History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley
by U. J. Jones · English · Gutenberg #41392 · 650,811 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley
Author: U. J. Jones
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[Illustration: JUNCTION OF FRANKSTOWN AND LUCKAHOE BRANCHES OF THE
JUNIATA BELOW ALEXANDRIA.]
HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY:
Embracing an Account of the Early Pioneers,
and the Trials and Privations Incident to the
Settlement of the Valley,
Predatory Incursions, Massacres, and Abductions by the
Indians During the French and Indian Wars, and the War
of the Revolution, &c.
by
U. J. JONES.
Philadelphia:
Published by Henry B. Ashmead,
George St., Above Eleventh.
1856.
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
U. J. JONES, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Stereotyped by L. Johnson and Co.
Philadelphia.
Dedication.
TO MAJOR B. F. BELL,
BELL'S MILLS, BLAIR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
DEAR SIR:--I hope your well-known modesty will not be shocked when your
eyes encounter this notice. In dedicating to you the fruits of my first
historical labors in the field of literature, allow me to say that I am
governed by reasons that will justify me. In the first place, I may
cite your well-known and often-expressed veneration and esteem for the
memory of the brave old Pioneers of our Valley, their heroic deeds, and
their indomitable energy and perseverance, under the most discouraging
circumstances, in turning the unbroken wilderness into "a land flowing
with milk and honey." Secondly, you are the son of one of those
self-same old pioneers, (now in his grave,) who, if not a direct actor
in some of the scenes portrayed in the pages following, lived while
they were enacted, and trod upon the ground where many of them
occurred, while the actors in them were his friends and his neighbors.
Manifold, indeed, were the changes he witnessed during a long and
useful career; but the common lot of humanity was his, and he now
"sleeps the sleep that knows no waking," where once the lordly savage
roamed, and made the dim old woods echo with his whoop, many, many
years ago.
Lastly, it was through your encouragement that I undertook the task;
and it was through your kind and liberal spirit that I was enabled to
make it any thing more than an _unpublished_ history, unless I chose to
let others reap the benefit of my labors. These things, sir, you may
look upon as _private_, but I cannot refrain from giving them
publicity, since I acknowledge that your liberality has entailed upon
me a deeper debt of gratitude than I can repay by merely dedicating my
work to you.
Allow me, therefore, to dedicate to you, as a small token of my esteem
for you, the "History of the Early Settlement of the Juniata Valley."
If there is any thing in it to interest the present generation and
enlighten posterity, I am willing to divide the honor and glory of its
paternity with you, for I am neither afraid nor ashamed to confess
that, although I _wrote_ the _history_, it was through your generosity
that I was enabled to _publish_ the _book_.
A careful perusal of the work will, no doubt, convince you that I have
labored studiously to make it interesting, not only to the resident of
the Valley, but to the general reader, who must admit that, if I have
failed, it has not been for lack of the best exertions on my part.
In conclusion, should the book prove a failure, and not come up to the
expectations of my friends, you can console yourself with the
reflection that you made a mistake by inciting the wrong man to an
undertaking for which he was unqualified. A pleasant reflection! I
have said, that, as you were the _originator_ of the book, you should
share all the _honor_ that might arise from it. I will be more
magnanimous still; if the History proves a mere catchpenny swindle,
let the odium and execrations of a humbugged public fall upon
THE AUTHOR.
HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA., _Nov._ 1855.
PREFACE.
The design, object, and aim of the following pages can be summed up
without any circumlocution. Some ten or twelve years ago, a large
volume of "Historical Collections of Pennsylvania" was published by
Sherman Day, which gave a brief history, among others, of the
counties composing the Valley of the Juniata. This work was followed
by a compilation, by I. D. Rupp, Esq., entitled "A History of
Northumberland, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Centre, Union, Clinton, Juniata,
and Columbia counties." The last, as far as our valley was concerned,
was almost a reprint of the first, with some few additions gleaned from
the Colonial Records and the Archives of the State. Both these works
were most liberally subscribed for; in fact, the compilation of the
counties had upwards of a _thousand_ subscribers in Huntingdon county
(Blair not then formed) alone! The inducements held out, in order to
gain such an extensive list, were, that the works would be graphic
histories of the _early_ settlement of this country. In this they
signally failed. True, here and there they gave an account of some
early occurrence; but they were exceedingly brief, lacked detail, and
in many instances were found grossly inaccurate. Of course, they gave
universal dissatisfaction, because the subscribers looked for a
faithful record of the stirring events which occurred when this portion
of the land of Penn was "the dark and bloody ground." The descendants
of many who figured in the trials incident to the settlement of the
valley are still living. The fireside recitals of these events made
them "as familiar as household words" among those who are now fast
passing away; but they search _all_ histories in vain to find a
faithful account of more than a moiety of the struggles, trials, and
personal adventures of the pioneers, as well as the many cold-blooded
Indian massacres and depredations which spread desolation through the
land, and laid waste the homes and firesides of so many who located in
what was then a wilderness. Let me not be understood as attempting to
deny the merits of the works of which I have spoken. As _modern_
histories, giving accounts, or rather descriptions, of the country as
it was at the time they were issued, they were faithful records.
Indeed, I will do Mr. Rupp the justice to say that I consider his
compilation all it professes to be, according to his preface, in which
he says: "A full and minute history of these counties can only be
expected after a greater accumulation of historical facts is extant for
that purpose."
The facts necessary to give a minute history of the early settlement of
the Juniata have been accessible, although it must be admitted that
those who could give them from reliable personal recollections have
nearly all passed into "the valley and the shadow of death."
Some ten or twelve years ago, Judge M'Cune, Judge Adams, Michael
Maguire, and Edward Bell, Esq., met at the mansion of the latter
gentleman, in Antes township, Blair county, by invitation. These were
all old settlers, whose memories dated back to the struggle of the
infant colonies for freedom; and most vividly did they recollect the
Indian butcheries when brave Old England paid a stipulated price for
rebel scalps. The reunion of these veterans was an epoch in their
lives, for they had been children together, had travelled the same
rugged path, and, with stalwart frames, sinewy arms, and willing
hearts, had earned for themselves names, reputation, and earthly
competence. Well may we conjecture that, in fighting the battle of life
over again in story, some interesting incidents were related. During
this reunion, a history of the early settlement of the upper end of the
valley was written, and the manuscript transmitted to the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania, in the expectation that it would be published
in some of their works. This, however, never was done; and when
application was made to the society for a return of the manuscript, it
was either lost or mislaid.
