1 I B R.AR.Y 
 
 OF THE 
 U N I VE.RSITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 9TA.T 
 
 ILL. HIST. SURVEY 
 

Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://archive.org/details/pennsylvanianewyOObrew 
 
The Pennsylvania and 
 New York Frontier 
 
 History of from 1720 to the 
 Close of the Revolution 
 
 by 
 WILLIAM BREWSTER 
 
 <ai 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 GEORGE S. MacMANUS COMPANY 
 1954 
 
Copyright, 1954, by 
 WILLIAM BREWSTER 
 
 All rights reserved. No part of this 
 
 book may be reproduced 
 
 without permission. 
 
 Printed by Theo. Gaus' Sons, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., U.S.A. 
 
Vis 7 ^ ^ S ^^ 
 
 h 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 4 
 
 "Chapter Page 
 
 FOREWORD V 
 
 I. Shamokin 1 
 
 II. Shikellimy and Conrad Weiser 9 
 
 III. The Great Lancaster Treaty 19 
 
 IV. Winning the West 26 
 
 V. The Albany Congress and Susquehanna Purchase . . 32 
 
 VI. The Frontier in 1754 41 
 
 VII. Sir William Johnson 49 
 
 VIII. The French Invasion 54 
 
 IX. Braddock's Defeat 62 
 
 X. The Battle of Lake George 68 
 
 XL Desolation of the Frontier 74 
 
 XII. Destruction of Oswego 83 
 
 XIII. The Frontier Forts 87 
 
 XIV. Fort William Henry Massacre 95 
 
 v 
 
 XV. 1758 102 
 
 XVI. End of French and Indian War 110 
 
 XVII. The Indian Uprising of 1763 (Pontiac's War) 115 
 
 XVIII. The Conestoga Murders 127 
 
 XIX. Friedenshuetten 133 
 
 XX. The Fort Stanwyx Treaty 143 
 
 ft XXI. The Fair Play Republic 147 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 XXII. CUSHIETUNK 151 
 
 XXIII. The Seventeen Townships 156 
 
 XXIV. TlCONDEROGA 165 
 
 XXV. Battle of Oriskany 169 
 
 XXVI. Burgoyne's Invasion 175 
 
 XXVII. The Wyoming Massacre 184 
 
 XXVIII. Frances Slocum 191 
 
 XXIX. The Cherry Valley Massacre 194 
 
 XXX. The Sullivan Expedition 198 
 
 XXXI. Southwestern Pennsylvania 206 
 
 XXXII. The Last Raids 210 
 
 Authorities 215 
 
 index 217 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Inasmuch, as no connected and complete history of the Pennsylvania 
 and New York frontier has been published, this work was undertaken. 
 
 The pioneer raised what he ate, made what he wore, doctored himself 
 and worshipped alone, if at all. His long, loose, fringed hunting shirt partly 
 covered his buckskin breeches ; and he had a rifle and carried a tomahawk 
 and scalping knife. He lived in a cabin of unhewn logs without windows or 
 floor, save the hard ground. Many of the pioneers were so poor, that with- 
 out horse or cow, they made their way into the woods and squatted in a 
 secluded cove of the mountains or on the fertile bend of an upland stream. 
 The sun never penetrated the dense foliage of the trees and warmed the 
 ground beneath ; and surrounded as they were by this unlit and unwarmed 
 forest land, late springs and early frosts blighted their scant crops of corn, 
 squashes and beans. 
 
 In New England, the adjoining townships, fully organized at the time 
 of settlement, with churches and schools, were closely knit together, insur- 
 ing mutual support and protection. The large plantations of Virginia were 
 located along the lowland rivers and these streams afforded easy access 
 and communication, and floated with the tide, the English tobacco ships 
 stocked with European luxuries. Only, across the mountains in the western 
 part of the colony, was there a limited frontier. 
 
 In New York, the fringe of land, on either side of the Hudson, the 
 seat of the great patroon estates, was fully settled and suffered no Indian 
 depredations, except during the New Netherland War, in 1643, and the 
 Esopus War fought in 1663, when Wildwyck, now Kingston, was sacked 
 and many of the inhabitants were killed and captured. Schenectady was 
 burned by the French and Indians in 1690, and sixty persons were killed 
 and twenty seven taken to Canada. Early in the Eighteenth Century, the 
 fertile lowlands along the Mohawk, above Schenectady, were occupied by 
 Dutch and Palatine settlers who established well ordered communities with 
 churches, schools, substantial buildings and carefully tilled farms. It was 
 not a region of isolation and poverty, but the proximity of Canada and the 
 imminence of French attack made it a frontier of danger. But, southward 
 across the divide on the headwaters of the Delaware and Susquehanna 
 rivers, a different condition prevailed. This vast country, extending north 
 and west of the Kittatinny mountains and from the Delaware river to 
 Shamokin (now Sunbury, Pennsylvania) and thence over the Allegheny 
 mountains to the confluence of the Ohio, was the real frontier of isolated 
 cabins and unprotected settlements. Although spreading over much of the 
 distinct colonies of New York and Pennsylvania, it was one territory by 
 
reason of interlinked events occurring and similar causes and conditions 
 prevailing. 
 
 Living in friendly alliance with the English settlers, were the Six 
 Nations and these valiant Indian people, comprising the Iroquois Con- 
 federacy, continually protected the northern colonies from French ag- 
 gression and made possible the English conquest of Canada. The desolation 
 of the frontier was provoked by the French and committed by their Indian 
 allies, mostly of the Algonquian stock. Any comprehensible history of the 
 frontier must recount the intermingled lives and fortunes of the settlers and 
 Iroquoian people. 
 
 In compiling this work, the writer has visited the present Iroquois 
 reservations, the various battlefields, the sites of most of the fortifications 
 and scenes related ; and has relied, mainly, on the written works of contem- 
 porary actors, and the public records contained in the Dutch, French, 
 English and Colonial archives. The period covered is from about 1720, 
 when settlement commenced to the close of the Revolution after which the 
 savagery of this frontier borderland was succeeded by the culture and 
 progress of peace. 
 
 W. B. 
 
 VI 
 
CHAPTER ONE 
 
 SHAMOKIN 
 
 Long before the English settled there, the confluence of the Susque- 
 hanna was the site of the Indian town of Shamokin. 1 It was not unlike 
 other native villages of the time, and was squalid and dirty and inhabited, 
 mostly, by dissolute and roving Indians. Some historians have called it the 
 vice-regal capital of the Six Nations, which is an exaggeration, as the 
 Iroquois Confederacy had no kings and vice-roys and none of the trappings 
 of royalty. 2 Yet, in a sense and for a time, Shamokin was the most impor- 
 tant Indian town in the Province of Pennsylvania; and this importance 
 was due to the natural situation of the place and the conquests and policies 
 of the Six Nations. 
 
 These Six Nations were the conquerors of the continent. No other 
 Indians, north of Mexico ever equalled them. By rivers, lakes and trails, 
 through the forests and over the prairies, their relentless and valiant war- 
 riors pushed their way to the Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi ; and their 
 roving bands had for generations trodden deep the great warpath, which 
 led, from Onondaga, their capital, to the Tennessee. Their business was 
 war and government. 
 
 They subjugated, not only, their kindred people, Eries, Hurons, Neu- 
 trals and Andastees ; but also the surrounding and alien tribes. From Lake 
 Huron to Quebec, down the Delaware and Susquehanna to the sea, 
 through the mountains to Carolina and Tennessee and westward to the 
 Mississippi, all lay in their path of conquest ; and most of this vast region, 
 they governed by the great council of their sachems at Onondaga. 
 
 There is a natural reason why the Romans ruled the world ; and also 
 why the Six Nations conquered and governed. The situation and aspect of 
 the country they occupied, the sufficiency of the clothing they wore and 
 the abundance of food which sustained them made the Iroquois a mighty 
 people. 3 Their homeland was central New York, in the fertile valleys of 
 the Mohawk and Genesee and about the beautiful lakes, the warmth of 
 whose waters tempered the severity of the climate. The richness, of the 
 soil with moderate labor, yielded an abundance of vegetables, fruit and 
 corn ; and the wild regions of the Adirondacks and the Endless Mountains 
 of Pennsylvania 4 to the south afforded a sufficiency of furs for their rai- 
 ment and meat for their sustenance. Situated, as they were, adjacent to the 
 
 1 
 
Great Lakes and on the headwaters of the Delaware, Susquehanna and 
 Ohio rivers, they dominated the open roads of travel to the lands they 
 conquered. 
 
 The celebrated "long house" was the dwelling place of the Iroquois, 
 and it symbolized their confederacy and government. The building con- 
 sisted of a frame work of long vertical poles bedded in the ground, bent 
 and bound together at the top, so as to make an oval roof ; and these were 
 strengthened by lateral poles lashed to them by ropes of slippery elm 
 bark. It was covered with long, lapped strips of bark fastened to it by a 
 similar outer frame work and thongs of slippery elm. The house was about 
 eighty feet long and seventeen feet wide. It was without windows or open- 
 ings in the sides and was entered at both ends. The interior was divided 
 by a six foot passage way, upon which fires were made, the smoke escap- 
 ing through holes made in the roof. On both sides of this way, were long 
 pole platforms covered with bark, the lower one was about a foot above 
 the ground and the upper one some five feet above it. These platforms 
 were divided by bark partitions into compartments, about eight feet long. 
 Each compartment housed a single family, and some twenty families were 
 accommodated in the building. 5 
 
 These long houses were irregularly arranged in palisaded villages, 
 containing two or three thousand people. Around the village were garden 
 plots allotted to each family, and upon which were raised crops of corn, 
 squashes, melons and beans, which together with maple sugar, dried berries, 
 fish and game comprised the principal articles of diet. 
 
 The Indian utensils were few, knives, axes and tomahawks made of 
 stone, bone awls and neeedles, and cooking vessels made of burned clay. 
 Their greatest implement was the bow and arrow. The bow was between 
 three and four feet long, and the arrows of various lengths were pointed 
 with bone, horn or flint. At its string end were set feathers, which passed 
 around its opposite side in a twist so as to make it twirl in its flight, like a 
 revolving bullet and add effectiveness to the shot. 6 The canoe was next in 
 importance and usually made of birch bark, in one piece, stitched with bark 
 thread to a light framework pointed at both ends. Canoes ranged in size 
 from twelve to forty feet in length, with capacities of from two to thirty 
 persons. 
 
 The Indians clothed themselves with deer skins upon which the fur 
 remained and wore moccasins of tanned deer skin on their feet. 
 
 The Iroquois were great gamblers and in their games, the warriors 
 often wagered away their entire possessions. 
 
 In their social organization and government, the Iroquois manifested 
 their marvellous genius. The basis of their social organization was the 
 family, which developed into the clan, every member of which was supposed 
 to be descended from the same mother. The clans were designated by 
 totems, usually animals ; and among the Iroquois, there were the following 
 clans : Bear, Wolf, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Hawk and Heron. All 
 marriages were exogamous, that is without the clan. Thus, a man of the 
 Bear clan could not marry a woman of that clan, but might marry one, of 
 
another clan, belonging to his own tribe or another tribe. Inheritance was 
 in the female line and the children belonged to the mother and inherited 
 her privileges, name and clan, but nothing descended from the father. This 
 arrangement insured absolute purity of blood, as the mother is always 
 known and the father sometimes uncertain and only the reputed sire. The 
 relationship of individuals was classified by certain names. All the women 
 in the clan of the same generation were regarded and called sisters and 
 their children, all called brothers and sisters, regarded these various women 
 as their mothers. All the men in the clan of the same generation as the 
 mother were designated as her brothers, but the children called them uncles. 
 The reputed father was called father, and all the men of his generation and 
 clan were called stepfathers ; and all the women aunts and their children 
 cousins. This relationship extended to the members of the same clan in 
 all the tribes ; and it constituted a kindred of clans and not of tribes and 
 bound the Iroquois Confederacy together by the indissoluble tie of blood. 
 
 These clans were united in tribes or nations viz, Mohawks, Oneidas, 
 Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas, originally the Five Nations, but by the 
 admission of the Tuscaroras in 1715, they became the Six Nations. They 
 formed a union, variously called by Europeans, the United Nations, the 
 League of the Iroquois and the Iroquois Confederacy. 
 
 Each clan was represented, in the tribal councils and the great council 
 of the confederacy, by a sachem, an inheritable office in the female line. 
 Accordingly, the son of a sachem never became sachem, the office being 
 inherited by the deceased sachem's brother or nephew descended from the 
 same mother. The Mohawks had nine sachems, the Oneidas nine, the 
 Onondagas fourteen, the Cayugas ten and the Senecas eight, making a 
 total of fifty ; but, as two vacancies among the Mohawks were never filled, 
 actually forty eight sachems constituted the great council at Onondaga. 
 
 The council at Onondaga, which governed the greater part of the 
 territory east of the Mississippi, was in appearance no imperial Roman 
 Senate. It was only a conclave of forty eight half naked, greasy savages 
 squatted ape like on the ground around a smoky fire built in the center of a 
 dingy bark; structure "the great long house," the capitol of the Iroquois 
 Confederacy. 
 
 The proceedings were in the nature of negotiations, and decisions were 
 not made by a majority, as in other parliamentary bodies, but by the assent 
 of all the sachems. The results were powerfully influenced by the orators, 
 men of remarkable eloquence ; and the wampum keepers, 7 men with prodi- 
 gious memories who when called upon, recited the history, laws and cus- 
 toms of the people. As assistance to memory, they fingered variously marked 
 and colored strings of wampum. Their government was aristocratic, but it 
 was not based on wealth or landed property. It was an aristocracy of blood. 
 The sachem was as poor, as the meanest member of his clan, and enjoyed 
 no advantages, except the great privilege of government. To counteract 
 the evils of an aristocracy and popularize the government, the chiefs, men 
 of great abilities, were elected, by the people, in the tribal councils. They 
 had much influence, but exercised no voice in the actual determinations. 
 
Religion had little effect in moulding the manners, methods and morals 
 of the Iroquois. They were, only, superstitious animists, with traces of 
 polytheism in their later development. If they had any deity, it was the 
 sun. The conception of the Great Spirit was the introduction of the Jesuit 
 missionaries, and as it corresponded, to an extent, with their awe of the 
 sun, they readily adopted it. 8 
 
 It is improbable, that at any time, the Iroquois Confederacy numbered 
 more than 20,000 and perhaps not over 15,000 members. Yet, they con- 
 quered and destroyed tribes much more numerous. Some of their captives, 
 they spared and adopted, some they burned alive and others they quartered, 
 cooked, and ate with great relish. Infants were roasted on spits, like little 
 pigs and eaten before their agonized mothers. 9 
 
 The Iroquois had no notion of nations, alliances, leagues and con- 
 federacies, appelations, Europeans used in describing them. Among them- 
 selves, they were simply Ho-de-no-sau-nee, the people of the long house. 
 
 In 1675, the Andastees or Susquehannocks succumbed to the Iroquois 
 and lost all their territories along the Susquehanna river and its tributaries. 
 About 1682, the Five Nations put petticoats on the Lenni Lenape (Dela- 
 ware Indians), i.e. made women of them and took their lands lying in 
 the eastern part of Pennsylvania. The Iroquois made no use of these con- 
 quered lands, except to sell them to the English colonies of Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland and Virginia. Ostensibly to manage the Shawnee Indians, a sub- 
 ject people living along the Susquehanna, but actually to look after this 
 territory and negotiate with the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania, 
 the Great Council at Onondaga, in 1728, sent Shikellimy to Shamokin. 
 
 At the junction of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna, 
 Shamokin was the superbly situated entrance to the great Iroquois empire 
 of the south and west. The waters, of these rivers after long and torturous 
 courses through the hills of New York and the mountains of Pennsylvania, 
 flow as placid streams to their union in the great river which bears them 
 to the sea. An extending and undulating plain rising, from the Northumber- 
 land shore, separates the approaching rivers. From the narrow intervale on 
 the southerly bank of the Susquehanna, the long range, of eastern moun- 
 tains, ascends to a lofty and gloomy height ; and high on the abrupt cliff 
 which rises from the verge of the western stream, "Shikellimy's face," like 
 a sentinel faces the north. 10 
 
 The forks of the Susquehanna was a place of more importance to the 
 Iroquois, than to the other people who have resided there. The extreme 
 sources of the North Branch are but a few miles south of the then Upper 
 Castle of the Mohawks ; and a tributary, the Unadilla drains the lands 
 assigned to the Tuscaroras. The Chenango, joining the Susquehanna at 
 Binghamton, runs through the Oneida territory and its main branch, the 
 Tioughnioga reaches the uplands overlooking the Onondaga valley. The 
 southern boundary of the Cayugas was the Susquehanna and Tioga river 
 (now Chemung) ; and into the latter flows the Cohocton river, which rises 
 in the lands, then, possessed by the Senecas. Figuratively speaking, an 
 
Indian, of any of the nations, could board his canoe, at his own door-step, 
 and float down these waters to Shamokin. 
 
 But, to reach the place, the Iroquois were not confined to the rivers, 
 for like the roads to Rome, from Shamokin radiated the great warpaths 
 of the Six Nations. A warpath led through the forest, usually the shortest 
 distance between two places, irrespective of natural impediments ; and was 
 from twelve to eighteen inches wide and worn about a foot deep. The main 
 highways and railroads of today follow nearly the courses of these old 
 warpaths. 
 
 The principal highway to the Ohio region was the great Shamokin 
 path, which ran up the east side of the West Branch and over the Alle- 
 ghenies; and was accessible to the Senecas by the Tioga river and a trail 
 through the mountains. Diverging from it were two by-paths leading to 
 Shickshinny. The Wyalusing path intersected the Shamokin trail at the 
 mouth of Muncy creek, which it followed to its source, crossed the Loyal- 
 sock near the present Dushore and went down Sugar Run to Wyalusing. 
 The great Sheshequin path began near the mouth of the Loyalsock, passed 
 to Lycoming creek and by it ran to the present hamlet of Grover, thence 
 to Towanda creek, which it followed to West Franklin, went through the 
 hills to Sugar creek and down it to a point a little above Towanda. It was 
 the most direct route from Shamokin to Onondaga. The Wyoming path, 
 intersected by the former trails, ran up the west side of the North Branch 
 to Wyoming and thence to Tioga Point. The Catawissa path led from 
 Shamokin by way of Roaring creek to the Indian town of Catawissa. The 
 route to Philadelphia was by the Tulpehocken path and led from Shamokin 
 over the mountains to the present Pine Grove on Swatara creek and 
 thence to the Tulpehocken settlements. The southern trails to Maryland, 
 Virginia and the Carolinas were the Paxtang path leading down the east 
 side of the Susquehanna ; and the Susquehanna path which went down 
 the west side of the river to the mouth of the Juniata. The Tuscarora path 
 ran from Shamokin to the present Mifflintown and thence followed the 
 Juniata to Standing Stone now Huntington. 11 
 
 By the rivers and these trails, there was a complete system of com- 
 munication from Shamokin ; and by them messages were carried, as swiftly, 
 by the Indian runners, as by mounted couriers in Europe, at that time. 
 
 In the play of imagination, we may dimly see, again, these fleet 
 messengers of the forests. There are two of them and they carry in their 
 minds, the orders of the Great Council of the Iroquois. Guiding their way 
 by the sun and the stars, they have come in almost a bee line from Onon- 
 daga to Sheshequin. They are young and tall and finely formed and their 
 hardened muscles sustain incredible endurance. They can run from a 
 hundred to a hundred and fifty miles a day, but since childhood, they have 
 been trained for this. They are as naked as nature made them, save the 
 breech-cloths they wear and the moccasins on their feet. It is fall but they 
 plunge into the chilling waters of the Susquehanna, swollen wide over its 
 lowlands and swim to the western shore. There in autumn's fading sun, 
 they dry and rest themselves with a few hours of needed sleep, but long 
 
before its setting beyond the Towanda hills, they are up and on, again, 
 along the great Sheshequin path, which leads through the mountains, over 
 dank forest mould unturned since the verdure began, through open uplands 
 of oak, maple and beech and dark intervals of hemlock, spruce and pine. 
 At a spring by the path, they refresh themselves with lumps of maple 
 sugar and a few kernels of parched corn. Running one after the other, they 
 never speak and the soft rhythm of their footfalls is the only noise they 
 make. The awful loneliness of forest darkness descends and the stillness of 
 the night is only broken by a prowling panthers' screams and the weird 
 moaning of the trees. At a fork in the path, they stop and search the 
 heavens for the Pleiades which always guide them right. By the moonlit 
 sky, they swim the swift, swollen, sullen Loyalsock and warm themselves 
 from the water's chill, by a quickened pace. With heads bent low, knotted 
 muscles and swaying arms and falling feet in perfect time, they run on 
 with the mountain tumbled waters of the West Branch, now flowing tran- 
 quilly to their union in the great river which bears them to the sea. At the 
 break of day, they speak their message to Shikellimy at Shamokin. 
 
 Well would, we leave the tale of the trails with the romance of the 
 runners ; but along them were enacted scenes of toil, blood and anguish. 
 Migratory bands of Indians passed over them, the warriors striding freely 
 forth, bearing only their bows and arrows, followed by toiling and sweating 
 squaws bent low under back breaking burdens, the luggage of the tribe. 
 Painted warriors went down these paths with such incredible speed, that 
 it took only five days from Onondaga to reach the unspecting foe in the 
 Carolina mountains ; and they returned with strings of dangling scalps and 
 long trains of heartbroken captives bearing the spoils of their victory. 
 
 The first mention, in the colonial records, of Shamokin was made in 
 1728, where it was called Chenasky. 12 At that time, James Le Tort, an 
 Indian trader had his store located in what is now Northumberland. 
 Shamokin was the name applied to the present Sunbury and Northumber- 
 land also the adjacent region on the West Branch. 13 In 1743, when John 
 Bartram, the botanist visited it, there were only eight cabins 14 but the 
 Rev. David Brainerd, in 1745, described it as a town, lying on the east 
 and west shores of the river, and containing upwards of fifty houses and 
 three hundred inhabitants. 15 These were Iroquois, Delawares and Shawnees 
 of the Algonquian stock, and Sapoini and Tutelos, Siouxan people. They 
 were mostly a roving, drunken, ruffianly population of Indians. Sometimes, 
 the town was filled with these mischievous fellows and at other times 
 practically deserted. Its importance was not due to them, but because it 
 was a tarrying and distributing place of the Six Nations and the residence 
 of Shikellimy. 
 
 Shamokin was the residence of another renowned Indian, Sassoonan 
 also called Allummapees, the principal chief of the Delaware Indians, who 
 was said to have been son of the great chief Tamany. He is first mentioned, 
 in the colonial records, in 1712 ; 16 and thereafter, he was treated with the 
 greatest consideration by the Pennsylvania government and esteemed as a 
 friend of the English. But after 1728, the records indicate, the Proprietary 
 
authorities realized, that the Delawares were bereft of all real power ; and 
 that the important Indian in Pennsylvania was Shikellimy, whose good 
 graces were ever after courted, with all courtesy and kindness. However, 
 Allummapees continued as an instrument to bring Indian complaints to 
 the Council and to keep the Delawares settled in eastern Pennsylvania 
 under the watchful eyes of the Iroquois and the Proprietary government. 
 The old chief was a drunkard and this impaired his influence and authority. 
 Conrad Weiser, in July, 1747, wrote of him: "Allummapees would have 
 resigned his crown before this but has the keeping of the public treasure 
 (council bag) consisting of belts of wampum, from which he buys liquor 
 and has been drunk for 2 or 3 years almost constantly, and it is thought 
 he won't die as long as there is one single wampum left in the bag." The 
 bag must have, then, been about empty as he died in the following Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 No account of Shamokin is complete, without reference to the Mora- 
 vian missionaries and their activities there. Count Zinzendorf, head of 
 the church visited the place in September, 1742. Among the missionaries, 
 who labored there, were Post, Pyrlaeus and Zeisberger. The first regular 
 ones were Martin Mack and his wife, Jeanette ; and Mack, in his auto- 
 biography, (Memorials of the Moravian Church Vol. 1) notes: "In 
 September, 1745, my wife and I were sent to Shamokin, the very seat of 
 the Prince of Darkness. During the four months, we resided there we 
 were in constant danger and there was scarcely a night but we 
 were compelled to leave our hut and hide in the woods from fear of the 
 drunken savages." 
 
 As early as 1734, the Indians importuned the colonial authorities to 
 supply them with a blacksmith at Shamokin, but it seems nothing was 
 done. The Moravians, who displayed more wisdom, in their work among 
 the Indians, than any other missionaries, except the Jesuits, evidently 
 realized, that the average Indian was more interested in saving his gun, 
 than his soul ; and accordingly they sent the Indians, a smith and thereby 
 garnered many converts. 
 
 Shamokin was the principal Indian town in Pennsylvania, from 1728 
 until shortly after the death of Shikellimy. After 1750, eastern Pennsyl- 
 vania was inhabited mostly by homeless, roving, transient bands of Indians, 
 who with accessions of their kinsmen from the west, now and then, ravaged 
 and plundered the frontier. The outbreak of the French and Indian War, 
 the defeat of Braddock and the subtle influence of the French undermined 
 the power of the Iroquois over the subject tribes. The Shawnees and many 
 of the Delawares fled over the mountains and joined the French. The 
 Indians abandoned and burned Shamokin in 1755 or early in 1756, leaving 
 no vestige of their past, and no reminder there of the power and dominion 
 of the Iroquois. 
 
NOTES— CHAPTER ONE 
 
 1. Pa. Archs. Vol. 1, pages 210 to 214; Col. Recs. 3, 394; Isaac Taylor's Map; 
 Address of John H. Carter, Vol. 5, Proceedings of Northumberland Historical 
 Society. 
 
 2. General Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Indian and sachem, who was on Grant's 
 staff, during the Civil War, wrote in 1884: "The words sachem, chief, queen, 
 princes have been promiscuously and interchangeably used. The term sagamore has 
 been confined wholly to New England. To use other terms, such as king, prince 
 or princess, is preposterous and presumptuous, considering the total absence among 
 these people of the paraphernalia, belongings and dignity of royalty." Quoted in 
 Harvey's History of Wilkes-Barre, Vol. 1, page 124. 
 
 3. See Buckle, "History of Civilization," Chapter 2, for effects of climate, 
 soil, food, etc., in development of races 
 
 4. Northern mountains of Pennsylvania, so called by early map makers. 
 
 5. John Bartram, "Observations in Travels from Pennsylvania to Onondaga, 
 pages 40, 41, reprint Rochester 1895. 
 
 6. The writer has a bow and arrows made and given him, some years ago, 
 by a modern Seneca, living on the Alleghany reservation, which almost correspond 
 with the ancient ones; and which the maker could shoot with great skill and with 
 such power as to carry the arrow, with accuracy, a long distance. 
 
 7. "League of the Iroquois," Vol. 1, page 114; also Appendix B, pages 245, 
 248, Note 83, Wampum keeper. The writer, in 1945, while on a visit to the Onondaga 
 Reservation, was shown five strings of reading wampum of the Oneida Nation, by 
 Adam Thomas, an Oneida residing there, who said he was the official wampum 
 keeper of that tribe. Mr. Thomas was unable to read it, and said the last Indian at 
 Onondaga, who could do so, was Thomas Webster, who, in 1891, was beguiled 
 into selling the Onondaga wampum, which resulted in a celebrated law suit for its 
 recovery. The case is reported in 61, N. Y. Supplement page 1027; 65 N. Y. Supple- 
 ment page 1014; and U. S. Reports, No. 189, page 306. 
 
 8. "League of the Iroquois," Appendix B, page 233 for a later view of the 
 religion of the Iroquois, wherein a statement by Clark, in his "Indian Sign Language," 
 that "they were limited pantheists," is quoted with approval. The writer's opinion 
 is that they were not pantheists in any sense. They had no conception, that God 
 is the universe or the universe is God, i.e. none of a God as conceived by the 
 pantheists. They were like most primitive people, purely and simply, animists, believ- 
 ing in spirits or shadows, which departed from their carnal selves at death; and 
 sometimes entered into either animate or inanimate objects, which thus endowed, 
 exercised a benign or evil influence. (See E. B. Tylor, "Primitive Culture," for gen- 
 eral discussion of animism and beliefs of the Iroquois) Rev. David Brainerd, the 
 celebrated missionary said: (Memoirs pages 344 to 351) "It is certain that those 
 who yet remain pagans, pay some kind of superstitious reverence to beasts, birds, 
 fishes and even reptiles; that is some to one kind of animal, and some to another. 
 They give much heed to dreams, because they suppose these invisible powers give 
 them directions at such times about certain affairs, and sometimes inform them 
 what animal they would choose to be worshipped in." 
 
 9. Parkman, "The Jesuits, 247, 248; Vimont, Jesuit Relations 1642. 
 
 10. Shikellimy's face. Natural contour of the rock, resembling a human face. 
 
 11. "The Great Shamokin Path and Other Indian Trails," by Charles Fisher 
 Snyder in Proceedings of Northumberland Historical Society, Vol. 14, 1944; Sketch 
 of the Indian Trails of Pennsylvania by George P. Donehoo, in Wyoming Historical 
 and Geological Society, Report, Vol. 17, 1919. 
 
 12. Pa. Archs, Vol. 1, 219. 
 
 13. Col. Recs. 3, 295; Map of Isaac Taylor. 
 
 14. Observations of Bartram, 14. 
 
 15. Memoirs of Brainerd, 162 to 165. 
 
 16. Col. Recs., Vol. 2, pages 546 to 557. 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
 
 SHIKELLIMY AND CONRAD WEISER 
 
 For nearly twenty years, Indian relations and land sales 1 , 2 were 
 directed by Shikellimy and Conrad Weiser, In the exercise of tactful gov- 
 ernment, in the skill of transforming hostility into obedience, and in the 
 art of subtle negotiation, Shikellimy was the greatest representative of the 
 Iroquois Confederacy. Little is known of his early life, save vague tradi- 
 tions. There is, however, one contemporary record of unquestioned veracity. 
 John Bartram, the celebrated botanist, in 1743, made a journey to Onon- 
 daga, and noted in his diary, speaking of Shamokin, "Shikellimy, the chief 
 man there was of the Six Nations, or rather a Frenchman born at Montreal 
 and adopted by the Oneidas, after being taken prisoner. 3 The reasonable 
 conclusion is that Bartram 's informant was Shikellimy; and Bartram's 
 statement is corroborated by what Shikellimy told the Moravians, that he 
 was baptized by a Roman Catholic priest in Canada. 4 
 
 In the colonial records he is called : Swataney, alias Shekalleamy, one 
 of the chiefs of the Oneidas ; 5 Shikellimy, alias Swantane Oneida chief of 
 the Wolf clan ; 6 and Shicalamy, Shukellimus, Chicalamy, Shikellimo. It 
 may be presumed, he grew up in one of the lonely villages of the Oneidas, 
 and became an Indian in manners, language and thought, if not in visage. 
 The Great Council at Onondaga, recognized his sagacity, when it selected 
 him, as its representative among the turbulent tribes, living along the 
 Susquehanna. 
 
 All agree he was an honest man, a faithful friend, given to acts of 
 hospitality and never addicted to strong drink, because as he said, "he 
 never wished to become a fool. 7 
 
 In the minutes of the Council, October 10, 1728, he is first mentioned, 
 it being noted among those present was "Shikellima of the five nations": 
 and on the following day, that "presents be given to Madame Montour and 
 her husband Carandowna, and likewise Shikellima of the five Nations 
 appointed to reside among the Shawanese, whose services had been and 
 may yet be of great advantage to the government." 8 This implies that he 
 was then governor of the Shawnees ; but it was not until 1745, he was 
 given complete control of the subject tribes in Pennsylvania. 9 Shikellimy 
 was engaged to invite the Six Nations to Philadelphia ; 10 and on delivering 
 their answer, December 10, 1731, he formally introduced Conrad Weiser 
 
to the Provincial Council, as his interpreter. 11 Thenceforth, these two 
 men guided Indian negotiations with the Pennsylvania government. 
 
 Shikellimy first resided at what was called " Shikellimy 's old town," 
 located on the east or west side of the West Branch, below the present 
 Milton 12 but in 1738, he removed to Shamokin, where he lived in a 
 squalid Indian cabin, until 1744, when Conrad Weiser built him a log 
 house forty nine and a half feet long and seventeen and a half feet wide, 
 which was covered with shingles. 13 In this rather roomy and substantial 
 house, he probably lived until he died. Shikellimy, although one of the 
 greatest Indians, who ever lived, was always poor. He raised his patch 
 of corn and beans and hunted and fished for a living. His wife was a 
 Cayuga woman and they were parents of a notable family. There were 
 daughters and a son Arahpot called "Unhappy Jake" who was killed in 
 the Catawba war in 1744 ; 14 but the famous sons were, Taghneghdoarus, 
 known as John Shikellimy who succeeded his father; 15 and Tah-gah-jute, 
 the celebrated Logan. 16 Logan, after serving the English in many ways, 
 removed to the Ohio region, and there in 1774, his whole family was 
 murdered in cold blood, in an unprovoked attack by a company of white 
 adventurers led by Captain Michael Cresap and Daniel Greathouse. 
 
 Although, Logan, never before, had lifted his hand against the whites 
 and had befriended them in many ways, in the war which ensued, he 
 avenged himself, in a terrible manner, ravaging the frontier without mercy. 
 When the Indians were defeated, Logan refused to sue for peace; but 
 instead, sent, by a messenger, to Lord Dunmore, Governor of Virginia, a 
 celebrated address, one of the gems of oratory and because of its excellence, 
 it is quoted as follows : 17 
 
 "I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin 
 hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever, he came cold and naked and he 
 clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan 
 remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for 
 the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said 
 'Logan is the friend of white men.' I had even thought to have lived with 
 you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in 
 cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, not even 
 sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in 
 the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought 
 it ; I have killed many ; I have glutted my vengeance ; for my country I 
 rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor a thought, that mine is 
 the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save 
 his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ?Not one." 
 
 The concluding years of Shikellimy's life were spent in poverty and 
 distress. Conrad Weiser, in October, 1747, found him and his family nearly 
 dead with the fever and in abject poverty. Due to Weiser 's ministrations, 18 
 they were relieved. Shikellimy, somewhat recovered, made his last visit to 
 Philadelphia, the coming spring; 19 but in June, Weiser reported he was 
 again "sick and like to loose his eye sight." 20 
 
 In December, he was able to visit the Moravians at Bethlehem ; but 
 
 10 
 
while returning was stricken with his fatal illness, and "died at Shamokin, 
 December 17, 1748, in the presence of a daughter and the missionary, 
 David Zeisberger, who had attended him in his illness. Several days after 
 his decease, his second son, Logan returned home from a far-off journey 
 to weep over the lifeless body of the parent he so much esteemed. The 
 Brethren, Zeisberger and Henry Fry made him a coffin, and the Indians 
 having painted the corpse in gay colors and decked it with the choicest 
 ornaments carried the remains of the honored chieftan to the burial place 
 of his fathers on the banks of the winding river." 21 
 
 About 1860, in making exhumations at Sunbury and not far from the 
 Susquehanna, what was thought to be his remains were found with a 
 large number of trinkets and portions of a wooden coffin. There has been 
 erected, on the site of the find, a large boulder monument with a suitable 
 inscription to the memory of Shikellimy. 22 
 
 Conrad Weiser was born, November 2, 1696, at Affstat, Wurtemburg. 
 His father, a prosperous baker at Gross Aspach, was ruined by the French 
 invasion ; and disheartened by the death of his wife, with eight of his chil- 
 dren, left the stricken land and joined the Palatine refugees in London, 
 who were being fed by Queen Anne of England. 23 Accompanying four 
 thousand other refugees, Weiser and his motherless children arrived in 
 New York, June 13, 1710. With many others, he was sent to Livingston 
 Manor to labor in the tar making business, established there by Governor 
 Hunter of New York. They were nearly starved by Robert Livingston, a 
 scheming politician, who had the contract to feed them, and rose in revolt. 
 Many, under the leadership of John Conrad Weiser, fled to the Schoharie 
 region, on the extreme New York frontier, where there was fertile land. 
 The Mohawks Indians allotted them sufficient lands, there, for the estab- 
 lishment of seven villages, one of which was called Weiser-dorf. 
 
 Exasperated by the failure of his tar business, which he attributed to 
 the insubordination of the Palatines, Hunter granted the Schoharie lands, 
 which they had occupied and improved, to their old task master, Robert 
 Livingston and seven other New York land grabbers, who began to evict 
 them. But, the Germans, with an anger engendered by despair and led by 
 old John Conrad Weiser rose in revolt. The sheriff came to Schoharie to 
 arrest him, but the angry women, with resolute Magdalena Zeh at their 
 head, seized the sheriff and dragged him through the manure of their 
 barnyards, rode him on a rail and so chastised him, that he fled in fear, 
 rage and humiliation to the security of Albany. In 1718, the Schoharie 
 settlers sent John Conrad Weiser as, their agent to London, to secure relief 
 from the English government, but he accomplished nothing except to get 
 himself in jail. 
 
 Worn out by their oppressions, the less resolute of the Palatines com- 
 promised with the land grabbers and retained their farms at Schoharie, 
 where their descendants remain to this day. Others removed to German 
 Flats and Stone Arabia in the Mohawk Valley; and in the spring of 1723, 
 some of them built themselves rafts at the headwaters of the Susquehanna 
 and floated down that river to the mouth of Swatara/ creek and located in 
 
 11 
 
the Tulpehocken valley in Pennsylvania. As Conrad Weiser states in his 
 autobiography, that his father did not return from England until November 
 1723, and the Palatines left for Tulpehocken in the spring, John Conrad 
 Weiser, as has been thought, was not one of them. In fact, he did not 
 come to Pennsylvania, until shortly before his death, which occurred at 
 the home of his son Conrad at Tulpehocken in 1746. 24 
 
 In the fall of 1713, young Conrad Weiser was placed, by his father, in 
 the home of Quagnant, a Mohawk chief in order that he might learn the 
 Mohawk language; and, during the years he remained at Schoharie, his 
 continued intercourse with the Indians made Conrad Weiser, the greatest 
 European master of the Iroquoian tongue. Conrad Weiser was married at 
 Schoharie to "my Ann Eve," as he called her in his autobiography. There 
 has been much conjecture, as to her origin, even among members of the 
 Weiser family; but we may rely on the statement of her son-in-law, the 
 Rev. H. M. Muhlenburg, that she was a German maiden and Christian 
 of evangelical parentage. Mr. Wallace, in his ''Life of Conrad Weiser/' 
 says her maiden name was Feck or Feg, and that she was the daughter 
 of John Peter Feck or Feg and Anna Maria his wife. 2 ^ 
 
 During the Schoharie troubles, young Conrad was in the Albany jail, 
 for a short time, because of his participation in the resistance. In 1729, he 
 with his wife and four children left Schoharie and settled on the farm, 
 where he erected the substantial stone house still standing at Womelsdorf. 
 After his removal, he made the acquaintance of Shikellimy, who gave him 
 his great opportunity in engaging him as his interpreter and introducing 
 him to the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. Like many other men of 
 ability and common sense he seems to have possessed a vein of religious 
 fanaticism or mysticism, which in the ensuing years led him into strange 
 vagaries. He acted as a lay Lutheran preacher, flirted with the Moravians, 
 and about 1740, in company with the scholar, Peter Miller, joined the 
 religious community at Ephrata, led by Conrad Beissel. After making 
 himself ridiculous, letting his beard grow an enormous length and attempt- 
 ing to become one of the lay monks, Weiser discovered the imposture and 
 in a stinging epistle severed his connection with that eccentric organiza- 
 tion. 26 
 
 Shikellimy had already won the confidence of James Logan, secretary 
 of the Council and brains of the Proprietary Government of Pennsylvania. 
 At their first meeting, the fluency with which Weiser interpreted the 
 answer of the Iroquois and the confidence Shikellimy reposed in him con- 
 vinced Logan, that he was the ideal interpreter. 
 
 Before Shikellimy came to Shamokin, the government did not realize 
 the extent of Iroquois control of the various tribes. Logan had sedulously 
 courted the Delaware chief, Allummapees and his nephews, Opekasset and 
 Saskawatlin, but found them, only rotten props of his Indian policy. Ope- 
 kasset died and the old chief killed Saskawatlin in a drunken brawl. More- 
 over, it was apparent, the Delawares had no power, and that their land 
 sales were without validity. Now, Logan had two fit instruments, Weiser, 
 a shrewd, honest German ; and Shikellimy, who represented a well ordered 
 
 12 
 
government, and whose mark of the Turtle clan carried more authority over 
 the fickle Delawares and the treacherous Shawnees, than Pennsylvania had 
 ever possessed. 
 
 As all men are actuated by self interest, so were Shikellimy and 
 Conrad Weiser. The latter was enriched by the emoluments he received 
 as agent and interpreter for Pennsylvania, whose interests he served with 
 foresight, zeal and integrity; and yet, so that he never betrayed the trust 
 of the Iroquois, who declared in their figurative language, that they had 
 divided him into two parts, one part for Pennsylvania and one for them- 
 selves. Shikellimy was always able to maintain the rights and privileges of 
 the Iroquois and not compromise his honor by accepting the presents of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 In response to the invitation, five chiefs representing the Senecas, 
 Cayugas and Oneidas visited Philadelphia, in August, 1732, and a treaty 
 of friendly alliance was made, whereby the Iroquois agreed they would 
 return all escaped negro slaves and remove the Delawares and Shawnees 
 from the Ohio region to the Susquehanna valley, and away from the French 
 influence. The most significant provision of the treaty was the stipulation, 
 that "the road from Philadelphia to the towns of the Six Nations should 
 be kept clear, so that Conrad Weiser and Shikellimy shall travel that road 
 between us and you, who will speak our minds and yours to each other 
 truly and freely." 27 
 
 How these two tactful men carried on, may be inferred from the 
 colonial records. Whenever, Pennsylvania desired something, Weiser con- 
 ferred with Shikellimy, who ascertained the attitude of the Council at 
 Onondaga ; and thus forewarned, Weiser was able to shape the request. It 
 is evident, he inspired the speeches, written by James Logan and later by 
 Richard Peters, the dominant factors in the government, and delivered 
 at the formal conferences with the Indian chiefs. Likewise, Shikellimy, 
 after learning the views of the Pennsylvania government, transmitted to 
 him by Weiser, was able to mould the decisions of the Iroquois council ; 
 but in doing so, he relied largely on the telling arguments of the constant 
 and mutual friend of Weiser and himself, Canassatego, the great Indian 
 orator at Onondaga. 
 
 In September, 1736, nineteen Seneca, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and 
 Tuscarora chiefs and many other Indians were escorted by Weiser to 
 Logan's home at Stenton, where preliminary conferences were held. This 
 treaty, the most important, yet, made with Pennsylvania, was resumed, in 
 the Great Meeting House at Philadelphia, October 2nd, and the Treaty of 
 1732 was ratified and confirmed. The chief result, however, was the grant 
 made, in the deed signed October 11, 1736 of all land extending east- 
 ward to the headwaters of all branches of the Susquehanna, westward to 
 the setting sun, and northward from the mouth of that river to the Kitta- 
 tinny hills. This deed recited the previous grant of the Susquehanna lands 
 to Governor Dongan of New York and the transfer of it by him to William 
 Penn, which sale the Iroquois never recognized as valid. 28 
 
 The Indian chiefs, on their way home, stopped at Tulpehocken, and 
 
 13 
 
there, Conrad Weiser, at the instigation, of Logan, secured, from some 
 of them, a release which has been the source of endless trouble and dis- 
 cussion. This deed, dated October 25, 1736, released all the Iroquois right, 
 claim and pretension to the territory beginning ' 'eastward on the River 
 Delaware as far northward as the said Ridge or Chain of Endless Moun- 
 tains as they cross ye Country of Pennsylvania from the eastward and to 
 the West." It also contained a declaration by the Iroquois, that they 
 would sell no lands, either to white men or Indians, "within the lands of 
 the government of Pennsylvania as 'tis bounded Northerly with the Gov- 
 ernment of New York and Albany. But when we are willing to dispose 
 of any further rights to land within said limits of Pennsylvania, we will 
 dispose of them to said William Penn's children." 29 This instrument con- 
 stitutes the alleged sale of Delaware lands, and the famous deed of pre- 
 emption. 
 
 This transaction is surrounded with suspicion. Logan wanted the 
 release, in order to extinguish the Iroquois paramount title, that he might 
 accomplish the Walking Purchase ; and the explanation he made at the 
 time, that he desired to forestall the claim of Nootamis, a Jersey Indian 
 to some land along the Lehigh river, was mere pretension. He wanted the 
 preemption, because he feared the Connecticut claim to the northern part 
 of the Penn grant. Logan could have included all, that was released and 
 declared, in the deed signed at Philadelphia or could have had a separate 
 instrument executed, when the Indians were assembled in the formal 
 conference. Why did he wait and have Conrad Weiser surreptitiously 
 obtain it fourteen days later? Because, he feared to' have it known. The 
 Quakers were extremely critical of all he did for the benefit of the Penn 
 heirs, whom they now despised because they had apostatized the faith of 
 their father and become Episcopalians. Moreover, the Quakers considered 
 themselves the special guardians of the Delaware Indians. Had it been 
 done at Philadelphia, they would have immediately known it; and by this 
 sly trick, Logan for a time averted the fury of the hurricane. Later, when 
 it was discovered, the storm broke and the rage was fanned by Charles 
 Thomson, a teacher in the Quaker school, who wrote a paper, entitled 
 "An Enquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Dela wares and Shaw- 
 anese Indians." Logan hid behind the sophistry he put forth, that the Six 
 Nations did not grant any land, saynig "they only release and quit claim 
 there," which is strictly true of the text; and then he slyly added "it is 
 really nothing and yet may prevent disputes hereafter." James Logan knew, 
 that a release and quit claim, to a party claiming by invalid title, is, by 
 estoppel, equivalent to a grant. Weiser, however, did not understand and he 
 swallowed the sophistry bait, hook and line. 
 
 Shikellimy, who, evidently, engineered the transaction at Tulpehocken, 
 and thereby secured, for the Iroquois, recognition of their paramount title, 
 having no Christian conscience to appease by hypocrisy, made no apologies. 
 The wise and honest old Iroquois, then, loved no God but the sun and 
 feared no devils save the lightning, the winter and the wind. As a matter 
 of fact, Logan and Weiser had no shame to hide, no wrong to explain and 
 
 14 
 
no conduct except cowardice to extenuate. They had only acquired, in a 
 perfectly legal way, the title, which the Six Nations had won by conquest 
 of the Delawares. The Quakers were right in asserting the Iroquois sold 
 the Delaware lands by the Tulpehocken deed ; but in contending, they had 
 no right to sell them, they were wrong ; and to maintain, as Walton does, 
 that it brought on the series of Indian depredations in the following years, 
 is an exaggeration. 30 
 
 It was the determination of the boundaries, and the subsequent eviction 
 of the Delawares from the territory, which intensified their disaffection. 
 Many writers appear unable to accept the effects of the Iroquois conquest. 
 One view, based on loose Indian tradition, and evidently invented to 
 appease their pride, is that the Delawares were fraudulently induced to 
 accept the status of women and were never conquerd. 31 Anothr view is 
 that Conrad Weiser diverted the policy of the government from treating 
 the Delawares as an Indian power to recognition of the Iroquois as the 
 dominant authority, and thus brought on the Indian wars. 32 The policy 
 had already shifted before the Pennsylvania Council knew there was such 
 a man as Conrad Weiser. 
 
 The Iroquois title having been obtained by the Tulpehocken deed, the 
 next step in the scheme was the determination of the boundaries, which 
 was accomplished by the celebrated ''Walking Purchase." Much fertile 
 land lies between the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, which the Penns desired 
 for the lucrative quit rents the anxious settlers were willing to pay. This 
 "Walking Purchase" is surrounded with suspicion. Two conferences had 
 been held with the so-called chiefs of the Delawares, one at Durham and 
 the other at Pennsbury, which were followed by a final meeting at Phila- 
 delphia, August 24, 1737. At the latter, which was attended by Nootamis 
 or Nutimus and three other chiefs, a copy of a deed was produced by 
 Logan, bearing date August 28, 1680, but probably of August 28, 1686, 
 according to a note in Pennsylvania Archives, volume 1, page 539, and 
 Smith's Laws, volume 2, page 116, to which reference is made for an 
 account of the transaction. This deed, made to William Penn, purported 
 to convey all the land beginning at a spruce tree by the Delaware river 
 near Makeeretton, thence to the Indian town of Plawicky and thence to 
 Neshaminy and extending back into the woods, "as far as a man can go 
 in one day and a half." The Quakers pronounced this deed a forgery and 
 upon this charge based most of their attacks against the Penn heirs and 
 their agents. After the controversy had raged violently for years and the 
 charge had been iterated time and again, an investigation disclosed facts 
 which completely refute the charge of forgery. 
 
 According to the investigating committee's report, the deed was made 
 by the Indians, August 28, 1686; and was procured by Captain Thomas 
 Holme, surveyor general and Penn's land agent, who had a copy made 
 and sent to Penn in England, which copy was in the handwriting of Philip 
 Thlehnman, a clerk in the land office, who died in 1687. The diary of 
 William Markham, who was secretary of the province, also disclosed that 
 Holme was negotiating, with the Indians, for the purchase of lands near 
 
 15 
 
the forks of the Delaware, shortly prior to the date of the deed. The 
 original deed was lost and Thlehnman's copy was discovered, in 1732, by 
 Thomas Penn, among some old papers of his father. (See report in Col. 
 Recs 8, pages 248 and 249). 
 
 On the following day, August 25, 1737, the four chiefs signed a con- 
 firmation and ratification of the deed of 1686; but before signing, made 
 the declaration, "That, nevertheless, as the Indians and white people have 
 ever lived together in a good Understanding, they the Indians would 
 request that they may be permitted to remain on their present settlements 
 and Planatations, tho within that purchase without being molested." In 
 answer to which "the assurances, that were given on this head at Penns- 
 bury were repeated and confirmed to them." (Pa. Archs 1 page 541) The 
 minutes of this conference do not appear on the records of the council, nor 
 any reference to it ; but were found written on a loose sheet, and this 
 suspicious circumstance has given rise to the conjecture, they were pur- 
 posely omitted but transcribed and filed, so that they could be used or 
 suppressed, as expediency required. 
 
 It was in the determination of the boundaries, as Teedyuscung main- 
 tained, that the great fraud was perpetrated. It is said, Sheriff Smith of 
 Bucks county was instructed to have a preliminary walk made, prepare the 
 way and engage the fastest walkers. He selected three noted frontiersmen, 
 Solomon Jennings, James Yeates and Edward Marshall. Marshall was a 
 famous hunter of gigantic stature and strength and indomitable will ; and 
 as the event proved, evidently, the best walker in the country. They were 
 attended by Sheriff Smith, Surveyor General Eastburne, a delegation of 
 Indians and a curious crowd. 
 
 At daybreak, September 19, 1737, the sheriff, leaning against the 
 tree in front of Wrightstown meeting house, shouted "Go" and the 
 great walk began. Yeates, slim and fleet of feet, led the race, and Jennings, 
 short and stout, followed not far behind. Marshall, carelessly swinging his 
 hatchet, trailed them and far out of sight. At Red Hill in Bedminister, Jen- 
 nings gave out and he and two Indian walkers quit. When, the sun set, 
 Marshall and Yeates were north of the Blue mountains. At sunrise the next 
 day, these two resumed the walk, but had gone, only, a little way, when 
 Yeates fainted and fell. Marshall continued with the same gigantic strides 
 and unabated pace, leading the sheriff, surveyor general and other watchers 
 on horseback, who could hardly keep him in sight. At noon, he drove his 
 hatchet in a tree, standing on the summit of the Pocono mountains, not 
 far from the headwaters of the Lehigh. He had made the greatest and most 
 profitable walk in history. 
 
 The Indians grumbled and complained, that it was a cheat and fraud. 
 The tradition, which has come down through the generations, that one of 
 them said, at the time, best voices their complaint : "No eat, no smoke, no 
 sleep, no walk, just lun ! lun ! lun ! They expected it would be performed, as 
 a man ordinarily walked ; and we must admit, that is the logical and legal 
 interpretation of the deed. 
 
 Not content with what they had gained, the Penns and Logan had 
 
 16 
 
the surveyor general, instead of drawing a line to the nearest point on 
 the Delaware river, project it at right angles, which included all the lands 
 south of the Lackawaxen. Retribution followed not on the Penn family, 
 beneficiaries of the fraud, which waxed rich and strong ; but on the mean 
 instrument of its perpetration. The Indians murdered Marshall's wife and 
 son, and slew the innocent backwoodsmen of Pennsylvania by scores. 
 
 Neither Shikellimy nor Conrad Weiser had anything to do with the 
 "Walking Purchase." 
 
 In July, 1742, the Iroquois chiefs visited Philadelphia and were paid 
 the consideration for their previous sale of land west of the Susquehanna. 
 They demanded that the squatters on unpurchased lands, along the Juniata, 
 should be evicted, which was agreed to; but, in doing so, the governor 
 required the Six Nations to eject the Delawares from the lands obtained 
 by the Walking Purchase. Canassatego replied and, turning to Nutimus 
 and the Forks Indians, said : "We conquered you, we made women of you, 
 you know you are women and can no more sell land than women. This 
 land you claim is gone through your guts. We, therefore, assign you two 
 places to go, either to Wyoming or Shamokin. This wampum is to forbid 
 you, your children and grandchildren to the latest posterity from ever 
 meddling in land affairs, neither you, nor any, who shall descend from you 
 are hereafter to presume to sell any land." 33 
 
 Canassatego has been called a bibulous old chief, a noisy wind-jammer 
 etc. He rarely drank and never until his business was concluded. He spoke 
 that day, as the great constable of the Iroquois, and did his duty in main- 
 taining the sovereignty of the Six Nations over their subject people. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWO 
 
 1. The writer knows of only three examples of fair land distribution in the 
 United States. The New England system, whereby a number of intending settlers, 
 called proprietors, associated themselves together, purchased, from the Indians, a 
 tract of land large enough for a township, divided it into parcels and distributed 
 them to the proprietors by lot, to be thereafter held in severalty and fee simple 
 without the payment of price or rent to king or colony. One other was the equitable 
 distribution of land in Utah, by the Mormon settlers, according to occupations. The 
 third was the "Homestead Act," whereby a portion, of the public lands, was 
 allotted to actual settlers upon payment, only, of the small cost of survey and 
 registration. 
 
 2. Presumably, the Delaware Indians had a moral right to the lands, along 
 the Delaware river, which they occupied and tilled and which they fished and hunted 
 upon. To contend, that because the Indians were here before the whites came, 
 they had the right to, withhold, from progress and civilization, an immense domain, 
 they occasionally wandered over and hunted upon, is absurd. Reservations, sufficient 
 for their needs, should have been made and held inviolable; but to contend they 
 should have been of such great extent as to preserve their hunting and fishing state, 
 is equally absurd. 
 
 3. Observations of Bartram, pages 9 to 20. 
 
 17 
 
4. Proceedings of Northumberland Historical Society, Vol. 3, Address of 
 John H. Carter. 
 
 5. Col. Recs. 3, 435. 
 
 6. Memorials of the Moravian Church, note page 3. 
 
 7. John H. Carter in Proceedings of Northumberland Historical Society, Vol. 3. 
 
 8. Col. Recs., 3 pages 334 to 337. 
 
 9. Dr. George P. Donehoo, Proceedings Northumberland Historical Society, 
 Vol. 3, 38. 
 
 10. Col. Recs. 3, 409. 
 
 11. Ibid, 425. 
 
 12. Charles Fisher Snyder, Proceedings Northumberland Historical Society, 
 Vol. 14. 
 
 13. Pa. Archs. 1, 661. 
 
 14. Ibid, 665. 
 
 15. Pa. Archs. 3, 23. 
 
 16. John H. Carter, Proceedings Northumberland Historical Society, Vol. 3. 
 
 17. Notes on Virginia, Jefferson's Works, Vol. 8, 308. 
 
 18. Col. Recs. 5, 136-138. 
 
 19. Ibid, 222. 
 
 20. Ibid, 285. 
 
 21. Memorials of Moravian Church, note page 83. 
 
 22. John H. Carter, Proceedings Northumberland Historical Society, Vol: 3. 
 
 23. Autobiography of Conrad Weiser, Appendix in Life by C. J. Weiser. 
 
 24. Statement, of Rev. H. M. Muhlenuburg, in Hallesch Nachrichten, 1, 244. 
 
 25. Wallace, Life of Conrad Weiser, 33. 
 
 26. Autobiography of Conrad Weiser, Appendix, Life of, by C. J. Weiser. 
 
 27. Col. Recs. 3, 451. 
 
 28. Pa. Archs. 1, 494. 
 
 29. Ibid, 498; Logan Papers, X, 64, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 
 30. Conrad Weiser and Indian Policy etc. ; also Enquiry into Causes of 
 Alienation of Delaware and Shawanese Indians. 
 
 31. Hecke welder, Indian Nations, 54 to 70. 
 
 32. Walton, Indian Policy, 63. 
 
 33. Col. Recs. 4, 578 to 580. 
 
 18 
 
CHAPTER THREE 
 
 THE GREAT LANCASTER TREATY 
 
 During the summer months, in making their way southward, to wage 
 their interminable war against the Catawbas, the warriors of the Six 
 Nations passed through the backwoods settlements of Pennsylvania and 
 Virginia. In Pensylvania, there was little friction, as the Indians, upon 
 application to a magistrate, were given a pass, which gave them free access ; 
 and if they, now and then killed a cow or stole a pig, the owners, by prov- 
 ing their losses, were recompensed by the government, which losses, by 
 arrangements with the Iroquois, were charged to the latter's account and 
 deducted from the purchase price of their next sale of lands. In Virginia, 
 it was otherwise, as there a drastic law prevailed, authorizing the arrest 
 of prowling Indians, and if they resisted, the officers were justified in 
 shooting them. This law was severely executed and disputes, brawls and 
 tragedies ensued. 
 
 Governor Gooch of Virginia became alarmed at the situation and late 
 in 1736, persuaded the Catawbas to negotiate peace with the Iroquois. He, 
 then, wrote James Logan requesting his assistance in securing the presence 
 of the Iroquois chiefs at a peace council with the Catawbas, at Williams- 
 burg. The situation disclosed by Gooch, alarmed Logan, who realized that 
 should hostilities occur, Pennsylvania would be drawn into the quarrel 
 and its frontier devastated. He sent for Conrad Weiser, and it was agreed 
 the latter and Shikellimy should go to Onondaga, before the trails opened 
 in the spring and the warriors began their southern march, and there 
 make the best arrangements possible. 
 
 Weiser was unable to leave until the last of February, as the winter 
 was unusually severe and the woods still deep with snow. He was accom- 
 panied by Stoffel Stump and an Onondaga Indian, named Owisgera. The 
 Susquehanna was so swollen with the spring floods, that they were unable 
 to ford it, and from Shamokin they proceeded on foot. Shikellimy and 
 another Indian, Tawagaret joined them. The Indians, from whom they 
 expected to obtain food, were so destitute, that their impending journey, 
 through the mountains, was threatened with famine. At Madame Montour's, 
 they obtained a limited supply of food. 1 
 
 This party of five men left her place March 21, 1737, took the great 
 Sheshequin path and began their winter journey of danger, misery and 
 
 19 
 
famine. 2 They footed it over snow two feet deep and crusted hard with ice. 
 They went by the Big Loyalsock, whose deep, dark waters dash swiftly 
 and sullenly over numerous cascades and wind their way through narrow 
 mountain canyons, still flanked by a dense growth of laurel, spruce and 
 pine. At the outlet of a little stream, they entered a valley with encom- 
 passing mountains rising perpendicularly from the very verge of the water, 
 and clambered along the precipitous sides clinging to the laurel and with 
 their hatchets making foot holes in the ice. Near the summit of the moun- 
 tain, they slept on the crusted snow and breakfasted with a little boiled 
 corn and beans. 
 
 The Diadaclitu, (Lycoming creek) the bewildered stream, they could 
 not ford, and as on the day before they clambered along the mountain 
 sides. On the edge, of a sharp declivity of considerable extent, below which 
 was a rocky precipice more than a hundred feet high, Shikellimy slipped 
 on a loosened stone and slid down the incline on the glassy crust. Unable 
 to check or stop his descent, by clutching the scattered bushes, his speed 
 increased with the distance. Terrorized, his companions clung to the laurel 
 and silently stared. A plunge over the precipice and certain death seemed 
 inevitable. Indian fashion, he bore a pack on his back, strapped about his 
 breast. In his course, one of the straps broke and the partly loosened 
 pack spread out on the ice. A sappling stood near the edge of the cliff. His 
 body passed on one side of it and the pack on the other. The strap held 
 and with great difficulty, his companions succeeded in rescuing him from 
 his position. 
 
 At Onondaga, where they arrived April 10th, Weiser was so worn 
 and emaciated, his friends hardly knew him, some saying it was he and 
 others that it was not. At last, they were in a land of plenty, and the good 
 food and rest, soon restored his strength and spirits. The Iroquois refused 
 to send their chiefs to Williamsburg, suggesting Albany instead; but they 
 agreed to a cessation of hostilities, for a year, and the real purpose for 
 which they came was accomplished. Plentifully supplied with food, they 
 left and floating down the rivers in the canoes supplied them, safely came 
 to Shamokin, where Weiser found his horse near where he had left him. 
 He arrived home May 1st. 
 
 In 1743, the Virginia trouble bobbed up again, and assumed a more 
 serious aspect. Some thirty Iroquois warriors, on their way to the Catawba 
 war, had an altercation with a party of Virginia backwoodsmen; and in 
 the skirmish, which ensued, several on both sides were killed or wounded. 
 The Indians said the whites were the aggressors, but the Virginians 
 claimed otherwise. However, Governor Gooch of Virginia, in the settle- 
 ment, he later, made with the Six Nations, adopted the opinion of Gov- 
 ernor Thomas of Pennsylvania, who said he would always prefer the testi- 
 mony of an Iroquois to that of a backwoodsman. 
 
 Thomas McKee, an Indian trader at the Big Island (Lock Haven), 
 who obtained his information from some of the warriors on their way back 
 to Onondaga, brought the news to Philadelphia. Governor Thomas, imme- 
 diately dispatched Conrad Weiser to Shamokin to confer with Shikellimy. 
 
 20 
 
In order to avert the threatened war, Shikellimy went to Onondaga and 
 endeavored to persuade the Iroquois chiefs to hold a conference, some- 
 where in the Susquehanna region, with Virginia and Maryland, in settle- 
 ment of the skirmish trouble, and also the Iroquois land claims against 
 those colonies. The Great Council refused and declared, that unless Vir- 
 ginia took the hatchet out of the heads of the Six Nations, there would 
 be war. 
 
 Governor Gooch, now thoroughly alarmed, authorized the Pennsyl- 
 vania government to purchase £100 worth of presents for the families of 
 the slain and wounded Indians, as atonement for the wrong done; and 
 also to employ Conrad Weiser to remove Virginia's hatchet from the 
 heads of the Six Nations. Weiser accompanied by Shikellimy, John Bar- 
 tram, the botanist and Lewis Evans, the map maker made the trip, by 
 the Sheshequin trail, arriving at Onondaga, July 21st. 
 
 In order to observe the formalities of the Great Council, Shikellimy 
 and Weiser had a secret conference, or as the Indians called it "in the 
 bushes," with Canassatego. All having been arranged by them, the Great 
 Council convened July 31st. Shikellimy represented Onas, the Indian 
 designation of the Penns, Weiser stood for Assaryquoa, their name for the 
 governor of Virginia, and Canassatego, he being conversant with all the 
 rites and ceremonies of the Iroquois, was speaker for Virginia. 
 
 When the council fire had been fanned into a merry flame, and the 
 sachems had squatted on the ground about it, Canassatego made an elo- 
 quent harangue, recounting the intercession of Onas, and the desire of 
 Assaryquoa to apologize and atone for the wrong done. Pie also presented 
 the invitation of Virginia for a council, in the near future, with that colony 
 and Maryland to settle the great land dispute. The presents were distri- 
 buted, and after mature deliberation by the sachems, Tocanontie, the 
 Black Prince responded for the Iroquois, acknowledging the removal of 
 the hatchet, and the healing of the wounds and accepting the invitation to 
 the conference. 3 
 
 The great Lancaster treaty of 1744 was the result of Weiser 's remov- 
 ing the hatchet, and was the high spot of Indian-Colonial relations. How- 
 ever, before the chiefs arrived, there occurred the murder of Jack 
 Armstrong, which tragic affair, the governor feared, might interfere with 
 the conference. 
 
 Armstrong, an Indian trader had obtained, by fraud, a horse from 
 Mussemeelin, a Delaware Indian, who demanded its return, which was 
 refused. Armstrong and his two servants were on their way to the Ohio 
 region, when overtaken by Mussemeelin and two young Delawares. In 
 the narrows of the Juniata, at a place since called "Jack's Narrows," Musse- 
 meelin killed the servants, Smith and Arnold. Compelling the two terrified 
 Indians to go with him down the trail, Mussemeelin found Armstrong sit- 
 ting on a log and demanded the return of his horse. On their way back 
 to the campfire, where Smith and Arnold had been killed, Mussemeelin 
 murdered Armstrong. Having partly buried his body, the Indians secreted 
 most of the trader's goods and divided the rest between them. 
 
 21 
 
Suspicion was aroused, and a searching party, accompanied by some 
 Indians sent by Allummapees from Shamokin, found the shoulder of 
 Armstrong ; and guided by the vultures which were devouring the bodies, 
 came upon the corpses of Smith and Arnold, which they buried. Allumm- 
 apees and Shikellimy apprehended Mussemeelin and his two accomplices 
 and sent them to the Lancaster jail, but on the way, one was allowed to 
 escape. Later, the three Indians were tried at Philadelphia and convicted. 
 The affair seems not to have affected the conference at Lancaster, the 
 Iroquois recognizing* the right of Pennsylvania to try, convict and execute 
 the murderers. 
 
 England was drawn into the War ol the Austrian Succession, and on 
 March 29, 1744, declared war against France. This embroilment enhanced 
 the importance of the Lancaster Treaty, the prime necessity, then, being 
 a reaffirmance of the Iroquois allegiance. 
 
 June 22nd, the deputies of the Six Nations, escorted by Conrad 
 Weiser and with the imposing figure of Canassatego at their head, marched 
 into the little town of Lancaster. There were two hundred fifty two of 
 them painted in striking shades and picturesquely bedecked with feathers 
 and blankets of many colors. It was a representative delegation, of the 
 sachems and great men of the gallant little confederacy, charged with por- 
 tentous power. A power that could weigh the scales for either French or 
 English future dominance. By adhesion to England, they would restrain 
 their many subject tribes and guarantee the peace of the frontier; and by 
 the exercise of their mighty strength make an impenetrable barrier to 
 French aggression. It was the determination of the Iroquois attitude, which 
 makes the Lancaster Treaty of such great significance in moulding the 
 destiny of North America. 
 
 The colonies thoroughly appreciated the gravity of the situation and 
 hastened Virginia and Maryland to art adjustment of the troublesome land 
 claims of the United Nations. Both the social activities and business trans- 
 actions of the conference have been adequately told by contemporary 
 records. 4 The dominating men, there, were Conrad Weiser, interpreter for 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and Canassatego, speaker and 
 negotiator for the Iroquois. 
 
 The Indians were quartered in a vacant field on the outskirts of the 
 town, and erected their shelters, with boughs and lumber provided for 
 them. Their campfires were visited nightly by curious crowds, who watched 
 their dancing, listened to their songs and revelled in the picturesqueness 
 and glamour of the scene. Cautioned by Conrad Weiser, the crowds avoided 
 friction with the Indians and a friendly spirit prevailed. A great banquet 
 was given, by the three colonies, to the Indians' and gentlemen of the town. 
 The Indian chiefs were seated at two large tables presided over by Canassa- 
 tego, but the white dignitaries sat apart from them. Weiser was master 
 of ceremonies, and Prothonotary Cookson and secretaries Peters, Marsh 
 and Black carved the meat and served the Indians with the food and 
 drink. Mutual healths were drunk to the King, Onas, Assaryquoa, the 
 
 22 
 
governor of Maryland, and the Great Council at Onondaga, and great 
 hilarity prevailed. 
 
 There were present at the Treaty, Governor Thomas of Pennsylvania, 
 Hon. Thomas Lee and Colonel William Beverly, commissioners of Vir- 
 ginia, and Hon. Edmund Jennings and Philip Thomas Esq. commissioners 
 of Maryland, together with many prominent men from the three colonies. 
 The most famous Indians, there, were Shikellimy, Canassatego, Tocanontie, 
 Chacadowa and Madame Montour. Weiser was official interpreter for 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and general manager, guiding its 
 deliberations, with great tact and tolerance, and teaching the haughty 
 aristocrats of Virginia and Maryland, the niceties of Indian propriety. 
 
 In the crowded court room, where they met, seated behind the judge's 
 bench, in the center was Governor Thomas, on his right the Virginia 
 commissioners, and on the left the Maryland commissioners. The Indian 
 chiefs squatted on the steps leading to the bench and on the floor in front. 
 Back of them, at a table were the secretaries, William Peters of Pennsyl- 
 vania, William Black of Virginia and Witham Marshe of Maryland. Gov- 
 ernor Thomas opened the proceedings, in a kindly address of welcome, 
 suggesting a reaffirmance of the alliance. Canassatego replied, stating the 
 differences with Virginia and Maryland must be first adjusted, "and then 
 we shall proceed to confirm the friendship between us, which will meet 
 with no obstruction after these matters are settled/' 
 
 Maryland, having invited the conference, was the first to state its case ; 
 and its speaker resented the implied Iroquois threat, made two years before, 
 to use force unless their claims were adjusted; denied the validity of the 
 Iroquois claims, because the Susquehannocks had sold the Susquehanna 
 lands, as had the Six Nations, also, by the Dongan deed ; and stated Mary- 
 land had occupied these lands for over a hundred years, but notwithstand- 
 ing, the complete title, the wise men of Maryland had determined to make 
 a liberal present to the Indians. 
 
 Canassatego answered in a great speech, adroitly undermining Mary- 
 land's position. He apologized for the threat, but sarcastically observed, 
 that while his people intended no rashness, it had the desired effect of 
 bringing the wise men of Maryland to terms. He denied the validity of the 
 Dongan deed, and cited the honesty of Onas, who when he learned the 
 Indians had been defrauded, liberally paid them and obtained subsequent 
 grants of the same lands. He, then, triumphantly completed the emascula- 
 tion of Maryland's argument, freely admitting the grants of the Susque- 
 hannocks were good, because made before their conquest; but it was not 
 that land which was now claimed. It was the territory along the Potomac 
 river, which had never been granted. 
 
 Virginia claimed possession under old treaties, requested the names 
 of the tribes conquered by the Iroquois, and asserted that in answer to 
 inquiry made in 1743, the Iroquois had said, "they had no demand on the 
 governor of Virginia." Tacanontie replied, denying the inquiry, enumerating 
 the tribes conquered and citing a treaty made at Albany, twenty years 
 before, establishing the middle of the great hill, as the line of division 
 
 23 
 
and providing, that if any Indians came east of it, Virginia could hang 
 them, and if Virginians settled west of it, the Iroquois could do likewise. 
 Notwithstanding, he said, the Virginians came like flocks of birds and sat 
 down on both sides of it. He insisted, a road must be established before 
 any grant of lands, and if the Virginians stayed where they had trespassed, 
 "our warriors marching through shall go shares with them in what they 
 plant." 
 
 For £300, the Iroquois granted Lord Baltimore the lands above the 
 uppermost fork of the Potomac. Shikellimy would not sign this deed, 
 because he believed it infringed upon the rights of Pennsylvania. Virginia 
 paid £200 in goods and £200 in gold for a release of all lands in that 
 colony, and agreed the Indians should have a road. Pennsylvania presented 
 £300 in goods, and the Six Nations promised to compel the Delawares to 
 make reparation for the Armstrong murder. 
 
 The crowning achievement came July 4th, when Canassatego, in his 
 concluding address, pledged his people to maintain the old alliance with 
 the English, and prevent any incursions of the French through their terri- 
 tories to the hurt of any English settlements. 
 
 The Indians had certainly carried off all the honors in oratory, logical 
 argument, and adroit negotiation, or as Richard Peters said, at the time, 
 "Ye Indians appear superior to ye commissioners in point of sense and 
 argument." Witham Marshe, said, in his diary, in commenting on Gacha- 
 dowa's speech in conferring on Lord Baltimore, the name of Tocarryhogan, 
 one living in the middle or honorable place betwixt Assaryquoa and Onas : 
 (Gachadowa) "about forty years of age, straight limbed, and a graceful 
 person, but not so fat as Canassatego. His action when he spoke was cer- 
 tainly the most graceful, as well as bold, that any person ever saw. He 
 was complimented by the Governor, who said he would have made a good 
 figure in the forum of old Rome ; and Mr. Commissioner Jennings declared 
 that he had never seen so just an action in any of the most celebrated 
 orators he had heard speak." 
 
 The Iroquois had relinquished their claims to lands, they esteemed of 
 little value, and gained recognition of their paramount authority over the 
 other tribes. They knew their strength and the Council at Onondaga man- 
 aged their affairs with great adroitness. During the eighteenth century, 
 they were the balance of power between the French and English colonies. 
 Had they gone over to the French, the English colonies, then weak, would 
 have been exposed to attack and destruction. It is unlikely, they ever in- 
 tended to desert the English, as they had bitterly hated the French since 
 Champlain battled them at Ticonderoga, in 1609, but by courting the French 
 a little, they frightened the English colonies much. That fear, always pres- 
 ent, was a potent influence in their negotiations with New York, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Maryland and Virginia. They could bluff with great foresight and 
 sagacity, as they did in their threat against Maryland. 
 
 The attitude, of the Six Nations, during the war, was in full accord 
 with the Lancaster Treaty, and, consequently, there was no desolation of 
 the New York and Pennsylvania frontier. 
 
 24 
 
NOTES— CHAPTER THREE 
 
 1. Now Montoursville, Pa. 
 
 2. Accounts of this journey are contained in two journals written by Conrad 
 Weiser, one in German, translated by Heister M. Muhlenburg and reprinted in 
 Rev. W. M. Beauchamp's "Life of Conrad Weiser;" and the other in English in 
 Society Collections of Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 
 3. Col. Recs. 4, 630 to 669; Bartram's "Observations." 
 
 4. Col. Recs. 4, 698 to 737; Pa. Archs. 1, 657-658, "Journal of the Treaty of 
 Lancaster" by Witham Marshe. 
 
 25 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 WINNING THE WEST 
 
 The greatest achievement, of Conrad Weiser, was winning the west. 1 
 It had its inception in a statement made by Shikellimy to Weiser, in June, 
 1747, that the Indians, living on the north side of Lake Ontario, were 
 dissatisfied with the French traders and desired to deal with the English 
 at Oswego, where goods were better and cheaper. 2 Weiser recommended, 
 to the Pennsylvania Council, that a handsome present be given the Indians 
 living on Lake Erie and in the Ohio region; and in October, it was 
 resolved to send them £200 worth of goods by George Croghan. 3 A little 
 later, Weiser wrote the council, that at the house of Thomas McKee, a 
 trader, he had seen a scalp sent by the western Indians to the Pennsylvania 
 govenment, indicating they had taken up the hatchet against the French. 
 He suggested that the Ohio Indians, they being nearer neighbors should 
 have a larger present than those living on the lake. The Pennsylvania 
 Council received a visit, November 13th, from ten warriors, living in the 
 Ohio region, who complained that they had, only, little sticks and hickories 
 to hit the hard heads of the French and needed better weapons. Weiser, 
 whose advice was sought, stated that Providence had furnished this oppor- 
 tunity to make the western Indians warm friends, and that a suitable saluta- 
 tion present should be made with the promise of a larger one in the spring, 
 which he would take them. 4 
 
 It seems Shikellimy disapproved of Weiser 's contemplated journey to 
 the Ohio, as indicated by a letter dated March 28, 1748, and that the latter, 
 then, somewhat agreed with him. Because of the inconsistency of his atti- 
 tude, the council summoned Shikellimy and him to an interview. 5 They 
 appeared before it, April 11th, when Shikellimy explained that deputies 
 of the Six Nations would arrive at Philadelphia, soon ; that the Ohio 
 Indians had not, yet, declared hostilities against the French and would not 
 do so until the Council at Onondaga had acted; and he, therefore, sug- 
 gested that Weiser 's trip be delayed until the deputies came. 6 
 
 It is probable, the contemplated treaty with the Ohio Indians dis- 
 pleased the Iroquois Council, because it tended to lessen its authority, and 
 that Shikellimy sympathized with this attitude. Of this a singular com- 
 munication by Weiser made June 13, 1748 may be confirmation. Shikellimy 
 forwarded Weiser a purported message, from the Six Nations by way of 
 the Cayugas, to the effect that the Cayuga Council had received proposals 
 
 26 
 
from the English and refused to accept their presents, and warning the 
 Indians living on the Susquehanna and elsewhere to be on their guard. 
 Although Shikellimy believed the message a falsification, Weiser imme- 
 diately forwarded it to Philadelphia and the authorities, there, wrote Gov- 
 ernor Clinton for an explanation. He answered that he had no knowledge 
 of any such proceeding. 7 
 
 Andrew Montour, acting for the province, brought, from the west, 
 a delegation of the Six Nations, Delawares, Shawnees, Nanticokes and 
 Twightwees; and a treaty with them was held at Lancaster, July 19, 20, 
 22, 1748. The Twightwees, a numerous people, living on the Wabash, were 
 accepted in a treaty of friendship and alliance ; but the Shawnees were told 
 the treaty, of friendship, made with them in 1739, would not be renewed, 
 but their treacherous conduct would be forgiven on condition of better 
 behaviour in the future. 8 
 
 By the preliminary treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed April 19, 1748, 
 the French war ceased and the dread of Indian hostilities on the frontier 
 was over. This cessation opened the way for expansion of the western fur 
 trade, by both, French and English traders. This trade was the life blood 
 of French- Canada; it made Albany a place of importance ; and to the great 
 merchants of Philadelphia, with their varied interests, it provided rich 
 emolument. 
 
 Elaborate preparations were made for the journey to the Ohio. Goods 
 for the Indians, amounting to £828, were purchased. The province was 
 very solicitous of the comfort and health of its great interpreter, for 
 Richard Peters had said, when Weiser was taken ill and "liked to have died 
 and if he had what must have become of Indians affairs." The govern- 
 ment purchased a trunk to carry Weiser's traps, and also a hammock for 
 it was no longer safe for the old man to sleep on the ground. 9 
 
 Owing to numerous delays, occasioned by the seeming opposition of 
 Shikellimy, the purported message of the Cayugas, and the visit of the 
 western tribes, he was long in starting. At last with the instructions of 
 the council in his pocket, Weiser left his home at Tulpehocken, August 
 11, 1748 and accompanied by his guest, Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate 
 son, William, began his great western trip. The second night, he stayed at 
 George Croghan's. On the 18th, he reached the Standing Stone, and on 
 the 20th, at Frankstown, he overtook the long train of packhorses bearing 
 the goods, and under the charge of Croghan. 10 
 
 Such a scene, the dense wilderness had not witnessed since the 
 vegetation of those western hills and mountains began. It was the first 
 great invasion of the west. The foot trail wound about in thickets of laurel, 
 hemlock, spruce and pine and clambered over barren rocks and moun- 
 tain craigs, sometimes almost losing itself in bog and swamp. It was a 
 varied cavalcade that pursued the narrow path. Led by the naked Indian 
 guides who searched the way and with George Croghan, the greatest Indian 
 trader of the time, well in the van, the limping horses, burdened with 
 their heavy packs of goods and urged on by the swearing drivers, straggled 
 along the narrow trail for miles. In the rear, swaying low in the saddle 
 
 27 
 
to avoid the foliage which brushed his lessened locks of gray, was an old 
 man, the leader of the great mission. No other man could have led it. To 
 the dusky redmen along the Ohio, Miami and Wabash and on the great 
 prairies beyond, Conrad Weiser personified the riches, majesty and power 
 of the English people. Long, had they known him, not only, as the repre- 
 sentative of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and New York, but of the 
 great king beyond the sea; and as the friend of Shikellimy, Canassatego 
 and Scarooyady and trusted as a son by the Great Council at Onondaga. 
 
 At night, when the straying horses had been gathered in, white men 
 and red men, their suppers eaten, sat about the campfires and smoked their 
 pipes in peace. Their grim stories of the frontier, finally, told, they all 
 gathered about the fires in sleep. To young William Franklin resting on 
 the ground by the hammock, where Conrad Weiser reclined in the sleep- 
 less nights of old age, the scene must have seemed a dream. 
 
 One day, they came across a dead man lying in the trail, who had 
 killed himself by drinking too much whiskey, "and he smelling very strong, 
 we covered him with stones and wood and went on our journey." On the 
 25th, they came to the Allegheny river and the next day Weiser hired a 
 canoe and completed his journey by water. The 27th, he dined with Queen 
 Allaquippa, "an old Seneca woman who reigns with great authority." 
 Indian heralds had gone out among the tribes to announce his coming, and 
 the warriors were gathering in great numbers at Logstown on the Ohio 
 (now Ecnonmy), where he arrived that evening and was saluted with a 
 hundred guns. 
 
 On the 3rd and 4th of September, Weiser was ill and very weak, but 
 on the next day was able to discuss, the ensuing council, with Scarooyady. 
 In the negotiations, he was assisted by Andrew Montour and George 
 Croghan. He had to deal with Senecas, Shawnees, Wyandots, Mohawks, 
 Mohicans, Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas and Delawares, representing, in 
 all, seven hundred eighty nine fighting men. 
 
 The treaty was a great success. The Indians pledged their fidelity to 
 the English or as Scarooyady said, "have tied our hearts to theirs." Weiser 
 distributed the Pennsylvania presents, as well as £100 contributed by 
 Virginia, all of which gave great satisfaction. 
 
 By the treaty of Logstown, Weiser bound the Ohio tribes to the 
 English and opened the west to the Pennsylvania traders, so that Phila- 
 delphia became the emporium of the western fur trade. 
 
 Virginia was not slow to avail herself of the opportunities offered. 
 Thomas Lee, of that colony, associated with himself Lawrence and Augus- 
 tine Washington and others and organized the Ohio Company, which 
 secured a grant from the king of 500,000 acres south of the Ohio and 
 between the mouths of the Monongahela and Kanawha rivers. The subse- 
 quent activities, of this company, led to the French invasion of the Ohio 
 region, the erection of Fort Duquesne and the beginning of the French 
 and Indian War. 
 
 On Tuesday, December 6, 1748, Shikellimy died. 
 
 The last trip Canassatego made, to Philadelphia, was in August, 1749. 
 
