tries a 
 scheme to get Franklin Square, 
 1.59; ill treatment cf his nephew, 
 155 ; gets won n(le(l and marriage, 
 154; opinion of the CJuakers. 114 ; 
 death, ]6i; gallows erected for 
 him, 162; views on Eastburn's 
 map, 16S ; considers Eastbnrn not 
 honest, 171 ; tries to cheat his 
 
 nephew William ovit of land 155 
 
 Penn. .spnimctt. and his guardian. ,,156 
 Penn. William, code of laws, 9; 
 comspoiuliuice with Logan, 25; 
 to give clear Indian title. 29; re- 
 quired to civilize the Indians, 7, 
 30; justice. 67 ; commissioners of 
 property, 3S ; family extinct ik. 
 
 name, 112; death of. 53 
 
 Penn, Wm. Jr., receives a grant 42 
 
 Penns refuse to be taxed , 15, 16 ; gen- 
 erosity to. 161 ; query about 161 
 
 ^D 
 
 S3 
 
INDEX. 
 
 269 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Pennsbury treaty 67, 195,2(i0 
 
 Pennsylvania liberality 161 
 
 Peters. Richard, on the Walk, J20 ; 
 on the Quakers. 140 ; reply to, HO ; 
 reply to Assembly, 136 ; letters to 
 
 Thos. Penn 140, 141. ]7l), 180, 232, 235 
 
 Peters, Wm., report on the Walk, 
 
 12.5; letter to Thos. Penn 231 
 
 Petition to make Indian purchases. .32 
 
 Pocono mountain 96. 213 
 
 Pokopoghcunk, an Indian settle- 
 ment 96.212 
 
 Power of the Penns, 10. 13, 14, 16, 24 ; 
 
 of the Royal government 12 
 
 Preston, Samuel, on the Walk. 114 ; 
 visits Marshall, 241 ; pocket com- 
 pass 249 
 
 Proprietaries, government, 7 ; to 
 pay tribute. 8 ; stipulations, 23; 
 
 and Society of Friends 137 
 
 Proclamations for destroying In- 
 dians 233, 235 
 
 Quakers, errors respecting, 137. 140, 
 148,150; benevolence of, 1.38. 139, 
 
 223 ; charge against 142, 145. 147 
 
 Records mystified 49 
 
 Report of Council 125, 127, 129, 131 
 
 Reservation by the Indians 81,2(i0 
 
 Rewards for destroying Indians 232 
 
 Reward for the Walkers 82, 83, 86. 248 
 
 Ridge family . account of 263 
 
 Ridge, Wm., guide to Marshall's 
 
 Island 255. 258 
 
 Rights of the Indians 20, 34, 206 
 
 Roads, early, to Tinicum 207 
 
 Royal charter to Penn, 7 ; procla- 
 mation 35 
 
 Sassoonan and James Logan, .32, 37, 
 
 6.5,80; biog.'aphical sketch of. ..191 
 
 Scenery at Marshall's Island 255 
 
 Scull, Nicholas. 47, 91.93,95,96, 104, 
 12.3,213,217; biographical sketch. 
 172; deposition on the Walk, 173; 
 
 interpreter 194 
 
 Servility to the Penns 18 
 
 Shackalimy, 80 ; biographical 
 
 sketch of. 193 
 
 Shippen. Edward, letter 231 
 
 SheriflTs and Coroners, election of.... 13 
 
 Smith, Dr. Chas. W., 63, 101, 102, 118 
 
 Smith, Joseph 63, 101. 104 
 
 Smith, Timothy, sheriff. 55,57,59, 
 60.63, 78.83.. «5. 88, 92. 95, 102, 109, 123, 
 128 : biographical sketch, 177 ; de- 
 position on the Walk 178 
 
 Starting place for Walk 26 
 
 Steel , James, letter, 57, 62, 85, 97, 109, 210 
 
 Streiper's purchase 28, 40, 206 
 
 Stokes' Meadow- 57 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Society of Friends 110, 133, 148 
 