Since then, one by one, these old patriots have passed from time to
eternity, and the woods and valleys that knew them for three-quarters
of a century shall know them no more. With them would, in all
probability, have been buried many important facts, had not the author
of these pages called upon the last survivor, Michael Maguire, in
October last, and taken down, at length, all his early recollections.
The time was most opportune, for he was even then upon his deathbed.
The sands of a long life were evidently ebbing fast, and he knew it,
for he gave it as his solemn conviction that the proposed recital of
the past was the last he should ever make to mortal man. Although
enfeebled by age, and his body wasting away, his intellect was vigorous
and unclouded, and his memory fresh as it was fourscore years ago.
Indeed, I soon found that he had the most retentive memory of any man I
ever knew, because, in narrating incidents, he gave days, dates, and
names, with such ease as almost to stagger belief. Of course, to him I
am mainly indebted for the material of that part of the History
treating of the upper end of the valley, especially the occurrences
between 1776 and 1782. Mr. M. died on the 17th inst.
From a manuscript memoir of E. Bell, Esq., I have also been enabled to
glean some useful information. He commenced it a short time before his
death, and it is to be deeply regretted that a violent attack of
rheumatism in the hand compelled him to abandon the work after writing
some six or eight pages.
I am also indebted to a number of persons for information that has been
of value to me, whose names will be mentioned in another place in the
work.
If this volume fails to meet the expectations of those kind friends who
have interested themselves in my behalf, it will not be for lack of
zeal or perseverance on my part. I am free to confess that the language
of the book is not clothed in that attractive garb which makes books
popular in the age we live in; but then it must be remembered that I am
not, worthy reader, submitting to your judgment a romance, but a
History, based upon immutable and undying TRUTHS.
U. J. JONES.
HOLLIDAYSBURG, _Nov._ 1855.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
The Aborigines of the Valley--Their Habits and Customs 17
CHAPTER II.
History of the Early Settlers 39
CHAPTER III.
Juniata Island--An Indian Paradise--Rev. David Brainerd--The Early
Settlers, Hulings, Watts, and Baskins--Indian Battles--Remarkable
Escape of Mrs. Hulings 56
CHAPTER IV.
Indian Towns along the Juniata--Lost Creek Valley discovered--Mexico
first settled by Capt. James Patterson, in 1751--Indian Attack upon
Settlers at the House of William White--Massacre of White--Capture
of John Riddle--His Release from Captivity, etc. 68
CHAPTER V.
Early Settlers at Licking Creek--Relics of an Indian Battle--House
of Robert Campbell attacked--James Campbell wounded and taken
prisoner--Scout sent from Sherman's Creek--Encounter with Indians
at Buffalo Creek--Five of the Scout killed, etc. 76
CHAPTER VI.
Tuscarora Valley--Its Early Settlement--Its Mounds and its Forts,
Massacres, etc. 83
CHAPTER VII.
Fort Granville--Old Indian Town--Early Settlers--Captain Jacobs--
Assault and Capture of the Fort, etc. 91
CHAPTER VIII.
Organization of Mifflin County--Dispute with Huntingdon County
about the Boundary Line--Riot at Lewistown, etc. 98
CHAPTER IX.
Kishicoquillas Valley--The Shawnee Chief Kishicokelas--The Mingo
Chief Logan 110
CHAPTER X.
Colonel John Armstrong's Expedition against Kittaning--List of the
Killed and Wounded--Delaware Chiefs, Captain Jacobs and Shingas,
etc. 121
CHAPTER XI.
Old Indian Town--Indian Paths--Aughwick--Murder of John Armstrong
and Party--Captain Jack, the Wild Hunter of the Juniata--George
Crogan, etc. 133
CHAPTER XII.
Raystown Branch--Early Settlement of Raystown--General Forbes's
Expedition--Colonels Washington and Boquet--Colonel Armstrong's
Letter--Smith and his "Black Boys"--Bloody Run--Robbery--Indian
Massacres--Revolutionary Lieutenants of Bedford County, etc. 161
CHAPTER XIII.
Raystown Branch, continued--Murder of Sanders and his Family--
Englishman and his Wife taken Prisoners--Felix Skelly and Mrs.
Elder taken Captives--Their Return, etc. 175
CHAPTER XIV.
Standing Stone, ancient and modern--Murder of Felix Donnelly and
his son Francis, etc. 183
CHAPTER XV.
Trials of the Early Settlers--Their Forts and other Means of
Defence, etc. 193
CHAPTER XVI.
The Early Settlers--Old Hart, the Indian Trader 198
CHAPTER XVII.
The Continental Mills of the Valley 203
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Cove--Early Settlement by Dunkards--Indian Massacres and
Captivities--Massacre of Ullery and Hammond--A Resistant Dunkard,
etc. 207
CHAPTER XIX.
Tommy Coleman, the Indian-Fighter--Surprise of the Dunkard
Murderers, etc. 218
CHAPTER XX.
Sinking Valley--The Lead Mines--Fort Roberdeau--Indian Murder and
Heroic Conduct of a Woman--Encounter with a Savage--Massacre of
Roller and Bebault, etc. 227
CHAPTER XXI.
Tories of the Valley--Their unfortunate Expedition to join the
Indians at Kittaning--Captain John Weston, the Tory Leader--Captain
Thomas Blair--Capture of the Brothers Hicks--Hanging a Tory--Narrow
Escape of two of Weston's men, etc. 248
CHAPTER XXII.
The Tory Hare--Murder of Loudenslager--Abduction and Murder of Mrs.
Eaton and Children--Treatment of Hare by the Settlers, etc. 259
CHAPTER XXIII.
Moses Donaldson--Capture and Murder of his Wife and two Children 266
CHAPTER XXIV.
Depredations at the Mouth of Spruce Creek--Murder of Levi Hicks--
Scalping of his Child 270
CHAPTER XXV.
Stone Valley--McCormick's Fort--Murder of Mrs. Houston and James
McClees--A Dealer in Grain of the Olden Time 275
CHAPTER XXVI.