 28 
 
The Six Nations had decided to send deputies there and those of the 
 Senecas, after tarrying for some time, became tired of waiting and came 
 alone, arriving about July 1st. At a conference with them, they complained 
 about the squatters on the unpurchased lands north of the Blue mountains, 
 presented a petition of the Conoy Indians for compensation for lands 
 which they had abandoned east of the Susquehanna, and referred to the 
 attempted peace with the Catawbas. The Conoy's request was refused, but 
 they were assured every effort would be made, to turn the squatters off, 
 and a proclamation to that effect was issued. They were given suitable 
 presents and directed to notify the other deputies not to proceed to Phila- 
 delphia, but to return home. 11 
 
 The government had made the mistake of treating with them alone 
 and not awaiting the arrival of the other and more important deputies. 
 Evidently, Peters and the governor thought it cheaper to deal with a few, 
 than with many. Early in August, the remaining deputies together with 
 those of the Senecas arrived at Tulpehocken. Weiser was exasperated, 
 probably, because he was privy to the scheme of Peters and the governor, 
 and realized the smart trick was frustrated. They were in great numbers, 
 nearly three hundred of them. Now, that he was bereft of the wise counsel 
 of Shikellimy, Weiser lost his head and clumsily insulted Canassatego, 
 always his devoted friend, for which he suffered a merited and stinging 
 rebuke. Canassatego, in a manly and dignified speech, reminded him they 
 had ever before been welcome guests, but he presumed, that now when 
 they had surrendered their most valuable lands, they were to be treated 
 like the Delawares and other homeless Indians. 12 They would go home and 
 never return to Philadelphia again. Weiser, thoroughly baffled, and per- 
 ceiving he had put his foot in a bad mess, which would bring disaster to 
 the province, got his senses and finally persuaded them to resume their 
 journey. 
 
 Arriving at Philadelphia, they held a council with the governor, 
 August 16th, 19th and 21st. The result was that for £500, the Indians 
 ceded the land from the Kittatinny hills to a line running from the mouth 
 of Mahanoy creek to the mouth of the Lackawaxen and bounded on the 
 east by the Delaware and on the west by the Susquehanna. But, the 
 heretofore friendly relations, between the Iroquois and the Pennsylvania 
 government, were strained. 13 Thomas Penn, who exhibited more sagacity, 
 than either the petulant Peters or the blundering Weiser, wrote from 
 England, "I think you went too far in pressing them not to come down, 
 and should another time not treat with a part of the deputation, and give 
 them presents, but only entertain them 'till the others arrive. I do not 
 wonder at their improper behaviour after being so ill-treated and fear it 
 will be long remembered. I am satisfied, that they were never so slighted 
 since my father settled the country, and desire great care may be taken 
 that they shall not be so for the future. 14 
 
 Canassatego died at Onondaga, about the 6th of September, 1750. 
 
 Two of the great triumvirate, that directed Indian negotiations for 
 many years, were gone. Of the three, Canassatego was the most brilliant 
 
 29 
 
man. He was an Onondaga and lived and died at the capital of the con- 
 federacy. Of the Six Nations dialects, that of the Onondagas was the most 
 perfect and in its use he was unexcelled. He chose the most striking meta- 
 phors and expressed them in beautiful and chaste language. He was endowed 
 by nature with a tall and majestic presence, had a well modulated and 
 resonant voice and his graceful poise and impressive gestures lent charm 
 to his utterance. Contemporary whites who heard him were entranced by 
 his eloquence, and some of these critics pronounced him the greatest 
 orator, they ever heard. But, grand as was his oratory, in subtle negotia- 
 tion, Canassatego surpassed every Indian of his time. He was never taken 
 off his guard and by his adroitness in debate, he snatched the leadership 
 from his English adversaries and led every council in which he participated. 
 Usually a temperate man, he never yielded to the allurements of strong 
 drink, until his business was concluded. For thirty years, although inferior 
 in rank to the sachems who composed it, this remarkable man dominated 
 and led the Great Council at Onondaga. Canassatego was the greatest 
 orator of the Iroquoian people. 
 
 Conrad Weiser was a shrewd, practical man. His early environment 
 fitted him for the part he played and Shikellimy and James Logan gave 
 him his opportunity. Accurate, skillful and truthful in his interpretations, 
 he is esteemed as the greatest of Indian interpreters. As a negotiator, he 
 relied, largely, on the counsel and advice of Shikellimy, who paved his 
 way at Onondaga and gave him his cue at Philadelphia. In every crisis, 
 he hearkened to the voice of the master at Shamokin. Shikellimy 's opposi- 
 tion to his Logstown mission made him reluctant, and he, only, went so 
 that George Croghan should not supplant him in emolument and honor. 
 Devoted to Shikellimy, it is to his eternal honor, that he relieved the old 
 man's poverty and distress. There was a little instability in his character, 
 evidenced by his religious inconsistences and his insult of Canassatego and 
 the Iroquois in 1749. Weiser was devoted to the proprietors of Pennsyl- 
 vania and because there was little conflict between their interests and 
 those of the Six Nations, he was never tempted to betray the trust of the 
 Iroquois. He had contempt for the Delawares, but never used them harshly, 
 and justly regarded the Shawnees as a treacherous and perfidious people. 
 Pie rendered invaluable services to Pennsylvania and the other English 
 colonies. Conrad Weiser had the elements of greatness. 
 
 The better opinion, may well be, that, of the three, Shikellimy was 
 the greatest man. He was modest, temperate and honest. He had the best 
 of common sense and formed his conclusions with accurate judgment. His 
 uncanny foresight enabled him to separate the true from the false, as evi- 
 denced by his pronouncing the purported message of the Cayugas a falsi- 
 fication, although it tended to support his opposition to the Logstown 
 mission, and his detection of the falsity of rumors ever prevalent among 
 the Indians. He rendered great services to Pennsylvania, but always main- 
 tained his dignity and honesty, as representative of the Six Nations. His 
 insistency, that the wrongs of the Indians be righted and the rum traffic 
 be suppressed, merits great commendation. He was equally just in seeing, 
 
 30 
 
that Indian criminals in his jurisdiction were handed over to the authori- 
 ties and punished. The Council at Onondaga implicitly trusted him and 
 the government at Philadelphia gave him its confidence. He was a man of 
 strict principle, as evinced by his refusal to sign the Maryland treaty at 
 Lancaster, because he believed it gave Maryland land in Pennsylvania to 
 which it had no right. He protected and encouraged all missionaries ; and 
 although baptized a Roman Catholic, preferred the Moravians, because 
 he esteemed them as true and disinterested friends of the Indians. As 
 Anthony Palmer, president of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania, said. 
 "Shikellimy was a person of character at Shamokin.' , 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER FOUR 
 
 1. The Logstown Treaty, so termed in Walton's, "Colonial Policy of Penn- 
 sylvania, Chapter 9. 
 
 2. Col. Recs. 5 pages 84 to 88. 
 
 3. Ibid, 121, 122. 
 
 4. Ibid, 145 to 151. 
 
 5. Ibid, 212, 213. 
 
 6. Ibid, 222. 
 
 7. Ibid, 284 to 289. 
 
 8. Ibid, 307 to 319. 
 
 9. Ibid, 197. 
 
 10. Ibid, 348 to 358, containing Journal of Conrad Weiser. 
 
 11. Ibid, 388 to 398. 
 
 12.. Peter's MSS 2, page 122. 
 
 13. Col. Recs. 5, pages 398 to 410; Pa. Archs. 1st Series, 2, pages 33 to 36, 
 copy of deed. 
 
 14. Penn's Letter Book 2, page 297, Historical Society of Pa. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 THE ALBANY CONGRESS AND SUSQUEHANNA 
 
 PURCHASE 
 
 In 1750, the Mohawk chiefs told Conrad Weiser, that most of those 
 at Onondaga were in the French interest, and that they resented their 
 treatment by the English. 1 To appease the Pennsylvania Indians, Weiser 
 and Richard Peters, by direction of the government, removed the squatters 
 from the unpurchased lands, and burned their cabins, along the Juniata, in 
 Sherman's Valley, on the Tuscarora Path, in the Big Cove, and at 
 Aughwick. 2 
 
 In 1749, Celeron, was sent, by the governor of Canada, to conciliate 
 the western tribes, and on his journey, he buried lead plates, one of which 
 translated reads, as follows : 
 
 "In 1749, during the reign of Louis XV, King of France, we Celeron, 
 commander of a detachment sent by Marquis De Legalissoniere, Com- 
 mander in Chief of New France to restore tranquility in some savage 
 villages of these districts have buried this plate at the confluence of the 
 Ohio and Tch-a-da-koin, this 29th of July, near the river Ohio, alias 
 'Beautiful River, (Belle Riviere)" as a monument of our having taken 
 possession of said river Ohio, and of all lands on both sides as far as the 
 sources of said rivers, as well as of those of which the preceding kings of 
 France have enjoyed possession, partly by force of arms, partly by treaties, 
 especially by those of Riswick, Utrecht, and Aix la Chapelle." 3 
 
 Thomas Penn offered to contribute £400 for the erection of a stone 
 fort on the Ohio and £100 yearly for its support, but the assembly was 
 adverse to its erection. 4 Croghan, Christopher Gist and Andrew Montour 
 were reproved by the Pennsylvania government for an unauthorized treaty, 
 they had made with the Twightwees. 5 In 1752, the Twightwees town on 
 the Allegheny was attacked by French Indians and they sent a pathetic 
 message imploring English assistance. 6 
 
 The western Indians, at this time, were firm in their allegiance to 
 the English and determined to repel French aggressions. The governors 
 of New York and Pennsylvania desired to help the Indians, but were 
 
 32 
 
unable to do so, because of the opposition of their assemblies. Owing to 
 this apathy and blundering tactics, the English alliance withered away. 
 
 In 1753, the French built a fort at Presque Isle and another Fort 
 Le Boeuf. Marin, the commander, having died before this was completed, 
 he was succeeded by another officer, St. Pierre. 
 
 Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, who may have been actuated by his 
 friendship for Hanbury, London partner in the Ohio Company, which was 
 vitally interested in the retention of the Ohio region, acted with more 
 energy than the other governors. He selected young George Washington to 
 deliver a letter, to the French commander, inquiring the reason of his 
 invasion and threatening to repel force by force if he did not desist. 
 Washington was, probably, selected because his brothers, Lawrence and 
 Augustine were influential members of the Ohio Company. He was accom- 
 panied by Jacob Van Braam, French interpreter, Christopher Gist 7 as 
 guide, John Davison as Indian interpreter and Barnaby Currin, Henry 
 Steward, John McGuire and William Jenkins as attendants. His route 
 from Alexandria was by the way of Will's Creek to the present Mt. Brad- 
 dock, Pennsylvania, where Christopher Gist had made a plantation and 
 established his headquarters, as agent of the Ohio Company. Virginia then 
 claimed the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, as a part of that colony. 
 At Logstown, Washington met Scarooyady and Tanacharisson, the Half 
 King, Iroquois governor of the subject tribes on the Ohio. Accompanied 
 by the latter and several other Indians, they made their way to Venango 
 at the mouth of French creek. The commander there was the celebrated 
 half-breed, Captain Chaubert de Joincaire son of Seur de Joincaire and a 
 Seneca squaw, and the most potent agent of France in the west. He 
 hospitably entertained the Washington party with food and wine, but the 
 French officers boasted they would drive the English out, who although 
 possessing the greater numbers were too slow to move. 
 
 Washington and his retinue arrived, at Fort le Boeuf, December 11, 
 1753 and were kindly received by Lagardeur St. Pierre, the commandant. 
 Fort le Boeuf was located on the south of the west branch of French creek 
 and was almost surrounded by the creek and a small branch of it. It was 
 a well constructed palisaded fortification, enclosing the guard house, chapel, 
 doctor's lodging and commander's quarters. Without were the soldier's 
 barracks, stables and smith's shop. It was garrisoned by about one hundred 
 men, exclusive of officers. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Repentingy, commander at Presque Isle, who had 
 some knowledge of English, Washington delivered his letter. Repentigny 
 made a translation, which Van Braam perused and corrected. St. Pierre 
 wrote his reply and delivered it to Washington, who left December 16th. 
 After passing Venango, Washington became impatient at the slow progress, 
 the horses were making and he and Gist determined to go the rest of the 
 way on foot. They soon encountered a party of French Indians and one 
 of them fired at Washington or Gist, but fortunately missed his aim. They 
 captured the fellow and compelled him to accompany them for a distance 
 
 33 
 
when they released him, but fearing pursuit by the hostile Indians, they 
 walked rapidly with little rest all night and the next day. 
 
 The Allegheny river was high and full of floating ice and to cross it, 
 they made a poor sort of a raft. It became jammed with ice in midstream 
 and Washington put his setting pole in the river to stop the raft, so that 
 the ice might pass, but the current being swift he was hurled into the deep 
 and icy water. Surrounded by the floating ice, his situation was perilous. 
 Gist could not help him. The raft swerved toward him and, fortunately, 
 one of the logs projected, within his reach. He seized it and saved himself. 
 The raft, fast going to pieces, drifted toward the shore and when the 
 water was not too deep, they waded to an island from which they could 
 not escape. It was severely cold and they nearly perished through the 
 long and bitter night. In the morning, the river was frozen and on the 
 ice, they crossed to the eastern shore and made their way to Frazer's 
 trading house, where they recuperated. 
 
 Washington arrived at Williamsburg, January 16, 1754 and delivered 
 St. Pierre's answer to Dinwiddie. It regretted that Washington could not 
 go with his message to Canada, but stated that it would be forwarded 
 to Duquesne and also said : "As to the summons you sent me to retire, 
 I do not think myself obliged to obey it. Whatever are your intentions, I 
 am here by virtue of the order of my general ; and I entreat you Sir, not 
 to doubt one moment, but I am determined to conform myself to them 
 with all the Exactness and Resolution which can be expected from the 
 best officer." 8 
 
 In the fall of 1753, Dinwiddie sent workmen to build a fort at the 
 forks of the Ohio; and to further this design, in February 1754, he coith 
 missioned Captain William Trent 9 to raise a company of one hundred 
 men. When seventy men had been enlisted, Trent began the erection of a 
 fort at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. This was 
 in March 1754. 
 
 The English government was cognizant of the deplorable state of 
 Indian affairs and directed the governor of New York to call a conference 
 of the northern colonies with the Six Nations. This conference convened 
 in the Court House at Albany, June 19, 1754. There were present dele- 
 gates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
 New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. 10 The minutes of the first session 
 designated the meeting as "this Congress," the name by which it has ever 
 since been called. Conrad Weiser was present as interprter for Pennsyl- 
 vania and Virginia and Joseph Kellogg appeared as interpreter for Mass- 
 achusetts. Governor James De Lancey of New York was chairman and 
 Peter Wraxall was elected secretary. The attendance of Indians was dis- 
 appointing, only one hundred and forty five from the various nations being 
 present. 11 
 
 The congress met in a local atmosphere surcharged with deception 
 and downright dishonesty. The New York land hogs had already stolen 
 the choice lands of the Mohawks and almost alienated that friendly and 
 loyal nation. The Albany merchants were, then, carrying on the clandestine 
 
 34 
 
business of supplying the Canadian traders, at Montreal, with guns, powder 
 and lead, which a little later were used by the hostile Indians in the'destruc- 
 tion of the Pennsylvania and New York frontier. 
 
 Hendrick Peters, in his able reply, to De Lancey's opening address, 
 denied that any French forts had been built by consent of his people ; but 
 reminded the congress, that Virginia and Pennsylvania had made paths 
 through their country and built houses therein without even asking the 
 Indian's permission. He also charged, that the Indian Commissioners at 
 Albany had never invited them to a conference, although the' Indians of 
 Canada come frequently and smoke here, which is for the sake of the 
 beaver. 
 
 Continuing he said: "Tis your fault Brethren, that we are not strength- 
 ened by conquest, fof we would have gone and taken Crown Point but 
 you hindered us. We concluded to go and take it, but we were told it 
 was too late and the ice would not bear us. Instead of this you burnt your 
 own fort at Saraghtoga, which was a shame and scandal to you Look 
 about your country ano^ see, you have no fortifications about you, and not 
 even to this city, tis but a step from Canada and the French may easilv 
 come and turn you out of doors.. Look about you and see all these houses 
 lull of beaver, and the money all gone to Canada, likewise powder lead 
 and guns which the French now, makes use of at Ohio. The goods which 
 go from hence to Oswego, go from thence to Ohio, which further enables 
 the French to carry on their designs at Ohio. Look at the French thev 
 are men they are fortifying everywhere— but we are ashamed to say it you 
 are all like women, bare and open without any fortifications." 
 
 Hendrick, who had a special liking for William Johnson reiterated 
 the Mohawks' desire, that Johnson be reinstated in the mangement of 
 Indian affairs and reminded them of the request,, "about Johnson, which 
 Governor Clinton promised to carry to the king, our common father, is 
 drowned in the sea." 
 
 He concluded by saying: "The fire is burnt out," and turning his face 
 to the New York Commissioners of Indian affairs, who were present 
 directed them to take notice of what he said. 
 
 To this galling, truthful and very able speech, DeLancey, in behalf 
 of the delegates, made a tame reply and transferred the defense to an 
 abler Indian negotiator, in these words : "It is fortunate that Mr Weiser 
 who transacts the public business of Virginia and Pennsylvania with your 
 nations and is one of your Council and knows these matters well is now 
 present Hear the account he gives and this will set the matter in a true 
 light. Conrad Weiser skillfully and ably explained the situation, apparently 
 to the satisfaction of the Indians. 
 
 Thenceforth, the conduct of the congress, with the Indians, was one 
 of excuse, explanation and placation, which together with a liberal dona- 
 tion of presents, seems to have been tolerably successful with the limited 
 number of Indians of the Six Nations present. A conference was also held 
 with the River Indians. 
 
 35 
 
For some time, the busy mind of Benjamin Franklin had been cogit- 
 ating a plan for the union of the colonies ; and shortly before the congress, 
 there appeared, in the Pennsylvania Gazette, evidently written by him, 
 an article urging such a union. In connection with it was the figure of a 
 snake divided into parts, with the motto, "Join or Die." 
 
 Franklin's conclusions were embodied in what he called, "Short Hints 
 Towards a Scheme for Uniting the Northern Colonies." This he submitted 
 to James Alexander, the eminent lawyer of New York and Cadwallader 
 Colden for further emendation. 12 
 
 Franklin submitted his plan to the congress, which contained many 
 members of the same opinion. Moreover, Massachusetts had instructed 
 her delegates to enter into articles of union. A committee was appointed 
 and a plan of union was adopted, mainly following Franklin's "Hints," 
 but somewhat enlarged and more specific. It provided for a President 
 General appointed and supported by the crown, and a grand council of 
 forty eight members chosen by the respective colonies. General powers 
 were given to regulate Indian trade and new settlements, raise and pay 
 soldiers, build forts, equip vessels to guard the coasts and to protect trade ; 
 and to make laws and levy imposts or taxes for these purposes. 
 
 This plan of union was rejected by the colonies, because they judged 
 it favored prerogative ; and the British authorities gave it no considera- 
 tion because of a suspicion that it aimed at independence. Its real signifi- 
 cance, in the evolution of the American state, is that it was the genesis 
 of the later Articles of Confederation. 
 
 In furtherance of the purpose for which it was called, the adhesion 
 of the Indians and the protection of the frontier, the Albany Congress 
 accomplished little. The dominance of the great Indian Confederacy, now 
 torn by internal dissension was over. Tested by the law of evolution, the 
 integration of the League of the Iroquois was ended, it was in a state of 
 equilibration and its dissolution came with the Revolution. 
 
 Two private land grabs, consummated at Albany at the time, were 
 more important in future results than all the doings of the congress. They 
 were engineered by two men, renowned for their piety, the Rev. Richard 
 Peters, an Episcopal clergyman and Timothy Woodbridge, a Puritan 
 deacon. 
 
 Peters and John Penn were more interested in securing an Indian 
 land grant, than in the proceedings of the congress. They secured a grant, 
 from twenty three Iroquois chiefs, of all the land on the west side of the 
 Susequehanna, north of the Kittatinny mountains to the mouth of Penn's 
 creek, and thence northerly and westerly (as the Indians understood not 
 to include the West Branch and its tributaries) to the western boundary 
 of the province. This was done contrary to the admonitions of the crown 
 authorities and outside the proceedings of the congress, and at the private 
 lodgings of the Pennsylvania delegates. To accomplish this, Conrad Weiser 
 found it necessary to bribe Gachradoda, an Oneida chief; or in Peters' 
 mild terms of clerical cunning, "to engage him by a reward." 13 In order 
 to forestall the Connecticut purchase, Peters and Penn exhibited the old 
 
 36 
 
deed of preemption of 1736 and secured an endorsement thereon, signed 
 by Hendrick and Abraham Peters and six other Indians. This concluded 
 the Pennsylvania business with the Indians. 
 
 The other land transaction made at Albany, is entitled to more 
 lengthy consideration, because of its initiation of the great western move- 
 ment of settlement, its influence on future political affairs and the blood and 
 anguish it entailed. It is comprehended in a deed made by the Indians to 
 over six hundred individuals, residents of the colonies of Massachusetts, 
 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, of a vast area, 
 comprising a great part of what is now northern Pennsylvania. It is known 
 as the ''Susquehanna Purchase," and its inception goes far back in English 
 history. 
 
 Connecticut claimed the western lands by virtue of two grants, the 
 first, the "Old Patent," which was based on the charter of 1606 of the 
 Plymouth Company, containing a grant of all the land between the 41st 
 and 45th degrees of latitude and from sea to sea. This company was 
 rechartered in 1620, and the Earl of Warwick, its president, in 1631, 
 granted to Lord Say and Sele and others, the territory "from Narragansett 
 river to the southward 40 leagues to keep the breadth to the south sea." 
 Under it, the settlement at Saybrook was founded, and which was sold, 
 in 1644, to the colony of Connecticut. 
 
 This title may be of doubtful validity; but of the second grant, there 
 can be no doubt, as the Connecticut charter of April 20, 1662, ratified the 
 first grant in these words, "granting and confirming to them (the mem- 
 bers of the Connecticut colony) all that part of New England, bounded 
 on the east by Narragansett river, on the north by line of Massachusetts, 
 on the south by the sea, and from, Narragansett bay on the east to the 
 south sea on the west. 14 The north and south boundaries of it are nearly 
 coincident with the 42nd and 41st degrees of latitude and it extended 
 westward to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The 41st degree of latitude crosses the Delaware river two or three 
 miles above the Delaware Water Gap, the North Branch of the Susquehanna 
 near Bloomsburg, the West Branch at Milton, and again near Clearfield, 
 and the Shenango river at New Castle. The 42nd degree is the southern 
 boundary of New York ; and consequently all that part of the present state 
 of Pennsylvania was comprehended in this grant. 
 
 Due to the overcrowded population of Connecticut, numerous peti- 
 tions were presented, about 1750, to the assembly of that colony praying 
 for grants of land within these limits, but no action was taken. 
 
 In Colchester Connecticut, near the Great Pond, one Stephen Gardner 
 had, in 1753, a farm and kept a tavern; and presumably under his leader- 
 ship, the neighboring farmers gathered at his tavern and organized the 
 Colchester Association, formed for the purpose of settling on these western 
 lands, at a place called "Quiwomick (Wyoming). Subsequently, this 
 organization was merged in the Susquehanna Company formed at Wind- 
 ham, July 18, 1753, for the same purpose. This company, into which the 
 Colchester Association was already merged, in October 1753, sent Stephen 
 
 37 
 
Gardner with two others as a journeying committee to view these Wyoming 
 lands. They sold shares in the company, on their way, to residents of 
 Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. In 1755, Stephen Gardner made 
 another trip to the Susquehanna valley. He was accompanied by a sur- 
 veyor named Young, and Mr. Gardner carefully noted, in his journal, his 
 observations of the land, Indian villages and latitude and longitude of the 
 places visited. It thus appears that Stephen Gardner was the first explorer 
 of the western lands and the forerunner of the future great migrations 
 from New England. 15 
 
 As a result of Stephen Gardner's investigation and the great enlist- 
 ment of shareholders, the Susquehanna Company engaged Timothy Wood- 
 bridge, as agent to attend the Albany Congress and purchase from the 
 Indians gathered there, the Wyoming lands. Deacon Woodbridge went 
 about his agency in a business and not religious way, enlisting the services 
 of Colonel Ephraim Williams, Joseph Kellogg, the great interpreter and 
 above all Colonel John H. Lydius, all of them adepts in Indian bamboozle- 
 ment. Lydius, although disparaged and maligned by Pennsylvanians, was 
 a man of consequence. He was born at Albany, in 1704, the son of Dominie 
 Johannes Lydius, pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. He early engaged 
 in the business of an Indian trader and achieved success, being at the 
 time the leading trader of the town. He collaborated, for a time with 
 Colonel William Johnson in the conduct of Indian affairs; and Johnson 
 recommended him, as his successor as Indian Superintendent, but in 1754, 
 they were no longer friends. The connection of Lydius with the Susque- 
 hanna business may have engendered much of Johnson's opposition to the 
 purchase. Be that as it may, the two most influential New York men, 
 among the Iroquois, in 1754, were William Johnson and John H. Lydius. 
 
 Lydius understood Indians. Like Conrad Weiser, he probably bribed 
 a chief or two ; and kept the Indians cross-grained with Penn and Peters, 
 the Pennsylvania agents. He may have incited King Hendrick's opposi- 
 tion to the Penn purchase. Lydius, undoubtedly, got the Indians drunk, and 
 kept them so, as long as he could, that being the usual and most effectual 
 means in making land purchases. He conducted his business with them 
 at his residence, just as Penn and Peters had done at? their lodgings. 
 
 At his old brick mansion, at the corner of Pearl and State Streets, 
 Lydius secured the signatures of the Indians to the Susquehanna Purchase 
 deed, which is dated July 11, 1754. The consideration named is £2000 
 current New York money, which it is said the Indians took in a blanket 
 out in the yard and divided among themselves. Witnesses to the deed were, 
 Colonel Ephraim Williams, Joseph Kellogg and several prominent citizens 
 of Albany. 16 
 
 There were 534 whole share grantees, who each took two twelve 
 hundred twenty fourth parts of the tract ; and 136 half share grantees, 
 who each took one twelve hundred twenty fourth parts. All took as tenants 
 in common of their respective parts. The land conveyed is described as 
 follows : "Beginning from the one and fortieth degree of north latitude at 
 ten miles distance East of the Susquehanna river; and thence with a 
 
 38 
 
northward line ten miles East of the river to the forty second or beginning 
 of the forty third degree of north latitude and so to extend west two 
 degrees of longitude one hundred and twenty miles ; and from thence 
 south to the beginning of the forty second degree ; and from thence to the 
 aforementioned bounds which is ten miles east of the Susquehanna river." 
 This tract comprises the present Pennsylvania counties : the larger part of 
 Bradford, Wyoming, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Montour, Clear- 
 field, Elk, andMcKean ; smaller portions of Susquehanna, Northumberland, 
 Union and Center ; and all of Sullivan, Lycoming, Tioga, Potter and 
 Cameron. 
 
 In all eighteen prominent chiefs and sachems of the Iroquois signed 
 the deed. 17 Susquehanna Company adversaries have repeatedly asserted, 
 that it was only signed by insignificant Indians, but the list as set forth 
 in the note is sufficient answer to the assertion. Various writers have 
 also designated it as a sale by the Mohawks, but as a matter of fact the 
 deed was signed by two Senecas, seven Mohawks, two Onondagas, six 
 Oneidas and one Cayuga, a fair representation of each of the five nations 
 composing the governing power of the Iroquois Confederacy. 
 
 The English colonists, in 1754, only occupied a narrow strip of rather 
 sterile land skirting the Atlantic coast. It was a territory without great 
 natural resources, but with the advantage of proximity to the sea, which 
 afforded rich returns from fisheries and commerce. The unyielding hills 
 of New England produced little wheat and scant crops of corn. There 
 was fertility in the narrow valley of the Hudson; but the soil of New 
 Jersey was indifferent and that of the south thin and sandy. Only, the 
 Pennsylvania counties of Lancaster, Chester, Bucks, Berks and Northamp- 
 ton produced great annual harvests of rye, wheat and corn, the rich ever- 
 lasting soil of which has made the region the garden spot of the east. 
 In this narrow colonized section, there were few minerals and the timber 
 was of meager value and much of it gone. 
 
 The fine hardwood, hemlock, spruce and pine forests of Maine, the 
 White Mountains, the Adirondacks and the hills and mountains of Pennsyl- 
 vania and Virginia were occupied by the Indians and covered the vast 
 area disputed with the French. The future fertile grain fields of the western 
 prairies were undreamed of; and the great deposits of oil, coal and iron 
 were undiscovered and far beyond the settlements. The only great natural 
 resource, east of the Alleghenies, was the coal of the anthracite region and 
 the richest portion of this was in the territory of the Susquehanna Purchase. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER FIVE 
 
 1. Col. Recs. 5, 470 to 480. (Weiser's Journal) 
 
 2. Ibid, 440 to 449. (Richard Peters' Report) 
 
 3. Ibid, 410; also Sir William Johnson Papers 1, page 514. 
 
 4. Col. Recs. 5, 514, 515. 
 
 5. Ibid, 517 to 526. 
 
 6. Ibid, 599, 600. 
 
 39 
 
7. Christopher Gist was born in Maryland in 1706. His father was a surveyor 
 and one of the commissioners, who plotted Baltimore. Christopher was probably 
 a surveyor and his writings indicate he was well schooled. In 1750, he was living 
 on the Yadkin river in North Carolina, a neighbor of Daniel Boone. He was engaged 
 by the Ohio Company and explored the Ohio valley, as far south as the Scioto 
 river, in 1750. From thence he crossed the Ohio into Kentucky. He took possession 
 of the Ohio lands for the company in 1752; and located his plantation at what is 
 now Mt. Braddock, Fayette County, Pa. He guided Washington on his mission 
 and was guide of Braddock's army. In 1756, he went to East Tennessee and attempted 
 to enlist a company of Cherokees as scouts. He died of smallpox in South Carolina 
 or Georgia, in 1759. His wife was Sarah Howard. Gist was a man of intelligence 
 and integrity. 
 
 8. As to Washington's journey, see: Diary of George Washington, Vol. 1, 
 pages 43 to 67; Diary of Christopher Gist, Massachusetts Historical Society Col- 
 lections, Series 3, V, 103-104. For St. Pierre's reply see Col. Recs. 5, 715. 
 
 9. William Trent was a Pennsylvania Indian trader in the Ohio region, in 
 close association with George Groghan. His name appears frequently in the colonial 
 records and he was employed on important business by the Pennsylvania government. 
 He lived at Carlisle in 1756. 
 
 10. List of Delegates : New York, James De Lancey, Joseph Murray, William 
 Johnson, John Chambers, and William Smith; New Hampshire, Theodore Atkinson, 
 Richard Wilbird, and Henry Sherburn Jr. ; Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, 
 Samuel Welles, John Chandler, Oliver Partridge and John Worthington ; Connecti- 
 cut, William Pitkin, Roger Wolcott and Elisha Williams ; Rhode Island, Stephen 
 Hopkins and Martin Howard Jr. ; Pennsylvania, John Penn, Richard Peters, Isaac 
 Norris and Benjamin Franklin; Maryland, Benjamin Tasker and Abraham Barnes. 
 
 11. Documentary History of New York Vol. 2, 553; Col. Recs. 6, 57. 
 
 12. Bigelow's Works of Benjamin Franklin, Vol. 3 beginning at page 12. 
 
 13. Col. Recs. 6, 111 Peters' Report. 
 
 14. Hoyt's Brief of Title, 9, 10, 11; also Miner's History which states, the 
 king renewed and confirmed the charter, distinctly recognizing the territory as part 
 of the Plymouth grant; also Bancroft's History of the United States, Vol. 1, Part 2, 
 Chapter 3, 356; Andrew's Colonial Period of American History Vol. 2, 130 and 140. 
 
 15. See extract from diary of Ezra Stiles and Journal of Stephen Gardner in 
 Susquehanna Company Papers, Vol. 1, 43 to 51. 
 
 16. The original deed is with the Historical Society of Pa. ; reproductions 
 are contained in Harvey's History of Wilkes-Barre Vol. 1, 271 ; and in Susque- 
 hanna Company Papers Vol. 1, 101, varying slightly due to errors in copying.. 
 
 17. Chiefs and Sachems of the Iroquois who signed the deed: Khitoton, chief 
 of the Senekas; Abraham Peters, Sachem of Canajoharie, brother of King Hendrick ; 
 William Tharigioris, Sachem of Canajoharie; Brant Conwignoge, Sachem of Mo- 
 hawks ; Gagswigstione, Rodhad, an Onondaga Sachem ; Canagegaie, an Onondaga 
 Sachem ; Seth Jestarie of the Mohawks ; Johanis of the Mohawks ; Senosies, an 
 Oneida Sachem ; Johanis Candegair, head of delegation from Lower Castle of 
 Mohawks; Nikes Carigiagtatie, who was Nicholas Peters, half brother of Hendrick; 
 Canaggajese, and Oneida; Johns Tegnagerat, an Oneida; Akweiota, an Oneida; 
 Caristago, Oneida; Scaronage, the Half King, known as Scarooyady, an Oneida 
 chief ; Scaneradie, a Cayuga chief ; Tagigeadont Dronkerd, who was head of the 
 Senecas. 
 
 40 
 
CHAPTER SIX 
 
 THE FRONTIER IN 1754 
 
 West of the Susquehanna, in 1754, there were only two Pennsylvania 
 counties, York erected in 1749, and Cumberland organized in 1750. The 
 other frontier counties were Berks and Northampton both organized in 
 1752, and the northern part of Lancaster, now forming Dauphin county. 
 
 Virginia claimed the Ohio region and the first settlement, west of the 
 Alleghenies, was made by Christopher Gist, agent of the Ohio Company, 
 at what is now Mt. Braddock, Fayette countv. However, the real outposts 
 west of the Susquehanna and all in Cumberland county were : the Conollo- 
 way and Great Cove settlements in what is now Fulton county ;. Raystown, 
 now Bedford ; Aughwick, the present Shirleysville ; along the upper Juniata 
 at the mouth of Shavers' creek, where Peter Shaver settled in 1754; and 
 at the mouth of Penn's creek, which flows into the Susquehanna below 
 Selinsgrove. 
 
 All the territory, within this semi-circle of outposts and east to the 
 Susquehanna, was a desolate frontier. Cumberland county was a vast 
 wilderness ; and Carlisle, the county seat was a border town, a mere hamlet 
 with log court house and jail and five miserable dwellings. 1 Raystown, a 
 collection of a few hovels, was settled by a man named Ray, who gave his 
 name to it and the branch of the Juniata upon which it was situated. 2 
 Aughwick was the residence of George Croghan ; and, according to a letter 
 of Conrad Weiser, was a considerable frontier community. In addition to 
 Mr. Croghan's house, there were about twenty cabins, with some two 
 hundred Indians lodged in them and a great many more scattered there- 
 abouts. On this plantation were some thirty acres of the best Indian corn 
 he ever saw ; and the place was well supplied with butter, milk and other 
 necessities. 3 The squatters, removed from their settlements in 1750, had 
 mostly returned and were now occupying their places along the Juniata and 
 in Sherman's valley and the Tuscarora valley. 
 
 The first settlers in Cumberland county were mainly Scotch Irish. 
 They were impetuous, daring, given to brawling and too much addicted 
 to whiskey. When aroused, they were vindictive and brutal in their treat- 
 ment of their Indian neighbors. They were strong Presbyterians and among 
 them were many sturdy characters. Among their notable leaders were: 
 George Croghan, John Armstrong, Benjamin Chambers, the celebrated 
 
 41 
 
Brady family and others. When the war came, the Scotch Irish valiantly 
 bore the brunt of the fighting on the frontier. 
 
 East of the Susquehanna, most of the advanced settlements were 
 located at the foot of the southern slope of the Kittatinny mountains, which 
 range may be considered the northwestern line of the frontier. Near the 
 river were Harris' Ferry and the adjacent Scotch Irish settlements at 
 Paxton, Derry and Hanover. Andrew Lycan had located in what is now 
 known as the Lykens Valley, and Simon Girty, father of the notorious Tory 
 renegade, had a trading post near Halifax. John Harris, a native of York- 
 shire, England, an enterprising trader settled at what is now Harrisburg. 
 In 1718 or 19, drunken Indians tied him to a tree near his store and 
 nearly burned him to death. 4 He was buried at the foot of this tree, within 
 the present limits of the city, in 1758. His son John, the founder of Harris- 
 burg, was licensed to keep a ferry in 1753, and thereafter, the place was 
 called Harris' Ferry. About 1726, James, Robert, Joseph and Benjamin 
 Chambers established mills at the mouth of Fishing creek. 5 As old Derry 
 church was built and the Paxtang congregation organized in 1729, the 
 influx of Scotch Irish to this region must have been a little earlier. 6 
 
 However, the principal settlers east of the river were Germans. The 
 first Palatines came from Schoharie to Tulpehocken in 1723, and were 
 soon followed by many more. They established well cultivated farms and 
 good dwellings, some of stone. These German settlements were orderly 
 communities and not of the usual border type. Due to the proximity of 
 the Kittatinny mountains, which hovered over them to the north and 
 afforded lurking places for the Indians, they were vulnerable to attack. 
 
 There may have been isolated settlements along the Schuylkill, as far 
 north as Schuylkill Haven. In 1747, George Godfried Orwig located near 
 Orwigsburg and several families gathered around him. The Moravians, in 
 1746, founded Gnadenhutten, on the north side of Mahoning creek near its 
 junction with the Lehigh. Christian Rauch and Martin Mack were the 
 first missionaries, and many Indian families resided there. In 1754, the 
 Indians were removed to a new setlement, near the present Weissport, 
 called New Gnadenhutten. 
 
 Frederick Hoeth and others, in 1754, made a settlement on the 
 Pocopoco sometimes called Hoeth's or Big Creek, in the fine open valley, 
 near the present Kresgeville, Monroe county. To the east, John McMichael 
 located on the creek which bears his name. Daniel Brodhead, evidently an 
 Indian trader, came from Ulster county, New York, and in 1735, estab- 
 lished his plantation, called Brodhead's Manor, at the junction of 
 McMichael's and Brodhead's creeks, near the present East Stroudsburg. 
 He was the father of Charles, Garrett, John and Luke, prominent in 
 colonial times, and General Daniel Brodhead a famous Revolutionary 
 soldier. 7 
 
 Along the Delaware, for a distance of forty miles north of the Water 
 Gap, were settlements much more ancient, than any others on the Pennsyl- 
 vania frontier. Probably, in the latter part of the Seventeenth Century, pos- 
 sibly, during the Dutch occupation of New Netherlands, miners made their 
 
 42 
 
way, from Esopus on the Hudson by a road, they built, called the "Old 
 Mine Road," to copper mines they opened on the New Jersey shore of the 
 Delaware, nearly opposite the mouth of Bushkill creek. 8 Dutch farmers 
 followed them and from the Indians purchased the lowlands, known as 
 the "Minnisink Flats" on the Pennsylvania side of the river. They reared 
 comfortable dwellings and barns, well tilled the fertile soil, planted orchards 
 and had horses, herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, when in 1730, they 
 were discovered by Nicholas Scull surveyor general of Pennsylvania and 
 his assistant, who came to survey and claim the land. The poor Dutch 
 farmers hardly sensed, what it was all about, for they knew not a word 
 of English and had never heard there was such a place as Philadelphia. 
 Their Indian neighbors, who could converse in the Delaware language 
 with the surveyors, realized they had come to "steal," as they termed it, 
 their friends farms, and in no uncertain terms, told the surveyors "to tie 
 up their iron string and go home." Of course in due time, the farmers had 
 to pay the Penns for, the lands they had made valuable by their toil or be 
 evicted by the force of law and government. 9 
 
 The streams, entering the Delaware in this vicinity, are called "kills," 
 the Dutch word for creeks, as Bushkill, Ramskill, Sawkill etc. There were 
 among these ancient Dutch families, Van Ettens, Van Campens, Vander- 
 lises and Hyndshaws, and some of their descendants still occupy the fertile 
 farms, their ancestors settled on so long ago. 
 
 Samuel Depui, a French Huguenot, was the most prosperous resident 
 of the region. He married a Dutch girl at Esopus and made his plantation 
 at Shawnee, a few miles above the Water Gap, where he purchased, from 
 the Indians, an extensive tract of land, including two fertile islands. About 
 1727, he began the erection of a large stone mansion, which in 1754 was a 
 conspicuous land mark on the frontier and in the subsequent Indian 
 troubles was a place of importance. 10 
 
 The Proprietors of Pennsylvania, in 1748, laid out the Wallenpaupack 
 Manor, contaiing 12,000 acres. It was situated along the Wallenpaupack 
 creek, a placid stream which meandered for miles through a wide valley 
 of rich alluvial land. 11 A family named Carter settled on it, in 1753, and 
 it was the most northeasterly outpost of the Pennsylvania frontier. 
 
 In 1754, the North Branch of the Susquehanna bore no traces of 
 civilization. From Otsego Lake to Shamokin, it raced its rapid course of 
 316 miles through an unbroken wilderness. Its tributaries drained the 
 endless hills and mountains. It was a land as nature made it, of maple, 
 oak, and beech, hemlock, spruce and pine, lurking with elk, and deer, bear 
 and beaver, panther and wolf. Now and then, an Indian trader or mis- 
 sionary had crept along the narrow trails and penetrated the vastness of 
 the forest. Conrad Weiser was the only white man, who knew the whole 
 region well. It was the choice hunting ground of the Six Nations. In the 
 fall, Iroquois hunters made their way, from the little Indian villages along 
 the river, back through the mountains to the deer lic 1 cs, they knew so well ; 
 and found refuge, from bleak November rains and early December snows, 
 in the rock shelters of the hills. 12 And when winter came, laden with furs 
 
 43 
 
and dried venison, they toiled by trail and river back to their homes. The 
 winter clogged the streams with ice and deep snows blocked the paths by 
 which no warrior ventured to travel. When corn was short and deer scarce, 
 starvation stared within every Indian hut and long house. Weird was 
 winter time, when deep gloom and dreary desolation descended on all this 
 vast land. 
 
 The Conoy or Ganawese Indian village was at Catawissa; and at 
 Nescopeck a band of Delawares, under their chief Nutimus, had settled 
 about 1743 after their eviction from the Delaware. Wapwallopen was 
 another small Indian town. 
 
 Wyoming is the most celebrated valley in the United States. Between 
 two high mountain ranges, which rise to the east and west, early travellers 
 had noted its fine situation and picturesque beauty. The Susquehanna, 
 breaking through these mountains by two narrow gaps at the north and 
 south, meanders through lowlands as level as the prairies and with an 
 alluvial soil as rich as the valley of the Nile. Underneath were the richest 
 deposits of coal in the world, richer than gold and diamond fields. It was 
 prized by the Iroquois as their most valuable conquest, which they vowed 
 never to sell. White men and red men, Yankee and Pennsylvanian shed 
 their blood for its possession. Its annals and legends have been recounted 
 in history and tales of romance, and sung in verse by English and Amer- 
 ican poets. 
 
 The Wyoming Valley was not permanently occupied by the Indians 
 in historic times, the Six Nations, only, assigning it to some of the subject 
 tribes, as a temporary asylum. The first Indians there of whom we have 
 knowledge were the Shawnees, whose village Wyjomic was near the 
 present Coal street in Plymouth Borough. 13 "Hither, it is said, they 
 were invited, at some earlier day, by the Six Nations, who were confident 
 that they could place no custodians more reliable than the ferocious Shaw- 
 anese in charge of that lovely valley among the hills." Shikellimy ordered 
 these to remove to the Ohio, and a small band of Shawnees, under their 
 chief Kackawatcheky, to take their place. They remained until 1744, 
 when they removed to Logstown and were succeeded by others of the 
 same tribe under the famous Paxinosa. 
 
 A few Nanticoke Indians remained a short time near the present city 
 of Nanticoke, and, then, migrated to what is now Owego and Binghamton. 
 About 1743, many of the Indians evicted from the forks of the Delaware 
 located in the present Firwood section of Wilkes-Barre, but on account 
 of an epidemic relocated their town in what is now Plains. In 1754, 
 Teedyuscung 14 and his followers from Gnadenhutten built their village in 
 the present Tenth ward of Wilkes-Barre ; and Abraham, a Christian Indian 
 joined the old Mohegan settlement on the banks of Abraham's creek in 
 the now Forty Fort borough. As early as 1748, there was a Minsi village, 
 called Asserughney, at the junction of the Lackawanna river with the 
 Susquehanna. 15 
 
 There were small Indian villages at Tunkhannock and probably at 
 Mehoopany and Meshoppen. In 1752, Papunhank, a Minsi chief built a 
 
 44 
 
well constructed Indian village of twenty families at Wyalusing. At the 
 mouth of Sugar creek, just north of Towanda, where the great Sheshequin 
 trail began, was a village. 
 
 Tioga Point, at the confluence of the Tioga or Chemung river with 
 the Susquehanna, was the site of Diahoga, the great southern door of the 
 "Long House of the Iroquois." There a considerable band of warriors 
 always dwelt as a garrison of this strategic outpost of the Six Nations. It 
 was on the narrow peninsula, rising well above the rivers on either side, 
 and overlooking, to the southward, a broad expanse of lowland. It was 
 like Iroquois villages of the time, composed of huts and long houses, ill- 
 arranged, and was a dirty and unkept town. However, it is not to be 
 judged by its physical aspects, but by its importance in the history of 
 the frontier. 
 
 There were villages of Iroquois and other Indians at Owego and 
 Otseninky (Binghamton) ; but of all the towns beyond Diahoga. the 
 principal one was Oquaga. It was built on both sides of the river and 
 the part, located on the west side, is now the site of Windsor. Not far 
 from the Delaware river, it was easily accessible to the Indians living on 
 the Susquehanna and its tributaries. Because of the commingling there 
 of the various tribes, it was missionary and trading post of considerable 
 importance. 
 
 Rev. John Sergeant, of the Stockbridge Indian mission, was the first 
 New England missionary in the Susquehanna valley. 16 He was followed 
 by Elihu Spencer, who stayed at Oquaga, a short time, and later became 
 president of Princeton College. 17 Halsey, in "Old New York Frontier," 
 says: "In 1745, he (Brainerd) appears to have gone to Oquaga, since he 
 preached on the Susquehanna to Indians, whom he had known at Stock- 
 bridge." This is, evidently, a mistake. David Brainerd, the great mission- 
 ary, according to his journal, 17 made only four trips to the Susquehanna 
 valley viz: in 1744 to Wapwallopen ; in September, 1745 to Shamokin; in 
 1747 to the Great Island (Lock Haven) ; and one, in May, 1745, to the 
 mouth of the Juniata. From there, he went up the river about a hundred 
 miles, which would take him no farther than Wyoming, where he preached 
 to some Mohegan Indians, he had 1 known in a mission he formerly con- 
 ducted near Stockbridge. These are the Indians alluded to by Halsey, but 
 the preaching was at Wyoming and not Oquaga. 
 
 In 1753, Rev. Gideon Hawley, an instructor at the Stockbridge mis- 
 sion, was appointed, by the Boston Commissioners for Propagating the 
 Gospel, missionary at Oquaga. In May, accompanied by Timothy Wood- 
 bridge, superintendent of Indian affairs at Stockbridge 18 and Benjamin 
 Ashley and his wife Rebecca Kellogg Ashley as interpreter, 19 Hawley 
 made his celebrated journey to Oquaga. 20 
 
 William Johnson had a profitable trading house at Oquaga, where he 
 sold the Indians plenty of rum. Mr. Hawley's mission continued for some 
 years and so did Johnson's trading house and rum. 
 
 Cherry Valley was the first English settlement on the North Branch 
 and its tributaries and was made, in 1740, by John Lindesay, who obtained 
 
 45 
 
a patent for 8000 acres. 21 The location is a pleasant one, in a little valley 
 of fertile and rolling land on the headwaters of the creek, which flows 
 southward to the Susquehanna. He enlisted the assistance of Rev. Samuel 
 Dunlop, a Scotch Presbyterian clergyman, who, at Londonderry, New 
 Hampshire, induced his fellowcountrymen, David Ramsay, William Gait, 
 James Campbell, William Dickson and others to remove to Cherry Valley. 
 On a gentle incline west of the village, he erected a log house, to which 
 he brought his bride, whom he went back to Ireland and wedded. Mr. 
 Dunlop, while writing a letter, inquired of Lindesay, where he should 
 date it. The latter suggested a Scottish place, but Mr. Dunlop pointed to 
 the cherry trees, which grew in abundance there, and said let's give it an 
 appropriate name, and it was named Cherry Valley. In 1754, Lindesay sold 
 his farm to John Welles and moved away. The place grew slowly, but, in 
 1754, was a prosperous community with church and school. 22 East were 
 the previously described Schoharie settlements. 
 
 Along the Hudson, north of Troy were Mechanicville and Saratoga, 
 now Schuylerville, which French Indians destroyed, in 1745, killing and 
 capturing many. 23 At Crown Point, the French, in 1745 erected Fort St. 
 Frederick. 
 
 The Mohawk valley west of Schenectady was the real New York 
 frontier. A little above the present Amsterdam was William Johnson's 
 stone mansion; and on the opposite side of the river was Fort Hunter, a 
 square stockaded fort. On the same side of the river to Cannatchocari, 
 about thirty miles, were a hundred farms. On the north bank westward 
 from Johnson's were five hundred houses many of them built of stone. 
 This territory included, Tribes Hill, Stone Arabia, and Caughnawaga, 
 near where Dow Fonda located. The Walter Butler house, still standing 
 was on the hill, two miles away. 25 
 
 Continuing, on the south side, from Cannatchocari to Fort Herkimer, 
 some nine miles, were about twenty houses. There was only a foot path, 
 on the north side, to Little Falls. Palatine village, consisting of thirty 
 houses, was nine miles above Little Falls, and opposite Fort Herkimer, 
 called by the French, Kouari, which was the palisaded stone house of the 
 Herkimer family. This vicinity was known as the German Flats. Fort 
 Williams was located at the present Rome, and was the carrying place to 
 the head of Wood creek. Boats passed down it, a distance of nine miles, to 
 Oneida Lake through it and thence by its outlet, the Oswego river to the 
 English trading post at Oswego. 26 
 
 The French, in 1725, erected Fort Niagara at the head of Lake On- 
 tario, and this spurred the activities of the English. In the spring of 1727, 
 Governor Burnet of New York sent workmen to build a trading post on 
 Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Oswego river. This was done to counter- 
 act the French and divert the western fur trade from the post at Niagara. 
 The trading house was built of stone and garrisoned by a detachment of 
 sixty soldiers and officers. In 1741, provision was made for a stone wall 
 around the trading house, with a blockhouse in each corner. English 
 traders, in great numbers, flocked to Oswego and, for years, it absorbed 
 
 46 
 
a large part of the western fur trade. It was, in 1754, the most western 
 outpost of the New York frontier, and the English fortification of greatest 
 strategic importance in the impending conflict. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER SIX 
 
 1. Day, Historical Collections of Pa., 266. 
 
 2. Egle, History of Pa., 463. 
 
 3. Col. Recs. 6, 149. 
 
 4. Egle, History of Pa., 649. 
 
 5. Day, Historical Collections, 274. 
 
 6. Egle, History of Pa., 644, 645. 
 
 7. Harvey, History of Wilkes-Bar re, 1, 258; Egle, History of Pa. 947; Day, 
 Hist. Colls., 475; Frontier Forts, 1, 247. 
 
 8. Many years ago, the writer inspected these ancient mine openings. At the 
 foot of the mountain was a tunnel, a more recent development, which we entered 
 for some distance and found thin veins of copper. The older and probably Dutch 
 openings were on the summit of the mountain and were pits sunk on the uplifted 
 outcropping rock. They were filled with water and rubbish and bore evidence of 
 great age. 
 
 9. Letter of Samuel Preston, in Hist, Colls ; and Egle's History, 947, 1050. 
 
 10. The Depui mansion, when visited by the writer, many years ago, had not 
 been materially changed, and was a large rectangular stone building two stories 
 high. 
 
 11. Situate in Pike and Wayne counties, and this valley and all its improvements 
 have been obliterated by a power dam, which impounds the Wallenpaupack. 
 
 12. Shallow caves and overhanding rocks. 
 
 13. Memorials of Moravian Church, 104. 
 
 14. Teedyuscung, according to his own statement, was born east of Trenton, 
 New Jersey, about 1700. The statement, often made, that he was born on the 
 Pocono mountains, is due to the fact his father Captain Harris and his clan left 
 New Jersey, about 1730 and located their village on Pocopoko creek, near the 
 present Bordheadsville, Monroe county. Teedyuscung came under the influence of 
 the Moravian missionaries, who reluctantly admitted him to their fold, although 
 they regarded him "as unstable as water and like a reed shaken before the wind." 
 His wife's name was Elizabeth and they had sons, the motorious Captain Bull, 
 said to be one of them. William Parsons said of him :.' "He is a lusty raw bon'd man, 
 haughty and very desirous of Respect and Command ; he can drink three quarts 
 or a gallon of Rum a day without being drunk." The Quakers adopted him as their 
 ward, and he has been given undeserved glory. 
 
 15. Harvey History of Wilkes-Barre, 1, chapters 4 and 5. 
 
 16. Halsey, Old New York Frontier. 
 
 17. Memoirs of Brainerd, 419. 
 
 18. Timothy Woodbridge was born, in 1709, at West Springfield, Mass., son of 
 Rev. John Woodbridge and his wife Joanna Eliot, granddaughter of John Eliot, 
 "Apostile of the Indians." He was teacher in the Indian mission school at Stock- 
 bridge and became superintendent of Indian affairs, there. He was justice for 
 Berkshire county, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and member of the Gov- 
 ernor's Council. 
 
 19. Rebecca Kellogg, with her brothers Martin and Joseph was abducted by 
 the Indians, when Deefield was sacked in 1703, and taken to the Canawauga town 
 
 47 
 
above Montreal, where they remained until grown up. They thoroughly learned the 
 Mohawk language and when released were the most proficient interpreters in 
 New England, rivalling Conrad Weiser in mastery of the Iroquois tongue. 
 
 20. Hawley's Narrative, Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 3, 103. 
 
 21. Map, Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 1, 420. 
 
 22. Campbell, Annals of Tryon County. 
 
 23. Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 1, 429. 
 
 25. This house is still standing and occupied as a farm house ; and was the 
 home of Col. John Butler of Wyoming Massacre infamy and his son Walter 
 responsible for the Cherry Valley Massacre. 
 
 26. Lossing, Field Book of the Revolution, 1, chapter 12. For the best con- 
 temporary description, see French account in Paris Docs. 8, reprinted in Volume 1, 
 page 524 Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 
 
 48 
 
CHAPTER SEVEN 
 
 SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON 
 
 No history of the frontier would be complete without an account of 
 Sir William Johnson. He was not only a leading officer of the French and 
 Indian War, but the principal Indian negotiator during it and the years that 
 followed. William Johnson represented frontier life in all that was highest 
 and lowest. He debauched the Indians with rum as a trader and openly 
 consorted with squaws. Yet, he had attributes that raised him far above 
 the level of the pioneer. Many have written of him, some with adulation, 
 others with denunciation and a few with critical judgment. His adulators 
 have had a hard task to make him either a great hero, a great statesman, 
 a great soldier or a great man. He was a lucky opportunist. Parkman 
 deals with him in considerable detail, as a favorite child of fortune, who 
 garnered more fame than he won ; but deservedly praises him as an Indian 
 negotiator, the field in which he was singularly successful, on his own 
 merits. 
 
 William Johnson was born in County Meath, Ireland in 1715. His 
 parents, Christopher Johnson and Anne Warren belonged to the middle 
 class or lesser gentry, and were both Protestant Irish. The Warren side 
 of his parentage was, perhaps, a little higher in the social scale, certainly 
 more affluent. Peter Warren, his maternal uncle was a captain in the 
 British navy, and by fortunate prize captures, accumulated a considerable 
 fortune. While stationed at New York, he married Susan De Lancey 
 belonging to an influential and aristocratic family of that colony. At this 
 time, he made two investments, the erection of a fine mansion in New 
 York, and the purchase of a large tract of wild land on the south side of 
 the Mohawk river, east of the mouth of Schoharie creek. 
 
 Johnson never cared to relate anything of his early life. It is certain, 
 however, that he arrived in New York, at the age of twenty-three years. 
 Whether, he sought the help of his uncle or was selected by him to develop 
 his wild lands, is unknown. All talk, by Johnson's adulators about his being 
 a courtly young Irish gentlemen, who fascinated the exclusive society of 
 New York, may be true, but more probably, it is glamorous gush and 
 strutting imagination. He was, merely, the poor relation of the prosperous 
 Captain Warren, and no relation, at all, of the haughty De Lanceys. 
 
 In due time, Johnson was sent up the Hudson in a, sloop, together 
 
 49 
 
with a collection of tools to clear the wild land, and a quantity of mer- 
 chandise to stock an Indian store. He was an untamed Irish youth, and as 
 usual with strong young men, sought his pleasure in drinking carousals 
 and sensuality, but his passions were curbed by an unusually acquisitive 
 nature which saved him from dissipation. By day, he endured the drudgery 
 of clearing land and trading, at four hundred per cent profit, Indian traps 
 and rum for stinking peltry ; and by night, he indulged in drinking bouts 
 and sexual revels with Indian squaws. As all these whimseys are related 
 by his admirers, they must be taken for granted. Soon tiring of the squaws, 
 he bought, of a neighbor, a poor young German indentured servant girl, 
 named Catherine Weissenburg. By her, he bred three children; Anne or 
 Nancy, who married Daniel Claus; John, who later succeeded him as Sir 
 John Johnson ; and Mary or Polly, who married her cousin, Guy Johnson. 
 There is no evidence, he ever married Catherine Weissenburg ; and as she 
 died, in some five years after her purchase, a vague tradition or more 
 likely invention has come down through the generations, that he married 
 her on her deathbed. Johnson mentioned her, in his will, as "my beloved 
 wife Catherine," but as intimated by a biographer, he may have lied to 
 assure the legitimacy of their children. If so, it is rather a commendable lie. 
 
 Within a year of her death, he took as his mistress, a comely squaw, 
 Caroline, daughter of Abraham Peters, and niece of Hendrick, chief of the 
 Mohawks. By her, he begat a natural son (as he calls him in his will), the 
 well known "William of Canajoharie," and it is supposed two daughters, 
 Caroline and Charlotte. William was educated by his father at the Indian 
 school conducted by Rev. Thomas Barton at Lancaster, Pennsylvania ; and 
 he, probably, bore a part on the Tory side in the border warfare, during 
 the Revolution. Caroline is said to have married Henry Randall, an English 
 soldier, who settled in America, joined the Continental army and was 
 killed at the battle of Monmouth. It is claimed Charlotte married Michael 
 Byrne, a commissary in the Indian service at Oswego. Whether Caroline 
 Peters died or left Johnson is unknown. 
 
 There is a pretty story, to the effect, that one day at a regimental 
 muster, an Indian maiden sprang lightly on the back of a horse, behind 
 the saddle of an officer, who was racing in the open field. She clung to 
 the crupper and with her long dark tresses streaming in the breeze, her 
 dazzling black eyes, her gay garb and shapely figure, won the admiration 
 of the crowd, and of Johnson, who forthwith chose her as the successor of 
 Caroline. This was the celebrated Molly Brant mother of Johnson's eight 
 halfbreed children living at the time of his death. As long as he lived, 
 she remained with him, being named in his will, as "my prudent and 
 faithful housekeeper, Mary Brant." 
 
 Johnson's domestic relations scandalized the pious and shocked the 
 conventional, occasioning much criticism during his lifetime. That he was 
 an unrestrained libertine and had a hundred halfbreed children, as some 
 unfriendly critics have asserted, seems improbable. That he was a man of 
 find sensibilities and elevated thought is also improbable. He certainly dis- 
 regarded the marital rules and customs of well ordered society. Having 
 
 50 
 
lived an irregular life, he frankly assumed the obligations of his irregulari- 
 ties. He boldly proclaimed in his will, the white woman with whom, he 
 lived, his wife and required that her remains should be buried by the side 
 of his own. He liberally provided Molly Brant with money and lands. He 
 publicly acknowledged as his own, his halfbreed natural children, educated 
 them and left each a rich inheritance. This was bold, honest conduct, dis- 
 playing no ignoble trait of character and commends admiration. 
 
 Johnson was a successful trader from the start. He had the Irish 
 characteristics of affability and adaptability, consorted on equal terms with 
 all sorts of people, white and red, thus winning their patronage and sup- 
 port. He early sensed that Oquaga was a suitable place for a trading post 
 and established, there, a very profitable business. Like all traders, he sold 
 plenty of rum, but in later years, when he had amassed an enormous for- 
 tune through the Indian trade, he attempted to restrain other traders 
 from supplying rum to the Indians. 
 
 As early as 1739, he discerned the advantages of the north side of 
 the river, and purchased in his own right a large tract of land with a 
 valuable mill site. When his uncle, Captain Warren learned of this, he 
 reproached him, intimating a suspicion, that Johnson intended to abandon 
 the Warren connection, and remove thither. A letter followed full of 
 excuses and with the declaration that he would never remove. But, in 1743, 
 he removed and severed the Warren connection, which caused his uncle 
 to hire a lawyer and demand an accounting, resulting in a compromise, 
 whereby Johnson gave his notes, aggregating over £1000 and the pledge 
 of a valuable tract of land, in satisfaction of his, overreaching. It would 
 seem, he lacked gratitude to his benefactor, who had made possible his 
 successful career. When a little later, Warren died, his will disclosed, that 
 with a fine sense of irony, he left this claim to the other members of the 
 Johnson family in Ireland. The claim was never paid, for shortly before 
 Johnson died, he won the dispute, as a biographer suggests, because of 
 his great influence in New York politics and corrupt connivance with the 
 attorney for the Johnson heirs. If true, this was dishonest and reprehensible 
 conduct and stamps Sir William Johnson as an utterly selfish and uncon- 
 scionable man. Another dereliction of Johnson was his utter neglect of 
 his less prosperous family in Ireland. He rarely wrote to his father and 
 mother, although repeatedly admonished, to do so by his brother, and 
 reminded of the heart burnings at home. 
 
 In 1749, Johnson erected at his place on the north side of the river, 
 a little above the present city of Amsterdam, a large eight room stone house 
 called Mt. Johnson and still standing. In 1754, it was protected by ram- 
 parts and blockhouses ; and had adjoining it a store, bake house, mill and 
 barns. After the French and Indian War, he built another house, "J onn ~ 
 son Hall," near Johnstown, which he founded. It is a spacious frame house 
 and is now used as a public museum. All talk about either of these houses 
 being a baronial hall or castle is the fertile fancy of American snobbery. 
 How the Johnson houses were kept, under the supervision of Moll> 
 Brant, with the household training of an Indian squaw, can be conjectured. 
 
 51 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF HLINOtS 
 
They were, of course, well furnished with solid mahogany, an abundance of 
 silver plate and a library of books ; and plentifully stocked with brandy 
 and wine and all the good things money could buy. But, the coming and 
 going, of dirty Indian chiefs, slovenly squaws and a bawling brood of 
 halfbreed children, must have been distracting to a good housekeeper. 
 
 During the old French war, the governor of New York was George 
 Clinton sent over from England to mend his fortune. He had little tact or 
 honesty and waged a perpetual feud with the assembly led by James De 
 Lancey, and consequently New York never got out of a wrangle. Indian 
 affairs were in the hands of the Board of Indian Commissioners, dishonest 
 and avaricious Albany traders and their friends, and as a result these 
 relations were in a constant tangle. 
 
 The sore spot of the New York frontier was Oswego, always coveted 
 and continually threatened by the French. A considerable and very profit- 
 able part, of Johnson's trading operations, was supplying the Oswego 
 traders, and he was vitally interested in keeping open the road to that 
 post. As Johnson was sending his merchandise to Oswego, Clinton, in 
 April 1746, commissioned him to supply the Oswego garrison. This was 
 the first important government recognition of him. 
 
 Probably, to increase his trade, Johnson had made himself very familiar 
 with his Mohawk Indian neighbors, had been adopted by them and given 
 the name of Warraghiyagey. In 1746, Clinton held a conference with the 
 Six Nations at Albany ; and Johnson, who had persuaded many of the 
 Mohawks to attend, appeared there, at their head, bedecked and bedaubed 
 like an Indian chief. His influence was not great as three of the principal 
 Mohawk chiefs were won over by Mr. Barclay, missionary at Fort Hunter 
 and Dr. Cadwallader Colden, who was the soul of the conference. Al- 
 though, the Iroquois pledged themselves to take up the hatchet against the 
 French, their active participation in the war was of little consequence. 
 
 Johnson supported Clinton in his war against De Lancey and the 
 assembly, and the governor commissioned him a colonel of the Indian 
 forces. Thenceforth, Clinton largely entrusted Johnson with the manage- 
 ment of Indian affairs. The assembly hectored Clinton with replies to his 
 messages, which contained intimations, that although large sums had been 
 supplied the Indians, they had not joined in the war to any extent ; also 
 that in these disbursements, individuals (evidently alluding to Johnson) 
 had profited largely. 
 
 Governor Clinton, in 1750, appointed Johnson a member of the 
 Provincial Council and the same year he resigned his position in con- 
 nection with Indian affairs. For supplying the garrison at Oswego, John- 
 son made claims which the assembly would not pay. With rare discern- 
 ment, in 1751, Johnson procured, from the Iroquois, a deed of Onondaga 
 lake and the land around for two miles in width. He informed Clinton, he 
 obtained it for no other purpose than to secure it for the crown, and 
 offered to transfer it upon reimbursement for his expense, but the assembly 
 would not comply. However, later the Provincial Council, of which John- 
 son was a member, granted him this large and valuable tract in payment 
 
 52 
 
of his Oswego claim. If he had this in view, when he secured the deed, it 
 shows his uncanny business foresight. In 1753, Johnson was empowered 
 by the governor to meet the Iroquois Council at Onondaga, which he did 
 in a friendly manner, but the conference was of no great importance. 
 
 William Johnson owed his business opportunity to his first benefactor, 
 Peter Warren; and he owed his political opportunity to his second bene- 
 factor Governor George Clinton. He had been absorbed in the self-satis- 
 faction of growing rich, and found contentment in his farm and squaws. 
 Clinton hated the Indian Commissioners, who opposed him in the assembly ; 
 and to be rid of them, he turned to Johnson, the only one of his adherents, 
 who was in touch and had knowledge of Indian affairs. Johnson responded 
 with alacrity, because it increased his business opportunities and enhanced 
 his influence and importance. Hitherto, he had been absorbed in the 
 conduct of his farm and the management of a dirty Indian store. Thence- 
 forth, he had a wider vision of life, as a member of the Governor's Council 
 and the most influential man on the New York frontier. So far, he had 
 accomplished little of real value, in his political career, but that did not 
 matter for Clinton's administration did not amount to much. But, to 
 Johnson, Clinton's preferment meant his advancement to a high position 
 in the affairs of New York, which opened avenues of emolument and honor 
 in the future, unexpected and undreamed of in the past. 
 
 (For main facts of Johnson's early life, see : Parkman's Montcalm and 
 Wolfe ; Bancroft's History of the United States ; 2, 435 to 438 ; Stone's 
 Life; Pound's, Johnson of the Mohawk.) 
 
 53 
 
CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 THE FRENCH INVASION 
 
 The Allegheny river was flush within its banks and every rift now 
 afforded safe passage for canoes and rafts. Departed winter's snow had 
 barely drained away from the bleak mountains, leaving the air cool and 
 crisp ; and the dense and dismal wilderness, lining the river's winding way. 
 was yet unclothed with the full verdure of spring. But vegetation was again 
 budding into life and the arbutus had burst into bloom. The sleeping bear 
 had bestirred himself and young fawn, born at the winter's close, gazed 
 timidly, from, clumps of spruce and pine, on the rough and rumbling water. 
 Above the thread of the stream, wild fowl and feathered birds sought 
 their summer homes and southern songsters enlivened every glade and glen. 
 Dormant nature was springing into life and the buoyant air of spring 
 incited the ambitions and hopes of men. 
 
 Breaking the gloomy forest's deep solitude, a flotilla of hostile craft 
 was borne down the lonely river. There were three hundred and sixty 
 canoes, bateaux and rafts carrying cannon, powder and shells and a 
 thousand French and Indian fighting men. They landed on the river's 
 eastern shore. It was the 16th of April, 1754, a momentous day in the 
 annals of men. They planted their cannon ; and their commander, Con- 
 trecoeur dispatched Captain le Mercier to Trent's insignificant company 
 of forty one Virginians engaged in hewing timber for an English fort, 
 where the rivers meet. He demanded surrender and, if they immediately 
 withdrew, promised security of persons and property, but if they refused, 
 threatened destruction and confiscation. Captain Trent was away and 
 Ensign Ward, in command, complied. It was the first overt act and the 
 beginning of the French and Indian War. The Virginians with their 
 effects marched away, and the royal ensign of France fluttered over the 
 rising ramparts of Fort Duquesne. 
 
 In May 1754, there was peace in Europe, but the tangled skein of 
 French and English diplomacy was rent by the martial occurrences in the 
 wilderness. Europe was in a state of sad dismay. Its people were deluded 
 by the pomp and splendor of imperial power. Its affairs were mismanaged 
 and misgoverned by corrupt and cynical politicians. A blundering old 
 German king was on the throne of England, and his ministers were incom- 
 petent and corrupt. The continent was in the throes of petticoat govern- 
 
 54 
 
ment. A dissolute woman was czarina of Russia, the Austrian archduchess 
 was an ambitious and scheming woman and a prostitute ruled France. 
 The only star shinning in this clouded European sky was Frederick the 
 Second of the little kingdom of Prussia. This malignant boil of ineptitude 
 and corruption was festered deep with dejection and helpless hatred, and 
 only a pin prick was needed to lance/ the inflamation. However, the pin 
 was not pricked by Europe's effete courtiers and dotard generals but by 
 a course of events in the American forests. 
 
 The first overt act by the French and its accentuation by a trifling 
 skirmish, naturally following, precipitated the Seven Years War, which 
 drenched the world with blood. Two subaltern officers were the uncon- 
 scious players in this grim game of fate. They were George Washington, 
 a lieutenant colonel of Virginia militia and Coulon de Jumonville, a petty 
 ensign in the French army. 
 
 Virginia had voted £10,000 to sustain the occupation of the Ohio 
 region and called on Pennsylvania for equal assistance. The assembly of 
 that province was engaged in an acrimonious dispute with the governor 
 over the issuance of bills of credit, and consequently Pennsylvania afforded 
 no help. Virginia, which had received thirty cannon and eighty barrels of 
 gunpowder, from the British government, proceeded to raise a regiment 
 of three hundred men. Joshua Fry 1 was appointed colonel of this regiment 
 and Washington was commissioned lieutenant colonel. The pay of the 
 colonel was only fifteen shillings, $3.75 in depreciated Virginia currency. 
 Washington with one hundred and fifty men of this regiment, marched 
 from Alexandria to Wills creek and thence made his way through the 
 mountains, designing to proceed to Red Stone on the Monongahela river. 
 
 Contrecoeur dispatched Jumonville with thirty-four men from Fort 
 Duquesne, and provided him with a letter demanding Washington's with- 
 drawal. His instructions were to ascertain and report the whereabouts 
 and numbers of the English. The plan, evidently, was to reinforce Jumon- 
 ville with such numbers, as would overawe Washington and compel him 
 to retire upon delivery of the letter. Perhaps, the officers, at Fort Duquesne, 
 were negligent in sending reinforcemnts. Jumonville, however, by lurk- 
 ing in the forest for five days without attempting to deliver his message, 
 assumed the hostile attitude of a spy. 
 
 Washington was at the Youghiogheny, inspecting its passage, when 
 informed by an Indian runner, that a French force was out. He immediately 
 returned to the Great Meadows, where his force was and entrenched his 
 camp. Christopher Gist informed him, May 27th, the French had been 
 at his plantation, the day before. At 9 o'clock that night, two Indian run- 
 ners came from the Half King with intelligence, they had discovered the 
 hiding place of the French. Washington acted at once and taking with 
 him forty men started for the Half King's encampment. They blundered 
 and tumbled through the woods, in dense darkness and a downpour of 
 rain, and did not arrive at the Half King's until near sunrise. Washington 
 and the Half King agreed to immediately attack the French. Led by the 
 Half King and Scarooyady with their naked and painted warriors, the 
 
 55 
 
English followed in Indian fashion, silently and in single file. The Indian 
 scouts scanned every tree and branch for broken twigs, and crouching on 
 the ground, examined the forest sward for faint footstep traces leading to 
 the French hiding place. It was in a little glen surrounded by high rocks 
 and shaded by a grove of pines. 2 None but an Indian could have found it. 
 
 Washington posted his men on one side, and the Half King ambushed 
 his warriors opposite, so as to completely surround the hideaway. The 
 French discovered them and rushed for their guns. Washington ordered 
 his men to fire, and the Indians burst through the underbrush with toma- 
 hawks and scalping knives. Jumonville and nine of his men were killed, 
 one was wounded, one escaped and twenty one were taken prisoners. The 
 Indians scalped the dead. Davison, the interpreter stated, 3 that Washing- 
 ton and the Half King disagreed considerably, the English fired wildly 
 and the Indians did the most execution. One Virginian was killed, three 
 wounded and the Indians escaped unharmed. 
 
 The French claimed they were acting, only, as messengers and asserted 
 it was an unprovoked murder of a peaceable mission and Washington's 
 conduct inexcusable. Some writers have attempted to explain Washington's 
 attack in such a way, as to leave the inference, that had it been any one 
 else, it would be censurable. It seems, they have ignored the actual facts. 
 The Ohio region was disputed territory, as no treaty had ever denned the 
 boundaries between France and England. The English claimed it and 
 from their standpoint it was just as much theirs as the settled parts of 
 Virginia. Contrecoeur's expedition was an invasion of English territory 
 and his capture of the fort and expulsion of Trent's force was an overt 
 act of hostility and justified a war of retaliation. It was no mere ejection 
 of private individuals. Trent was there under orders of the royal governor 
 of Virginia, who represented the crown of England. The right, to repel 
 an invasion by force and recapture what the invader has seized, without 
 any formal declaration of war, has always been admitted. The French 
 army had begun a war in America, and they were subject to the rules and 
 conditions of war. This was exactly Washington's position and of his 
 superior, Dinwiddie, who acting under instructions of the English authori- 
 ties, had always proclaimed he would repel force by force. Washington 
 did not march to begin a war. He marched into a war already begun. 
 
 There was no assertion a white flag was raised, when the French dis- 
 covered they were surrounded, nor credible evidence they announced they 
 had a message to deliver. Only, a loose claim, made later, that Jumon- 
 ville waived a paper. This Washington positively denied. Instead they 
 rushed for their guns and killed one and wounded three of the English. 4 
 
 Washington returned to the Great Meadows, sent his French prisoners 
 to Wills Creek and called for reinforcements. He was followed by the Half 
 King and his loyal Mingoes and Queen Aliquippa. His fortification, called 
 Fort Necessity, was strengthened. It was located four miles east of the 
 Laurel Hills, in the present Fayette county, Pennsylvania and was sur- 
 rounded by elevated, densely wooded ground. The fort was undesirably 
 located, as the high ground enabled the enemy to enfilade it, and the 
 
 56 
 
woods, which approached to within one hundred yards, afforded conceal- 
 ment. The only advantage was a small creek, flowing through the camp, 
 which provided a plentiful supply of water. The works, designed by Cap- 
 tain Robert Stobo, consisted of a log fort one hundred feet square and 
 partly surrounded by a ditch. 5 
 
 Christopher Gist brought word, that Colonel Fry had died at Wills 
 Creek, May 31st, and consequently, the entire command, now, devolved 
 on Washington. He was reinforced by the three other companies of the 
 regiment and by Captain McKay and his South Carolina company, which 
 augmented his force to about four hundred men. There was contention 
 between Washington and McKay as to seniority, and the Carolina men 
 refused to perform any work without extra pay. These disagreements 
 dispirited and demoralized the Virginia troops. Exasperated by these con- 
 tentions, Washington, leaving McKay at Fort Necessity, marched his 
 Virginians to Gist's plantation, where he entrenched. Nearly a month was 
 frittered away by this dissension. But, rumors of impending attack forced 
 Washington to fall back to Fort Necessity. 
 
 Coulon de Villiers arrived at Fort Duquesne, June 26th, with a large 
 force of Canadian Indians, and being the ranking officer and brother of 
 the slain Jumonville, he was designated commander of the attacking force. 
 Contrecoeur, by liberally feasting the Delawares, persuaded them to join 
 the party, which amounted to over eight hundred men. They paddled their 
 canoes up the Monongahela to the Ohio Company's trading house at the 
 mouth of Red Stone creek, which they seized ; and thence marched through 
 the woods, by the site of the Jumonville affair and Gist's plantation, toward 
 Fort Necessity. 
 
 July 3rd, about 1 1 o'clock in the forenoon, a wounded sentinel limped 
 into Fort Necessity with the news that the French were near. The place 
 was short of supplies. The men were raw and inexperienced and the 
 officers apprehensive. Soon savage warwhoops rilled the forest with the 
 din of their presence. Washington posted his men without the trenches, to 
 entice the enemy to the open field, but they declined to leave the shelter 
 of the woods. The Half King, who disapproved of Washington's conduct of 
 the campaign, withdrew and none of his Indians took part in the engage- 
 ment. The day was dark and gloomy. The heavy intermittent showers, 
 which wet the priming of the guns, were interspersed by a foggy mist, 
 which obscured the vision of the men. The French enfiladed a portion of 
 the fort and drove the English from that part of the fortification. The 
 gunners were unable, to work their poorly protected cannon, by the heavy 
 musketry fire directed upon them; and the men stood knee deep in the 
 water, which flowed into the ditches with each downpour of rain. For 
 nine long, dreary hours, when the weather permitted, the firing continued 
 on both sides, and until the darkness of night descended upon them. 
 
 At 8 o'clock, de Villiers offered to negotiate but Washington declined. 
 The offer being repeated, he sent the Dutchman, Van Braam, who under- 
 stood a little French, to de Villiers. The parleys were continued until near 
 midnight, when Van Braam returned with the written terms of surrender. 
 
 57 
 
In a downpour of rain, the officers gathered about him, and by the feeble 
 light of a sputtering candle, he fumbled through a translation, which 
 seemed to them acceptable. Washington signed the articles of capitulation. 6 
 
 These set forth it was not the intention of the French, "to trouble 
 the peace, which reigns between the two princes in amity, but only to 
 revenge the assassination, which has been done to one of our officers bearer 
 of a citation, as appears by his writings, as also to hinder any establishment 
 on the lands of the dominions of the king my master." These were very 
 humiliating admissions and concessions of English right to the disputed ter- 
 ritory. If correctly translated, they should have been refused, unless the 
 situation of the beseiged was extremely desperate. The English were 
 allowed to retire with all their belongings, except artillery, and with the 
 honors of war. The seventh article reiterated, "the assassination of Sr. 
 de Jumonville" and provided that Captains Jacob Van Braam and Robert 
 Stobo should be hostages for the return of the prisoners taken in the 
 Jumonville skirmish. 
 
 It is claimed, Van Braam translated the words, "1 assassinate du Sr. 
 de Jumonville," as death of Sr. de Jumonville, instead of assassination. 
 Most writers appear to ignore the more damaging admissions and 
 acknowledgements of French right to the Ohio region, and dwell at great 
 length on the mistranslation of the word "V assassinat," and even Wash- 
 ington does not specifically refer to any other grievance. Dinwiddie, how- 
 ever, perceived the greater error of the admissions, as in his letter, to 
 Governor Hamilton (Col. Recs. 6, 136), he stated, "the enemy has noth- 
 ing to vaunt of except what they got by the capitulation." In fact, running 
 throughout the entire articles, the French claim is maintained, and the 
 English acceptance and Washington's signature, would appear to concede 
 it. The only excuse is a mistranslation of the whole document. 
 
 The French officers had throughout their invasion acted with great 
 circumspection and attained complete success. They proclaimed no inten- 
 tion to disturb the peace, and that their attack, on Fort Necessity, was 
 solely to revenge the murder of Jumonville and expel the intruders from 
 the dominions of the king of France. By the terms of the capitulation, it 
 would seem they had achieved complete English acknowledgement of all 
 they claimed, and by a full written record vindicated their invasion. 
 
 The English casualties were about one hundred killed and wounded, 
 one third of this number, supposed to have been killed. The French 
 reported a loss of seventy two killed and wounded. 7 
 
 There was considerable criticism of Washington. Conrad Weiser 
 reported (Col. Recs., 6, 151) "By the way Tanacharison, otherwise called 
 the Half King, Complained very much of the Behaviour of Col. Washing- 
 ton to him (tho in a very moderate way, saying the Col. Washington was 
 a good natured man but had no experience), saying he took upon him to 
 command the Indians as his slaves and would have them every day upon 
 the Out Scout and attack the enemy by themselves, and that he would by 
 no means take advice from the Indians; that he lay at one place from 
 one full Moon to the other and made no Fortification but that little thing 
 
 58 
 
upon the meadow, where he thought the French would come up to him 
 in open Field; that had he taken the Half King's advice and made such 
 fortification as the Half King advised him to make he would certainly 
 beat the French off ; that the French had acted as great Cowards and the 
 English as Fools in that engagement; that he (the Half King) had car- 
 ried off his wife and children, so did the other Indians before the Battle 
 begun, because Col. Washington would never listen to them, but was 
 always driving them on to fight by his Directions." 
 
 Colonel William Johnson in a letter (Johnson Papers 1,410) stated: 
 "I wish Washington had acted with prudence and circumspection requisite 
 in an officer of his rank. I can't help saying he was very wrong in many 
 respects, and I doubt his being too ambitious of acquiring all the honor. 
 He should have rather avoided an engagement until our troops were all 
 assembled." 
 
 Thomas Penn wrote from England: 'T am concerned to find Colonel 
 Washington's conduct so imprudent." (Pa. Archs., 2, 255.) 
 
 Washington may have owed his appointment to the influence of his 
 brothers, who were prominent members of the Ohio Company ; and to the 
 good graces of Dinwiddie, a close friend of Hanbury, London partner in 
 the concern. Too much should not have been expected of a mere boy of 
 twenty two, an enthusiastic youth, inexperienced in either public affairs 
 or as a military commander. He was handicapped by officers equally inex- 
 perienced, by an inadequate force, and by the illness and death of Colonel 
 Fry, who was conversant with public affairs, was a highly educated and 
 trusted man and had been an able Indian negotiator. 
 
 Washington retired to Winchester and his regiment was broken up 
 into independent companies. Colonel James Innes had been appointed 
 commander in chief of the expedition. He was joined by two New York 
 independent companies and the North Carolina regiment, and proceeded 
 to Wills Creek. There, he erected a fortification, which he called Fort 
 Mt. Pleasant. The name was subsequently changed to Fort Cumberland, 
 in honor of the Duke of Cumberland. 
 