 Swedes, kindness to thelndians, 20; 
 
 arrival 64 
 
 •■Swedish and German missionaries, 21 
 
 Tademi murdered 46 
 
 Tavlor, Jacob, surveyor 41 
 
 Tedyuscung's charge. 100, 121, 129, 
 131, 146, 14/ ; and the Friendly As- 
 sociation 143 
 
 Termination of Walk 90, 98 
 
 Thomas, Governor 193 
 
 Tinicum township 207 
 
 Tishcohan, 62,72, 98; biographical 
 
 sketch 195 
 
 Tobyhanna creek 213, 250 
 
 Tohickon creek 93, 195, 198. 205 
 
 Toleration in Rhode Island and 
 
 Maryland 9 
 
 Trego, C. B.,on the Walk 116 
 
 Trial Walk 53, 110, 180, 181 
 
 Triumph of Franklin's party 16 
 
 True and absolute Proprietary 15 
 
 Van Etten,Capt. John, 232 ; journal 
 
 of 225 
 
 Vaux, Robert, on Thos. Penn 51 
 
 Voltaire on the Great Treaty 30 
 
 Walking purchase 65, 195, 201. 210 
 
 Walking, rapid Ill 
 
 Walk, beginning and end of, 100, 169, 
 212 ; distance of, 56, 104, 106. 109. 110, 
 168, 174, 211,214; expenses of. .55, 
 59, 106 ; errors on, 110 ; depositions, 
 123,211; inquiry concerning. 121, 
 123 ; postponed, 210 ; route of. Iu2 ; 
 results of, 113, 11/, 118 ; Marshall's 
 
 account 209 
 
 War of extermination waged 233, 2^ 
 
 Warner, Thomas 63, 102 
 
 Warrant of arrest for Thos. Penn....l^ 
 
 Warford's Rocks 25/ 
 
 Watson, John Jr., account of Walk. 
 
 115. 219 
 Watson. John, surveyor. 55. 63, 103, 
 
 115,207,245 
 Watson, John F., on grants. 77 ; in 
 
 error about Marshall 241 
 
 Weiser, Conrad 191, 193, 194, 2.33 
 
 Weiser. Nicholas, killed 227 
 
 Whilefield's purchase from Allen... 45 
 
 Wiggins. Benjamin 63, 102 
 
 Wilson, George, of Durham 93,212 
 
 AVitnesses on the Walk '. 123 
 
 Wood, Dr., on Thos. Penn 158 
 
 Wood's, John, land 65 
 
 Yates. James, 78, 83, 86, 93, 94,96, 104, 
 
 110, 168, 213 ; biographical sketch of..l84 
 Zeisberger, David, missionary. ...21, 200 
 Zinzeudorf, Count 46 
 
^ 
 

 A. 
 
 V '.^^^V^'"- 
 
 % J ^0 
 
 V 
 
 '^, 
 
 '^. 
 
 .V 
 
 ^s^ ^^^^ "^-^ -^° \^/ ^^^^ 
 
 ''^'^ittJi#^' 
 
 
 
 .'s 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^ » " • o 
 
 '^i?i=^.' 
 
 •> V, 
 
 
 
 v'^-^ 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 A 
 
 ' ^ J. ' • • * 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 
 ^.Ov- ^^> 
 
 
 .s 
 

 *\*?' > 
 
 'y- C^ 
 
 A. Cv 
 
 '^o 
 
 '<?- ^^b." 
 
 ^^C,^ 
 
 ,-^ 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 . V^'' 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 C^°^ 
 
 
 
 ,r^.?;^ 
 
 
 
 V^ 
 
 .c»' 
 
 4 CK 
 
 to ' 
 
 
 DOBBS BROS. 
 
 liailAHV ■INBINa 
 
 
 ' ST. AUGUSTINE , '%r C 
 
 <^. 
 
 S#' 32084 , <C 
 
 ,*^^' 
 
 
 aO-