Tuckahoe--Murder of John Guilliford 280
CHAPTER XXVII.
Early Settlement of Scotch Valley--The Moore Family--Massacre of
William Moore--Indian shot by a Boy, etc. 283
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Woodcock Valley--Massacre of Elder--The Breckenridge Family--Fight
with, and Destruction of, Captain Phillips's Scout by the Indians--
Cruel Massacre of ten Men 289
CHAPTER XXIX.
Water Street--The Beatty Family--Captain Simonton--Massacre of the
Dean Family--Captivity of John Simonton, etc. 301
CHAPTER XXX.
Hollidaysburg--The Holliday Family--Death of Lieutenant Holliday
at the Battle of Brandywine--Massacre of a portion of William
Holliday's Family--John Holliday, etc. 310
CHAPTER XXXI.
Old Indian Town of Frankstown--Indian Burial-Places--Massacre of
the Bedford Scout, etc. 324
CHAPTER XXXII.
Shaver's Creek--Mysterious Death of old Shaver--Heroic Conduct of
two Children--Abduction of Miss Ewing and Miss McCormick--Peter
Crum, the last Victim of the Savages, etc. 337
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Warrior Ridge--Warrior's Mark--Job Chillaway, Shaney John, and
Captain Logan, the last Red Men in the Juniata Valley 347
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Conclusion 355
APPENDIX.
The Valley as it is 359
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE JUNIATA VALLEY.
CHAPTER I.
THE ABORIGINES OF THE VALLEY--THEIR HABITS AND THEIR CUSTOMS.
When the persevering and adventurous Anglo-Saxon first entered the
wilds of the Juniata, his eye, as far as it could reach, beheld
nothing but a dense forest; but his quick penetration observed its
natural beauties, its advantages, and the fertility of its soil. Hence
he did not long stand upon the crest of the Tuscarora Mountain,
debating the advantages to be derived from making it his home, or the
risk he was taking upon himself in doing so, but plunged boldly down
into the valley and called it his own. He found it peopled with dusky
warriors and their families, who received him with open arms; and the
golden hues of hope for the future lightened his cares, and made his
privations no longer a burden. On the banks of the beautiful river the
majestic stag trod, a very monarch; and the pellucid stream, from the
bubbling brooks that formed it, to its mouth, was filled with the
noble salmon and sportive trout, with little to molest them; for the
Indians did not possess the penchant for indiscriminate slaughter of
game which characterized their successors. They held that the land was
given to human beings by the good _Manitou_ for a dwelling-place, and
not for the purpose of being broken up and cultivated for game. The
fish and game were also a free gift from the same spirit, for the
support of his people. Hence hunting and fishing for more than what
would supply immediate and absolute wants were held in supreme
contempt by the red man.
The Indians found in the valley, when the whites first invaded it,
belonged to three or four tribes--the Delawares, Monseys, Shawnees,
and probably the Tuscaroras; all of whom, with the exception of the
latter, belonged to one of the eight great Indian confederations
scattered over the land, from the Rocky Mountains to what they called,
in their figurative language, the rising of the sun. These Indians
called themselves the _Lenni Lenape_, or "original people," of which
the Delawares and Monseys were by far the most numerous of the tribes
settled in the valley. The Shawnees, a restless, lawless, and
ferocious band, were threatened with extermination by a powerful foe
in Florida, when they came to Pennsylvania and craved the protection
of the _Lenapes_, which was granted to them, and they were permitted
to settle upon the lands of the Delawares. The Delaware Indians soon
discovered that the Shawnees were quarrelsome and treacherous
neighbors, and their company not desirable. Notice was given them to
quit, and they settled upon the flats of the Susquehanna, near
Wilkesbarre, and from thence they found their way to the Juniata; and
there is little doubt but that they were first and foremost in the
depredations committed during the French and Indian wars, as well as
during the American Revolution. The Tuscaroras did not claim to belong
to the _Lenape_ tribes, yet a large portion of them lived in their
territory. They came from the South, and joined the _Aquanuschioni_,
or "united people," known in history as the Six Nations. As they did
not speak the language of either the "united people" or the "original
people," it would appear that they were people on their own account,
enjoying a sort of roving commission to hunt the lands and fish the
streams of any of "their cousins," as they styled all other tribes.
The Conoy Indians settled in the valley in 1748. They left the
Delaware on the strength of a promise made them by the proprietary
government that they should be remunerated. The debt, however, we
presume, must have been repudiated, for we find that an Indian orator
named _Arruehquay_, of the Six Nations, made application to Governor
Hamilton, during a "talk" in Philadelphia on the 1st of July, 1749,
for something for them. The governor, quite as much of an adept at
wheedling the savages as the proprietors themselves, returned the
Conoy wampum, and "talked" the Seneca orator out of the belief that
they owed the Conoys a single farthing, in consequence of their having
left their land and settled among the nations of the Juniata of their
own free will and accord. He ruled out the Conoy claim, and confirmed
his opinion by sending them a string of government wampum. Whether
this satisfied the Conoys or not does not appear upon the record. We
think not--at least we should not suppose that they were half as well
satisfied as the Six Nation deputies, who carried away, among other
plunder, a quantity of tobacco and pipes, fifty ruffled shirts, and a
gross and a half of brass jewsharps!
The Nanticokes settled about the mouth of the Juniata in 1748 or 1749,
and in after years spread westward toward the Ohio. This portion of the
tribe, when it first came to the Juniata, was not very formidable; but
it increased and became powerful.
A number of Mengues, Mingoes, or Iroquois, of the Six Nations, settled
a few years afterward in Kishacoquillas Valley, now Mifflin county.
Of all the savages in the valley, the Mingoes were probably the most
peaceably disposed, although it is a well-attested fact that they were
a brave and warlike band. The fathers of the principal chiefs of the
Mingoes, settled in the Juniata Valley, had been _partially_ (if we
may use the term) Christianized by the teachings of the Moravian
missionaries, Heckwelder, Zinzendorf, and Loskiel; and this may account
for their desire to live on terms of amity and friendship with their
pale-faced brethren.