 After Washington's defeat, the loyal western Indians fled to Aughwick. 
 They severely taxed the patience of George Croghan, who, in August, 
 wrote the governor, inquiring what he should do, and sending a bill for 
 their support. The government, distrustful of Croghan in money matters, 
 sent Conrad Weiser to Aughwick to afford the necessary relief. 
 
 Aughwick had become a vast encampment of savage refugees. Half 
 starved and panic mad, they had trekked over the mountains, and by the 
 various trails, like wild pigeons in the spring, had poured pellmell out of 
 the woods and descended on Croghan's place. There, they were : Mingoes, 
 Delawares and Shawnees ; the Half King, Scarooyady, the Beaver, Dela- 
 ware George, Dishickany and the lesser lights of Indian government ; 
 feathered warriors and filthy squaws ; lusty youths and fair young maidens ; 
 feeble old men and women ; and naked but pretty little red boys and girls. 
 They camped in twenty cabins around Croghan's house, crowded his 
 stables and pig sties full and filled the woods on every side. They devoured 
 
 59 
 
his fields of corn, ate his squashes and beans, filched his chicken coops, 
 killed his pigs, milked his cows and drank themselves crazy in the woods, 
 where they sold the rum traders what little they had, stole what they 
 could and begged for more. 
 
 They hurrahed and whooped their welcome to Conrad Weiser, for 
 to them, he was the government of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and spoke 
 for their father, the king, across the great water. They expected he would 
 tell them what the English would do, and hoped he would send a great 
 army and drive the French away. But, if not, they intimated, all the 
 Indians would succumb to the French, and even they be compelled home- 
 ward, and there be friends and subjects of the French father. Weiser 
 appeased them, as best he could, paid Croghan's bill, gathered grain and 
 provision for their support and left them, as the only proper thing to do, 
 in Croghan's charge. 8 
 
 About October 1st, the Half King arrived at John Harris', very ill 
 and died a few days later, and his remains were interred, there, with the 
 full honors of Indian burial. 9 Scarooyady, who succeeded him, as Half 
 King, was sent by the governor on a mission to Onondaga. 10 
 
 Governor Morris called the attention of the assembly to the critical 
 situation on the frontier ; and the assembly submitted an act for the emis- 
 sion of bills of credit and an appropriation for the king's use, which they 
 knew he could not approve. 11 
 
 There were no depredations on the frontier, in 1754, except an 
 attack on Fort Massachusetts and the burning of buildings at Hoosic, 
 in New York, by Canadian Indians. 12 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER EIGHT 
 
 1. Joshua Fry was a native of Somersetshire England, educated at Oxford 
 and had been professor of mathematics at William and Mary College. With Peter 
 Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson, he made a map of Virginia. He was a member 
 of the House of Burgesses and was one of the commissioners who ran the line 
 between Virginia and North Carolina. In 1752, he was one of the Virginia com- 
 missioners who made a treaty with the Indians at Logstown. He was very familiar 
 with the Ohio region. Colonel Fry died May 31, 1754, at Wills Creek, while on the 
 expedition of which he had command. 
 
 2. Situated about five miles east of Uniontown, Pa. 
 
 3. Col. Recs. 6, 195. 
 
 4. Report of Washington to Dinwiddie; Col. Recs., 6, 195; Historical Collec- 
 tions of Pa., 331; Marshall's Life of Washington, 1, page 4; Bancroft's History of 
 the U. S. 2, 384, Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution, 1, 269; Montcalm and 
 Wolfe, 1, 151. 
 
 5. For description of the fort, see Pa. Archs. 12, 420; Historical Collections 
 of Pa., 331. 
 
 6. Col. Recs., 6, 52; Pa., Archs. 2, 146. 
 
 7. Col. Recs., 6, 51, 52, 136, 151; Pa. Archs., 7, 420; Marshalls Life of Wash- 
 
 60 
 
ington, 1, pages 4, 5, 6 and Appendix note page 11; Historical Collections of Pa. 33; 
 Bancroft's History of the U. S., 2, 385; Montcalm and Wolfe 1, 165 to 167; Lossing's 
 Field Book of the Revolution 2, 270. 
 
 8. Weiser's Journal, Col. Recs., 6, 140 to 163. 
 
 9. Ibid, 184. 
 
 10. Ibid, 180, 184, 193 to 200. 
 
 11. Col. Recs., 6, 165 to 247. 
 
 12. Pa. Archs. 2, 167, 168. 
 
 61 
 
CHAPTER NINE 
 
 BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT 
 
 Alarmed by the French encroachments, the British government sent 
 over two regiments of regular infantry, each consisting of five hundred 
 soldiers, and commanded by Sir Peter Halkett and Colonel Dunbar. Each 
 regiment was to be augmented by colonial enlistments of two hundred 
 men. Major General Edward Braddock, who was appointed commander 
 in chief of the British forces in North America, arrived at Williamsburg 
 in February 1755. Braddock admonished Governor Morris, that he 
 expected liberal grants of support and supplies, reminding him, that as 
 Pennsylvania was the most opulent and prosperous colony and most 
 affected by the French intrusion, no evasion would be permitted. He com- 
 plained that the Philadelphia merchants had been supplying Canada with 
 grain, which stocked the French magazines, and insisted this trade must 
 be stopped. Morris, in his reply, admitted, with shame, his helplessness 
 because his assembly would grant no money, and stated that Pennsylvania, 
 alone, could supply the whole army, as the products of its farms required, 
 for transportation, the services of five hundred ships, mostly owned by 
 the rich merchants of Philadelphia. 
 
 Governor Morris, in compliance with the request of Sir John St. Clair, 
 quartermaster general of the British forces, appointed John Armstrong, 
 George Croghan, James Burd, William Buchanan and Adam Hoops com- 
 missioners to lay and construct a road, from the settled parts of the 
 province, to intersect the proposed route of Braddock's army. They sur- 
 veyed it from Shippensburg to the Turkey Forks of the Youghiogheny, 
 and began its construction. 
 
 The governor issued a proclamation prohibiting all vessels, clearing 
 Philadelphia, visiting French ports and placing their masters under a penal 
 bond of £500 for violation of the prohibition. 
 
 The assembly submitted a bill, for the issuance of £25,000 in bills 
 of credit redeemable in ten years, which they knew the governor could 
 not approve without violating the king's instructions. He pocketed the 
 bill and sent it to the crown officials, as evidence of the perversity of the 
 assembly, which adjourned without making any provision for raising a 
 militia, the construction of the road or the support of the governor. The 
 separate assembly, of the three lower counties on the Delaware, loyally 
 
 62 
 
supported the governor, with a liberal grant of supplies and cattle for 
 Braddock's army and appropriated £1000 which the governor used in 
 constructing the road. 1 
 
 The Quakers who dominated the assembly would not grant money 
 for war; but would appropriate it to the "king's use," knowing full well, 
 when they voted it, that he would use the money to shoot other men. 
 Such is the inconsistency of religious fanaticism and extreme pacifism 
 Franklin, who had recanted his former opposition to the governor, gives 
 amusing examples of their foolish conduct and religious eccentricity. Once, 
 New England in need of powder, applied to Pennsylvania for a contribu- 
 tion for that purpose. The Quaker assembly refused, because powder was 
 an ingredient of war ; but voted £3000 aid to be put in the hands of the 
 governor and expended for the purchase of bread, flour, wheat or other 
 grain. The council advised the governor not to take it. He replied: "I 
 shall, take the money, for I understand very well their meaning, other grain 
 is gunpowder." At another time, Franklin and the other non-Quaker mem- 
 bers of the fire company desired to use some of its money for the defense 
 of the city, which was threatened by the French, but fearing the opposi- 
 tion of the Quakers, he proposed to a friend, who was not a Quaker, "if 
 we fail, let us move the purchase of a fire engine with the money ; the 
 Quakers can have no objection to that, and then you nominate me and I 
 you as a committee to purchase it. Then, we will buy a great gun, which 
 is certainly a fire engine." 
 
 A council of war was held, April 14th, at Alexandria, attended by 
 General Braddock, Commodore Keppell, and Governors Shirley of Mass- 
 achusetts, De Lancey of New York, Morris of Pennsylvania, Sharpe of 
 Maryland and Dinwiddie of Virginia. It was agreed that Colonel William 
 Johnson was the proper man to negotiate with the Six Nations and lead 
 an expedition against Crown Point; and that Governor Shirley should 
 command the reinforcement of Oswego and the force sent against Fort 
 Niagara. It w T as also decided that two ships, for service on Lake Ontario 
 and one for use on Lake Erie, should be built. 2 
 
 American writers have severely and perhaps unjustly criticised Brad- 
 dock. They, generally, extol the colonial officers as skillful and valorous and 
 disparage the British as stupid and tactless. They have praised the Amer- 
 ican soldier for his alertness and blamed the British for his blunders. 
 Probably, the truth lies between these extreme views. That both were brave 
 may be granted, for both were of the same blood and the English have 
 always had the reputation of being brave. It was to be expected, as the 
 British officers were of a higher social class and better educated, they 
 would disdain the colonial officers, who were of all classes from shoemakers 
 to lawyers and chosen for popularity and not ability. And it was inevitable 
 that the Americans would resent this arrogance with hatred. 
 
 All agree Braddock was honest and brave. He, evidently, was no 
 great man, but he, probably, was as good a soldier as the average English 
 officer of his day. Stories are told both of his brutality and manliness. He 
 was sixty years of age and far too old to learn the American manner of 
 
 63 
 
fighting by ambuscades ; but he did not advance, until his army was 
 organized and adequately supplied with munitions, provisions and trans- 
 portation. He did not push his troops pell-mell through the woods by an 
 Indian trail, but constructed a substantial road for its ingress and egress. 
 His march was protected by an advance guard of scouts, rangers, and axe 
 men ; and his main army and convoy were amply protected by outflankers. 
 Contrary to most statements, his troops were not ambushed, but met the 
 enemy in front and in the usual way battles begin. 
 
 There was delay in securing the needed supplies, which it was 
 expected Virginia and Maryland would furnish, but as little was raised 
 there except tobacco and negroes, it was necessary to fall back on the rich 
 farms of Pennsylvania for beef and flour. The planters, in Virginia and 
 Maryland, rolled their tobacco hogsheads down to the river wharfs and 
 had no heavy wagons. Consequently, but twenty five wagons could be 
 secured there, and Braddock declared, in despair, that the expedition must 
 be abandoned for lack of carriage. Franklin, who was in his camp, inti- 
 mated to him, that in Pennsylvania every farmer had at least one. Brad- 
 dock employed him to procure the wagons, and Franklin advertised in 
 Lancaster, York and Cumberland counties and in two weeks, hired one 
 hundred and fifty wagons and horses and two hundred and fifty nine pack 
 horses. 3 
 
 The Braddock expedition was badly planned. The troops should have 
 been landed at Philadelphia, whence a shorter route could have been taken 
 to Fort Duquesne, through the rich farming districts of Pennsylvania, 
 which would have afforded plentiful supplies of bread and beef. Due to 
 the influence of Hanbury, London partner of the Ohio Company, the route 
 was switched to Virginia, which could supply neither supplies nor trans- 
 portation. Most of the provisions came from the storehouse at Shippens- 
 burg, by the way of the Conococheague route to the Potomac and up that 
 river to Fort Cumberland. The forces rendezvoused, at Fort Cumber- 
 land, consisted of the 44th and 48th regiments of infantry of seven hundred 
 men each, the artillery, engineers, a detachment of sailors, the independent 
 companies of New York and nine companies of Virginia troops of about 
 fifty men each. George Croghan came from Aughwick with thirty seven 
 Indian scouts. 3 In all there were about twenty two hundred men. 
 
 June 3rd, the march through the mountains began, but owing to 
 delays in building the road, the progress each day was slight. Rangers and 
 Indian scouts were thrown out in advance, and a guard protected those 
 constructing the road. The main army and convoy were covered by flank- 
 ing parties and the whole line of march was protected against a surprise 
 attack and ambuscade. To retard the advance, the Indians attacked a settle- 
 ment near Fort Cumberland and a considerable number were killed, 
 wounded and taken prisoners. Another foray was made on those building 
 the road, from Shippensburg, and a man was killed, and James Smith a 
 boy was taken as prisoner to Fort Duquesne. 
 
 At the Little Meadows, the army was divided, it is said, at the sug- 
 gestion of Washington, who was one of Braddock's aides. Braddock with 
 
 64 
 
twelve hundred picked men, the artillery and a pack train pushed forward ; 
 and Colonel Dunbar, with the heavy artillery and baggage wagons, was 
 left behind to follow as best he could. The engineers examined the fords 
 of the Monongahela and found, by crossing two of them, a narrow defile 
 and rugged ground could be avoided. 
 
 The army marched, with an ample advance guard and strong out- 
 flankers, and about mid-forenoon of July 9th, crossed the first ford with- 
 out mishap. They proceeded over quite level ground to the second ford, 
 which was at the trader Eraser's place, and about seven miles above Fort 
 Duquesne. The water was low and the protruding rocks made an almost 
 dry passage way. Washington looked back at the crossing horsemen, 
 wagons, pack horses and soldiers clad in scarlet, with their shining guns 
 and glistening bayonets, and thought it the finest sight he had ever seen. 
 When the last pack horse was over, they formed on the comparatively level, 
 but thickly wooded plain, which was crossed by two slight ravines and 
 encompassed by a hill on the right and the river on the left. 
 
 At Fort Duquesne, the approaching army caused consternation. Scouts 
 were sent out the 6th, 7th and 8th of July and they reported the advance 
 and strength of the English force. A council of war was held and at the 
 suggestion of Beaujeu, one of the captains, it was determined to go out 
 and fight the English. Beaujeu appealed to the Indians and twice they 
 refused to take up the hatchet. The third time, he made an impassioned 
 speech and closing exclaimed, "I am determined to meet the English. 
 What ! What, will you let your father go alone." This caught them. They 
 took up the hatchet, painted themselves and danced the war dance. Early 
 in the morning of July 9th, open kegs of powder and casks of bullets were 
 placed on the ramparts and the Indians bidden to help themselves. They 
 filled their powder horns and bullet pouches and marched away in war 
 bands. There were between six hundred and seven hundred warriors of 
 the various Canadian and Western tribes, one hundred and forty-six Can- 
 adians, and seventy two regular French soldiers. They were commanded 
 by Beaujeu and thirty six French officers. By 8 o'clock, Fort Duquesne was 
 clear of them and they were straggling up the Monongahela. 
 
 Some have tried to account for Beaujeu's failure to ambush or attack 
 the English at the fords, which he had plenty of time to do. But, he may 
 have reasoned. To prevent the fall of Fort Duquesne, it is necessary to 
 defeat and destroy the English army. Because of their precautionary 
 advance, it is impossible to ambush them. An attack at the fords, if suc- 
 cessful, would only destroy a part of them. The better plan is to attack 
 them in front, when they are all over and trust to Indian tactics for suc- 
 cess. Be it as it may, this is what he did. 
 
 Braddock's army marched across the plain, with rangers and scouts 
 in advance and followed by the Virginia light horse, the vanguard, the 
 advance guard of three hundred men under Lieutenant Colonel Gage, the 
 axe men, and engineers commanded by Sir John St. Clair, two field 
 pieces, the wagons with powder and tools, the rear guard of the advance 
 party, then the light horse and main convoy of wagons and pack horses 
 
 65 
 
shielded by strong files of soldiers on either side and amply protected by 
 outflanks at a distance of one hundred yards in the woods. 5 
 
 When the advanced party had successfully crossed the last ravine, 
 the scouts saw a French officer, probably, Beaujeu naked as an Indian 
 but wearing a gorget with the insignia of his rank, dart through the 
 woods. He spied them, shouted and the woods in front swarmed with 
 Frenchmen and Indians, who poured a murderous volley on the advance, 
 which fell back on Gage's force. Gage wheeled his cannon into line and 
 discharged them at the enemy. The noise of the artillery fire terrified the 
 Canadians who mostly ran away and the Indians who scampered back into 
 the forest. Beaujeu was killed and Dumas who succeeded him thought all 
 was lost. But the French regulars manfully stood their ground and with 
 precise aim brought down many of Gage's men. The Indians recovered 
 their senses and like hornets swarmed back to the front and secreted 
 themselves behind logs and trees. 
 
 Braddock now ordered up his main force and formed them in a solid 
 line. Gage's men were driven back upon them and they all became huddled 
 together in a confused mob of bewildered men. The Indians flocked on 
 either side and pelted them from every tree and log. From the hill they 
 poured down their most destructive fire. The British were unused to this. 
 They were stupid and brave and had only been trained to fight an open 
 enemy in a solid line, and could not withstand the fire of a hidden foe. 
 The officers were likewise blind to Indian tactics and deemed it cowardice 
 to seek shelter from a concealed enemy. They rushed here and there 
 exhorting their men to charge the unseen foe, who if dislodged, returned 
 like wasps to sting them again. 
 
 Gage and St. Clair were wounded, Shirley, the secretary was killed, 
 Halkett and his son were shot dead, Colonel Burten who commanded the 
 48th regiment was wounded and so were Orme and Morris, two of the 
 aide-de-camps. Washington the other aid escaped unhurt but had two 
 horses shot under him. Braddock, bravely and furiously raced hither and 
 thither, commanding, exhorting and savagely beating those who sought 
 shelter. Four horses were shot under him, and at last a bullet, probably, 
 from the gun of an Indian hidden behind a log struck him in the thigh, 
 went up through his body and pierced his lung. He was carried from the 
 field a dying man. 
 
 The confused and bewildered mass of men, huddled together with- 
 out rank or order and mowed down like sickled grain, fired wildly into 
 the woods and blindly at the unseen foe. After three hours of this din and 
 carnage, they broke and fled. Now that all was lost, their dying general 
 ordered them to retreat. Without guns, wagons, pack horses and sup- 
 plies, they crowded along in disordered flight up the river and by the 
 way they came. 
 
 The French and Indians did not pursue, but sated themselves with 
 plunder of the field and fallen foe. Their losses were slight, mostly among 
 the Indians to whom must be accorded the credit of fighting and winning 
 the battle. 
 
 66 
 
According to the list furnished by Captain Robert Orme, the English 
 casualties were out of eighty five officers present, sixty three killed or 
 wounded and of the men engaged six hundred killed or wounded. Frank- 
 lin stated that seven hundred and fourteen were killed out of eleven 
 hundred engaged. 
 
 The fugitives fled to Dunbar's camp, which was about seven miles 
 from the Great Meadows. The mortally wounded Braddock was conveyed 
 there, and died about 8 o'clock in the evening of July 13th. He was buried 
 in the road and the horses and wagons were run over his grave to 
 obliterate all traces. 6 
 
 Dunbar destroyed the ammunition and superfluous provisions, which 
 occasioned much complaint, but Orme stated it was done to prevent its 
 falling into the hands of the enemy, and that it could not be moved, 
 because all the horses left were needed to carry off the wounded. Dunbar 
 with what was left of the army retreated to Fort Cumberland. 7 Franklin 
 reported Orme told him Braddock was silent the first day and at night 
 said only, "Who would have thought it," and the following day muttered 
 "We shall better know how to deal with them another time." 8 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER NINE 
 
 1. Col. Recs. 6, 300 to 476. 
 
 2. Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 2, 648; Col. Recs. 6, 365. 
 
 3. Autobiography, Franklin's Works, Vol. 1, 267; Pa. Archs. 2, 294-295. 
 
 4. George Croghan was born in Ireland of Protestant parents and emigrated 
 to Pennsylvania, locating in 1741, west of the Susquehnana in the vicinity of 
 Carlisle, where his only white child, Susannaha was born in 1750. He learned to 
 converse in the Iroquoian and Delaware languages but not proficiently and was never 
 engaged as an efficient interpreter. He engaged in the Indian trade and his chief 
 trading posts were at Aughwick and Logstown. He hired many traders who made 
 their way to the far west and he was called the prince of traders.. When Sir William 
 Johnson became superintendent of Indian affairs, perhaps, because of an inclination 
 to help a fellow Irishman, he appointed Croghan deputy superintendent. He obtained 
 large land grants from the Indians both in Pennslyvania and New York. In 1758, 
 he went to Pittsburgh and built a large place, which he called "Croghan Hall" ; but 
 he finally failed as an Indian trader and lost all his land ventures. During the 
 Revolution, he was suspected of treason. Croghan died at Philadelphia in 1782. 
 
 5. See P. MacKeller, the engineer's plan. 
 
 6. Historical Collections of Pa. for site of the grave, page 334. 
 
 7. Col. Recs. 6, 487 to 491, 480, 481, 482, 484 ; Montcalm and Wolfe, 1, 420 to 434. 
 
 8. Franklin's Works Vol. 1, 274. 
 
 67 
 
CHAPTER TEN 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LAKE GEORGE 
 
 Braddock, at Shirley's suggestion, appointed William Johnson, super- 
 intendent of the affairs of the Six Nations and their allies. 1 Johnson was 
 greatly pleased and proud of this appointment. It was the business, he 
 knew best and he was on firm ground. He knew how, when and where to 
 begin, which he did by selecting Peter Wraxall as his secretary. Wraxall 
 was a native of Bristol, England and became secretary of Indian affairs 
 at Albany in 1752. He was secretary of the Albany Congress and was an 
 efficient and experienced clerk. Johnson derived his military authority 
 from the colonial governors. 2 He was, of course, pleased with this appoint- 
 ment, but realized he lacked the qualifications and experience, necessary 
 to command such an important expedition. Although, he did not like it, 
 as with most politicians, he desired military glory. In letters, (Johnson 
 Papers 1,456), he expressed his sincere sentiments, wherein he wrote: 
 "That were my abilities much greater, I should think them greatly inferior 
 to the qualifications requisite in the person to conduct an affair of so great 
 importance. You must be convinced, that the little experience I have had 
 in military affairs cannot entitle me to the distinction, preferable to so 
 many of superior merit in your own government." 
 
 He did, however, have some important requirements. His business 
 instinct taught him, that to wage successful warfare, he must have muni- 
 tions and supplies, and he constantly importuned Braddock, Shirley and 
 De Lancey for them. His political sagacity convinced him the easiest way, 
 to win and hold the attachment of his officers, was to provide them liberal 
 social festivities, and he solicited the colonial governments to provide for 
 his military establishment so he could entertain them. Johnson had a firm 
 friend in Goldsbrow Banyar, secretary of the New York council, who was 
 bound to him by the close ties of mutual land speculation, and who, by 
 countless letters, fully informed him of the attitude of the governor and 
 assembly, and of any clouds darkening the horizon of his hopes. 
 
 The Crown Point movement may be dubbed the lucky campaign. 
 Johnson solicited the assignment of a competent artillery officer, and Brad- 
 dock sent him William Eyre, a captain of artillery, a competent engineer 
 and experienced in European warfare. This was luck number one. John- 
 son made him commissary general, and he inspected and assembled the 
 
 68 
 
munitions and supplies, had the gun carriages repaired, supervised the 
 building of bateaux necessary for transportation and arranged the encamp- 
 ment at Albany. Massachusetts sent Stephen Webster, a master workman 
 and fifty carpenters to build two hundred contemplated bateaux. 3 
 
 Connecticut demanded the choice of the second in command of the 
 expedition and appointed Phineas Lyman, a young lawyer of that colony, 
 to the position. This was luck number two. Bancroft calls him a man of 
 uncommon martial endowments. He was brave, alert, resolute, loyal and 
 a good soldier. Born at Durham, Connecticut in 1716, he graduated from 
 Yale, and became a lawyer. He was in the disastrous attack on Ticonderoga 
 and was with Amherst when he captured it and Crown Point. He served 
 in the Havana expedition, and died in 1774 at Natchez, where he was 
 engaged in a colonizing enterprise. 
 
 Johnson remained sometime at his home Mt. Johnson, dictating let- 
 ters to Wraxall and dickering with the Indians. He held a conference with 
 eleven hundred of them, June 21st and secured their pledge to join his 
 expedition and render assistance to Shirley at Oswego. On July 8th, at 
 his house in Albany, whither he had removed, Johnson conferred with 
 General Lyman and the colonels of his army. Plans for the campaign were 
 reviewed. 
 
 The colonies were to provide the following number of men: New 
 York 800, Connecticut 1000, Massachusetts 1500, New Hampshire 500, 
 and Rhode Island 400. It is improbable, the complete quotas given 
 rendezvoused at Albany, as the muster, roll of effective men, July 16th, 
 amounted to only 3192. They were, mostly, New England farmers' sons, 
 outfitted with their own guns and powder horns. The regimental com- 
 manders were experienced soldiers and veterans of the Old French War, 
 and included: Colonels Timothy Ruggles, Moses Titcomb, Ephraim Wil- 
 liams, Elizur Goodrich, Christopher Harris and William Cockroft ; and 
 Lieutenant Colonels Jonathan Bagley, Seth Pomeroy, John Pitkin, Nathan 
 Whiting and Edward Cole. 
 
 Judging by the tenor of his letters, Johnson had little expectation of 
 victory. In a letter to De Lancey, he speaks disparagingly of the officers 
 and troops under him ; and in one written to Thomas Pownall, he said : : "1 
 am under a good deal of anxiety lest my future schemes with regard to the 
 expedition should be too much retarded and even defeated by the want 
 of wagons and provisions falling short" ; and further "there is no due 
 subordination among the troops ; and the officers with very few exceptions 
 a set of low lifed ignorant people, the men lazy, easily discouraged by the 
 difficulties, and from the popularity of their governments, neither accus- 
 tomed or disposed to obedience." 4 This criticism comes with ill grace, since 
 the same "low lifed officers and lazy soldiers," a few days later, won for 
 him the laurels and honors he so greatly enjoyed. 
 
 General Lyman with Ruggles' regiment and some men of Pomeroy'.s 
 and Williams' regiments marched to the Great Carrying Place, clearing a 
 road as they proceeded. It was so called, because it was the beginning of 
 the portage from the Hudson to Lake Champlain and Lake George, long 
 
 69 
 
used by the Indians and traders on their way to Canada. It had been 
 occupied, years before by Colonel John H. Lydius as a plantation and trad- 
 ing post. There, at the junction of Fort Edward creek and the Hudson he 
 began the erection of a fortification called Fort Lyman, the name being 
 changed a little later to Fort Edward. It was of earth and log construc- 
 tion and enclosed magazines and barracks. 5 
 
 August 9th, Johnson marched with the last division of troops from 
 Albany to Fort Edward. 6 It was decided to proceed by the way of Lake 
 St. Sacrement, which Johnson reached August 28th with 1500 troops and 
 40 Indians. 7 The name he changed to Lake George in honor of the king. 
 He immediately began to clear the forest for his encampment. General 
 Lyman followed with the remainder of the army. At a council of war held 
 September 7th, King Hendrik, the Mohawk chief stated, his scouts reported 
 a large French force was marching towards Fort Edward. 
 
 The French force, the Indians discovered, was commanded by Baron 
 Dieskau and consisted of 200 French regulars or grenadiers, 800 Canadians 
 and 700 Indians. 8 They left Crown Point, paddled their way up Lake 
 Champlain to the South Bay and marched through the woods toward Fort 
 Edward, which he intended to attack, but the Indians refused because 
 they feared the artillery fire. Learning from papers found on Adams, the 
 messenger Johnson had dispatched to Colonel Blanchard commander at 
 Fort Edward, whom the Indians waylaid and killed, that the main English 
 force was at Lake George, Dieskau decided to make his attack there. 
 
 By the first light of the chilly morning, September 8, 1755, all were 
 astir in the English camp. Johnson intended to send out two detachments 
 of 500 men each, one to South Bay and the other towards Fort Edward. 
 Hendrik remonstrated, maintaining a division of the force would be fatal. 
 To clinch his argument, he picked up a stick which he easily broke, and 
 then he put two together and was unable to break them. "There," he said, 
 as he threw them on the ground. His illustration was irresistible. Johnson 
 united the forces and placed them under command of Colonel Ephraim 
 Williams and ordered him to proceed towards Fort Edward. 9 But, the 
 wise old chief again objected, exclaiming they were too few to win and 
 too many to be killed. This time, he did not prevail, but did not sulk and 
 mounting a gun carriage harangued his warriors in an impassioned speech, 
 beseeching them to follow him. They whooped their approval, daubed their 
 faces with the war paint, filled their powder horns, took up their guns 
 and filed off. Hendrik was too fat and feeble to walk, and the old man 
 was boosted astride an artillery horse. The nag trotted off to the head 
 of the column, which moved away shortly after 8 o'clock. 
 
 Dieskau, learning from his scouts, the English were approaching, laid 
 his trap. He placed the grenadiers across the trail and ambushed his Indians 
 on either side. Williams' force had not entirely entered the trap, when 
 Hendrik's keen ears and eyes detected something wrong. He gave the alarm. 
 A signal gun went off among the secreted Indians and the whole woods 
 blazed with the French fire. The English and their Indians went down in 
 squads. Iheir column recoiled and the men huddled together in fright. 
 
 70 
 
The French regulars charged the disordered ranks. Hendrik's horse, being 
 shot, he was thrown under it and one of the charging Frenchmen bayoneted 
 the old man to death. Colonel Williams attempted to form his men on the 
 hillside near a large rock, but he was struck dead by a bullet through his 
 head. Colonel Whiting finally got the panic stricken men, those who had 
 not run away, into a semblance of order and retreated. Thus ended the 
 "Bloody Morning Scout." 
 
 The distant but approaching sound of guns apprised the army at Lake 
 George, that Williams had been defeated, and frantic efforts were made 
 to defend themselves. The camp lay on an incline sloping to the lake, with 
 a swamp on the right and a dense woods on the left. Overturned bateaux 
 and logs were thrown into line, forming a rough barricade on the south- 
 ern outskirts of the camp. A line of battle was formed with the Mass- 
 achusetts men on the right and the Connecticut troops on the left. Flank- 
 ing parties faced the swamp and the woods. Eyre placed his artillery so 
 as to command the approach by the road. 
 
 These preparations were uncompleted, when the fugitives of Wil- 
 liams' force came in. Soon the white uniforms and shining bayonets of 
 the French grenadiers glistened in the noonday sunlight and the woods 
 on either side of the road swarmed with Indians dodging from tree to 
 tree. The French regulars coming by the open road began to fire by 
 platoons, but the English artillery fire soon drove them to the cover of 
 the woods. 
 
 Johnson, slightly wounded in the thigh, took to his tent, and Lyman 
 assumed command. This was luck number three. He understood the New 
 England men, and they had confidence he could win. He was everywhere, 
 during the long afternoon, across the field, up and down the barricade, 
 directing, exhorting and commanding. The canister of the artillery drove 
 the Indians in terror from the sheltering trees and logs, and the terrific 
 pelting, from behind the barricade, mowed the French regulars down. 
 About 4 o'clock, they began to waver and the English infantry swept over 
 the breastworks and, with hatchets in hand, charged. The French broke 
 and fled. 
 
 Dieskau was wounded and his aide tried to remove him, but he would 
 not leave the line of battle. When the English charged, a soldier shot him 
 through the leg. "What," he said, "would you slay a wounded man. Take 
 me to your general." This was done. Johnson had him treated by his 
 surgeon, protected him from the Indians, who attempted his life and had 
 him safely removed to Albany. 
 
 During the afternoon, a scouting party, from Fort Edward, under 
 Captains Folsom and McGinnis, came upon a party of Canadians and 
 Indians, near the scene of the morning engagement, attacked them and 
 drove them away. McGinnis was mortally wounded. It is said, the victims 
 of this affair were thrown into a pool, which has ever since been called 
 "The Bloody Pond." 
 
 Lyman and the brave officers and men under him, with Eyre's artil- 
 lery, won the Battle of Lake George. Johnson was inactive during the 
 
 71 
 
engagement and had little to do in achieving victory. The English losses 
 are said to have been 262 killed and wounded ; and the French losses were 
 228 killed and wounded. 
 
 Johnson did not follow up the victory, but with his army remained 
 inactive at Lake George, until winter forced its retirement to Albany. It 
 has been charged against him that he called a council of war and feigning 
 illness, did not attend, in order to throw the blame of retirement on the 
 officers attending. 10 Johnson resigned his commission, December 2nd. He 
 received all the honors from the British government. He was created a 
 baronet and given £5000. Johnson was so jealous and ungenerous, that in 
 all his reports, he did not mention General Lyman's name. However, it is 
 said, he privately admitted Lyman won the fight. 
 
 Governor Shirley, who succeeded Braddock as commander in chief, 
 was a patriotic, energetic man, but a pompous old lawyer, always plan- 
 ning and never executing. At first, he planned reorganizing the remnants 
 of Braddock's army, with reinforcements from Pennsylvania, Virginia 
 and Maryland ; but as the colonies would not cooperate, he ordered Colonel 
 Dunbar and the troops to Albany to assist him in his proposed Niagara 
 campaign. Shirley did not have the sense to realize his incapacity and his 
 vanity led him to conceive himself a great military leader and the Niagara 
 expedition as the crux of all plans against the French. 
 
 Shirley was responsible for Johnson's preferment and at first they 
 implicitly trusted each other. However, the Crown Point and Niagara 
 movements were more or less rival affairs, and Shirley's diversion of some 
 of the Massachusetts troops from the Crown Point army to the Niagara 
 force, naturally aggravated Johnson. The real cause of dissension arose 
 over Shirley's request for Indians to serve as guides and scouts of his 
 army. Johnson agreed to furnish them and then hedged, stating they were 
 not necessary until the army arrived at Oswego. Shirley became suspicious 
 and unwilling to rely upon Johnson's uncertain cooperation, engaged 
 Joseph Kellogg as interpreter and guide, and secured the assistance of 
 Colonel John H. Lydius, who had great influence among the Indians. 
 Johnson detested Lydius and this hatred, if not the cause, intensified the 
 quarrel. William Alexander, later known as the Earl of Stirling and a 
 leading American general of the Revolution, was Shirley's secretary and 
 representative at Albany and Johnson took umbrage of him. 
 
 The controversy became intense and Johnson's lack of earnest sup- 
 port seriously hampered Shirley's plans. Johnson apprehended Shirley had 
 blackened him with the British authorities, and may have contemplated, 
 in trepidation, a tumbling house of glory. But, ever ready luck was with 
 him, and moreover, he won the support of two men, of inestimable service 
 to him with the English government, Robert Orme late aide to Braddock 
 and Thomas Pownall. The latter, was a young politician, who had come to 
 New York as secretary to Sir Danvers Osborne, and brother of John 
 Pownall, secretary of the British Board of Trade. Thomas Pownall later 
 became royal governor of Massachusetts. These two intrigued for him 
 
 72 
 
and may have been largely responsible for the displacement of Shirley and 
 the great honors bestowed on Johnson by the British government. 
 
 The army assembled at Oswego, under Shirley, was insufficient and 
 the supplies inadequate for the reduction of Niagara ; and a French force 
 of fourteen hundred, at Frontenac, across the lake and threatening Oswego, 
 made its capture impossible. Leaving, seven hundred men as a garrison 
 of Oswego, late in October, Shirley with the main army returned to Albany. 
 
 The English efforts, in 1755, had been futile. The reduction of Fort 
 Duquesne, Crown Point and Niagara had failed, and the Battle of Lake 
 George was a barren victory. Shirley's plans had miscarried everywhere, 
 save, indirectly, making a Mohawk Valley Indian trader an English 
 baronet. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TEN 
 
 1. Johnson Papers 1, 465. 
 
 2. Ibid, 468-472. 
 
 3. Johnson Papers 1, 562. 
 
 4. Ibid, 2-6, 9. 
 
 5. Ibid 1-730. 
 
 6. Ibid, 842. 
 
 7. Ibid, 889. 
 
 8. Doc. Hist, of N. Y., 2, 694. 
 
 9. Ephraim Williams was born at Newton, Massachusetts, son of Ephraim 
 Williams, who removed to Stockbridge. For several years, Ephraim Jr. followed 
 the sea, but finally settled at Stockbridge, which he represented in the General 
 Court in 1744. In 1745, he was commander of three frontier forts with headquarters 
 at Fort Shirley. In 1753, he was in command of Fort Massachusetts and in March 
 1755, he was appointed colonel of one of the regiments recruited for the Crown 
 Point expedition. At Albany, July 22nd, he made his will, wherein he made a 
 bequest for the establishment of a school at Williamstown, which became Williams 
 College. 
 
 10. For accounts of the battle, see : Doc. Hist, of N. Y., 2, 689, 691, 698 ; Johnson 
 Papers, 2, 18 to 28; Montcalm and Wolfe 1, 295; Lossing, Field Book of the 
 Revolution 1, 95, 96. 
 
 73 
 
CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 DESOLATION OF THE FRONTIER 
 
 Soon after Braddock's defeat, Governor Morris convened the Pennsyl- 
 vania assembly and laid before it the exigencies of the situation and the 
 imminent danger to the frontier. The British Board of Trade had rejected 
 the complaint, of the assembly, to the governor's former action in rejecting 
 an act for the emission of bills of credit, and given notice it considered 
 the assembly recalcitrant. Confronted with the displeasure of the British 
 government, the Quaker assembly bowed to the storm, and submitted an 
 act for the appropriation of £50,000 for the king's use, but because it taxed 
 the proprietary estates, the governor disapproved it, on the ground that it 
 was contrary to his instructions. These instructions were morally inde- 
 fensible and disclosed the greed of the proprietors. Franklin had at last 
 maneuvered the Quakers into a strong position, but both knew the act 
 of assembly was only a gesture to avoid the wrath of the British govern- 
 ment and the rigors of taxation. Proprietors, Quakers, Franklin and Mor- 
 ris were all playing a game of appeasement with the English government 
 and only the cataclysm of murder and plunder on the frontier, at last, 
 cudgeled them into a semblance of defense. 1 
 
 Many of the western Delawares and Shawnees fought with the French 
 at Braddock's Field. The Delawares, long restive under the overlordship 
 of the Iroquois, were revengeful towards the Pennsylvanians because of 
 eviction from their homeland. Emboldened by Braddock's defeat and incited 
 by the French at Fort Duquesne, these Indians had ravished the settle- 
 ments on the Potomac in Maryland and Virginia, but there were no 
 aggressions, on the Pennsylvania frontier, until October 16, 1755, when 
 their fury burst forth. 
 
 Early in the morning of that day, a band of fourteen warriors stealthly 
 approached the settlements along Penn's creek, which with its tributary, 
 Middle creek are sizeable streams meandering through the rich and roll- 
 ing farm lands of Snyder county and emptying their waters into the Sus- 
 quehanna near Selinsgrove. Dividing themselves into groups, they, here and 
 there, struck the unsuspecting inhabitants, burning their cabins, murdering, 
 scalping and capturing the occupants. The last depredation was at the house 
 of Jacob Leroy or King, whom they barbarously burned and finally killed 
 by driving two tomahawks into his forehead. Twenty four were killed or 
 
 74 
 
taken prisoners. One person escaped and carried the news to the lower 
 settlements. Seventeen of the remaining settlers organized a military com- 
 pany, which went to the scene of the massacre and buried the dead, thir- 
 teen men and women and one child. They, then, returned to the house of 
 George Gabriel, which they made their headquarters. 2 The Indians, fear- 
 ing pursuit, immediately decamped with their prisoners, going over the 
 mountains to Kittanning. 3 
 
 This tragedy was the first Indian massacre, since the settlement of 
 the province and set the whole Pennsylvania frontier aflame. Many, of 
 the settlers in Cumberland county, abandoned their isolated cabins and 
 sought places of possible safety; and the terrible news terrorized the in- 
 habitants in the outlying sections of York, Berks and Lancaster counties. 
 
 John Harris, upon receipt of the news, dispatched a letter, to Gov- 
 ernor Morris, beseeching support of the back settlements; 4 and gathered 
 a force, of forty men, which went up the river to Gabriels, and from 
 thence to Shamokin, where they spent the night of October 24th in con- 
 ference with the Indians, some of whom were friendly, but the Delawares, 
 there, appeared hostile. Among those in the party were Thomas Foster, a 
 magistrate and Thomas McKee, an Indian trader, whose place was on the 
 east side of the river, near the present Dalmatia. 5 The latter understood 
 Indians, and distrusted the attitude of a band of painted and strange 
 Delawares. 
 
 The next morning, Harris and his men left Shamokin. Andrew Mon- 
 tour advised them to go down the east side of the river, but Harris 
 suspected him of laying a trap and, as the road was easier, they wenfl down 
 the west side. Montour was loyal and had they followed his timely warn- 
 ing, they would have escaped disaster. 
 
 As the party descended the bank of Penn's creek, at a place near its 
 mouth, they were fired upon by a band, of some twenty Indians, secreted 
 in the bushes on the other side. Two were killed and most of them fled, 
 but fifteen sought the shelter of the trees and resisted. Finding their posi- 
 tion untenable, they retreated but in crossing the river, one was shot 
 and four or five others drowned. Harris' horse was wounded and he was 
 compelled to swim to the eastern shore. The next night, the Indians 
 burned the buildings at Gabriels. 6 
 
 Conrad Weiser gathered the men of Heidelberg township and 
 marched to Benjamin Spycker's (the present Stouchsburg), where the 
 men of Tulpehocken township had assembled. Weiser divided this united 
 force, of between three and four hundred men, into companies, each with 
 a captain, and marched to Adam Reed's house in Hanover township. A 
 force was sent to guard Swatara Gap, where it was expected the Indiana 
 would come through. Finding most of the rumors to be false and that 
 there were no Indians east of the Susquehanna, Weiser and his men 
 returned home. 7 
 
 He reported to the governor, what he had done, and upon receiving 
 it, Morris wrote him, enclosing a colonel's commission, and said: "I have 
 no time to give you any instructions with the commission, but leave it to 
 
 75 
 
your judgment and discretion, which I know are great, to do what is 
 most for the safety of the people and service of the crown." 8 Thus, the 
 burden, of defending the frontier east of the Susquehanna, was cast upon 
 Conrad Weiser, without instructions, arms, munitions or the semblance of 
 an army, as there was then no militia in the province, and no law for 
 raising and regulating one. Most of the inhabitants, north of the Kittatinny 
 mountains, abandoned their settlements and fled southward. All was terror 
 and confusion. 
 
 About 4 o'clock in the morning of October 31st, William Parsons, 
 late surveyor general, who was at his plantation, "Stonykiln," in Bethel 
 township, Berks county, was aroused by Adam Rees, who informed him 
 of the murder of his neighbor, Henry Hartman. Parsons summoned some 
 men and they went to the scene, which was beyond the first mountain and 
 about four miles away. There, they found the body of Hartman, who had 
 been brutally murdered, and nearby came upon the corpses of two other 
 men, badly mangled and scalped. 10 
 
 The attack at Hartman's was the first Indian depredation, east of 
 the Susquehanna ; and occasioned the fascinating story of Regina, the 
 captive German girl, which in popularity through the generations, has 
 rivaled the romantic tale of Frances Slocum. In later years, Mrs. Hart- 
 man told her story to Rev. Henry M. Muhlenburg, which he has related 
 in the Hallische Nachrichten at page 1029. Henry Hartman with his wife, 
 two sons and two daughters came from Wurtemburg to Pennsylvania and 
 squatted in a fertile vale north of the mountains. They were pious Luth- 
 erans and told their children Bible stories, taught them to pray and sing 
 sweet German hymns. The morning of October 30th, Mrs. Hartman and 
 one of her sons went to a mill, some miles away ; and upon their return, 
 found their home burned, the father and son murdered and the two 
 daughters, Barbara aged ten and Regina aged nine missing. She and her 
 son fled southward to Tulpehocken, where they continued to reside. 
 
 The Hartman sisters, with other captives, were taken westward and 
 parted. Barbara was never seen afterwards. Regina and another girl two 
 years old were given to an old squaw, who, treated them cruelly, and 
 they were reared in slavery, amid scenes of savage brutality, until Regina 
 was about nineteen and the other girl about eleven. During their captivity, 
 Regina taught her companion to pray and sing the German songs she 
 had learned. This they did alone and away from the fury of the old squaw. 
 
 In 1764, Colonel Henry Boquet crushed the western Indians and 
 required them to surrender all their white prisoners. He collected the 
 captives at Fort Pitt and took them over the mountains to Carlisle. Adver- 
 tisements were inserted in the colonial newspapers, fixing a day, when 
 those who had lost relatives, should come to Carlisle and reclaim their 
 loved ones. 
 
 On the day appointed, hundreds of fathers, mothers, relatives and 
 friends, from the colonies north and south, assembled at Carlisle. Colonel 
 Boquet was a skilfull soldier, who conducted the proceedings with mili- 
 tary precision, but in a spirit of kindness and humanity. More than four 
 
 76 
 
hundred, wretched captives were gathered in a hollow square, guarded 
 by the grim and bayoneted soldiers, and formed into a long line facing 
 the multitude gathered on the common at Carlisle. Many would have run 
 away, for they had been forced to leave their savage foster parents, and 
 were homesick for the Indian homes they had learned to love so well. Some 
 were tots, so small, they had to be led by the soldiers, but most of them 
 were half grown boys and girls, who during their long captivities had 
 forgotten their mother tongues and their own names. Clad in scant and 
 wretched Indian attire, with their long and unkempt hair and darkly 
 tanned faces, their aspect was that of the savages. Wild eyed, shy and 
 bewlidered, these poor little creatures faced the uncertainties of the future, 
 hardly knowing what it was all about. Ai few recalled their names and were 
 thus reclaimed, some were identified by peculiarities of feature or scars 
 or marks on the body ; others were recognized by incidents, songs and 
 stories, and many of them were unclaimed and forced to seek the protec- 
 tion of strangers. 
 
 Mrs. Hartman, time and again, passed along the sorrowful line, but 
 was unable to find her lost children. At last despairing, she withdrew and 
 began to sob. The disconsolate woman attracted the attention of Colonel 
 Boquet, as he passed back and forth. He went to her and she told him 
 her sad story. He kindly suggested, was there no mark, no scar by which 
 she could identify them. She shook her head. Was there an incident, a 
 story of childhood, they might recall, he asked. Again, she shook her head. 
 Had they learned some song, he inquired. Immediately, the woman's face 
 brightened with a smile, and she began to sing in a sweet German voice, 
 the beautiful hymn, Regina had loved: 
 
 "Alone, yet not alone am I 
 Though in solitude so drear ; 
 I feel my Saviour always nigh 
 He comes the very hour to cheer 
 I am with him and he with me, 
 E'en here alone, I can not be." 
 
 Then, from the line of captives, the answer came, in the same strain 
 from a young woman, and Regina Hartman broke away and embraced her 
 mother. The other friendless and unclaimed child clung to Regina, and 
 Colonel Boquet allowed Mrs. Hartman to take her home. 11 
 
 The Great Cove and the Conolloways are fertile valleys lying in 
 what is now Fulton county. They attracted squatters, who as previously 
 related were evicted in 1750, but returned and occupied their farms. Those 
 settled in the northern part were Scotch Irish and those, in the southern 
 part, which was disputed territory, from Maryland. 
 
 A trader and two others were killed in the Tuscarora valley, October 
 31st; 12 and Shingas a Delaware chief, with about a hundred Delaware and 
 Shawnee warriors, came from Kittanning and attacked the Great Cove 
 settlement. Although, different dates have been given, there is no doubt, 
 
 77 
 
it was Saturday, November 1st, as Sheriff Potter, in his report, stated it 
 was "Saturday last about 3 o'clock in the afternoon," and Benjamin 
 Chambers, in his warning to the inhabitants, dated it, "Sabbath morning 
 November 2, 1755" (Col. Recs. 6,673,675). 
 
 The Indian force divided, the part, under Shingas, attacking the Cove 
 and the other the Conolloways. Sheriff Potter and Adam Hoops led a force, 
 to the scene, Sunday morning and found houses still burning and sad 
 evidence of the ravages. A, Mrs. Jordan and young woman named Clark 
 had escaped, but unfortunately, the morning after, went back to the Jor- 
 dan home to get milk for the children and were captured. The sheriff and 
 Mr. Hoops favored pursuing the Indians, but the majority overruled 
 them and the expedition returned. 13 The latter, in a letter to the governor 
 stated, "the Great Cove and Conolloway settlements are all burned to 
 ashes and about fifty persons killed or taken." 14 
 
 Dietrich Six, sometimes called Derrick Sixth lived in Bethel town- 
 ship, Berks county, near where Fort Henry was later built and three miles 
 north of the present Millersburg. A watch tower had been erected, there, 
 on a little eminence overlooking the valley to the west, and the neighbors 
 took turns in guarding it. It was attacked November 15th and the massacre 
 is described in a letter of Peter Spycker to Conrad Weiser as follows : 15 
 
 "John Anspack and Frederick Reed came to me and told me, the 
 miserable circumstances of the people murdered this side of the mountain 
 yesterday. The Indians attacked the watch, killed and scalped him at Der- 
 rick Sixth, and in that neighborhood great many in that night. This morn- 
 ing, our people went to see ; came about 10 o'clock in the morning to 
 Thomas Bowers house, finding a man killed with a gun shot. Soon we 
 heard a noise of firing guns ; running to that place and found four Indians 
 sitting on children scalping, 3 of the children are dead and 2 are alive ; the 
 scalps taken off ; hereafter we went to the watch house of Derrick Sixth, 
 where the Indians first attacked, finding 6 dead bodies ; 4 of them scalpt ; 
 about a mile this side of the watch house, as we went back, the Indians 
 set fire to a stable and barn, where they burnt the corn, cows and other 
 creatures, where we found 7 Indians, 5 in the house eating their dinner and 
 drinking rum, which was in the house, and 2 outside ; we fire to them but 
 in vain ; the Indians have burnt 4 plantations more the above account told 
 me." In closing he added, referring to the Quakers, "The Assembly can 
 see by the work, how good and fine friends the Indians are to us." 
 
 Edward Biddle Esq. wrote from Reading, expressing the horror and 
 confusion there, upon receipt of the news, saying: "The people exclaim 
 against the Quakers, and some scarce be restrained from buring the houses 
 of those few who are in this town." 16 Conrad Weiser, Emanuel Carpenter 
 and Simon Ruhm sent a protest to the governor, in which this was set 
 forth : "The people are so incensed not only against our cruel enemies the 
 Indians, but also (We beg leave to inform your Honor) against the Gov- 
 ernor and Assembly, that we are afraid they will go in a body to Phila- 
 
 78 
 
delphia and commit the vilest Outrages. They say, they would rather be 
 hanged than be butchered by the Indians." 17 
 
 While this bloody mischief was brewing, Teedyuscung, like a wild 
 beast in his lair, plotted deviltry and destruction. A boastful, lying drunk- 
 ard, arrogant and ambitious, he saw, in the misery of the time, a chance 
 to raise himself to power. The dissolute and dissembling Delawares of the 
 west, long agonizing over their reduction to women, and hating the Eng- 
 lish settlers for their intrusions, lent willing ears to the charms of the 
 French and fought against Braddock. The eastern Delawares were a de- 
 jected and dismembered people, with some at Shamokin, some at Nesco- 
 peck, more at Wyoming and a few lingering here and there in their ancient 
 homeland. These Teedyuscung gathered within his fold. Still smarting 
 under Canassatego's castigation, old Nutimus, in his nest at Nescopeck, 
 plotted with him. 18 
 
 The provincial government was gravely concerned about the Indians 
 at Wyoming and along the Susquehanna ; but information was brought, by 
 Charles Brodhead, and Christian Seidel, David Zeisberger, John Shmick 
 and Henry Fry, the Moravians, that they were loyal and apprehensive 
 they would be blamed for the late disturbances. They reported Paxinosa 
 "kept good order among his Indians" and allowed none out hunting with- 
 out his permission. 19 
 
 None of these messengers divined what was going on among the 
 Delawares ; and at the opportune time, Teedyuscung struck with the venom 
 of a viper ; leading and sending out small bands of savage murderers, who 
 secreting themselves in the dismal swamps of the Pocono plateau, 
 descended, with the stealth of panthers, upon the unsuspecting lowlands. 
 Here and there, by day and night, they pounced upon isolated farmhouses 
 or little settlements, burned the buildings, butchered the occupants and 
 darted back to the fastness of the forest. None were spared, neither old 
 nor young. Many of the victims had been friends and acquaintances of 
 Teedyuscung, for he had lived most of his life, among the settlers in the 
 Pocopoko valley and along the Lehigh. Terror and confusion prevailed 
 and the survivors fled southward to Bethlehem, Nazareth and Easton. 
 
 Encompassed by forest clad hills, the old Moravian mission of 
 Gnadenhutten, with its well tilled fields, tidy buildings and barns filled 
 with wheat and corn, nestled in a secluded vale of the Mahoning. On 
 November 24th, the fifteen members, of the mission house, while eating 
 their evening meal, were startled by the fierce barking of dogs and the 
 stealthy approach of footsteps. Martin Nitschman went to see and, as he 
 opened the door, a bullet struck him dead. The Indians fired into the open 
 room and killed John Gattermeyer, Martin Presser and John Lesley. 
 George Partich, as a bullet whistled by his head, jumped through a win- 
 dow and dashed up the hillside, where he met John Sensemann, who had 
 gone, a little time before, to close the church. They fled down the Mahoning 
 and across the Lehigh and alarmed the occupants of New Gnadenhutten, 
 who fled to Bethlehem. 
 
 Those, in the mission house, ran to an adjoining room and up the 
 
 79 
 
stairs to the attic, closely pursued by the savages, who fired, wounding 
 Susannah Nitschmann. She fell down the steps into the arms of the 
 Indians, who gagged, bound and removed her from the building. Barri- 
 cading the trap door with furniture and a heavy chest, the beleaguered 
 awaited their doom. Anna Sensemann sat on a bed and moaned, "My 
 Saviour, I thought this would be my end." Johanna Anders, with her 
 infant clasped in her hands, prayed in silence. The fiends fired a volley 
 into the floor, but being unable to dislodge their victims, they applied the 
 torch and soon the building was in flames. Three desperate ones deter- 
 mined to escape. Young Joseph Sturgis leaped from a window, when the 
 warrior guarding it stepped aside, and saved his life. Susan Partich fol- 
 lowed him, ran up the hillside and secreting herself, behind the meeting 
 house, was a sad witness of the savage orgies. George Fabricius, following 
 her, jumped from the window, but, upon rising, was shot dead and scalped 
 The five remaining ones, Anna Sensemann, Gottlieb Anders, Johanna 
 Anders his wife and an infant daughter and George Schweigert were 
 burned to death. 
 
 The Indians set fire to the barns, shops, store, bakehouse and church ; 
 and having feasted at the spring house, departed, with their plunder on 
 stolen horses, by the old warrior path to Wyoming. They were said to 
 have been twelve Shawnees, acting in concert with the Delawares; but 
 Joseph Sturgis stated, he believed them to be Delawares. 20 
 
 In the expansive and fertile valley of the Pocopoko creek, near the 
 present Kresgeville, Frederick Hoeth had settled and erected a substantial 
 log house, mill and barns. Early in the evening of December 10th, while 
 the family was at supper, a band of Delawares surrounded the house and 
 fired through a window, killing Hoeth and wounding a woman. The 
 remaining occupants fled to the other buildings, which the Indians set on 
 fire. Mrs. Hoeth ran through the flames of the burning bake house, and 
 to extinguish the fire in her dress, jumped into the creek and was drowned. 
 The savages disemboweled and horribly mangled her body. A daughter 
 was killed and scalped and three other children were believed to have 
 been burned. 
 
 The next day, probably, the same band attacked the house of John 
 McMichael, a few miles farther east, but the neighbors had gathered 
 there and succeeded in beating them off. A larger band, during the fore- 
 noon, surrounded the stockaded house of Daniel Brodhead, located on the 
 site of the present East Stroudsburg, but the place was defended through- 
 out the day and at night the Indians withdrew. The other buildings on 
 the place were burned. 21 
 
 A wide strip, of territory south of the Kittatinny mountains, in both 
 Northampton and Berks counties, was now deserted by its inhabitants, 
 who threw themselves for support on the generosity of their neighbors to 
 the southward. Even, the residents of Easton and Reading believed them- 
 selves in peril and were in a paralyzed state of consternation and con- 
 fusion. 22 
 
 The governor uged the assembly to protect the frontier, but it cruelly 
 
 80 
 
replied, intimating the settlers were unduly alarmed and terrified, suggest- 
 ing the Delawares and Shawnees had land purchase grievances unre- 
 dressed and insinuating the Six Nations had a hand in the depredations. 
 But goaded by the increasing atrocities, the Quaker assembly, as a gesture, 
 sent the governor an act appropriating £60,000 and containing provisions, 
 it knew he had no power to approve. Meanwhile, Andrew Montour, 
 Jegrea, a Mohawk and Scarooyady appeared before the governor, council 
 and assembly ; and the latter addressed them, stating, there were still three 
 hundred loyal Indians on the Susquehanna, but to retain their allegiance, 
 they must be immediately supported. He demanded an explicit answer, 
 whether Pennsylvania would fight or do nothing. The assembly insultingly 
 denied his supplication. Scarooyady was amazed and said he could no 
 longer prevent the defection of the Delawares, but, nevertheless, pledged 
 his personal loyalty. The wise old chief counselled the governor to be 
 calm and still strive for an agreement with the foolish assembly, assuring 
 him he would carry a message to the Indians on the Susquehanna and the 
 Six Nations. 
 
 However, the march of events was driving the foolish Quakers into 
 a tight spot. Thomas Penn sent a gift of £5,000 to be added to whatever 
 the assembly appropriated, which was probably in excess of what could 
 be justly realized by taxing his estates. The Indian murders continued. 
 The frontier asserted itself. Fifteen hundred inhabitants, of Berks county, 
 threatened to march to Philadelphia. A large number, of the citizens of 
 Chester county, protested. The mayor of Philadelphia sharply reproached 
 the assembly for its obstinacy. There were rumblings everywhere, 
 Rumors came from the north and west, that the frontiersmen were bound 
 to have protection, if they had to punish the Quakers, and perhaps hang 
 the recalcitrant assembly members. The Quakers had to give way. The 
 fear, of loss of life and property, overcame the fear of God. 
 
 The assembly passed a weak militia bill, which exempted the Quakers 
 from service and support of the frontier and contained provisions that 
 rendered the forces raised under it inefficient. It also made an appropria- 
 tion without taxing the Penn estates. The irreconcilable Quakers, led by 
 Israel Pemberton, protested these measures, for the defense of innocent 
 men, women and children from the unspeakable cruelties of fiendish 
 savages, as destructive of their (the Quakers) religious liberties. Such is 
 the fatuity of all extreme religious opinion. 23 Franklin to retain his pop- 
 ularity with the Quakers had been their leader in the opposition. His 
 policy was, "Beat the governor, and then beat the enemy." Much as we 
 venerate Benjamin Franklin, his conduct, at this critical time, was that of 
 the politician and unworthy of admiration. 
 
 During December 1755, commissioners were appointed to provide for 
 the defense of the frontier and militia companies were raised in the various 
 counties, and their officers commissioned by the governor. 
 
 81 
 
NOTES— CHAPTER ELEVEN 
 
 1. Col. Recs. 6-504, 510, 521, 525, 526, 534, 536, 537, 546, 550, 565, 569, 
 587, 597, 598. 
 
 2. Ibid, 647. 
 
 3. Pa. Archs. 3, 633. The captives were: Barbara Leninger, Mary Roy, Rachel 
 Leninger, Marion Wheeler, Hannah wife of Jacob Breylinger and two of their 
 children, Peter Lick and two of his sons, named John and William. 
 
 4. Col. Recs. 6, 645. 
 
 5. Frontier Forts 1, 627; Pa. Archs. 12, 405. 
 
 6. Col. Recs. 6, 648, 654, 655. 
 
 7. Ibid, 656, 659. 
 
 8. Ibid, 660. 
 
 9. and 10. Ibid, 669. 
 
 11. kupp, History of Berks and Lebanon counties, 318; Frontier Forts 1, 65; 
 C. J. Weiser, Life of Conrad Weiser, 134. 
 
 12. Col. Recs. 6, 767. 
 
 13. Pa. Archs. 2, 451, 463, 474. 
 
 14. Ibid, 474; The Pennsylvania Gazette, under date of November 13th, listed 
 those murdered at the Cove as: Elizabeth Gallway, Henry Gilson, Robert Peer, 
 William Berryhill, David McClelland, a son of William Fleming and one Hicks ; 
 and those missing, John Martin's wife and five children, William Gallway's wife 
 and two children, a young woman, Charles Stewart's wife and two children, David 
 McClelland's wife and two children. 
 
 15. Col. Recs. 6, 703. 
 
 16. Ibid, 705. 
 
 17. Pa. Archs. 2, 511. 
 
 18. Col. Recs. 6, 762. 
 
 19. Ibid, 751 ; Pa. Archs. 2, 459; 491. 
 
 20. Memorials of Moravian Church 1, 197 to 201; Col. Recs. 6, 736; Pa. 
 Archs. 2, 521. 
 
 21. Col. Recs. 6, 755, 756. 
 
 22. Ibid, 760, 761, 762, 763. 
 
 23. Ibid, 671 to 743; Pa. Archs. 2, 484, 487, 516. 
 
 82 
 
CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 DESTRUCTION OF OSWEGO 
 
 During the winter of 1756, Colonel Jonathan Bagley of Massachusetts 
 was in command of Fort William Henry, the construction of which had 
 been commenced at the head of Lake George ;and his force was engaged 
 in strengthening the works, and the building of boats for the proposed 
 Crown Point movement. He quaintly wrote, ''Shall leave no stone 
 unturned, every wheel shall go, that rum and human flesh can move." He 
 sent out numerous scouting parties, under the celebrated ranger, Robert 
 Rogers, Israel Putnam and others, whose exciting alventures, while 
 prowling through the woods near Ticonderoga and Crown Point are 
 fascinating stories, which fill a volume. 
 
 Shirley had appointed General John Winslow of Massachusetts, com- 
 mander of the proposed movement on Ticonderoga ; and by midsummer, 
 a considerable number of New England regiments were scattered along 
 the Hudson from Stillwater to Fort Edward, but their farthest advance- 
 ment was to Fort William Henry, when winter compelled them to disband. 
 
 To guard the road to Oswego, Fort Williams (on the present site of 
 Rome) had been erected at the great carrying place on the Mohawk. Fort 
 Bull had been built on Wood creek at the other end of this portage. The 
 latter was only a stockade without cannon and garrisoned by a lieutenant 
 and thirty or forty men. It contained a considerable quantity of supplies. 
 About 4 o'clock in the morning of March 27, 1756, Lieutenant de Lery, 
 with a French force, of three hundred sixty two men, consisting of Indians, 
 Canadians, and ninety three regulars, appeared before Fort Bull ; and 
 having learned, from two prisoners, the state of the fort and that sup- 
 plies were expected, he made his arrangements. The convoy was inter- 
 cepted, ten prisoners were taken and the provisions, a godsend to the 
 famished French, were eaten. 
 
 Most of the Indians refused to participate in the attack on the fort, 
 but agreed to guard the prisoners and watch the road. Anticipating, a 
 sortie from Fort Williams, de Lery made an immediate attack on Fort 
 Bull. About twenty Indians accompanied him and, when within a short 
 distance of the fort, gave the warwhoop, which alarmed the garrison and 
 gave time to close the gates. Baffled in his surprise attack, by this ill- 
 timed outcry, de Lery summoned the surrender of the place, but the 
 answer was a sharp fire from the fort. After, an hour's onslaught, the gates 
 
 83 
 
were battered down and the French poured within, and killed all the 
 defenders. The stock of powder was dumped in the creek, but some of it 
 exploded, wounding two of the French. As anticipated, a relief force was 
 sent from Fort Williams, but the Indians, lying along the road, attacked 
 it, and seventeen of the English were killed. Fearing pursuit, de Lery 
 collected his men and, with the plunder they could carry, left for 
 Canada. 1 
 
 Shirley's cherished dream was the capture of Fort Niagara, but he, 
 never, got farther, than a little boy on a hobby horse. He sent recruits to 
 Oswego, and, to forward supplies, he employed two thousand boatmen, 
 under the command of Colonel John Bradstreet. Coulon de Villiers had 
 been sent, with more than a thousand Canadians and Indians, to interrupt 
 the communications between Albany and Oswego. Nevertheless, Brad- 
 street succeeded in landing supplies ; but on July 3rd, while returning 
 with some three hundred boatmen, at a point on the north side of the 
 river about a mile above Oswego, he was attacked by the French. In order 
 to prevent the enemy from crossing and give the boatmen time to land on 
 the south side, Bradstreet, with six men, went to an island, where he was 
 attacked by a force of about twenty, whom they succeeded in beating off. 
 Six more joined Bradstreet and they were again assaulted by an increased 
 French force and, although eight of the twelve were wounded, they held 
 their assailants until reinforced. Perceiving they were about to be sur- 
 rounded, they left the island. The English, by a feigned retreat, decoyed a 
 large number of the French to cross to the south side of the river, and 
 then turned upon them, driving the French into the river with consider- 
 able losses. 
 
 Meanwhile, an enemy force, of about four hundred, had crossed at a 
 ford, above and taken position in a swamp. With two hundred men, Brad- 
 street assailed them, but being unable to make any progress by tree cov- 
 ered firing, he ordered his men to charge. The foe broke and fled, many of 
 them being killed or wounded. Having been reinforced by one hundred 
 grenadiers on their way from Onondaga and two hundred men sent by 
 Colonel Mercer from Oswego, it was intended to pursue the French, the 
 following morning, but the day being rainy, it was given up. The English 
 losses were twenty killed and twenty four wounded. The French were 
 believed to have had more than one hundred killed. This was the only 
 English success on the northern frontier, during the summer of 1756 and 
 Colonel Bradstreet received much praise. 2 
 
 Shirley, still making plans, had been displaced and Lord Loudon 
 appointed in his place, with General Abercrombie to command the armies. 
 The English efforts in 1755 had been futile. Poor Shirley had lost every- 
 thing, two sons, William who was killed at Braddock's defeat and John 
 who died of disease contracted at Oswego. He returned to England, if not 
 disgraced, at least, humiliated by the failure of great expectations. 
 
 Oswego was a continued menace to the long line of French communi- 
 cations and the most hated English outpost. Vaudreuil, governor general 
 of Canada had long designed its capture and early in the summer sent his 
 
 84 
 
brother, Rigaud to supersede de Villiers in command of the French forces 
 encamped at Niaoure Bay, now Sackett's Harbor. Montcalm, the newly 
 arrived French general, early in July, went to Ticonderoga with reinforce- 
 ments, but this was a mere diversion and not a threat against Fort William 
 Henry. Having thrown the English off the scent and leaving Levis in 
 command of about three thousand men on Lake Champlain, Montcalm, by 
 a speedy journey, arrived at Frontenac about the first of August. 
 
 Bourlamaque, commander there had made extensive preparations for 
 the attack on Oswego. Beam's battalion had been ordered from Niagara; 
 and on August 7th, Montcalm made his rendezvous at Niaoure Bay. He 
 had about three thousand men, consisting of thirteen hundred regulars and 
 the remainder were Canadians and Indians. They were well equipped with 
 heavy cannon for a siege. 
 
 There were three fortifications at Oswego. Fort Ontario on the east 
 side of the river was a square of about one hundred and eighty feet. The 
 faces broken in the center were flanked by redans placed at the point of 
 break. It was constructed of picketts, eighteen inches in diameter and ris- 
 ing nine feet from the ground. A ditch eighteen feet wide and eight feet 
 deep surrounded the fort. It had eight guns and four mortars with double 
 grenades. It was a safe place to hide from the Indians, but as useless as a 
 baby's crib to withstand a heavy cannonade. The old fort, Chouagen, as the 
 French called it, situated on the west side of the river, consisted of the 
 old stone trading house with loopholed walls three feet thick, and was 
 surrounded at a distance of eighteen feet by another wall. There was a 
 ditch on the land side and it was defended by eighteen cannon and fifteen 
 mortars and howitzers. Fort George was a stockade about eighteen hun- 
 dred feet from the old fort and badly constructed. 
 
 Rigaud de Vaudreuil commanded the vanguard and, by a road, 
 through the woods, built at night, the French advanced and on the llth 
 invested Fort Ontario. At midnight, they began to open their trenches and 
 completed them at 5 o'clock in the morning. There was a brisk fire from 
 the fort, until 1 1 o'clock, when the English evacuated it. During the night, 
 the trenches were continued to the river and twenty pieces of cannon 
 placed. Vaudreuil forded the river at daybreak and interrupted the com- 
 munications between the old fort and Fort George. The cannonading 
 began at 6 o'clock and was replied to by a heavy fire from the old fort 
 until 8 o'clock, when Colonel Mercer, the English commander and soul of 
 the defense, was killed by a cannon shot. His death and the shrieks of the 
 large number of women in the fort dispirited the defenders and, at 11 
 o'clock, Lieutenant Colonel Littlehales, who succeeded Mercer, raised the 
 white flag. The French losses were thirty men killed or wounded ; and 
 the English lost about fifty men killed and wounded and nearly seven- 
 teen hundred prisoners, over one hundred cannon, one thousand muskets, 
 thousands of pounds of powder and bullets, a large amount of provisions, 
 £18,000 of silver in the military chest, five armed ships and two hundred 
 barges and bateaux. The French carried off all the munitions and sup- 
 plies they could transport and blew up and burned all the fortifications. 
 
 85 
 
Nothing remained of the great trading post of Oswego but a scene of 
 desertion and desolation. The French had now complete control of the 
 Great Lakes, the Ohio and the Mississippi; and the triumphant flag of 
 France waved over a long line of unthreatened fortifications from Montreal 
 to New Orleans. 3 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWELVE 
 
 1. Doc. History of N. Y. 1, 509 to 514. 
 
 2. Ibid, 482 to 488. 
 
 3. Ibid, 487 to 498, 591. 
 
 86 
 
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 THE FRONTIER FORTS 
 
 After the destruction of Gnadenhutten, Captain Hayes' company of 
 militia was stationed at New Gnadenhutten to protect the abandoned build- 
 ings. On New Years day, 1756, some of these soldiers, while skating on 
 the Lehigh, were decoyed by several Indians, whom they pursued into an 
 ambush, and they were killed. Their terrified comrades fled and the Indians 
 burned the mills and other buildings of the mission. 1 
 
 With the beginning of January, the work of defending the back settle- 
 ments began. A detachment of ninety-five regulars came from New York 
 and were divided between Easton and Reading. The loyal Indians fled 
 from Pennsylvania and placed themselves under the protection of the Six 
 Nations. Silver Heels a loyal Indian reported to a council, the governor 
 held at Carlisle, January 14th, that there were no Indians left at Shamokin, 
 but at Nescopeck, he found a hundred forty hostile warriors dancing the 
 war dance and preparing for an expedition eastward. 2 The Conestoga 
 Indians placed themselves under the protection of the province. Andrew 
 Montour and Scarooyady, who had gone on a peace mission among the 
 Susquehanna Indians, sent a letter, written by Rev. Gideon Hawley from 
 Oquaga, warning the governor to guard the frontier and keep scouts out 
 continually. 3 
 
 Benjamin Franklin and James Hamilton, two of the provincial com- 
 missioners, were selected to arrange the defenses in Northampton county. 
 Franklin proceeded to Bethlehem, where he raised troops, issued com- 
 missions to officers, made arrangements for the transportation of supplies 
 and organized his forces with great promptness and efficiency. 4 At New 
 Gnadenhutten, he erected Fort Allen, named after Chief Justice William 
 Allen. It was a stockaded structure one hundred twenty-five feet long and 
 fifty feet wide and defended by two swivel guns. It was located in the 
 present Weissport, Carbon county, on the southeast corner of Bridge and 
 Franklin streets. 5 
 
 During the winter and spring, Pennsylvania erected a line of forts 
 across the frontier from the Delaware river to the Maryland line. They 
 were all stockades, similar in construction and built at strategic places. 
 Running from the Delaware westward to the Susquehanna, these forti- 
 fications and locations, with reference to present places, were : Fort Hynd- 
 
 87 
 
shaw near the mouth of Bushkill creek ; 6 Depue house at Shawnee ; 7 Fort 
 Hamilton, fronting Main Street, Stoudsburg; 8 Fort Norris on Pocopoko 
 creek, near Kresgeville ; 9 Fort Allen at Weissport ; Fort Franklin, near 
 West Penn station, Schuylkill county f ° Fort Lebanon, near Auburn, 
 Schuylkill county ; 21 Fort Northkill, near Strausstown, Berks county ; 12 Fort 
 Henry at Deitrich Sixth's ; 13 Fort Swatara near Inwood station ; ; 14 Ma- 
 nada Fort, south of Manada Gap; 15 Fort Hunter at place of same name 
 on the Susquehanna. 
 
 West of the Susquehanna, there were four forts : Pomfret Castle, about 
 twelve miles west of the river, presumed to have been located near Rich- 
 field, Snyder county, but it may never have been built; 16 Fort Granville 
 near Lewistown; Fort Shirley at Aughwick; and Fort Lytleton at the 
 Sugar Cabins. 
 
 Fort Augusta, the most important fortification erected, occupied the 
 key position at Shamokin, being situated on the east bank of the Susque- 
 hanna, nearly opposite its confluence. It was built in the summer of 1756. 
 The friendly Indians had repeatedly urged the construction of a strong 
 house at Shamokin, as a refuge for themselves and protection against the 
 French. The governor promised Andrew Montour and Scarooyady, upon 
 their return from their peace mission, that the fort would be built; but 
 politicians, who revolve the wheels of government, always, act dilatorily 
 and inefficiently, except when caring for themselves, and it was sometime 
 before its erection was ordered. Colonel William Clapham, a New Eng- 
 land officer, then serving in Pennsylvania, was commissioned to raise four 
 hundred men, known as the "Augusta Regiment," and erect the fort. 
 Proceeding up the river from Fort Hunter, he built as a supply base, Fort 
 Halifax, near the present Halifax ; 17 and thence marched to Shamokin, 
 which had been deserted and burned by the Indians. 18 
 
 The royal ensign of England, which floated over the completed ram- 
 parts, surmounted no silly stockade. It was the best built and strongest 
 fortification, yet erected. While it did not prevent Indian murderers from 
 sneaking through the mountain passes, it effectually barred a French 
 invasion east of the Allegheny mountains. The French were nearer Sham- 
 okin and its access easier than to Fort Duquesne. From Fort Niagara, 
 there was an open avenue, through the territory of the friendly western 
 Senecas, to the tributaries of the West Branch, which commanded the 
 approach to Shamokin. 
 
 Today, nothing indicates the strength of Fort August, except the 
 magazine, still in good preservation, although built nearly two hundred 
 years; and one may descend the stone stairway and stand beneath its 
 vaulted roof of brick and stone. 19 
 
 On New Years day, Teedyuscung, with twenty-five warriors, attacked 
 the plantation of Henry Hess in Lower Smithfield township. They killed 
 Nicholas Coleman and one Gottleib and captured Peter Hess and his son 
 Henry. On their way northward, they tortured, killed and scalped Peter 
 Hess in the presence of his horrified son, who, with two other captives, 
 they took to Wyoming, which was deserted. They stayed at Tunkhannock, 
 
 88 
 
where there were a hundred Indians, until the severe weather abated, and 
 then proceeded to Tioga. 20 
 
 At Schupp's mill, near Fort Hamilton, four farmers and four soldiers, 
 who were guarding them, were killed; and not far away, Philip Bossert 
 was wounded, and his son and a man, named Mulhausen were killed. Near 
 Patterson's fort, located in the present town of Mexico, Juniata county, 
 a settlement was attacked and there were seventeen casualties. 21 
 
 Scarooyady returned from an Indian conference with Sir William 
 Johnson and reported to the governor, that at Tioga, he met messengers 
 with orders, from the Onondaga Council, commanding the Delawares to 
 cease hostilities and charging, "they were drunk and did not know what 
 they were doing and should have their heads shook until they were sober, 
 and that the hole in their ears was very small, so that nothing their uncles 
 (the Six Nations) said could enter but they were determined to bore a 
 larger hole in their ears and make them hear." 22 
 
 Following Scarooyady 's report and incensed at the depredations, the 
 governor and council declared war against the Delawares, saying to 
 Scarooyady and Andrew Montour: "I offer you the hatchet and expect 
 your hearty concurrence in this just and necessary war." 23 Scarooyady 
 very ably replied, saying : 
 
 "You have had a great deal of patience ; other people on losing a single 
 man would have armed and drove off the foe ; but you have sat still while 
 numbers of your people have been and now are murdered. We heartily 
 approve of your resolution. Awake shake off your lethargy, stand up 
 with your hatchet in your hand and use it manfully. Your enemies have 
 got great advantage by your inactivity, show you are men. Do not make 
 a trifling peace. Do yourselves justice, and bring your enemies to a due 
 sense of themselves, and to offer just terms and not till then think of a 
 peace." 24 
 
 Had the advice, of this loyal, high principled Indian and very wise 
 old man, been followed in the beginning, months before, when his counsel 
 was first sought, much of the bloodshed on the frontier might have been 
 averted. 
 
 The governor, in his proclamation of war against the Delawares, fixed 
 the rewards as follows : every male Indian above twelve years old taken 
 prisoner $150; for the scalp of the same $130; for every female Indian 
 and every male under twelve years taken prisoner $130; for the scalp of 
 every woman $50; for white prisoners recovered $50, but nothing for 
 their scalps. 25 Thus was war waged in the good old days. 
 
 This proclamation was followed by indecision. Sir William Johnson, 
 who thought he had made an accommodation with the Delawares through 
 the Six Nations, was angry with Pennsylvania and advised a rupture 
 should be avoided. 26 His letter to Shirley being read to the governor and 
 council, Morris published a cessation of hostilities. 27 He, then, sent a 
 message by Captain Newcastle and two other friendly Indians to the 
 
 89 
 
Delawares and Shawnees at Tioga. 28 At a conference with them, Teedy- 
 uscung agreed to lay aside the hatchet against the English. 29 Later, at a 
 meeting with the governor, at Easton, Teedyuscung boasted he was king 
 of ten Indian nations and represented the Six Nations. Captain Newcastle 
 and Teedyuscung were appointed agents to spread the peace among the 
 Indians. 30 It was expected, they would immediately depart, but Teedy- 
 uscung remained at Fort Allen, continually drunk and expressing himself 
 contrary to what he had professed at Easton. 31 
 
 While the New York and Pennsylvania politicians were dickering 
 with the Indians, the depredations continued on the frontier, a list of which 
 is contained in note. 32 
 
 On April 4th, the Indians captured Fort McCord, located in the 
 present Hamilton township, Franklin county, burned it and captured or 
 killed the twenty seven occupants. 33 They cut off the head of James Blair 
 and threw it into Mrs. McCord's lap, saying it was her husband's, but she 
 knew it was Blair's. Captain Alexander Culbertson, with a force of about 
 fifty men, pursued the Indians and came upon them at Sideling Hill, where 
 an engagement ensued. Culbertson's men began to fight, but were soon 
 surrounded. They continued to defend themselves, for over two hours, 
 losing men, now and then ; but perceiving the Indians had been reinforced 
 by Shingas, they broke the circle surrounding them and retreated. Only 
 three of the Indians were killed. 34 
 
 Fort Granville was invested, August 1st, by a force of fifty French, 
 under a regular officer and about one hundred fifty Delaware warriors led 
 by the notorious chief, Captain Jacobs. The garrison was commanded by 
 Lieutenant Edward Armstrong, younger brother of Colonel John Arm- 
 strong ; and had been depleted the day before by a detachment, which went 
 to the Tuscarora Valley to protect harvesters. A band of Indians sneaked 
 through a ravine and succeeded in approaching near the fort and setting 
 it on fire. A hole was burned in the stockades, and, through this opening, 
 Lieutenant Armstrong and a soldier were shot and killed. Three other 
 soldiers were wounded. The powder was running low and the defenders 
 were precariously situated. The French demanded surrender and promised 
 protection of all the inmates. Thereupon, John Turner opened the gates 
 and the enemy entered the fort. There were in the place, twenty-two men, 
 five women and some children. These were removed some distance and 
 the structure burned. 35 
 
 The captives, loaded down with plunder, were driven to Kittanning, 
 where Turner was barbarously murdered. Heated gun barrels were run 
 through his body and after he had suffered the most excruciating torture, 
 a warrior raised a little Indian boy, from the ground, who drove a toma- 
 hawk into his skull, ending his sufferings. 36 
 
 At a place called Salisbury Plains, a funeral party was attacked, 
 while on their way to the grave and five were killed. The survivors fled 
 to a nearby house, but seventeen were reported missing. The miscreants, 
 with unaparalleled brutality, took the corpse, that of a young woman, from 
 the coffin and scalped it. 37 
 
 90 
 
Then, as now, were simple souls, who believed in subduing barbarous 
 human nature by negotiation. The Quakers had their own peculiar tenets. 
 Sir William Johnson hoped to bring about some sort of peace through 
 the Six Nations and enhance his own glory. Teedyuscung and the eastern 
 Delawares, perceiving the growing strength of the English and the ani- 
 mosity of the Council at Onondaga would overwhelm and crush them, 
 gave way ; but the western Delawares could only be brought to terms by 
 sterner measures. Governor Morris, distrusting all these pacificatory 
 measures, resolved upon action, which afforded more relief to the suffer- 
 ing frontier, than all the maneuvers of the peace makers ; and rather 
 secretly commissioned Colonel John Armstrong to organize a force and 
 destroy, if possible, the vile murderous nest at Kittanning. Armstrong 
 quietly assembled the companies of Captains Hamilton, Mercer, Potter, 
 Ward, Armstrong, Steele and his own company. 
 
 On August 30th, they left Fort Shirley. In his force, there were 
 no flashing uniforms, no glistening guns, no beating drums and none of 
 the fanfare of war. There were only three hundred, roughly clad, desperate 
 and determined men, whose minds were seared with painful memories 
 of murdered mothers, wives and children. Success depended on secrecy 
 and speed. Swiftly and silently, they marched up the Juniata, to the Beaver 
 Dams, near Frankstown, where scouts reported traces of Indians, three 
 miles east of the Alleghenies, and, judging from the remains of a cub near 
 they had killed, they were only twenty-four hours in advance. Provi- 
 dentially, they had not discovered Armstrong's force. Fifty miles from 
 Kittanning, the road was clear and there was no trace of Indians. The eve- 
 ning of September 7th, the little army was within six miles of Kittanning. 
 There, a scout reported an encampment of Indians, less than half a mile 
 away. It was deemed inadvisable to attack the camp, as some might escape 
 and alarm the town. Leaving Lieutenant Hogg and thirteen soldiers to 
 guard the horses and blankets and attack the camp, in the morning, the 
 rest of the force proceeded by a roundabout way. By moonlight, they 
 groped through the woods, fearful to stir a stone or snap a twig, lest the 
 noise betray them. 
 
 Before the moon set, they arrived at the lower extremity of a corn 
 field adjoining the village. Armstrong thought the whistle of a warrior the 
 signal of their presence, but Baker, a scout assured him, it was only the 
 call of a love sick youth for his squaw. When the moon had fully set, little 
 fires amid the corn alarmed them, but Baker said, that as the night was 
 hot, some of the warriors had sought the place for sleep and kindled the 
 fires to keep the gnats away. 
 
 At daybreak, Armstrong roused his weary men. A detachment was 
 sent to a little hill overlooking the place and ordered to march along its 
 crest, until opposite the main body of the town. The main force was divided, 
 a part detailed to attack the houses, and the remainder directed to march 
 through the corn field and kill the Indians sleeping there. As they ad- 
 vanced on the village, Captain Jacobs discovered them and shouted "Now 
 the white men are come, there will be plenty of scalps," but he took the 
 
 91 
 
precaution to order the flight of the squaws and children. Gathering his 
 warriors into his house, which was loopholed, they poured a murderous 
 fire on the troops. Armstrong was wounded by a bullet through his 
 shoulder, but continued in the fight. The Jacobs house caught on fire, and 
 overcome by the heat Jacobs tumbled from a window and was shot dead. 
 Each house was a powder magazine, so liberal had been the French dis- 
 tribution, and, as the fire spread, terrifnc explosions rent the air. The thigh 
 of a man and the body of a child were hurled into the adjacent corn field. 
 
 Thirty houses were burned and some forty Indians were killed or 
 mortally wounded. Twelve scalps were taken and eleven white captives 
 recovered. Armstrong's losses were seventeen killed, and thirteen wounded. 
 Hogg attacked the encampment, but the Indians outnumbered him and he 
 was repelled with considerable loss. Hogg was mortally wounded and died. 
 Most of the horses and blankets were lost. Captain Hugh Mercer was 
 seriously wounded. The wounded were carried on Indian horses, taken 
 at Kittanning, and with them the force safely made its way back to Fort 
 Littleton. 38 
 
 The destruction, of Kittanning, was the greatest achivement of the 
 English on the frontier, during 1756, and sobered the western Delawares. 
 The survivors of Kittanning* took no further part in the war and departed 
 west of the Ohio, placing Fort Duquesne between them and their English 
 avengers. 
 
 Governor Denny's contentions, with the obdurate assembly, were 
 similar to those of his predecessor, Morris. The English Privy Council, in 
 answer to a petition of the back settlers, had condemned the assembly in 
 no uncertain terms, stating the militia bill passed by it was wholly inade- 
 quate and calculated to exempt persons from military service, rather than 
 encourage them; and concluded, "that no effectual measures would be 
 taken, as long as the assembly consisted of persons, whose principles are 
 against military service and therefore, we see no remedy to the evils com- 
 plained of by the petitioners, unless by the interposition of an act of the 
 British Parliament." 39 
 
 Confronted by this threat, four Quaker members, of the assembly, 
 resigned and this enabled the governor's party to pass the necessary military 
 bills. Had this been done, long before, much of the misery on the frontier 
 would have been averted. 40 The assembly, however, continued to make no 
 provision for quartering the king's troops, until Lord Loudon threatened 
 to march an army to Philadelphia and quarter the soldiers in Quaker 
 homes, when quarters were provided. Franklin seems to have been the 
 leader of this obstruction. His maxim was, "Beat the governor and then 
 beat the enemy" ; and the Quaker maxim was, "Beat the governor and 
 let the enemy alone." The Quakers were a minority, but their wealth and 
 influence, together with the support of the tax avoiding Germans, made 
 them dominant in the assembly, and they adopted Franklin, as their 
 political leader, because he was smart. The Quaker combination gave him 
 power, which he dearly loved, and also the secretaryship of the assembly, 
 the postmaster generalship, and the public printing, which were all lucra- 
 
 92 
 
tive employments. It may not be amiss, to say, that among other con- 
 trivances, Benjamin Franklin invented the Pennsylvania political machine, 
 thereafter so ably engineered by Simon Cameron, Matthew Stanley Quay 
 and Boies Penrose. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER THIRTEEN 
 
 1. Frontier Forts 1, 188. 
 
 2. Col. Recs. 6, 783. 
 
 3. Col. Recs. 7, 12. 
 
 4. Pa. Archs. 2, 548. 
 
 5. Frontier Forts, 1, 198. 
 
 6. Pa. Archs. 2, 546. 
 
 7. Ibid, 542, 680. 
 
 8. Col. Recs. 6, 764. 
 
 9. Pa. Archs. 2, 678. 
 
 10. Ibid, 677; Frontier Forts 1, 136. 
 
 11. Ibid, 665; Ibid, 121. 
 
 12. Frontier Forts 1, 103. 
 
 13. Ibid, 70 to 99. 
 
 14. Pa. Archs. 2, 553. 
 
 15. Frontier Forts, 1, 34. Pa. Archs 2, 552. 
 
 16. Pa. Archs. 2, 561, 603, 613, 617; Col. Recs. 7, 161. The Historical Map of 
 Pennsylvania has located Patterson's Fort and Pomfret Castle on the Mahantango. 
 [n Frontier Forts, Patterson's Fort is located in the town of Mexico, Juniata 
 county. There is so much confusion in the records, that Pomfret Castle would 
 seem to be one of the mysteries of history. 
 
 17. Frontier Forts 1, 522, 527. 
 
 18. According to the plan in the British Museum, Fort Augusta stood about 
 40 yards from the river and on a bank about 24 feet from the surface of the water. 
 It was a square with walls 83 feet long between the four corner bastions. The side 
 fronting the river was a strong palisado, the bases of the logs being sunk 4 feet 
 into the earth, the tops holed and spiked into strong ribands which ran transversely 
 and were mortised into several logs at 12 feet distance from each other, they being 
 larger and higher than the rest. The joints between each palisade were broken 
 with firm logs well filled on the inside and supported by the platform. The other 
 three sides of the fort were composed of logs laid horizontally, dovetailed and 
 trammeled down of various dimensions and were mostly white oak. There were six 
 cannons mounted in the bastions. In the enclosure were the colonel's quarters, the 
 officers barracks, a well and the magazine. 
 
 19. The magazine is underground. There are twelve four inch steps leading 
 to the magazine, which is 10 by 12 feet in size. It is 8 feet from the floor to the 
 apex of the arched ceiling. The arch is of brick and commences on an offset 
 made in the wall five feet above the ground floor. 
 
 20. Pa. Archs. 3, 56. 
 
 21. Pa. Archs. 2, 538. The casualties were: Adam Nicholson and his wife 
 killed and scalped, and their two sons and a daughter captured; Wililam Wilcox 
 and wife killed and scalped ; Hugh Micheltree and a Nicholson boy captured. At 
 Sterrit's Gap about ten miles from Carlisle, one Sheridan, a Quaker, his wife and 
 three chidlren ; William Hamilton, wife and daughter, and a man named French 
 were killed and scalped. 
 
 22. Col. Recs. 7, 64 to 73. 
 
 93 
 
23. Ibid, 74 to 77. 
 
 24. Ibid, 79 to 82. 
 
 25. Ibid, 84. 
 
 26. Ibid, 113. 
 
 27. Ibid, 117, 134, 142. 
 
 28. Ibid, 107, 108, 109; History of Friendly Association 11 to 15. 
 
 29. Ibid, 137, 141. 
 
 30. Ibid 207 to 220. 
 
 31. Ibid, 222. 
 
 32. In February, 1756: two Indians killed and two soldiers injured at Augh- 
 wick; house of Mrs. Cox, near Parnell's Nob, burned and boy captured (Pa. Archs. 
 2, 671 ; settlement of Philip Swartout, in Ulster county, N. Y., destroyed and woman 
 taken prisoner (Pa. Archs. 2, 586) ; John and Richard Craig captured, near 
 McDowell's mills in Cumberland county, (Frontier Forts 1, 546). 
 
 In June; Felix Wins killed, his wife and three children captured, near Swatara 
 Gap and two children captured at Fort Henry, (Col. Recs.. 7, 164) ; four people 
 reported killed at Fort Hyndshaw, (Col. Recs. 7, 214; Pa. Archs 7, 721). 
 
 In July: Nine men killed in Cumberland county, (Pa. Archs. 2, 721); two 
 soldiers shot and woman killed, near McDowell's mills, and two children captured 
 and woman killed at McClure's Gap, (Pa. Archs. 2, 716). 
 
 In August: James Brown killed and soldier wounded near Manada Gap, (Fron- 
 tier Forts 1, 37). 
 
 In October : Two women killed and scalped, two children wounded and two 
 children captured, near Fort Henry; Noah Frederick killed and two of his children 
 captured, near Smith's fort in Bethel township, Berks county, and Jacob Fornwal 
 wounded and "five lying dead in one place" (Col. Recs. 7, 302, 303). 
 
 33. Frontier Forts 1, 542, 543; Rupp's History of Cumberland county, 104; 
 Col. Recs. 7, 77 ; Pa. Archs. 2, 625. 
 
 34. Pa. Archs. 2, 642. 
 
 35. Ibid, 744, 750, 757; Frontier Forts 1, 607; Col. Recs. 7, 231, 232. 
 
 36. Col. Recs. 7, 561. 
 
 37. Pa. Archs. 2, 756. 
 
 38. Col. Recs. 7, 257; Pa. Archs. 2, 767 to 775. 
 
 39. Col. Recs. 7, 272 to 275. 
 
 40. Ibid, 292. 
 
 94 
 
CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 FORT WILLIAM HENRY MASSACRE 
 
 Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George, barred French 
 way to the southward. It was a square enbankment of gravel, with a ram- 
 part of heavy logs on top and had four bastions. The lake faced it on the 
 north, a marsh was on the east and it was protected by ditches on the 
 south and west. Seventeen cannons and several mortars and swivels 
 defended it. 
 
 In March, 1757 Regaud de Vaudreuil and sixteen hundred men made 
 their way over the glistening ice of the lake and invested Fort William 
 Henry. Their approach was discovered and a surprise attack averted. 
 Major Eyre, the commander refused to surrender; and at night, the 
 French fired the hospital, saw mill and store houses adjacent to the 
 fortifications. The blazing buildings lighted the natural splendor of the 
 surrounding forest and the flying embers threatened the fort with destruc- 
 tion. A great snow storm began the next morning, and, in face of it, the 
 French, unable to maintain the siege, made their way, on snow shoes, back 
 to Ticonderoga. Later, two hundred of an English scouting party, under 
 Colonel Parker, were killed or captured. About the same time, Marin made 
 a raid in the vicinity of Fort Edward. 
 
 During July, a French army gathered at Ticonderoga. They marched 
 to the outlet of Lake George, and Levis, with twenty-five hundred men, 
 was dispatched through the mountains to an appointed rendezvous, near 
 Northwest Bay. The others, August 1st, embarked, the Indians in birch 
 canoes and the French and Canadians in two hundred and fifty bateaux, 
 and made their way up Lake George. They joined Levis near the present 
 village of Bolton. This united force, under Montcalm was seven thousand 
 six hundred, sixteen hundred of whom were Indians. The armament con- 
 sisted of thirty one heavy cannons and fifteen howitzers and mortars. 
 Montcalm had, under him, such celebrated regular officers, as Levis, Bou- 
 gainville and Bourlamaque; and the intrepid partisan rangers, Langlade, 
 Neverville, Marin, Hertel, Longueil, Lorimer, Fleuremont, Herbin and La 
 Corne, who had terrorized the English frontier for years. 
 
 The garrison, of Fort William Henry, of twelve hundred men, was 
 commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Monro, a Scotch veteran officer. Gen- 
 eral Webb, in command on the northern frontier, was at Fort Edward 
 
 95 
 
with twenty-six hundred men, mostly provincial soldiers. There were about 
 eight hundred more at the forts between Fort Edward and Albany. Before 
 the investment, he sent Lieutenant Colonel Young, with two hundred 
 regulars, and Colonel Frye, with eight hundred Massachusetts soldiers to 
 Fort William Henry, increasing the garrison to twenty-two hundred men. 
 Webb was a timid man and wholly unfitted for so important a command. 
 His conduct has been severely criticised, but, in view of the fact, he had 
 only sixteen hundred men, to hold Fort Edward and eight hundred troops 
 to protect Albany and the intervening country, it would seem rash, for 
 him to have further depleted his force and leave the country open to prob- 
 able French incursions, by the way of Lake Champlain and the South 
 Bay. The real fault was in Lord Loudon, the government pet, who had 
 withdrawn forces, necessary to protect the northern frontier, to augment 
 the futile expedition against Louisburg. 
 
 The whole French force advanced to the site now occupied by the 
 village of Caldwell and during the night of the 4th, opened their trenches, 
 in face of a heavy fire from the fort. A battery 1 was placed on the left and 
 another on the right with eleven guns. La Corne seized the road leading 
 to Fort Edward, thus intercepting communications between the two forts. 
 Montcalm demanded surrender of the fort, but Colonel Monro answered, 
 he would fight to the last. 
 
 Monro divided his forces, retaining about five hundred men within 
 the fort and posting seventeen hundred in an entrenched camp, located on 
 a rocky eminence east of the fort, near where Fort George was later built 
 and along the road to Fort Edward. This camp was between the lake and 
 La Corne's force. 
 
 The cannonading, commencing on the 5th, continued for several days 
 and the nights were made hideous by savage howls of vengeance. The war- 
 riors wormed their way, among the logs and stumps and through the 
 long grass, to near the fort, and with great glee, now and then, picked 
 off an exposed soldier. 
 
 Webb dispatched a letter to Monro, telling him it was impossible to 
 send relief and advising him to make the best terms he could, but La 
 Corne's Indians killed the courier, stripped him and found the letter, 
 which was sent to Montcalm. In a day or so, Bougainville, under English 
 escort, was taken to Monro, delivered the intercepted letter, and again 
 demanded surrender. The French thought the contents of the letter would 
 depress Monro and induce him to comply, but the brave Scotch soldier's 
 only answer was, many thanks for the delivery of the letter and the 
 pleasure of having so generous an enemy. 
 
 Sappers worked their way across the marsh, between the trenches 
 and the fort; and, on the high ground, opened a trench and began a bat- 
 tery within two hundred and fifty yards of the ramparts. None dared ven- 
 ture out. The keen eyes of a thousand Indians detected every English 
 move, and the warriors unerring aim brought many a venturesome soldier 
 down. Within the breached walls were misery and death. All the heavy 
 cannons and mortars had been disabled. Smallpox was raging among the 
 
 96 
 
besieged, and more than three hundred of the garrison had been killed. 
 Continued resistance was foolhardy, and on the morning of the 9th, it was 
 determined to capitulate, and Lieutenant Colonel Young, under the pro- 
 tection of a white flag, made his way to Montcalm. 
 
 The terms were that the garrison should surrender, with the honors 
 of war, and should be marched to Fort Edward under a guard of French 
 soldiers. They should not serve, again, for eighteen months, and all French 
 prisoners should be given up. The munitions and stores were to be turned 
 over to the victors. The conditions were liberal and honorable, but the 
 massacre which followed has forever sullied the fair name of France. 
 
 The surrendered soldiers and the many women and children were 
 marched to the entrenched camp. They had hardly gone from the fort, 
 when the savages poured over the ruined ramparts, entered the hospital 
 and butchered the sick in their beds. One fiend ran out, where French 
 officers were standing, and danced among them in great glee, holding, in 
 his hand, a severed head, dripping streams of blood. The Indians came to 
 the entrenched camp, insulted and maltreated those gathered there. They 
 toyed with the women's hair and measured the prices their scalps would 
 bring at Montreal. They stripped the soldiers of their clothes. Those who 
 resisted were dragged out murdered and scalped. The Canadian officers 
 and interpreters offered no protests; and Bougainville, in his journal, sug- 
 gests that some of those, associated with the Indians, contemplated some- 
 thing worse, implying rape of the women. Montcalm, Levis, Bourlamaque, 
 Bougainville and other regular officers rushed to the scene and, by personal 
 entreaties, endeavored to quell the tumult. They demanded, bribed, 
 implored and beseeched the savages to desist, and, about 9 o'clock in the 
 evening, succeeded in restoring order. 
 
 By the terms of surrender, the English had placed themselves under 
 Montcalm's protection ; and he had assured their safety, by promising a 
 strong guard for their escort to Fort Edward. It was clearly, his duty and 
 by the promptings of humanity, he should have, at the first outreak, placed, 
 a strong guard of French regulars, around the prisoners. He well knew, 
 the savages would be infuriated, at the sight of blood, and that nothing 
 but force would restrain them. He, probably, feared restraint would 
 estrange them and cause their desertion. Thus from cowardice and lack of 
 humanity, he stained the fair name he bore. 
 
 During the night, the Indians prowled about the camp and terrorized 
 the despairing prisoners. At daybreak, the butchery began. Seventeen 
 Massachusetts soldiers lay sick in tents, under the care of a French surgeon. 
 The guard, around them, perhaps purposely, had been withdrawn and the 
 savages pounced upon them and murdered them to a man. The English 
 formed their line of march and started for Fort Edward. The rum barrels 
 had been staved in, but the Indians seized the canteens of the English 
 soldiers and filled their gullets with liquor. Further enraged by this intoxica- 
 tion, they surrounded and impeded the march. They demanded the soldier's 
 baggage, and those, who resisted, were killed. Soon the warwhoop sounded 
 through the woods and the frightful massacre began. 
 
 97 
 
The Canadian officers, to whom, the prisoners appealed for protection, 
 shrugged their shoulders, and told them to save themselves, as best they 
 could. The line dissolved in a confused mass of fugitives, who broke for 
 the woods, only to be shot down or captured. Some managed to elude the 
 fiends and hide in the brush. Colonel Frye was stripped of everything 
 except his breeches, but knocked down or killed the Indian who seized him 
 and escaped. Jonathan Carver, the future famous traveler, had a hair- 
 breadth experience, but saved himself. Day and night, the guns boomed 
 at Fort Edward, serving to guide the fugitives there. How many were 
 killed will never be known. More than six hundred were captured by the 
 Indians; and four hundred of these Montcalm succeeded in reclaiming 
 from the savages. They, with those, who had sought refuge among the 
 French soldiers in the fort, were placed in the entrenched camp and fed. 
 On August 15th, under a strong guard of French regular troops, they were 
 escorted to Fort Edward. 
 
 Fort William Henry was destroyed and the timbers of the demolished 
 buildings were gathered in a great pile, upon which were cast the bodies 
 of the slain English. This ghastly funeral pyre was fired, and the ascending 
 flames cast demoniacal shadows on the forest, and the stench of the burn- 
 ing bodies stifled the atmosphere. 1 
 
 About November 1st, the Oneidas learned of an intended invasion 
 of German Flats, and they warned the incredulous inhabitants but their 
 warning was spurned. 2 Early in the morning of November 12th, three 
 hundred Canadians and Indians fell upon them and captured five little forts, 
 probably, palisaded farm houses. One hundred and forty of the inhabitants 
 were captured and forty were killed. Governor De Lancey estimated the 
 loss of horses and cattle, buildings and grain at £30,000; and the raid 
 caused consternation among the people, down the Mohawk and a panic 
 at Schenectady. 3 
 
 The situation in Pennsylvania, in the early part of 1757, was critical, 
 the frontier was inadequately defended and the soldiers were unpaid. The 
 assembly passed a bill for the emission of £100,000 in bills of credit, 
 redeemable in four years, and exempting the proprietary estates from taxa- 
 tion. The governor rejected it, because the time of payment was too long 
 and the large amount would cause inflation, thereby distressing the invest- 
 ments of widows and orphans. The assembly replied charging the rejection 
 was not due to the distress of widows and orphans, but because of the 
 effect on the rate of exchange, which would cause the proprietors loss in 
 transmission of their funds to London ; and because it taxed, the proprietors 
 and others, located lands, which were unimproved. It also charged the 
 veto was, mainly, inspired by office holders and proprietary favorites, who 
 held large tracts of located and unimproved land. The assembly was now 
 on firm ground. Realizing the weakness of his position, the governor sub- 
 mitted the matter to Lord Loudon, who, in view of the seriousness of the 
 frontier situation, advised him to approve it, which he did. 4 
 
 The casualties on the frontier still continued, and a list of the mel- 
 ancholy murders is contained in note 5. 
 
 98 
 
The negotiations, of Sir William Johnson through the Six Nations, 
 with the eastern Delawares, had brought about an agreement to terminate 
 hostilities ; but it is to be observed, that some of the worst murders were 
 committed as far east as Northampton county, which must have been done, 
 with the cognizance and connivance of the eastern Delawares. The real 
 reason, of the Indian attitude, was the ineptitude of British management 
 and its failure to wage successful aggression against the French. 6 Another 
 pacificatory complication was the interference of the Friendly Association 
 of Quakers. The Quakers may have intended good, but their spleen against 
 the proprietaries is manifest, and as usual, when do-gooders interfere in 
 the policy of government, more harm than good is done. 7 
 
 During the conference, with the Indians, on May 18th, the bodies 
 of four persons, who had been killed by the Indians, in the Swatara settle- 
 ments, were brought to Lancaster and laid before the door of the court 
 house. 8 
 
 About June 10th, a scouting party of twenty-five men, under Lieuten- 
 ant Hollyday, was attacked by the Indians, at the deserted house of Mr. 
 McLellan in the Great Cove. 9 In Colonial Records, 7, page 620, appears 
 the deposition, of George Ebert, which recites, the attack on eighteen men, 
 May 2nd, near the house of Philip Bozart in Lower Smithfield township, 
 when Conrad Bittenbender, Jacob Roth and John Nelf were killed and 
 Peter SheafTer and Ebert captured ; that they were taken beyond Tioga, 
 made their escape and were concealed and fed by French Margaret (Mon- 
 tour), at Tioga, for four weeks, when she advised them it was unsafe to 
 remain; and with her assistance and that of other friendly Indians they 
 made their way home, and on the way learned that the Indians had killed 
 Edward Marshall's wife. 
 
 Some of the worst murders were committed after the eastern Dela- 
 wares had agreed to lay down the hatchet. 10 
 
 George Croghan, as deputy Indian superintendent, conducted a treaty, 
 at Easton, from July 23rd to August 7, 1757, with Teedyuscung and his 
 party of one hundred fifty nine Indians and one hundred nineteen Senecas 
 and others of the Six Nations. While on their way, "a young Indian, Wil- 
 liam Tatamy strayed away and was shot by a foolish white boy," and this 
 for a time threatened to interrupt the proceedings, but was patched up. 
 Teedyuscung demanded a clerk, which was allowed him, and he named 
 Charles Thompson, master of the Quaker school in Philadelphia, brought 
 along by Pemberton for the purpose. The other secretaries were, William 
 Trent for Croghan and Jacob Duche for the province. The interpreters 
 were : Thomas McKee for Croghan, Conrad Weiser for Pennslyvania and 
 John Pompshire for Teedyuscung. The Iroquois were silent witnesses of 
 the transactions. 
 
 Teedyuscung, while drunk, made a rambling speech, no one could 
 understand, but later, what he intended to say was written out. He 
 charged, the proprietors had misinterpreted some deeds, made false 
 measurements of land and purchased lands from those (the Iroquois), 
 who had no right to sell ; and demanded the Delawares be paid for lands, 
 
 99 
 
he alleged to be falsely held, that 2,000,000 acres and Shamokin and 
 Wyoming be set apart to them, that houses be erected for them, at the 
 latter place, and their children be taught and given religious instruction. 
 
 Governor Denny, Croghan and Weiser were intent on making a peace 
 treaty, and thereby save the frontier, and wisely shunted aside the land 
 question, as a matter for Sir William Johnson's decision, realizing it would 
 incite the Iroquois and perhaps bring on a more terrible war, than Teedy- 
 uscung's murderous uprising. Pemberton and the Quakers were deter- 
 mined to prevent a treaty, until the land claim was settled, and in Teedy- 
 uscung conceived an instrument to disgrace and humiliate the Penn heirs 
 and ignore and insult the proud and powerful Iroquois. But, he was a 
 fragile reed to prop their desires, and the ground slipped under pious 
 Quaker feet. The Delawares desired peace and Labboughpeton, one of their 
 principal men, interrupting one of Teedyuscung's rambling talks, rebuked 
 him, "What has not your Brothers desired you to bring us down by the 
 hand to make peace. Why don't you do it ? We have been here twenty days 
 and have heard nothing but scolding and disputing about lands. Settle the 
 peace and let all the disputed land stand till after." 
 
 Whether induced, by a realization of where he was drifting by Pem- 
 berton's instigation, or by the finesse of Croghan and Weiser, Teddy- 
 uscung concluded to waive his pretensions, and only insist on the examina- 
 tion of certain deeds, which when examined, by Thompson, were pro- 
 nounced correct. A promise was made to transmit them and a statement 
 of the case to the king ; and a treaty of peace was entered into. 11 It accom- 
 plished little except the frustration of Pemberton's and the Friendly Asso- 
 ciation's plans, and they pronounced it, "a glaringly disgraceful meeting." 12 
 
 The bloody outrages on the frontier still continued ; 13 and the Treaty 
 of Easton had little effect in restraining the Indians, whose minds were 
 inflamed, by the Quakers, with the notion they had been wronged, or as 
 George Croghan wrote : "I find by your letter, that the Quakers still con- 
 tinue to set up Teedyuscung against the governor ; this I always expected. 
 Sure those people must be mad, for in my opinion, they are setting up the 
 Indians to claim the whole province ; and indeed, if we would be unsuccess- 
 ful in the war, they may say all the British colonies belongs to them ; how 
 long the government at home will suffer the Quakers to act the part they 
 have hitherto done, I can't say, but if long permitted, I fear their conduct 
 in the end will not be found for the good of his Majesty's subjects in 
 America." 14 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER FOURTEEN 
 
 1. Bougainville's Journal ; Report of Col. Frye to Gov. Pownall ; Bancroft's 
 History; Montcalm and Wolfe. 
 
 2. Doc. History of N. Y. ; N. Y. Col. Docs, 7, 341. 
 
 3. Ibid, 515; Johnson Papers 2, 760 to 762. 
 
 4. Col. Docs. 7, 396, 401, 413, 437, 442, 453, 454. 
 
 5. In April, 1757, Peter Soan and Christian Klein murdered, and latter's 
 
 100 
 
daughter captured north of Fort Hamilton (Col. Docs. 7, 492) ; thirteen killed near 
 Conococheague creek (Col. Docs. 7, 502) ; Andreas Gundryman killed near Fort 
 Hamilton (Pa. Archs. 3, 139). In May, in Berks county, seven persons killed. In 
 June: Adam Trump killed and wife and daughter captured at Allemangel; Mr. 
 Tidd and Peter Gersinger killed between Fort Henry and Fort Northkill (Col. 
 Docs. 7, 621). In July, in Heidelberg, two children killed and woman scalped, 
 and Christian Schrenk's two children captured; in Bethel township, two men 
 killed and another wounded ; in Linn township, Adam Klaus' child scalped, Martin 
 Yaeger and wife killed, John Krauschaar's two children killed, wife and child 
 scalped, Abraham Seckler's child killed, wife scalped, Philip Eschton's child killed. 
 In August; In Bethel township, John Winkleblech's two sons killed and Leonard 
 Longs son captured; in Hanover township, Mrs. Isaac Williams, George Maurer and 
 James Mackey killed, William and Joseph Barnet wounded, Mrs. Smelley, James 
 Mackey's son, Joseph Barnet's son, Elizabeth Dickey and child, Mrs. Samuel 
 Young and child captured ; in Paxton, Mr. Beatty captured ; near Fort Lebanon, 
 Peter Semelcke's buildings burned and his three children captured. In September, 
 in Lebanon township, Peter Wampler's four children captured; in Bern township 
 a number killed and captured ; in Berks county, four persons killed and four captured 
 near Northkill. In November, in Hanover township, Thomas Robinson and Thomas 
 Bell's son killed (Pa. Gazette, May 26, Aug. 11 and Sept. 1, 1757; Saur's Journal, 
 July, 1757; Rupp's History of Berks county, 70, 75). 
 
 6. Col. Recs. 7, 622 to 629. 
 
 7. Ibid, 634 to 648; History of the Friendly Association, 69 to 76. 
 
 8. Col. Recs. 7, 538; Pa. Archs. 3, 194. 
 
 9. Col. Recs. 7, 599. 
 
 10. In June, George Croghan reported: three boys captured north of Win 
 Chester, Mr. Miller killed and two of his children taken near Henry Pontius', 
 a woman wounded and Gerard Pendergrass' daughter killed within sight of Fort 
 Lyttleton (Col. Recs. 7, 632). In July: In Lynn township, Northampton county, 
 Martin Yager and wife, Mrs. John Cronshores and two children, a Secler child and 
 Philip Antone's child killed (Pa. Archs. 3, 211). 
 
 11. Col. Recs. 7, 649 to 714; Pa. Archs. 3, 208, 209; Wallace's Weiser 472 
 to 487; Volwiler's Croghan 133 to 136; History of Friendly Ass. 69 to 78; N. Y. 
 Col. Docs. 7, 280 to 324. 
 
 12. History of Friendly Assn. 79. 
 
 13. In July: Four people killed in Cumberland county and a raid in Sherman's 
 valley (Pa. Archs. 3, 212) ; seven miles from Shippensburg, John Kirkpatrick and 
 Dennis O'Neillon killed and John Csney's two sons and Kirkpatrick's son missing; 
 harvesters attacked in John Stenson's field ten miles from Shippensburg and 
 Joseph Mitchell, John Finley, Robert Stenson, Andrew Enslow, John Wiley, Allen 
 Henderson and William Mitchell killed, and Jane McCannon, Janet Harper and 
 John Harper's son captured. (Pa. Archs. 3, 219, 220). During the Easton conference, 
 in Bern township, 13 miles from Reading, Mr. Good and a boy captured. (Pa. 
 Archs. 3, 245, 246. In October, William Martin killed near Fort Hunter. Oct. 11, 
 Michael La. Chauvignerie, 18 year old son of commander of Fort Machault, who 
 had been leading an Indian raiding party surrendered at Fort Henry, rather than 
 starve. Pa. Archs. 3. 293 to 296 and 305 to 308). 
 
 14. Pa. Archs. 3, 319. 
 
 101 
 
CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 1758 
 
 Despair and defeat ended 1757, but the awakened English people 
 forced the appointment of Pitt, as secretary of state in full charge of the 
 war, and he selected real soldiers, Amherst, Wolfe and Forbes to, conduct 
 American operations. Loudon was recalled, but, unfortunately, the incom- 
 petent Abercrombie was retained in command of the northern army, which 
 consisted of six thousand regulars and nine thousand provincials assembled 
 at the head of Lake George. It was the best equipped of any force, yet, 
 formed on the northern frontier. It is said, Pitt intended Lord Howe 
 should be the real commander. 
 
 The army embarked July 5, 1758, and with waving banners and 
 shining arms glided down the glistening waters of Lake George. At day- 
 break the next morning, they landed where the steamboat wharves have 
 since been erected and attacked Langy's rangers posted there to obstruct 
 them. The French were defeated and fled down Trout Brook. Early in 
 the afternoon, the English army advanced in four columns. Rogers' rangers 
 and two New England regiments led the way. Howe, accompanied by 
 Major Israel Putnam, was in advance of the regulars. Langy's rangers, 
 attempting to make their exit at the mouth of Trout Brook, encountered 
 the English and fired, killing Lord Howe. The regulars retreated in dis- 
 order, but were rallied by the steadiness of Rogers' rangers and the two 
 Massachusetts regiments, which fell back upon hearing the firing. The 
 French were caught between two fires, and most of them were killed or 
 captured. 
 
 The troops were dispirited by the death of Lord Howe, and Rogers 
 said, "The fall of this noble and brave officer seemed to produce an almost 
 general languor and consternation through the whole army. Another officer 
 wrote, "The soul of General Abercrombie's army seemed to expire. From 
 the unhappy moment, the general was deprived of his advice, neither order 
 nor discipline was observed, and a strange infatuation usurped the place 
 of resolution." 
 
 Ticonderoga is on an eminence, overlooking Lake Champlain and the 
 outlet of Lake George, and before it is a low ridge of rugged ground. 
 Montcalm was undecided where to make his stand, but accepting the 
 advice of his officers, did so at the ridge. There, his whole army was 
 
 102 
 
engaged in felling trees and interlacing the logs into a barricade eight feet 
 high. In front of this breastwork, the limbs of trees were sharpened and 
 pointed outwards, and this impenetrable obstruction was continued for 
 some distance on the plain beyond. Montcalm had an effective force of three 
 thousand six hundred men. 
 
 Had Abercrombie possessed soldier sense, he would have planted his 
 cannon on Mt. Defiance and by his artillery fire compelled the evacuation 
 of Ticonderoga; or would have occupied the road to Crown Point, and 
 thus intercepted supplies and reinforcements, forcing submission. He did 
 neither, but shortly after noon, July 8th, ordered his men to attack the 
 breastwork. Earlier, Sir William Johnson's Indians began an ineffectual 
 musketry fire from the slope of Mt. Defiance. The main column drove the 
 French pickets in, and after struggling more than an hour to get through 
 the abatis, retired, pronouncing the defenses impregnable. Abercrombie 
 ordered them to renew the assault, but beaten back, the order was repeated 
 again and again. Many were impaled on the pointed prongs and entangled 
 in the maze of interwoven branches, becoming fixed targets for the unerr- 
 ing aim of the French, and the interlaced trees were littered with the dead 
 and dying. At 5 o'clock, the English hewed their way to the foot of the 
 rampart, but Montcalm's reserves repulsed them. An hour later the last 
 senseless assault was made. 
 
 The French victory was complete, and their losses were, only, three 
 hundred seventy men killed and wounded, but among the latter were 
 Bourlamaque and Bougainville. The next morning, the English retreated 
 down Lake George, but they had sustained the loss of four hundred sixty- 
 four regulars and eighty-seven provincials killed and eleven hundred seven- 
 teen regulars and two hundred thirty-nine provincials wounded. The miss- 
 ing were thirty-seven and the total casualties amounted to nineteen hun- 
 dred forty-four. Abercrombie bereft of his wits, had the contempt of his 
 soldiers, who, in derision, dubbed him, "Mrs. Nabbycrombie." 
 
 Both French and English remained inactive, during the summer and 
 fall ; but French rangers, continually intercepted communication between 
 Fort Edward and Lake George ; and a detachment, under Marin ambushed 
 Rogers' rangers and captured Israel Putnam, who would have been burned 
 at the stake, by the Indians, had not Marin rescued him. Rogers, how- 
 ever, reorganized his men and succeeded in beating off the French. 
 
 During 1758, conditions were unchanged on the Pennsylvania fron- 
 tier. Ten houses were erected for Teedyuscung and his Indians at Wy- 
 oming, and land was ploughed for their cultivation. Isolated farm houses 
 were the prey of marauding savages and many people were killed, scalped 
 and captured. 1 
 
 The most potent agent, in winning the western Indians, was the 
 Moravian missionary, Christian Frederick Post sent by Governor Denny 
 with a message to the Ohio tribes. Post left Fort Augusta, July 27th, 
 accompanied by Pesquetum and Shamokin Daniel, a traitorous Indian, 
 whom Post says, "Nearly overset me." Nothing is more heroic, than the 
 dauntless courage of this fearless man, who traveled the narrow trail 
 
 103 
 
through the wilderness, untrod by any Englishman, for years. At every 
 by-pass, there was danger of lurking savages waiting to kill him. His 
 horses mired in the swamps, he crossed, and had to be goaded up the 
 steep mountains they ascended. He slept on the ground, tormented by mos- 
 quitoes, and had no food, save the game his Indians killed. The heavy 
 rains wet him to the skin and the briars tore his flesh. He took his life 
 in his hands, but supreme faith in God sustained him. 
 
 When he arrived near Cuesheusking his destination, Post sent Pes- 
 quetum with a message, that he brought words of great consequence from 
 the governor and wanted to see them at the council fire, and they should 
 gather together all the kings and captains from all the towns to hear his 
 words. King Beaver kindly received him, and the Indians desired to know 
 what Teedyuscung had said of them. When Post told them, they denied 
 they had sent any message to the governor by him or said anything in 
 the manner reported by Teedyuscung. They protested, they would have 
 nothing to do with any treaty made by Teedyuscung. Post's message 
 seemed acceptble, but Shingas and Delaware George stated, any peace, 
 they alone made, would be of no significance, unless joined in by all the 
 Indians. 
 
 Shawnees and Mingoes came and all insisted Post should go to Fort 
 Duquesne and present his message. When he arrived opposite the fort, the 
 French came and demanded Post should be sent to the fort and there placed 
 under restraint, but the Indian chiefs refused the demand and cautioned 
 him not to stir from the council fire, as the French had offered a great 
 reward for his scalp. "Accordingly, I stuck, constantly, close to the fire, 
 as if I had been chained there," he says. 
 
 Three hundred were present at the council, and Post entreated the 
 Delawares to return to their old homes along the Susquehanna, and 
 promised their offenses would be forgiven and forgotten. He declared the 
 English desired to live in peace with them and did not want to make war 
 against them, but were sending their armies to fight the French. The 
 Indians received the wampum he presented and promised an answer in 
 twelve days. 
 
 The French said to the Indians at Fort Duquesne, they perceived the 
 Delawares were wavering and no longer faithful to them, and suggested 
 as the Delawares with Post were only a handful, "Lets cut them off, and 
 then, we shall be troubled with them no longer." The chiefs answered: 
 "No, we can't do this thing, tho' there be but a handful here, the Dela- 
 wares are a strong people and are spread at a great distance and what- 
 ever do agree to, must be." 
 
 The French bribed Shamokin Daniel to betray Post ; and before day- 
 break, the 27th, Post with six Indians left by a roundabout road, and 
 was screened by the main body of Delawares, who remained behind to 
 prevent any pursuit by the French. Shingas, King Beaver, Delaware 
 George, Captain Killbuck and other chiefs told him, they had intended to 
 join the French, but since he came, they were inclined to draw back, say- 
 ing: Tho' we have reason to believe you intend to drive us away and 
 
 104 
 
settle the country, or why do you and the French come to fight in the 
 land God has given us." Post assured them, as best he could, and after 
 vexatious delays, received their final answer, that "when the English had 
 made peace with the other tribes, the Allegheny Indians will all join it." 
 
 The lonely missionary had broken the backbone of Indian resistance 
 in the west. Yet the Indians were vascillating, and said to him: "Now if 
 you had brought the news, before your army began to march, it would 
 have caused a great deal more good. We don't readily believe you/' They 
 realized the French weakness ; and the glistening bayonets and rumbling 
 artillery of Forbes' battalions in the mountains, made the Indians waver 
 to the stronger side, and induced them to yield to the overtures of peace, 
 which Post had pressed upon them with irresistible tact and persistency. 
 His return was without incident and he arrived at Fort Augusta, Septem- 
 ber 22nd. 2 
 
 While Montcalm was exulting over his great victory at Ticonderoga, 
 the ominous clouds of disaster were gathering over New France. Despite 
 a series of victories, which would have crushed any other nation, Eng- 
 land's command of the sea, her superior industry and the numerous pop- 
 ulation of the American colonies created an overwhelming military organi- 
 zation, now competently led, which moved with deadly precision. Amherst 
 and Wolfe captured Louisburg, July 27, 1758. 
 
 Bradstreet, the only officer worth while in Abercrombie's disconcerted 
 army, obtained permission to capture Fort Frontenac, and with three 
 thousand men, marched to ruined Oswego. He crossed the lake and after 
 a short siege, De Noyon, the French commander surrendered, August 27th. 
 The fortification and a large amount of supplies were destroyed. 3 This vic- 
 tory tended to neutralize the northern Indians and hampered the trans- 
 mission of supplies to Niagara and Fort Duquesne. 
 
 The treaty made at Easton, in October, 1758, definitely turned the 
 tide of Indian aggression on the frontier. It was negotiated with great 
 difficulty, as many conflicting interests and passions had to be reconciled or 
 subdued. The troublesome intermeddling of the Friendly Association had 
 to be nullified. The bumptous presumptions of Teedyuscung deflated, the 
 different irritations of the many tribes anointed with political salve, and 
 above all the supremacy of the Six Nations reestablished, so that united 
 action be maintained. The Friendly Association inspired Teedyuscung to 
 threaten disruption of the conference unless his land claims were satisfied, 
 while Croghan and Weiser wisely strove to avoid the land question and 
 make a lasting peace. 
 
 The conference began October 8, 1758, in the presence of Governors 
 Bernard of New Jersey and Denny of Pennsylvania, members of the 
 council and assembly of the latter province and many citizens. The prin- 
 cipal chiefs of the Six Nations and various eastern Indian tribes were 
 present. George Croghan deputy of Sir William Johnson, conducted the 
 treaty. Conrad Weiser was interpreter for Pennsylvania and Henry Mon- 
 tour for Croghan. After the usual salutation and interruptions of the reg- 
 ular order of business by Teedyuscung's rambling talks, Nichus, chief of the 
 
 105 
 
Mohawks, "spoke for some time with great vehemence, pointing to 
 Teedyuscung." Weiser, sensing a disruption of the conference, if the 
 speech, was then interpreted, got permission to have it done at a private 
 meeting. This gave time for him and Croghan to sound the Indians and 
 prepare for a later and favorable reception of the speech. Conrad Weiser 
 thus saved the Easton treaty. 
 
 The time had come for the deflation of Teedyuscung. The Six Nations 
 had borne his insolence with patience. His boastfulness and pretensions, to 
 kingship over many nations, shocked their sense of propriety, and frequent 
 interruptions, of the proceedings, violated their strict adherence to Indian 
 decorum. The great chiefs of the Iroquois spoke for their nations and by 
 authority of the mighty confederacy, they represented. 
 
 But, that none may say they misjudged him, a relation, of contem- 
 porary opinion, is pertinent. The Moravians said, "he was as unstable as 
 water and like a reed shaken before the wind — was dazzled by the prospect 
 of a crown, and trafficked his peace of mind for the unrest of ambition " 4 
 Conrad Weiser early detected his duplicity. 5 The diary of William Parsons 
 depicts his instability, drunkenness, boastfulness and rambling manner of 
 discourse. 6 George Croghan called him an infamous villian. 7 Governor 
 Denny distrusted him. 8 Sir William Johnson wrote, "I suspect he is not 
 the consequential person, he has pretended to be, and that he is either a 
 tool made use of by some in your Province, or a forward fellow, who finds 
 his advantage by imposing himself on your government, as a person of 
 great importance." 9 How the Indians judged him, may be inferred from 
 the following. At the Easton conference, in 1757, his own people, the 
 eastern Delawares complained of his conduct and rebuked him. 10 In their 
 interview with Frederick Post, the western Delawares repudiated him 
 and said he lied in his report to the governor. 11 Captain Newcastle reported 
 he falsely claimed he had authority from the Six Nations to treat with 
 Pennsylvania. 12 Teedyuscung's wife had little confidence in him and 
 wanted to remain at Bethlehem, because of his debauchery. 13 
 
 At the private conference, in the morning, Nichas, the Mohawk said: 
 "We thought it proper to meet you here and have some private discourse 
 about our nephew, Teedyuscung. You all know, that he gives out, he is 
 a great man and chief of ten nations. This is his constant discourse. Now, 
 I on behalf of the Mohawks say, we do not know he is such a great man. 
 If he is such a great man, we desire to know who made him so. Perhaps 
 you have and if this be the case, tell us so. It may be the French have 
 made him so. We want to enquire and know, whence his greatness arose." 
 
 Nine of the ten nations endorsed what Nichas said, and denied his 
 kingship over them. Only the Delawares did not openly repudiate him, 
 and of these the western Delawares had done so in their interview with 
 Post, while the Minnisinks did at the treaty, appointing Thomas King of 
 the Six Nations to manage their business. Governor Bernard, in his 
 speech, to the conference, said, "I know not, who made Teedyuscung so 
 great a man, nor do I know that he is any greater than chief of the Dela- 
 ware Indians settled at Wyoming." 
 
 106 
 
Teedyuscung squirmed for a few days. Israel Pemberton and the 
 Quakers tried hard to bolster him up, but in vain. All his brag and bluster 
 were gone. His surrender was abject and complete, and to his uncles, the 
 Six Nations, he sang, this his song of sorrow : "I sit here as a bird on a 
 bough, I look about and do not know where to go, let me therefore come 
 down upon the ground and make that my own by a good deed, and that 
 I shall have a home forever, for if you my uncles or I die, our brethren 
 the English will say they have bought it from you, and so wrong my 
 posterity out of it." 14 
 
 The greatness of Teedyuscung was only a fiction of Quaker imagina- 
 tion, and the folly of those writers who have followed them. As Mr. 
 Harvey has said, in his History of Wilkes-Barre, "he was a politician and 
 not a warrior and not the noble red man described by some writers, but a 
 crafty, cunning and crooked character." 
 
 The latter part of the conference proceeded amicably under the direc- 
 tion of the Six Nations, and a treaty of peace was concluded, wherein the 
 Indians promised to return all the captives. New Jersey gave the Min- 
 nisinks £1000 and they released all claims to land in New Jersey. Conrad 
 Weiser and Richard Peters, upon behalf of the Penn heirs, released all 
 the unsettled land purchased at Albany in 1754. A message was sent to 
 the Ohio Indians. As Thomas King concluded the conference, he spied 
 Mr. Vernon, the commissary and requested he be ordered to take the lock 
 off the rum barrel and let it run freely. 15 
 
 Pitt appointed Brigadier-General John Forbes, commander of the 
 expedition against Fort Duquesne, and he arrived at Philadelphia in 
 April, 1758. The Pennsylvania assembly voted to raise twenty-seven hun- 
 dred men and money for the necessary horses and wagons for transporta- 
 tion of supplies. The army assembled at Carlisle; and thence Colonel 
 Boquet proceeded to Raystown, where he built Fort Bedford. 16 Forbes 
 was suffering from a fatal illness and much of the way was carried on a 
 litter borne by horses. 
 
 Upon the recommendation of Boquet and St. Clair, a new and shorter 
 route from Fort Bedford was selected, despite the opposition of the 
 Virginians, who favored the old Braddock road from Fort Cumberland. 
 Those interested in the Ohio Company and particularly Washington were 
 exasperated by the selection. Forbes was incensed at him and wrote 
 Boquet, "I would consult Colonel Washington, though perhaps not follow 
 his advice, as his behavior about the road was noways like a soldier." 
 
 Forbes army, numbering about seven thousand, consisted of twelve 
 hundred Highlanders, three hundred fifty Royal Americans, twenty-seven 
 hundred Pennsylvanians, sixteen hundred Virginians, one hundred fifty 
 North Carolinians, one hundred from Delaware, two hundred fifty from 
 Maryland and a thousand wagoners and laborers. 17 Boquet built a road 
 over the Alleghenies to Loyalhanna creek, where, in September, he erected 
 Fort Ligonier. 18 
 
 From there, he dispatched Major Grant, with some eight hundred 
 men, to reconnoiter the vicinity of Fort Duquesne. Grant arrived, within 
 
 107 
 
two miles of the fort, about the middle of September, and leaving his 
 baggage there, proceeded to a hill, a quarter of a mile from the place. 
 Major Lewis, with a force of two hundred, was directed to lie in ambush, 
 along the road, and intercept an anticipated French attack on the baggage 
 guard. Four hundred men were placed, on a hill, facing the fort, to cover 
 the retreat of a detachment of Highlanders sent forward to entice the 
 enemy from their works. Grant underestimated the strength of the French, 
 who sallied out in great numbers and attacked the Highlanders. They were 
 forced to retreat. The provincials, secreting themselves behind trees, made 
 a good defense, but, being unsupported, were compelled to join the flight. 
 Grant exposed himself and vainly endeavored to rally his men, who were 
 outflanked on all sides. Many were driven into the river and drowned. 
 The baggage guard withstood the enemy for a time and this gave the 
 fleeing men opportunity to escape. Grant was captured. 19 
 
 Encouraged by this victory, twelve hundred French and Indians 
 attacked Fort Ligonier, October 11th. Colonel James Burd, in command 
 of the fort, made a gallant defense and the enemy was forced to retreat. 
 The English losses were sixty-two privates and five officers killed, 
 wounded and missing. 
 
 Forbes had despaired concluding the campaign, during the fall of 
 1758, but his slow sure policy had prevailed. Post's mission, which he had 
 urged, had broken the Indian alliance with the French. The savages 
 deserted and fled from Fort Duquesne, like a flock of wild pigeons. 
 November 18th, Armstrong's advance force of Pennsylvanians was within 
 seventeen miles of the fort and Washington with the Virginia provincials 
 was at Bushy Run. Forbes, with the main army followed them. Scouts 
 brought word the French had fled and the place was on fire. The whole 
 army occupied Fort Duquesne, November 25th, 1758, Armstrong raised 
 the English flag on the ruined ramparts and the west was forever free of 
 the French. 20 
 
 Forbes named the place Pittsburg and dated his report to Governor 
 Denny, "Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg, the 26th November 1758." A 
 new stockaded fortification called Fort Pitt was immediately begun. Colonel 
 Hugh Mercer was left in command, and the main army returned to Fort 
 Bedford. 21 General Forbes died at Philadelphia, March 13, 1759. 
 
 Next to the capture of Quebec, the taking of Fort Duquesne, in future 
 results, to Great Britain and the colonies, was the most important achieve- 
 ment of the war. It confined the French to Louisiana and deprived the 
 western Indians of French support in their depredations of the frontier. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER FIFTEEN 
 
 1. In April : In York county, Richard Baird, Daniel McMenomy, Samuel 
 Hunter, Thomas Potter, a Baird child captured; Mr. Lebenguth and wife and a 
 woman killed, near Tulpehocken ; at Swatara, two Shetterly brothers killed and 
 Michael Sauter, William Hurt and a widow captured ; at Ncrthkill, Mrs. Nicholas 
 Geiger and two children, and Mrs. Michael Detzelar killed. 
 
 108 
 
In May: Barnabas Tolan killed in Hanover township, Lancaster county. 
 
 In June: Two men killed in the Minnisinks (Pa. Archs. 3, 424); Mrs. John 
 Frantz and three children captured near Fort Henry; Jacob Snavely's son killed; 
 Samuel Robinson and another man shot, in Swatara township; Leonard Long killed, 
 in Hanover township (Col. Recs. 7, 140; Pa. Archs. 3, 412 to 422). 
 
 On November : Jacob Mosser and Hans Adam Mosser killed in Hanover town- 
 ship, (Pa. Archs. 3, 425, 426: Rupp's History of Berks county, 75, 76, 77; Col. 
 Recs. 7, 140 for an account of casualties). 
 
 2. Journal of Frederick Post, Pa. Archs. 3, 520 to 544. 
 
 3. Pa. Archs. 3, 518; Letter of Thomas Butler in Johnson Papers 2, 889. 
 
 4. Memorials of Moravian Church, 219 to 221 ; Loskiel's History of Moravian 
 Missions, 150. 
 
 5. Wallace, Life of Weiser, 450. 
 
 6. Pa. Archs. 2, 724, 725. 
 
 7. Pa. Archs. 3, 544. 
 
 8. Col. Recs. 7, 225. 
 
 9. Johnson Papers, 2, 880. 
 
 10. Pa. Archs. 3, 257. 
 
 11. Ibid, 525, 526. 
 
 12. Memorials of Moravian Church, 257. 
 
 13. Ibid, 275; Watson Annals of Philadelphia, 2, 171. 
 
 14. Col. Recs. 8, 190 to 193, 203. 
 
 15. Minutes of Treaty, Col. Recs. 8, 174 to 223. 
 
 16. Fort Bedford was bounded north by the Raystown branch, east by what 
 is now Richard, south by Pitt and west by Juliana streets. There were five bastions, 
 the central one extended to the waters edge and contained a gallery with loopholes. 
 From it water could be obtained for the garrison. The southern rampart was 
 parallel with the Forbes road, now Pitt street, and the main gate was on this side. 
 A postern gate opened northward. The officers and soldiers quarters were in the 
 fort, but the hospital and storehouses were outside. It was built in the usual 
 stockaded form and was protected on the south and west sides by a moat eight 
 feet deep and fifteen feet wide. In the bastions were mounted several guns. See 
 Frontier Forts 2, 487, 488. 
 
 17. Frontier Forts, 2, 79. 
 
 18. This fort stood in the present town of Ligonier between Loyalhanna 
 street and Loyalhanna creek, on an eminence about forty feet above the stream. 
 It had four bastions and in the fort were storehouses, powder magazine and officers 
 barracks. Around it was an intrenched camp. Frontier Forts, 2, 208 contains a plan 
 of the fort and a description at page 251. 
 
 19. Hazard's Register 8, 141. 
 
 20. For account of Forbes expedition: Frontier Forts 2; Col. Recs. 8, 52, 59, 
 65, 79, 111, 167, 224, 232, 234; Pa. Archs. 3, 383, 448, 449, 450, 455, 483, 488, 560. 
 For French account: Paris Documents XV, reprinted in N. Y. Col. Docs. 10, 900, 901, 
 924, 925. 
 
 21. Frontier Forts, 2, 101. 
 
 109 
 
CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
 
 END OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 
 
 In 1759, Canada was in dire straits; and a French official confessed 
 the inability of France in men, supplies and ships, and admitted the over- 
 whelming superiority of England on land and sea. He likened Canada to 
 a sick man, "who is supported by cordials until he sinks or a crisis saves 
 him," and doubted whether the country was worth saving. 1 The impotence 
 of the French government and dissension and disorder in Canada invited 
 disaster. Supplies were scant and the colony impoverished. The people, 
 overwhelmed by taxation and crushed by a licentious soldiery, longed for 
 peace. The corrupt officials had plundered the country and fattened them- 
 selves at the expense of the king. 2 The clash, between the vain governor 
 general, Vaudreuil and Montcalm, the impetuous commander in chief, 
 engendered a venomous and jealous malignity, which extreme French 
 politeness could not dissemble. England's navy sealed Canada from the 
 sea; and her ponderous military machine moved slowly but irresistibly 
 to the fatal end. 
 
 General John Stanwix was appointed successor of General Forbes. 
 He arrived in Pittsburg, in August, and began the construction of the 
 permanent fortification, known as Fort Pitt, which was completed in 
 March 1760. It occupied all the ground between the river, Marbury (now 
 Third street), West Street and a part of Liberty Street. The works were 
 five sided. The ground around it was thrown up and it was enclosed by 
 a rampart of earth. On the two sides facing the open country, the embank- 
 ment was supported by brick work, nearly perpendicular. On the other 
 three sides, the rampart had no support and presented only an inclined 
 surface, which defect was remedied by a line of pickets outside the slope. 
 The works were surrounded by a wide ditch. Eighteen guns were mounted 
 on the bastions. Within were casemates, barracks and storehouses, accom- 
 modating a garrison of a thousand men and officers. Traders flocked to 
 Pittsburg and were carrying on a large trade with the Indians. An 
 enumeration made, in July 1760, showed there were, in the place, two 
 hundred houses and one hundred forty-nine inhabitants, exclusive of the 
 garrison. 3 
 
 A force, of French and Indians from Venango, invested Fort Ligonier 
 in July. The commander, of the fort, Adam Stephens made a spirited 
 
 110 
 
defense and the artillery fire drove the enemy to the woods, from which 
 they kept up the attack, until dark, when they retreated. Shortly before the 
 investment, a detachment of eighteen men left the fort as escort of a party 
 on its way to Bedford. They went as far as the Laurel Hills and then 
 returned. By avoiding the road, they regained the fort without loss. The 
 English casualties were only three men, besides Captain Jones who was 
 killed. 4 
 
 Scouts reported, July 17th, that the French, because of the impending 
 attack on Fort Nigara, were about to abandon Venango, and the Indians 
 were making up their bundles and preparing to follow. 5 The border troubles 
 were about over. 
 
 Not all the dastardly murders were committed by the Indians. Dr. 
 John, a friendly Delaware Indian, living near Carlisle, and his wife and 
 children were barbarously murdered by the frontiersmen, in 1760. The 
 bodies, of the Indian and his son, were found scalped, but the remains of 
 the woman and her children were never discovered. Arrests were made, 
 but there were no trials. The murder was aired, at a later conference with 
 the Indians, but no reparation was made. 6 
 
 General John Prideaux was appointed commander of the expedition 
 against Fort Niagara. He left Oswego with a considerable force of regulars, 
 provincials and six hundred Indians under Sir William Johnson. Colonel 
 Frederick Haldimand and about a thousand troops remained to defend 
 Oswego, which after Prideaux's departure, was attacked by the French, 
 under La Corne. Haldimand was able to repel their assaults, on his 
 entrenchments, which continued for two days, with a loss only of three 
 men killed and twelve wounded. La Corne was wounded and he lost a 
 large number of men. 7 
 
 Fort Niagara occupied the triangle formed at the intersection of the 
 Niagara river and Lake Ontario. The high bank of the river was on the 
 west and the perpendicular bluff of the lake was on the north. These sides 
 of the fort were protected, by an entrenchment, of earth, seven feet high 
 inside and six feet thick at the top, with a fraise on the berm. The 
 strongest fortification was, at the base of the triangle, it being the approach 
 from the land side, and consisted of an earthen rampart and glacis with 
 a ditch nine feet deep. There were two bastions with batteries and the 
 large stone house within the enclosure was used as a hospital. Captain 
 Pouchot commanded the garrison of five hundred men. The French and 
 Indians at Fort Machault and Presque Isle had been ordered to reinforce 
 Fort Niagara, but when the investment began had not arrived. The fort 
 at the carrying place was burned and the troops there reinforced the 
 garrison. 
 
 The British siege began July 9th and the cannonading continued until 
 the 23rd, when a breach was made in the main wall of the fort. Three 
 days before, Prideaux was killed, by the explosion of a shot from one of 
 the English mortars, and Sir William Johnson succeeded him. 
 
 The relief forces, from Machault and Presque Isle, under Aubry and 
 Ligneris fell into an ambuscade. Johnson sent Captain James De Lancey 
 
 111 
 
with a detachment of light infantry to intercept them. They secreted 
 themselves behind a hastily constructed breastwork, near the river and 
 close by the road leading from the Falls to the fort. Troops, under Colonel 
 Massey, and a band of Indians were sent to reinforce them. The Indians 
 fell on the French flank. Aubry assaulted Massey's main line, was repulsed 
 and De Lancey's men poured over the breastwork. The French, encom- 
 passed on all sides, broke and fled. Their losses were two hundred killed 
 and one hundred prisoners. Aubry, Ligneris, Montigney, Repentigney and 
 Marin were captured. 
 
 Johnson informed Pouchot of the French disaster and afforded him 
 opportunity to verify it. An officer was sent to the English camp, where he 
 found Ligneris wounded and the other officers in an arbor near Johnson's 
 tent. Upon receiving the officer's report, Pouchot agreed to a capitulation, 
 which he signed July 25th ; and the French garrison, consisting of six 
 hundred seven men and eleven officers were conveyed to New York. 8 John- 
 son with the main army returned to Oswego, where August 16th, General 
 Gage succeeded him. 
 
 It was planned, that General Amherst, commander in chief of the 
 English armies, should invade Canada by the way of Lake Champlain. 
 Accordingly, he proceeded to the site of Fort William Henry, near which 
 he began the construction of Fort George. Only one bastion was com- 
 pleted, the remains of which may still be seen. With his army, he sailed 
 down Lake George, and occupied Ticonderoga and Crown Point, both 
 of which, Bourlamaque, the French commander abandoned and destroyed. 
 The French fleet still controlled Lake Champlain and the season, being 
 advanced, no invasion of Canada was accomplished. 
 
 The most dramatic event of the French and Indian War must be 
 briefly related. In results, it was one of the most important affairs in the 
 history of the world. It was early June, 1759, and the belated summer had 
 barely melted the ice and snow of the frozen north into the chilling waters 
 of the St. Lawrence. Near the entrance of the gulf, the tossing waves of 
 the ocean were flecked with spots of white, like gulls bobbing up and 
 down in the billows of the sea. The biting wind, beating toward the coast, 
 had swollen the sails of a vast fleet, twenty-two great battleships of the 
 line, with cannon mighty enough to batter down the strongest ramparts 
 of earth and stone, sloops of war, flight frigates and innumerable transports, 
 sufficient to carry ten thousand men and an immense stock of munitions and 
 supplies, wallowed in the troughs of the ocean. It was the greatest arma- 
 ment that had left England and was designed for the reduction of one of 
 the strongest fortresses in the world. 
 
 Clutching the rail of the flagship, and peering in silent reverie toward 
 the coast, was an emaciated young man, with legs far too long for his 
 frail body. A rich scarlet cloak hung loosely about him and ill-fitted his 
 misshapen shoulders. His upturned nose, receding forehead and weak chin 
 indicated no strength of character. Yet, he was master of all these mighty 
 engines of death and destruction. Under him were generals, older, and of 
 higher birth and social rank, Monckton, Townsend and Murray. But no 
 
 112 
 
other English general could have done what he dared to do. His skill and 
 daring, at the capture of Louisburg, had won the admiration of king and 
 minister. Pitt, who had canny prescience in choosing men, had picked 
 him to lead the most important expedition of the war. The Duke of New- 
 castle had protested his appointment to George the Second, and termed 
 him Pitt's mad general. "Mad is he," the king testily replied, "I wish he 
 would bite my other generals." James Wolfe was only thirty-three years 
 old, but despite difficulties and discouragements, which would have baffled 
 other men, he did not belie the trust of king and minister. 
 
 The fleet moved slowly up the channel of the St. Lawrence; and 
 the English captains, with loaded pistols in their hands, stood over the 
 captured French pilots and made them safely pass the dangerous rifts. The 
 army landed on the Island of Orleans, below Quebec, and the siege began. 
 Unable to entice Montcalm from his entrenchments, Wolfe attempted to 
 approach the city by the way of Montmorency, but in vain. He landed 
 a part of his army on the beach at Beauport, but was driven back. His 
 cannon battered the city of wood and stone to rubble and ruin. Frustrated 
 and tormented with a fatal disease, he tossed for weeks on his fevered bed 
 in the attic of a farmhouse. Winning a little respite from his sufferings, 
 Wolfe gripped his courage again. His keen eye detected a narrow path, 
 leading from the river up the perpendicular cliff to the plain above. At 
 night, he floated his army down the river, landed on the scant strip of 
 beach, scaled the cliff, overpowered the guard at the top, and early in the 
 morning of September 13th, formed his line of battle on the Plains of 
 Abraham. Montcalm, now forced to leave his trenches and fight an open 
 battle, attacked the English line. The grenadiers with Wolfe, at their head, 
 charged and the French broke and fled. On the 17th, Quebec surrendered, 
 but then, both Montcalm and Wolfe were dead. In the night, they buried 
 Montcalm in a shell shot hole beneath the walls of the Ursuline Convent ; 
 and the English surgeons embalmed the body of Wolfe and placed it in a 
 leaden casket. 
 
 Before the winter closed the St. Lawrence, the English fleet sailed 
 for home, carrying the embalmed body of the great general, who had won 
 an incomparable victory for England. The army, under General Mur- 
 ray, held Quebec during the long and dreary winter. During the summer of 
 1760, three armies converged on Montreal, the only place unconquered. 
 General Haviland entered Canada by the way of Lake Champlain, General 
 Murray came up the St. Lawrence from Quebec and Amherst with the 
 main army marched down the river from Lake Ontario. The city was 
 completely invested and September 8th, Vaudreuil surrendered not only 
 Montreal but all Canada with its dependencies. The definitive treaty of 
 peace was signed at Paris, February 10, 1763 and confirmed the English 
 conquest of Canada and the west. 9 
 
 113 
 
NOTES— CHAPTER SIXTEEN 
 
 1. Paris Documents XVI, reprinted in N. Y. Col. Docs. X, 925 to 937. 
 
 2. Ibid, 937. 
 
 3. Frontier Forts, 2, 103 to 109. 
 
 4. Pa. Archs. 3, 668, 669. 
 
 5. Ibid, 674. 
 
 6. Ibid, 707; Rupp's History of Cumberland County, 158 to 161. 
 
 7. N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 395, 396. 
 
 8. French account, see Journal of the Siege of Fort Niagara, Paris Docu- 
 ments, N. Y. Col. Docs. 10, 977 to 992 ; English account, N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 402, 
 403; Prideaux- Johnson Orderly Book and Johnson's letter, Johnson Papers 3, 48 to 
 113; Johnson's Diary in Stone's Life of Johnson 2, 394 to 425. 
 
 9. Parkman, who is partial to him, exalts Montcalm, but he probably merited 
 some of the criticism of Vaudreuil and others. He was brilliant, well educated and 
 of amiable social qualities, but as a soldier undecided and uncertain. At Ticonderoga, 
 his greatest victory, he was undecided where to fight and only adopted the superior 
 position, he barricaded, upon the advice of his officers. His triumph was largely 
 due to the incapacity of Abercrombie. In the capture of Fort William Henry, 
 he had vastly superior forces and equipment. He has been criticised for attacking 
 Wolfe at Quebec too soon, but it would seem he had to fight. His conduct at Fort 
 William Henry, in permitting the massacre, is inexcusable. 
 
 Wolfe was a military genius of great daring, but cautious in his actions. He 
 measured Montcalm accurately and anticipated he would fight immediately, when 
 he discovered his plan of defense was disarranged, by the occupation of the Plains 
 of Abraham. 
 
 Amherst had been criticised, because he did not move more rapidly. He was 
 slow but sure. Until he mastered Lake Champlain, he could not advance, and even 
 then the season was too far advanced to invade Canada. 
 
 114 
 
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 THE INDIAN UPRISING OF 1763 
 
 (PONTIAC'S WAR) 
 
 Francis Parkman immortalized Pontiac as the projector and con- 
 spirator of the war, but later writers have doubted he was so consequential. 
 Pontiac was only one of the Ottawa chiefs and Croghan does not mention 
 him as one of the prominent Indians, who welcomed him in 1760, when he 
 visited Detroit. 1 It is doubtful, that Pontiac sent ambassadors to all the 
 western tribes, as stated by Parkman, whose hypothesis of the "Con- 
 spiracy of Pontiac," is largely based on the statement, of Robert Rogers 
 to whom the French forts were surrendered, and written after Pontiac had 
 flared into fame by his spectacular siege of Detroit. 
 
 After the French and Indian war, the Indian attitude was that of 
 smoldering discontent. To appease the eastern Indians, the Pennsylvania 
 authorities held conferences with them at Easton, in 1761 and at Lan- 
 caster in August, 1762, and they were mollified by liberal donations of 
 presents. 2 Teedyuscung's land claims were settled by Sir William Johnson, 
 at Easton, in June 1762, when the proprietary agents outsmarted Pember- 
 ton and the Quakers by securing a paper signed by Teedyuscung, to the 
 effect, that the charge, the deed of 1686 was forged, was a mistake into 
 which he was led by statements of his ancestors. He, however, insisted 
 Marshall's walk was unreasonably performed. This ended the land con- 
 troversy. 
 
 Intruding settlers, who followed the English victories, aroused Indian 
 animosity. This intrusion was anticipated by the Delaware chiefs, who said 
 to Post, in 1758 : "We have good reason to believe you intend to drive us 
 away and settle the land." This distrust has existed since the first settle- 
 ments, and the English thirst for land has caused every general Indian 
 uprising. The so-called Indian land purchases were only disguised thefts 
 and a salve for tender consciences. The Indians, a simple, trusting people, 
 when they realized the wrong done them, retaliated and carried their 
 vengeance, in 1763, into every nook and corner of the frontier. The French 
 forts in the west and the amiable habitants, living about them, had made 
 the western tribes devoted allies of France and they had gone down with 
 the crushing fall of the French. No longer able to balance their power 
 
 115 
 
between England and France, they bitterly realized their future impotency. 
 They were constantly incited by the French traders and habitants, who 
 inspired them with the belief and hope a great French army was coming 
 to redeem the land from the hated English. 3 
 
 In 1762, a prophet arose, among the fickle Delawares, always prone 
 to superstitous excitement, who preached abandonment of European 
 weapons and utensils and return to stone implements and the bow and 
 arrow, whereby they would rejuvenate themselves and recover possession 
 of the land of their fathers. 4 This Delaware hope of redemption spread 
 among the other nations and changed the despair of defeat into a surge 
 of discontent. 
 
 Premonition of the coming conflict was the visit of two Seneca chiefs 
 to the Indians about Detroit, in 1761, and their endeavor to incite them 
 to seize the place; but Captain Campbell, the commandant detected and 
 exposed their design and frustrated the plot. The Senecas had lost no 
 land, but the malign influence, over them of Chabert Joincaire and his sons, 
 and the close proximity of their villages to Fort Niagara had wooed them 
 to France. 
 
 Until May, 1763, though secretly nourishing the Seneca plan, the 
 Indians about Detroit remained quiet. Pontiac, who had become their 
 leader, sought admittance to the fort, under pretence of holding a confer- 
 ence with Gladwin the commander, who the night before was, probably, 
 informed by Baby, a friendly French habitant, of Pontiac's plot. In the 
 morning, the Indians were admitted, but the troops were mustered in 
 line and posted at strategic points. Foiled in his scheme, Pontiac dared 
 not order an outbreak and retired in silent fury. Other subterfuges were 
 employed, but Gladwin was too wary ; and May 9th, Pontiac began the 
 war by murdering the English found outside the works and by investing 
 the fort. The news, of the siege, was soon known by all the Indians, and 
 in a few weeks, every western outpost except Detroit was in their hands. 
 
 Captain Simeon Ecuyer,commander of Fort Pitt, had reported he was 
 surrounded by dangerous rascals and that the French had incited the 
 savages. Colonel William Clapham, who had built Fort Augusta and 
 retired from the army, had made a plantation near Pittsburg. May 28th, 
 the Indians killed Clapham and massacred every one in his house. The 
 next day, two of the garrison of Fort Pitt were killed in a sawmill nearby. 
 Calhoun, a trader reached Pittsburg, June 1st and reported, that all of 
 his party of fourteen had been killed near Big Beaver creek, except him- 
 self and three others who escaped. 
 
 Ecuyer placed all the cattle and oxen near the fort and organized two 
 militia companies of eighty or ninety men, under the command of Trent, 
 the trader, who was a great help to him. He gathered all the people within 
 the fort, erected two ovens and a forge, destroyed the lower town and 
 burned the upper town. All the powder of the merchants was placed in 
 the king's magazine, the works were strengthened and beaver traps placed 
 to entrap the Indians, if they attempted to scale the ramparts. Barrels of 
 water were placed about the fort and the women instructed how to quench 
 
 116 
 
the flames, in case of fire. The garrison of Fort Pitt was two hundred fifty 
 men of equal numbers of regulars and militia. June 1st, the place was com- 
 pletely surrounded and all intercourse eastward shut off. 
 
 About the same time Fort Ligonier was attacked. Its commander, 
 Lietuenant Archibald Blane had previously removed the inhabitants of 
 Bushy Run and Stony Creek there, and detained a number of packhorse 
 men, which considerably reinforced the garrison. Blane succeeded in 
 burning the houses near the fort, from which the Indians intended to 
 pursue the investment. This destruction discouraged them- and they 
 decamped. 
 
 Everything was uncertain and startling rumors traveled rapidly 
 through the woods, eastward to Carlisle. Apprehension and terror pre- 
 vailed. A wild panic seized the settlers and ninety-three frontier families 
 fled to Fort Bedford. Croghan wrote, from Shippensburg to Boquet at 
 Philadelphia, a long letter, containing vague rumors and indefinite sug- 
 gestions. Both he and Sir William Johnson, whose duty was to keep tabs 
 on the Indians, had received no intimations of the uprising. General Am- 
 herst, who despised the power of the Indians, could hardly credit the 
 tidings, but he dispatched the available troops, two companies from New- 
 York, to Boquet at Philadelphia. 4 
 
 The strongest part of the fortification, at Presque Isle, on the site of 
 the present city of Erie, was a large blockhouse, with projecting upper 
 story ; and to this the garrison retired, when the place was surrounded by 
 the Indians, on June 20th. The shingle roof was set on fire by lighted 
 arrows, but the flames were extinguished and resistance continued until 
 midnight, when the assault ceased. In the morning the firing was renewed 
 and lasted into the night. The water casks were exhausted and the roof 
 on fire again but it was saved by tearing off the burning shingles. One 
 of the assailants hailed Ensign Christie, the commander and assured him 
 their lives would be spared, if they surrendered. The soldiers were 
 exhausted and unable, to longer, continue the fight and Christie complied. 
 The captives were divided among the different tribes and all were killed, 
 except Christie, a soldier and a woman, who were taken by the Wyandots to 
 Detroit, and turned over to Gladwin. 5 
 
 Fort Le Boeuf was on the west fork of French creek, about fifteen 
 miles south of Lake Erie, at the head of the portage to Presque Isle, in 
 what is now Waterford, Erie county. 6 Ensign Goerge Price was in com- 
 mand of the garrison of thirteen soldiers. It was attacked, June 18th, and 
 during the day a spirited defense was made, but at night the blockhouse 
 was fired, and to escape suffocation, Price and his men fled to the woods. 
 He and seven men reached Pittsburg, and later six others arrived there. 7 
 
 On his way, Price passed Venango, which he found had been burned. 
 This fort was near the old French fort, Machault; and Elk street in the 
 present city of Franklin runs through what was the center of Fort Ven- 
 ango. 8 According to intelligence received by Sir William Johnson, a band 
 of Senecas, under the guise of friendship, gained admittance, then closed 
 the gates and butchered all within, except Lieutenant Gordon, the com- 
 
 117 
 
mander. He was compelled to write a statement of the grievances which 
 caused the war and then tortured to death. 9 
 
 Fort Pitt was assailed on the three land sides, June 22nd, but the 
 cannon fire from the fort dispersed the Indians. In the fort at the time, 
 were the garrison of three hundred thirty-eight men, one hundred four 
 women and one hundred six children. 10 Fort Ligonier was unsuccessfully 
 attacked June 21st. 11 
 
 The woods of Cumberland county were full of lurking devils, not 
 organized bands of warriors, but little groups of four or five murderers, 
 who sneaked out of the forest like tigers, fell on their prey, scattered farm 
 houses, butchered the occupants and vanished in the dense, dark woods. 
 
 Boquet wrote from Carlisle, July 1st: "The list of people known to be 
 killed, from forty to within six miles of this town, amounted last night to 
 nineteen, besides wounded and increases very fast, every hour. The despair 
 of those who have lost their parents, relatives and friends, with the cries of 
 distressed women and children, who fill the streets from a series of horrors 
 painful to humanity and impossible to describe." 12 
 
 According to "Loudon's Narrative," in what is now Perry county, 
 the savages came to the house of William White, where a number of 
 reapers were gathered and murdered all of them, except a boy who leaped 
 through a window and escaped. They then went to Robert Campbell's on 
 Tuscarora creek and killed several harvesters. George Dodd, who was 
 sleeping in an adjoining room, seized his gun and shot one of the Indians 
 and got out of the house by the chimney. Near William Dickson's in 
 Sherman's Valley, the Indians killed William Anderson, an old man, as 
 he sat reading his Bible, also his son and a girl belonging to the family. 
 A squad in pursuit of the Indians was ambushed and William Robison, 
 Thomas Robison, John Graham, Charles Elliott and Edward McConnell 
 were killed. John Logan, Charles Coyle and William Hamilton were slain, 
 while pursuing another band of Indians. 
 
 Fort Bingham, in the Tuscarora Valley, was occupied by Ralph Ster- 
 rett, an Indian trader, who, one day, gave a straggling and hungry Indian, 
 food, rum and tobacco. After the outbreak of hostilities, those, in the fort, 
 were startled one night by the rattling of the gate of the fort ; and per- 
 ceived it was an Indian making the noise. The occupants wanted to shoot 
 him, but Sterrett restrained them. It was the Indian he had previously fed, 
 who manifested his gratitude by informing him, the Indians were as 
 plenty as pigeons in the woods, that they had entered the Tuscarora Valley 
 and next day by noon, they would be at Fort Bingham determined to kill 
 all the inmates and burn the place. Sterrett gathered all the neighboring 
 settlers and before daybreak, they were on their way to the Cumberland 
 Valley. Over eighty persons escaped by the timely warning of the grateful 
 Indian, as the next night a large band of savages burned the fort. 13 
 
 The Indians attacked Colonel Cresap's place, killed a man and 
 
 118 
 
wounded another, but were beaten off and retreated toward Bedford, burn- 
 ing all the houses along Wills creek. 14 
 
 William Thompson, a missionary residing at Carlisle wrote as follows : 
 
 "We find the number of the distressed to be seven hundred and fifty 
 families, who have lost their crops, and some their stock and furniture; 
 and besides these we are informed, that about a hundred women and chil- 
 dren are coming down from Fort Pitt. The unhappy sufferers are dispersed 
 through every part of the county ; and many have passed through to York. 
 In this town and neighborhood, there are upwards of two hundred families, 
 and having the affliction of smallpox and flux to a great degree. " 15 
 
 When the news of the Indian outbreak reached Philadelphia, Governor 
 Hamilton convened the assembly. As usual, the Quaker legislators nig- 
 gardly complied, providing only seven hundred soldiers, and limiting their 
 operations to the defense of the frontier inhabitants in the purchased parts 
 of the province, during the time of harvest. 
 
 The man, who relieved Pittsburg, defended the frontier and crushed 
 the Indian uprising, was a Swiss professional soldier, Henry Boquet. 16 
 He was stern and arrogant, but honest, able and brave. On the frontier, 
 since Braddock's days, he thoroughly understood the Indian method of 
 warfare. He was so austere, that neither officers nor men liked or loved 
 him, but he commanded their respect and complete cooperation. His stern 
 attitude cowed the savages into an unprecedented submission. 
 
 Boquet left Carlisle, July 18th, with four hundred sixty men. 17 Penn- 
 sylvania, to her discredit, rendered no military assistance, although the 
 farmers of the province engaged in the carriage service and their horses 
 and wagons made up the supply train. He reinforced the garrison of Bed- 
 ford with thirty of his men. Hostile spies hovered about his flanks, and 
 the narrow defiles of the Alleghenies teemed with relentless foes, but he 
 arrived at Ligonier without mishap. There he left thirty more of his men 
 and all his wagons ; and on August 4th resumed his march with four 
 hundred men and four hundred packhorses laden with flour. That night 
 he encamped on the road to Pittsburg, and the next morning proceeded 
 toward Bushy Run, by which name the battle is known. At one o'clock in 
 the afternoon, the Indians attacked his column, and in superior numbers 
 swarmed about the English regulars, who repelled them, but the convoy 
 being imperiled, they fell back to a hill and encircled the packhorses huddled 
 together, there. Some of the wounded horses broke loose and ran among 
 the troops threatening to break their ranks, but the officers held them 
 steadfast, and timely darkness ended the day's engagement. Boquet wrote 
 Amherst, a letter, containing dismal forebodings of the next day's battle. 
 The wounded were gathered on the crest of the hill and protected by a 
 rampart built of the bags of flour. The cattle and horses were placed next 
 and all were encircled by the troops. 
 
 Early, the morning of the 6th, the Indians, who had surrounded the 
 camp, renewed the attack. Perceiving it was useless to beat off the 
 
 119 
 
savages and pursue them, as the warriors lost themselves in the woods, 
 and came back to their cover, when the troops fell back, Boquet devised 
 a stratagem. Two of the advanced companies were withdrawn within the 
 encircled camp, the main line parting and covering the flanks. The Indians 
 conceiving this movement, the beginning of a general retreat, uncovered 
 themselves, came into the open and made a spirited assault. Then, Major 
 Campbell with two companies of grenadiers, concealed behind a spur of 
 the hill, fell on the Indian's right flank, and with great intrepidity pursued 
 them. The enemy's left wing awed into inaction by the superior English 
 force massed before them, and seeing the warriors of the right flank over- 
 whelmed, broke and fled. The English victory was complete, and the losses 
 were only fifty killed and sixty wounded. The march to Pittsburg was 
 resumed without obstruction, and the wagon train from Ligonier arrived 
 there, August 22nd, without interference. 18 
 
 During the summer, Sir William Johnson obtained assurances of 
 loyalty from most of the Six Nations, and the Canadian Indians, who 
 attended the conferences and were decidedly loyal, demanded that they 
 compel the Senecas to desist from their depredations. 
 
 A convoy, of ox teams and wagons, in charge of William Stedmari 
 and escorted by twenty-four soldiers, was attacked by the Indians, in 
 September, while traversing the portage between what is now Lewistown 
 and Fort Schlosser which was located above Niagara Falls. It was made 
 at the point where the river makes an acute angle, and the road ran on 
 the brink of the precipice, which descends perpendicularly eighty feet to a 
 dip pit, called the Devil's Hole. Most of the men were killed at the first 
 onslaught. Indescribable confusion prevailed and the scared and wounded 
 oxen plunged over the bank to tangled destruction in the pit beneath. An 
 Indian seized the bridle of Stedman's horse, but he severed the reins close 
 to the bit, eluded the Indian's fire and raced his horse by a roundabout 
 way to the fort, being the only one to escape, save a drummer boy, who 
 fell over the precipice, and was saved by his drummer straps catching in 
 the limbs of a tree. Soldiers, encamped near, started to relieve the convoy, 
 but were ambushed and sixty were killed and eight wounded. Major Wilkins 
 and a large force, from Fort Niagara, found the Indians had decamped 
 and only the scalped dead and ruined convoy. 19 
 
 According to Rev. John Heckewelder's account, a party of Delaware 
 Indians, returning from Bethlehem, while stopping at the tavern of John 
 Stenton, in the present Allen township, Lehigh county, were mistreated 
 and despoiled of their goods. They went to Nescopeck and nourished their 
 grievance, until the outbreak of the war, gave them the opportunity of 
 revenge. An Indian named Zachary and his wife, and a woman called 
 Zippora, Moravian converts were barbarously murdered, while sleeping 
 in a barn at Lehigh Gap, by soldiers of Captain Nicholas Wetterhold's 
 company. Lieutenant Dodge of the same company was also guilty of other 
 fiendish atrocities against friendly Indians. These aggravations were 
 enough to incite more patient and cultivated races, than the Indians. 
 
 The woods were "full of noises," and the western insurrection aroused 
 
 120 
 
the Delawares living along the Susquehanna and its tributaries. Captain 
 Bull, son of Teedyuscung and a band of Delaware Indians, moving silently 
 and swiftly, probably along the old trail from Nescopeck to the Lehigh, 
 early in the morning of October 8th, surrounded the Stenton tavern. Cap- 
 tain Jacob Wetterhold and a company of soldiers had tarried there, the 
 night before. His servant sent for his horse was shot and killed, and he, as 
 he opened the door, was fired upon and mortally wounded. A sergeant, as 
 he drew Wetterhold within, was dangerously hurt. The door was closed 
 before the Indians could enter, but Stenton was shot through a window, 
 as he was getting out of bed. He rushed from the house and eluding the 
 Indians ran for a mile and dropped dead. Wetterhold, in spite of his 
 wound, made a successful resistance and the Indians decamped. He was 
 removed to Bethlehem, where he died the next day. 20 
 
 Before the attack on the tavern, the Indians killed Mrs. James Horner, 
 while going to a neighbors, for live coals to light a fire. After leaving the 
 tavern, the savages plundered James Allen's house and murdered Andrew 
 Hazlet and his family. They crossed the Lehigh at the Indian Falls, a 
 short distance above Seigfrids Bridge, and marched through Whitehall 
 township to John Jacob Mickley's. Three of his children were gathering 
 chestnuts and Barbara aged seven and Henry, aged nine were struck by 
 thrown tomahawks and killed. Peter, aged eleven escaped to Dehler's 
 Fort and gave the alarm. 
 