As the Delawares, or Lenapes, claimed to be the original people, we
must come to the conclusion that they came toward the east before the
Iroquois. They probably came from a northern direction, while the
united people worked their way from the northwest to the northeast. To
call these men original people, in the sense in which they applied it,
may have been right enough; but to apply the term to them of
_original_, as occupants of the country, is a misnomer, not only
according to their own oral traditions, but according to the most
indubitable evidence of antiquarians and geologists.
The traditions of the _Lenapes_ were, in effect, that their ancestors
were a mighty band of fierce warriors, who came from the setting of
the sun, part of the way by canoes, and the balance of the way over
land,--through dense forests, beautiful valleys, over lofty mountains.
In their triumphant march they met but one foe, whom they trampled
under their feet as the buffalo does the grass under his hoofs, and
that this weak and effeminate foe was entirely exterminated.
These traditions, vague as they are, and as all oral traditions forever
must be, have certainly a foundation in fact. Drake, whose Indian
history is regarded as the most reliable, gives it as his opinion,
formed only after all the facts could be collected and all the
traditions fully digested, that the Indians originally came from Asia,
by way of Behring's Straits.
The patient investigations made by antiquarians have long since settled
the fact, to the entire satisfaction of most people, that a race did
exist in this country prior to the advent and on the arrival of the
Indians. The relics of this race, consisting of vases, pipes,
earthenware, etc., found during the last century, indicate not only a
race entirely different from the Indians, but one much farther advanced
in civilization. The Indians, however, it would appear, either scorned
their handicraft, or never took time to examine thoroughly the habits
of these people before they exterminated them in order to possess their
country. These relics bear a marked resemblance to those dug from ruins
in Egypt, as well as those found in Peru. In fact, the vases, and some
of the earthenware, bear such a strong resemblance to the Peruvian
antiquities, that it is the settled conviction of some that the earlier
settlers of both North and South America were identical, and that the
original stock was a tribe of Egyptians.
Some writers have asserted that these early inhabitants were
non-resistants. This is most unquestionably an error. The traditions of
the Indians say that their ancestors fought many battles before they
conquered the country; but that they _always_ were victorious. Of
course, this might be mere vain boasting by the Indians of their
ancestors' prowess and skill in war, and such we would look upon it, if
their oral history was not strengthened by the fact that, on the banks
of the Miami, Muskingum, Kanawha, and Ohio Rivers, ancient
fortifications, or at least well-defined traces of them, have been
found. Nor is this all; tolerably well-executed implements, evidently
intended for warlike purposes, have been taken from mounds, as well as
many unmistakable stone arrow-heads.
Whether this anterior race existed to any considerable extent along the
Juniata we are not prepared to say; but that some of them once lived
here is more than probable, although antiquarians have failed to extend
their researches to the valley. Among the evidences to induce the
belief that these ancients once occupied our land, we shall refer to
the most prominent, leaving the reader to make his own deductions.
When the excavation for the Pennsylvania Canal was going on, a laborer
dug up, near Newport, a stone shaped like a Greek Cross. The formation
of the stone bore unmistakable evidence that it was not a mere freak of
nature. This attracted attention, and the stone was thoroughly
cleansed, when the transverse was found to contain hieroglyphics,
plainly marked with some sharp pointed instrument. Persons who saw it
supposed that the French might have given it to the Indians, and that
they used it for a purpose similar to that for which the Standing Stone
was used, and that they brought it from Canada to the Juniata. This
supposition was based upon the formation of the stone; but, strange to
say, the hieroglyphics bore no resemblance to any thing pertaining to
the modern Indians. It _may_, therefore, have belonged to the
anterior race, and the person who shaped it may have been utterly
ignorant of the fact that it was the symbol of the Christian religion.
The cross was sent to Philadelphia to be submitted to the inspection of
the _savans_ of the Historical Society, but was lost on the way;
at all events, it never reached its intended destination.
Speaking on the subject of antiquities with a physician some years
ago,--probably the late Dr. Coffey,--he informed us that a skeleton was
dug up near Frankstown, which he did not believe belonged to any of the
tribes of Indians whose mounds are scattered so profusely along the
Juniata. He arrived at this conclusion from numerous personal
observations he made. In the first place, the body retained a portion
of dried withered flesh, and portions of papyrus or bark-cloth
enveloped the body, so that it must have undergone some species of
embalming before sepulture. Embalming was unknown to the Indians.
Secondly, the body was in a horizontal position, north and south,
whereas the Indians always buried in a sitting posture, with the face
to the east. And, finally, the body was buried alone, while the Indian
method was to have one common grave for all who died for years. Some
articles were found when the skeleton was exhumed; but they were so
much corroded as to be useless even for scientific investigation.
In breaking up a piece of new ground in Kishacoquillas Valley some
twenty-five, or probably thirty, years ago, traces of a well-defined
wall were discovered, which was traced, and found to enclose about an
acre of ground. Although the stones that formed this wall were the
ordinary stones found along the stream, fashioned and shaped by the
great Architect of the world himself, it is certain that human hands
placed them in the position in which they were found. The whole thing
was destroyed before any mention was made of it.
In addition to these evidences, we have heard of arrow-heads and
pottery being dug up in other sections of the valley; but, taking it
for granted that they were all Indian relics, no effort was ever made
to have a thorough investigation of their origin.
How long this continent was occupied by the Indians found here on the
arrival of the Northmen is a mooted point, on which no two historians
can agree. The Indian method of computing time by moons is rather vague
to base a calculation upon. Those who contend that they originated from
one of the lost tribes of Israel, endeavor to prove that they have been
here for many centuries; while others, basing their calculations upon
the usual increase of the human family, think that the numbers found
here on the discovery of the continent would indicate that they had
been here but three or four centuries. This we think a reasonable
conclusion, for it is an undisputed fact that the Indians, previous to
the advent of the whites, multiplied quite as rapidly as their
civilized brethren; while the tender care and solicitude they evinced
for children and aged people induces the belief that the deaths among
them were not in proportion as one to six to the births.