 In the afternoon, the Indians attacked the house of Nicholas Marks, 
 but the occupants got to Deshler's Fort. A party, from the fort, found 
 Hans Schneider, his wife and three children dead in a field, and two other 
 persons wounded ; and in another field, Mrs. Jacob Alleman and child 
 dead and scalped. 21 
 
 A small band of Indians perpetrated several murders in Berks county. 
 Philip Murloff's house at the foot of the Blue Mountains was entered and>, 
 his wife, two sons and two daughters killed. 22 John Fincher, a Quaker 
 living back of the Blue Mountains, was visited by a scalping party ; and 
 he expressed the hope, as a Quaker, they came as friends, but, notwith- 
 standing, they murdered him and his family. A pursuing party found four 
 Miller children murdered and two missing, but these were recovered. 
 Frantz Hubler in Bern township, eighteen miles from Reading was 
 wounded and his wife and three children captured. Three other children 
 were scalped alive, two of whom died. 23 In February, 1764, the Indians 
 attacked John Russell's house, near the present Stroudsburg and one of 
 his sons was captured and another killed. 24 
 
 A considerable number of Connecticut settlers had, in 1762 and 1763, 
 located on Mill creek, near the present city of Wilkes-Barre and within 
 the Susquehanna Purchase. On Saturday, October 15th, 1763, Captain 
 Bull and his band of warriors, returning from their depredations on the 
 Lehigh, descended from the mountains to the Wyoming Valley, and fell 
 on this settlement. The men were working on the flats in what became 
 Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Plymouth and Hanover townships, which closely 
 
 121 
 
join together. Parshall Terry, one of the settlers made an affidavit, in 
 1794, and contained in Hoyt's Brief of Title, page 136, in which he stated: 
 
 "The settlers, being in a scattered condition on their respective farms, 
 were attacked by the savages upon surprise in every part of their settle- 
 ment, and all at or near the same time ; that near twenty were killed of 
 the settlers, the others taken and dispersed. The whole of the property 
 of the settlers, then on the ground fell into the enemies hands. The depo- 
 nent recollects the names of several that were killed, viz: Rev. William 
 Marsh, Thomas Marsh, Timothy Hollister, Timothy Hollister Jr., Nat- 
 haniel Hollister, Samuel Richards, Nathaniel Terry, Wright Smith, Daniel 
 Baldwin and his wife, Jesse Wiggins and a woman by the name of Zeriah 
 Whitney. The deponent also recollects that Isaac Hollister, one Mr. Shep- 
 herd and a son of Daniel Baldwin were taken prisoners as he understood. 
 Several others were killed, whose names he does not recollect." 25 
 
 The New London Gazette, of September 14, 1764, published an 
 account and stated the attack was made by the famous Captain Bull. The 
 government of Pennsylvania dispatched Major Asher Clayton with a body 
 of troops, to disperse the Connecticut settlers, but when he arrived at 
 Wyoming, he found the savages had made a more effectual ejectment, as 
 reported in the Pennsylvania Gazette of October 27th: "They found no 
 Indians but found the New Englanders had been killed and scalped, a day 
 or two before they got there. They buried the dead, men and women, who 
 had been most cruelly butchered. The woman was roasted and had two 
 hinges in her hands — supposed to be red hot and several of the men had 
 awls thrust into their eyes and spears, arrows and pitchforks sticking in 
 their bodies." 
 
 Captain Bull, having finished his deviltry went to the Delaware ren- 
 dezvous on Sing Sing creek, a tributary of the Chemung river. A large 
 force of Six Nation warriors sent by Sir William Johnson, in January 
 1764, captured Captain Bull and forty-one of his warriors. Bull and thir- 
 teen other Indians were sent to New York and confined in the jail there. 26 
 
 After the battle of Bushy Run, there was some tranquillity on the 
 Western Pennsylvania frontier, but in February, 1764, one of the garrison 
 of Fort Pitt was killed while working in a sawmill nearby. In March, a 
 man was killed and five persons captured near Shippensburg ; and in the 
 same county, Cumberland, Agnes Davidson and child and three other chil- 
 dren, Andrew Simms, Margaret Stephens and Joseph Mitchell were cap- 
 tured. Near Fort Loudon, in July, a woman named Cunningham was 
 killed and a Jameson woman captured. 27 
 
 One of the most barbarous murders occurred July 26, 1764. Then, 
 about six miles north of the present Greencastle, on the brow of a hill over- 
 looking a deep dismal ravine, stood a log school house. It was occupied by 
 the master, named Brown and ten pupils. During the morning, two old 
 Indians and a boy came to the door. Brown pleaded for the lives of the 
 children, but the two old Indians stood at the door, while the younger one 
 
 122 
 
entered and with a maul killed Brown and the children. They were all 
 scalped, but one of the children, Alexander McCullough had not been 
 killed and although scalped, he recovered and gave an account of the 
 tragedy. Shortly after, the daughter of James Dysart was murdered 
 within twelve miles of Carlisle. 28 
 
 One of the worst atrocities was committed by David Owen, a white 
 man, a deserter from the British regulars to the Delawares and Shawnees, 
 who while with them formed a connection with an Indian woman and by 
 her had two children. Owen was coming down the Susquehanna with a 
 white boy who had been an Indian captive, and nine Indians, his wife and 
 two children, another woman, four men and a lad ; and one night when 
 they had encamped and all were asleep, Owen awakened the white boy and 
 bade him go some distance away. He, then, removed all the weapons except 
 two guns, the muzzles of which he placed at the heads of two of the 
 Indians and simultaneously pulled the trigger, killing both. The other two 
 unharmed Indians ran away. With a hatchet, Owen killed his wife and two 
 children, the other woman and the Indian lad, and, with brutal coolness, 
 crouched by the fire in the midst of the dead until daylight, when he 
 scalped the dead except the children. When he had finished, he handed the 
 knife to the white boy and told him to scalp the children, but he refused. 
 Owen with the scalps made his way to the nearest outpost, probably, 
 claimed his bounty for the scalps, was pardoned of his desertion and 
 reentered the army. 29 
 
 In August, 1763, a militia force, from Lancaster county, had a two 
 days skirmish with the Indians near Muncy creek, in which they lost four 
 men killed and four wounded, and killed twelve Indians and wounded 
 several. In September, Colonel John Armstrong destroyed the Indian vil- 
 lages on the West Branch in the vicinity of the Great Island. 30 
 
 Sir William Johnson, in July and August, 1764, held conferences with 
 some of the hostile Indians and the Genesee Senecas, who agreed to deliver 
 up certain Delaware chiefs, deserters and Frenchmen among them ; and to 
 cede land four miles in breadth on each side of the Niagara river from 
 Fort Niagara to Fort Schlosser, thus ensuring free access to the portage 
 between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. 31 
 
 To subdue the western tribes, a northern expedition, under Colonel 
 John Bradstreet and a southern one, under Colonel Boquet, were organized. 
 Bradstreet, with twelve hundred regulars, three hundred Canadians and 
 three hundred friendly Indians, left Fort Schlosser, August 8th. At Presque 
 Isle, despite the opposition of his officers and the friendly Indians, he 
 foolishly made an arrangement with a' deputation of Delawares and Shaw- 
 nees to meet them at Sandusky, twenty-five days later and make a treaty 
 of peace. 32 At Sandusky they made a pretended submission, which accom- 
 plished nothing. From there, he dispatched Captain Thomas Morris to 
 make peace with the Illionis Indians. 33 Bradstreet had badly blundered, 
 and all he did was to relieve Detroit, beleaguered for fifteen months, and 
 recover Mackinac, Green Bay and Sault St. Marie. 
 
 Owing to vexatious delays, it was autumn before Boquet's army was 
 
 123 
 
properly organized and assembled at Pittsburg. The Pennsylvania Quaker 
 assembly, now thoroughly cowed by the Paxton men, voted to supply the 
 one thousand men required, but Maryland and Virginia refused any assist- 
 ance. Colonel Andrew Lewis, however, enlisted two hundred Virginians. 34 
 The pay of these men seriously embarrassed Boquet, but to relieve him, 
 Pennslyvania generously paid them. 
 
 Captain Jacobs and other Delaware chiefs, in a conference with Boquet 
 at Pittsburg, sought to delay invasion of their country, but he sternly 
 denounced their conduct and perfidy in violating their engagements with 
 Bradstreet. Without any palaver, he gave them to understand they could 
 expect no mercy, unless there was an abject submission. He said: 
 
 "As I must consider you now as a people, whose promises I can no 
 more trust, I was determined to attack you as soon as the rest of my army 
 joined me, which I expect immediately ; but I will put once more in your 
 power to prevent your total destruction and save yourselves and your fam- 
 ilies by giving satisfaction for the barbarities committed against us." 
 
 He required safe conduct for his messengers to Bradstreet, and- a 
 guarantee, that in twenty days the messages he sent and the answer should 
 b delivered to him. Upon any violation of his demand, he declared he 
 would immediately put to death Captain Pipe and other Indians in his 
 custody. An Onondaga and Oneida Indian interceded for the western 
 tribes and urged he do nothing precipitately, but Boquet was not a man to 
 trifle with and reminded them that the Delawares and Shawnees were a 
 false people and deceive you, as they have always done. He declared he 
 should march through their country and tell them what he would do at 
 Tuscarowas. 
 
 At Tuscarowas, Boquet held a conference with Kyashuta, chief of 
 the Senecas, Beaver, chief of the Delawares and a chief of the Shawnees, 
 who attempted to palliate or excuse their conduct, but, in a terrible bill 
 of indictment, he charged them with their specific acts of perfidy and bar- 
 barity. He reminded them, that their former allies had deserted them and 
 made peace ; that they were surrounded on every side ; that it was in his 
 power to destroy them, but that, if they performed everything he required, 
 he would not treat them with the severity they deserved. To further over- 
 awe them, November 9th, the army marched to the forks of the Muskin- 
 gum, within easy striking distance of all the Delaware villages, where a 
 fortified encampment was made. 
 
 Boquet had the savages in a vise from which there was no escape. A 
 battle with his overpowering army would have destroyed them. They could 
 flee from their towns, but he would have destroyed their villages and 
 stocks of corn, and immediate winter would starve them. They could not 
 deceive, delude or compromise, with this relentless man. They submitted 
 and agreed to deliver up all prisoners, to commit no further hostilities and 
 give fourteen hostages for performance of his conditions. More than two 
 hundred captives were delivered to him by the Delawares and Shawnees, 
 
 124 
 
who even turned over their own children born of white women. The 
 Shawnees who held one hundred fifty prisoners were obstinate, but they 
 soon complied and delivered them. As with Amherst at Montreal, Boquet 
 by his stern and relentless demands had obtained more restitution and a 
 better peace, than in all the treaties made by Indian agents and traders, 
 since savage relations began. The captives were removed to Carlisle and 
 Boquet delivered them to their relatives and friends, as heretofore related. 
 The great uprising was over, and Governor Penn issud his proclamation 
 of peace, December 5, 1764. 35 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
 
 1. Early Western Travels 1, 105. 
 
 2. Pa. Archs. 4, 92; 3, 100. 
 
 3. Peckham's Pontiac, 59. 
 
 4. Loudon, Selection of Narratives, 1, 321, 322; Magazine of History, 37, 170 
 to 175. 
 
 5. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 649, 96 to 156. 
 
 6. Spark's, Writings of Washington, 2, 442; Frontier Forts, 2, 575. 
 
 7. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 649, page 172. 
 
 8. Frontier Forts, 2, 591. 
 
 9. N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 532; Frontier Forts, 2, 593. 
 
 10. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 649 page 175. 
 
 11. Ibid, 180. 
 
 12. Ibid, 227. 
 
 13. Frontier Forts, 1, 591, 592. 
 
 14. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 649, pages 216 to 219. 
 
 15. Rupp, History of Cumberland County, 400, 401. 
 
 16. Henry Bouquet was born in Berne, Switzerland and followed war as a 
 profession from boyhood. He served under the king of Sardinia, and then under 
 the Republic of Holland. January 3, 1756, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of 
 the 60th or Royal American Regiment, and served under Forbes in the expedition 
 against Fort Duquesne. He became colonel in the army, February 19, 1762, and in 
 recognition of his great services during 1763 and 1764 was appointed brigadiei 
 general. He died at Pensacola, Florida in February, 1766. 
 
 17. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 649, Part 1, page 208. 
 
 18. Ibid, Part 2, pages 28, 29. 
 
 19. N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 562, and Appendix, Life of Mary Jemison. 
 
 20. Pa. Gazette, October 13, 1763; Gordon History of Pa. Appendix 623. 
 
 21. Gordon Hist, of Pa., Appendix 624; Frontier Forts 1, 171, 172, 173, 174, 
 182; also a very good map of the Indian route and scenes of the depredations 
 between pages 176 and 177; Rupp, History of Lehigh County, 129, 130. 
 
 22. Rupp, History of Berks County, 78. 
 
 23. Gordon History of Pa. Appendix 623; Rupp, History of Lehigh County 
 77, 78, 79, 140; Col. Recs. 9, 43, 44. 
 
 24. Gordon History of Pa., Appendix 624; Rupp History of Monroe County, 
 155. 
 
 25. Chapman, History of Wyoming, 70, 71; Miner, History of Wyoming, 54; 
 Harvey History of Wilkes-Barre, 1, 429, 430, 431 : Pa. Archs. 4, 129. 
 
 26. N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 611 to 624. 
 
 125 
 
27. Gordon Hist, of Pa., Appendix 624, 625. 
 
 28. Rupp, History of Cumberland County, 149, 150, 151. 
 
 29. Gordon, Hist, of Pa. Appendix 625; Col. Recs. 9, 189, 190. 
 
 30. Gordon Hist, of Pa. 398, 399. 
 
 31. Johnson Papers 4, 466 to 501 ; N. Y. Col. Docs. 7, 652. 
 
 32. Johnson Papers 4, 503 to 508. 
 
 33. Journal of Morris, Western Travels. 
 
 34. Boquet Papers, Series 21, 650, 118. 
 
 35. Col. Recs., 9, 193 to 197. 
 
 126 
 
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 THE CONESTOGA MURDERS 
 
 The most deplorable and disgraceful incident, of our frontier history, 
 is the murder of the Conestoga Indians. In Lancaster county, on the 
 Conestoga Manor, lived the feeble remnant of the Andastee or Susque- 
 hannock Indians, who, long before, exercised their proud and powerful 
 dominion over the whole Susquehanna Valley. There were, probably, less 
 than thirty of them left, regarded by their near white neighbors, as harm- 
 less vagrants. They eked out a miserable subsistence, during the summer 
 by the sale of brooms and baskets, and, in the winter, they were supported 
 by the charity of the government. 
 
 The stalemate, in the Pennsylvania government, caused by the pacifism 
 of the Quakers and their hatred and opposition to the Penn heirs, pre- 
 vented a proper defense of the frontier. The principal sufferers were the 
 Scotch-Irish people, who were mainly settled on the extreme frontier. 
 They were a vigorous and violent race, but honest, religious and brave. 
 Exasperated by their sufferings, they lawlessly wreaked their vengeance 
 upon an inoffensive people. They firmly believed the scattered villages, of 
 the friendly Indians, were shelters of the savage foe. There were some 
 grounds for their belief, for an Indian is an unchangeable, proud, primitive 
 man. The psychology of races is not changed by sudden religious excite- 
 ment, and the so-called conversion of the Indians was only a thin veneer, 
 more easily washed away, than the war paint with which they daubed their 
 faces. It is reasonable to conclude, that many of the friendly Indians enter- 
 tained a kindred sympathy for the wandering warriors who visited them. 
 But whatever the provocation, premeditated murder can never be justified. 
 
 The Paxton or Paxtang settlement, miles northward, was composed 
 of Scotch-Irish settlers, who had suffered grievously from Indian incur- 
 sions. They had organized a military band for the protection of them- 
 selves and the neighboring settlements. This company is known as the 
 "Paxton Rangers or "Paxtang Boys." In later years, in order to palliate 
 the crimes of the "Paxtang Boys," numerous affidavits were collected, 
 attempting to show, that among the Conestoga Indians dwelt hostile char- 
 acters. But about the most, these affidavits show is that there lived at 
 Conestoga, Bill Sox, a good for nothing Indian, suspected by some of being 
 implicated in certain murders. 
 
 127 
 
The histories are replete with graphic and imaginary accounts of the 
 tragedies. We will let the public records and statements of contemporaries 
 tell the story. Matthew Smith, leader of the first expedition, made, in 
 later years, a narrative of the affair, which was published, in 1843, in the 
 "Lancaster Intelligencer." According to this narrative, Smith was informed, 
 in December, 1763, that an Indian, guilty of depredations, had been traced 
 to Conestoga. Thereupon, Smith and five companions went to the village ; 
 and it being night, he alone crawled close to the cabins, and saw or 
 thought he saw a number of armed Indians in the houses. Returning to 
 Paxton, he assembled about fifty of the Rangers, who armed and mounted 
 and led by Smith rode that night to Conestoga, determined to destroy the 
 Indians. They arrived about daybreak, December 14th, 1763, and dividing 
 themselves into several parties surrounded the huts. An Indian, aroused 
 by the noise, came from his cabin. One of the Rangers shouted he is the 
 man who killed my mother and shot him dead. Bursting into the other 
 houses, the Rangers shot or tomahawked four others, the only ones at 
 home. They, then, burned some of the cabins and departed. 
 
 In the various accounts, there is a discrepancy in giving the number 
 killed and the extent of the depredations committed. 
 
 The following is quoted from Hazard's Register, volume 9, page 114, 
 and is taken from a manuscript journal belonging to a descendant of 
 Robert Barber. 
 
 "On a snowy morning, in December, 1763, a German neighbor came 
 to Robert Barber's house and requested him to go in pursuit of someone 
 who had been at his house the night before and whom he called robbers. 
 They had behaved in a very disorderly manner such as melting the pewter 
 spoons etc. Mr. Barber supposing it had been persons in a frolic, advised 
 his friend to take no notice of it. He had scarcely left the house, when 
 five or six men came in, very cold, their great coats covered with snow 
 and wet. They left their guns outside. Mr. Barber was not personally 
 acquainted with them, though he knew from what part of the country 
 they came. He made up a fire to warm and treated them to the customary 
 morning refreshments. While they warmed themselves, they inquired why 
 the Indians were suffered to live peaceably here. Mr. Barber said they 
 were entirely inoffensive, being on their own lands and injuring no one. 
 They asked what would be the consequence if they were all destroyed. 
 Mr. Barber said he thought they would be as liable to punishment, as if 
 they had destroyed so many white men. They said they were of a different 
 opinion and in a few minutes went out. In the meantime, however, two 
 sons of Mr. B. about 10 or 12 years old went out to look at the stranger's 
 horses, which were hitched at a little distance from the house. After the 
 men went, the boys came in and said, they (the men) had tomahawks tied 
 to their saddles, which were all bloody, and they had Christy's gun, 
 (Christy was a little Indian boy about their own age — they were much 
 attached to him, as he was their playmate and made their bows and arrows 
 and other means of amusement). While the family all wondered what it 
 could mean, a messenger came from Herr, giving information of the dread- 
 ful deed. Mr. Barber and some others went down to see the extent of the 
 
 128 
 
massacre. Shocking indeed was the sight — the dead bodies fourteen Indians 
 lay among the rubbish of their burnt cabins, like half consumed logs. Mr. 
 B. after some trouble procured their bodies to administer to them the rights 
 of sepulchre. It was said, that at the beginning of the slaughter, an Indian 
 mother placed her little child under a barrel, charging it to make no noise — 
 a shot was fired through the barrel, which broke the child's arm and still 
 it kept silent." 
 
 Robert Beatty and John Miller, agents of the government to oversee 
 the Indians reported to the governor on December 28th, (Pa. Archs. 4, 
 151) that six Indians were killed and that the survivors had been removed 
 to the Lancaster jail; also that they had possession of the Indian effects, 
 consisting of papers which these poor people had treasured through genera- 
 tions and going back almost to the beginning of the province, a list of 
 which is given in Colonial Records, 9, page 102. 
 
 Unsatisfied with their bloody deed and under pretense that one of 
 the Indians in the jail at Lancaster had murdered relatives of one of them, 
 the Paxtang Boys, now under the leadership of Lazarus Stewart, rode into 
 Lancaster, December 27th. Rev. John Elder, pastor of Paxton church 
 strongly urged them to desist and made efforts to prevent their murderous 
 expedition, but he was rudely brushed aside. Edward Shippen the prin- 
 cipal magistrate wrote the governor: "This afternoon upwards of a hun- 
 dred armed men from the westward rode very fast into town, turned their 
 horses into Mr. Slough's (an innkeeper) yard and proceded with the 
 greatest precipitation to the workhouse, stove open the door and killed 
 all the Indians." (Col. Recs. 9, 100.) 
 
 John Hay, the sheriff reported he and the coroner opposed them to 
 their great danger, that fourteen Indians were killed and that it was 
 rumored the rioters were preparing to march to Philadelphia and destroy 
 the Indians on Province Island. 
 
 The scene in the jail is graphically portrayed by a contemporary 
 witness, William Henry, a leading citizen of Lancaster, (Rupp's History 
 of Lancaster County, page 358) and is as follows : 
 
 "There are few, if any murders to be compared with the cruel murder 
 committed on the Conestoga Indians in the jail in Lancaster, in 1763, by 
 the Paxton Boys as they were called. From fifteen to twenty Indians, as 
 report stated were placed there for protection. A regiment of Highlanders 
 were at the time quartered at the barracks in the town, and yet the mur- 
 derers were permitted to break open the doors of the city jail and committed 
 the horrid deed. The first notice I had of this affair was that while at my 
 father's store near the court house, I saw a number of people running 
 down the street towards the jail, which enticed me and other lads to 
 follow them. At about six or eight yards from the jail, we met from 
 twenty-five to thirty men, well mounted on horses and with rifles, toma- 
 hawks and scalping knives, equipped for murder. I ran into the prison 
 yard, and there, oh what a horrid sight presented itself to my view. Near 
 the back door of the prison lay an old Indian and his squaw, particularly 
 
 129 
 
known and esteemed by the people of the town on account of his placid 
 and friendly conduct. His name was Will Sox; across him and squaw lay 
 two children of about the age of three years whose heads were split with 
 the tomahawk and their scalps taken off. Towards the middle of the jail 
 yard along the west side of the wall lay a stout Indian whom I particularly 
 noticed to have been shot in his breast ; his legs were chopped with the 
 tomahawk, his hands cut off and finally a rifle ball discharged so that his 
 head was blown to atoms and the brains were splashed against and hang- 
 ing to the wall for three or four feet around. This man's hands and feet 
 had been chopped off with a tomahawk. In this manner, the whole of 
 them, men, women and children spread about the prison yard, scalped, 
 hacked and cut to pieces." 
 
 The governor issued a strong proclamation denouncing the outrage ; 
 and the Quakers vigorously protested, but undaunted by governor's pro- 
 clamations and Quaker protests, the Paxtang Boys and their adherents 
 prepared for a march on Philadelphia. Their ostensible purpose was to 
 seize the friendly Indians, the government had withdrawn from Wyalusing 
 and the Moravian missions and was attempting to protect in the government 
 building on Province Island. The real purpose was, probably, to bluff the 
 government into indemnity for their crimes and obtain concessions. The 
 whole affair is so ridiculous, it should be treated with the derision, it 
 deserves. Volunteers, variously estimated from two to fifteen hundred, 
 flocked from the border. The leaders were Matthew Smith and James Gib- 
 son. Many were enticed to join by the hope of plunder and the excite- 
 ment of a wild lark. The news of their advance caused turmoil in the city. 
 The foolish and supine government, in order to avert the invasion, which 
 it had no more power to repel, than a parade of school boys on the town 
 green, sent the refugee Indians at Province Island to New York to be 
 placed under the efficient protection of Sir William Johnson. The hope 
 was that once out of Philadelphia the Rangers would stop their march, 
 but they paid no attention to this gesture and marched on. Neither John- 
 son nor the authorities of New York had been consulted and when the 
 refugees arrived at Amboy, a message was received from the governor 
 of New York refusing their admittance and the governor of New Jersey 
 ordered them to get out. They were marched back to Philadelphia, where 
 they were pelted and jeered by the city rabble, which hated both Indians 
 and Quakers ; and the sufferings of these poor creatures is too sober a 
 tale to be recited here and is reservd for the succeeding chapter. 
 
 Late in January, the rioters were on the march. They were a grotesque 
 crew of border ruffians, attired in coon skin caps, loose hunting shirts and 
 leather breeches, with long hunting rifles swinging from the pommels of 
 their saddles and sharp tomahawks sticking in their belts. At every way- 
 side tavern, they augmented their courage by devouring the gin keeper's 
 stock. They hooted and bawled at every farm house, and threatened dire 
 destruction of every timid Quaker and Mennonite, who dared squint at 
 them. The stout Quaker farmers, of Chester county, hastily barred their 
 
 130 
 
windows, buried their treasures and pewter plate in the ground and 
 cautiously peeked from behind their great barns as the tumultous throng 
 went by. 
 
 In the city, the tumult was worse. The Presbyterian faction in Phila- 
 delphia was believed to be abetting the invaders and added by their jeering 
 pamphlets further dismay to the poor pacific Quakers. Every subterfuge 
 was resorted to and preachers were sent forth to subdue the ruffians with 
 the sacred scriptures. The Quaker assembly, casting aside religious scruples 
 hurriedly passed a military act. The city was ransacked for old 
 muskets and antiquated guns. Barricades were erected in the streets and 
 cannon, which no one knew how to fire, were placed at the approaches. 
 Sober Quaker squires and shopkeepers boarded up their houses, but could 
 do nothing but pound their kitchen floors with their staffs and vow 
 vengeance on the murderous gang. In desperation, some discarded their 
 broadbrim hats and plain drab coats and donned military caps and 
 blouses far too small. They were organized into awkward squads and 
 timidly fingered their strange guns with more danger to themselves than 
 the foe. To add to their despair, the Presbyterians littered the streets with 
 jeering pamphlets and broadcasts and tittered out loud, when the clumsy 
 Quaker warrior went by. Colonel Turbutt Francis, commander of the City 
 Troop, who was not a Quaker, either by design or to escape a drenching 
 rain, marched his soldiers to the Quaker Meeting House, where his soldiers 
 cast themselves on the floor and profaned the sacred edifice of peace with 
 their snores. 
 
 The terrorized governor to save his scalp fled to Dr. Franklin's home, 
 where if worse came to worse, he might secrete himself under Deborah's 
 best bolstered bed. A party of friendly German butchers coming to save 
 the place, threw the city into a panic of fear. All the ferries over the 
 Schuylkill were secured on the city side, but the raiders somehow sneaked 
 across and , on February 4th, encamped at Germantown. During all this 
 confusion, not one of the valiant volunteers dared venture forth to meet 
 the foe, although a couple of British cannon, supported by a company of 
 Massachusetts or Virginia militia, would have put the whole blurring, 
 blustering crew to flight. 
 
 How long this ridiculous spectacle and disgraceful episode in the 
 history of Pennsylvania would have continued is uncertain, if the governor 
 had not sent Franklin out to Germantown to subdue the foe. The rioters 
 could bravely fight behind trees and logs, murder helpless Indians in a 
 pen and terrorize pacific Quakers, but their leaders were unable to with- 
 stand the shrewd old Yankee with the bland tongue. He kindly listened 
 to their tale of woe and discontent, induced Smith and Gibson to prepare 
 a declaration of grievances and, probably, slyly hinted at a bounty for 
 scalps, which they dearly desired, and then pleasantly advised them to go 
 home, which they did. The war being thus concluded, the city resumed its 
 wonted Quaker repose. 
 
 No one was ever punished for the cruel Conestoga murders. A little 
 after, Franklin's conquest, the governor issued a proclamation, offering a 
 
 131 
 
liberal bounty for scalps. One thing was attained Quaker pacifism was 
 preserved, but Quaker serenity was disturbed by the bloody Presbyterians, 
 who bombarded them with pamphlets and broadcasts of unseemly abuse, 
 to which the Quakers rejoined them with productions of equal scurrility. 1 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 
 
 1. Gordon, History of Pa., 406 to 410; Franklin's Works Vol. 4, 151, 152; 
 Hazard's Register, Vol. 12; Rupp's History of Lancaster County, Chapter VII, 
 beginning at page 350 contains many affidavits relating to the Conestoga murders 
 and march of the rioters. Pamphlets and broadcasts are preserved in the City Library 
 of Philadelphia. The inference from all written on the march of the rioters is that 
 men belonging to neither faction and of sense, viewed the whole proceedings as a 
 ridiculous exhibition of the weakness of the Pennsylvania government and the 
 bitterness and inconsistency of religious contention. 
 
 132 
 
CHAPTER NINETEEN 
 
 FRIEDENSHUETTEN 
 
 Passengers, on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, may observe a plain, sub- 
 stantial monument standing in the expansive, level meadow land lying 
 between the railroad and the Susquehanna river, and about two miles below 
 the station at Wyalusing. This marble shaft marks the site of a once con- 
 siderable town, of happy and contented people, called by the Indians, 
 Machwihilusing. There the Moravians established the famous mission of 
 Friedenshuetten (Tents of Peace), in the year, 1765. 
 
 There were other ancient, native villages, near where the beautiful and 
 meandering Wyalusing intermingles its waters with those of the great and 
 winding river. Archaeologists, now explore the bluffs above the stream 
 for vestiges of the first inhabitants, and, when the river floods bare the 
 lowlands, gather the relics of a forgotten people. The scenic splendor, of 
 the vicinity, allured successive generations of red men, who came and 
 went with the vicissitudes of savage life. The rocks, rising to mountain 
 summits on either side of the river, here and there, break away into broad 
 intervales of fertile lowland. Nature enticed, not only, the bygone Indian, 
 but the transient French nobleman and permanent English farmer to the 
 romantic region of Wyalusing. 
 
 Thither came John Papunhank, the Indian moralist and there dis- 
 coursed his philosophy to the inhabitants of Machwihilusing. The Mora- 
 vian annalists called him a very sinful man, but as they failed to specify 
 his sins, one suspects the principal one was not being a^ Christian of their 
 own particular sect. Be that as it may, his derelictions could not have been 
 so great, as he was the first of the sinners and with little probation con- 
 verted at Machwihilusing, and there is no intimation, that he ever, after- 
 wards, backslid the obligations of his conversion. David Zeisberger bap- 
 tized him, in 1763. * 
 
 John Woolman, the celebrated Quaker evangelist came there, in June, 
 1763, and preached to the Indians, but, as they manifested a preference 
 for the Moravians, went away. 2 He described the place as follows : 
 
 "The town stands on the bank of Susquehanna and consists, I believe 
 of about forty houses, mostly compact together; some about thirty feet 
 long and eighteen feet wide, some bigger, some less ; mostly built of split 
 
 133 
 
plank, one end set in the ground, and the other pinned to a plate, on 
 which lay rafters covered with bark. I understand a great flood last winter 
 overflowed the chief part of the ground where the town stands ; and some 
 were moving their houses to higher ground." 3 
 
 Caught in the crossfire of the Pontiac War and threatened with 
 destruction, by both the heathen Indians and the English, Papunhank 
 and twenty-one of his followers fled to Bethlehem, and from thence were 
 removed to Philadelphia. Upon their arrival there, they were joined with 
 the Moravian Indians from Wequetance and Nain; and thenceforth, as 
 their fortunes intermingled, they will be treated as one body and their 
 vicissitudes will be briefly traced to their tragic end. 
 
 The Moravian mission of Wequetanc was established, in 1760, in 
 the present Monroe county, and was on the flats on the north side of Wire 
 creek, about a quarter of a mile north of the intersection of the state road 
 with the road to Effort. It may have been the site of Captain Harris' vil- 
 lage, and once the home of Teedyuscung. 4 It consisted of good houses and 
 extensive fields ; and was a very prosperous and successful mission, but 
 English hatred of all Indians, kindled by the Captain Bull massacre, in 
 1763, placed it in great jeopardy. Consequently, all the inhabitants were 
 removed to Nazareth, abandoning a plentiful harvest and most of their 
 cattle. 5 
 
 The settlement at Wequetanc was an overflow of the mission at 
 Nain, near Bethlehem, established in 1757. A number of Indians went 
 there from Nazareth, and the population increased so rapidly, it was 
 deemed expedient to divide the congregation and many went from there 
 to Wequetanc. 6 
 
 The massacres, along the Lehigh, exasperated the settlers and Nain 
 was blockaded on all sides. Fearing the Christian Indians would be killed, 
 they were removed to Philadelphia, under the direction and protection of 
 the sheriff. They were refused admittance to the barracks, and, for five 
 hours, a mob of the city rabble reviled and cursed them, and the helpless 
 creatures huddled together were threatened with destruction. Finally, they 
 were taken to Province Island and lodged in the government buildings. 
 They were constantly attended by the missionary, David Zeisberger, and 
 they formed family groups and spent their time in prayer and devotion. 
 
 In January, 1764, the march, of the Paxtang Boys, alarmed the 
 government and to be rid of them, they were taken across New Jersey to 
 Amboy, but as New York would not receive them and New Jersey 
 ordered them to get out, they were returned to Philadelphia. Escorted by 
 a company of soldiers, they journeyed back by snow bound roads and 
 over the frozen rivers, across which the aged and infirm crept on their 
 hands and knees. They were quartered in the Philadelphia barracks and 
 guarded day and night, as the mobs threatened their destruction, and the 
 Paxtang Boys came on thirsting for their blood. They adjusted themselves 
 to their surroundings and a school was started by the missionaries and 
 the Indian children made good progress in the pursuit of learning. 
 
 134 
 
During the summer, the Indians could hardly endure their close con- 
 finement. Unaccustomed to the strangely cooked but good food provided 
 them, they craved the wild game and fish of their usual diet. They longed 
 for the wild woods and mountain streams, languished and pined away and 
 stricken with the smallpox, fifty-six of them died and were buried in the 
 Potter's Field. In February, 1765, the government granted permission for 
 their departure and ordered, sufficient flour, to sustain them until the har- 
 vest of their own corn, be issued to them at Fort Allen. At Bethlehem, the 
 Moravians clothed them. 
 
 The Indians all resolved to go to Machwihilusing and resume their 
 wild life again. From Fort Allen, their journey was a toilsome one through 
 the swamps and across the barren mountains. A late storm of wet snow 
 beset them and some of the weaker ones died on the way. At the Lacka- 
 wanna, they secured boats and paddled their way up the Susquehanna. 
 On May 9th, they reached their haven of rest, and in the deserted huts of 
 Papunhank's town, began their interrupted lives again. 8 
 
 The mission of Friedenshuetten which was erected there, according to 
 Loskiel, (Part 3, page 182) when completed: 
 
 "Consisted of thirteen Indian huts, and upwards of forty houses built 
 of wood in the European manner, covered with shingles, and provided with 
 windows and chimneys. A small but convenient house was provided for the 
 missionaries, and in the middle of the street, which was upwards of eighty 
 feet broad, stood the chapel, neatly built and covered with shingles. Next to 
 the houses, the ground was laid out in gardens, and between the settlement 
 and the river, about two hundred fifty acres were divided into regular plan- 
 tations of Indian corn. Each family had its own boat. The burying ground 
 was situated some distance back of the buildings." 9 
 
 A meeting of the inhabitants was held and proper regulations and 
 laws were adopted for the government of the community. Permission to 
 build the mission was sought of the Cayugas, but their chief refused and 
 desired them to remove to the Cayuga country, They promised to answer 
 him when the corn was ripe, but delayed it to the following spring, when 
 they received this peremptory message from the chief : 
 
 "That he did not know, what sort of Indian corn they might plant, 
 for they had promised him an answer when the corn was ripe ; that his 
 Indian corn had been gathered long ago, and was almost consumed, and 
 he soon intended to plant again; they ought, therefore to keep their 
 promises." 
 
 Alarmed by this warning, Zeisberger went to Cayuga and persuaded 
 the chief to permit them to remain, and he made them a much extended 
 grant of land. Disturbed again, by a false rumor, that the Great Council at 
 Onondaga had repudiated the Cayuga grant, Zeisberger and Senseman 
 journeyed to Onondaga, and the Council confirmed the grant and said 
 to them : 
 
 135 
 
"When your Indians, our cousins have anything to treat with us, they 
 shall have full liberty to come straight to us, and settle their affairs with- 
 out the interference of any other chief, who may not be of the same mind 
 with us." 10 
 
 From east and west, Indians came to visit the mission, and pro- 
 nounced it the finest Indian town, they had ever seen. The Iroquois Council 
 had warned them not to make it a seat of trade. Nevertheless, the nefarious 
 traders came and sought to debauch and demoralize them for gain ; but the 
 Indian committee, charged with the government of the place, politely and 
 firmly told them, they could maintain no trading post there, and com- 
 pelled them to depart. 
 
 The members of the mission chiefly supported themselves by hunting 
 deer, elks and bears, and trapping foxes, racoons and beavers. One great 
 article of food was maple sugar, which together with corn, beans and 
 squashes made their principal diet. They made their own shovels, hoes, 
 plows, harrows and sleds ; and were able to do their own carpenter work. 
 Some of them were coopers, making their own barrels, tubs and pails. 
 Two schoolhouses were erected, and the schools held therein were largely 
 attended by the Indian children. 
 
 The sale of their lands, at Friedenshuetten, to the English govern- 
 ment, in 1768, by the Fort Stanwix Treaty, greatly disturbed them ; but 
 notwithstanding, the Moravians, in 1769, established another mission at 
 Sheshequin about thirty miles up the river, and sent John Rothe to minister 
 to the Indians in that vicinity. A chapel was built and a considerable 
 number of Indians were converted, including the chief, James Davis. 
 
 By 1771, it was apparent the Indians could no longer maintain them- 
 selves at Friedenshuetten and Sheshequin, because of the Iroquois sale of 
 their land, the settlement at Wyoming, the increasing white settlers in 
 their vicinity and the growing rum trade, which seduced their young 
 people, and it was decided to remove the missions to Friedenstadt, a 
 mission which had been established, by Zeisberger, in the Ohio country. 
 John Rothe and John Ettwein were appointed to attend the congregations 
 on their journey. ia It was decided to go in the spring of 1772. 
 
 It was a sad detachment from the place they so dearly loved, where : 
 
 "Fields, garden, fruit trees etc., were in such fine order, as to be a 
 delight to the eye. The very streets were kept clean. The situation of the 
 ground being level and the soil a mixture of sand and clay, they were 
 regularly swept by the women with wooden brooms on Saturdays in sum- 
 mer, when the ground was dry, and the rubbish carefully removed. The 
 cleanliness of the place was also promoted by a post and rail fence, com- 
 pletely surrounding the village, so as to keep out the cattle." 
 
 May 23rd, Ettwein, afterwards a bishop of the Moravian Church, 
 arrived from Bethlehem, with many presents useful to them on their future 
 journey. The congregation partook of the last holy communion. Whit- 
 
 136 
 
suntide was celebrated by administering baptism to a daughter of John 
 Papunhank, father of their settlement. 12 During the preceding days, the 
 place bustled with their preparations. The clothing and utensils were 
 packed, and the canoes, which were to carry their baggage and those who 
 made the trip by water, were overhauled and coated with pitch. Day and 
 night, the pestles of the corn mortars were plied, grinding the meal needed 
 to sustain them on their journey. June 11, 1772, this remarkable exodus 
 began, and as no more telling description can be given, it is best to quote 
 the following from Bishop Ettwein's diary: 
 
 "Thursday, June 11th : Early we met for the last time in the town for 
 divine worship. — At the close of the service, the canoes were laden, the 
 bell was taken from its turret, the window sashes from out the church and 
 the dismantled windows nailed shut with boards. 
 
 "At 2 p.m., Brother and Sister Rothe, in their canoes, set out, fol- 
 lowed by the others, thirty in number. We had divided the voyageurs in 
 six divisions, over each of which, we set one or two leaders. Timothy, who 
 carried the bell, in his canoe, rang it for some time, as the squadron moved 
 down the river, never again, to ring out its call to the house of prayer 
 over the waters of the lovely Susquehanna." 
 
 Those, who went by water, by reason of a heavy rain, made only 
 eight miles, the first day. Saturday, they passed the fort at Wilkes-Barre, 
 where a large crowd gathered to see them. At Nescopeck, they were com- 
 pelled to pass their canoes over the falls by means of ropes or carry them 
 around the rapids. The remainder of their journey was without incident. 
 Their course, up the West Branch, against the current of the stream, was 
 the tedious and toilsome part of their trip. 
 
 Ettwein continues : "After all had left the town, I locked the doors 
 of the chapel and the missionaries' dwelling — took leave of Job Chilloway 
 and commended to him oversight of the houses and improvements — to 
 which he consented, and at the same time made fair promises. He and his 
 wife were the only two who appeared to regret our departure. All the 
 others manifested satisfaction. With Brother and Sister Rothe went one 
 hundred and forty souls ; with me by the overland route fifty-four. Others 
 also are to proceed by land from Sheshequin, so that the entire migration 
 numbers two hundred and eleven souls. 
 
 "As we crossed the river, our way led us straightway to the moun- 
 tain, and after proceeding two miles we entered a great swamp, where 
 the undergrowth was so dense that oftentimes it was impossible to see 
 one another at the distance of six feet. The path too was frequently 
 invisible, and yet along it sixty head of cattle and fifty horses and colts 
 had to be driven. It needed careful watch to keep them together. We lost 
 but one young cow from the entire herd. Every morning, however, it was 
 necessary to send drivers back, as far as ten miles, to whip in such, as 
 would during the night, seek to return." 
 
 June 18th, they arrived at Schoonhaven's plantation, a mile above 
 Samuel Wallis' place, on the West Branch, where two days later, they 
 
 137 
 
were joined by those who came by canoe. On Sunday, Rothe preached to 
 the Indians and Ettwein to sixty English hearers, many coming a distance 
 of sixty miles to hear him. It was deemed best to dispose of some of their 
 effects, before beginning the long overland journey, and Mr. Wallis pur- 
 chased fifteen cattle and a few canoes and others bought fowls, firkins, 
 buckets, tubs, chain and iron ware. A trader came to their camp with 
 kegs of rum, which were seized and detained by Mr. Wallis until they 
 left. Ettwein purchased 2000 pounds of flour with money given by Quaker 
 friends in Philadelphia, and this was distributed among the families to 
 sustain them on their journey. 
 
 At Big Island, they encountered many rattlesnakes and one bit a horse 
 in the nose from the effects of which the poor animal died. The reptiles 
 invaded their camps at night and terrified the inmates. Miraculously, all 
 their cattle escaped, as they brought up the rear and those in advance 
 scared the reptiles away. 
 
 At the mouth of Bald Eagle creek, they sold their canoes, left with 
 friends the windows of the church and thence proceeded by land. They 
 were divided into six divisions, each commanded by an experienced leader ; 
 and their march continued in an orderly and regular manner, but it was 
 retarded by sickness among them and several died. They left the fertile 
 lowlands and ascended the Alleghenies, and at a spring in a beautiful, 
 widely expanded meadow, they had scarcely made their camp, when a 
 frightful storm swept over them. 
 
 "The angry clouds like mountains piled themselves up in the heavens, 
 the lightning like snakes leaped in forked flames over the sky, the thunder 
 rolled like siege artillery, and the rain came down with the sound of many 
 waters, or the roaring of a mighty cataract. It was a war of the elements. 
 The tall oaks bowed before the storm, and when the timber failed to do 
 obeisance, it was snapped like glass in the grasp of the roaring wind." 
 
 On their march, the Indian hunters killed one hundred and fifty deer 
 and three bears, and, as killed, they were divided among the families. They 
 reached the Allegheny river, July 20th and constructed canoes to carry 
 the aged and infirm and heavy baggage down the stream. There, they were 
 joined by John Heckewelder, one of the missionaries at Friedenstadt, who 
 brought a convoy of horses, with the assistance of which, they concluded 
 one of the most remarkable and painful migrations. 13 
 
 The Indians did not long remain at Friedenstadt, but removed to 
 the Muskingum country (in Ohio), where Zeisberger had established a 
 new mission, called Schoenbrunn (the beautiful spring). There, they 
 built another mission settlement, Gnadenhuetten, so called in memory of 
 their old home on the Mahoning, destroyed during the French and Indian 
 War. These missions were substantial Indian towns, and they experienced 
 progress and prosperity. Lord Dunmore's War, in 1774, distressed them 
 but they suffered no serious harm. Captain White Eye, a powerful chief 
 became their constant friend and intercessor with the heathen Indians. In 
 
 138 
 
1775, John Papunhank, the father of Friedenshuetten died. For many 
 years, he was one of the most noted Indians on the frontier, and freely 
 exerted himself to foster peace between the English and Indians. He, ever, 
 remained a faithful convert, and, at the time of his death, was warden of 
 the congregation at Schoenbrunn and had the chief direction of its affairs. 
 
 At the close of 1775, these missions numbered four hundred fourteen 
 Christian Indians ; and the next year another mission was established on 
 the east side of the Muskingum. It was called Lichtenau, but was later 
 abandoned and its people removed to Salem, a new settlement five miles 
 below Gnadenhuetten. 
 
 The Revolution ruined the Moravian missions on the Muskingum. 
 Surrounded, as they were by hostile Indians, who hated them because every 
 convert weaned away a warrior, the situation of the missions was pre- 
 carious. In the beginning, both Americans and English desired the neutral- 
 ity of the Christian Indians and assured them safety, but, as the struggle 
 became intense, each distrusted them and accused them of friendship for 
 the other. Most of the Indians joined the British, but the Delawares, for 
 a time remained neutral, and their neutrality the English ascribed to the 
 influence of the Moravian missionaries. The mission Indians were caught 
 between the crossfire of American, English and heathen Indian hostility. 
 Of the three, the Americans were the most friendly, and Colonel Morgan, 
 the commander at Pittsburg was their special friend and treated them 
 with kindly consideration. 
 
 The British, finally succeeded in wooing the Delawares and late in 
 1781, the situation became critical. The hostile Indians reported at 
 Detroit, that the missionaries were spies for the Americans and the com- 
 mander decided to remove the Moravian Indians and their missionaries. 
 Accordingly, three hundred warriors, led by an English captain, the Half 
 King, a Huron chief and Captain Pipe, an unfriendly Delaware chief, 
 appeared in the vicinity of the missions, in August, and by intimidation, 
 the destruction of their property and promises of protection, compelled 
 the Christian Indians to submit to removal. Schoenbrunn, Salem and Gnad- 
 enhuetten were forsaken. Two hundred of their cattle and four hundred 
 of their hogs had been killed, their farming utensils and household posses- 
 sions had been destroyed and they left behind them a great quantity of 
 Indian corn and more than three hundred acres of ripening corn, besides 
 fields of potatoes, cabbages and vegetables. The missionaries had been 
 mistreated and made prisoners. Their wives were taken from their beds 
 in their night clothes and treated to other indignities. 
 
 The missionaries and their Indians were taken to Sandusky, where 
 their savage enemies and English abettors deserted them. They were left 
 in a wilderness, where there was neither game nor provisions, and their 
 situation, during the winter, became deplorable. In March, the mission- 
 aries were removed to Detroit. 14 To relieve the distress at Sandusky, at 
 the approach of spring, in 1782, many returned to their deserted homes 
 and engaged themselves in harvesting and securing the corn, they had 
 left ripening at their forced evacuation, the preceding autumn. 
 
 139 
 
We now approach the fatal catastrophe, in the tragic history of 
 Friedenshuetten, a deed done by white Americans, which exceeded in 
 brutality, the Indian atrocities at Cherry Valley and Wyoming. Western 
 Pennsylvania was settled, principally, by Scotch-Irish, whose cruelty to 
 the Indians has been previously related. 
 
 Doddridge says that a band of militia, between eighty and ninety in 
 number, was oganized, under the command of Colonel David Williamson, 
 a gawky, irresolute and indiscreet young man, but a cunning politician, 
 subsequently elected to positions of power and trust in Washington county. 
 Dr. Doddridge, who was reared in the locality and knew some of the 
 members of the company, gives, at page 201 of his book, a partial list of 
 those who participated in the expedition ; and pronounces it a premedi- 
 tated murder, at the outset and states they expected no opposition, as they 
 well knew the gentle Moravian Indians, being noncombatants, would offer 
 no resistance. 
 
 Colonel Gibson, commander at Pitssburg learned of their murderous 
 intentions, but unable to prevent their designs, sent a messenger to warn 
 the Christian Indians on the Muskingum, but he arrived too late. Rumors 
 of the approach of the hostile expedition reached them, but trusting all 
 Americans to be their friends, they did not believe the stories, and con- 
 tinued to pursue their labors undismayed. 
 
 The murderous gang secretly approached Gnadenhuetten, and in the 
 woods overtook a son of Isaac Schebosch, the Moravian missionary and his 
 Indian wife and shot and scalped him. They then sourrounded the mission. 
 The night before, an Indian runner arrived at Schoenbrunn, with an order 
 that those in the three settlements should immediately return to Sandusky ; 
 and in the morning, the messenger, on his way to Gnadenhuetten, came 
 across the mutilated body of young Schebosch and approaching cautiously, 
 saw the place was surrounded. He ran back to Schoenbrunn with the 
 news and all there fled to the woods, from which they soon witnessed the 
 burning of the town by a part of Williamson's force. 
 
 In the meantime, the murderers entered Gnadenhuetten, and at first 
 expressed friendly intentions, assuring the simple inhabitants, they, only 
 came to remove them to a place of safety near Pittsburg, and ordering 
 them to immediately gather their belongings and prepare to leave. Trust- 
 ing them, the Indians fully complied, delivering up their guns and hatchets, 
 collecting food, even emptying the beehives of their honey. Having ren- 
 dered them defenseless, the attitude of the band changed and the Indians 
 were all seized and cast into prison. 
 
 A detachment had been sent to Salem, and all the people there were, 
 likewise betrayed, bound with ropes and driven to Gnadenhuetten, where 
 they were joined with the other prisoners. Then Colonel Williamson 
 assembled his men, and ordered them to vote, whether the Indians should 
 be removed to Pittsburg, as promised, or should die. Sixteen of the band, 
 more manly than the others, voted for their removal, and to their eternal 
 credit took no further part in the horrible proceedings. 
 
 The sentence of death was pronounced upon them, but they were 
 
 140 
 
told, that being Christians, they could have the night to prepare to die. 
 Among them were many of those from Friedenshuetten, who had been 
 faithful converts for years, including Samuel Moore, a well educated man, 
 who in his youth had been a member of David Brainerd's congregation in 
 New Jersey and later joined the Moravians, and the venerable Christiana, 
 a woman of refinement who spoke English and German fluently. 
 
 The hapless victims spent the telling night in supplication and prayer, 
 and singing the beautiful hymns, they knew so well. At daybreak, they 
 consigned their souls to God, bid farewell to their friends, fathers, mothers, 
 husbands, wives and children and resigned themselves to death. 
 
 In the early morning of March 8, 1782, they were bound with ropes 
 and led to the places designated for their execution, afterwards gleefully 
 called by the brutal ruffians, the slaughter houses. It is hard to imagine 
 so-called Christian white men so devoid of justice, compassion and mercy, 
 and there is no evidence, they, ever afterwards, regretted their unjusti- 
 fiable and cruel deed, or were condemned and shunned by their Christian 
 neighbors at home. On the other hand they boasted of their act, and some 
 of them were rewarded with public office, attesting the approval of their 
 people at home. 
 
 The men were confined in one house and the women and children in 
 another building. Then the carnage began. The miscreants clubbed some 
 of them to death, and with their hatchets hacked the bodies of others to 
 pieces. One devil clubbed fourteen helpless victims to death and then 
 handing his club to a companion declared, "I would gladly kill them all 
 but my arm has given out and now it is your turn." Old women were 
 murdered in the most cruel manner and little children were seized by the 
 legs and their brains beaten out against the logs of the building. 
 
 Ninety-six were slain, sixty-two grown men and women and thirty- 
 four children. Only two young men escaped, one of whom disengaged 
 himself from the rope which bound him, slipped through the crowd unob- 
 served, crept through a window into the cellar and spent the agonizing day 
 beneath the charnel floor with blood streaming upon him and smearing 
 and coating his body and clothes. At night he got away and concealed 
 himself in the woods. The other youth, Thomas was clubbed and scalped 
 and left for dead. He recovered his senses and at night he wriggled from 
 among the corpses heaped about him, and coated with blood, crept over 
 the slain out of the house and ran to the woods. In the morning, he 
 joined the other boy, and after watching the murderers feasting in merri- 
 ment over their work and the burning of the corpse laden slaughter houses, 
 they fled to Sandusky with the terrible news. 15 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER NINETEEN 
 
 1. David Zeisberger was born in Moravia, April 11, 1721, and came to 
 America in August, 1737. He took part in the settlement of Bethlehem in 1741. 
 He was member of a class of young missionary candidates instructed by Prylaeus, 
 
 141 
 
in the Mohawk language in 1744, and became yery proficient in that tongue. With 
 Christian Frederick Post, he went to the Mohawk Valley, to perfect his knowledge 
 of the language, and was imprisoned, by the New York authorities, for several 
 weeks, as a vagrant Moravian preacher. He was ordained in 1749, and during a 
 stay at Onondaga, was adopted, as a member of that nation. He took an active 
 part in the establishment of the Gnadenhuetten mission, and barely escaped the 
 massacre there. While stationed at Shamokin, he began the preparation of an 
 Iroquois dictionary. He was at Herrnhut, in 1750-51, and upon his return spent 
 some time at Onondaga. In 1763, he first visited Wyalusing. He was with the Indians, 
 during their stay in Philadelphia, and march to and from Amboy. He had charge 
 of the establishment of Friedenshuetten, and remained there until September, 1767. 
 He founded the Friedenstadt mission and the missions on the Muskingum, and 
 remained there until their removal by the British. After the Gnadenhuetten massacre 
 on the Muskingum, he led the remnant of the congregation, during all their trials. 
 He died at the Goshen mission in Ohio, November 17, 1808, in the 88th year of his 
 life. Zeisberger is considered the greatest of the Moravian missionaries. 
 
 2. John Woolman was born in Northampton, Burlington county, New Jersey, 
 in August, 1720, of Quaker parents, and became a minister of that faith, when he 
 was twenty two years old. He, mainly, supported himself by his trade as a tailor. 
 He travelled and preached throughout the colonies, and wrote against slavery. His 
 only experience, as an Indian missionary, was during his trip to Wyalusing, in 1763 
 During a visit to England, he died at York, October 7, 1772, and was buried in that 
 city. 
 
 3. Life and Travels of John Woolman, 160 to 185. 
 
 4. Memorials of Moravian Church, note page 38. 
 
 5. Loskiel, History of Moravian Missions, 2, 212. 
 
 6. Ibid, 193, 214, 215. 
 
 7. Ibid, 183, 187, 193, 214, 215, 217. 
 
 8. Ibid, 216 to 234; Col. Recs. 9, 96, 100, 101, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 
 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 170, 171; Pa. 
 Archs. 4, 138, 157, 158. 160, 161, 167, 168, 170. 
 
 9. Many years ago, the writer examined the site of Friedenshuetten, in com- 
 pany with the elderly farmer, who then owned the land and pointed out the situation 
 of the town and the location of the main street and principal buildings. This 
 information, he obtained at the time of the dedication of the monument, by the 
 Moravians, who located the same from the original records at Bethlehem, and 
 excavations which they made on the ground. 
 
 10. Loskiel, History of Moravian Missions, 3, 5 to 10. 
 
 11. Ibid, Chapters 1, 2, 3; Part 5, Transactions of Moravian Historical Society; 
 Heckewelder, Indian Nations, 82, 83. 
 
 12. Rothe and Ettwein Diaries. 
 
 13. Ibid. 
 
 14. Loskiel, History Moravian Missions, 3, Chapters, 8, 9, and 10. 
 
 15. The account of the massacre is based on the report of David Zeisberger; 
 Loskiel History of Moravian Missions, 3, Chapter 10; Notes on Settlement and 
 Indian Wars by Joseph Doddridge, Chapter 31 page 188; and David Zeisberger 
 and His Brown Brethren by Rev. William H. Rice one time pastor of the Moravian 
 Church at Gnadenhuetten, Ohio. These are all largely based on the contemporary 
 report of Zeisberger, and the accounts given by the murderers themselves on their 
 return to Pitssburgh. Doddridge obtained his information from some of the band. 
 
 142 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 THE FORT STANWIX TREATY 
 
 The policy of the British government was the prevention of any 
 intrusion on Indian lands, as announced by the proclamation of 1763, 
 establishing the "King's Line"; but this restraint was obnoxious to the 
 land speculators, who constantly pressed for the fixing of a new and 
 enlarged boundary. Finally, yielding to the incessant pressure, the British 
 ministry, through Lord Shelburne, wrote Sir William Johnson, January 
 5, 1768: "His Majesty commands that the boundary between the several 
 Provinces be completed without loss of time." 1 In pursuance of this com- 
 mand, Johnson summoned the Six Nations and their subject tribes to a 
 conference at Fort Stanwix (now Rome, N. Y.) on September 20, 1768, 
 but it was late in October before the Indians assembled there. 
 
 The task, confronting Johnson, was the most difficult, he ever expe- 
 rienced in any of his Indian transactions, but he never displayed his 
 ability, as a negotiator, to so great advantage, as in this, the crowning 
 achievement of his career. He had, not only, to reconcile the differences 
 between the Indians of many tribes ; but, also, to appease the selfish interests 
 of Indian traders, missionaries, and land speculators. The general satis- 
 faction the treaty produced attests his success. 
 
 More than twenty-two hundred Indians were gathered at Fort Stan- 
 wix, October 24th, when the conference began under the supervision of 
 Johnson. It was attended by Governor Franklin and Chief Justice Smith of 
 New Jersey, Thomas Walker commissioner of Virginia, Richard Peters 
 and James Tilghman commissioners of Pennsylvania and George Croghan, 
 Daniel Claus and Guy Johnson deputy Indian agents. Guy Johnson was 
 secretary and John Butler, Andrew Montour and Philip Philips were 
 interpreters. 
 
 Around the fort, each night, there was a radiant pageant of Indian 
 life. Paint bedaubed warriors, in crimson colored blankets, swaggered about 
 and half clad squaws hovered over the campfires. Hanging from a crude 
 barbecue, a row of fatted oxen slowly roasted over charcoal fires ; great 
 copper kettles boiled with potatoes and rice ; and the ovens of the fort 
 supplied stacks of freshly baked bread. Each family was allotted huge 
 slices of the roasted beef, a pot of potatoes and rice, a loaf of bread, and 
 to each warrior and his squaw a gill or so of rum. After the evening 
 
 143 
 
feast and 'till long in the night, men and women huddled about the camp- 
 fires and danced to the sharp clatter of the rattle and drum, loudly chant- 
 ing the wild strains of their native songs. 
 
 A tentative line had previously been agreed upon, beginning at the 
 mouth of the Kanawha and ending at Owego, and its readjustment was 
 the great difficulty, the Six Nations insisting it should be extended as far 
 south as the Tennessee river, over which territory, they claimed dominion. 
 They also desired the line should be extended beyond Owego. Although 
 the British ministry inclined to adhere to the original termini, Johnson 
 considered it expedient to yield to the Indians. 
 
 The treaty continued until November 5th, when the deed of cession 
 was executed. For the consideration of fourteen hundred sixty pounds, 
 seven shillings and three pence, it conveyed to King George III, the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 "All the tract of land situate in North America, at the Back of the 
 Briitsh Settlements, bounded by a line which we have now agreed upon 
 and do hereby establish as the Boundary between us and the British 
 Colonies in America, beginning at the mouth of the Cherokee or Hogchege 
 River, (Tennessee) where it empty s into the River Ohio and running 
 thence upwards along the South side of said River to Kittanning, which 
 is above Fort Pitt, thence by a direct line to the nearest Fork of the 
 West Branch of Susquehanna, thence through the Alleghany Mountains 
 along the south side of said West Branch until it comes opposite to the 
 mouth of a creek called Tiadaghton, thence across the West Branch and 
 along the south side of that Creek and along the North side of Burnett's 
 Hills to a creek called Awandae (Towanda), thence down the same to the 
 East Branch of Susquehanna and across the same and up the East side of 
 that river to Owegy (Owego) from thence to Delaware River (along 
 about the New York line to a point below the present Hancock N.Y.) and 
 up that river to opposite where Tianaderha (Unadilla River) falls into 
 Susquehanna (near present Deposit N.Y.), thence to Tianaderha and up 
 the West side of its West Branch to the head waters thereof and thence 
 by a direct line to Canada Creek where it empties into Wood Creek at 
 the West side of the Carrying Place beyond Fort Stanwix and extending 
 Eastward from every part of said line as far as the lands formerly pur- 
 chased so as to comprehend the whole of the Lands between the said Line 
 and the purchased lands or settlements, except what is within the Province 
 of Pennsylvania." 
 
 This deed contained another exception: "That the lands occupied by 
 the Mohawks around their villagers as well as by any other Nation affected 
 by this our cession may effectually remain to them and their Posterity." 
 It was signed by Tyorhansire for the Mohawks, Canaghquieson for the 
 Oneidas, Sequarusera for the Tuscaroras, Otsinoghiyata for the Onon- 
 dagas, Tegaaia for the Cayugas and Gustrax for the Senecas. 2 The same 
 day, the Six Nations conveyed, to Thomas and Richard Penn, for $10,000, 
 all the lands within their Province not previously purchased from the 
 
 144 
 
Indians and extending to the Fort Stanwix boundary line. It comprised 
 most of the land in the Susquehanna and Delaware Purchases, and it 
 appears was secured with considerable difficulty, as the Indian chiefs 
 were reluctant to sell again what they had already disposed of to the 
 Susquehanna Company, but were persuaded to do so by the assurance of 
 Johnson that the Connecticut Charter was obsolete and the companies had 
 no right to purchase Indian lands in Pennsylvania. 3 
 
 The Fort Stanwix Treaty was the most important one made with 
 the Indians and opened for settlement the northwestern part of Virginia, 
 what became Tennessee and Kentucky and a large portion of Pennsyl- 
 vania. New York obtained no great accession of territory. 
 
 Sir William Johnson, in 1764, built a new home, Johnson Hall, some 
 miles west of his old place, and fostered the growth of the adjacent village 
 of Johnstown, which he planned and planted. As in his life, Johnson was 
 fortunate in the time of his death, as he escaped the perplexities of the 
 Revolution. He would, probably, have espoused the royal side, and thus 
 embittered most of his American associates and marred the successful 
 reputation he enjoyed. His ephemeral baronetcy, in the wilderness, created 
 by good fortune, political adroitness and Indian diplomacy, dissolved like 
 a morning dew in the rising sun of the Revolution. He died July 11, 1774 
 and was buried in a vault in St. John's Episcopal Church, which he had 
 erected in Johnstown. 
 
 In 1772, Albany county was divided and Charlotte and Try on coun- 
 ties were carved out of it. The former embraced the Lake Champlain 
 region and the courts were held near Fort Edward. Tryon county com- 
 prised that part of the colony west of Schoharie and Schenectady, and 
 Johnstown was made the county seat; and Johnson and Major Fonda built 
 the stone jail there in 1773, and probably by a similar arrangement erected 
 the small brick court house still in use. 
 
 In Pennsylvania, the following counties were created: Northumber- 
 land with Sunbury as the county seat in 1772; Bedford with Fort Bed- 
 ford as the county seat in 1771 ; and Westmoreland with Hannastown as 
 the county seat in 1773. After the Fort Stanwix Treaty, the south western 
 part of Pennsylvania, being opened for settlement, the population increased 
 quite rapidly. Many came in from Virginia which claimed it ; and in the 
 early part of 1774, these Virginians, under the leadership of Dr. John 
 Connolly, forcibly asserted Virginia's claim and took possession of Fort 
 Pitt, changing the name to Fort Dunmore in honor of the governor of 
 Virginia. The arrest of Connolly by Arthur St. Clair, chief magistrate of 
 Westmoreland county and the outbreak of Lord Dunmore's War in 1774, 
 brought the malignants to sense and order. This war which grew out of 
 the murder of Logan's family by Cresap, little affected the Pennsylvania 
 frontier and General Lewis' victory over the Indians at Point Pleasant 
 ended it. 
 
 In August, 1779, George Bryan, John Ewing and David Rittenhouse, 
 commissioners of Pennsylvania, and James Madison and Robert Andrews, 
 
 145 
 
commissioners of Virginia, concluded an agrement fixing the lines, 
 between Pennsylvania and Virginia, as follows: 
 
 "That the line, commonly called Mason and Dixon's line, be extended 
 due west, five degrees of longitude, to be computed from the river Dela- 
 ware, for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and that a meridan, 
 drawn from the western extremity thereof, to the northern limits of the 
 said states, respectively, be the western boundary of Pennsylvania." 
 
 This boundary agreement was confirmed, by Pennsylvania, September 
 23, 1780 and by Virginia with conditions, June 23, 1783. The Pennsylvania 
 legislature, April 1, 1784, passed an act, finally ratifying and confirming 
 the said agrement and containing the following conditions imposed by 
 Virginia : 
 
 ' 'That the private property and rights of all persons, acquired under, 
 founded on, or recognized by, the laws of either country previous to the 
 date hereof, be saved and confirmed to them, although they should be 
 found to fall within the other, and that in the decision of disputes thereon, 
 preference shall be given to the elder or prior right, which ever of the said 
 states the same shall have been acquired under, such persons paying, 
 within whose boundary their lands shall be included, the same purchase or 
 consideration money, which would have been due from them to the state, 
 under which they claimed the right ; and where any such purchase or con- 
 sideration money hath, since the declaration of American independence, 
 been received by either state for lands, which, according to the before 
 recited agreement shall fall within the territory of the other, the same shall 
 be reciprocally refunded and repaid ; and that the inhabitants of the dis- 
 puted territory now ceded to the state of Pennsylvania, shall not before the 
 first day of December, in the present year, be subject to the payment of 
 any tax, nor at any time to the payment of any arrears of taxes or imposi- 
 tions heretofore laid by either state." 4 
 
 The passage of this act ended all pretensions of Virginia to any part 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY 
 
 1. N. Y. Col. Docs. 8, 2. 
 
 2. Ibid, 111 to 137. 
 
 3. Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre, 1, 451, 452; Johnson Papers 6, 556 
 contains an incomplete description of the Penn purchase. 
 
 4. Smith's Laws 2, page 261. 
 
 146 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 
 
 THE FAIR PLAY REPUBLIC 
 
 By the Fort Stanwix Treaty, the boundary, of the lands ceded, was 
 fixed as the south side of the West Branch until opposite Tiadaghton creek 
 and thence across the river and along the south side of the creek to 
 Burnett's Hills. There was a difference of opinion, whether the Tiadaghton 
 was Lycoming creek or Pine creek. The proprietaries cautiously regarded 
 it, as meaning the Lycoming, and permitted no locations and settlements 
 on the north side of the river above it. The distance, along the river between 
 the two creeks, more than fifteen miles, includes some of the best land 
 in the state. After the treaty, locations were made and lawful settlements 
 planted on the south side of the river, as far as the present Lock Haven, 
 and for some distance above it, but the opposite shore was forbidden 
 territory. 
 
 Notwithstanding, a sturdy class of Scotch-Irish people, attracted by 
 the fertility of the soil, planted themselves on the northern side of the 
 river, without vestige of title, except what they may have obtained from 
 the few remaining Indians. By 1773, they had become so numerous, that 
 they aroused the government, and by the advice of the council, the gov- 
 ernor, John Penn issued a proclamation, September 20, 1773, forbidding 
 any surveys or settlements upon what was, then, considered unpurchased 
 Indian lands, and threatening the intruders wtih the severe penalties of 
 the law. (Col. Recs. X, 194, 195) Apparently, no one was ever arrested, 
 and the proclamation was probably a gesture, to appease any Indian un- 
 easiness. Thereafter, the government ignored the squatters and exercised 
 no jurisdiction over them. 
 
 Left in a civic state of nature, the intruders instituted an equitable 
 and efficient squatter government based on a written compact signed by 
 the members of the community. Unfortunately, the records of their unique 
 organization have been lost, and aside from tradition, the only authentic 
 account of it is in the law reports of Pennsylvania. It appears, their gov- 
 ernment was republican and representative in form and based on demo- 
 cratic authority. It may be termed a republic, because the settlers in a 
 democratic assembly elected three men to whom were delegated the exec- 
 utive and some, if not all, the judicial functions of government. These three 
 executives and judges, called fair play men, were elected annually and, 
 
 147 
 
evidently, could not succeed themselves. They decided disputes and deter- 
 mined all land controversies. Their decrees were final and conclusive, as 
 there was no appeal. By their compact, it was provided no new settlers 
 could be admitted to their territory, except by approval of the fair play 
 men and by submission to the terms of the compact, which they were 
 required to sign. Upon conviction of violation of this obligation, they were 
 exiled into the province of Pennsylvania. Approved settlers were allotted, 
 by the fair play men, a determined acreage of vacant land. 
 
 Thre must have been, among them, men of unusual intelligence, inas- 
 much as they avoided the pitfalls of the ancient republics, by electing 
 three executives instead of two, thus avoiding any stalemate of govern- 
 ment ; and also by selecting new members, thereby preventing the admission 
 of undesirable people, which so plagued the ancient Roman republic. In 
 the Fair Play Republic, there were no taxes, no lawyers and politicians 
 and none of the other encumbrances, which afflict more highly organized 
 governments. There is evidence based on quite certain tradition, that in 
 some criminal cases, the democratic assembly may have determined the 
 guilt of the accused and the degree and mode of punishment. Corporal 
 punishment was inflicted, but as there were no serious crimes committed, 
 it was not of a capital nature. 
 
 By a strange coincidence, on July 4th, 1776, there was a great and 
 enthusiasitc meeting of the settlers, in an open field, perhaps near Chatham 
 Run, which it is said was the usual meeting place of the democratic 
 asembly. They were all ardent Whigs, and they then and there dissolved 
 their allegiance to Great Britain, in what is called the "Pine Creek 
 Declaration of Independence." 
 
 At a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, in 1783, the Indians explained and 
 declared, the Tiadaghton, mentioned in the Fort Stanwix line, was Pine 
 creek and not the Lycoming. Consequently, the Fair Play people were 
 never trespassers, insofar as the Indians were concerned. 
 
 In "Smith's Laws," published by authority of the Pennsylvania legis- 
 lature, volume two, there is a history of the land office and a quotation 
 of the acts relating to the sale of lands in the province and state, and all 
 the decisions of the courts pertinent thereto. At page 195 in the laws of 
 1784, this statement is made: 
 
 "There existed a great number of locations of the third of April, 
 1769, for the choicest lands on the West Branch of Susquehanna, between 
 the mouths of Lycoming and Pine creeks ; but the proprietaries, from 
 extreme caution, the result of that experience, which had also produced 
 the very penal laws of 1768 and 1769, and the proclamation already stated, 
 had prohibited any surveys being made beyond the Lycoming. In the 
 meantime, in violation of all laws, a set of hardy adventurers, had from 
 time to time, seated themeslves on this doubtful territory. They made 
 improvements, and formed a very considerable population. It is true, so 
 far as regarded the rights to real property, they were not under the pro- 
 tection of the laws of the country; and were we to adopt the visionary 
 
 148 
 
theories of some philosophers, who have drawn their arguments from a 
 supposed state of nature, we might be led to believe that the state of 
 these people would have been a state of continual warfare ; and that in 
 contests for property the weakest must give way to the strongest. To 
 prevent the consequences, real or supposed, of this state of things, they 
 formed a mutual compact among themselves. They annually elected a 
 tribunal, in rotation, of three of their settlers, whom they called fair play 
 men, who were to decide all controversies, and settle disputed boundaries. 
 From their decision there was no appeal. There could be no resistance. 
 The decree was enforced by the whole body, who started up in mass, at 
 the mandate of the court, and execution and eviction were as sudden, and 
 irresistible as the judgment. Every newcomer was obliged to apply to 
 this powerful tribunal, and upon his solemn engagement to submit in all 
 respects, to the law of the land, he was permitted to take possession of 
 some vacant spot. Their decrees were, however, just; and when their 
 settlements were recognized by law, and fair play had ceased, their decisions 
 were received in evidence, and confirmed by judgments of courts." 
 
 On December 21, 1784, a land office act was passed, therein recog- 
 nizing the rights of the Fair Play settlers and sustaining their preemptions. 
 It contained this provision : 
 
 ''That all and every person, or persons, and their legal representatives, 
 who has, or who have heretofore settled, on the north side of the West 
 Branch of Susquehanna, between Lycomick or Lycoming Creek on the 
 east, and Tyagaghton or Pine Creek on the west, as well as other lands 
 within the said residuary purchase from the Indians, of the territory 
 within this state (excepting always the lands herein before excepted), shall 
 be allowed a right of preemption to their respective possessions at the 
 price aforesaid." 
 
 Several cases, about Fair Play lands, came before the Supreme 
 Court of Pennsylvania, after 1784 (cited at pages 196 and 197) ; and in 
 the case of Hughes vs Dougherty, Justice Shippen said : "I will not say 
 the Fair play men could make a law to bind the settlers, but they might, 
 by agreement, bind themselves." 
 
 The Fair Play people, evidently, lived in friendly relations with 
 their Indian neighbors, and were as just with them, as with their own 
 members, as the following incident attests. A settler, Francis Clark was 
 found in possession of a dog belonging to an Indian neighbor, who com- 
 plained to the Fair Play Men, that Clark had stolen it. They, immediately, 
 had Clark arrested, charged with the theft. He was tried, at once, con- 
 victed and sentenced to be whipped with a certain number of lashes. Their 
 method, of choosing the executioner, was unique. A number, equal to the 
 number of men present, of yellow grains of corn and one of red, was 
 placed in a bag. Each man was compelled to draw therefrom one grain, 
 the fellow drawing the red grain to be the executioner. It was drawn by 
 Philip Antes, who immediately prepared to begin the flogging. The 
 Indian, who was a just and tender hearted man, rather than see Clark 
 
 149 
 
submit to the degradation and pain of a public whipping, interposed and 
 suggested, that if Clark would leave and abandon his settlement, he was 
 satisfied the culprit should not be flogged. Clark accepted the proposition, 
 and was placed in a canoe and rowed down to Lycoming creek, where he 
 was put ashore, an exile in a Siberia of government by weak governors, 
 corrupt assemblies, prejudiced courts, petty politicians and "tired lawyers 
 with endless tongues." 
 
 Once, when Chief Justice McKean was holding court, in the district, 
 which included the territory of the former Fair Play Republic, he inquired, 
 from curiosity, although incident to the case before him, of Peter Rody, 
 a witness and who had been a Fair Play man, what the provisions of the 
 Fair Play court were. The shrewd and witty old Irishman could not 
 quite recall the details. He scratched his head, as he thought for a few 
 moments, and cunningly replied : "All I can say is, that since Your Honor's 
 courts have come among us, fair play has entirely ceased, and the law 
 has taken its place." 
 
 It is to be presumed, the judge joined in the laughter that followed, 
 and that the old Irishman was right. 
 
 Miles southward of the Fair Play Republic and within the govern- 
 ment of Pennsylvania, with its courts, judges and lawyers, on January 10, 
 1768, occurred one of the most atrocious crimes committed on the frontier. 
 Frederick Stump lived in the present Snyder county, not far from the 
 mouth of Middle creek. On that day, according to Stump's story, six 
 Indians came to his house. They were drunk and disorderly, and he 
 endeavored to get them to leave, but they refused. Fearing they would 
 injure him, he killed them all, dragged their bodies to the creek, cut a hole 
 in the ice, and pushed the corpses in the water under the ice. Then, afraid 
 the news of his deed might arouse other Indians, he went, the next day, 
 fourteen miles up the creek to the vicinity of the present Middleburg, 
 where there were two Indian huts. One was occupied by an Indian 
 woman, two young girls and a child. These he murdered, set fire to the 
 cabin, in which were the bodies of his victims, and saw it burned to ashes. 
 
 This story, Stump related nine days later to William Blythe, who 
 went to investigate, and it seems most improbable, especially the motive. 
 An examination, of the burned cabin, disclosed the bones of four bodies 
 in the ruins. Blythe had Stump and his companion, a man named Iron 
 Cutter arrested and taken to Carlisle jail. On the fourteenth, a mob of 
 frontiersmen released Stump from the jail and concealed him, for a time, 
 in the vicinity of Fort Augusta, from whence he fled the province. It was 
 reported he went to Virginia, where he died many years later. 
 
 The crime caused a great uproar among the Indians, but Pennsyl- 
 vania made no attempt to reclaim the fugitive, and the authorities were 
 content to ignore the affair, very unlike the Fair Play men, who severely 
 punished those who abused the Indians. 
 
 150 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 CUSHIETUNK 
 
 From where the eastern and western branches intermingle their waters 
 in the main stream at Hancock, New York, the Delaware river, mostly, 
 pursues its winding way, for many miles in a deep and narrow gorge, to 
 Port Jervis and the open valley below. Encompassed by lofty and densely 
 wooded mountains, which with sharp declivity descend to its very verge, 
 the clear thread of water, untarnished by pollution, ripples along unvexed, 
 save where the rapidly falling water breaks on the rocky rifts into foam and 
 spray. Unscarred cliffs and unbroken wilderness prevail, and natures 
 enchanted view is unsurpassed in scenic splendor. Except, where the 
 rumbling railroad train and whirring automobile race on roads, clinging to 
 the precipitous mountain sides, the solitude is unbroken by the progress of 
 man. Isolated homesteads appear, now and then, where the scant low- 
 lands poke their way into the curving current ; and a few white painted 
 railroad vilages, on the steep bluffs, glisten in the summer sunshine. Still 
 undefiled, the pathless forest and winding river allure a throng of trans- 
 ients and passers-by, and, since long ago, mountain and stream have 
 abundantly yielded game and fish. Unchanged, this romantic region has 
 charmed and enticed the wild red men and white denizens who followed 
 them. i 
 
 Two hundred years ago, on the scant meadow-lands along the river, 
 were pitched the numerous villages of the Ninneepauues, belonging to 
 the Monsey tribe of Delaware Indians. At one of their towns, May 6, 
 1755, twelve of their chiefs or sachems gathered in Indian council with 
 John Curtis, Asa Peabody, and Joseph Skinner, agents of an association 
 formed at Norwich, Connecticut, and known as the First Delaware Com- 
 pany. We have a complete record of the day's transactions and may con- 
 ceive the conclave assembled in an open field, with warriors, curious 
 squaws and naked children crowding around. Present were, Thomas Not- 
 tingham, the interpreter, Benjamin Oldrick, Gabriel Cullam, Thomas 
 Quick, Cornelius Westbrook and other descendants of the ancient Dutch 
 settlers, who had associated all their lives in familiar friendship with the 
 river Indians and were, probably, employed by the Connecticut agents in 
 negotiating the purchase. 
 
 A parchment deed was produced, and Thomas Nottingham read and 
 
 151 
 
interpreted its meaning to the chiefs who signed it by their marks. The 
 consideration, five hundred Spanish milled dollars and a quantity of 
 Indian goods, was delivered to them This conveyance, being made on the 
 ground, possession was accomplished, according to the ancient and formal 
 English procedure, by livery of seizen. The Indian chiefs tore from the 
 ground a clod of earth or turf, plucked from the tree under which they 
 were standing a twig and handed to the New England agents, as a token 
 of their delivery of possession. The agents in behalf of themselves and 
 their associates, then broke the ground and sowed a few seeds of grain, 
 as evidence they had taken actual possession. This purchase has been 
 minimized, but it was attended with more solemnity and formality, than 
 most sales of Indian land ; and, moreover was made by those who, actually 
 occupied it, and never, thereafter, repudiated the sale, but defended the 
 people, who settled thereunder, and lived in continued friendship with 
 them. There is no evidence the Iroquois, who claimed the paramount title, 
 ever interferred. 1 
 
 The grantors were the twelve Indian chiefs and the grantees were 
 three hundred sixty two individuals, who took as tenants in common, but 
 in different proportions. One hundred thirty-six, each took two five hun- 
 dredth parts, and the remainder each took one five hundredth part. The 
 deed was witnessed by Thomas Nottingham, Benjamin Oldrick and Gabriel 
 Cullman. It conveyed, by the first description, a large tract of land on the 
 west side of the Delaware river, beginning at the mouth of the Lacka- 
 waxen; thence north by the Delaware to the Pankatooma river (the west 
 branch of the Delaware), thence west by the southern boundary of lands 
 owned by the Mohawk Indians to the easterly line of the Mohawks, which 
 was the limit of the Susquehanna purchase, ten miles east of the Susque- 
 hanna river. The southern boundary ran along the Lackawaxen river and 
 its tributaries to the Moosic mountains, supposed to be the eastern line of 
 the Susquehanna purchase. In other words, this deed was intended to con- 
 vey all the land between the Delaware river and the Susquehanna pur- 
 chase and between the southern-most line of the Lackawaxen river and 
 the New York line. 
 
 This deed also confirmed a former conveyance made, December 20, 
 1754, by five of the same chiefs and witnessed by Thomas Nottingham, 
 Cornelius Westbrook and Thomas Quick, and the second description com- 
 prehended the land then conveyed, which was on the east side of the 
 river in the colony of New York. It began at the southern boundary of the 
 Great Hardenburg Patent 2 and ran thence south by the Delaware river 
 to the Jersey line (near the present Port Jervis) ; thence easterly by said 
 line to land previously sold ; thence northerly to a point a little west of the 
 old mine road to the Minnisinks, the reputed corner of the Hardenburg 
 patent ; and thence by it westerly to the beginning. It included most, if not 
 all, of Sullivan county, a part of Orange county and a part of Ulster 
 county, and was all in New York. 3 
 
 Three of the aforesaid chiefs and probably a fourth, the spelling 
 being different conveyed, October 29, 1755, by deed witnessed by Thomas 
 
 152 
 
Nottingham and Eleazer Midate, to two hundred forty-one grantees, resi- 
 dents of Connecticut and New York, including many of those named in 
 the two former deeds, and associated together, as the Second Delaware 
 Company, all the land south of the Lackawaxen river and not before sold. 
 In this deed, it was evidently intended to include all the territory to the 
 41st degree of latitude, the southern limit of the Connecticut charter. 
 
 By these deeds, the Indians purported to convey, besides the land in 
 New York, all the territory comprised in Wayne and Pike counties, parts 
 of Monroe, Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, and all of Warren, 
 and parts of Windham, Orwell and Pike townships in Bradford county. 
 
 Occupation, under these grants, was made on both the New York 
 and Pennsylvania sides of the Delaware river, the first settlement being 
 made by Joseph Skinner, who came to the present Damascus township, 
 Wayne county, about September 4, 1755. A little later, Simeon Calkin, 
 Moses Thomas Sr., Bezalell Tyler, Robert Land, Nathan Mitchell, John 
 Ross, John Smith, Irvin Evans, James Adams, Jesse Drake, and Nicholas 
 Conklin located nearby. Whether all of these settled in Pennsylvania or 
 some on the opposite side of the river is unknown. These settlements were 
 all made near a place, designated by the Indians at Cushietunk. In 1755, 
 Timothy Skinner and Moses Thomas Sr. built a sawmill and grist mill 
 on Calkins creek, near the present village of Milanville, where the first 
 settlement was made. 
 
 In 1759, Joseph Skinner Sr. was shot and killed at Taylor's Eddy, 
 about a mile above the present Cochecton, supposedly by some lurking 
 savage, of the northern tribes, who opposed the encroachments of the New 
 England people. The Cushietunk Indians, who were well disposed, were 
 not blamed for this murder. 4 
 
 The governments of New York and Pennsylvania took no notice of 
 the settlements at Cushietunk until September, 1760, when the governor 
 of the latter sent Aaron Depui, Louis Klotz and John Moore to investi- 
 gate and warn off the settlers. They reported, that the New England peo- 
 ple had erected three townships, each ten miles in length along the Dela- 
 ware and eight miles broad. In the middle township, a large town had 
 been laid out, consisting of some eighty lots of two hundred acres each, 
 having a frontage on the river of ten acres. The settlement, then, consisted 
 of a sawmill, grist mill, three log houses and thirty other cabins, occupied 
 by about forty men, besides women and children. They also learned from 
 Thomas Nottingham, the interpreter, whom it seems had quarelled with the 
 New England people, the names of some of the settlers. 5 
 
 In February, 1761, Governor Hamilton protested, in a letter to Gov- 
 ernor Fitch of Connecticut, that the settlement at Cushietunk was an 
 intrusion on Pennslyvania lands. 6 The proprietaries of Pennslyvania were 
 greatly perturbed and Thomas Penn attempted to have the English authori- 
 ties interfere ; but the only assurance he received was that although Con- 
 necticut had given good service in the late war, an Indian war would not 
 be entered into for the benefit of that colony and the matter should be 
 referred to Sir William Johnson. 7 
 
 153 
 
The situation was, that unless an Indian war was threatened, because 
 of the Connecticut settlement, there would be no interference by the 
 crown officials, either in England or America. Teedyuscung was used to 
 make this threat imminent. Penn, in his letter to the governor, says: "I 
 wait with impatience to receive Teedyuscung's complaint, which I hope 
 will be to the King." In the previous September, Teedyuscung had stated, 
 in a conference at Philadelphia: "Yesterday, I was told that some of the 
 New England people are gone on the west side of Susquehanna, (prob- 
 ably intended for Delaware) with intent to settle the lands at Wyoming. It 
 is the Indian land and they will not suffer it to be settled." 8 As he was 
 told but "yesterday," he must have been informed in Philadelphia, and, 
 as will be observed, his apprehension was about the land at Wyoming and 
 not Cushietunk. One is led to the suspicion, the words were put into his 
 mouth, so as to make it appear the Indians were very indignant and about 
 to begin a war and thus impress the British officials. As evidence, of the 
 above suspicion, is the report, of Captain James Hyndshaw, sworn to before 
 Governor Hamilton, (Susquehanna Papers, volume 1, pages 81 to 84) 
 to the effect that he was informed the Indians, living on the Delaware, had 
 sent word to Teedyuscung, that if he intended to give any opposition to 
 the Connecticut settlement at Cushietunk, they would join the Connecticut 
 people, and were resolved to settle them by force, in spite of Teedyuscung 
 and his Indians. 
 
 Unwilling or unable to do anything themselves, the Pennsylvania 
 authorities appealed to General Amherst, complaining of the Cushietunk 
 settlement, stressing Teedyuscung's complaint, suggesting the grave possi- 
 bility of an Indian war and imploring him to interfere. But the farsighted 
 Amherst was not misled. He wrote a friendly letter to Governor Fitch, 
 intimating that an Indian war, at the time, might be of fatal consequences. 
 To Hamilton, he replied, rather severely, reminding him of the little 
 success the king had in securing the number of troops required by the 
 Province of Pennslyvania, and stating: "His Majesty's Ministers must 
 undoubtedly be astonished to see two Provinces, at this juncture, disputing 
 their rights and at the same time alarmed at the consequences that may 
 happen, if the Indians should be irritated at it. I shall not interfere in any 
 dispute about the right of land between Province and Province." 9 
 
 Rebuffed by Amherst, and Thomas Penn being unable to make 
 Teedyuscung's protest go with the crown officials, Governor Hamilton 
 September 16, 1761, issued another proclamation warning the Cushietunk 
 settlers. In the meantime, Chief Justice Allen issued a warrant, in June, 
 for the arrest of Daniel Skinner, Timothy Skinner, Simeon Calkin, John 
 Smith, Jedidah Wallis Jr., James Adams, Ervin Evans and others, for an 
 intrusion on Indian Lands about Cushietunk, but they were not appre- 
 hended. 10 
 
 Learning of the destruction of the settlement at Wyoming, in October, 
 1763, the women and children at Cushietunk were placed in the fort, and 
 preparations were made to sustain a siege. The hostile Indians invaded the 
 place, and in a surprise attack killed Moses Thomas Sr. and wounded 
 
 154 
 
Hezikiah Willis. A valiant defense of the fort was made and several of 
 the Indians were killed. The defeated savages, then, withdrew, but killed 
 some cattle and burned the gristmill, sawmill and some dwelling houses. 11 
 There was no further molestation of Cushietunk, during the Pontiac 
 War, and it remained undisturbed until the Revolution. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 
 
 1. Susquehanna Company Papers 1, 260 to 272. 
 
 2. Map prepared by C. J. Gauthier, Doc. Hist, of N. Y. 1, 174. 
 
 3. Susquehanna Company Papers, 1, 196. 
 
 4. History of Wayne County, Pa. by P. G. Goodrich, who based his account 
 of Cushietunk on a manuscript history of the Skinner family written by Nathaniel 
 Skinner, who had in his possessison documents belonging to his grandfather, from 
 which he obtained the facts and dates of the first settlement. Mr. Goodrich had 
 access to this manuscsript history, from which he secured the information con- 
 tained in his book. 
 
 5. Susquehanna Company Papers, 2, 24 to 34. 
 
 6. Ibid 54. 
 
 7. Ibid 38. 
 
 8. Ibid 24. 
 
 9. Ibid 88 to 96. 
 
 10. Goodrich, History of Wayne County, 122. 
 
 11. Ibid 122. 
 
 155 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 
 
 THE SEVENTEEN TOWNSHIPS 
 
 The inception of the Susquehanna Company, its purchase of the 
 Wyoming lands, the settlement at Mill creek, and its destruction by the 
 Indians have been related in previous chapters. After the Indian massacre, 
 in 1763, for a period of several years, no attempt, by either Pennsylvania 
 or the New Englanders, was made to occupy the Wyoming Valley ; but 
 the interval was consumed in a paper warfare by pamphlets and the 
 public journals. 
 
 In 1761, Thomas Penn submitted a case stated of the respective 
 claims to Charles Pratt, then attorney general and afterwards lord chan- 
 cellor; and his opinion was that the agreement, in 1664, between Con- 
 necticut and New York, settling their boundary line, ' 'precluded Connecti- 
 cut from advancing one foot beyond these limits." He did, however, 
 remark, that in the absence of other circumstances limiting the boundaries, 
 "posterior grants would in point of law be superseded by prior charters." 1 
 Charles Yorke, the solicitor general also gave Mr. Penn a similar opinion. 2 
 
 In 1763, Eliphalet Dyer, agent of the Susquehanna Company presented 
 to the King in Council a petition for a charter incorporating the lands of 
 the Susquehanna and Delaware purchases, as a new colony. This was 
 referred to a committee. 3 As objection might be made to the incorporation 
 of a colony, on the ground it lay within the original bounds of Connecticut, 
 the assembly of that colony, as early as 1756, declared that, if His 
 Majesty should think proper, to grant a new colony, Connecticut acqui- 
 esced. 4 Dyer, upon a case stated, secured the opinions of Edward Thurlow 
 and Alexander Weddeburn, both afterwards lord chancellors and Richard 
 Jackson and John Dunning, eminent English lawyers, to the effect that: 
 "The agreement, between the Colony of Connecticut and the Province of 
 New York, can extend no further, than to settle the boundaries between 
 the respective parties, and has no effect on other claims, either of them 
 has in other parts ; and as the Charter of Connecticut was granted but 
 eighteen years before that to William Penn, there is no ground to contend 
 that the Crown could, at that period, make an effectual grant to, him of 
 that country, which had been so recently granted to others." 5 
 
 Eight days before the Fort Stanwix deeds were executed, Governor 
 Penn directed Surveyor General Lukens to lay out the Manor of Sunbury, 
 
 156 
 
consisting of 20,000 acres on the west side of the Susquehanna river ; and 
 the Manor of Stoke on the east side of the river, both comprehending the 
 best part of the Wyoming Valley. A lease, of one hundred acres in the 
 Manor of Stoke, was granted to Amos Ogden, John Jennings and Charles 
 Stewart, upon condition they established an Indian trading post and 
 defended themselves from intrusion. These men built a trading post at 
 Mill Creek on the site of the Connecticut settlement of 1 762-63. 6 
 
 This was the situation, when the arena of conflict shifted, from the 
 intrigue and deception of Indian, Colonial and English politics, to the 
 decisive and effectual means of force and arms. When it was ascertained the 
 Fort Stanwix line lay westward of the Wyoming lands, the members of 
 the Susquehanna Company felt assured the prohibition of settlement made 
 by the king, in 1763, no longer prevailed, as its purpose, encroachment 
 on Indian lands, did not apply to them. Accordingly, preparations, for 
 occupation of that part of their purchase, lying east of the line, were made ; 
 and at a meeting held at Hartford, December 28, 1768, it was resolved : 
 
 "That forty persons, proprietors in the purchase and to be selected 
 by a committee, enter and take possession of the lands in behalf of the 
 company, by February 1st next; that two hundred more members join the 
 said forty not later than May 1st ; that two hundred pounds be appropriated 
 for their support ; that five townships, each lying five miles on the river 
 and running back five miles be laid out ; that the said forty should have 
 their choice of the townships, and the remaining four townships should be 
 divided among the two hundred ; and that, in each township, three whole 
 rights or shares should be appropriated and set apart for the public use 
 of a gospel ministry and schools." Committees were appointed to carry, the 
 foregoing resolution into effect. 7 
 
 Late in January, 1769, there assembled at Windham Connecticut, 
 some twelve of the "first forty," provided for in the foregoing resolutions. 
 Mounting their horses, this little cavalcade, the beginning of the mighty 
 migration from New England which settled the northwestern part of the 
 United States, waved adieu to the crowd gathered in front of Windham 
 court house and took the western road. They crossed the Shetucket river 
 below the site of the present city of Willimantic and gained the winding 
 road, which led them over the snow capped hills to the town of Lebanon. 
 It was the same old Lebanon road, you take today, flanked by stone fences 
 built more than two centuries ago, and passing the cemetery on the hill- 
 side, where so many of Connecticut's famous sons lie in their last sleep. 
 We may well imagine the postboys loitered at their task of changing the 
 four horse teams on the Boston mail coach, and joined the eager throng 
 in front of the Alden Tavern, which expectantly watched the Windham 
 road, that cold January morning long ago. The men from Windham, who 
 dismounted at the tavern, found there awaiting their arrival, a dozen 
 more from Colchester, Norwich and Lyme ; and while we may assume that 
 Jonathan Trumbull, soon to be become governor of Connecticut, looked 
 upon the scene from the narrow panes of his old counting house with a 
 
 157 
 
discreet but approving eye, we may be assured his famous son-in-law. 
 William Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was there, 
 and, over the drinks of good old Connecticut apple-jack, counselled with 
 Stephen Gardner, John Jenkins and the other leaders of the "forty." 
 Perhaps, the Rev. Solomon Williams, in his mansion across the "green" 
 offered a silent but fervent prayer for the success of the enterprise, in 
 which his distinguished son was so vitally interested. 
 
 At Hartford, they were joined by several more ; and thence they 
 journeyed through Litchfield county to Dutchess county, New York, where 
 their numbers were augmented. They then continued across New York to 
 the Delaware river, crossing it at Andrew Dingman's and proceeded to 
 Lower Smithfield, now in Monroe county, Pennsylvania, where Benjamin 
 Shoemaker Sr. and his son Elijah joined them, making forty in number. 
 These forty men, known as the "First Forty" were the pioneers of the 
 Wyoming Valley. 8 
 
 From Lower Smithfield, they passed through the wild region, now 
 embraced in Pike and Monroe counties, and from the Moosic mountains 
 gazed on the promised land, probably, on the 6th of February, 1769. 
 Before them was the far famed valley, then covered with a growth of oak 
 and pines, save the rich bottom lands, which in part had been cleared for 
 tillage by the Indians. The whole territory of the five gratuity towns was 
 in their view, nearest the broken and hilly land of Pittston and beyond 
 the undulating plains of Wilkes-Barre, while far to the south could be 
 seen the Hannover hills and opposite the rolling land of Plymouth. Within 
 the great bend of the river was the rich bottom land of Kingston, and 
 this they chose as their prize. 
 
 They entered the valley, near the mouth of the Lackawanna, but did 
 not cross the river and make an immediate settlement on the land they 
 had chosen. Summoned by Sheriff Jennings of Northampton county to 
 the Pennsylvania block house at Mill creek, Isaac Tripp, Benjamin Follett 
 and Vine Elderkin were arrested and sent to Easton jail, where after four 
 days imprisonment, they were released on bail given by William Ledlie, 
 a merchant of that town. They then joined their companions, who had 
 retired to the home of the Shoemakers in Lower Smithfield. About March 
 1st, the reunited "Forty" returned to the valley and erected a few tem- 
 porary cabins within the present limits of Pittston city. 
 
 There, thirty-one of them were arrested, but on their way to Easton 
 jail, eleven escaped, and the remainder were released, bail being furnished 
 by Mr. Ledlie. They were indicted, tried and convicted of breaking the 
 close of Thomas and Richard Penn. A few paid their fine of £60 and 
 the rest were lodged in the Easton log jail. The feeding of so many was a 
 heavy burden to the county and with the connivance of the Northampton 
 county officials, Judge Richard Peters of Philadelphia, who had defended 
 them, went to the jail and advised his clients to leave. 9 
 
 At a meeting of the Susquehanna Company held April 12th, it was 
 voted : 
 
 158 
 
"That the Committee form the whole number, placed on the land, into 
 one body joined together in one common interest and settled as compact 
 together as may be properly fortified, without any regard to any particular 
 township or townships, which may be afterward laid out, and also to 
 divide and part out the men into parties for the various businesses, hus- 
 bandry, tillage, labor, fortifying, scouting, hunting and other parts neces- 
 sary and convenient for the Whole." 10 
 
 In this resolution is the key to the conduct of affairs at Wyoming 
 for the next two years. It constituted a military plantation. Pursuant to the 
 resolution, one hundred ten men, under the command of Major John 
 Durkee, and with some of the "First Forty" entered the valley, May 12th. 
 They were joined a few days later by one hundred fifty more. Twenty 
 cabins, surrounded by a palisade, were erected and when completed, it 
 was called Fort Durkee. It stood on the river bank in the present city of 
 Wilkes-Barre. Farming occupations were begun on the Wilkes-Barre, 
 Plymouth and Kingston meadows. 
 
 Colonel Turbutt Francis, representing the Proprietaries of Pennsyl- 
 vania, with sixty armed men appeared, June 22nd, before Fort Durkee 
 and demanded its surrender, which was refused. This armed invasion may 
 be considered the commencement of the conflict, known as the First 
 Yankee-Pennamite War. 
 
 In September, David Meade, a surveyor and one of the occupants of 
 Fort Durkee, ran the lines of the five gratuity townships, Kingston, Wilkes- 
 Barre, Nanticoke (later called Hanover), Pittston, and Plymouth. That 
 month, there was a skirmish between the Yankees and Pennamites. 
 November 11th, Captain Ogden made a sudden attack and captured a 
 number of Yankees, including Major Durkee, who was put in irons and 
 sent to the Philadelphia jail. The next day, Sheriff Jennings arrived with 
 a posse of two hundred men, and on the 14th, the fort surrendered, four- 
 teen Yankees, being permitted to remain at Wyoming, in care of the cattle 
 and crops, but they were soon plundered of their possessions and driven 
 from the valley. 
 
 In January 1770, Zebulon Butler and Ebenezer Backus, agents of 
 the Susquehanna Company, enlisted the services of Lazarus Stewart and 
 the Paxtang Boys, by offering them one of the gratuity townships ; and 
 the following month, forty of these dreaded rangers entered the W r yoming 
 Valley and quickly dispossessed the Pennamites. Ogden soon returned 
 with a considerable force and occupied the blockhouse at Mill Creek. Major 
 Durkee with a Yankee force and stock of provisions and supplies rein- 
 forced Fort Durkee and soon attacked the Pennamites at Mill Creek. 
 Baltzer Stager, the first victim of the war was killed. The Yankees built 
 a blockhouse on the Kingston side of the river, and from this began to 
 cannonade Ogden's blockhouse with the cannon, they had captured from 
 the Pennamites. The store houses were burned, and, April 8th, Ogden 
 surrendered and left the Yankees in undisputed possession. 1 * 
 
 During the summer, the success of the Yankees was viewed by the 
 
 159 
 
Pennamites with dismay; but, in September, a sheriff's posse of one 
 hundred forty, and Ogden, left Fort Allen and marched with great 
 celerity and secrecy, by the Old Warrior's Path. They suddenly entered 
 the valley, surprising the Yankees, who were in small parties, at work 
 in the fields. Many of these were captured. Ogden withdrew, as suddenly 
 as he came, to his bivouac on the Warrior's Path. There was gloom and 
 confusion, at Fort Durkee, but it was determined to send four messengers, 
 that night, to Cushietunk for aid. As the Yankees conceived, Ogden would 
 anticipate this move and have forces, on the Cushietunk and Wind Gap 
 roads, to intercept the messengers, they were sent by the little used War- 
 rior's Path, and consequently fell into Ogden's bivouac. They were cap- 
 tured and from them, learning of the confusion at Fort Durkee, Ogden 
 determined to immediately attack it. The assault was so sudden, the 
 Yankees were completely surprised. Several of them were killed, and 
 Zebulon Butler was saved, from a bayonet thrust aimed at his breast, only 
 by the humanity and timely interposition of Captain Craig, one of the 
 Pennamite officers. The next morning Ogden crossed the river and cap- 
 tured Kingston village, now Forty Fort. Seventeen Yankees and their 
 families were permitted to remain, and the Pennamites left a force of 
 eighteen to guard the valley. 
 
 At 3 o'clock in the morning of December 18, 1770, the fort, now in 
 possession of the Pennamites, was entered by a detachment of the Paxtang 
 Rangers, under Lazarus Stewart, and the little garrison immediately sur- 
 rendered. 
 
 This seesaw of the contending forces still continued, and January 18, 
 1771, the sheriff of Northampton county with a posse of one hundred men 
 began the erection of Fort Wyoming on the river bank, near the present 
 Northampton street. Two days later, during either, an attack on Fort 
 Durkee or a parley, as the Pennamites contended, Nathan Ogden, a brother 
 of Amos was killed. That night, Lazarus Stewart and most of the rangers 
 fled. The remaining Yankees were taken, as prisoners to Easton, and 
 Ogden at Fort Wyoming was in complete possession of the valley. 
 
 Early in July, Butler and Stewart, at the head of one hundred and 
 fifty New Englanders began the siege of Fort Wyoming. The old cannon 
 was resurrected from its hiding place, by the Yankees ; and, to assist the 
 cannonade, Obadiah Gore, a Connecticut blacksmith made a cannon from 
 a sour gum tree, but it exploded with such terrific effect, that its iron 
 bands were hurled a thousand feet across the Susquehanna. The siege con- 
 tinued during July and August, and the besieged became so desperate, 
 that Ogden determined on a daring scheme to secure relief. 
 
 As the sentinel paced his beat, he saw an object, floating in the dark 
 water, below. His suspicion, being aroused, he fired. A volley from the 
 soldiers followed, and the floating object was riddled with bullets, but it 
 did not sink and drifted on in the gentle current. The soldiers were dis- 
 armed of their suspicions, that it might be a messenger from the fort floating 
 in the water. The ingenuity of Captain Ogden insured his escape. He tied 
 his clothes in a bundle which he fastened to a log. To this he connected 
 
 160 
 
a string tied to his arm. Swimming on his back, so deeply, as only to keep 
 his mouth out of the water, he drew the decoy after him, but at a distance 
 of more than a hundred feet. As he anticipated, he escaped observation, and 
 the floating bundle drew the sentinel's fire. Far below the fort, Ogden 
 swam ashore, dressed and proceeded rapidly over the mountains, and on 
 the third day thereafter was in Philadelphia. 
 
 The Pennamites hastily responded to Ogden's disclosure and Captain 
 Dick with thirty men and provisions was dispatched to the relief of the 
 besieged garrison, but the Yankees ambushed him in the mountains. He 
 lost the provisions and horses, but he and Ogden and some twenty men 
 succeeded in escaping to Fort Wyoming. This disaster discouraged the 
 Pennamites and the hungry garrison surrendered August 15, 1771. This 
 ended the first Yankee- Pennamite War. 12 
 
 The failure of the Pennamites to evict the Yankees and maintain pos- 
 session of the disputed land was due to the inherent weakness of the 
 provincial government, the antipathy of many Pennsylvanians to the pro- 
 prietaries, to the parsimony of Thomas Penn, who constantly grumbled 
 about the great expanse, and to the opposition of many residents of Lan- 
 caster and Northampton counties. 
 
 The success of the Yankees was largely due to themselves, as the Sus- 
 quehanna Company was so poor, it had to beg and borrow the meager 
 support it gave the settlers. The inspiration actuating them was the 
 American colonist's natural craving for better and cheaper land. 
 
 No longer bewitched and bedeviled by the Pennamites, the Yankees, 
 with one brief interruption, enjoyed peace for seven years, during which 
 the population rapidly increased. Immigrants poured into the Wyoming 
 Valley from New England, New York, New Jersey and even Pennsyl- 
 vania. In the first five townships, the farms were allotted, the lands cleared, 
 fields fenced and substantial log houses and barns built. Five new town- 
 ships were established, Exeter and Providence in the north and Newport, 
 Salem and Huntington in the south. Lying far inland, the settlers had to 
 rely upon themselves for the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life. 
 Sawmills and gristmills were erected and tan yards and distilleries con- 
 structed. Skilled craftsmen came from Connecticut, the land of ingenuity, 
 including : carpenters, cabinet makers, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, shoemakers, 
 saddlers, masons, potters, tailors, weavers, loom makers, spinning wheel 
 makers, reed and comb makers. There were few* physicians, but the old 
 granny women and herb doctors kept the people in tolerable health. Their 
 greatest blessing was, that there were no lawyers to bother them. They had a 
 settled minister and various itinerants also conducted divine worship. Their 
 greatest glory was the establishment of free public schools. The town- 
 ships were divided into districts, in each of which a log school house was 
 erected, and the teachers were paid, from the income of the lands, which 
 had been set aside for that purpose. 
 
 The fertile lowlands yielded abundant crops of wheat, corn, rye, oats, 
 buckwheat and potatoes, and the orchards they planted bloomed with 
 apples, peaches, pears and plums. In the spring, the sugar maples in the 
 
 161 
 
hills poured forth their sweet sap and afforded them an abundance of 
 sugar. Great shoals of shad, coming up the Susquehanna every spring, 
 were caught in great quantities and pickled in barrels for winter use ; while 
 the woods, encompassing the valley abounded in wild fowl and game. 
 
 During the Pennamite War, the settlers yielded obedience to a mili- 
 tary plantation government, but with peace, the armed camps were broken 
 up and the men dispersed to their farms. Then, there was no organized 
 government and perhaps they needed none for no crimes of consequence 
 are reported; but the New England preference for organization prevailed 
 and articles of agreement were entered into by all who pledged obedience 
 to the governing directors. But these directors had no real power to settle 
 disputes and finally the Connecticut assembly was induced to exercise 
 jurisdiction, and in January, 1774, it erected all the territory between 
 the Delaware river and a line fifteen miles west of the Susquehanna (com- 
 prising all the Delaware Purchases and some of the Susquehanna Pur- 
 chase) into a vast town called Westmoreland and attached it to Litchfield 
 county, Connecticut. This included Cushietunk and Blooming Grove, the 
 settlement on the Wallenpaupack. This town elected two members of the 
 Connecticut assembly, and a militia regiment was organized and its officers 
 were commissioned by the governor of that colony. 13 
 
 In September 1775, a considerable number of settlers left Wyoming 
 and established themselves on the West Branch within the limits of the 
 Susquehanna Purchase, but they were dispersed by Dr. William Plunket, 
 judge of Northumberland county and their leaders sent to the Philadelphia 
 jail. This unsuccessful adventure provoked the Pennamites to action, and 
 Dr. Plunket, who was commander of the Northumberland militia, assembled 
 his men to the number of six or seven hundred and prepared for an 
 invasion of Wyoming. 
 
 Late in December, this formidable force left Fort Augusta and with 
 bands playing and colors flying slowly wended its way up the Susque- 
 hanna. Never before was Wyoming's peril so great. In the previous war, 
 the inhabitants of the valley were principally men and there was little 
 property to protect. Now, were cleared and cultivated farms well stocked 
 with horses, cattle and sheep, and the comfortable cabins housed numerous 
 families of helpless elderly people, women and children. Zebulon Butler, 
 colonel of the 24th regiment of Connecticut militia, assembled his men, 
 some four hundred, to repel the invaders. They were poorly armed, and 
 some had only pitchforks and scythes. They made their camp on the flats 
 at the mouth of Harvey's creek, in the present village of West Nanticoke. 
 In the evening of the 23rd, Major Garrett sent by Butler had a parley with 
 Plunket, but there was no accommodation. The following morning, leaving 
 Ensign Alden and a guard of twenty men at the encampment, the main 
 Yankee force retired and took position behind a ledge of rocks, which 
 extends above the ravine through which Harvey's creek flows and along 
 the mountain side almost to the brink of the river. This natural rampart 
 of rocks was an impregnable position and behind it, Butler deployed his 
 men to the best advantage. Lazarus Stewart with a force was dispatched 
 
 162 
 
to the east side of the river to guard its passage, and the right flank was 
 protected by a detachment placed on the mountain above the bluff of the 
 ravine. 
 
 As the Pennamites advanced, Alden retreated and joined the main 
 body. When Plunket discerned the Yankee line posted behind the ram- 
 part of rocks, he is said to have exclaimed, "My God, what a breastwork." 
 When the Pennamites approached, Butler ordered his men to fire by 
 platoons, which deceived the enemy as to their numbers. In this skirmish, 
 Hugh McWilliams was killed and three other Pennamites wounded. In 
 the evening Plunket attempted to cross the river, but he was repelled by a 
 deadly fire from Lazarus Stewart's men, and Jesse Lukens son of the 
 surveyor general of Pennsylvania was killed and several other Pennamites 
 wounded. This ended the first day's engagement. 
 
 At daybreak, Christmas morning, the Pennamites advanced and the 
 Battle of Rampart Rocks began. The firing was general along both lines. 
 Plunket's men stormed the barricade, but were driven back with consider- 
 able loss. A force attempted to turn, the Yankee right flank, but the men 
 Butler had posted above the bluff beat back their assailants. Although the 
 engagement continued, until nightfall, no impression was made on the 
 Yankee lines. The futility of further assault being apparent, Plunket 
 ordered a retreat. They fled down the west side of the river and were 
 pursued by Lazarus Stewart and his rangers. 
 
 The Yankee loss was four men killed and some ten or fifteen wounded, 
 and that of the Pennamites was quite severe. 14 
 
 In 1776, the town of Westmoreland was erected into Westmoreland 
 county, which continued to function as a regular Connecticut county with- 
 out interference for a period of six years. 
 
 Wyoming's history, during the Revolution, is narrated in a subse- 
 quent chapter; but beyond the period and scope of this work are the 
 famous Decree of Trenton, the bitter, bloody last Yankee-Pennamite War 
 following it and the fascinating story of the Fourteenth Commonwealth. 
 However, in conclusion, it is necessary to say, that after thirty years of 
 unparalled strife, Pennsylvania, by the great compromising act of 1799, con- 
 firmed the Connecticut land titles in the following seventeen Connecticut 
 townships laid out before the Decree of Trenton : Salem, Huntington, New- 
 port, Hanover, Plymouth, Kingston, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Exeter, Bed- 
 ford, Northmoreland, Providence, Putnam, Braintrim, Springfield, Clave- 
 rack and Ulster. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 
 
 1. Susquehanna Papers 2, 64, 65, 66. 
 
 2. Ibid, 67, 68, 69. 
 
 3. Ibid, 72, 73. 
 
 4. Ibid 99. 
 
 5. Harvey's History of Wilkes-Barre 1, 441; Miner's History of Wyoming 82; 
 For a thorough discussion of claims of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, see Hoyt's 
 
 163 
 
Brief of Title in Seventeen Townships and address of William Brewster, "The 
 Connecticut Claim," at exercises at Wyoming Monument in 1939. All agree that 
 the legal title was in Connecticut and that the settlement of the New York boundary 
 did not affect lands west of New York. A Pennsylvania historian, Mr. Sidney G. 
 Fisher agrees that the settlement of the New York boundary was no defense of 
 the Pennsylvania claim, but he contends the king could change his mind, which 
 is a new, novel and absurd defense. 
 
 6. Harvey's History of Wilkes-Barre 1, 451, 452; Miner's History of Wyoming 
 106, 107. 
 
 7. Susquehanna Papers 3, 43 ; Pa. Archives 2nd series, 18, 58. 
 
 8. The First Forty : Asahel Atherton, Ezra Belding, Thomas Bennet, Silas 
 Bingham, Richard Brockway, Elijah Buck, William Buck, John Comstock, Reuben 
 Davis, Jonathan Dean, Nathan Denison, Simeon Draper, Thomas Dyer, Vine Elder- 
 kin, Benjamin Follett, Joseph Frink, Samuel Gaylord, Joshua Hall, Stephen Gardner, 
 Peter Harris, Stephen Harding, John Jenkins, Stephen Jenkins, Zerubabel Jearum, 
 Cyprian Lothrop, Timothy Pierce, Benajah Pendleton, or Pembleton, Elias Roberts, 
 Elijah Shoemaker, Benjamin Shoemaker Sr., Oliver Smtih, Timothy Smith, Isaac 
 Tripp, Henry Dow Tripp, Rudolph Brink Vanorman, Nathan Walsworth, Theophilus 
 Westover, Allen Weightman, Benjamin Yale and Job Yale. 
 
 9. Susquehanna Papers 3, 91, 92. 
 
 10. Ibid, 96; Pa. Archs. 3rd series 18, 63. 
 
 11. Miner History of Wyoming, 107 to 121; Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre, 
 1, 475 to 477; Susquehanna Papers 3, 150, 200, 214; Brewster History of Kingston 
 Chapter 2. 
 
 12. Chapman History of Wyoming 70 to 87; Miner History of Wyoming 125 
 to 135; Harvey History of Wilkes-Barre 2, 669 to 706; Susquehanna Papers 4, 154, 
 160, 162, 164, 166, 241, 245; Col. Recs. 9, 715, 716, 748, 750; Brewster History of 
 Kingston, Chapter 3. 
 
 13. See Chapman, Stone, Miner, Harvey and Brewster histories. 
 
 14. Ibid. 
 
 164 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 TICONDEROGA 
 
 Twenty-one days after the Battle of Lexington, Ticonderoga was cap- 
 tured. It was the first complete American victory ; and while achieved by 
 New England men, the exploit was accomplished on the northern New 
 York frontier. The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts early recognized 
 its strategic importance and commissioned Benedict Arnold to effect its, 
 capture. Even earlier, individual members of the Connecticut Assembly, 
 upon their own responsibility provided money and sent Edward Mott and 
 Noah Phelps, as agents to accomplish it. Passing through Connecticut 
 and western Massachusetts, they enlisted some forty men in their enter- 
 prise, and arrived at the Catamount Tavern, at Bennington, where they 
 found Ethan Allen. The tavern was so called, because its sign was a large 
 catamount stuffed and mounted on a tall pole, with its open jaws and 
 savage, protruding teeth facing the west, as a warning that all New 
 Yorkers should beware. 
 
 Allen was a man of gigantic stature, bluff and bold, who feared noth- 
 ing, a professed atheist, who abhored all Gods, whether Jehovah or 
 otherwise. He was, however, kindly, charitable and strictly honest. So 
 honest, that this long told tale well illustrates his character. In later years, 
 when financially embarrassed and sued on a note, he employed a lawyer 
 to obtain a continuance of the case brought against him. The lawyer stated 
 the note was a forgery. Stop !", thundered Allen, as he rose and strode 
 before the court, and to the abashed and cringing lawyer said, "I didn't 
 hire you to come here and lie, but to obtain a continuance, so I could 
 have time to pay my honest debts. I signed it." 
 
 Bennington and the Catamount Tavern were, then, the headquarters 
 of the settlers living in the outlawed territory west of the Connecticut 
 river and north of Massachusetts and called the New Hampshire grants. 
 It was so designated, because Benning Wentworth, royal governor of New 
 Hampshire, with little legal claim to the territory, began, as early as 
 1749, granting lands within that section. Induced by the remunerative 
 patent fees paid him, Wentworth issued his grants by the basket full, to 
 all, who applied and paid, so that by 1764, when stopped by action of the 
 crown officials, he had chartered one hundred thirty-eight townships and 
 granted the land therein. These grants were greedily obtained by sturdy 
 
 165 
 
young New England farmers, who when the French and Indian War 
 ended, swarmed, like bees, from Connecticut and Massachusetts to the 
 Green Mountains. New York protested against the Wentworth grants and 
 proclaimed the New Hampshire settlers intruders and outlaws. The 
 governor of New York patented large tracts, covering the Wentworth 
 grants, and these patentees began ejecting the New Hampshire men from 
 their farms. 
 
 The Allen boys, Ethan, Heber, Heman, Levi and Ira, restless spirits, 
 living on stony farms in northern Connecticut, secured some choice New 
 Hampshire grants of fertile land and moved to the Green Mountains. 
 When the New York grantees began evicting the settlers, by common 
 consent, Ethan Allen was chosen leader of the New Hampshire men. 
 Allen began their defense by written argument and. contests in the courts, 
 but his lawyers were bowled out by the corrupt New York judges. 
 Realizing, peaceful defense was of no avail, Allen gathered about him a 
 little army, called the Green Mountain Boys, of which he was elected 
 colonel. His resistance was not a campaign of warfare and bloodshed, nor 
 of murder and assassination, but one equally as effectual and irresistible. 
 New York surveyors, agents and settlers were warned off and driven out 
 under penalty of death if they returned. One obnoxious New Yorker was 
 seized, stripped half naked, strapped to a chair and hoisted up the pole 
 directly under the threatening catamount of the Bennington tavern and 
 left suspended there for hours. When released, he was so mortified and 
 terrified, that he fled and never returned. 
 
 Such insults, shame and degradation, the New York emissaries could 
 not stand and few ventured across the border. 
 
 The real purpose, of the Connecticut agents, was to win the support 
 of Allen, and they, probably, had a secret commission, in their pockets, 
 appointing him commander of the Ticonderoga expedition. Allen says in 
 his narrative ; "Directions were, privately sent me from the colony of 
 Connecticut, to raise the Green Mountain Boys, and if possible with them 
 to surprise and take the fortress of Ticonderoga." The wisdom of the 
 Connecticut men is manifest, for there was, probably, no other man, in 
 the colonies, of sufficient skill and daring to take the strongest fortification 
 in Colonial North America without the loss of blood. 
 
 Allen sent his couriers through the countryside and in an incredibly 
 short time, two hundred and thirty of the most valiant Green Mountain 
 Boys gathered at Bennington. They marched immediately to Castleton, 
 arriving May 7th. Benedict Arnold, who had been hurrying across Mass- 
 achusetts, arrived there, only, to find his ambitious plans anticipated. He 
 produced his Massachusetts commission and demanded the command be 
 turned over to him. But, the Green Mountain Boys would have nothing to 
 do with Arnold and flourishing their guns, hurrahed and shouted they 
 would follow no leader but Ethan Allen. Baffled, Arnold submitted and 
 was permitted to serve as a volunteer, but without command. 
 
 A detachment was sent to capture Skenesborough at the head of Lake 
 Champlain, seize the boats there and stifle all communication with Ticon- 
 
 166 
 
deroga. By a rapid march, Allen reached Shoreham opposite Ticonderoga, 
 the night of May 9th. There, he impressed as his guide a young lad, 
 named Nathan Beeman, who played with the boys of the garrison and 
 knew all the ins and outs of the fort. Crossing the lake was slow business, 
 because of the scarcity of boats, and only eighty-three men had crossed 
 to the western shore, when the first beams of morning light, admonished 
 Allen that he could tarry no longer. He ordered his men to file in, briefly 
 harrangued them, and then the silent march began up the heights on the 
 summit of which could be discerned the grim, gray outlines of the great 
 stone ramparts. With the boy in the lead followed by Allen and Arnold 
 at his side, the Green Mountain Boys quickly made their way to the 
 southern sally port. The sentinel, at the wicket gate, snapped his gun but 
 it failed and he fled within the fort closely followed by Allen. 
 
 The Green Mountain Boys poured through the covered way to the 
 parade ground and formed in two files facing the barracks. Allen with 
 the boy at his side, sprang up the outside stairway, which led to the com- 
 mandant's apartment. He banged the door with the hilt of his sword and 
 demanded admittance. Captain Delaplace the commander, partly awake, 
 tumbled out of bed, badly befuddled by the tumult outside, and clad only 
 in his drawers stumbled to the door. He was closely followed by his 
 likewise scantily dressed wife, who held a flickering candle in her trembling 
 hand. Holding his breeches in one hand, with the other he threw open 
 the door and confronted the burly form of Allen who demanded his sur- 
 render. He had wit enough to stammer out, "By whose authority?" "In 
 the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," thundered 
 Allen. This was somewhat ironical, for Allen cared naught for Jehovah 
 and Delaplace less for the Continental Congress, but he did care mightily 
 for Allen, who with a terrible oath, swung his huge sword over the 
 captain's head and threatened to cut him asunder, if he did not immediately 
 comply. 
 
 Delaplace ordered the garrison to form on the parade ground without 
 arms and Ticonderoga was formerly surrendered. The cooks were routed 
 out and a good hot breakfast with plenty of rum was served Allen and 
 his men. The garrison consisted of five officers and forty-four men ; and 
 the spoils were one hundred twenty pieces of iron cannon, fifty swivels, 
 ten tons of musket balls, three cart loads of flints, and a vast amount of 
 other stores. 
 
 During the morning, the remainder of the Green Mountain Boys, 
 under the command of Seth Warner, had been ferried over the lake, and 
 Allen ordered him to reduce Crown Point. This was accomplished May 
 12th, by him, with the assistance of Remember Baker, who with another 
 detachment of Green Mountain Boys, had, previously, intercepted mes- 
 sengers on their way to Montreal, with news of the fall of Ticonderoga. 
 The garrison of Crown Point consisted of a sergeant and eleven men, and 
 the spoils were one hundred fourteen cannon and other munitions of great 
 value. 
 
 The ambitious Arnold was badly disappointed and to appease him, 
 
 167 
 
Allen sent him, up the lake in a captured and armed sloop, and he 
 destroyed the British shipping at St. Johns. Thus within a few days, the 
 whole of the Lake Champlain region came under the control of Ethan 
 Allen. 
 
 (For an account of the exploit, see Allen's Narrative in DePuy's 
 Ethan Allen, beginning at page 213 ; and Lossing's Field Book of the 
 Revolution, Vol. 1, page 123.) 
 
 168 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 BATTLE OF ORISKANY 
 
 During the Revolution, Tryon county, embracing the upper Mohawk 
 valley and the headwaters of the Susquehanna, was the real New York fron- 
 tier. The inhabitants, largely, Palatine Germans, some Dutch and the 
 Scotch-Irish, mostly, supported the Continental Congress. There were 
 some neutrals among them. Outside the Johnson family and their adher- 
 ents, there were few outspoken loyalists, and these were, probably coerced, 
 as were the other Tories elsewhere, by flogging, tar and feathering, riding 
 on a rail and other personal indiginities. The Revolution was not, as 
 usuallv thought, a spontaneous uprising of patriotic devotion, by the 
 whole body of the people, but the act of an aggressive and militant minority 
 ably and efficiently led. The vexations and provocations were many, includ- 
 ing British attempts at taxation of the colonists, indifference to their 
 rights and desires and the arrogance of English officers and crown officials. 
 But more potent causes aroused the animosity of individuals, such as the 
 disappointments of ambitious men, who desired royal appointments, restric- 
 tions of commerce and manufacturing, prevention of gross Indian land 
 speculation and the influence of the Congregational, Dutch Reformed, 
 Presbyterian and Lutheran ministers, who feared an Episcopal church 
 establishment and the presumptions of its clergymen. This resentment was 
 fanned into the furious flame of war by slogans and the politicians usual 
 appeal to patriotism. Usually, revolutions are the muddy sediments of 
 humanity bestirred, by adroit leaders, roiling the calm water of peace. 
 
 As early as 1774, the Palatine District of Tryon county organized in 
 support of Congress, as did the other districts in 1775. Thomas Spencer, 
 the Indian interpreter, in an impassioned speech, aroused the patriotic 
 sentiment of Cherry Valley. The Johnson's, by an armed intimidation, 
 prevented a meeting in the Mohawk district, but later the people there 
 organized. The committees of all the districts formed a body of forty-two 
 members of which Christopher P. Yates was chairman and it acted under 
 direction of the Provincial Congress of New York. 
 
 Guy Johnson, now British Indian superintendent, was suspected of 
 fomenting a Mohawk uprising; and he soon left for Oswego, where he 
 succeeded in pledging the Indians to support the crown. The Mohawks 
 
 169 
 
deserted their old homes and followed Johnson into Canada. Soon after, 
 he and Joseph Brant sailed for England. 
 
 Sir John Johnson, who with his family, remained at Johnson Hall, 
 was the object of suspicion, and in January, 1776, General Philip Schuyler 
 with the militia, went to Johnstown and arrested him, because he had 
 fortified the hall and surrounded himself with some one hundred and fifty 
 of his tenants, Roman Catholic Highlanders. He was taken to Fishkill, but 
 the Provincial Congress released him on parole. The following June, he 
 broke his parole, abandoned his vast possessions and fled to Canada. 
 
 In February, 1777, it being reported that a large number of unfriendly 
 Indians had collected at Oquaga, the Provincial Congress sent Colonel 
 John Harper there to ascertain their designs. He feasted them with a 
 roast ox, and they assured him they proposed to remain neutral. In June, 
 Joseph Brant, who had returned from England, appeared at Unadilla with 
 a considerable number of warriors. He forced the people to furnish him 
 with provisions, and the inhabitants, perceiving his hostile attitude, aban- 
 doned their farms and sought places of greater safety. A regiment of 
 militia had been organized in each of the districts of Tryon county, and 
 these with a partial regiment from Schoharie were placed under command 
 of General Nicholas Herkimer, a leading Whig. He marched to Unadilla 
 and summoned Brant to a conference. He came with one hundred fifty 
 warriors and declared his intention to support the king. During the pro- 
 ceedings, there was a flare-up, and the Indians retreated to their camp, 
 fired their guns and set up the warwhoops. However, the conference was 
 resumed and Herkimer assured Brant he did not come to fight but to make 
 peace. He, then, marched away and left Brant in possession of Unadilla 
 and the surrounding country. 1 
 
 After Johnson's flight, Colonel Van Schaick with provincial troops 
 occupied Johnstown ; and Colonel Dayton built Fort Dayton, not far from 
 the court house in the present village of Herkimer. Colonel Dayton was 
 ordered to reconstruct Fort Stanwix, which had fallen into disrepair, and 
 the work had not been completed in April, 1777, when Colonel Peter 
 Gansevoort, with the Third New York regiment was sent to garrison it. 
 
 The British scheme to invade New York, during the summer of 1777, 
 was the best planned campaign devised by the king's ministers ; and had it 
 succeeded New York would have been conquered, New England divided 
 from the other colonies and the independence of the United States, prob- 
 ably, frustrated. Burgoyne with the main army was to proceed by Lake 
 Champlain and occupy Albany and the army in New York was to come 
 up the Hudson and cooperate with him. Another division, under Barry 
 St. Leger, was to march from Oswego, capture Fort Stanwix, overrun 
 the Mohawk valley and join Burgoyne at Albany. 
 
 News of the invasion was first sent by the friendly Oneida Indians. 
 In June, Colonel Marinus Willett, a very capable officer, with his regiment 
 reinforced Fort Stanwix, or as it was now called Fort Schuyler, and two 
 Continental companies also joined the garrison, which at the time of the 
 
 170 
 
siege consisted of seven hundred and fifty men. August 3rd, the fort was 
 invested by some seventeen hundred British soldiers, Tories and Indians. 
 
 General Herkimer, with eight hundred of the Tryon county militia, 
 marched up the Mohawk valley for the relief of Fort Schuyler, but there 
 was much looseness of order during the march. Thomas Spencer insisted 
 flanking parties should be kept out. General Herkimer concurred, but the 
 impetuous men declared it would retard the march and charged Herkimer 
 with cowardice. Stung by this, he ordered the men forward with all 
 dispatch. 
 
 About 10 o'clock in the morning of August 6th, the little army entered 
 the fatal ambuscade of Oriskany. The place is about the same today, as 
 then, except that the heavy woods have been cleared away, and now 
 meadows, a farm house, barns and stately monuments occupy the scene 
 of the bloody fray. The battlefield is and about a shallow ravine, the bottom, 
 of which is still swampy and wild. On either side are ridges running 
 from the southeast to the northwest toward the Mohawk river, but in 
 most accounts, they are designated as east and west. The present high- 
 way crosses the ravine about one hundred and fifty feet above the old 
 road pursued by Herkimer's men. Beyond the new road the ravine expands 
 basin shaped, the course of the rivulet becoming only a shallow depression, 
 constituting what may be called a level ampitheater, surrounded by the 
 eastern and western ridges, which join on the southeast, making a semi- 
 circular enclosure of the main battlefield. Some distance below the old 
 road, the ravine disappears in the swampy lowland along the Mohawk. 
 The old road followed by Herkimer's men, the course of which can still be 
 plainly discerned, descends the eastern ridge and crossed the swampy 
 ravine by a corduroy bridge, indications of which may yet be perceived. 
 The incline of the western ridge, the scene of the fiercest struggle is now 
 partly occupied by the buildings and barnyard of the farm. At the time 
 of the battle, the lowlands toward the Mohawk were covered with a 
 growth of pine, and the ridges with beech elm and maple trees. 
 
 It was an ideal place for an ambuscade, and Major John Butler 2 and 
 Joseph Brant 3 who commanded the British and Indians, adepts in border 
 warfare, certainly made no mistake in its selection. Brant secreted the 
 Indians in the underbrush of the eastern ridge, but did not extend his line 
 to the road, which was the inlet of the trap. Butler posted his troops on 
 the western ridge facing the American advance. Stationed as they were 
 and the swampy ground below, by which there was no escape, made it a 
 complete ambush. Seizure of the road on the eastern ridge closed the trap. 
 
 Earlier in the morning, Herkimer had dispatched Adam Helmar, a 
 noted scout to Fort Schuyler, requesting Gansevoort to make a sortie from 
 the fort and announce it by a discharge of cannon. This was for the pur- 
 pose of diverting the enemy from obstructing Herkimer's advance. 
 
 The Canajoharie regiment, with General Herkimer, and Colonels 
 Cox and Paris leading, and following the road from the eastern ridge, 
 had partly crossed the corduroy bridge and was ascending the incline to 
 the summit of the western ridge, when the Indians gave the warwhoop and 
 
 171 
 
closed in. Cox was killed at the first onslaught and his frightened horse 
 ran back along the road throwing, the troops following with the baggage 
 train and now in the bed of the ravine, into wild confusion. Colonel 
 Vischer, with the Conewango regiment, brought up the rear and was still 
 on the eastern ridge, when Brant's warriors fell upon him and his men 
 broke and fled. The Indians had now covered the eastern approach of the 
 road and closed the trap. 
 
 It now became a life and death struggle and the Americans fought 
 with superhuman bravery. Herkimer succeeded in rallying his men who 
 were marching up the incline of the western ridge, formed them in circles 
 and they held the foe in front at bay. He ordered the troops, under Colonel 
 Bellinger who were not yet across the corduroy bridge, to retake the east- 
 ern ridge, which they did. This cleared the fatal ravine of all but the 
 dead and wounded. It was a hand to hand conflict, a struggle of bayonet 
 thrusts and tomahawk blows. To outwit the savages, two men would place 
 themselves behind a tree, and when the Indian ran from his cover to 
 tomahawk the soldier who had fired and had not time to reload, his secreted 
 companion shot the Indian. Herkimer was wounded in the leg and carried 
 to the butt of a beech tree, south of the road and about half way up the 
 incline, and resting against his saddle, he continued to direct the battle. 
 To stimulate the bravery of his men, it is said, he calmly smoked his pipe 
 and gave orders in broken German speech. 
 
 When the conflict was bitterest, a thunder shower suspended the 
 strife, and gave the Americans time to better order their lines. Colonel 
 Bellinger, having cleared the eastern ridge joined Herkimer and when the 
 storm abated, the fighting was resumed with more bloody vigor. After 
 six hours of terrible struggle, the Americans succeeded in beating off their 
 enemies and were able to remove their wounded from the field. They had 
 by their bravery saved themselves from annihilation. Carrying their 
 wounded they fell back to the German Flats. About two hundred were 
 killed. Herkimer was removed to his home, where his leg was amputated, 
 from which, due to poor surgery, he died. Among the slain was Thomas 
 Spencer, the gallant spirit, who had secured the adherence of the Oneidas 
 to the Americans. The Americans had not succeeded in their purpose and 
 the foe possessed the field. But, the Indians in their villages along the 
 Genesee wailed for over a hundred of their warriors killed and whetted 
 their vengeance for Wyoming and Cherry Valley. 4 
 
 Helmar was delayed and it was not until 2 o'clock that the cannon 
 boomed, and Willett sallied forth with two hundred men. He swept all 
 before him, overran the camp of Sir John Johnson, captured his private 
 papers, and the standards of his regiment, and with his booty regained the 
 fort without the loss of a man. To tantalize the enemy, the captured 
 standards were displayed under the improvised flag of the fort, homemade 
 from women's petticoats. 
 
 As supplies were running low, Colonel Willett and Lieutenant Stock- 
 well eluded the Indians investing the fort, made their way out of the fort 
 at night and went to General Schuyler for relief. He sent Benedict Arnold 
 
 172 
 
and a force, which reached Fort Dayton, where Arnold resolved a strata- 
 gem to end the siege. Hans Yost Schuyler a half-witted Tory had been 
 captured with Walter Butler and was condemned to die as a spy. Arnold 
 promised to pardon him on condition, he go to St. Leger and spread the 
 report Arnold was near with a large army. His brother was retained as 
 a hostage under threat if Hans Yost failed he would be shot, and the coat 
 of Hans was riddled with bullets. Accompanied by a friendly Oneida he 
 made his way to the British camp. There the Oneida alarmed the Indians 
 by the report and Hans Yost being taken to St. Leger declared he 
 escaped while being taken to execution and in confirmation of his story 
 exhibited his riddled coat. When asked the size of Arnold's force, he 
 mysteriously pointed to the leaves of the trees. Be this as it may, the fact 
 that Arnold was on the way, alarmed the Indians who had little stomach 
 for more fighting and they deserted the British. St. Leger raised the siege 
 August 22nd and his troops fled in confusion to Oswego, abandoning most 
 of their supplies. 5 
 
 About this time, McDonald a Tory leader fell on the Schoharie settle- 
 ment and Captain Mann of the Schoharie militia having turned traitor, 
 Colonel John Harper went to Albany for assistance. Returning with a 
 troop of cavalry. Harper attacked McDonald's camp. A severe skirmish 
 ensued, in which several were killed and wounded. McDonald was defeated 
 and his force fled to the Susquehanna, by that way going to Fort Niagara. 6 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 1. N. Y. Col. Docs. 8, 663, 682, 687; also Annals of Tryon County, chapters 
 2 and 3; Simms History of Schoharie County chapter 7; Old N. Y. Frontier. 
 
 2. John Butler was born in 1728, in New London, Connecticut. He was the 
 son of Walter Butler, whom it has been presumed was born in Ireland, a descendant 
 of the illustrious Ormonde family. This conjecture is based on the fact that he was 
 appointed a lieutenant in a company stationed at Albany, by Governor Burnett 
 who had some connection with the Ormonde family. In 1735, he obtained a patent 
 for 4000 acres in the Mohawk valley and located near the present town of Fonda. 
 There on an elevated situation, known as Switzer Hill, he built a substantial frame 
 dwelling which it is said was afterwards rebuilt. It still stands and was occupied 
 as a farm house when visited by the writer, some years ago. The place was called 
 Butlersbury and when Walter Butler died in 1760, he devised it to his son John, 
 who occupied it until his flight to Canada. The Butlers were intimates of Sir 
 William Johnson and shared in his advancement. John and his brother Walter Jr. 
 were appointed captains in the Indian Department and both participated in the 
 Battle of Lake George, where Walter was killed. John served under Abercrombie 
 at Ticonderoga, was with Bradstreet at the taking of Frontenac, and in the capture 
 of Fort Niagara had command of the Indians. He was one of the first judges of 
 Tryon county, but in 1775 with his son Walter, a lawyer by profession, withdrew 
 to Canada. Both served in the siege of Fort Schuyler and the Battle of Oriskany. 
 After the battle Walter was taken prisoner and condemned to death as a spy, but 
 his sentence was remitted and while a prisoner he escaped. John Butler organized 
 a corps of Rangers, composed of Tories and regularly enlisted in the British 
 
 173 
 
service. He, as a major commanded the forces, which perpetrated the Wyoming 
 Massacre; and his son Walter was in command at Cherry Valley. Both thereby 
 earned the condemnation and hatred of posterity. After the war, John Butler who 
 held the rank of lieutenant colonel retired to Niagara on the Canadian side, where 
 he died in May, 1796. 
 
 3. Thayendanega, popularly known as Joseph Brant, was born in 1742, in 
 Ohio, where his parents were then temporarily engaged in a hunting expedition. It 
 has been presumed, he was the son of Nickus Brant, a considerable chief of the 
 Mohawks, residing at Canajoharie Castle. His sister, Molly or Mary Brant was the 
 mistress of Sir William Johnson. It is said, that as a mere boy of thirteen, he was 
 present at the Battle of Lake George. He distinguished himself at the capture of 
 Fort Niagara in 1759. He attended Dr. Wheelock's Indian school at Lebanon, 
 Connecticut, where he acquired the rudiments of an English education. Later, he 
 had intimate relations with some of the Indian missionaries, and it is claimed 
 assisted in the translation of the New Testament into the Iroquoian language. He 
 was thrice married, and before the Revolution lived at Canajoharie in a good house 
 and enjoyed the comforts of life. He became a regular communicant of the Episcopal 
 church. Brant accompanied Guy Johnson to England and remained there during the 
 early part of 1776. His career during the Revolution is related in the text. In 1785, 
 he visited England in the interests of the expatriated Mohawks. In an altercation 
 with his son, Isaac, who was a dissipated and violent young man, Brant stabbed 
 him, from the effects of which he died. The British government granted him a 
 considerable tract of land on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario and he lived there 
 in some splendor until his deeth, November 24, 1807. He has been lauded as the 
 principal chief of the Iroquois, but it is reasonable to assume his power was largely 
 confined to the Mohawks, and that he was surpassed in ability and influence by 
 Sayenqueraghta, great chief of the Senecas. Much of his renown is due to Stone, 
 who in his life of him, has made him a hero. 
 
 4. The above account of the battle was written at the time of the writer's visit 
 to the battlefield. 
 
 5. Annals of Tryon County, Chapter 4; Field Book of the Revolution 1, 240. 
 
 6. Ibid ; Simms History of Schoharie. 
 
 174 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
 
 BURGOYNE'S INVASION 
 
 The British invasion of New York was begun in 1776 by Carleton, who 
 constructed a small fleet on Lake Champlain. The Americans also built 
 a flotilla, and Arnold was put in command of it. The two fleets met at 
 Valcour Islands, October 14th and a severe battle ensued. At night Arnold 
 escaped with part of his fleet, but the British pursued and drove him into 
 a small creek, where he burned his boats to prevent their capture, and the 
 crews fled. Carleton occupied Crown Point, but November 3rd abandoned 
 it and returned to Canada. 
 
 In 1775, Congress, at the solicitation of New York, reluctantly 
 appointed Philip Schuyler, a major general ; and directed him to take 
 command of Ticonderoga and Crown Point with authority to occupy St. 
 Johns, Montreal and other parts of Canada. Montgomery, at the time, made 
 this significant statement: ''His (Schuyler's) consequence in the province 
 make him a fit subject for an important trust, but has he strong nerves? 
 I could wish this point well ascertained with respect to any man so 
 employed." Bancroft says: "Schuyler owed his place to his social position, 
 not to military talents. Anxious and suspected of a want of personal 
 courage, he found everything go ill under his command." (Vol. 5, 164). 
 
 In 1776, Congress directed Washington to send Major General 
 Horatio Gates to command the American forces in Canada. A question 
 arose, whether or not Gates was independent of Schuyler and there was 
 no harmony between them. Early in 1777, Schuyler wrote Congress a 
 letter, considered insulting and he was replaced by Gates. Schuyler re- 
 entered Congress, of which he was a member, and by adroit manipulation 
 got himself restored. On reassuming the position, he visited Ticonderoga, 
 the principal defense of the northern frontier ; but in spite of the fact, that 
 Trumbull had pointed out Mount Defiance dominated Ticonderoga, he 
 neglected to order its fortification. He reinforced the fort until its garrison 
 numbered over three thousand men, and contained vast stores. 
 
 Burgoyne, who succeeded Carleton, as commander of the British 
 invasion, occupied Crown Point and on July 1st camped before Ticon- 
 deroga. Four days later, he seized Mount Defiance, which enabled him to 
 sweep the fort with his cannon fire. St. Clair another over-rated and unfor- 
 tunate general, who commanded Ticonderoga, decided his position was 
 
 175 
 
untenable and ordered its evacuation, which was accomplished by his gar- 
 rison of three thousand three hundred men, without firing a shot. He left 
 behind eighty large cannon and an immense quantity of supplies. It was 
 a stampede and has been, generally, considered an unnecessary and hasty 
 flight. The garrison fled through Vermont and was hotly pursued by the 
 British, who came upon the rear guard at Hubbardtown. Warner, in 
 command, being a fighting man made a gallant resistance until the British 
 were reinforced, when he withdrew. This engagement was about the only 
 resistance offered by the northern army, during Schuyler's command and 
 infused the dispirited soldiers with a little more grit. Colonel Long, who 
 had occupied old Fort Anne, was attacked and defeated. He burned the 
 place and fell back to Fort Edward, which was successfully reached by 
 St. Clair's men. 
 
 Burgoyne, in order to proceed from Fort Anne to Fort Edward, had 
 to construct a road sixteen miles long, through an unbroken wilderness. 
 This delayed his advance, and during the delay, occurred the tragic death 
 of Jane McCrea. The account given by Bancroft (Vol. 5, 164), copied by 
 most writers and now an accepted tradition is: ''Jane Macarea, a young 
 woman of twenty, betrothed to a loyalist in the British service, and 
 esteeming herself under the protection of the British arms, was riding 
 from Fort Edward to the British camp at Sandy Hill, escorted by two 
 Indians. The Indians quarelled about the reward promised on her safe 
 arrival, and at half a mile from Fort Edward, one of them sunk his 
 tomahawk in her skull. ,, 
 
 The following account is entitled to more credence. After the death 
 of her father, a Presbyterian clergyman of Jersey City, Jane McCrea 
 removed to the home of her brother at Fort Edward, and there became 
 engaged to David Jones, a young man of the neighborhood, who was a 
 loyalist and a British officer. Upon Burgoyne's advance, her brother 
 entreated her to go with him to Albany, but she remained at Fort Edward 
 with a friend Mrs. McNeil, a Tory, probably, with the expectation of 
 meeting her betrothed. Early in the morning of July 27th, Indians were 
 seen approaching and the two women secreted themselves, but were dis- 
 covered and seized. Jane was placed on a horse and Mrs. McNeil, a stout 
 woman was unable to ride and was assisted by two stout Indians. Amer- 
 ican soldiers from the fort pursued the Indians and fired several shots 
 at them. Mrs. McNeil was taken to General Fraser, her cousin, and soon 
 after, the other Indians returned with scalps among which she recognized, 
 that of Jane. The Indians were accused of murdering her, but denied the 
 charge and insisted she was killed by shots from the pursuing soldiers, 
 and then they scalped her to obtain the reward. Their story is corroborated 
 by the fact that the British reward for a prisoner was much greater than 
 the bounty for a scalp ; and also by the statement of General Morgan 
 Lewis, the American officer at Fort Edward who had charge of Jane's 
 burial and found her body contained three gun shot wounds. Both Lossing 
 (Vol. 1, 38) and Stone's Campaign of Burgoyne (Appendix 302) give 
 this version, which is supported by the statements of contemporaries. How- 
 
 176 
 
ever, an American army surgeon, Dr. John Bartlett declared she was 
 shot by the Indians. 
 
 Burgoyne occupied Fort Edward, August 4th, and thence dispatched 
 Colonel Baum with a force of Brunswick dragoons, British, Canadians, 
 Tories and Indians to Vermont to collect horses, and cattle, which he 
 greatly needed and to seize and destroy the American stores at Benning- 
 ton. General John Stark with a brigade of New Hampshire militia came 
 to the assistance of Vermont. Schuyler ordered Stark to join his fleeing 
 army, but he refused and was denounced by Schuyler and censured by 
 Congress. Stark and Seth Warner, commander of the Green Mountain 
 Boys, acting in concert, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon at a place near 
 Bennington but over the New York border, attacked Baum on every side. 
 The Indians broke and fled, and Stark's riflemen played havoc with the 
 German troops. After two hours hard fighting, British resistance faltered 
 and the Americans poured over the enemy's breastworks and fought the 
 foe hand to hand. Baum was mortally wounded, and his troops surrendered. 
 Colonel Breyman, who had been sent with reinforcements, came in sight, 
 about the time of the surrender, but Stark and Warner confronted him 
 and a new battle ensued. It lasted until sunset when Breyman retreated, 
 leaving his cannon and wounded behind. 
 
 The battles of Oriskany and Bennington had been fought by the 
 frontiersmen, acting independently and without assistance from the nerve- 
 less Schuyler and his despondent army. Schuyler kept many miles between 
 him and the British, and fell back to Saratoga, then to Stillwater and 
 finally retreated to the mouth of the Mohawk, where he established his 
 camp, August 14th, although Burgoyne was at Fort Edward, many miles 
 away. His letters and complaints indicate his complete lack of resolution. 1 
 
 August 1st, Congress, without negative vote, resolved that Schuyler 
 should repair to headquarters and directed Washington to appoint his suc- 
 cessor, but Washington refused to make any appointment, although the 
 country expected him to appoint Gates. Then, Congress by a vote of eleven 
 states appointed Gates. Washington, in a brief note ordered him to assume 
 command of the northern department. Schuyler relinquished his com- 
 mand, probably, with chagrin, but perhaps with the inward satisfaction a 
 man feels when relieved of a task too great for his accomplishment. 
 Schuyler was a patriotic, generous and amiable man, who meant well but 
 was misplaced. Like many ambitious civilians, he craved military distinc- 
 tion, but he was no soldier, never commanded in any action and probably 
 never served in any engagement. 
 
 Gates restored confidence. The New York and New England militia 
 joined him and having reorganized the disorderly army, Gates moved 
 northward and September 12th, occupied Bemis Heights, about three 
 miles above Stillwater. He chose a strong location, and Kosciusko, a Pole, 
 wisely selected by Gates, as his engineer, laid out an intrenched camp, 
 extending westward from the Hudson river, along the heights, to the 
 high hills. It effectually barred Burgoyne's march southward. September 
 18th, the British were within five miles of the American line ; and the two 
 
 177 
 
engagements which followed have been called the battles of Stillwater, 
 Bemis Heights and Freeman's Farm, but are generally known as the 
 Battles of Saratoga. 
 
 The first battle began at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, of September 
 19th, when the British advance on Bemis Heights was halted by Morgan's 
 riflemen. They came through the woods in three columns, at a considerable 
 distance apart. The left column comprising the Brunswick regiments, the 
 47th British regiment, the heavy artillery and baggage under Riedesel 
 moved close to and parallel with the river, and guarded the boats. The 
 right column composed of the English grenadiers, 24th Brunswick gren- 
 adiers, the light battalion and cannon under Fraser followed the Quaker 
 Springs road. Burgoyne commanded the center and under him were the 
 9th, 20th, 21st and 62nd regiments 1 and light artillery. It was this column, 
 that Morgan intercepted and checked. Fraser wheeled his column from 
 and at right angles to the road and hurried to Burgoyne's assistance. From 
 this united force, Morgan's men recoiled. Gates sent Arnold with nine 
 Continental regiments to support him; and at 4 o'clock, the engagement 
 along the whole line became furious. The British cannon were captured by 
 the Americans and retaken in fierce hand to hand struggles. It is said, 
 they passed back and forth seven times. The American line was covered 
 by a wood, and in front of them was the open meadow of Freeman's Farm 
 for the possession of which there was a desperate endeavor. The Americans 
 gained the advantage, but the timely arrival of Riedesel with a part of his 
 force checked their advance. 
 
 The best British account is contained in the diary of Lieutenant 
 Digby (page 273) an officer in that army, who says: 
 
 "From the situation of the ground, and their being perfectly acquainted 
 with it, the whole of our troops could not be brought to engage together, 
 which was a very considerable disadvantage, though everything possible 
 was tried to remedy the inconvenience, but to no effect ; such an explosion 
 of fire, I never had any idea of before, and the heavy artillery joining in 
 concert, like peals of thunder, assisted by the echoes of the wood, almost 
 deafened us with the noise. To an unconcerned spectator, it must have had 
 the most awful and glorious appearance, the different Battalions moving to 
 relieve each other, some being pressed and almost broke by the superior 
 numbers. General Burgoyne was everywhere and did everything that could 
 be expected from a brave officer and Brig. Gen. Fraser gained great honor 
 by exposing himself to every danger." 
 
 Night put an end to the contest. The British retained the open fields 
 of Freeman's farm, and the Americans retired to their entrenchments on 
 Bemis Heights. From the British standpoint, Digby says: "It was a dear 
 bought victory, if I can give it that name." The verdict of history is that 
 Burgoyne lost, as he was checked in his purpose of penetrating the Amer- 
 ican lines. The Americans lost between three and four hundred, and the 
 British losses exceeded six hundred. Burgoyne made his camp on the battle 
 
 178 
 
field, which he entrenched and fortified on the right, near the woods by 
 a defence called the Great Redoubt. For sixteen days, the armies faced 
 each other across a narrow interval of neutral ground. 
 
 During this time, General Lincoln attempted the seizure of Ticon- 
 deroga; and although unsuccessful, captured four companies of the 53rd 
 British regiment. Gates transferred some of the troops, which had been 
 under Arnold during the first engagement, to the command of Adjutant 
 General Wilkinson, and this so enraged Arnold, that he relinquished his 
 command and demanded his passports to Washington's headquarters. This 
 Gates granted, but evidently recanting of his rashness, Arnold lingered 
 at Bemis Heights. The impetuous Arnold and the deliberate Gates were 
 incompatable characters and no harmony could exist between them. 
 
 The second battle of Saartoga has been variously described, and is 
 hard to understand. This is due to the extent of territory, it, probably, 
 being the most extensive battlefield of the Revolution, and the confusion, 
 necessarily incident to a great battle. It began about 10 o'clock in the 
 morning of October 7th. The British entrenchments, guarding their camp 
 and facing the west extended northward from the Great Redoubt to Brey- 
 man's hill; and the southern entrenchments running at right angles from 
 the Great Redoubt to the river, faced the American line. The British left, 
 resting on the river was commanded by Phillips, the center by Riedesel, 
 and the right including the Great Redoubt and the entrenchments facing 
 the west by Earl Balcarras. The American forces were commanded by 
 Nixon and Glover on the right, Lincoln in the center and Morgan and 
 Learned on the left. 
 
 The British entered a wheat field about a mile southwest of the Great 
 Redoubt and began cutting the grain for forage. The story is told, that 
 Wilkinson, Lincoln and Arnold reconnoitered the enemy lines and reported 
 to Gates. Lincoln said : "The firing on the river is merely a feint. Their 
 object is your left. A strong force of 1500 men is marching to plant them- 
 selves on yonder height. It is in danger." Gates replied: "I will send 
 Morgan and his riflemen and Dearborn's infantry." Arnold said : "That is 
 nothing. You must send a strong force." This stung Gates and he retorted: 
 "General Arnold, I have nothing for you to do, you have no business here." 
 But, on the more temperate representations of Lincoln, he sent sufficient 
 forces. 
 
 By 2 o'clock, the lines of battle had been formed. The British right 
 composed of infantry, under Earl Balcarras, was posted some distance 
 west of the Quaker Springs road which ran north and south and nearly at 
 right angles to the American line. In front were five hundred men under 
 Fraser. The center also west of the road was occupied by the German 
 troops under Riedesel; and the left, east of the road, was held by the 
 grenadiers under Ackland and Williams. At right angles to the British 
 line and flanking its rights wing were Morgan's riflemen. The American 
 left was held by Dearborn's infantry, and the center by Poor's brigade. 
 These were all west of the road. The American right, mostly east of the 
 
 179 
 
road, was held by Learned's brigade. Both battle lines were nearly parallel 
 and extended in an easterly and westerly direction. 
 
 Morgan began the engagement, and he and Dearborn pushed back 
 the British right wing and it gave way, but Balcarras succeeded in rallying 
 his men behind a stone fence, some distance in the rear of his first position. 
 Meanwhile Poor and Learned attacked the Germans and grenadiers. Poor's 
 men charged with intrepidity, and Ackland was wounded. The grenadiers 
 broke and fled. The Americans furiously assaulted the enemy's center 3 and 
 Balcarras, being driven back, Morgan's riflemen swung in on the flank 
 of the Germans. Fraser, detecting they were about to be surrounded, went 
 to their assistance. Morgan observed this movement, took aside Tim 
 Murphy, a noted sharp shooter and ordered him to shoot Fraser, who 
 was the inspiration of the British resistance. A little later, Fraser fell 
 mortally wounded, at a point some distance north of the original British 
 lines, which had been pushed back by the severity of the American attack. 
 Soon after, Fraser fell, 2 the British became demoralized, and American 
 reinforcements pouring in, Burgoyne, about an hour after the battle began, 
 ordered a retreat of his army to the Great Redoubt and within his entrench- 
 ments. The Americans had won the Battle of Saratoga. 
 
 The second phase of the battle, in which Arnold distinguished himself, 
 did little to enhance the victory. After the enemy's retreat, the American 
 army realigned itself, more than a mile from the site of the first engage- 
 ment, and in front of the Great Redoubt and the entrenchments running 
 north from it to Breyman's hill. Patterson's and Glover's brigades were 
 pursuing Balcarras and Arnold placed himself at their head and led a 
 furious charge, which drove Balcarras within the protection of the redoubt. 
 Arnold galloped here and there, senseless of danger, and as stated, by 
 Samuel Woodruff, a participant, "more like a madman, than a cool and 
 discreet officer." The Americans drove a detachment of Canadians from 
 a poorly fortified interval between the entrenchments and Breyman's hill, 
 and this enabled them to surround the hill, which was occupied by Colonel 
 Breyman and a force of Brunswickers. General Matoon has stated in a 
 letter published in the Saratoga Sentinel, November 10, 1835 : 
 
 "Arnold says to Col. Brooks, "Let us attack Balcarras's works." 
 Brooks replied, "No Lord Ackland's detachment has retired there, we 
 can't carry them." Well, then let us attack the Hessian lines." Brooks 
 replies, "With all my heart." We all wheeled to the right and advanced. 
 No fire was received, except from the cannon, until we got within about 
 eight rods, when we received a tremendous fire from the whole line. But 
 a few of our men, however, fell. Still advancing, we received a second 
 fire, in which a few men fell, and Gen. Arnold's horse fell under him, and 
 he himself was wounded. He cried out, "Rush on, my brave boys." After 
 receiving the third fire, Brooks mounted their works, swung his sword 
 and the men rushed into their works." 
 
 Colonel Breyman was killed, and night ended the conflict. In this 
 second phase of the battle, the Americans only captured the detached out- 
 
 180 
 
post on Breyman's hill, but did not penetrate the enemy's main entrench- 
 ments. 
 
 These facts would seem to dispose of the myth, that Arnold won the 
 second battle of Saratoga. Benedict Arnold was not a great general. He was 
 always spectacular and his maddened daring captured the imagination, and 
 imparted a glamour, which accepted by the multitude, sober sense, ever 
 since, has had a hard time to overcome. 
 
 Burgoyne, leaving behind his wounded, retreated during the night of 
 the 8th but due to heavy rains, did not reach Saratoga until the evening 
 of the next day. Due to the rain, Gates did not begin his pursuit until 
 noon of the 10th, but he reached the south side of the Fishkill, opposite 
 Saratoga, by 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Before the battle, Gates, antici- 
 pating a British retreat, sent Colonel Fellows wtih fourteen hundred men 
 to occupy the east bank of the Hudson opposite Saratoga (the present 
 Schuylerville) and prevent escape by the ford at that place. After the 
 battle he dispatched a force to hold a position near Fort Miller ; and two 
 thousand men to bar the roadway from Saratoga to Fort George. Misap- 
 prehending a movement by the British as a general retreat, the Americans 
 advanced early in the morning of the 11th, in a dense fog, but being 
 informed by a deserter, that the enemy was still in camp, the troops were 
 withdrawn before any engagement occurred. 
 
 Hemmed in on all sides, Burgoyne, on the 13th, opened negotiations 
 for surrender, but they were protracted until the 16th, when terms were 
 agreed to. During that night a messenger arrived from Clinton with news 
 that his army was ascending the Hudson and had occupied Kingston, which 
 news tempted Burgoyne to repudiate the surrender. But the next morning, 
 Gates formed his whole army in battle line and sternly informed Bur- 
 goyne, that unless he immediately signed the articles, he would open fire. 
 Burgoyne in the jaws of inexorable fate complied. During the afternoon 
 of October 17th, the British grounded their arms, Burgoyne handed his 
 sword to Gates and the surrender was accomplished. 
 
 The official number surrendered was 5,581, but according to Digby, 
 it did not include the Canadians sent to Canada and the sick and wounded. 
 The terms of surrender were liberal, and the prisoners were to be paroled. 
 They were marched to Boston to be sent to England, but Congress 
 repudiated this provision of the treaty and they were imprisoned at 
 Charlottesville, Virginia. 
 
 Saratoga was the decisive battle of the Revolution and so considered 
 in Europe. France, upon receipt of the news, began negotiations with 
 Franklin for a treaty of alliance with the United States. Gates was the 
 hero of the hour, but since, due to a variety of reasons, his reputation has 
 suffered. The extreme partisans of Washington were jealous of Gates' vic- 
 tory and its comparison with Washington's defeats at Brandywine and 
 Germantown, fought about the same time. Schuyler"s friends belittled 
 him. His conduct of the northern campaign has been little criticised, as it 
 seems to be free of mistakes. He was a trained English soldier, who came 
 here as a captain and fought with Braddock, when he was severely 
 
 181 
 
wounded. After the French and Indian War, he purchased a farm in 
 Virginia, where he made his home. He was a Whig from the beginning 
 and none of his critics has impeached his patriotism. He was a kindly, 
 temperate man, devoted to his family and chivalrous to his adversaries, as 
 evidenced in his admirable letter in the Lady Ackland affair. In his 
 official report, he named Arnold his bitter enemy, together with Morgan 
 and Dearborn as officers who specially distinguished themselves. By his 
 successful conduct of the Saratoga campaign, Horatio Gates merits the 
 esteem of the American people. 3 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 
 
 1. As early as June 30th, when the enemy had not yet appeared, Schuyler 
 wrote Washington : "Should an accident happen to Ticonderoga, and General Bur- 
 goyne make a push to gain the south part of the lake, I know of no obstacle to 
 prevent him." The same day, he wrote Van Cortland: "I am very apprehensive that 
 should disaster befall the garrison of Ticonderoga, the enemy might possess himself 
 of Fort George, before we can be in force to make opposition." 
 
 After the evacuation of Ticonderoga, Schuyler wrote Washington : "With the 
 country in the deepest consternation, no carriages to remove the stores from Fort 
 George, which I expect every moment is to be attacked." Washington replied : 
 "I hope a spirited opposition will check the progress of General Burgoyne's army." 
 Washington wrote General Lincoln on his assignment to Schuyler's army ; "Yester- 
 day, I was in some doubt, whether I should send you northward, but I have this 
 day received two letters from General Schuyler in such style, as convinces me that 
 it is absolutely necessary to send a determined officer to his assistance." The same 
 day he wrote Schuyler : "Nor do I see anything in it to induce a belief, that their 
 progress will be so rapid, as not to give you time to make proper preparations and 
 receive sufficient accessions of force to enable you to give them a vigorous and 
 successful opposition." 
 
 As late as August 13th, Schuyler wrote Washington: "We are obliged to give 
 way and retreat before a vastly superior force, daily increasing in numbers, and 
 which will be doubled if General Burgoyne reaches Albany, which I apprehend 
 will be very soon." 
 
 July 24th, Schuyler wrote the New York Council of Safety, a letter appre- 
 hending St. Leger would meet little resistance in the Mohawk valley, join 
 Burgoyne at Albany and that Howe would come up the Hudson and join him, that 
 there would be an Indian uprising and that New York would be conquered, and 
 concluding; "These sir, are my conjectures; I sincerely wish they may never be 
 realized, although I can not think they are ill founded. I have thus ventured freely 
 to give my sentiments. I hope they will not be thought to arise from a principle 
 which would disgrace a soldier, I assure you they do not ; and I hope my countrymen 
 will never have occasion to blush for me, whatever may be the event of the campaign." 
 
 Schuyler seems to have suffered from three consuming fears, fear of the enemy, 
 fear of public condemnation and fear of Congress, for he wrote Van Cortland: 
 
 "However, painful it is to labour under a load of calumny, I have thank God, 
 fortitude enough not to sink under it; nor shall it depress my spirits or make me 
 for a moment relax these exertions which are become so necessary to prevent the 
 enemy from penetrating much further into the country, which by God's blessing I 
 still hope to do." After adverting to St. Clair's assumption of all responsibility 
 
 182 
 
for the evacuation of Ticonderoga, he concluded: "I wish a line may be wrote 
 to our Delegates in Congress, advising that I did not order the evacuation." 
 
 Schuyler, August 4th, with Burgoyne still at Fort Edward, confessed his influence 
 gone by thus appealing to Governor Clinton : "The people are desponding. They 
 want to have their spirits roused. Nothing short of your coming up to Albany 
 with the Senate and House of Representatives will do it." 
 
 Christopher Tappan wrote Clinton, August 8th : "The express says our army 
 have been twice alarmed. General Schuyler did, at each time in order to spirit up 
 his troops, undertake to address them with a speech, but the last time he was inter- 
 rupted by the discharge of a piece and the Wissiling of the ball over his head. 
 When I reflect on the conduct of our wise politicians, how they have exerted them- 
 selves to reestablish that Gent'ms command in that department, it gives me pain. 
 They have not only rendered that Gentlemans situation very disagreeable and his 
 life precarious,, but have cast by means thereof a cloud of difficulties, that God only 
 knows whether they may not be the cause if our State falls a sacrifice to the enemy." 
 
 For letters see: Clinton Papers II, 62, 63, 101, 144, 145, 195, 199, 215: Wash- 
 ington Writings, IV, 491, 492, 493, 505, 506, V, 1, 2, 16. 
 
 2. Mrs. Riedesel, wife of General Riedesel, who accompanied the expedition, 
 in her Letters and Journals, pages 119 to 121, described the death of General 
 Fraser, who was brought to the house she occupied and died in her room ; and also 
 tells of Lady Ackland's journey to Gates army to attend her wounded husband 
 who was a prisoner there, and contains Gates' gracious reply to Burgoyne's request 
 as follows : 
 
 "Sir : I have the honor to receive your excellency's letter by Lady Ackland. 
 The respect due to her ladyship's rank, and the tenderness due to her person and 
 sex, were alone sufficient securities to entitle her to my protection, if you consider 
 my preceding conduct with respect to those of your army, whom the fortune of war 
 has placed in my hands. I am surprised that your excellency should think, that I 
 could consider the greatest attention to Lady Ackland in the light of an obligation." 
 
 3. For authorities on Burgoyne expedition see; Clinton Papers Vol. 2; Lieu- 
 tenant Digby's Diary; Bancroft's History of the United States; Stone, The Burgoyne 
 Expedition ; Lossing Field Book of the Revolution Vol. 1. 
 
 183 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 
 
 THE WYOMING MASSACRE 
 
 The Indians bemoaned their losses at Oriskany and whetted their 
 vengeance against the border settlements. Wyoming's isolation, the 
 depletion of its fighting force by the withdrawal to Washington's army of 
 two Continental companies recruited and stationed there, and the flight 
 of a considerable number of Wyoming Tories to Fort Niagara made it 
 vulnerable to attack. There were numerous warnings of an Indian invasion. 
 In February, 1778, Amos York and Lemuel Fitch were captured at 
 Wyalusing ; and early in June, while Asa Budd and William Crooks were 
 fishing in the river, near Tunkhannock, Crooks was killed by the Indians. 
 
 Late in June, Major John Butler and his rangers and Sayenqueraghta 
 and some six hundred Seneca warriors arrived at Queen Esther's village, 
 located a little below Tioga Point j 1 whence June 27th, they descended 
 the Susquehanna, in canoes, to the mouth of Bowman's creek, arriving 
 there the evening of the 29th. The next morning, leaving their canoes at 
 the Three Islands, they marched through the hills and that night made 
 their encampment on Mt. Lookout, overlooking the Wyoming Valley. 
 