We now come to the religious belief of the savages found in the
Juniata Valley. The general impression of persons who have not read
Indian history is that they were idolaters. Such, however, is not the
fact. They worshipped no "graven image." Their belief was based upon a
supreme good and an evil _Manitou_ or spirit, and their subordinates,--the
former of which they worshipped, while the anger of the latter was
appeased by propitiatory offerings or sacrifices. It is true they had
images, in the form of a head carved out of wood, which represented
the good _Manitou_, and which they wore around their necks as a
talisman against disease and to insure success in great undertakings;
but even Loskiel, who spent a long time among them as a missionary,
makes no mention of their worshipping their inanimate gods. Their
worship generally consisted of sacrificial feasts, sometimes by the
entire tribe, and at other times by single families. In the fall they
invariably had a sort of general harvest-home gathering, when
bear's-meat and venison were served up,--the universal custom being to
eat all prepared. When provisions were scarce, such an arrangement was
no doubt satisfactory; but we can well imagine that when there was an
undue proportion of meats to guests the custom must have proved
exceedingly irksome. After the meal, the monotonous drum and the
calabash with pebbles were brought out, and those who had not gorged
themselves to repletion joined in the dance. One of the chiefs usually
chanted a hymn, or rather song, of irregular measure, in praise of the
_Manitous_, and extolling the heroic deeds of the ancestors of the
tribes. A second religious performance consisted of a sacred dance, in
which the men alone appeared, in almost a state of nudity, with their
bodies covered with pipe-clay. This was probably a dance of humble
contrition. A third feast, or religious observance, consisted of some
ten or a dozen of the oldest men and women of a tribe enveloping
themselves in deer-skins, standing with their faces to the east, and
petitioning the good _Manitou_ to bless all their benefactors. There
were other religious rites and sacrifices, which can be of little
general interest to the reader, such as a sacrificial feast in honor
of fire, another to propitiate the _Manitou_ before going to war, &c.
We shall, therefore, conclude this part of the subject by giving the
story of an old trader who traded through the valley in 1750. Of
course we did not get it direct from his own lips, for he has been
dead and in his grave for many years; but, even if we did get it
second-hand, it is nevertheless true.
Some time in the spring of 1750, the old trader, whose name has now
escaped our memory, received a pressing invitation to visit Standing
Stone a day or two before the first full moon in September, as a grand
feast was to come off at that time, which would be attended by six or
eight tribes. The trader, foreseeing the chance of brisk barter,
brought a large quantity of goods from Lancaster, on pack-horses, and
arrived a day or two before the sports commenced. He found preparations
made for a large company; and he accordingly pitched his tent on the
hill, while the wigwams of the Indians stood upon the flat near the
mouth of Stone Creek. On the day on which the feast was to commence,
the trader was awakened at an early hour by the loud whoops of the
savages already arriving to take part in the ceremonies. The day wore
on; and when the sun reached the zenith a thousand warriors and their
squaws, in their best attire, had gathered upon the greensward. At the
hour of twelve o'clock precisely, a chief, whom the trader supposed to
be at least a hundred years of age, arose from the ground, while all
the rest retained a cross-legged, sitting posture. The trader
understood enough of the Delaware language to ascertain that the feast
was one which took place every hundred moons, to render thanks to the
_Manitou_ for preserving them a great people. After congratulating
the different tribes, and welcoming them to this friendly reunion, an
immense pipe was brought into the arena, which passed from mouth to
mouth, each man taking but a single whiff. Of course the women formed
the outer circle, and took no further part in the proceedings than
merely looking on. Two half-grown lads followed the big pipe with a
small bag of _Kinnikinique_, and ever and anon replenished the
bowl. This consumed an hour, during which time there was profound
silence. The old sachem then arose, and said the balance of the day
would be given up to festivities. The assemblage broke up into small
parties, and as each tribe had their medicine-men, musicians, and
prophets along, the tum tum of the drum and the wild chant were soon
heard, and the dusky sons and daughters of the forest went into the
dance of the gay and light-hearted with a thousand times more vigor
than the beau and belle of the modern ball-room.
Many of the Indians called upon the trader, and were anxious to barter
for "_lum_;" but, notwithstanding that he had five kegs of rum, and
the most friendly feeling existed between himself and the tribes, he
refused to deal. In fact, he was a prudent man, and did not consider it
altogether safe. The festivities of the day and part of the night were
kept up with dancing, singing, and howling. The, next day, religious
exercises followed; and on the third a very solemn and impressive
ceremony was to take place, to wind up the meeting, at which the trader
was urgently invited to be present, and in an evil moment gave his
consent to do so. Accordingly he sold all of his barrels or kegs of
rum, packed up the balance of his goods, and started his pack-horse
train to Aughwick, himself and horse alone remaining behind.
At the appointed time in the evening for the feast, a large fire of dry
wood was built, and the savages commenced dancing around it, howling,
and throwing their bodies into the most violent contortions, first
stepping three or four feet forward, with the body inclined in the same
direction; then, throwing the body backward, moved on, keeping time
with the drum and the chant. As one party got tired, or probably
roasted out, they danced away, and another set took their places. When
the fire burnt fiercest, and the lurid flame lit the surrounding hills,
a wild chorus was sung in unison that might have been heard for miles.
This, the trader was told, was the _loud_ hymn of adoration. He
did not dispute the assertion. The rum he had sold the Indians began to
work, and the old fox was enjoying some funny scenes not set down in
the bills of the day. Occasionally a chief, under the wild influence of
the _fire-water_, would make a misstep and tramp upon the burning
coals. To see him quitting in a hurry afforded the trader an infinite
deal of amusement. At length the pile was reduced to coals, when an
Indian brought forth from a wigwam a live dog, and threw him upon the
burning embers. Another and another followed, until ten dogs were
thrown upon the fire. Of course they tried to escape, but the Indians
hemmed them in so completely that this was a matter of impossibility.