 During the afternoon of June 30th, Frederick Ankers and Michael 
 Showers, Tory spies, from Fort Wintermute, went up the river and at 
 Buttermilk Falls met an Indian scouting party, and informed them, that 
 members of the Harding family were hoeing corn in a field, some distance 
 down the river. Ankers and Showers, followed by the Indians, made their 
 w r ay to the Hardings and suggested to the man guarding the hoers, that 
 they would watch and he could help the workers, so that they could finish 
 before dark. When the work was done, Stephen Harding Jr. went for 
 the horses. As the others were passing through a small ravine, they were 
 attacked by the ambushed Indians and Benjamin and Stulkely Harding 
 were wounded. They fought, desperately, for their lives, but were over- 
 come. John Gardner was captured and Stephen Harding Jr. and a boy 
 named Rogers escaped and the others were killed. 
 
 Another Indian band, at the mouth of Sutton's creek, captured James 
 Hadsall Sr., Daniel Carr and Quocko a negro, who were working in a 
 tannery. A party who had been hoeing corn on the opposite island were 
 attacked and James Hadsall Jr. was killed and Ebenezer Reynolds was 
 wounded, but the latter with David Wallen and a boy, John Hadsall 
 
 184 
 
managed to escape. The Indians with their captives went up Sutton's 
 creek and that night tortured to death old man Hadsall and the negro. 
 
 Unaware of the presence of the enemy on Mt. Lookout and leaving 
 the valley unprotected, the next morning, Colonels Butler and Denison 
 with the militia regiment marched up the river and secured the bodies 
 of the Hardings, which they interred in the old cemetery in the present 
 West Pittston. The advance guard surprised two Indians, near the bodies 
 of the Hardings, and one of them Zebulon Marcy shot dead and the other 
 Roasel Franklin killed with a club. 
 
 That evening, two of the Wintermute boys, long suspected of being 
 Tories, went to the encampment on Mt. Lookout and guided the British 
 and Indians to Fort Wintermute, located at the present corner of Battle 
 Avenue and Valley Street, Exeter Borough, which surrendered without 
 resistance. The next morning, Captain Caldwell of the rangers obtained 
 the surrender of Fort Jenkins, located in the present West Pittston. An 
 American scouting party under Captain Hewitt, during the day, was 
 attacked in Shoemaker's Notch and one of the soldiers was killed and 
 another captured. The night was one of consternation, prized possessions 
 were secreted, horses and cattle were turned loose in the woods and the 
 women and children fled to Forty Fort. Ezekiel Pierce, keeper of the 
 Wyoming records and clerk of Westmoreland county gathered his maps, 
 books and documents in a strong chest and these the most precious pos- 
 sessions of the doomed settlement, guarded by the faithful old man, who 
 slowly trudged behind the creaking ox cart, were taken to Forty Fort for 
 security. 
 
 Early July 3rd, Major Butler demanded the surrender of Forty Fort 
 which was refused. Most of the companies of the regiment were then 
 assembled at Forty Fort and Colonel Denison turned its command over 
 to Zebulon Butler, a colonel in the Continental service, at Wyoming on 
 leave of absence. About noon, Lazarus Stewart arrived with the Hanover 
 company. He, the most noted frontiersman of the time, was a more expe- 
 rienced Indian fighter, than any of them, and because of his leading participa- 
 tion in the murder of the Conestogas in the Lancaster jail, was hated and 
 feared by the Indians from the Mohawk to the Ohio. But in this last great 
 play of his wild career, and he was mainly responsible for the tragic day, 
 the Indians "squared the count" and Lazarus Stewart fell in the battle or 
 massacre which followed, and his bones, probably, rest with the others 
 under the monument at Wyoming. 
 
 At a meeting, held at noon, Butler, Denison, Dorrance, Garrett and 
 other prudent leaders urged that a battle be delayed until expected rein- 
 forcements arrived ; but Stewart and the impetuous ones who followed 
 him insisted there be no delay. It is said Stewart openly charged Butler 
 with cowardice. Be that as it may, the great majority sustained Stewart ; 
 and about 1 o'clock, a little over three hundred men left Forty Fort and 
 took the Great Road, as Wyoming Avenue was then called and marched 
 forth to their doom. After a delay at Abraham's creek, a natural position 
 for defense, where the cautious leaders contended the battle line should be 
 
 185 
 
formed Stewart again had his way. The march was resumed and the battle 
 line formed parallel with the present Fourth Street, Wyoming Borough, and 
 extending from the bluff overlooking the lowlands on the right to the 
 swamp on the left. Colonel Butler, Major Garrett and Captain Robert 
 Durkee commanded the right wing and Colonel Denison, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Dorrance and Captain Samuel Ransom commanded the left wing. 
 These field officers were mounted. 
 
 As the Americans formed, Major Butler fired Fort Wintermute and 
 ordered Fort Jenkins burned. The rising smoke, as Butler designed, 
 deceived the Americans with the belief the British were retreating and 
 quickened their advance. The thin and feeble line, extending nearly two 
 thousand feet across the plain, moved quickly through the woods. The 
 flanks on either side were unprotected and the center unsupported by a 
 reserve. The bluff curves away from the river, and consequently the dis- 
 tance to the swamp being less, the American line closed up considerably 
 at the point of conflict. 
 
 Major Butler posted his men, in a fine open wood west of Fort Win- 
 termute and a little north and parallel with the present Valley Avenue, 
 and for their safety ordered them to lie flat on the ground. He had between 
 six and eight hundred men ; and posted the rangers, under his immediate 
 command, on the left and in the center, and on the right and concealed 
 in the swamp, flanking the American line were stationed the Indians under 
 Sayenqueraghta. Under him were the most adroit war chiefs of the 
 Seneca nation, including, Roland Montour, Governor Blacksnake, Captain 
 Pollard, Little Beard and Stuttering John Montour, who each commanded 
 a band of skillful and unrelenting warriors. Butler, having removed his 
 uniform and the insignia of his rank, and with only a black handkerchief 
 tied round his head to distinguish him, lay down in the ranks and coolly 
 awaited the conflict. 
 
 Within six hundred feet of his line, the Americans began firing by 
 platoons and three volleys were discharged. An Indian flanking party on 
 the right, concealed in the brush under the bank of the bluff, wounded 
 Lieutenant Daniel Gore and mortally wounded Captain Durkee, but they 
 were dislodged and driven back. The rangers rose from the ground, fell 
 back some distance and fired. They were pursued by Captain Hewitt's 
 company, who mistook their movement for a retreat ; and thus the Amer- 
 ican right wing got some thirty rods in advance of the left wing, when 
 suddenly the hideous warwhoops of the Indians sounded and the savage war- 
 riors poured from the swamp and began the destruction of the left wing. 
 Outflanked by the Indians, who were now a considerable distance in his 
 rear, Colonel Denison ordered Captain Whittlesey to fall back and form 
 an angle to the main line and protect its flank. This was mistaken for an 
 order to retreat and the whole left wing, terrified by the yells of the 
 savages, was thrown into indescribable confusion and panic. They not 
 only carried the center with them but also the right wing. Colonel Dor- 
 rance was shot and thus disabled fell into the Indian's hands. Butler and 
 Denison were unable to check the flight and Major Garrett was killed. 
 
 186 
 
The only part of the line intact was held by the Continental com- 
 pany under Captain Hewitt. Confronted by the terrible disaster, an officer 
 said to Hewitt : "The day is lost, see the Indians are sixty rods in our rear, 
 shall we retreat" "I'll be damned if I do," was his answer and to the lad 
 at his side he shouted, "Drummer strike up." Just then, a bullet struck 
 him dead and the last of the crumbling line gave way in a pandemonium 
 of flight. 
 
 The battle, which began at 5 o'clock, lasted about thirty minutes. 
 Colonels Butler and Denison, being mounted managed to escape and 
 reached Forty Fort. Encompassed on all sides, the fugitives ran hither 
 and thither. The only avenue of escape was the river. Roger Searle and 
 William Buck fleeing thence were pursued by an Indian, who shouted "Me 
 give quarter." Buck paused was seized and slain. Anning Owen and Ben- 
 jamin Carpenter, in hiding, saw Elijah Shoemaker plunge in the river, 
 and heard Henry Windecker, a Tory, in pursuit, say, "Shoemaker come 
 back, I'll protect you." Windecker grasped his hand to help him up the 
 bank and then struck him dead with his tomahawk. William Hammond, 
 swimming to Monacanuk Island, was promised protection by Secord, a 
 Tory, who slew him. Cyprian Hibbard and Samuel Carey were pursued. 
 Hibbard was killed and Carey captured. The next morning, Roland Mon- 
 tour who took him under his protection, went to a dying warrior and 
 persuaded him to consent to Carey's adoption by his parents, and thus his 
 life was saved. Henry Pencil, hiding behind a log, was discovered by his 
 brother, John, a Tory, who said, "So it's you." Henry implored, "You 
 wont kill your brother?" John stood on the log with pointed gun, and 
 replied, "Yes, I'd as soon kill you, as look at you, you damned rebel." 
 He pulled the trigger and to make sure his brother was dead, sunk his 
 hatchet in his skull and scalped him. This is the terrible and celebrated 
 story of "The Fratricide of Wyoming," which is pretty well authenticated. 
 
 Butler, the Christian head of all this deviltry passed the night on this 
 field of woe, seemingly undisturbed, save, it is said, by a nausea caused 
 by the effluvium of burning flesh. The Indians made their campfires in the 
 woods south of the battlefield and around them, grouped in bands, each of 
 which had its own peculiar method of torment and torture. Some thrust 
 splinters of wood into living bodies and tore the hair and nails from their 
 victims ; others disembowled their prisoners and burned them at the stake, 
 tore arms and legs from the sufferers and decapitated the dead. Around 
 the "Bloody Rock," still to be seen, fourteen bodies were found. The 
 scene there enacted was ascertained from Lebbeus Hammond who escaped. 
 The prisoners, each held by an Indian encircled the rock, and each victim 
 had his head pressed against the rock by the savages, while Queen Esther 
 with a heavy maul dashed out his brains. Hammond, seeing his turn 
 approaching, slipped from the clutches of the Indian who held him, sprang 
 into the brush and escaped. Nine other bodies were found in another 
 circle, from which, it is said, Joseph Elliott escaped. 
 
 In the morning, while the squaws were seen, "fixing the scalps on 
 bows and scraping off the flesh and blood and carefully drying them," the 
 
 187 
 
Tory, Philip Wintermute escorted Mrs. John Jenkins over the field and 
 said to her, "Look but don't seem to see." She saw charred corpses 
 smouldering on piles of burning logs, legs, arms and heads lying about 
 and mutilated bodies everywhere. Colonel Dorrance, wounded and cap- 
 tured while being taken to Forty Fort for ransom, became exhausted 
 and his captors killed him and divided his scalp, sword, cocked hat and 
 coat between them. This was the last life taken. 
 
 Major Butler's official report stated that two hundred and twenty- 
 seven scalps and only five prisoners were taken in the action. The number 
 of slain, listed on the monument at Wyoming is one hundred seventy-three, 
 and the number of survivors fifty. The number engaged, according to 
 Colonel Denison, was over three hundred, consequently, there must have 
 been more slain than listed, indicating Butler's report is more nearly 
 correct. 
 
 Forty Fort was surrendered, July 4th at 4 p.m. ; and the capitulation 
 provided for destruction of the forts, the inhabitants not to rearm but 
 remain on their farms, their lives to be preserved and their property spared, 
 so far as Butler's influence could prevail. The property taken from the 
 Tories was to be made good and they to remain peaceably on their farms. 
 
 As a matter of fact, no women and children were killed during the 
 invasion, but plundering immediately began and a wild panic seized the 
 survivors, who began to flee the night of the battle. Those living in 
 Pittston and Providence fled by Cobb's Gap to the Delaware and nevei' 
 stopped until they reached Goshen and Newburg. They carried with them 
 those living on the Delaware and Wallenpaupack. In Providence, the 
 Hickman family were killed, and Daniel St. John and James Leach were 
 slain above Pittston. Jonathan Fitch, sheriff of Westmoreland county, 
 alone, led more than a hundred women and children by the Warrior Path 
 to Fort Allen. The greatest number went over the wild Pocono mountains 
 to Fort Penn (Stoudsburg). Helpless women and children, unguided and 
 unguarded, wandered through the great swamp, since known as the 
 "Shades of Death." Screeching panthers and howling wolves added to their 
 alarm. Many were lost and others died by the wayside from starvation 
 and exhaustion. An authority has stated that over two hundred perished 
 in this wild flight. Those living in the lower twonships made their way 
 by the road and river to Fort Augusta. They communicated their panic 
 to the settlers living on the West Branch, who also fled. Sunbury was 
 abandoned and Northumberland county broken up, in this "Great Run- 
 away," as it was called. But few remained north of Harrisburg. 
 
 Zebulon Butler with a hundred troops reoccupied Wyoming, August 
 4th ; and buried the remains of those slain in the massacre in a common 
 grave, but the intense summer heat had so shriveled the bodies, that none 
 could be recognized. The Indians captured Luke Swetland and Joseph 
 Blanchard, near Wilkes-Barre, and Isaac Tripp his grandson Isaac, James 
 Hocksey and Timothy Keyes in Providence. Tripp was released, his grand- 
 son taken to Canada, and Keyes and Hocksey killed. 2 Colonel Thomas 
 Hartley with his regiment marched by the Sheshequin Path to Tioga 
 
 188 
 
Point where he destroyed Queen Esther's village. On his return, he 
 fought a slight engagement at the mouth of Tuscarora creek and reached 
 Wilkes-Barre October 4th. 3 The Indians continued to ravage Wyoming 
 and the West Branch and a list of their depredations is contained in a note. 4 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 
 
 1. The story, that the Montours, the celebrated Indian halfbreed family were 
 descended from Frontenac, governor of Canada, is fabulous. Lord Cornbury, 
 governor of New York wrote in 1708 (N. Y. Col. Docs. V, 650), that there had 
 come to Albany, from the far Indians (Senecas), one Montour, son of a French 
 gentleman and Indian woman, and that there were also two daughters. Catherine 
 Montour, the first one of whom we have authentic knowledge, considered herself 
 a Seneca, and may have been one of the daughters. In Paris Documents, N. Y. 
 Col. Docs. IX, 601 and 830, there is reference to the wounding by the Mohawks 
 of one Montour, who may have been the father ; and also the killing of a Montour, 
 evidently the one mentioned by Cornbury, because he had gone over to the English, 
 by Joncaire, acting under orders of Vaudreuil, governor of Canada. In the Mem- 
 orials of the Moravian church, it is stated, Catherine, Madame Montour first married 
 Roland Montour, a Seneca, by whom she had four sons, Andrew, Henry, Robert 
 and Louis; and that French Margaret was her niece. After his death, she married 
 Carandowna, alias Robert Hunter an Oneida chief. If so Roland Montour may have 
 been the one killed by Joncaire in 1709. Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre I, page 
 205, lists Madame Montours children: 1, French Margaret, married Peter Quebec, 
 children ; Catherine married Thomas Hutson, children, Roland, John and Belle : 
 Esther (Queen Esther) married Eghobund, Monsey chief, lived at Tioga Point where 
 he died ; and Molly : 2, John or Jean ; 3, Andrew, Indian name Sattelihu ; 4, Henry ; 
 5, Louis or Lewis. All were prominent and frequently mentioned in the colonial 
 records. 
 
 2. For account of battle and massacre, see : Miner, History of Wyoming ; 
 Stone, History of Wyoming; Harvey History of Wilkes-Barre; Brewster, History 
 of Kingston. 
 
 3. Pa. Archs. VII, 5. 
 
 4. In October, 1778, three soldiers killed on Kingston flats : William Jameson 
 killed, William Jackson, Mr. and Mrs. Hagerman and daughter Leonora, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Edward Lester and five children captured in Hanover. Hagerman escaped. 
 In November : John Perkins was killed in Plymouth and the Utley family were 
 murdered in Nescopeek. In December, Isaac Inman was killed in Hanover. In 
 February, 1779, Stephen Pettebone, Asahel Buck and Elihu Williams Sr. were 
 killed and Frederick Follett wounded on Kingston flats opposite Wilkes-Barre. In 
 March : Captain James Bidlack and Josiah Rogers attacked while crossing Kingston 
 flats. Bidlack was captured and Rogers escaped to Kingston Blockhouse. Soldiers 
 from Fort Wyoming drove the Indians to bank of Toby's creek where over two 
 hundred were secreted. An engagement, lasting two hours, ensued but the losses 
 were slight as both sides fought under cover. 
 
 The settlers on the West Branch were widely scattered and exposed to attack 
 from the Indians who lived in the upper part of the valley. In June, 1777, Zephaniah 
 Miller, Abel Cady and James Armstrong were killed on the opposite side of the 
 river from Fort Antes. The preceding winter, a man was killed on Sugar Run. The 
 Brown and Benjamin families on the Loyalsock were attacked and the house set 
 on fire, from which the Benjamins fled. Benjamin was killed and his family 
 captured. Brown, his wife and daughter were burned to death. A man, named 
 
 189 
 
Satzman was killed on the Sinnemahoning. David Jones was murdered near Far- 
 randsville, and a man killed on Penn's creek and one near the Great Island. In 
 May, 1778; Jacob Stanford, his wife and daughter were killed and son captured in 
 Penn's valley. Six men, while mowing hay a mile above Williamsport, were killed. 
 A man, woman and child were captured near Pine Creek and two men, seven women 
 and children were captured on Lycoming creek. Sixteen persons were killed or 
 captured on the Loyalsock; and Andrew Armrstrong, his son and Nancy 
 Bundy captured near Linden. Captain Berry and party of twelve were destroyed 
 on the Loyalsock, who had they taken the advice of Robert Covenhoven, the only 
 one saved, might have escaped. Of the same party, Peter Schoefelt and Mr. Thomas 
 killed and William Wychoff captured in present Williamsport, and same day, 
 nearby, Mrs. Peter Smith, Mrs. William King, a boy and girl and a Mr. Hammond 
 and Mr. Snodgrass, were killed. In August, James Brady son of the noted Captain 
 John Brady was wounded and subsequently died. A man, named Cottner was killed 
 and Captain Martel wounded near Fort Muncy, erected by Colonel Hartley, shortly 
 before October 2nd; two sergeants of Hartley's regiment killed near Fort Muncy. 
 
 190 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 
 
 FRANCES SLOCUM 
 
 The most fascinating episode of the frontier is the story of Frances 
 Slocum. About midday November 2, 1778, three Delaware Indians 
 stealthily approached the house of Jonathan Slocum, a Quaker, who with 
 his wife, six sons and three daughters, lived within half a mile of the 
 fort at Wilkes-Barre. A gunshot startled Mrs. Slocum, who looked out 
 of the window and saw the savages scalping Nathan Kingsley, aged fifteen 
 years, who with his brother Wareham had been sharpening a knife on a, 
 grindstone in the front yard. Wareham ran to the house. Mrs. Slocum 
 slammed the door behind him and screamed to her children to run. Then, 
 clasping her seven weeks old son in her arms, she ran and hid in the 
 swamp back of the house. Mary Slocum, aged ten, took in her arms, her 
 year and a half old brother, Joseph and fled towards the fort, the Indians 
 laughing at her efforts to escape, which they did not attempt to prevent. 
 Meanwhile, Frances Slocum, aged five years and seven months and Ware- 
 ham Kingsley hid under the staircase and would have escaped, but 
 Frances' feet protruding, they were detected and seized. The fourteen 
 year old Ebenezer Slocum, being crippled, was unable to flee and easily 
 captured. Mrs. Slocum ran from her concealment and implored the Indians 
 to release her children. Pointing to her crippled son, she said, "He can 
 do thee no good." They delivered him to her. One Indian shouldered the 
 plunder, another the Kingsley boy and the third little Frances, who 
 struggled, screamed and kicked. This was the last time the mother saw 
 her golden haired child. Alarmed by the shot, soldiers from the fort ran 
 toward the Slocum house and met the fleeing Mary with her little brother. 
 A futile pursuit of the savages was made. The following December, the 
 father and his son-in-law, Isaac Tripp were killed by the Indians, and his 
 son William Slocum wounded, but he managed to escape. 
 
 The taking of the Slocum girl differed little from many other captures 
 on the frontier, but her discovery after sixty years and the reunion of the 
 family tinged it with romance. Mrs. Slocum never despaired of recover- 
 ing her lost child, and her sons made several journeys to the Indian coun- 
 try in quest of their sister, but after the death of the mother, they lost 
 all hope of her recovery. 
 
 Colonel George W. Ewing, an Indian trader, living at Logansport, 
 
 191 
 
Indiana, while on a trip through the Miami Indian reservation, in 1835, 
 stayed one night with an Indian family at Deaf Man's village on the 
 Mississeneva river. It was the home of the widow of an Indian chief, who 
 was known by Colonel Ewing to be a white woman. After supper, the old 
 woman kept him up with conversation about her farm, until the other 
 members of the family had retired, when she told him she had something 
 to impart. She spoke in the Miami language, and only told him, because 
 she was old, then ill and expected to die. She said she had been captured, 
 when a mere child from a place on the Susquehanna river, near a fort, 
 that her father named S locum was a Quaker and wore a broadbrim 
 hat, and she had many brothers and sisters, she presumed all dead, as she 
 believed herself to be about eighty years old. 
 
 Colonel Ewing, on his return home, wrote a letter detailing the in- 
 formation he had received, with a request his letter be published in a 
 newspaper and addressed it to the postmaster at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 
 The postmistress, there was Mrs. Mary Dickson, who was also published 
 of the Intelligencer, a newspaper of that place. Strangely enough, she did 
 not realize its importance and laid it away among other letters, where it 
 remained until 1837, when it passed to her successor. He discovered it 
 and handed it to John W. Forney, who had purchased the Intelligencer, 
 from Mrs. Dickson. Recognizing its importance, he gave it prominent 
 publication in an 1837 issue of his paper, which featured the temperance 
 and religious activities of the community. This was another strange and 
 advantageous circumstance, for the religious features of the issue, attracted 
 the attention of Rev. Samuel Bowman, rector of the Episcopal church in 
 Lancaster, who procured a copy, and thereby chanced to read the Ewing 
 letter. It happened, that Mr. Bowman had been born and reared in Wilkes- 
 Barre, knew the S locum family and had often heard the story of Frances 
 Slocum's abduction. Otherwise the Ewing letter would, probably, have 
 been overlooked, as Wilkes-Barre was then a long ways from Lancaster. 
 
 This play, of real facts, fit together as well as a fine plot in a superb 
 work of fiction and give the story of Frances Slocum another tinge of 
 romance. Mr. Bowman forwarded the publication to Joseph Slocum at 
 Wilkes-Barre, who corresponded with Colonel Ewing; and made arrange- 
 ments with his brother Isaac, who lived near Sandusky Ohio, and his 
 sister Mrs. Towne, who carried him to the fort, for a trip to Indiana. 
 Isaac arrived first and visited the woman and was convinced she was his 
 sister. When the others arrived at Peru, Joseph and Isaac Slocum together 
 with Mr. J. T. Miller, an Indian interpreter journeyed to her home. Mrs. 
 Towne, being unable to make the trip on horseback, remained at Peru. 
 Before her capture, one of Frances' fingers had been crushed by a ham- 
 mer and was badly scarred. This disfigurement, together with her recol- 
 lections, completely proved her identity. Having a suspicion, they designed 
 to take her back to their homes, she was reluctant to go to Peru, but 
 after consulting Godfroy chief of the Miami band living there, she decided 
 to go and meet her sister Mary. The reconciliation was complete. 
 
 Frances Slocum was rich for the times. She lived in a good log 
 
 192 
 
house, and had many conveniences of civilized life. She owned six hundred 
 and forty acres of very fertile land, possesed some sixty horses, twenty 
 cattle, a hundred hogs and large flocks of chickens and geese. Her family 
 consisted of a daughter married to Captain Peter Broullette and another 
 daughter with numerous children. They were all respectable and highly 
 regarded by their white neighbors. She recalled many incidents of her 
 childhood and her mother; and told them that she was first adopted by 
 Turk Horse, a Delaware chief and his wife, who were very good to her. 
 She had lived at Niagara, Sandusky, on the Detroit river and for thirty 
 years at Fort Wayne. Her adopted father could talk a little English and 
 as long as he lived she was able to speak it, but since his death she forgot 
 it. Her first husband was Little Turtle, a Delaware who went to the wars 
 and did not return and she was married a second time to She-pan-can-ah, 
 a Miami chief by whom she had four children, two sons who died young 
 and two daughters. Her Indian name was Ma-con-a-quah. 
 
 In 1839, Joseph Slocum and his two daughters Hannah, Mrs. Ben- 
 nett and Harriet visited her. Mrs. Bennett wrote in her diary : "They had 
 six beds, principally composed of blankets and other goods, they folded 
 together. They spread a cloth on their table and gave us a very com- 
 fortable meal of fried venison, potatoes, short cake and coffee. " Mr. Slo- 
 cum entreated his sister to accompany him to Wilkes-Barre on a visit, but 
 she wisely refused, as she was unaccustomed to the white way of living 
 and could not stand the confinement. 
 
 When the Miamis were removed to Kansas, due to the desire of 
 Frances, the Slocums, who were wealthy and influential people, induced 
 Congress to pass an act, whereby Frances Slocum and her descendants 
 were to be paid their annuities at Peru, thus permitting them to remain in 
 Indiana. As the white settlers encroached on her land and pilfered her 
 horses and cattle, she appealed to her brothers for protection; and the 
 Rev. George Slocum, son of Isaac went to Indiana, and resided, for a 
 number of years near her as her protector and as a missionary among 
 the Miamis. Frances Slocum died at her farm, March 9, 1847, and was 
 buried in the little Indian cemetery, nearby where a fine monument was 
 erected, by the Slocum family, to her memory and unveiled by two of her 
 grandduaghters, residing there, May 17, 1900. 
 
 Much has been written and published about Frances Slocum, of which 
 the most interesting and authentic are: "Frances Slocum, the Lost Sister 
 of Wyoming" by John F. Meginess ; and "Frances Slocum, the Lost Sister 
 of Wyoming" by her grandniece, Martha Bennett Phelps. 
 
 193 
 
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 
 
 THE CHERRY VALLEY MASSACRE 
 
 Evidently, concerting with the Senecas, who were preparing for their 
 descent on Wyoming, the Indians, under Brant at Oquaga and Unadilla, 
 became active. They attacked the little settlement at Cobleskill, ten miles 
 from Schoharie, May 30, 1778. Christian Brown, captain of the militia, 
 there, apprehensive of an attack, summoned aid from Middleburg and 
 Captain Patrick with a small force was sent. About twenty Indians were 
 discovered and pursued a mile, when a larger force was encountered. An 
 engagement ensued, Patrick was wounded and Brown ordered a retreat, 
 during which five soldiers, defending themselves in a house, were killed. 
 Their resistance gave the others time to escape, and enabled the fleeing 
 women and childen to reach Schoharie in safety. Besides the five soldiers 
 killed, fourteen other bodies were found. Ten houses were burned and 
 horses, cattle and sheep lay dead all over the fields. 1 
 
 June 5th, the enemy appeared north of Johnstown and captured four 
 persons. Two men and a boy, travelling in a wagon, between Fort Schuyler 
 and Fort Bull were attacked. The men were killed but the boy escaped. 
 July 18th, Springfield, Andrustown and the settlements on Otsego Lake 
 were destroyed. Eight men were slain, fourteen persons captured, the 
 houses burned and the horses and cattle driven toward the Susquehanna. 
 Early in August, a company of regulars and some Pennsylvania and New 
 Jersey militia had a slight engagement with the Indians near Cochecton. 
 The Brooks house near Pienpack, New York was raided by Indians, under 
 the notorious Tory, McDonald and eleven people taken. Two soldiers of a 
 scouting party were killed near Major Edmunston's place on the head- 
 waters of the Unadilla. 2 
 
 September 17th, Fort Dayton successfully resisted an attack, but the 
 houses at German Flats were burned. On the south side of the Mohawk, the 
 depredations began six miles above Fort Herkimer. In this raid, the Indians 
 burned sixty-three houses, fifty-seven barns, three gristmills, one sawmill 
 and all the grain and fodder. They took away two hundred thirty-five 
 horses, two hundred twenty-nine cattle, two hundred sixty-nine sheep 
 and a large number of swine. 3 
 
 Colonel William Butler, with a Pennsylvania regiment, had been 
 stationed at Schoharie; and early in October he marched to Unadilla, 
 
 194 
 
which he found deserted. Thence he went to Oquaga, which was also 
 abandoned. In his report, he said: 
 
 "It was the finest Indian town, I ever saw ; on both sides of the river, 
 there were forty good houses, square logs, shingles and stone chimneys, 
 good floors and glass windows." 
 
 The place was burned and Butler returned with the loss of only a man or 
 two. 
 
 In early November, the Indians raided the house of Peter Hansen at 
 Tribes Hill. They took him and his servant prisoners, but released his 
 wife and children. It was reported five men were captured on Lake George, 
 and that four or five hundred of the enemy were seen near Crown Point. 4 
 
 Late in March, Cherry Valley appealed for protection to Lafayette, 
 who commanded in that region, and by his order a fort was built there. 
 Many of the settlers as far south as Unadilla fled to Cherry Valley for 
 safety. The young boys, there, organized themselves into a military com- 
 pany and were drilling with wooden guns, one morning, when Brant, con- 
 templating an attack, approached. He being far away was unable to dis- 
 tinguish that it was only a company of boys, and it is said, he observed : 
 "Colonel Campbell has got his house well guarded, I perceive." He de- 
 camped, but while secreted in the woods, the Indians shot and wounded 
 Lieutenant Wormwood, who was going from Cherry Valley to the 
 Mohawk. Brant ran out of the brush and tomahawked and scalped Worm- 
 wood, although before the war, they had been friends. 5 
 
 A friendly Oneida Indian reported at Fort Schuyler, that a force, 
 of Tories and Indians at Tioga Point, were preparing for the destruction 
 of Cherry Valley and this warning was sent to Colonel Ichabod Alden, 
 who commanded the New England regiment, which had been stationed at 
 Cherry Valley. He immediately sent out, in all directions, scouting parties, 
 but those sent southward, at night foolishly lit a campfire, went to sleep 
 and got captured. From them, the enemy learned, that the principal officers 
 of the garrison stayed at various private houses. Their capture deprived 
 Alden of any information of the whereabouts of the invaders, whose force 
 consisted of some two hundred rangers and five hundred Indians com- 
 manded by Walter Butler and Joseph Brant, between whom, it was said, 
 there was not the best of feeling. 
 
 The fort at Cherry Valley occupied a part of the present cemetery, 
 the road and some of the land adjacent thereto. About a quarter of a mile 
 southwest on a little hill was the dwelling house of Robert Welles, where 
 Colonel Alden and Lieutenant Colonel Stacey were staying. Southwest at 
 a considerable distance on a high hill, the summit of which was covered 
 with evergreens, the Tories and Indians camped the night of November 
 10th, 1778, and early the next morning moved down the valley. A man, 
 named Hamble, riding from the lower settlements to the fort, was waylaid 
 and wounded by ambushed Indians, but he kept to his saddle and galloped 
 to the Welles house and warned Alden. Thence he made his way to the 
 
 195 
 
fort and gave the alarm, but it was too late for the inhabitants to reach it 
 from their widely scattered houses. 
 
 Colonel Alden ran down the hill towards the fort, and near the foot oi 
 it, he was tomahawked and scalped by an Indian who had concealed him- 
 self in the brush. Colonel Stacey was captured. Mr. Welles, his wife, 
 mother, four children, brother John and sister Jane were killed and 
 scalped. The latter ran and hid in the woodpile, but was discovered and 
 seized by an Indian. A Tory, Peter Smith, who had formerly worked for 
 the Welles family, interceded for her, claiming she was his sister, but the 
 savage threatened him and drove him back with brandished hatchet. Then 
 the Indian struck Jane in the skull with his tomahawk. 
 
 Hamble's warning gave the garrison time to close the gates of the 
 fort and prepare for defense. It was attacked on all sides for three and a 
 half hours, when the assailants desisted ; but they renewed the attack, the 
 next day and were again repulsed. Dividing themselves into small bands, 
 the Tories and Indians burned the farm buildings and murdered the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The house of Rev. Samuel Dunlop, the venerable pastor was sur- 
 rounded and his wife killed. The aged man was taken from the house by 
 an Indian, but Little Aaron, an Oquaga chief interceded and took Mr. 
 Dunlop under his protection and he escaped all injury except exposure. 
 But due to his terrible experience, his health was shattered and he died 
 within a year. 
 
 A Mr. Mitchell, at work in his field, saw the Indians approach his 
 house. He fled and secreted himself in the woods. They set fire to the 
 house, but after they had gone, he succeeded in extinguishing the flames. 
 His wife and three of his children had been killed, but a little ten year old 
 girl was still alive. He placed the wounded child in the doorway, and 
 observing another band approaching, hid behind a log, from where he saw 
 a Tory named Newberry tomahawk the dying child. Newberry was subse- 
 quently captured and executed for the crime. The next day, Mitchell took 
 the bodies of his family on a sled to the fort, where the soldiers assisted 
 him in interring them in a common grave. 
 
 The wife of Colonel Clyde and her children fled to the woods and 
 concealed themselves behind a log. "It was a cold rainy day, and the storm 
 continued through the night. She could hear the yells of the savages, as 
 they triumphed in their work of death ; several of them passed near 
 where she lay, and one so near, that the butt of his gun trailed upon the 
 log, which covered her." In the morning, her husband who had been in 
 the fort, with a party of soldiers, rescued his family. 
 
 Thirty-two of the inhabitants, principally women and children and 
 sixteen soldiers were killed. The place, when the enemy left, presented a 
 terrible scene with corpses mangled and scalped, some with heads, legs 
 or arms cut off and others with the flesh torn from the bones. An effort 
 has been made to mitigate the offense of Joseph Brant and cast the odium 
 on Walter Butler ; and to* that end stories have been told indicating the 
 humanity of Brant. It is probable both were responsible for that days mis- 
 
 196 
 
deeds. Brant with his veneer of civilization was still an Indian and Walter 
 Butler was a civilized demon. 
 
 Seventy-one had been made prisoners, and these were taken down 
 the valley and spent the night in wretchedness and terror; but, in the 
 morning of the second day, most of the women and children were released 
 and returned to the fort. However, the wife of Colonel Samuel Campbell 
 and four children, together with Mrs. Moore and her children were 
 retained, because their husbands were leading Whigs. The Indians with 
 their prisoners went down the Susquehanna to Tioga Point and thence 
 by Seneca Lake to the Indian town of Kanadasego, where the prisoners 
 were distributed among Indian families. 
 
 The troops were kept at Cherry Valley until the following summer, 
 when the fort was abandoned. 5 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 
 
 1. Simm's History of Schoharie 273 to 277; Clinton Papers, III, 377, 402, 413. 
 
 2. Clinton Papers III, 404, 407, 415, 450, 475, 555, 559, 632, 633, 678, 679, 696, 
 697; IV 48. 
 
 3. Ibid, IV, 48, 49. 
 
 4. Ibid, 223, 225, 227, 228, 254, 266. 
 
 5. Campbell's Annals of Tryon County; Halsey, Old New York Frontier; 
 Clinton Papers, IV, 284, 286, 290. 
 
 197 
 
CHAPTER THIRTY 
 
 THE SULLIVAN EXPEDITION 
 
 The Wyoming and Cherry Valley massacres aroused the American 
 people and February 27, 1779, Congress authorized Washington to take 
 effectual measures for the protection of the inhabitants and the chastise- 
 ment of the Indians. The first retaliation was the invasion, in April, of 
 Onondaga, by Colonels Van Schaick and Willet with five hundred men. 
 Twelve Indians were killed, thirty-four prisoners taken, about fifty houses 
 burned and a large amount of corn and beans destroyed. 1 
 
 Rumors of an intended expedition against them actuated the Tories 
 and Indians to renewed activities. In April, the Indians burned Lackaway 
 and houses within thirteen miles of the Delaware river. An attack was 
 made near Fort Dayton, in May, and five persons killed and one cap- 
 tured. A little later, two persons were taken near Sharon Center. Joseph 
 Brant with a hundred Tories and Indians ravaged the settlements in the 
 Neversink valley, July 19th and 20th. A number were killed, prisoners 
 taken, eleven houses, the old Dutch church and many barns were burned. 2 
 
 The militia assembled at Goshen, under Colonel Tusten and they 
 were joined by the Warwick regiment commanded by Colonel Hathorn. 
 Although these prudent leaders opposed it, Major Meeker urged immediate 
 pursuit of the enemy and like most rash and impetuous leaders prevailed. 
 They advanced a few miles, when they came upon the Indian encamp- 
 ment of the night before, which indicated the superiority of the enemy. 
 Hathorn and Tusten again opposed pursuit but were overruled. Meanwhile, 
 Brant rejoined his larger force left on the Delaware, and was marching 
 for the fords of the river, just above the mouth of the Lackawaxen. The 
 Americans discovered his purpose and hastened forward to intercept him. 
 Captain Bezaleel Tyler, one of the first settlers at Cushietunk, and familiar 
 with the locality was sent ahead, as a scout, and was killed by a concealed 
 Indian. The road, near Lackawaxen, on the New York side over which 
 the Americans were marching, ran close to the bank of the river and was 
 encompassed on the east by a steep, and then, as now, wooded hill. Brant 
 concealed his warriors in the woods of this hill, above and in the rear of 
 the American line of march, which when its advance reached a point below 
 the ford, was attacked. The situation, of the surprised Americans hemmed 
 in by the Indians and the river and with a greatly extended line, was 
 
 198 
 
precarious. Assailants and assailed sought the protection of the trees and 
 the Battle of Lackawaxen became a hand to hand struggle. It began about 
 11 o'clock and continued during the afternoon, when the Americans were 
 completely overpowered. Forty-four were killed and those who escaped 
 did so by crossing the river. After the battle, Brant continued his march 
 unmolested. 3 
 
 Inspired by the hope of averting the invasion of their country, the 
 Indians invaded the West Branch valley. While returning to his fort at 
 Muncy with supplies, Captain John Brady, as they crossed a small ravine, 
 remarked to his companion, Smith: "This would be a good place for the 
 Indians to secrete themselves." Instantly, three rifles cracked and Brady 
 fell from his horse. Smith escaped and reached the fort. The relief party 
 found the famous frontiersman dead and scalped. 4. 
 
 The depredations continued; 5 and it was rumored a large force was 
 descending the valley. Robert Covenhoven, the scout was sent up the river 
 to ascertain the situation. The intrepid man succeeded in exploring the 
 camp, at the mouth of Lycoming creek, of the enemy, who were in large 
 numbers. After a perilous journey, he reached the lower settlements and 
 gave the alarm. Most of the women and children fled to Fort Augusta, 
 but the inhabitants at Fort Freeland and Boon's fort remained. 
 
 June 29th, Fort Freeland was invested by three hundred Tories and 
 Indians, under Captain McDonald and Hiokoto, the Seneca chief. Jacob 
 Freeland, as he stepped from the gate of the fort was shot but he fell 
 within. "There were but nine men in the fort and but little ammunition. 
 Mary Kirke and Phebe Vincent commenced immediately to run all their 
 (pewter) spoons into bullets." About 9 o'clock, a flag of truce was raised 
 and it was agreed : "That all those who were able to bear arms should go 
 as prisoners, and the old men and women and children set free, and the 
 fort given up to plunder." Mrs. Kirke clothed her sixteen year old son, 
 William in womens' clothes and he escaped. His wife, being crippled, John 
 Vincent went to Captain McDonald and said, she was unable to walk, but 
 if he had the horse stolen, the week before by the Indians, he could 
 take her away. Vincent and his wife lay in the meadow all night, unpro- 
 tected from the rain. In the morning, the horse was brought them and 
 placing his wife on it, they made their way to Northumberland. 6 
 
 When the firing at Fort Freeland was heard at Boon's fort, Captain 
 Hawkins Boon with thirty men marched to its relief. They were ambushed 
 and fought for two hours, when further resistance being futile, the sur- 
 vivors escaped as best they could. Captain Boon was killed and eleven 
 were slain. 7 
 
 Washington selected Major General John Sullivan of New Hampshire, 
 as commander of the expedition against the Indians, and assigned to it 
 the New Jersey brigade commanded by Brigadier General William Max- 
 well, the New Hampshire brigade under Brigadier General Enoch Poor, 
 a brigade of light troops led by Brigadier General Edward Hand and 
 Colonel Thomas Proctor's battalion of artillery. Washington consulted 
 Zebulon Butler, John Franklin, and Simon Spaulding, three leading 
 
 199 
 
Wyoming men ; and John Jenkins, a Wyoming surveyor, who had been 
 through the Indian country as a captive, was engaged as chief guide. 
 
 Sullivan assumed command at Easton, May 7th. An advance detach- 
 ment was sent to construct a road over the wild Pocono mountains, and 
 this delayed the start of the army until June 18th. Considerable distances 
 were marched each day and suitable camp sites selected at night. 8 The 
 army reached Wilkes-Barre, June 23rd. The necessary supplies had not yet 
 arrived and this neglect was so great that Craft has explained it as follows : 
 
 "The testimony on all sides is that the State Commissary Department 
 was in hands of men, who were either entirely incapable or grossly negli- 
 gent. Of course great allowance should be made for the depressed condi- 
 tion of the country, the worthlessness of the currency and the poverty of 
 the people; but the real cause was mainly to be found in the coldness and 
 real disfavor with which the state authorities regarded the expedition, and 
 the entirely inadequate idea they had of its extent and necessities." 
 
 Pennsylvania opposition was due to Quaker pacifism and the attitude 
 of the land speculators, who while publicly deploring the Wyoming Mas- 
 sacre, expressed satisfaction, that the land was cleared of the hated in- 
 truders, and willingness that the Indians should possess it until the war 
 was over. 
 
 For five weeks, the army remained at Wyoming, while the needed sup- 
 plies were being accumulated, largely due to the exertions of Sullivan and 
 his officers. A garrison of one hundred men, under Zebulon Butler was 
 left at Wilkes-Barre, and July 31st, the advance up the river began. Eight 
 field pieces constituted the artillery, which with the ammunition, salted 
 meats, flour and heavy baggage were loaded on two hundred and fourteen 
 boats, manned by four hundred and fifty enlisted boatmen. General Hand's 
 brigade led in three columns, preceded by an advance party and protected 
 by flankers on either side. Then followed Maxwell's brigade on the 
 left and Poor's brigade on the right. Following the troops were twelve 
 hundred packhorses and seven hundred beef cattle. A regiment formed the 
 rear, and a detail of sixty men went up the west side of the river to prevent 
 a surprise attack from that quarter. The whole line extended a distance of 
 at least two miles. Guarded encampments were made each night; 9 and the 
 army reached Tioga Point, August 1 1th. That night, a scouting party 
 guided by John Jenkins reconnoitered the Indian town of Chemung, which 
 the troops occupied the next day. In pursuing the inhabitants of it, six 
 soldiers were killed and three wounded. At Tioga Point, a fortification, 
 called Fort Sullivan was erected, as a base of supplies. 
 
 The northern division of Sullivan's army was a brigade under Brig- 
 adier General James Clinton, which marched from the Mohawk by the 
 way of Canajoharie and Springfield to the outlet of Otsego Lake, arriving 
 there, July 3rd. Due to the summer drouth, the Susquehanna which rises 
 in the lake was low ; and to make the river navigable, a dam was erected 
 at the outlet, which raised the water of the lake about three feet. Two 
 hundred fifty boats had been assembled and these were placed along the 
 
 200 
 
banks of the river. They were loaded with the stores and two small cannon 
 and were manned, three men to each boat. August 9th, the dam was 
 broken and the flooded water carried the fleet of boats, successfully over 
 the rifts and through the shallows. The army marched along the shores, 
 and nine encampments were made. 10 It reached Tioga Point, August 22nd. 
 
 The army began its invasion of the Indian country on the 26th, and 
 the following Sunday discovered the enemy near the present Wellsburg. 
 At this point, the Chemung river makes a semi-circular bend of which 
 the road is the diameter. Between the road and river is a low ridge, some- 
 what parallel with the road, and where the Wellsburg road crosses it, 
 turns north making an angle. The enemy had fortified this ridge by a 
 breastwork about waist high, and concealed by brush planted in front. At 
 the angle was the principal force. A creek flows from the north, between 
 two high hills, the western one being that on which the monument now 
 stands. These hills were occupied by British observation detachments. 
 Skillful dispositions had been made for an ambuscade. 
 
 Hand's brigade advanced to within twelve hundred feet of the breast- 
 work; and the foe, several times, sallied forth to entice the Americans 
 within the ambush, but without avail. Poor's and Clinton's brigades marched 
 toward the creek, with the object of seizing the monument hill and out- 
 flanking the enemy's works. Poor dislodged the detachment on the eastern 
 hill, and after some delay reached the foot of the monument hill. Mean- 
 while, Proctor's artillery bombarded the works at the angle, which was 
 withstood for some time. Detecting Poor's advance, Brant with a large 
 force occupied the monument hill to prevent the flanking movement. He 
 furiously attacked Poor's left wing, held by Colonel Reid's regiment, but 
 Colonel Dearborn wheeled his regiment to Reid's support. Clinton sent 
 reinforcements, and Brant's offensive being blocked, he ordered a retreat. 
 The Americans occupied the hill and followed it to Newtown, by which 
 name the battle is known, but were unable to intercept the fleeing foe. 
 
 The American losses were three killed and thirty-nine wounded ; and 
 that of the enemy has never been accurately determined. Sullivan's force 
 was about three thousand and that of the British, two hundred and fifty 
 Tories commanded by Major John Butler and a thousand Indians under 
 Joseph Brant. The Indians were completely disheartened and thereafter 
 offered no real resistance to the invasion of their country. 
 
 The army began its pursuit August 21st, and having burned a small 
 village above Newton and Kanawaholla near the present Elmira, the next 
 day reached Sheaquaga or Catherine's Town on the inlet of Seneca Lake, 
 and the home of Catherine Montour. It consisted of thirty or forty good 
 houses and fine cornfields and orchards, which were destroyed. An old 
 squaw, left behind in the flight, gave Sullivan needed information, and he 
 reciprocated by having a hut built for her and by providing her with 
 provisions. Passing a village at what is now North Hector and Kendaia or 
 Appletown, where Luke S wetland, an escaped Wyoming captive joined 
 them, the army reached Kanadesaga, near the outlet of the lake and on the 
 site of the present Geneva. There resided Sayenqueraghta, the great chief 
 
 201 
 
of the Senecas and principal man of the Six Nations. The town con- 
 sisted of fifty good houses and extensive fields and orchards, which were 
 destroyed. 
 
 In the rest of the invaded country were regularly laid out towns of 
 good houses, barns, stacks of hay, horses and cattle, fine gardens in which 
 were growing onions, peas, beans, squashes, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, 
 cucumbers and watermelons, large fields of corn and extensive orchards of 
 apples, pears and peaches. The buildings were burned, the horses and 
 cattle taken, the gardens and corn uprooted and the fruit trees cut down. 
 The destruction was so complete, that the Indian families who fled to Fort 
 Niagara were left destitute and became charges of the British government. 
 Detachments destroyed the villages down the Seneca river and on the west 
 side of the lake. 
 
 Butler and Brant retreated to Canawaugas, near the present Avon 
 and planned to ambush Sullivan's army in a defile west of Conesus Lake. 
 Lieutenant Thomas Boyd and a party of scouts were surrounded by the 
 Indians, near this ambuscade, and fifteen were killed. Eight escaped, but 
 Boyd and sergeant Michael Parker were captured and tortured to death. 
 At an Indian village on Canaseraga creek, the enemy formed in line to 
 dispute its possession, but as the Americans formed their battle line, they 
 broke and fled. 
 
 During colonial days, the chief Seneca town was Chenussio, at the 
 intersection of Canaseraga creek and the Genesee river; but it was now 
 superseded by a village on the west side of the river, near what is now 
 Cuylerville and opposite Geneseo, and known as Little Beard's Town. In 
 it were one hundred twenty-eight large houses, surrounded by two hun- 
 dred acres of gardens and cornfields. This was the western door of the 
 Long House of the Iroquois, and there the destruction ceased. Near were 
 found the headless and mutilated bodies of Boyd and Parker. Mrs. Lester 
 and child, escaped Wyoming captives came into the American camp. 
 
 Colonel Gansevort with a hundred troops was dispatched to Albany, 
 and he passed through the friendly Tuscarora and Oneida villages with- 
 out molesting them. Due to the intercession of white neighbors, what 
 remained of the lower Mohawk castle was spared. Colonel William Butler 
 and Colonel Dearborn laid waste all the villages on both sides of Cayuga 
 lake, and all the towns on the Tioga river were burned. 
 
 On its return, the army reached Tioga Point September 26th, 
 Wyoming October 7th and on the 15th arrived at Easton. Sullivan 
 destroyed some forty towns and broke the power and unity of the Iroquois 
 Confederacy, and henceforth, the Six Nations became a despairing people 
 sated with vengeance. 11 
 
 They revenged themselves early the following spring. In April, 
 Colonel Hunter reported from Fort Augusta, the capture of several per- 
 sons near Fort Jenkins, and others taken from Wyoming. 12 Those cap- 
 tured near Fort Jenkins and on Fishing creek were Peter Pence and 
 Moses Van Campen, whose father and brother were killed ; and Jonah 
 Rogers, a boy taken at Hunlock's creek, where he was making maple 
 
 202 
 
sugar with Asa Upson. Upson was killed and scalped by the Indians, who 
 with their captives went to Pikes creek, where Abraham Pike and his 
 wife were making sugar. They released the woman and her child, but took 
 Pike and proceeded up the river, where they encamped one night. Pike, 
 who was a deserter from the British army and knew he would be executed 
 if taken to Fort Niagara, seems to have urged and planned the escape. 
 When the Indians had gone to sleep he cut himself loose, took away their 
 guns and severed the cords which bound the others. Between them they 
 killed three of the Indians and the others fled. April 6th, they successfully 
 reached the fort at Wilkes-Barre. 13 
 
 The day before the Pence capture, March 27, 1780, the Indians cap- 
 tured Thomas Bennet, his son Andrew, aged fourteen and Lebbeus Ham- 
 mond at Wyoming, and the third night encamped at Meshoppen. The 
 prisoners were papoosed, that is placed under poles on either end of which 
 an Indian slept. Mr. Bennet, who surmised the savages intended soon to 
 kill him, pretended sickness and insisted he must get up; whereupon all 
 were allowed to get up. Leaving the prisoners in charge of a watchman, 
 the other Indians went back to sleep. Mr. Bennet replenished the fire, 
 several times with wood and waited. When the watchman fell asleep, 
 Bennet killed him with a spear, Hammond dashed out the brains of another 
 Indian with an axe and Bennet slew the third savage with a clubbed 
 musket. The two other Indians fled. Six days after their capture, Ham- 
 mond and the Bennei's reached the fort at Wilkes-Barre. 14 
 
 The same month, Avery, Lyons and Jones were taken at Capouse 
 (the present Scranton) and in April, the house of Emanuel Gonsalus, on 
 the Delaware river in Smithfield township, was raided and he and a serv- 
 ing man taken prisoners. Captains Westbrook and Van Etten pursued the 
 Indians and a fight ensued, in which Benjamin Ennis and Richard Rose- 
 krans were killed, two men wounded and Captain Westbrook reported 
 missing. 15 Near Sunbury, in April, Mr. Lewis, and Mr. Curry and a 
 man named Dunn were killed. 16 
 
 The last considerable raid, along the lower Susquehanna, was made 
 in September, when Fort Rice on the Chillisquaqa creek in Northumber- 
 land county was attacked. Before sunset, the assailants were repulsed ; and 
 the next day the garrison was relieved by Colonel Kelly and the militia. 
 General James Potter with more militiamen pursued the Indians up Fish- 
 ing creek and into Huntington, where they divided into small bands and 
 eluded their pursuers. 17 One of these bands, under Roland Montour, 
 crossed the Susquehanna and went up Nescopeck creek, and in the shadow 
 of Sugar Loaf Mountain, within the present outskirts of Conyngham 
 Borough, came upon their prey, September 10th. 
 
 It so happened, on that day, a company of soldiers, forty-one in 
 number, under Captain Daniel Klader and Lieutenant John Moyer or 
 Myer, sent from Fort Allen to investigate a sttlement of Tories in Scotch 
 Valley, southwest of what is now Hazleton, were resting themselves in an 
 open meadow. The tired soldiers were lying about a cool spring, unsus- 
 pecting any Indians were near. Montour's warriors surrounded them 
 
 203 
 
and fired. The soldiers grabbed their guns and resisted, but being scat- 
 tered, they were soon overcome. Those who escaped made their way to 
 Fort Allen, from whence Colonel Balliet, with one hundred fifty men, 
 marched to the scene. He reported: "On the 17th, we arrived at the place 
 of the action, where we found ten of our soldiers dead, scalped, stripped 
 naked and in a most cruel and barbarous manner tomahawked, their throats 
 cut, whom we buried." 18 He also stated twenty-two out of forty-one es- 
 caped. Klader was killed, and Moyer captured but subsequently escaped. It 
 was later stated that the killed, wounded and missing in the battle or 
 massacre of Sugar Loaf were twenty-three, of whom fourteen were killed 
 and three captured. 19 In this action, Roland Montour was wounded in the 
 arm, from the effects of which he died several days later. 
 
 December 6, 1780, there was a social gathering at the home of Ben- 
 jamin Harvey in Plymouth, at which were: Mr. Harvey, his son Elisha, 
 daughter Lucy, Manasseh Cady, Jonathan Frisbie, James Frisbie, Nathan 
 Bullock, Lucy Bullock and George Palmer Ransom. There was a knock 
 at the door, and when opened, Lieutenant John Turney of Butler's Rangers 
 and five Indians entered. They plundered the house and with the inmates 
 started for Niagara. On the summit of Plymouth mountain, they released 
 the young women, painted them, and the chief said: "Go tell Colonel 
 Butler I put this paint on." The girls made their way to the Kingston 
 ferry and crossed to Fort Wyoming, arriving before daybreak. At 
 Mehoopany, on their way north, Mr. Harvey became exhausted, and was 
 bound to a tree. The chief selected three young braves, gave them toma- 
 hawks, measured the distance and pointed to Mr. Harvey's head. The first 
 hurled his hatchet, it struck the tree a little above his head. The other 
 two hurled their hatchets with the same effect. The superstitious old chief, 
 evidently regarding the failure as a spiritual intervention, released the 
 old man, but he was taken with the others to Canada, where he remained 
 a prisoner until the war was over. 20 
 
 In September, 1781, Arnold and Roasel Franklin Jr. were captured in 
 Hanover, and the following April, the wife of Lieutenant Roasel Franklin 
 and four children were taken from the same place. A pursuing party 
 overtook the Indians at Wyalusing and in the fight which followed, a 
 savage shot Mrs. Franklin. Three of her children were rescued but the 
 infant son Ichabod was never recovered. 
 
 A roving band of Indians, July 7, 1782, attacked Asa Chapman, John 
 and Benjamin Jameson, who were going on horseback from Hanover to 
 Wilkes-Barre. John Jameson was killed, Chapman was wounded but clung 
 to his horse and reached Wilkes-Barre. Benjamin Jameson's horse wheeled 
 about and carried him safely home. This was the last Indian depredation 
 in the Wyoming Valley. 
 
 204 
 
NOTES— CHAPTER THIRTY 
 
 1. Clinton Papers 4, 702; and account contained in New Jersey Gazette, May 
 12, 1779. 
 
 2. Clinton Papers 5, 162. 
 
 3. Stone, Life of Brant; Goodrich, History of Wayne County; Halsey, Old 
 New York Frontier. 
 
 4. Hazard's Register IX, 307; also pages 184, 206, 237, 268, 303, 396, and 
 Volume X, for exploits of this famous frontier family. 
 
 5. April 27, Colonel Hunter reported from Fort Augusta, that three or four 
 families had been taken near Fort Jenkins but were rescued by a force from the 
 fort. He also stated the Indians drove the troops back to the fort with loss of three 
 men killed and four badly wounded; and that seven militiamen had been killed or 
 taken and three inhabitants captured near Fort Freeland. Twelve persons were killed 
 or taken near Fort Muncy. 
 
 In May, Mr. and Mrs. John Sample were killed in Buffalo Valley; and two men 
 were killed and three persons captured on Lycoming creek. 
 
 In June, the widow Smith's mills at White Deer Mills were burned ; two men 
 killed and three prisoners taken at Fort Brady; Starret's mill and the principal 
 homes in Muncy township burned ; Joseph Webster's son killed and three of his 
 children captured at Muncy Farm ; Elias and Jacob Freeland Jr. and Isaac Vincent 
 killed, and Michael Freeland and Benjamin Vincent captured near Fort Freeland 
 (Pa. Archs., VII, 346, 369, 365, 674). 
 
 6. See letter of Mrs. Mary Derickson, one of the inmates of the fort in Pa. 
 Archs. XII, 364. 
 
 7. Pa. Archs. VII, 589, 590, 592, 609, 611; Meginess, History of the West 
 Branch. 
 
 8. Camp sites: June 18, Heller's Tavern near Wind Gap; June 19, Learned's 
 Tavern, near Tannersville; 20th, Rum Ridge or White Oak Run, called ''Chowder 
 Camp;" 21st, "Fatigue Camp" at Hungry Hill; 22nd, Bullock's farm. 
 
 9. Camp sites : July 31, Above the mouth of the Lackawanna ; August 1 and 2, 
 above Ransom : August 3, north bank of the Tunkhannock ; August 4, Black Walnut 
 on Vanderlip and Williamson farms; August 5, 6, 7, Wyalusing; Aungust 8, Stand- 
 ing Stone and Wysock; August 9 and 10, opposite Ulster. 
 
 10. Camp sites: August 9, Burrows farm; August 10, Yorkhams ; August 11, 
 two miles below Otsego creek; August 12, near Unadilla ; August 14, 15, 16, Oquaga ; 
 August 17, Ingaren, Great Bend; August 18, mouth of the Chenango river; August 
 19, 20, Chocanut ; August 21, Manekalawaugan, present Barton. 
 
 11. Diaries of soldiers and officers of the expedition, and concise account 
 contained in address of Rev. David Craft, at the Centennial Observance in 1879, 
 published by State of New York and entitled "Sullivan's Expedition" ; also Life 
 of Mary Jemison and Clinton Papers. 
 
 12. Pa. Archs. VIII, 157, 
 
 13. There are several versions of this affair. See: Hazard's Register XII, 38: 
 Stone's Wyoming, 276 ; Mirer, Wyoming, 279 ; Wright Historical Sketches of 
 Plymouth, 30, 208; Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre, III, 1243, 1244. 
 
 14. Peck's History of Wyoming. 
 
 15. Pa. Archs. VIII, 202, 203. 
 
 16. Ibid, IX, 70. 
 
 17. Ibid 563, 567. 
 
 18. Ibid 564. 
 
 19. Johnson's Historical Record, II, 125, 167; VI, 131, to 134. 
 
 20. Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre, III, 1259 to 1267. 
 
 205 
 
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 
 
 SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 It is almost impossible to give a complete account of all the Indian 
 depredations and murders on the frontier of Southwestern Pennsylvania, 
 during the Revolution. The settlements there were preyed upon by the 
 Seneca Indians, living along the Allegheny river, and by the various tribes 
 inhabiting, what is now the state of Ohio. The savages struck here and 
 there, burning the scattered houses, murdering the occupants and impart- 
 ing terror everywhere. The settlements were far apart and the people poor. 
 Some idea of the panic prevailing on this unorganized and ill-protected 
 frontier may be obtained from the accounts contained in "Frontier Forts" 
 and the reports scattered through the many volumes of the Archives of 
 Pennsylvania. 1 
 
 General Edward Hand was appointed commander at Fort Pitt, June 
 1, 1777; and about that time, Alexander McKee, Matthew Elliott and 
 Simon Girty, three notorious Tories, who had been active in and about 
 Pittsburg, fled and joined the British. In the May following, General 
 Laclan Mcintosh succeeded Hand, and in September, a treaty of peace was 
 made at Pittsburg with White Eyes, Captain Pipe and John Kilbuck, 
 three principal Delaware chiefs. 
 
 General Mcintosh made preparations to attack Detroit, and a consider- 
 able force and supplies were assembled at Fort Mcintosh, which he erected 
 on the right bank of the Ohio at Beaver. From there his army marched 
 westward and built Fort Laurens on the Tuscarawas in the present state 
 of Ohio ; but before winter set in, leaving Colonel John Gibson in com- 
 mand there, Mcintosh returned to Fort Mcintosh. 
 
 In April 1779, Fort Hand in the present Washington county was 
 besieged by an enemy force, and although the attack continued from 
 1 o'clock until noon the next day, it was successfully defended by Cap- 
 tain Samuel Moorehead and seventeen volunteers. Three of the defenders 
 were wounded. 
 
 In April, 1779, General Mcintosh, because of ill-health, retired and 
 Colonel Daniel Brodhead succeeded him. Brodhead obtained authority, 
 from Washington, to invade the Indian country on the headwaters of the 
 Allegheny and began his preparations by erecting Fort Armstrong at Kit- 
 tanning. In order to avail himself of the troops there, he ordered Fort 
 
 206 
 
Laurens to be evacuated. Having received this accession of strength, Brod- 
 head left Pittsburg with six hundred and five men rank and file, August 
 11th; and made his way up the Allegheny river for upwards of two hun- 
 dred miles, burning all the Indian towns and destroying the cornfields. At 
 their upper village, about forty miles from the Genesee, he destroyed one 
 hundred thirty houses, some of which accommodated three or four families. 
 It was surrounded by five hundred acres of corn, which were cut down. 
 Brodhead estimated the plunder obtained at $30,000 and stated he burned 
 in all one hundred and sixty-five cabins. 2 
 
 In May, 1781, Colonel Brodhead led an expedition against the revolted 
 Delaware towns on the Muskingum, and inflicted severe losses on the 
 rebellious Indians and secured a large amount of plunder. He had con- 
 siderable assistance from two chiefs, Captains Kilbuck and Luzerne; and 
 mentions "Captains Montour and Wilson and three other faithful Indians, 
 who contributed greatly to our success." The Moravian Indians furnished 
 supplies to subsist his men until they reached the Ohio. 3 
 
 In June, 1782, Colonel Crawford, with a force of volunteers from 
 western Pennsylvania, led an expedition toward Sandusky ; but he was 
 captured by the Indians and with twelve of his men burned at the stake, 
 the unfortunate colonel being three hours in burning. The Indians justified 
 their cruelty, as retaliation for the massacre of the Moravian Indians at 
 Gnadenhutten. 4 
 
 July 7, 1782, Hanna's Town, the county seat of Westmoreland county, 
 was attacked by one hundred Tories and Indians, and the town burned. 
 At Fort Miller, nearby, twenty of the inhabitants were killed or captured. 
 The residents of Hanna's Town had warning and made their escape to 
 the fort, which resisted the first attack. It was expected the fort would be 
 assaulted, again, in the morning, but some reinforcements arrived during 
 the night, and it is said, by a subterfuge, the enemy was deceived as to 
 their numbers, and decamped in the morning. 5 
 
 Rice's Fort on Buffalo creek, in what is now Washington county, 
 was attacked in December, 1782, but was successfully defended by five 
 men, the other occupant, George Felebaum, having been killed early in 
 the action. 6 
 
 Priscilla Peck lived near Wolf's Fort in the present Washington 
 county, and was confined to her bed when the Indians broke in the house. 
 One of the family threw a quilt around her and told her to run. Her 
 strength giving out, she leaned over a fence for support. An Indian dis- 
 covered her and sclaped but did not kill her. Scalped and enervated by 
 illness, she crawled on her hands and knees to the fort and subsequently 
 recovered. 7 
 
 The Indians, having previously killed John Hupp and Jacob Miller, 
 surrounded Miller's blockhouse on the Dutch fork of Buffalo creek, in the 
 present Washington county. The inmates of the blockhouse were only an 
 old man, and women and children, but there were rifles and ammunition, 
 and these were used, by the women under the leadership of the heroic 
 Ann Hupp, widow of John, so successfully that the Indians were baffled 
 
 207 
 
until the women were reinforced by three men, who eluded the savages and 
 dashed into the blockhouse. The Indians were compelled to withdraw. 8 
 
 Near Garard's Fort in the present town of Garard, Greene county, 
 occurred the horrible butchery of the Crobly family. The Rev. Mr. Crobly 
 and his family were on their way to church when attacked. Mrs. Crobly 
 with a child in her arms, a six year old son and a daughter were killed. 
 Mr. Crobly who was some distance in the rear of the family succeeded in 
 outrunning the savages and escaped. The eldest daughter and a sister were 
 scalped but survived. 9 
 
 The fact that so many were scalped while alive and survived, leads to 
 the suspicion, that the Indians, in many cases, purposely refrained from 
 killing their victims. They were only interested in obtaining the scalps for 
 which the British government paid a liberal bounty. 
 
 General Irvine succeeded Brodhead as commander at Fort Pitt, in 
 July, 1782, and continued until October 1783, when the Pennsylvania 
 troops, there, were ordered to Carlisle and those from Virginia to Win- 
 chester. The close of the Revolution did not entirely end the savage depre- 
 dations in western Pennsylvania, as disaffected Indians in the Ohio terri- 
 tory continued their incursions until they were completely defeated by 
 General Wayne. 
 
 In 1783, Arthur Lee visited Pittsburg, and wrote of it as follows: 
 
 "Pittsburg is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who live 
 in paltry houses and are as dirty as in the north of Ireland or even in 
 Scotland. There is a great deal of small trade carried on; the goods being 
 brought at the vast expense of 45 shillings per cwt., from Phila. and 
 Baltimore. They take in the shops, money, wheat, flour and skins. There 
 are in the town four attorneys, two doctors and not a priest of any persua- 
 sion, nor church nor chapel, so they are likely to be damned without bene- 
 fit of clergy. The river encroaches fast on the town. The place, I believe 
 will never be very considerable. ,, 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 
 
 1. In August, 1777, Carnahans blockhouse, in Bell township, Westmoreland 
 county was attacked and James Carnahan killed. In November, four men killed 
 and Colonel Campbell and four others captured near Blackleg's creek; a man killed 
 near Wallace's fort Westmoreland county, where in April, 1778, nine men were 
 killed and wounded; Ensign Wood and eight persons killed at Palmer's fort near 
 Ligonier. (Frontier Forts' II, 333, 334, 344). In 1779, members of the Holliday 
 family killed near Holliday's fort in Bedford county; house of Matthew Dean, near 
 Fort Lowery set on fire and three children burned therein. (Frontier Forts I, 495 
 to 498) In June: Indians killed a soldier near Fort Crawford, and attacked the 
 Sewickley settlement where they killed a woman and four children and captured two 
 children. In March, 1780, five men killed and three boys and three girls captured on 
 Racoon creek; Colonel Brodhead reported that from March 1st to April 29th, forty 
 three persons were killed or captured in Western Pennsylvania, and ten killed, 
 
 208 
 
wounded or captured in Westmoreland county, by May 1st. In June: five people 
 killed or captured near Fort Ligonier; two men killed and one wounded near Bushy 
 Run. In September : Two men killed on Robinson's Run ; seven persons killed or 
 taken on Ten Mile Run. In April, 1781 : Colonel Pomeroy's home raided, one man 
 killed and another missing ; thirteen persons captured and killed in Westmoreland 
 county. (Pa. Archs. VIII, 282, 536; IX, 51, 79; XII, 210, 224). 
 
 2. Brodhead Letters, Pa. Archs. XII. 105 to 106. 
 
 3. Pa. Archs. IX, 161. 
 
 4. Ibid, 575. 
 
 5. Ibid, 596 to 606; Frontier Forts II, 300. 
 
 6. Frontier Forts II, 408. 
 
 7. Ibid, 411. 
 
 8. Ibid, 413. 
 
 9. Ibid, 440. 
 
 209 
 
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 
 
 THE LAST RAIDS 
 
 Sir John Johnson, in May, 1789, with a force reported to have been 
 four hundred Tories and two hundred Indians, invaded the Mohawk 
 Valley. They struck first the Caughnawaga district, and nearly all the 
 houses and barns, from below Tribes Hill to Anthony's Nose, a distance 
 of about thirteen miles, were burned. Nine persons were reported killed 
 and thirty-three prisoners taken. Among the casualties were some of the 
 most prominent inhabitants, including the father and three brothers of 
 Major Fonda. Colonel Visscher and Mr. Hansen were wounded and 
 scalped, but left living. After visiting his old home, Johnson Hall, and, it is 
 said, repossessing himself of a large amount of buried silver, Johnson 
 decamped towards Crown Point. The militia, under Governor Clinton's 
 orders followed in that direction, but it does not appear, they were able 
 to intercept the enemy. 1 
 
 Brant and a party of British and Indians, July 26, 1780, appeared 
 before Fort Schuyler ; but they were driven off by artillery fire. All com- 
 munication with the fort was interrupted. A large force raided the Cana- 
 johaire district, murdering the inhabitants and capturing many women 
 and children. They drove off the horses and cattle, and Colonel Wemple, 
 who pursued them, reported that not less than a hundred dwelling houses 
 were burned. Colonel Samuel Clyde, in a communication written from 
 Fort Plank, August 8th, wrote that the bodies of fourteen had been found 
 and that between fifty and sixty persons, mostly women and children had 
 been taken, but of these twelve had returned. He also stated, fifty-three 
 dwellings and as many barns, one gristmill and two small forts burned, 
 three hundred horses and cattle driven off and all the farmer's wagons 
 and implements destroyed. 2 
 
 This raid was followed by the invasion of Schoharie, August 9th, 
 when a number of houses were burned at Vrooman's land. The enemy 
 proceeded to within two miles of the Middle Fort, where three persons 
 were killed and fourteen made prisoners. 3 
 
 In September, a small band assaulted the house of one Shell, three 
 miles north of Fort Herkimer, but he with his wife and two sons bravely 
 defended themselves and the foe was driven away. 4 A British force, under 
 
 210 
 
Major Carleton invaded the Lake Champlain region, and in October, Fort 
 George was surrendered by Captain Chipman, its commander. 5 
 
 Sir John Johnson, the Butlers and Brant made another raid in October 
 and Schoharie was burned. The first fire was discovered near the Middle 
 Fort about 8 o'clock in the morning of the 17th and at 4 o'clock in the 
 afternoon, the raiders passed on both sides of the fort with an immense 
 amount of booty. A number of buildings were destroyed at Ballston and 
 Stone Arabia was burned. General Robert Van Rensselaer with the militia 
 pursued them, but the British successfully eluded him and escaped. Gov- 
 ernor Clinton estimated the losses as of, at least 150,000 bushels of wheat, 
 besides other grain and forage and two hundred dwellings in this raid. 
 Colonel Brown with a detachment of militia encountered the whole body 
 of the enemy and in the severe engagement which followed suffered the 
 loss of thirty-nine men. 6 
 
 Other devastating raids were made in the closing years of the war. At 
 Cherry Valley, nearly all the people remaining there, were captured. The 
 same band descended on Canajohaire and killed Peter Young, his wife, 
 Isaac Young his wife and children and burned several houses and barns. 7 
 In August, 1781, a roving band of Indians penetrated the frontier of Ulster 
 county and attacked the settlement at Wawarsing. About a dozen houses 
 were burned, but only one of the inhabitants was killed the rest, having had 
 timely warning, escaped. 8 The same month, the enemy made an incursion 
 to Cobleskill and did considerable mischief. 9 Lieutenant Woodworth and a 
 scouting party were ambushed not far from Fort Herkimer and eleven 
 including Woodworth were slain. 
 
 In the latter part of October, 1781, with a force of four hundred fifty 
 Tories and Indians, Major Ross proceeded from Buck's Island to Lake 
 Oneida, and thence by the way of Cherry Valley marched to the Mohawk 
 Valley. In the vicinity of Warren Bush, they killed two persons and 
 burned twenty houses. Crossing the river, they went to Johnson Hall, 
 arriving October 25th, just in advance of the Americans, under Colonel 
 Marinus Willett. who immediately began the action. He gained the advan- 
 tage, but some of the men of his right wing gave way and he lost his 
 ammunition cart. Night ended the contest and Ross retreated and camped 
 that night about six miles from Johnson Hall. Willett pursued the enemy, 
 who offered little resistance, except at a difficult ford of Canada creek 
 where there was a slight engagement in which Walter Butler was killed. 
 The story, often told, is that Butler was shot and wounded by Skenandoah, 
 an Oneida Indian, and that Butler implored the Indian to spare him, but 
 he shouted "Remember Sherry Valley" and sunk his tomahawk in Butler's 
 skull. 
 
 Willett in his report says : "Amongst the killed at that place was 
 Walter Butler, who commanded the massacre at Cherry Valley. Their 
 flight was performed in an Indian file upon a constant trott, and one man's 
 being knocked in the head or falling off into the woods never stopped the 
 progress of his neighbor, not even the fall of their favorite Walter Butler 
 could attract their attention, so much as to induce them to take even the 
 
 211 
 
money or anything else out of his pocket, although he was not dead, when 
 found by one of our Indians, who finished his business for him and got a 
 considerable booty." 10 
 
 This completes the tragic account of the frontier. Cornwallis had 
 surrendered and the war was practically over. The Iroquois Confederacy 
 was crushed, and by subsequent treaties and adjustments New York 
 acquired most of the Indian territory. 
 
 Writers have blamed this official and that officer, this policy and lack 
 of policy for the widespread destruction, but the best explanation would 
 seem, the natural condition of the frontier and inevitable circumstances 
 prevailing. Some say more forts and garrisons would have been adequate 
 protection, but Pennsylvania, during the French and Indian War, had a 
 chain of forts across its frontier, which did not prevent the murdering of 
 the frontier people. The methods of the foe were those of the thief and 
 murderer, and no one, yet, has been able to protect society from the thief 
 and murderer. 
 
 The settlements were widely scattered and there was little efficient 
 government on the frontier. The frontiersmen, themselves had much to do 
 with their disasters. They were poor and many of them incapable. They 
 had reckless daring and were seemingly unaware of their own danger. 
 They neglected to organize themselves into disciplined bands of militia, 
 sent out, practically, no scouts, had few sentinels and guards and thus 
 allowed the foe to ambush them. They often refused or neglected to seek 
 the protection of the forts when warned, and ventured to work their crops 
 when the foe was near. It would seem, the destruction of the frontier just 
 had to be. 
 
 The end of the war brought to a close, the New York and Pennsyl- 
 vania frontier. Many of those, who had borne the struggles of its existence, 
 were unfitted for the thrift and industry of peace, and sold their slight 
 improvements to a more steady class from the east and moved to a new 
 frontier in Ohio and the prairie states. The Sctoch-Irish in the Susque- 
 hanna region were largely displaced by Pennsylvania German farmers who 
 absorbed the choice lands, when these Sctoch-Irish moved to a new 
 frontier and stirring scenes in Kentucky and Ohio. A tide of New Eng- 
 land immigration flooded the fertile lands of central and western New 
 York. Yet, enough of the spirit remained to tinge the culture, of the vast 
 region west of the Susquehanna, with the individuality, independence and 
 self-reliance of the old frontier. 
 
 NOTES— CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 
 
 1. Clinton Papers V, 736, 747, 761, 816. 
 
 In September, 1779, three inhabitants of German Flats killed and three made 
 prisoners; two soldiers captured in sight of Fort George. (Clinton Papers V, 267) 
 
 In March, 1780: Captain Keyser, two sons and three others captured in the 
 Palatine District; garrison of Skenesborough surprised, ten captured and three 
 escaped. An inhabitant killed. (Clinton Papers V, 545, 551, 558) 
 
 212 
 
In April, Brant made a raid on Harpersfield, three persons killed and twelve 
 captured, including Captain Alexander Harper (Clinton Papers. V. 578 to 580) ; 
 Nineteen persons captured at Rensnyder's Bush in the Palatine District, (Clinton 
 Papers, V, 631). 
 
 2. Clinton Papers VI, 59, 63, 77 to 82, 88 to 90. 
 
 3. Ibid, 93, 94, 136. 
 
 4. Ibid, 169. 
 
 5. Ibid 290. 
 
 6. Ibid, 346 to 355. 
 
 7. Ibid, 811, 812. 
 
 8. Clinton Papers VII, 196 to 199. 
 
 9. Ibid, 291. 
 
 10. Ibid, 443, 447, 472 ; For Life of Walter Butler, see Swiggett, "War Out of 
 Niagara." 
 
 213 
 
AUTHORITIES 
 
 Andrews, Colonial Period of American 
 History. 
 
 Bancroft, History of United States, 
 Last Revision, Appleton. 
 
 Buckle, History of Civilization. 
 
 Brainerd, Memoirs of New Haven, 1822. 
 
 Beauchamp, Life of Conrad Weiser. 
 
 Bigelow, Works of Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 Boyd's, Treaties. 
 
 Brodhead Papers, New York Colonial 
 Documents. 
 
 Bougianville, Journal of, 
 
 Boquet Papers. 
 
 Brewster, The Connecticut Claim, Pub- 
 lication Wyoming Monument Exer- 
 cises, 1939. 
 
 Brewster, History of Kingston. 
 
 Bennett, Frances Slocum, 
 
 Campbell, Annals of Try on County. 
 
 Chapman, History of Wyoming. 
 
 Colden, History of Five Nations, Amer- 
 ican Book Co., 1902. 
 
 Colden, Cadwallader, Letters and Works 
 of, 
 
 Clinton Papers, Published by State of 
 New York. 
 
 Craft, The Sullivan Expedition, Pub- 
 lished by State of New York. 
 
 Day, Historical Collections of Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 DeSchweinitz, Life of David Zeisberger. 
 
 Doddridge, Notes on Indian Wars and 
 Settlements. Edition, Pittsburg, 1912. 
 
 De Puy, Life of Ethan Allen. 
 
 Digby Lieutenant, Journal of, Munsell, 
 Albany, 1887. 
 
 Egle, History of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Franklin Benjamin, Bigelow Works of, 
 Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Pub- 
 lished by State. 
 Friendly Association, History of, 
 
 Gist Christopher, Diary of, 
 Gordon, History of Pennsylvania. 
 Goodrich, History of Wayne County. 
 
 Halsey, Old New York Frontier. 
 Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre. 
 Heckewelder, Indian Nations. Published 
 by Historical Society of Penna., 1876. 
 
 Hoyt, Brief of Title in Seventeen Town- 
 ships. 
 Hazards Register. 
 
 Jesuit Relations. 
 
 Johnson Sir William, Papers of, Pub- 
 lished by University State of New 
 York. 
 
 Jemison Mary, Life of, 
 
 Johnson, Wyoming Historical Record. 
 
 Jefferson Thomas, Writings of, Edition 
 of 1859. 
 
 Linn, Annals of the Buffalo Valley. 
 Lossing, Field Book of the Revolution. 
 Loskiel, History of Moravian Missions, 
 
 Edition London, 1794. 
 Loudon, Selection of Narratives. 
 
 MacMinn, On the Frontier with Colonel 
 Antes. 
 
 Marshe, Journal of the Treaty of Lan- 
 caster. 
 
 Memorials of Moravian Church. 
 
 Moravian Archives at Bethlehem. 
 
 Morgan, League of the Iroquois. 
 
 Miner, History of Wyoming. 
 
 Marshall, Life of Washington. 
 
 Meginess, History of West Branch Val- 
 ley. 
 
 Meginess, Frances Slocum. 
 
 Northumberland County Historical So- 
 ciety, Proceedings of, 
 
 New York, Documentary History of, 
 (Cited as Doc. Hist, of N. Y.) 
 
 New York, Colonial Documents of 
 Cited as N. Y. Col. Docs.) 
 
 Paris Documents 
 
 Peck, History of Wyoming. 
 
 Pennsylvania Historical Society, Manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Pennsylvania Archives. (Cited as Pa. 
 Archs.) 
 
 Pennsylvania Colonial Records. (Cited 
 as Col. Recs. 
 
 Peters MMS. 
 
 Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe. Edition 
 of 1901. 
 
 Parkman, The Jesuits, Edition of 1878. 
 
 Pound, Johnson of the Mohawks. 
 
 Pennsylvania Gazette. 
 
 Peckham, Pontiac. 
 
 215 
 
AUTHORITIES 
 
 Riedesel Mrs., Letters and Journals of. 
 
 Albany 1867. 
 Rupp, History of Berks and Lebanon 
 
 Counties. 
 Rupp, History of Cumberland County. 
 Rupp, History of Lehigh County. 
 Rupp, History of Monroe County. 
 Rice, David Zeisberger and His Brown 
 
 Brethren. 
 Reid, The Mohawk Valley. 
 
 Saurs Journal. 
 
 Simms, History of Schoharie. 
 
 Sparks, Writings of Washington, Edition 
 
 of 1837. 
 Smith's Laws. 
 
 Stone, Life of Sir William Johnson. 
 Stone, History of Wyoming. 
 Susquehanna Company Papers, Edited by 
 
 J. P. Boyd. 
 Swiggett, War Out of Niagara. 
 
 Thompson, Causes of Alienation of Dela- 
 ware and Shawnee Indians. Edition, 
 1867. 
 
 Thwaite, Early Western Travels. 
 
 Tylor E. B., Primitive Culture. Edition 
 1877. 
 
 Walton, Conrad Weiser and the Indian 
 Policy of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Wallace, Life of Conrad Weiser. 
 
 Washington George, Diaries of. Edition 
 of 1925. 
 
 Weiser Conrad, Autobiography of in Life, 
 of by C. J. Weiser. 
 
 Watson, Annals of Philadelphia. 
 
 Woolman, John, Life and Travels of, 
 
 Wright, Historical Sketches of Plymouth. 
 
 Wyoming Historical and Geological So- 
 ciety. Reports of, Manuscripts there. 
 
 Volwiler, Life of George Croghan. ■ 
 
 216 
 
INDEX 
 
 A. 
 