They set up a dreadful howl, but the Indians drowned the canine noise
by another stave of their loud chorus. The odor of the roasting dogs
did not sit well upon the trader's stomach, and, bidding adieu to his
immediate acquaintances, he expressed a determination to leave for
Aughwick. This his friends would not permit, and insisted most
vehemently that he should see the end of it. As he had seen
considerable fun, he thought he might wait and see it out, as the
carcasses of the dogs would soon be consumed. In this, however, he was
mistaken, for the medicine-men drew them from the fire, placed them
upon wooden platters, and cut them into pieces. Five or six of them
carried them around among the auditory, offering to each chief a piece,
who not only took it, but eagerly ate it. The conclusion of this feast
we give in the trader's own words:--
"At last they came where I was sitting, among the only sober chiefs
in the party. The stench of the half-roasted dogs was awful. One of
them came with his trencher to me, and offered me a piece,--a
choice piece, too, as I was an invited guest, being a piece of the
most unclean part of the entrails. 'Thank'ee,' said I; 'never dine
on dog.' But this did not satisfy them. One of the prophets,
laboring under the effects of about a quart of my rum, insisted on
me eating what was offered to me. I again declined, when one of the
chiefs informed me that it was a very sacred feast, and unless I
partook of my allotted portion I would highly insult the Indians,
and some of those intoxicated might deprive me of my scalp. The
thing was no longer a joke, and I seized the piece of dog entrail
and put it in my mouth, in hopes of spitting it out; but they
watched me so close that by one mighty effort I managed to swallow
it. I did not wait to see the end of the feast; I had my portion,
and thought I might as well retire. I started in the direction of
Aughwick, and every half mile the nauseous dog served every purpose
of a powerful emetic. I was a much sicker man next day than if I
had drank a gallon of my own rum; and, in all my dealings with the
red men, I took particular care never again to be present at any
dog feast!"
Of the social and general character of the savages we have many
contradictions. Heckwelder, the old Moravian Missionary, whose innate
goodness found
"Tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and God in every thing,"
intimated that some of their social habits, such as their tender
solicitude for infants and the great deference and respect they paid to
the aged, were noble traits in their character. Loskiel says that "in
common life and conversation, the Indians observed great decency. They
usually treated one another, and strangers, with kindness and civility,
and without empty compliments. In the converse of both sexes, the
greatest decency and propriety were observed. They were sociable and
friendly. Difference of rank, with all its consequences, was not to be
found among the Indians. They were equally noble and free. The only
difference consisted in wealth, age, dexterity, courage, and office."
Their hospitality to strangers knew no bounds. In some instances it
was carried to extremes. An Indian who would not hospitably entertain
a stranger under his roof, and attend to all his wants as far as
lay within his power, was held in supreme contempt by all his
acquaintances. Indeed, the offence was deemed so grievous, that the
offender was not only detested and abhorred by all, but liable to
revenge from the person to whom the common and acknowledged rights of
hospitality were denied.
Lying, cheating, and stealing, as well as adultery and fornication,
were deemed scandalous offences, and were punished. They did not exist
to any great extent until the parent of them--drunkenness--was
introduced by the white man.
To these commendable traits in a savage people there were sad offsets.
The savage was cruel and exceedingly bloodthirsty. He never forgave a
premeditated injury; and if no opportunity offered to avenge himself,
he enjoined upon his descendants, "even to the third and fourth
generation," to revenge him. A hatred once formed against an enemy
could only be quenched with his blood. He would treasure up a wrong for
years, and it would rankle in his heart until he got his enemy into his
power, when flaying, roasting, or killing by inches, was not too cruel
a death to mete out to him. Nay, more than this,--in their wars neither
age, sex, nor condition, were taken into consideration; and the proud
warrior who sang the great and heroic deeds of his ancestors for a
thousand moons was not too proud to carry in his belt the scalp of an
innocent babe! But then the savage was untutored, and it unquestionably
was a part of his religion to put to death an enemy by the most cruel
torture; neither did he expect any other treatment if he fell into the
hands of a foe.
In ordinary life, there undoubtedly was some honor in the Indian,
but in war no trait of it was perceptible in his composition. To
slay an enemy while asleep, or destroy him by any stratagem, was
a feat to boast of, and claimed quite as much glory as if it had been
accomplished by the prowess of arms. To shoot an enemy from ambuscade,
or lure him to destruction by treachery that would be branded as most
infamous among civilized nations, were looked upon as exceedingly
cunning by the Indians.
As a general thing, they professed to abhor war among themselves,
and only declared it when aggravating circumstances absolutely
demanded;--that the question was deliberately debated by the tribe, and
if, after mature deliberation, a majority of the chiefs and captains
favored a war, speedy preparation was made for it; a red hatchet or
club was sent to the offending tribe, or one of them was caught,
scalped, and a war-club, painted red, laid by his side. Hostilities
were then commenced, and the war waged with the greatest fury until one
or the other party succumbed.
[Illustration: SCENE EAST OF PATTERSON.]
Now it happens that _professions_ do not always accord with _practice_,
and in this case we are quite sure they did not. The whole tenor and
bearing of the savages must lead us to believe that there was no avenue
open to the aspiring Indian to attain honor and distinction, except
through feats of arms and daring; and it is only too true that he
shared the common weakness of humanity in loving the "pride, pomp, and
circumstance of glorious warfare." The proof of this is that some of
their most bloody conflicts were caused by the most trivial
circumstances.
That they had many fierce and sanguinary struggles among themselves is
well authenticated. A battle almost of extermination was once fought
between two tribes at Juniata,--now known as Duncan's Island,--within
the memory of many Indians who were living when the whites settled
among them. This island must have been a famous battle-ground--a very
Waterloo--in its day. When the canal was in progress of construction,
hundreds of skeletons were exhumed; and to this day stone arrow-heads
can be found upon almost any part of the island.
The Indian traditions also chronicle a fierce battle between two tribes
near Millerstown; another in Tuscarora, and another at Standing Stone.
The truth on which these traditions are based is made evident by the
fact that at those places, for years, Indian war-relics have been
found.
There existed for years the most intense and bitter feuds between the
Six Nations and the Lenape Indians, commonly called the Delawares. How
long the feud existed, or how many bloody conflicts they had to gain
the ascendency, cannot now, either by tradition or record, be made
reliable history. From the best information we can gather, it is highly
probable that these confederations had buried the hatchet a short time
previous to the landing of Penn. And we may also readily assume that
the final declaration of peace was sued for by the Delawares; for the
Iroquois always boasted that they had reduced them to the _condition of
women_ by their superior bravery and skill in war. This the Delawares
denied, and declared that "by treaty and voluntary consent they had
agreed to act as mediators and peacemakers among the other great
nations; and to this end they had consented to lay aside entirely the
implements of war, and to hold and to keep bright the chain of peace.
This, among individual tribes, was the usual province of women. The
Delawares, therefore, alleged that they were _figuratively_ termed
women on this account." This cunningly-devised story the Delawares
palmed upon the missionary Heckwelder while he labored among them, and
he was disposed to give them great credit. The Iroquois, having formed
an early alliance with the Dutch on the Hudson, received fire-arms, and
by the liberal use of them soon brought refractory tribes out of their
confederation to terms, and reduced others to vassalage, and exacted
from them an annual tribute or an acknowledgment of fealty, permitting
them, on such conditions, to occupy certain hunting-grounds; and there
must, therefore, have been at least _some_ truth in the allegation of
the Iroquois that the Delawares were "conquered by their arms, and were
compelled to this humiliating concession as the only means of averting
impending destruction." It is said, however, that the Delawares were
finally enabled to throw off this galling yoke, through the influence
of Zeedyusung, a powerful chief, who extorted from the Iroquois an
acknowledgment of their independence at a treaty held at Tioga in 1756.
"The humiliation of tributary nations was, however, tempered with a
paternal regard for their interests in all negotiations with the
whites; and care was taken that no trespasses should be committed
on their rights, and that they should be justly dealt with."
So says the record; and yet we find that the sachems of the Six
Nations, who had evidently learned from the whites both the use and
abuse of money, in July, 1754, at Albany, sold all the lands in the
State, not previously purchased, "lying southwest of a line beginning
one mile above the mouth of Penn's Creek, and running northwest-by-west
to the western boundary of the State." This sold the land from under
the feet of the Delawares, Shawnees, and Monseys, of the Juniata
Valley, notwithstanding the Six Nations had guaranteed it to them
forever as a sacred hunting-ground. This act of treachery on the part
of the Iroquois, and the insatiate appetite of the proprietors to add
broad acres to their extensive domain, caused many of these homeless
tribes to go over to the French, and, as a writer truly adds, "the
blood of Braddock's soldiers was added to the price of the land."
But to return to the original settlement of the valley. The Indians
unquestionably received the white adventurers with open arms, and
extended to them such a hearty welcome as must have banished all
fears for the future. The savages looked upon the death-dealing rifle
with superstitious awe; and the saw, the axe, the plane, and other
implements of handicraft in the possession of the whites, made them a
high order of beings, endowed with peculiar gifts by the Great Spirit,
in the eyes of the Indians, and their persons were regarded as sacred.
They shared with them their rude huts, and left nothing undone within
their power to render them comfortable.
And for this noble and magnanimous conduct on the part of the Indian,
what return did the white man make? Such a one only, we regret to say,
as makes no bright page in their history. They were taught all the
vices of civilization, but to teach them its virtues was deemed a work
of supererogation. The ignorant Indian and his primitive habits were
treated with disdain, and he was deemed a fit subject for robbery
whenever opportunity offered--this more especially by the lawless, who
considered themselves out of the reach of government and its officers.
A gradual encroachment upon the Indian's sacred hunting-grounds, and
the refusal of the white man to look upon him as any thing but a
degraded being or to associate with him on an equality, soon taught the
Indian that he had taken into fellowship the crafty white man only to
enable him to suck out his existence by his superior skill and his
subtle cunning. The keen penetration of the savage soon discovered the
position he occupied by the side of his white brother. Smarting under
the indignities offered, and foreseeing the degradation to which he
would be subjected in time, the red man and the white man did not long
dwell together in unity. While the latter commenced tilling the land
and surrounding himself with the comforts of civilization, the former
fled before him to the mountains and valleys where he was monarch of
the land,--where the council-fire could blaze, the green-corn dance and
song be heard, and the calumet of peace be smoked without the presence
of the white man.
Yet, with all the encroachments upon their rights by the settlers, the
Indians exercised great forbearance. They knew the warlike appliances
in the power of the proprietary government; hence they repeatedly
declared their wish to "keep bright the chain of friendship;"--in less
figurative language, they did not want to go to war. No depredations
were committed upon the whites, of any consequence, before the French
tampered with them and the Six Nations perfidiously sold the land they
had given "their cousins" as a sacred hunting-ground. Nor even then,
although the aggravation was great, did all the Indians leave the
valley to join the French. Many who were friendly toward the
proprietary government remained until war broke out between the
colonies and Great Britain; and some few peaceably-disposed fragments
of tribes even lingered in the valley until the close of the
Revolutionary war.
During the French and Indian war, and at its close, many of the Indians
returned, and lived for some years in the valley unmolested. But in
1761-62 the footprints of the white man were seen in their paths, and
civilization began to crowd them. The white adventurers crowded so
thick upon them, that, after the war of 1764, the greater portion of
them left; nor did they return again until 1777, when they appeared as
allies to the British crown, to massacre and scalp the unprotected
frontier-men. To stimulate them to this inhuman warfare, the British
not only impressed it upon them that they were redressing grievances,
but they actually paid them a stipulated price for every scalp, of
child as well as adult, brought to the Canadian frontier.
The Indians who figured in the predatory incursions from 1776 to 1781
were probably Delawares, Monseys, Nanticokes, Shawnees, and Tuscaroras;
but they were then only known as Delawares, all other titles having
been merged into that of the most powerful tribe. That these tribes
were the ones who committed most of the depredations, we judge from the
fact that the elder chiefs and captains emigrated to the Canadian
frontier from the Juniata Valley, and consequently knew every foot of
the valley, from the base of the Alleghany Mountains to the very mouth
of the river.
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
It appears from all authentic evidence that white traders ventured into
the valley as early as 1740, but always left again after transacting
their business. It was about the year 1741 that bold and daring men
pushed into the valley with the evident determination of making it
their home. They were nearly all Scotch-Irish,--a hardy race of devout
Christians, whose ancestors had been persecuted in the north of
Scotland, by Charles I., and driven to the north of Ireland, and who,
fearful of the provisions of the Schism Bill, in their turn fled from
Ireland to America, between the years 1714 and 1720. The first of them
located near or about the line (then in dispute) between Maryland and
Pennsylvania. Logan, the secretary of the province, who was probably an
adherent to the religion professed by the proprietors, was very much
annoyed at the Scotch-Irish assumption and maintenance of "squatter's
rights." In a letter to the Provincial Government, in 1724, he said,
"They (the Scotch-Irish and Scotch) have generally taken up the western
lands; and as they rarely approach me to propose to purchase, I look
upon them as bold and indigent strangers, giving as their excuse, when
challenged for titles, that we had solicited for colonists, and they
had come accordingly."