 Aaron, Little, 196 
 
 Abercrombie, General, 84, 102, 103, 105 
 
 Abraham, 44 
 
 Abraham's creek, 44, 185 
 
 Ackland, 
 
 Major, 179, 180 
 
 Lady, 182, 183 
 
 Lady, letter, 183 
 Adams, 
 
 James, 153, 154 
 
 Scout, 70 
 Affstat, 11 
 
 Aix la Chapelle, 27, 32 
 Albany, 11, 14, 27, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 52, 
 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 84, 96, 170, 176, 202 
 
 Congress, 34, 35, 38, 68 
 
 County, 145 
 Alden, 
 
 Ensign, 162, 163 
 
 Col. Ichabod, 195, 196 
 
 Tavern, 157 
 Algonquin or Algonquian, II, 6 
 Alexander, 
 
 James, 36 
 
 William, 72 
 Alexandria, 33, 55 
 
 Allaquippa, or Alliquippa, Queen, 28, 56 
 Allegheny, 
 
 Mountains, 5, 39, 41, 88, 91, 107, 138, 
 144 
 
 River, 32, 34, 54, 206, 207 
 Alleman, Mrs. Jacob, 121 
 Allen, 
 
 Ethan, 165, 166, 167, 168 
 
 Fort, 87, 88, 90, 160, 203, 204 
 
 Heber, 166 
 
 Heman, 166 
 
 Ira, 166 
 
 James, 121 
 
 Levi, 166 
 
 Township, 120 
 
 William, 87 
 Allumapees, 6, 7, 12, 22 
 Amboy, N.J. 130, 134 
 America, 144, 154 
 
 American and Americans, 55, 63, 105, 139, 
 140, 145, 165, 171, 172, 175, 176, 177, 
 178, 179, 180, 182, 185, 186, 198, 206 
 America, 
 
 Army, 177 
 
 Colonist, 161 
 
 Amherst, General, 102, 105, 112, 113, 114, 
 
 117, 125, 154 
 Amsterdam, N.Y., 46, 51 
 Andastees, 1, 4, 127 
 Anders, 
 
 Gottleib, 80 
 
 Johanna, 80 
 Anderson, William, 118 
 Andrews, Robert, 145 
 Andrustown, 194 
 Anne, Fort, 176 
 Anker, Frederick, 184 
 Anspack, John, 78 
 Anthony's Nose, 210 
 Anthracite region, 39 
 Antoni, Philip, 101 
 Antes, Fort, 189 
 Appletown, 201 
 Arahpot, Unhappy Jake, 10 
 Armstrong, 
 
 Andrew, 190 
 
 Captain, 91 
 
 Edward, 90 
 
 Fort, 206 
 
 Jack, murder of, 21, 22 
 
 James, 189 
 
 Colonel John, 41, 62, 91, 92, 108, 123 
 Arnold, 22 
 
 Benedict, 165, 166, 167, 172, 173, 175, 
 178, 179, 180, 182 
 Ashley, Rebecca Kellogg, 45 
 Assaryquoa, 20, 21, 24 
 Asserughney, 44 
 Atherton, Asahel, 164 
 Aubry, 111, 112 
 Auburn, 88 
 Augusta, 
 
 Fort, 88, 93, 105, 162, 188, 199, 202 
 
 Regiment, 88 
 Aughwick, 32, 41, 47, 59, 64, 88 
 Austrian Archduchess, 55 
 Avery, 203 
 Avon, 207 
 Awandae creek, 144 
 
 B. 
 
 Baby, 116 
 
 Backus, Ebenezer, 159 
 Bagley, Col. Jonathan, 69, 83 
 Baird, Richard, 108 
 
 217 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Baker, 
 
 Remember, 167 
 
 Scout, 90 
 Balcarras, Earl, 179, 180 
 Baldwin, Daniel, 122 
 Bald Eagle, 138 
 Balliet, Col., 204 
 Ballston, 211 
 Baltimore, Lord, 24 
 Bancroft, George, 175 
 Banyar, Goldsbrow, 68 
 Barber, Robert, 128 
 Barclay, Rev. 52 
 Barnet, \ 
 
 Joseph, 101 
 
 William, 101 
 Barton, 205 
 
 Rev. Thomas, 50 
 Bartram, John, 6, 9 
 Battle Avenue, 185 
 Baum, Col. 177 
 Bear Clan, 2 
 Beard, Little, 186 
 Beams Batallion, 85 
 Beatty, 
 
 Mr., 101 
 
 Robrt, 129 
 Beauport, 113 
 Beaver, 206 
 
 Clan, 2 
 
 Beaver, chief, 50, 124 
 
 Dams, 91 
 
 King, 104 
 Bedford, 41, 111, 119, 145, 163 
 
 Fort, 107, 108, 109, 117, 145 
 
 County, 146 
 Beajau, 65, 66 
 Beeman, Nathan, 167 
 Belding, Ezra, 164 
 Bell, Thomas, 101 
 Bellinger, Col., 172 
 Beisel, Conrad, 12 
 Bemis Heights, 177, 178, 179 
 Benjamin, family, 189 
 Bennett, 
 
 Andrew, 203 
 
 Mrs. Hannah, 193 
 
 Thomas, 164, 203 
 Bennington, 165, 166, 177 
 Berks, County, 39, 41, 75, 76, 78, 80 
 Bernard, Governor, 105, 106 
 Bern Township, 101, 121 
 Berry, Captain, 190 
 Berryhill, William, 82 
 Bethlehem, 79, 87, 106, 120, 134, 135, 136 
 Bethel Township, 76, 78, 94, 101 
 Beverly, William, 23 
 Bidlack, Captain James, 189 
 Biddle, Edward, 78 
 Big Beaver creek, 116 
 
 Big Cove, 32 
 
 Big Island, 20, 138 
 
 Bills of Credit, 62, 98 
 
 Bingham, 
 
 Fort, 118 
 
 Silas, 164 
 Binghamton, 4, 45 
 Bittenbender, Conrad, 99 
 Black, Prince, 21 
 
 William, 22, 23 
 Blacklegs, creek, 208 
 Blacksnake, Governor, 186 
 Black Walnut, 205 
 Blair, James, 90 
 Blanchard, 
 
 Colonel, 70 
 
 Joseph, 188 
 Blane, Lieutenant Archibald, 117 
 Bloody 
 
 Morning Scout, 76 
 
 Pond, 71 
 
 Rock, See Queen Esther's, 187 
 Blooming Grove, 162 
 Blue Mountains, 121 
 Blythe, William, 150 
 Board of Trade, English, 72, 74 
 Boeuf, le, Fort, 33, 117 
 Boon, 
 
 Fort, 199 
 
 Captain Hawkins Boon, 199 
 Boquet, Col. Henry, 76, 107, 117, 118, 
 
 119, 120, 123, 124, 125, 126 
 Boston, 157, 182 
 
 Commisisoners for Propagating the 
 Gospel, 45 
 Bossert or Bozert, Philip, 89, 99 
 Bougainville, 95, 96, 97, 103 
 Boundary Agreement of Virginia and 
 
 Pennsylvania, 145, 146 
 Bourlamaque, 85, 95, 99, 103, 112 
 Bowers, Thomas, 78 
 Bowman's creek, 184 
 Bowman, Rev. Samuel, 192 
 Boyd, Lieutenant Thomas, 202 
 Braddock, General Edward, 7, 62, 63, 64, 
 
 65, 66, 67, 68, 72, 74, 181 
 Braddock's, 
 
 Field, 74 
 
 Road, 107 
 Bradford County, 39, 153 
 Bradstreet, Col. John, 84, 105, 123, 124 
 Brady, 
 
 Fort, 205 
 
 Family, 41 
 
 James, 190 
 
 Captain John, 199 
 Brainerd, Rev. David, 6, 8, 45, 141 
 Braintrim, 163 
 Brandywine, 181 
 
 218 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Brant, 
 
 Joseph, 170, 171, 174, 194, 195, 196, 
 197, 198, 201, 202, 211, 213! 
 
 Mary or Molly, 50, 51 
 Breylinger, 
 
 Hannah, 82 
 
 Jacob, 82 
 Breyman, 
 
 Colonel, 177, 178 
 
 Hill, 179, 180, 181 
 British, 36, 55, 62, 63, 66, 72, 73 111 131, 
 134, 143, 144, 154, 168, 170, 171, 173, 
 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 186, 
 201, 202, 203, 206, 210, 211 
 
 Museum, 93 
 
 Government, 74 
 
 Parliament, 92 
 
 Indian Superintendent, 169 
 Brockway, Richard, 164 
 Brodhead, 
 
 Charles, 42, 79 
 
 Daniel, 41, 80 
 
 Creek 42 
 
 General Daniel, 42, 206, 207, 208 
 
 Expedition, 206, 207 
 
 Garrett, 42 
 
 John, 42 
 
 Luke, 42 
 
 Manor, 42 
 Brooks 
 
 House, 194 
 
 Colonel, 180 
 Broullette, Captain Peter, 193 
 Brown, 122, 123, 184 
 
 Christian, 194 
 
 Colonel, 211 
 
 James, 94 
 Brunswicker or Brunswickers, 177, 178, 
 
 180 
 Bryan, George, 145 
 Buchanan, William, 62 
 Budd, Asa, 184 
 Buffalo creek, 207 
 Buck, 
 
 Asahel, 189 
 
 Elijah, 164 
 
 William, 164, 187 
 Buck's County, 39 
 
 Island, 211 
 Bull, 
 
 Captain, 121, 122, 134 
 
 Fort, 194 
 Bullock, 
 
 Lucy, 204 
 
 Nathan, 204 
 
 Tavern, 205 
 Bundy, Nancy, 190 
 Burgoyne, General, 170, 175, 176, 177, 
 
 178, 180, 181 
 Burd, James, 62, 108 
 
 Burrows, farm, 205 
 Burnet, Governor, 46 
 Burnett's Hills, 144, 147 
 Burten, Colonel, 66 
 Bushy Run, 117, 209 
 
 Battle of, 119, 120, 122 
 Bushkill creek, 43, 88 
 Butler, 
 
 House, 48 
 
 John, 143, 172, 173, 174, 184, 185, 186, 
 187, 188, 201, 202 
 
 Rangers 204 
 
 Walter, 173, 174, 195, 196, 197, 211 
 
 William, 194, 195, 202 
 
 Zebulon, 159, 160, 162, 163, 185, 186, 
 187, 188, 199, 200, 204 
 Buttermilk Falls, 184 
 Byrne, Michael, 50 
 
 Cady, 
 
 Abel, 189 
 
 Manasseh, 204 
 Calkins, 
 
 Creek, 153 
 
 Simeon, 153, 154 
 Caldwell, Captain, 185 
 Caldwell, N. Y., 96 
 Calhoun, a trader, 116 
 Cameron, 
 
 County, 39 
 
 Simon, 93 
 Campbell, 
 
 Captain, 116 
 
 Colonel, 208, 195 
 
 James, 46 
 
 Major, 120 
 
 Col. Samuel, 197 
 
 Robert, 118 
 Canaghquisson, 144 
 
 Canada, II, 9, 32, 34, 35, 84, 110, 112, 
 113, 170 175, 181, 204 
 
 Creek 144 211 
 Canadians, 35, 57, 65, 66, 70, 83, 84, 85, 
 
 97, 98, 123, 177, 180, 181 
 Canadian Indians, 120 
 Canasegra, creek, 202 
 Canajoharie, 200, 210, 211 
 
 Regiment, 171 
 Canassatego, 13, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 
 
 29, 30 
 Canaugas, 202 
 Cannatchocari, 46 
 Capouse, 203 
 Carbon County, 87 
 Carey, Samuel, 187 
 Carleton, Gen., 175 
 
 Major, 211 
 
 219 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Carlisle, 41, 76, 77, 87, 107, 111, 117, 118, 
 
 119, 123, 125, 150, 208 
 Carnahan, James, 208 
 Carolina, 1, 5 
 Carpenter, 
 
 Benjamin, 187 
 
 Emanuel, 78 
 Carr, Daniel, 184 
 Carter, 43 
 
 Carver, Jonathan, 98 
 Castleton, 166 
 
 Catawba Indians, 12, 19, 20, 29 
 Catamount Tavern, 165 
 Catawissa, 5, 44 
 Catherine's Town, 201 
 Caughnawaga, 46, 210 
 Cayuga, 135 
 
 Country, 135 
 
 Lake, 202 
 Cayugas, 3, 4, 13, 26, 27, 30, 39, 135, 
 
 144 
 Celeron, 32 
 Center County, 39 
 Chambers, Benjamin, 41, 42, 72, 78 
 
 Joseph, 42 
 
 Robert, 72 
 Champlain, 
 
 Lake, 69, 70, 96, 102, 112, 118, 145, 
 166, 167, 170, 175, 211 
 
 Samuel, 101 
 Chapman, Asa, 204 
 Charlotte County, 145 
 Charlottesville, 181 
 Chauvignerie, Michael La, 101 
 Chiefs who signed Susquehanna Pur- 
 chase Deed, 40 
 Chemung, 200 
 
 River, 4, 45, 122, 201 
 Chenango river, 4, 205 
 Chenasky, 6 
 Chenussio, 202 
 
 Cherry Valley, 45, 46, 140, 169, 172, 195, 
 196, 197, 211 
 
 Massacre, 195, 196, 197, 198 
 Cherokee river, 144 
 Chester County, 39, 130 
 Chilloway, Job, 137 
 Chillisquaqa creek, 203 
 Chouagen, 85 
 Chocanut, 205 
 Chowder Camp, 205 
 Christiana, 141 
 Christians, 141 
 
 Christian Indians, 134, 139, 140 
 Christie, Ensign, 117 
 Christy, Indian boy, 128 
 Clans of the Iroquois, 2, 3 
 Clapham, Col. William, 88, 116 
 Clark, 150 
 Clark, Miss, 78 
 
 Claus, Daniel, 50, 153 
 Claverack, 163 
 Clayton, Major Asher, 122 
 Clearfield, 37 
 
 County, 39 
 Clinton, 
 
 Brigade, 201 
 
 General, 187 
 
 Governor, British, 35, 52, 53 
 
 Governor George, American, 183, 210, 
 211 
 
 Gen. James, 200, 201 
 Clyde, Colonel, 196, 210 
 Cobb's Gap, 188 
 Cobbleskill, 194, 211 
 Cochecton, 153, 194 
 Cockroft, Col. William, 69 
 Cohocton river, 4 
 Colchester, 37, 157 
 
 Association, 37 
 Colden, Cadwalader, 36, 52 
 Cole, Col. Edward, 69 
 Coleman, Nicholas, 88 
 Colonial, II, 157 
 
 North America, 166 
 Colony, New, 156 
 Columbia County, 39 
 Comstock, John, 164 
 Conesus, Lake, 202 
 Conewango, Regiment, 172 
 Conestoga, 128 
 
 Indians, 87, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 
 
 Manor, 127 
 
 Murders, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131 
 Confederation, Articles of, 36 
 Congress, 169, 175, 177, 181, 198 
 
 Continental, 167, 169 
 Congregational Church, 169 
 Conklin, Nicholas, 153 
 Conoy Indians, 29, 44 
 Connolloway Settlements, 41, 76, 77, 78 
 Connecticut, 14, 36, 37, 38, 69, 71, 121, 
 122, 151, 153, 154, 156, 157, 161, 163, 
 165, 166 
 
 Assembly, 162, 165 
 
 Charter, of 162, 37, 145, 153, 156 
 
 Land Titles, 163 
 
 Militia, 162 
 Conococheague, 64, 101 
 Connolly, Dr. John, 145 
 Cookson, Prothonotary, 22 
 Continental, 
 
 Company, 170, 184 
 
 Congress, 167, 169 
 
 Regiment, 178 
 Contrecoeur, 54, 55, 56 
 Cornwallis, 212 
 Cottner, 190 
 
 Council at Onondaga, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 21, 
 26, 28, 30, 31, 53, 88, 91, 135, 136 
 
 220 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Covenhoven, Robert, 190, 199 
 Cox, Colonel, 171, 172 
 
 Mrs. 94 
 Conyngham Borough, 203 
 Coyle, Charles, 118 
 Craft, Rev. David, 200 
 Craig 
 
 Captain, 160 
 
 John, 94 
 
 Richard, 94 
 Crawford, 
 
 Colonel, 207 
 
 Fort, 208 
 Cresap, 
 
 Captain Michael, 10, 45 
 
 Colonel, 118 
 Croghan, George, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 41, 59, 
 60, 62, 64, 67, 99, 100, 105, 106, 117, 
 143 
 Crobbly family, 208 
 
 Rev. Mr 208 
 Crooks, William, 184 
 Cronshares, Mrs. John, 101 
 Crown Point, 35, 46, 63, 68, 70, 72, 73, 
 
 83, 103, 112, 167, 175, 195, 210 
 Csney, John, 101 
 Cuesheusking, 104 
 Culbertson, Captain Alexander, 90 
 Cullam, Gabriel, 151, 152 
 Cumberland, 
 
 County, 41, 64, 75, 94, 101, 118 
 
 Duke of, 59 
 
 Fort, 59, 64, 67, 107 
 
 Valley, 118 
 Currin, Barnaby, 33 
 Curry, Mr. 203 
 Curtis, John, 151 
 
 Cushietunk, 153, 154, 155, 160, 162, 198 
 Cuylerville, 202 
 
 Dalmatia, 75 
 Davidson, Agnes, 122 
 Davis, 
 
 James, 136 
 
 Reuben, 164 
 Davison, John, 33, 56, 58, 59 
 Dayton, 
 
 Colonel, 170, 193 
 
 Fort, 170, 173, 194, 198 
 Deaf Man's Village, 192 
 Dean 
 
 Matthew, 208 
 
 Jonathan, 164 
 Dearborn, 179, 180, 182 
 
 Colonel, 201, 202 
 Declaration of Independence, 157 
 Decree of Trenton, 163 
 
 Deed, 14, 16 
 
 Confirmation, 16 
 
 Fort Stanwix, 144 
 
 Governor Dongan's, 13, 23 
 
 Preemption, 14, 37 
 
 Release, 14 
 Deer Clan, 2 
 De Lancey, 
 
 Captain James, 111, 112 
 
 Governor, James, 34, 35, 52, 63, 68, 98 
 
 Susan, 49 
 Delaplace, Captain, 167 
 Delaware, 107 
 
 George, 59, 104 
 
 First Company, 151 
 
 Purchases, 145, 151, 152, 153, 156, 162 
 
 Second Company, 153 
 River, I, 1, 14, 15, 16, 29, 37, 42, 43, 
 45, 87, 144, 151, 152, 153, 158, 162, 
 188, 198, 203 
 
 Water Gap, 37, 42, 43 
 
 Delawares, 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 17, 28, 30, 
 
 44, 59, 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 90, 100, 
 
 104, 106, 112, 115, 116, 120, 121, 123, 
 
 124, 139, 151, 191, 192, 193, 206, 207 
 
 Delegates to Albany Congress, 40 
 
 Denny, Governor, 92, 100, 103, 105, 106 
 
 Denison, Col. Nathan, 164, 185, 186, 187, 
 
 188 
 Deposit, 144 
 Depui, 
 
 Aaron, 153 
 
 Manison, 47, 88 
 
 Samuel, 43 
 Derry Church, 42 
 Derickson, Mrs. Mary, 205 
 Deshaeking, 59 
 Deshler's Fort, 121 
 Detroit, 115, 116, 117, 123, 139, 206 
 Detzelar, Mrs. Michael, 108 
 Devil's Hole, 120 
 Diahoga, 45 
 Dick, Captain, 161 
 Dickey, Elizabeth, 101 
 Dickson, 
 
 Mrs. Mary, 192 
 
 William, 46, 118 
 Dieskau, Baron, 70, 71 
 Digby, Lieutenant, 178, 181 
 Dingman, Andrew, 158 
 Dinwiddie, Gov. 33, 34, 56, 58, 63 
 Dodd, George, 118 
 Doddridge, Dr. 140 
 Dodge, Lieutenant, 120 
 Dongan, Governor, 13, 23 
 Dorrance, Col. George, 185, 186, 188 
 Drake, Jesse, 153 
 Draper, Simeon, 164 
 Duche, Jacob, 99 
 Dumas, 66 
 
 221 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Dunbar, Colonel, 62, 65, 67 
 Dunlop, Rev. Samuel, 40, 196 
 Dunmore, 
 
 Fort, 145 
 
 Lord, 10, 145 
 
 War, 138, 145 
 Duquesne, 
 
 Fort, 28, 54, 55, 57, 64, 65, 73, 74, 
 104, 105, 107, 108 
 
 Governor, 34 
 Dunn, 203 
 
 Dunning, John, 156 
 Durham, 15 
 Dutch, I, 42, 43, 169, 198 
 
 Mine opening, 47 
 
 Reformed Church, 169 
 Dutchess County, 158 
 Dysart, James, 123 
 
 Eastburne, Surveyor General, 16 
 Easton, 79, 80, 87, 90, 100, 105, 106, 115, 
 
 158, 160, 199, 202 
 East Branch of Susquehanna, 144 
 East Stroudsburg, 80 
 Ebert, George, 99 
 Ecuyer, Captain Simeon, 116 
 Edmunston, Major, 194 
 Effort, 134 
 
 Elder, Rev. John, 129 
 Elderkin, Vine, 158, 164 
 Elk County, 39 
 Elliott, 
 
 Charles, 118 
 
 Joseph, 187 
 
 Matthew, 206 
 Elmira, 201 
 Endless Mountains, 14 
 England, 22, 52, 54, 56, 88, 105, 110, 116, 
 
 154, 170, 181 
 English, II, 1, 11, 24, 26, 28, 32, 33, 39, 
 43, 46, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 
 71, 73, 84, 90, 92, 96, 97, 98, 102, 105, 
 107, 111, 113, 115, 116, 119, 120, 133, 
 134, 136, 138, 139, 141, 153, 157, 178 
 
 Government, 34, 75 
 
 Man, 104 
 
 Privy Council, 72 
 Ennis, Benjamin, 203 
 Enslow, Andrew, 101 
 Ephrata, 12 
 
 Episcopal and Episcopalians, 14, 169 
 Erie, 
 
 County, 117 
 
 Indian tribe, 1 
 
 Lake, 26, 63, 117, 123 
 Eschton, Philip, 101 
 Esopus, 43 
 
 War, I 
 
 Ettwein, John, 136, 137, 138 
 Europe, 55, 181 
 European, 68, 135 
 Evans, Irvin, 153, 154 
 
 Lewis, 21 
 Ewing, Col. George W., 191, 192 
 Exeter, 161, 163 
 
 Borough, 185 
 Eyre, Captain William, 68, 71 
 
 F. 
 
 Fabricius, George, 80 
 Fair Play, 
 Men, 148, 159, 150 
 Republic, 147, 148, 149 
 Fatigue Camp, 205 
 Fayette County, 41, 56 
 Feck, John Peter, 12 
 Fellows, Col. 181 
 Felebaum, George, 207 
 Fincher, John, 101 
 Finley, John, 121 
 
 First Forty settlers, 157, 158, 159 
 Fishing Creek, 42, 202 
 Fishkill, 170, 181 
 Fitch, 
 
 Governor, 153 
 
 Lemuel, 184 
 
 Sheriff Jonathan, 188 
 Five Nations, 3, 4 
 Flemming, William, 82 
 Fleurmont, 95 
 Follett, 
 
 Benjamin, 158, 164 
 
 Frederick, 189 
 Folsom, Captain, 71 
 Fonda, 
 
 Dow, 46 
 
 Major, 145, 210 
 Forbes, General, 102, 105, 107, 108 
 Fort 
 
 Augusta, See Augusta 
 
 Bull, 83 
 
 Duquesne, See Duquesne 
 
 George, 85 
 
 Niagara, 84, 88 
 
 Ontario, 85 
 
 Wyoming, See Wyoming 
 
 Williams, 84 
 Fort Wayne, 193 
 Fort Edward, 70, 71, 83, 90, 96, 97, 98, 
 
 103, 145, 176, 177 
 Fort William Henry, 46, 63, 84, 85, 95, 
 
 96, 97, 98, 112 
 Forty Fort, 160, 185, 186, 188 
 
 Borough of, 44 
 
 First, See First Forty 
 Forney, John W., 192 
 Foster, Thomas, 75 
 
 222 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Fourth Street, 186 
 
 Fourteenth Commonwealth, 163 
 
 France, 22, 32, 33, 56, 110, 115, 116, 
 
 Mrs. John, 107 
 Francis, Col. Turbutt, 131, 159 
 Franklin, 
 
 Arnold, 204 
 
 Benjamin, 27, 36, 63, 64, 67, 74, 81, 
 92, 93, 131, 181 
 
 Deborah, 131 
 
 County, 90 
 
 Fort, 88 
 
 John, 199 
 
 Roasel, 186 
 
 Mrs. Roasel, 204 
 
 Roasel, Jr. 204 
 
 Ichabod, 204 
 
 Union of Colonies, 36 
 
 William, 27, 28, 143 
 Frankstown, 27, 91 
 
 General, 176, 178, 180 
 
 Trader, 65 
 Fratricide of Wyoming, 187 
 Freeman's Farm, 178 
 Frederick, 
 
 Noah, 94 • 
 
 Second, 55 
 French, I, 11, 7, 22, 24, 26, 27, 32, 
 35, 39, 46, 52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 
 59, 60, 62, 66, 70, 71, 74, 83, 
 85, 86, 88, 92, 102, 103, 104, 105, 
 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 115, 
 117, 133 
 
 Creek, 33, 117 
 
 Mr., 93 
 
 Men, 123 
 French and Indian War, 7, 28, 49, 
 
 112, 115, 138, 166, 182, 212 
 Freeland, 
 
 Fort, 194 
 
 Jacob, 199, 205 
 
 Michael, 205 
 Friedenshuetten, 133, 135, 136, 137, 
 
 141, 142 
 Friedenstadt, 136, 138 
 Friendly Association, 99, 105 
 Frink, Joseph, 164 
 Frisbie, James, 204 
 
 Jonathan, 204 
 Frontenac, Fort, 73, 85, 105 
 Frye, Colonel, 95, 98 
 Fry, 
 
 Henry, II, 79 
 
 Col. Joshua, 55, 57, 60 
 Fulton County, 41 
 
 G. 
 
 Gabriel, George, 75 
 Gachadowa, 24 
 
 Gachradoda, 36 
 
 Gage, Col. and General, 65, 66, 112 
 181 Gallway, 
 
 Elizabeth, 82 
 
 Mrs. William, 82 
 Gait, William, 46 
 Ganawese, Indians, 44 
 87, Gansevoort, Col. Peter, 170, 171, 202 
 Gardner, 
 
 John, 184 
 
 Stephen, 37, 38, 157, 164 
 Garrett, Major, 162, 185, 186 
 Garrard, 208 
 
 Fort, 208 
 Gates, Gen. Horatio, 175, 177, 178, 179 
 
 180, 181, 182 
 Gattermeyer, John, 79 
 Gaylord, Samuel, 164 
 George, 
 
 Fort, 85, 96, 112, 181, 211, 212 
 
 Lake, 69, 70, 71, 72 
 
 Second, 113 
 
 Third, 144 
 Geiger, Mrs. William, 108 
 Genesee, river, I, 202, 207 
 Geneseo, 202 
 Geneva, 201 
 German, 141, 177 
 33, Butchers, 131 
 
 58, Flats, 11, 46, 98, 172, 194, 212 
 
 84, King, 54 
 
 106, Songs, 76 
 116, Troops, 179 
 
 Germans, 42, 92, 180 
 Germantown, 131, 181 
 Gersinger, Peter, 101 
 Gibson, 
 54, Colonel, 140 
 
 James, 130, 131 
 Gilson, Henry, 82 
 Girty, Si mom, 42, 106 
 Gist, Christopher, 32, 33, 40, 41, 55, 57 
 Gladwin, Major, 116, 117 
 140, Glover, 179, 180 
 
 Gnadenhutten, 42, 44, 79, 87, 138, 139, 
 
 140, 207 
 Godfroy, 192 
 Gooch, Governor, 19, 20 
 Good, Mrs. 101 
 Goodrich, 
 
 Col. Elizur, 69 
 
 P.G., 155 
 Gonsalus, Emanuel, 203 
 Gordon, Lieutenant, 117 
 Gore, Lieutenant, 186 
 
 Obadiah, 160 
 Goshen, 88, 198 
 Gottleib, 88 
 
 Governor's Scalp Proclamation, 89 
 Graham, John, 118 
 
 223 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Grant, Major, 107, 108 
 Granville, Fort, 88, 90 
 Great, 
 
 Bend, 205 
 
 Carrying Place, 69 
 
 Cove, 41, 77, 78, 99 
 
 Lakes, 86 
 
 Meadows, 55, 56, 67 
 
 Redoubt, 179, 180 
 
 Road, 185 
 
 Runaway, 188 
 
 Island, 45, 123, 190 
 Greathouse, Daniel, 10 
 Greencastle, 122 
 Greene County, 208 
 Green, 
 
 Bay, 123 
 
 Mountains, 166 
 
 Mountain Boys, 166, 167, 177 
 Gross Aspach, 11 
 Grover, 5 
 
 Gundryman, Andrew, 101 
 Gustax, 144 
 
 H. 
 
 Hadsall, 
 
 James Sr., 184, 185 
 
 James, Jr., 184 
 
 John, 184 
 Hagerman, 
 
 Leonora, 189 
 
 Mr. and Mrs., 189 
 Haldimand, Gen. Frederick, 111, 113 
 Half King, 33, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 
 Halkett, Sir Peter, 62 
 Halifax, 42, 88 
 
 Fort, 88 
 Hall, Joshua, 164 
 Hamilton, 
 
 Captain, 91 
 
 Fort, 88, 89 
 
 Governor, 119, 153, 154 
 
 James, 87 
 
 Township, 90 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. William, 93 
 
 William, 118 
 Hamble, 195, 196 
 Hammond, 
 
 Lebbeus, 187, 203 
 
 Mr., 190 
 
 William, 187 
 Hancock, 144, 156 
 Hand, 
 
 Fort, 206 
 
 General, Edward, 199, 200, 201 
 Hanbury, 33, 59, 64 
 Hannas Town, 145 
 Hanover, 42, 75, 121, 158, 159, 163, 185 
 
 Hansen, 
 
 Mr., 210 
 
 Peter, 195 
 Harper, 
 
 Captain Alexander, 213 
 
 James, 101 
 
 John, 101 
 
 Col. John, 170 
 Harpersfield, 213 
 Hardenburg Patent, 152 
 Harding, 
 
 Benjamin, 184 
 
 Family, 184, 185 
 
 Stephen, 164, 173 
 
 Stephen Jr., 184 
 
 Stulkely, 18 4 
 Harris, 
 
 Captain, 134 
 
 Col. Christopher, 69 
 
 Ferry, 42 
 
 John, 42, 60, 75 
 
 Peter, 164 
 Harrisburg, 188 
 Hartford, 157, 158 
 Hartley, Col. Thomas, 188 
 Hartman, 
 
 Barbara, 76 
 
 Henry, 76 
 
 Mrs. Henry, 76, 77 
 
 Regina, 76, 77 
 Harvey, 
 
 Creek, 162 
 
 Benjamin, 204 
 
 Elisha, 204 
 
 History, 107 
 
 Lucy, 204 
 Hathorn, Col. 198 
 Hawk Clan, 2 
 
 Hawley, Rev. Gideon, 45, 87 
 Hazard's Register, 128 
 Hazlet, Andrew, 121 
 Hazleton, 203 
 Hay, John, 129 
 Hayes, Captain, 87 
 Heckewelder, Rev. John, 120 
 Heidelberg, Township, 75, 101 
 Helkr's Tavern, 205 
 Helmar, Adam, 171, 172 
 Henderson, Allen, 101 
 Hendrick, King, 35, 38, 50, 70, 71 
 Henry, 
 
 Fort, 78, 88, 94 
 
 Fort William Henry, See Forts 
 Herbin, 95 
 Herkimer, 170 
 
 Family, 46 
 
 Fort, 46, 194, 210, 211 
 
 Gen. Nicholas, 170, 171, 172 
 Heron Clan, 2 
 
 224 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Hess 
 
 Henry, 88 
 
 Peter, 88 
 Hessian, 180 
 Hertel, 75 
 
 Hewitt, Captain Dethick, 185, 186, 187 
 Hibbard, Cyprian, 187 
 Highlanders, 107, 108 
 Hicks, 82 
 
 Hickman, family, 188 
 Hiokoto, 199 
 Hodenosaunee, 4 
 Hoeth, 
 
 Creek, 42 
 
 Frederick, 42, 80 
 
 Mrs. Frederick, 80 
 Hocksey, James, 188 
 Hochege river, 144 
 Hogg, Lieutenant, 91, 92 
 Holliday, 
 
 Fort, 208 
 
 Lieutenant, 99 
 Hollister, 
 
 Isaac, 122 
 
 Nathaniel, 122 
 
 Timothy, 122 
 
 Timothy Jr., 122 
 Hoops, Adam, 62, 78 
 Hoosic, 60 
 
 Horner, Mrs. James, 121 
 Howe, 102 
 Hubbardtown, 176 
 Hubler, Frantz, 121 
 Hudson river, 39, 42, 46, 49, 69, 83, 170, 
 
 177, 181 
 Hungry Hill, 205 
 Hunlock's Creek, 202 
 Hunter, 
 
 Fort, 46, 52, 88 
 
 Governor, 11 
 
 Col Samuel, 108, 202 
 Huntington, 5, 161, 163, 203 
 Huron, Lake 1 
 Hurons, 1, Chief, 139 
 Hupp, 
 
 Ann, 207 
 
 John, 207 
 Hurst, William, 108 
 Hyndshaws, 43 
 Hyndshaw, 
 
 Fort, 87, 94 
 
 Captain James, 154 
 
 Illinois, 
 
 Indians, 123 
 
 River, 1 
 Indiana., 192 
 
 Indian, Indians, 7, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, 
 26, 27, 30, 32, 33, 35, 43, 44, 49, 54, 
 59, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 
 79, 81, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 97 98, 
 99, 103, 104, 105, 108, 110, 111, 112, 
 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 
 122, 123, 127, 128, 133, 134, 135, 136, 
 138, 139, 140, 145, 150, 151, 152, 153, 
 154, 156, 157, 158, 169, 170, 171, 172, 
 173, 176, 177, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 
 189, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 200, 
 
 201, 202, 203, 206, 207, 208, 210, 211, 
 212 
 
 Commissioners, 35, 52, 53 
 
 Falls, 121 
 
 Village, 202 
 Ingaren, 205 
 Inman, Isaac, 189 
 Innes, Col. James, 59 
 Intelligencer, Lancaster, 192 
 Inwood, 88 
 Ireland, 49 
 Iron Cutter, 150 
 Iroquoian, 30, 12 
 
 Iroquois, 4, 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 30, 33, 
 34, 45, 52, 74, 99, 100, 106, 153 
 
 Chiefs, 36 
 
 Clans, 2, 3 
 
 Government, 3 
 
 Religion, 4 
 
 Sachems, 3, 19, 30 
 
 Confederacy, II, 1, 3, 9, 13, 14, 15, 39. 
 
 202, 212 
 
 Long House, 2, 45 
 
 Social Organization, 2 
 
 Warpaths, Trails, 5 
 Irvine, General, 208 
 Island of Orleans 113 
 
 J. 
 
 Jackson, 
 
 Richard, 156 
 
 William, 184 
 Jameson, 122 
 
 Benjamin, 204 
 
 JoTin, 204 
 
 William, 189 
 Jacobs, Captain, 90, 91, 92, 124 
 Jearum, Zerubabel, 164 
 Jegrea, 81 
 Jehovah, 165, 167 
 Jenkins, 
 
 Fort, 185, 186, 202 
 
 John, 157, 164, 199 
 
 Mrs. John, 188 
 
 Stephen, 164 
 
 William, 33 
 
 225 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Jennings, 
 
 Edmund, 23, 24 
 
 John, 157 
 
 Sheriff, 158, 159 
 
 Jennings, Solomon, 16 
 Jersey City, 176 
 Jesuits, 7 
 
 Joincaire, Chaubert de, 33, 116 
 Joincaire Seur de, 33 
 John, Dr. 11 
 Johnson, 
 
 Ann Warren, 49 
 
 Ann, 50 
 
 Caroline, 50 
 
 Charlotte, 50 
 
 Family, 169 
 
 Guy, 143, 169, 170 
 
 Christopher, 49 
 
 Hall, 145, 170, 210, 211 
 
 Nancy, 50 
 
 Sir John, 50, 170, 172, 210, 211 
 
 William of Canajoharie, 50 
 
 Sir William, 35, 38, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 
 
 52, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 89, 
 
 99, 100, 103, 105, 106, 111, 112, 115, 
 
 117, 120, 122, 123, 130, 143, 145, 153 
 
 Johnsons, 169 
 
 Johnstown, 51, 145, 170, 194 
 Jones, 203 
 
 Captain, 111 
 
 David, 176, 190 
 Jordan, Mrs. 78 
 
 Jumonville, Coulon de, 55, 56, 57 
 Juniata, 5, 32, 41, 45, 91 
 
 County, 88, 90 
 
 K. 
 
 Kackawatcheky, 44 
 
 Kanadasego, 197, 201 
 
 Kanawha, 28, 144 
 
 Kanawaholla, 201 
 
 Kelly, Colonel, 203 
 
 Kellogg, Joseph, 34, 38, 39, 72 
 
 Kendaia, 201 
 
 Kentucky, 145, 212 
 
 Keppell, Commodore, 63 
 
 Keyes, Timothy, 188 
 
 Keyser, Captain, 212 
 
 Killibuck, 
 
 Captain, 104, 202 
 
 John, 206 
 King, 22, 74 
 
 Thomas, 106, 107 
 
 Mrs. William, 190 
 King's Line, 143 
 Kingsley, 
 
 Nathan, 191 
 
 Wareham, 191 
 
 Kingston, N.Y., 181 
 
 Kingston, Pa. 121, 158, 159, 160, 163, 204 
 
 Flats, 189 
 Kirke, 
 
 Mary, 199 
 
 Mrs., 199 
 
 William, 199 
 Kirkpatrick, John, 101 
 Kittanning, 75, 77, 90, 91, 92, 144, 206 
 Kittatiny Mountains, I, 13, 29, 36, 41, 80 
 Klader, Captain Daniel, 203, 204 
 Klaus, Adam, 101 
 Klein, Christopher, 100 
 Klotz, Louis, 153 
 Koscuisko, Gen. 177 
 Kouari, 45 
 
 Kresgeville, 42, 80, 88 
 Kyashuta, 124 
 
 Labboughpeton, 100 
 Lackawanna, 
 
 County, 39 
 
 River, 44, 135, 153, 198, 199 
 Lackawaxen, 17, 29, 152, 153, 198, 199 
 
 Battle of, 198, 199 
 Lackaway, 198 
 La Corne, 95, 96, 111 
 Lafayette, 195 
 Lake George, 83, 95, 102, 112 
 
 Battle of, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 195 
 Lancaster, 21, 22, 27, 64, 115, 123, 129, 
 192 
 
 County, 39, 41, 75, 127, 161 
 
 Intelligencer, 128 
 
 Jail, 129, 185 
 Land, Robert, 153 
 Land Distribution, Methods of, 18 
 Langlade, 195 
 Langy's Rangers, 102 
 Laurel Hills, 56, 111 
 Laurens, Fort, 206, 207 
 Leach, James, 188 
 Learned, 
 
 General, 177, 180 
 
 Tavern, 205 
 League of the Iroquois, 36 
 Lebanon, 
 
 Connecticut, 157 
 
 Fort, 88 
 Lebenguth, Mr. and Mrs., 108 
 Ledlie, William, 158 
 Lee 
 
 Arthur, 208 
 
 Thomas, 22, 28 
 Legalissoniere, Marquis de, 32 
 
 226 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Lehigh, 
 
 County, 120 
 
 Gap, 120 
 
 River, 14, 15, 16, 42, 79, 87, 121, 134 
 
 Valley Railroad, 133 
 Leninger, 
 
 Barbara, 82 
 
 Rachel, 82 
 Lenni Lenape, 4 
 Leroy, Jacob, 74 
 Lery, Lieutenant, de, 83, 84 
 Lesley, Jonh, 79 
 Lester, 
 
 Mr? and Mrs. 189 
 
 Mrs. 202 
 Le Tort, James, 6 
 Levis, 85, 95, 96, 97 
 Lewis, 
 
 Col. Andrew, 124 
 
 General Andrew, 145 
 
 Major, 108 
 
 Gen. Morgan, 176 
 Lewistown, 88, 120 
 Lexington, Battle of, 165 
 Lichtenau, 139 
 
 Lick, Jonn, Reter and William, 82 
 Lignens, 111, 112, 119, 120, 208 
 Ligonier, Fort, 107, 108, 109, 110, 117, 
 
 118 
 Lincoln, General, 179 
 Lindesay, John, 45, 46 
 Litchfield County, 158 
 Littlecharles, Lt. Col. 85 
 Little, Falls, 46 
 
 Beard's Town, 202 
 
 Turtle, 193 
 
 Meadows, 64 
 Livingston, 
 
 Manor, 11 
 
 Robert, 11 
 Lock Haven, 20, 45 
 Logan, 
 
 Indian, 10, 145 
 
 James, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 30 
 
 John, 118 
 Logansport, 147 
 Logstown, 28, 30, 33, 44 
 Long, Colonel, 176 
 Long, Leonard, 101, 109 
 Longqueil, 95 
 
 Long House of the Iroquois, 45, 202 
 London, 11 L 33, 59, 64 
 Lothrop, Cyprian, 164 
 Londonderry, 46 
 Lower Smithfield, 99, 158 
 Lowery, Fort, 208 
 Lutheran, 76 
 Loudon, 
 
 Fort, 122 
 
 Lord, 84, 92, 96, 98, 102 
 
 Louisiana, 108 
 Louisburg, 96, 106, 113 
 Loyalsock creek, 5, 20, 190 
 Loyalhanna creek, 107 
 Lukens, 
 
 Jesse, 163 
 
 Surveyor General, 156, 163 
 Lutheran Church, 169 
 Lycan Andrew, 42 
 Lycoming, 
 
 County, 39 
 
 Creek, 5, 20, 147, 190, 194 
 Lydius, 
 
 Dominie Johannes, 38 
 
 Col. John H., 38, 70, 72 
 Lykens Valley, 42 
 Lyman, 
 
 Fort, 70 
 
 Gen. Phineas, 69, 70, 71, 72 
 Lyme, Conn., 157 
 Lyons, 203 
 Lytleton, Fort, 88, 92 
 Luzerne, 
 
 Captain, 207 
 
 County, 39 
 
 M. 
 
 Mack, 
 
 Jeannette, 7 
 
 Martin, 7, 42 
 Maconaquah, 193 
 Machault, Fort, 111, 117 
 Mackey, James, 101 
 Mackinac, 123 
 Machwilhilusing, 135 
 Madison, James, 145 
 Mahanoy creek, 29 
 Mahoning, creek, 42, 79, 138 
 Mahantango, 93 
 Manada, 
 
 Fort, 88 
 
 Gap, 88, 94 
 Manekalawaugan, 205 
 Mann, Captain, 173 
 Manor of Stoke, 157 
 Marcy, Zebulon, 186 
 Marin, 95, 103, 112 
 Markham, William, 15 
 Marks, Martin, 121 
 Marshall, 
 
 Edward, 16, 17 
 
 Mrs. Edward, 99 
 
 Walk, 115 
 Marsh, Rev. William, 122 
 Marsh, Thomas, 122 
 Marshe, Witham, 22, 23 
 Martel, Captain, 190 
 
 227 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Martin, 
 
 Mrs. John, 82 
 
 William, 101 
 Maryland, 4, 5, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 31, 63, 
 
 64, 72, 74, 87, 107, 123 
 Massachusetts, 34, 36, 37, 63, 69, 71, 72, 
 96, 97, 102, 131, 165, 166 
 
 Fort, 60 
 
 Provincial Congress of, 165 
 Massey, Col. 112 
 Matoon, Gen. 180 
 Maxwell, Gen. Wm., 199, 2U0 
 McCannon, Jane, 101 
 McClleland, David, 82 
 McClures Gap, 94 
 McCord, Fort, 90 
 McCord, Mrs. 94 
 McDonald, Captain, 199 
 McDonald, Tory leader, 193, hA 
 McDowell's Mills, 94 
 McGuire, John, 33 
 McGuiness, Captain, 71 
 McConnell, 118 
 McCrea, Jane, 176 
 McKay, Captain, 57 
 McKean, Chief Justice, 150 
 McKean, County, 39 
 McKee, Alexander, 206 
 McKee, Thomas, 20, 26, 75, 99 
 McCullough, Alexander, 123 
 McLellan, Mr. 99 
 McMenomy, Daniel, 108 
 McMichaels Creek, 42 
 McMichael, John, 42 
 Mcintosh, Gen. Laclan, 20j 
 Mcintosh Fort, 206 
 McWilliams, Hugh, 163 
 McNeil, Mrs., 176 
 Mead, David, 159 
 Meath, County, Ireland, 44 
 Mechanicville, 46 
 Meeker, Major, 198 
 Mehoopany, 44 
 Mennonite, 130 
 Mercer, Captain, Colonel, Hugh, 91, 92, 
 
 108 
 Mercer, Col. 84, 85 
 Meshoppen, 44, 203 
 Mexico, 88, 93 
 Miami, 28, 193 
 
 Reservation, 192 
 Mickley, John Jacob, 121 
 Micheltree, Hugh, 93 
 Midate, Eleazer, 153 
 Middle 
 
 Creek, 74, 150 
 
 Fort, 210, 211 
 Middjeburg, 150, 194 
 Mifflintown, 5 
 Militia Bill, 81 
 
 Mill Creek, 121, 156, 157, 158, 159 
 
 Milanville, 153 
 
 Miller, 
 
 Children, 121 
 
 Fort, 181, 207 
 
 John, 129 
 
 J. T., 192 
 
 Mr., 101 
 
 Peter, 12 
 
 Zepheniah, 189 
 Millersburg, 78 
 Milton, 10, 39 
 Mingoes, 56, 59, 104, 108 
 Mine openings, 47 
 Minnisink, Minnisinks, 106, 107 
 
 Flats, 43 
 Minsi, 44 
 Mississippi, 1, 86 
 Mississeneva river, 192 
 Mitchell, 
 
 Joseph, 101, 122 
 
 Nathan, 153 
 
 Mr., 196 
 
 William, 101 
 Mohawk, Mohawks, I, 3, 12, 28, 32, 34, 35, 
 39, 52, 81, 106, 144, 152, 169, 194, 195, 
 202 
 
 District, 169 
 
 River and Valley, 1, 11, 46, 49, 73, 83, 
 169, 170, 171, 177, 185, 210, 211 
 Mohegan, 44, 45 
 Monacanuk Island, 187 
 Monckton, Gen.^ 112 
 Monongahela, 28, 34, 55, 57, 65 
 Monroe County, 42, 134, 153, 158 
 Monsey Tribe, 151 
 Monro, Lt. Col., 95, 96 
 Montigny, 112 
 Montcalm, 85, 95, 96, 97, 102, 103, 105, 
 
 110, 113, 114 
 Montgomery, Gen. 175 
 Montmorency, 113 
 Montour, 
 
 Andrew, 27, 28, 32, 75, 81, 87, 88, 89, 
 143 
 Madame Catherine, 9, 19, 23 
 
 Catherine, 201 
 
 Esther, Queen Esther, 184, 187 
 
 French Margaret, 99 
 
 Family, Account of, 189 
 
 Henry, 105 
 
 Roland, 186, 187, 203, 204 
 
 Stuttering John, 186 
 
 Captain, 207 
 Montour County, 39 
 Montoursville, 25 
 Montreal, 9, 35, 113, 167, 175 
 
 228 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Moore, 
 
 John, 153 
 
 Mrs., 197 
 
 Samuel, 141 
 Moorehead, Captain Samuel, 206 
 Moosic Mountains, 152, 158 
 Moravian, Moravians, 31, 42, 79, 106, 
 133, 135, 136, 141 
 
 Church, 136 
 
 Converts, 120 
 
 Indians, 134, 139, 140, 207 
 
 Missionary, Missionaries, 1, 7, 10, 103, 
 139, 140 
 
 Missions, 79, 130, 134, 139 
 Morgan, 
 
 Colonel 1 , 139 
 
 Gen. David, 178, 179, 180, 182 
 Morris, 
 
 Aide, 66 
 
 Captain Thomas, 123 
 
 Governor, 60, 62, 63, 74, 75, 89, 91, 92 
 Mott, Edward, 165 
 Mt. Braddock, 33, 41 
 Mt. Defiance, 103, 175 
 Mt. Johnson, 51 
 Mt. Lookout, 184, 185, 186 
 Mt. Pleasant, Fort, 59, 69 
 Muhlenburg, Rev. H. M., 12, 76 
 Mulhausen, 89 
 Muncy, 5, 123, 199, 205 
 
 Fort, 190 
 Murloff, Philip, 121 
 Murray, Gen. 112, 113 
 Murphy, Tim, 180 
 Muskingum, 124, 138, 139, 140, 207 
 Mussemeelin, 21, 22 
 
 Myer, or Moyer, Lieutenant John, 203, 
 204 
 
 N. 
 
 Nain, 134 
 Nanticoke, 44, 159 
 
 Indians, 44 
 Narrangansett, 37 
 Nazareth," 79, 134 
 Necessity, Fort, 56, 57 
 Nelf, Jonh, 99 
 
 Nescopeck, 44, 87, 120, 121, 137 
 Neshaminy, 15 
 Neutral Indians, 1 
 Neversink Valley, 198 
 Neverville, 95 
 Newburg, 188 
 Newberry, 196 
 New Castle or Newcastle, 37 
 
 Captain, 89, 90, 106 
 
 Duke of, 113 
 New Colony, 156 
 
 New England, I, 38, 39, 69, 83, 88, 102, 
 152, 153, 154, 157, 160, 161, 162, 165, 
 166, 177, 195, 212 
 New Englanders, 122, 156 
 New France, 105 
 New Gnadenhutten, 42 
 New Hampshire, 69, 177, 199 
 
 Brigade, 199 
 
 Grants, 165, 166 
 New Jersey, 14, 43, 107, 130, 134, 141, 
 143, 152, 153, 161, 194 
 
 Brigade, 199 
 New Netherlands War, I, 42 
 New Orleans, 46, 87 
 Newport, 161, 163 
 Newtown, 201 
 
 Battle of, 201 
 
 New York, I, 1, 14, 24, 28, 32, 34, 38, 
 
 49, 52, 59, 63, 69, 90, 112, 117, 127, 
 
 130, 134, 144, 145, 152, 153, 156, 158, 
 
 160, 166, 169, 170, 175, 177, 198, 212 
 
 Frontier, 35, 46, 47, 52, 165, 212 
 
 Provincial Congress, 169, 170 
 
 Provincial Council, 52, 68, 182 
 New Yorker Yonkers, 165, 166 
 Niagara, 72, 73, 85, 105, 192, 204 
 
 Falls, 120 
 
 Fort, 46, 63, 84, 111, 116, 123, 173, 202 
 
 River, 111, 123, 184 
 Niaoure Bay, 85 
 Nicholson, Mr. and Mrs., 93 
 Nichus, 105, 106 
 Ninneepauues, 151 
 Nitschman, 
 
 Martin, 79 
 
 Susannah, 80 
 Nixon, 179 
 North America, 144 
 Northampton, 
 
 County, 41, 80, 97, 99, 158, 160, 161 
 
 Street, 168 
 North Branch, of Susquehanna, 4, 37, 43, 
 
 45 
 North Carolina, 59 
 North Hector, 201 
 Northkill, Fort, 88 
 Northmoreland, 163 
 Northumberland, 4, 6, 199 
 
 County, 39, 145, 162, 188, 203 
 Norris, Fort, 88 
 Norwich, 151, 157 
 Nottingham, 151, 152, 153 
 Noyon, De, 105 
 Nutimus, or Nootamis, 14, 15, 44 
 
 O. 
 
 Ogden, 
 
 Captain Amos, 157, 159, 160 
 Nathan, 160, 161 
 
 229 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Ohio, 103, 202 
 
 Company, 28, 33, 41, 57, 59, 64, 107 
 
 River, 1, 5, 13, 26, 28, 32, 33, 35, 41, 
 44, 56, 86, 92, 107, 144, 185, 206, 207, 
 208 
 Old, 
 
 French War, 52, 69 
 
 Mine Road, 43 
 
 Patent of Connecticut, 37 
 
 Warrior Path, 160 
 Oldrick, Benjamin, 151, 152 
 Onas, 21, 22, 23 
 Onedia, 4 
 
 Indians, 170, 195 
 
 Lake 46 
 Oneida's, 3, 4, 13, 28, 39, 98, 124, 144, 
 
 172, 202 
 O'Neillon, Dennis, 101 
 Onondaga, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 13, 19, 20, 21, 
 
 29. 30, 32, 60, 84, 124, 135, 198 
 Onondagas, 3, 13, 28, 29, 39, 144 
 Ontario, 
 
 Fort, 85 
 
 Lake, 46, 52, 63, 111, 123 
 Oquaga, 45, 51, 87, 170, 194, 195, 196, 
 
 205 
 Orange County, 152 
 Oriskany, Battle of, 171, 177, 184 
 Orme, Captain Robert, 66, 67, 72 
 Orwell Township, 153 
 Orwig, George Godfried, 42 
 Owigsburg, 42 
 Osborne, Sir Danvers, 72 
 Oswego, 46, 52, 53, 63, 69, 72, 73, 83, 
 84, 85, 86, 105, 111, 112, 169, 170, 
 173 
 Otseninky, 45 
 Otsego, Lake, 43, 194, 200 
 Otsinoghiyata, 144 
 Ottowas, 115 
 Owego, 45, 144 
 Owen, Arming, 187 
 Owen, David, 123 
 
 Pacific Ocean, 37 
 
 Palatine and Palatines, I, 11, 42 
 
 District, 169, 212 
 
 Germans, 169 
 Palmer, 
 
 Anthony, 31 
 
 Fort, 208 
 Pankatooma river, 152 
 Papunhank, 44, 133, 134, 135, 137, 139 
 Parker, Colonel, 95 
 
 Michael, 202 
 Paris, 113 
 
 Colonel, 171 
 Parkman, Francis, 115 
 
 Parsons, William, 76, 106 
 Partich, 
 George, 79 
 Susan, 80 
 Patrick, Captain, 194 
 Patterson or Patterson's, 180 
 
 Fort, 89, 93 
 Paxinosa, 44, 74 
 
 Paxton or Paxtang, 5, 41, 127, 128, 129 
 Rangers or Boys, 127, 128, 129, 130, 
 134, 159, 160 
 Peabody, Asa, 151 
 Peck, Priscilla, 207 
 
 Pemberton, Israel, 81, 99, 100, 107, 115 
 Pence, Peter, 202 
 Pencil, 
 Henry, 187 
 John, 187 
 Pendleton, Benajah, 164 
 Pendergrass, Gerrard, 101 
 Pennamite, Pennamites, 159, 160, 161, 162, 
 163 
 War, 162 
 Penn, 
 Estate, 81 
 Fort, 188 
 
 Governor, 125, 156, 174 
 Heirs, 107, 127 
 John, 36, 38, 147 
 Purchase at Albany, 36, 38 
 Purchase at Fort Stanwix, 144 
 Richard, 144, 158 
 Thomas, 16, 29, 32, 59, 81, 144, 153, 
 
 154, 156, 161 
 William, 13, 14, 15, 156 
 Pennsbury, 15 
 
 Penn's Creek, 36, 41, 74, 75, 190 
 Pennslyvania, I, 4, 13, 14, 19, 24, 28, 31, 
 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 43, 50, 56, 
 60, 62, 63, 64, 72, 76, 81, 84, 87, 88, 
 90, 98, 99, 103, 105, 106, 107, 115, 
 119, 127, 131, 140, 143, 144, 145, 147, 
 150, 153, 154, 156, 158, 161, 194, 200, 
 207, 208, 212 
 Assembly, 74, 107 
 Compromising Act, 163 
 Frontier, 35, 74, 75, 103, 122, 145, 212 
 Gazette, 36 
 German, 212 
 Government, 10, 21 
 Law Reports, 147 
 Legislative Appropriations, 74, 81 
 Provincial Council, 9, 10, 12, 15, 26, 31 
 Pennslyvanians, 38, 74, 107, 108, 161 
 Penrose, Boies, 93 
 Perkins, John, 189 
 Perry County, 118 
 Peru, Indiana, 192, 193 
 Fesquetum, 103, 104 
 
 230 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Peters, 
 
 Abraham, 37, 50 
 
 Caroline, 50 
 
 Hendrick, 35, 37 
 
 Richard, 13, 24, 27, 29, 32, 36, 38, 107, 
 143 
 
 Judge, Richard, 158 
 
 William, 22, 23 
 Pettebone, Stephen, 189 
 Phelps, Noah, 165 
 
 Philadelphia, 9, 13, 14, 20, 22, 26, 27, 28, 
 31, 43, 64, 78, 81, 92, 107, 117, 119, 
 130, 131, 132, 134, 138, 154, 159, 160, 
 162 
 Phillips, 
 
 General, 179 
 
 Philip, 143 
 Pierce, 
 
 Ezekiel, 185 
 
 Timothy, 164 
 Pienpack, 194 
 Pier, Robert, 82 
 Pike, 
 
 Abraham, 203 
 
 Creek, 203 
 
 County, 153, 158 
 
 Township, 153 
 Pine Creek, 147, 190 
 
 Grove, 5 
 Pipe, Captain, 124, 139, 206 
 Pitkin, Col. John, 69 
 Pitt, 
 
 Fort, 108, 110, 116, 117, 118, 119, 122, 
 144, 145, 206, 208 
 
 William, 102, 107, 113 
 Pittsburg, 108, 110, 116, 117, 119, 120, 
 
 124, 139, 140, 206, 207, 208 
 Pittston, 158, 159, 163, 188 
 Plains, 44 
 
 Of Abraham, 113 
 Plank, Fort, 210 
 Plawicky, 15 
 Plymouth, 44, 121, 158, 159, 163, 204 
 
 Company, 37 
 Plunket, Dr. William, 162, 163 
 Pocopoko, 79, 80, 88 
 Pocono, Mountains, 16, 188, 200 
 Point Pleasant, 145 
 Pollard, Captain, 186 
 Pomeroy, 
 
 Colonel, 209 
 
 Col. Seth, 69 
 Pomfret Castle, 88, 93 
 Pompshire, John, 99 
 Pontiac, Pontiac's War, 115, 116 
 Poor, Poor's, 
 
 Brigade, 179, 200, 201 
 
 Gen. Enoch, 180, 199, 201 
 Port Jervis, 151, 152 
 
 Post, Christian Frederick, 7, 103, 104, 
 
 105, 106, 115 
 Post's Mission, 108 
 Potomac river, 23, 64, 74 
 Potter, Potter's, 
 
 Captain, 91 
 
 County, 39 
 
 Field, 135 
 
 Gen. James, 203 
 
 Sheriff, 78 
 Pouchot, Captain, 111, 112 
 Pownal, 
 
 John, 72 
 
 Thomas, 69, 72 
 Pratt, Charles, 156 
 
 Presbyterians, 41, 45, 131, 132, 169, 17<r 
 Presser, Martin, 79 
 Presque Isle, 33, 111, 117, 123 
 Price, Ensign George, 117 
 Prideaux, Gen. John, 111 
 Princeton College, 45 
 Privy Council, See English Privy Council 
 Proctor, Proctor's, 
 
 Artillery, 201 
 
 Col. Thomas, 199 
 Proprietary, 
 
 Estate, 74 
 
 Government, of Pennslyvania, 4, 6, 7, 
 10, 12 
 Proprietors of Pennsylvania, 30, 43, 74, 
 
 153 
 Protestant Irish, 49 
 Providence, 161, 163, 188 
 Province Island, 130, 134 
 Prussia, 55 
 Putnam, 
 
 Israel, 83, 102, 103 
 
 Township, 163 
 Pyrlaeus, 7 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quagnant, 12 
 
 Quaker, Quakers, 14, 15, 63, 78, 81, 91, 
 92, 99, 100, 107, 115, 121, 127, 130, 
 131, 132, 133, 138, 191, 192, 200 
 
 Assembly, 74, 81, 119, 123 
 
 Meeting House, 131 
 
 Springs Road, 178, 179 
 Quay, Matthew, Stanley, 93 
 Quebec, 1, 108, 113 
 Queen Esther, (See Montour) 
 Queen Esther's, 
 
 Rock, 187 
 
 Village, 189 
 Quick, Thomas, 151, 152 
 Quiwomick, 37 
 Quocko, (negro), 184, 185 
 
 231 
 
index (continued) 
 
 R. 
 
 Racoon Creek, 208 
 
 Rampart Rocks, Battle of, 163 
 
 Ramsey, David, 46 
 
 Ramskill, 43 
 
 Randall, Henry, 50 
 
 Ransom, 205 
 
 George Palmer, 204 
 
 Captain Samuel, 186 
 Rauch, Christian, 42 
 Ray, 41 
 
 Raystown, 41, 107 
 Reading, 78, 87, 121 
 Red Stone, 55, 57 
 Reed, Adam, 75 
 
 Frederick, 78, 80 
 Reid, Colonel, 201 
 Rees, Adam, 76 
 Regiments, 
 
 British, 9th, 20th, 21st, 62nd, 53rd, 179 
 47th, 178 
 44th, 48th, 64 
 48th, 66 
 Rensnyder's Bush, 213 
 Repentigney, 33, 112 
 Resolutions of Susquehanna Company, 
 
 157, 158, 159 
 Revolution, II, 26, 139, 155, 169, 179, 181, 
 
 206, 208 
 Reynolds, Ebenezer, 184 
 Rhode Island, 37, 69 
 Rice's Fort, 203, 207 
 Richfield, 88 
 Riedesel, 
 
 Baron, General, 178, 179 
 
 Mrs. Baron, 183 
 Riswick, 32 
 
 Rittenhouse, David, 145 
 River Indians, 35 
 Roaring Creek, 5 
 Roberts, Elias, 164 
 Robinson, 
 
 Run, 209 
 
 Samuel, 109 
 
 Thomas, 101 
 Robison, 
 
 Thomas, 118 
 
 William, 118 
 Rody, Peter, 150 
 Rogers, 
 
 Boy, 184 
 
 Jonah, 202 
 
 Josiah, 189 
 
 Rangers, 102, 103 
 
 Robert, 83, 102, 103, 115 
 Rome, N. Y., 83 
 Roman Catholic, 31 
 
 Highlanders, 170 
 Rosekrans, Richard, 203 
 
 Ross, 
 
 John, 153 
 
 Major, 211 
 Rothe, 
 
 Jacob, 99 
 
 John, 136, 137, 138 
 
 Mrs. John, 137 
 Roy, Mary, 82 
 Royal Americans, 107 
 Ruggles, Col. Timothy, 69 
 Ruhm, Simon, 78 
 Rum Ridge, 205 
 Russell, John, i 
 Russia, Czarina, 55 
 
 S. 
 
 Sackett's Harbor, 85 
 
 Salem, 139, 140, 161, 163 
 
 Salisbury Plains, 90 
 
 Sample, Mr. and Mrs. John, 205 
 
 Sandusky, 123, 139, 140, 141, 193, 207 
 
 Sandy Hill, 176 
 
 Saponi, Indians, 6 
 
 Saratoga, 35, 46, 177, 179, 181 
 
 Battles of, 177, 178, 179, 180 
 Sassoonan, 6 
 Satzman, 190 
 Sauter, Michael, 108 
 Sau St. Marie, 123 
 Sawkill, 43 
 
 Say and Sele, Lord, 37 
 Saybrook, 37 
 
 Saxenqueraghta, 184, 186, 201 
 Scarooyady, 28, 33, 55, 59, 60, 81, 88, 89 
 Schebosch, Isaac, 140 
 Schenectady, I, 46, 145 
 Schlosser, Fort, 120, 123 
 Schmick, John, 79 
 Schneider, Hans, 121 
 Sschoenbrunn, 138, 139, 140 
 Schoharie, 11, 12, 42, 46, 49, 145, 170, 
 
 173, 194, 210, 211 
 Schoonhavens, 137 
 Schrenk, Christian, 101 
 Schupp's Mill, 89 
 Schuyler, 
 
 Fort, 170, 171, 194, 195, 210 
 
 Hans Yost, 173 
 
 Letters, 182, 183 
 
 Gen. Philip, 170, 172, 175, 177, 181, 183 
 Schuylerville, 46, 181 
 Schuylkill, 42 
 
 County, 88 
 
 Haven, 42 
 Schweigert, George, 80 
 Scotch, 
 
 Irish, 41, 46, 77, 127, 140, 147, 169, 212 
 
 Presbyterian, 46 
 
 Valley, 203 
 
 232 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Scranton, 203 
 
 Scull, Nicholas, 43 
 
 Searle, Roger, See Wyoming Massacre 
 
 Seckler, 
 
 Abraham, 101 
 
 Children, 101 
 Secord, 187 
 Seider, Christian, 121 
 Seigfried's Bridge, 121 
 Selinsgrove, 41, 74 
 Semelecke, Peter, 101 
 Seneca, Senecas, 3, 4, 5, 13, 28, 29, 39, 
 88, 99, 116, 120, 123, 124, 144, 184, 
 186, 194, 199, 202, 206 
 
 Lake, 197, 201 
 
 River, 202 
 Sequarusein, 144 
 Sergeant, Rev. John, 45 
 Senseman, 135 
 
 Anna, 80 
 
 John, 79 
 Seven Years War, 55 
 Sewickley, 208 
 Shades of Death, 188 
 Shawnee, 43, 59, 88 
 Shawnees, 4, 6, 13, 27, 28, 30, 44, 74, 77, 
 
 81, 90, 104, 123, 124, 125 
 Shamokin, I, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 
 19, 20, 22, 30, 31 
 
 Daniel, 103, 104 
 Sharon, Center, 197 
 Shaver, Shaver's, 
 
 Creek, 41 
 
 Peter, 41 
 Sharpe, Governor, 63 
 Sheaffer, Peter, 99 
 Sheaquaga, 201 
 Shell, 210 
 
 Shepherd, Mr., 122 
 Sherburne, Lord, 143 
 Shenango, river, 37 
 Shepancanah, 193 
 Sheridan, 93 
 
 Sherman's Valley, 32, 41, 101, 118 
 Sheshequin, 5, 6, 19, 136, 137 
 
 Path, 188 
 Shetterly Brothers, 108 
 Shetucket river, 157 
 Shickshinny, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 
 Shikellimy, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 
 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 
 31 
 
 Face, 4, 8 
 
 John, 10 
 Shingas, 77, 78, 90, 104 
 Shippen, 
 
 Edward, 129 
 
 Justice, 149 
 Shippensburg, 62, 64, 117, 122 
 
 Shirley, 
 
 Secretary, 66 
 
 Fort, 88, 91 
 
 Governor William, 63, 68, 69, 72, 83, 
 84, 89 
 Shirleysville, 41 
 Shoemaker, 158 
 
 Benjamin, 158, 164 
 
 Elijah, 158, 164, 187 
 
 Notch, 185 
 Shoreham, 167 
 Showers, Michael, 184 
 Sideling Hill, Battle of, 90 
 Silver Heels, 87 
 Simms, Andrew, 122 
 Sing Sing, creek, 122 
 Siouxan, 6 
 
 Six or Sixth, Dietrich or Derrick, 78, 88 
 Six Nations, II, 1, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 
 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30, 34, 35, 43, 44, 
 45, 52, 63, 68, 81, 87, 89, 90, 91, 98, 
 99, 105, 106, 107, 120, 122, 143, 144, 
 202 
 
 Clothing and food, 2 
 
 Conquests, 1 
 
 Homeland, 132 
 
 Utensils, canoes, weapons, 2 
 Skenesboough, 212, 166 
 Skenanadoa, 211 
 Skinner, 
 
 Daniel, 154 
 
 Joseph, 151, 153 
 
 Timothy, 153, 154 
 Slocum, 
 
 Ebenezer, 191 
 
 Frances, 76, 191, 192, 193 
 
 Rev. George, 193 
 
 Harriett, 193 
 
 Isaac, 192, 193 
 
 Joseph, 191, 192, 193 
 
 Jonathan, 191, 192 
 
 Mrs. Jonathan, 191 
 
 Mary, 191, 192 
 
 William, 191 
 Slough's Tavern, 129 
 Smalley' Mrs. 101 
 Smith, 199, 21 
 
 Chief Justice, 143 
 
 James, 64 
 
 John, 153, 154 
 
 Matthew, 129, 130, 131 
 
 Oliver, 164 
 
 Peter, 196 
 
 Mrs. Peter, 190 
 
 Timothy, 164 
 
 Wright, 122 
 
 Sheriff, 16 
 Smith's Mills, 205 
 Smithfield Township, 203 
 Snavely, Jacob, 109 
 
 233 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Snipe Clan, 2 
 
 Snodgrass, Mr. 190 
 
 Snyder County, 74, 88 
 
 Soan, Peter, 100 
 
 South Bay, 70 
 
 South Carolina, 57 
 
 Southwestern Pennslyvania, frontier, 206 
 
 Sox, Bill, 127, 130 
 
 Spencer, 
 
 Elihu, 45 
 
 Thomas, 169, 171, 172 
 Spaulding, Simon, 199 
 Springfield, 163, 194, 200 
 Spycker, 
 
 Benjamin, 75 
 
 Peter, 78 
 Stacey, Lieutenant Colonel, 195, 196 
 Stager, Baltzer, 159 
 Standing Stone, 5, 27, 200 
 Stanford, Jacob, 190 
 Stanwix, 
 ^ Fort, Deed, 144, 156 
 
 Fort, 143, 170 
 
 Fort, Line, 157 
 
 Gen. John, 110 
 
 Treaty of, 136, 143, 144, 145, 147 
 Stark, Gen. John, 177 
 Stedman, William, 120 
 Stenson, 
 
 John, 101 
 
 Robert, 101 
 Stenton, John, 120, 121 
 Stephens, 
 
 Adam, 110 
 
 Margaret, 122 
 Sterrett, 
 
 Gap, 93 
 
 Ralph, 118 
 
 Mill, 205 
 Steward, Henry, 33 
 Stewart, 
 
 Charles, 157 
 
 Mrs. Charles, 82 
 
 Lazarus, 129, 159, 160, 162, 163, 185, 
 186 
 Stillwater, 83, 177 
 Sotbo, Captain Robert, 57 
 Stockbridge Indian Mission, 45 
 Stockwell, Lieutenant, 172 
 Stoke, Manor of, 157 
 Stone Arabia, 11, 46, 211 
 Stony Creek, 117 
 Stonykiln, 76 
 Stouchsburg, 75, 88 
 Straustown, 88 
 Stroudsburg, 88, 121, 188 
 St. Clair, Sir John, 62, 65, 66, 107 
 St. Clair, Arthur, 140, 145, 175, 176 
 St. Frederick, Fort, 46 
 St. Johns, 168, 175 
 
 St. Johns, Daniel, 188 
 
 St. John's Episcopal Church, 145 
 
 St. Lawrence, 112, 113 
 
 St. Leger, Barry, 170, 173 
 
 St. Pierre, 33 f 34 
 
 Stump, 
 
 Frederick, murders, 150 
 
 Stoffel, 19 
 Sturgis, Joseph, 80 
 Sugar, 
 
 Cabins, 88 
 
 Creek, 5, 45 
 
 Loaf, Mountains, 203 
 
 Loaf, Battle and Massacre, of, 203, 204 
 
 Run, 5 
 Sullivan, 
 
 Army, 202 
 
 County, 39, 154 
 
 Expedition, 199, 200, 201 
 
 Fort, 200 
 
 Gen. John, 199, 200, 201, 202 
 Sunbury, 1, 6, 145, 188, 203 
 Susquehanna, 
 
 Company, 37, 38, 39, 145, 156, 157, 158, 
 159, 161 
 
 County, 39, 153 
 
 Indians, 87 
 
 Purchase, 37, 38, 39, 121, 145, 152, 156, 
 162 
 
 River, and Valley, I, 1, 2, 4, 11, 13, 
 21, 27, 29, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 45, 79, 
 81, 87, 88, 104, 127, 133, 135, 152, 154, 
 157, 160, 162, 169, 173, 184, 192, 194, 
 197, 200, 203, 212 
 Susquehannocks, Indian tribe, 4, 23, 127 
 Sutton's Creek, 184, 185 
 Swatara, 99 
 
 Creek, 5, 11 
 
 Fort, 88 
 
 Gap, 75, 94 
 Swartout, Philip, 94 
 Swetland, Luke, 188, 201 
 
 T. 
 
 Tanacharisson, Half King, 33, 58 
 Tannersville, 200 
 Tappan, Christopher, 183 
 Tatamy, William, 99 
 Tawagaret, 19 
 Taylor's Eddy, 153 
 
 Teedyscung, 16, 44, 47, 79, 88, 90, 91, 
 100, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 115, 120, 
 134, 154 
 
 Wife, 106 
 Tegaaia, 144 
 Tennessee, 1, 145 
 
 River, 1, 144 
 Ten Mile Run, 209 
 
 234 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Terry, 
 
 Nathaniel, 122 
 
 Parshall, 122 
 Thayendanega, See Joseph Brant 
 Thlehnman, Philip, 15, 16 
 Thomas, 
 
 Governor, 20, 23 
 
 Indian boy, 141 
 
 Moses Sr., 153, 154 
 Thompson, 
 
 Charles, 14, 99, 100 
 
 William, 119 
 Three Islands, 184 
 Thurlow, Edward, 156 
 Tiadaghton Creek, 144, 147 
 Tianaderha, river, 144 
 Ticonderoga, 83, 85, 95, 102, 103, 105, 
 
 112, 165, 166, 167, 175, 179 
 Tioga, 88, 89, 90, 99 
 
 County, 39 
 
 Point, 5, 45, 184, 188, 195, 197, 200, 
 201, 202 
 
 River, 4, 5, 45, 202 
 Tioughnioaga river, 4 
 Tilghman, James, 143 
 Titcomb, Col. Moses, 69 
 Toby's Creek, Engagement at, 189 
 Tocanontie or Taconontie, 21, 23 
 Tocarryhogan, 24 
 Tolan, Barnabas, 108, 109 
 Tory, Torries, 169, 171, 173, 177, 184, 
 186, 187, 188, 194, 195, 196, 198, 199, 
 201, 203, 206, 207, 209, 210 
 Towanda, 5, 45, 144 
 Towne, Mrs. 192 
 Townsend, Gen. 112 
 Trails, Indian, 4, 5, 64 
 Treaty of, 
 
 1732, 13 
 
 1736, 13 
 
 Lancaster, 21, 22, 23, 24 
 
 Lancaster with Twightwe^s, 27 
 Trent, William, 34, 40, 54, 56, 99 
 Trenton Decree of, 163 
 Tribes Hill, 46, 195, 210 
 Tripp, 
 
 Henry, 
 
 Henry Dow, 164 
 
 Isaac, 158, 164, 188, 191 
 
 Isaac Jr., 188 
 Trout Brook, 102 
 Troy, 46 
 Trumbull, 
 
 Colonel, 175 
 
 Jonathan, 157 
 Trump Adam, 101 
 Tryon, 
 
 County, 145, 169, 170 
 
 County, Militia, 171 
 Tulpehocken, 5, 11, 13, 14, 15, 27, 29, 42 
 
 Tunkhannock, 44, 88, 184, 205 
 
 Turk Horse, 193 
 
 Turkey Forks, 62 
 
 Turner, John, 90 
 
 Turney, Lieutenant John, 204 
 
 Turtle Clan, 2, 13 
 
 Tuscarora, 5, 41 
 
 Creek, 118, 189 
 
 Path, 32 
 
 Valley, 77, 90, 118 
 Tuscaroras, 3, 4, 13, 144 
 Tuscarowas, 124, 206 
 Tusten, Col. 198 
 Tutelos, 6 
 
 U. 
 
 Ulster, 163, 205 
 
 County, 94, 152, 211 
 Unadilla, 170, 194, 195, 205 
 
 River, 4, 144, 194 
 Union County, 39 
 United States, 157, 170, 181 
 Upson, Asa, 203 
 Upper Castle of Mohawks, 4 
 Ursuline Convent, 113 
 Uttley Family, 189 
 Utrecht, 32 
 
 V. 
 
 Valcour Islands, 175 
 Valley Street, 185, 186 
 Van Braam, Jacob, 33, 57 
 Van Campen, 43 
 
 Moses, 202 
 Van Cortland, 182 
 Vanderlises, 43 
 Vanderlip, 205 
 Van Etten, 43 
 
 Captain, 203 
 Vanorman, Rudolph Brink, 164 
 Van Rensaellaer, Gen. Robert, 211 
 Van Schaick, Colonel, 170, 198 
 Vaudreuil, 
 
 Governor, 84, 110, 113, 114 
 
 Rigaud, 85, 95 
 Venango, 33, 110, 111, 117 
 
 Fort, 117 
 Vermont, 176, 177 
 Vernon, Mr. 107 
 Villiers, Coulon de, 57, 84, 85 
 Vincent, 
 
 Benjamin, 205 
 
 Isaac, 205 
 
 John, 199 
 
 Phebe, 199 
 
 235 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Virginia, 4, 5, 10, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 
 28, 33, 35, 39, 41, 55, 59, 60, 63, 64, 
 65, 72, 74, 107, 108, 124, 131, 143, 145, 
 182, 208 
 
 Virginians, 54, 56, 107, 124, 145 
 
 Vischer, Col. 172, 210 
 
 Vrooman's Land, 220 
 
 W. 
 Wabash, 27, 28 
 Walker, Thomas, 143 
 Walking Purchase, 14 
 Walace's Fort, 208 
 Wallen, David, 184 
 Wallenpaupack, 43, 162, 188 
 
 Manor, 43 
 Wallis, 
 
 Jedidiah, Jr., 154 
 
 Samuel, 137, 138 
 Walsworth, Nathan, 164 
 Walton, 15 
 Wampler, Peter, 101 
 Wampum, Keeper, 3, 8 
 Wapwallopen, 44, 45 
 Ward, 
 
 Captain, 91 
 
 Ensign, 54 
 Warner, Seth, 167, 176, 177 
 Warpaths, 5 
 
 War of Spanish Succession, 22 
 Warragheyagay, 52 
 Warren, 
 
 Captain Peter, 49, 51, 53 
 
 Bush, 211 
 
 Township, 153 
 Warrior Path, 188 
 Warwashing, 211 
 Warwick, 198 
 
 Earl of, 37 
 Washington, 
 
 Augustine, 28, 33 
 
 County, 140, 206, 207 
 
 George, 28, 33, 34, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 
 64, 66, 107, 108, 175, 177, 179, 181, 
 182, 184, 198, 199 
 Waterford, 117 
 Wayne, 
 
 County, 153 
 
 General, 208 
 Webb, Gen. 95, 96 
 Webster, Stephen, 69 
 Weddeburn, Alexander, 156 
 Weightman, Allen, 164 
 Weiser, 
 
 Ann Eve, 12 
 
 John Conrad, 11, 12 
 
 Conrad, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 
 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 
 34, 35, 36, 38, 41, 43, 59, 60, 75, 76, 
 78, 79, 100, 105, 106, 107 
 
 Weisport, 87, 88 
 Weissenburg, Catherine, 50 
 Welles, 
 
 Jane, 196 
 
 John, 46, 196 
 
 Robert, 145, 196 
 Wellsburg, 201 
 Wemple, Col. 210 
 Wentworth, Benning, 165, 166 
 Wequetanc, 134 
 
 West Branch of Susquehanna, 5, 6, 36, 
 37, 88, 123, 137, 144, 147, 188, 189, 
 199 
 Westbrook, Cornelius, 151 
 
 Captain, 203 
 Westmoreland, 
 
 County, Conn., 163, 185, 188 
 
 County, Pa., 145, 207, 209 
 
 Town, 162, 163 
 West Nanticoke, 162 
 Westover, Theophilus, 164 
 West Penn Station, 88 
 West Pittston, 185 
 Wetterhold, 
 
 Captain Jacob, 121 
 
 Captain Nicholas, 120 
 Wheeler, Marion, 82 
 Whig, Whigs, 170, 182, 197 
 White Deer, Mills, 205 
 White Eye, 138, 206 
 Whitehall, Township, 121 
 White Mountains, 39 
 White, William, 118 
 Whiting, Col. Nathan, 69, 71 
 Whittlesey, Captain, 186 
 Whitney, Zerah, 122 
 Wiggins, Jesse, 122 
 Wilcox, William, 93 
 Wildwyck, I 
 Wiley, John, 101 
 Wilkes-Barre, 44, 121, 137, 158, 159, 163, 
 
 188, 189, 191, 192, 200, 203, 204 
 Wilkins, Major, 120 
 Wilkinson, Adj. Gen., 179 
 Willett, Col. Marinus, 170, 172, 198, 211 
 Williams, 179 
 
 Elisha, 189 
 
 Col. Ephraim, 39, 69, 70, 73 
 
 Fort, 83, 84 
 
 Mrs. Isaac, 101 
 
 Rev. Solomon, 158 
 
 William, 158 
 Williamsburg, 20, 34, 62 
 Williamsport, 190 
 Williamson, 
 
 Col. David, 140 
 
 Farm, 205 
 Williamantic, 157 
 Willis, Hezekiah, 157 
 Wills Creek, 33, 55, 56, 59, 119 
 
 236 
 
index (continued) 
 
 Wilson, Captain, 207 
 Winchester, 59, 208 
 Wind Gap, 160 
 Windecker, Henry, 187 
 Windham, Conn., 157, Windham Town- 
 ship, 153 
 Winkleblech, John, 101 
 Wintermute, 
 
 Boys, 184, 186 
 
 Fort, 184, 186 
 
 Philip, 188 
 Wire Creek, 134 
 Wood, 
 
 Creek, 46, 83, 144 
 
 Ensign, 208 
 Woodbridge, Timothy, 36, 39, 47 
 Woodruff, Samuel, 180 
 Woodworth, Lieutenant, 211 
 Wolf Clan, 2, 9 
 
 Clan, 2, 9 
 
 Fort, 207 
 Wolfe, Gen. 102, 105, 113, 114 
 Woolman, John, 133, 142 
 Wormwood, Lieutenant, 195 
 Wraxall, Peter, 34, 68, 69 
 Wurtemburg, 76 
 
 Wyalusing, 5, 45, 130, 133, 184, 204, 205 
 Wyandots, 28,^117 
 Wychoff, William, 190 
 Wyoming, 5, 17, 37, 38. 39, 44, 45, 79, 80, 
 100, 103, 106, 122, 136, 140, 154, 156, 
 157, 159, 186, 187, 188, 189, 194, 200, 
 202, 203 
 
 Avenue, 185 
 
 Battle and Massacre, 186, 187, 188, 189, 
 198, 202 
 
 Borough, 186 
 
 County, 39 
 
 Valley, 156, 158, 159, 161, 184, 204 
 
 Fort, 160, 161, 204 
 Wyjomic, 44 
 Wysock, 205 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yale, 
 
 Benjamin, 164 
 
 Job, 164 
 Yankee, Yankees, 159, 160, 161, 163 
 
 Pennamite War, First, 159, 160, 161 
 
 Pennamite, War, Second, 162, 163 
 
 Pennamite, War, Last, 163 
 Yates, Christopher P., 169 
 Yaeger, Mr. and Mrs., 10 
 Yeates, James, 16 
 York, 
 
 Amos, 184 
 
 Charles, 136 
 
 County, 41, 64, 75 
 Yorkhams, 205 
 Young, 38 
 
 Isaac, 211 
 
 Lt. Col., 96, 99 
 
 Peter, 211 
 
 Mrs. Samuel, 101 
 Youghiogheny, river, 55, 62 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zachary, 120 
 Zeisberger, David, 7, 
 
 136, 138, 141 
 Zinzendorf, Count, 7 
 Zippora, 120 
 
 10, 133, 134, 135, 
 
 237