Notwithstanding this, they were not molested, for they were exempted
from the payment of rents by an ordinance passed in 1720, in
consequence of their being frontier-men, and forming a cordon of
defence to the colony.
Logan, it must be admitted, had no friendly feeling toward the new
comers. In 1725 he stated that they had taken possession of one
thousand acres of land, resolutely sat down and improved it without
having any right to it, and he expressed himself much at a loss to
determine how to dispossess them. On this occasion he admitted that
among them were a number of Germans.
In 1730, Logan wrote to the government, or probably the proprietors,
complaining of the Scotch-Irish, in an audacious and disorderly manner,
possessing themselves of the whole of Conestoga Manor, of fifteen
thousand acres, being the best land in the country. In doing this by
force, they alleged that it was against the laws of God and nature that
so much land should be idle while so many Christians wanted it to labor
on and raise their bread. They were finally dispossessed by the sheriff
and his posse, and their cabins, to the number of thirty, were burned.
These men apparently held in contempt the sham purchases of Penn from
the Indians; asserted that the treaties by which the lands were secured
to the proprietors were nothing more than downright farces; and they
justified their course by assuming that if the Penn family had a right
to "_fillibuster_" on an extensive scale, the same right to enjoy
enough land to support their families should not be denied them. If the
disciples of George Fox, by craft and cunning, could obtain from the
Indians thousands upon thousands of acres of land by a royal grant and
the presentation of baubles that shamed the idea of a purchase, the
disciples of John Calvin thought they had an equal right to possess
themselves of at least a portion of the acres wrested by stratagem
from the Indians. They considered the Penns usurpers and pretenders,
and despised their feudal prerogatives which gave them pomp and
circumstance, and refused to pay them the quit-rents, which enabled
them to rule by deputy, and riot in the luxury of aristocratic life in
England, rather than adopt the unostentatious manners of the new world.
Logan's successor was Richard Peters. He, too, was deeply devoted to
the proprietors, and used his utmost exertions to get quit-rents out of
the squatters. Failing to do so peaceably, he went to Marsh Creek, then
in Lancaster county, for the express purpose of dispossessing them, and
measuring the lands of the manor. This occurred in 1743. The squatters
assembled in great force, notwithstanding the secretary was accompanied
by the sheriff and a magistrate, and forbade Peters to proceed. On his
refusal, the chain was broken, and demonstrations of a riot made,
whereupon the surveying party retired. The settlers were afterward
indicted, but the matter was compromised by the secretary granting them
leases on very favorable terms.
From the counties of Chester and Lancaster, these settlers gradually
worked their way to the west, and about 1748 the Kittochtinny
Valley was tolerably well settled. The influx of emigrants from
Europe--embracing Irish, Scotch, Scotch-Irish, German, and a few
English--was so great, that it followed, as a matter of course, that
the Juniata Valley was in its turn soon invaded.
There, in all probability, the proprietors would have suffered them
to remain, as they knew little of, and cared less, about the land; but
the Indians made complaint of the aggressions. The Six Nations took
the matter in hand, and declared that usurping the lands they had
guaranteed to their cousins, the Delawares, as a sacred hunting-ground,
was a breach of faith, and that the settlers must be removed; or, if
the settlers persisted in their encroachments, the Delawares would take
up the hatchet against them. Only too glad to get rid of their settlers
in the lower counties, the government made little effort to remove them
from the Indian lands. True, to satisfy the Indians, they issued
proclamations warning squatters to keep off these lands, under certain
penalties which they knew could not be executed.
These usurpations of land, and the contumely with which the settlers
treated the Indians, at length threatened serious consequences. The
Delawares, as well as the Six Nations, made complaints such as could
not be misunderstood. The proprietors, at length alarmed at the
probable consequences of letting their squatters usurp the lands or
hunting-grounds of the Indians, sent Peters and others to dispossess
them. The following is Secretary Peters's report, sent to Governor
Hamilton in 1750:--
TO JAMES HAMILTON, ESQ., GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA.
May it please your honor, Mr. Weiser and I having received your
honor's orders to give information to the proper magistrates
against all such as had presumed to settle on the lands beyond the
Kittochtinny Mountains not purchased of the Indians, in contempt of
the laws repeatedly signified by proclamations, and particularly by
your honor's last one, and to bring them to a legal conviction,
lest for want of their removal a breach should ensue between the
Six Nations of Indians and this Province, we set out on Tuesday,
the 15th of May, 1750, for the new county of Cumberland, where the
places on which the trespassers had settled lay.
At Mr. Croghan's we met with five Indians,--three from Shamokin,
two of which were sons of the late Shickcalamy, who transact the
business of the Six Nations with this government; two were just
arrived from Alleghany, viz., one of the Mohawk's nation, called
Aaron, and Andrew Montour, the interpreter at Ohio. Mr. Montour
telling us he had a message from the Ohio Indians and Twightwees to
this government, and desiring a conference, one was held on the
18th of May last, in the presence of James Galbreath, George
Croghan, William Wilson, and Hermanus Alricks, Esqrs., justices of
the county of Cumberland; and when Mr. Montour's business was done,
we, with the advice of the other justices, imparted to the Indians
the design we were assembled upon; at which they expressed great
satisfaction.
Another conference was held, at the instance of the Indians, in
the presence of Mr. Galbreath and Mr. Croghan, before mentioned,
wherein they expressed themselves as follows:--
"Brethren,--We have thought a great deal of what you imparted to
us, that ye were come to turn the people off who are settled over
the hills; we are pleased to see you on this occasion; and, as the
council of Onondago has this affair exceedingly at heart, and it
was particularly recommended to us by the deputies of the Six
Nations when they parted from us last summer, we desire to
accompany you. But we are afraid, notwithstanding the care of the
governor, that this may prove like many former attempts. The people
will be put off now, and next year come again; and if so, the Six
Nations will no longer bear it, but do themselves justice. To
prevent this, therefore, when you shall have turned the people off,
we recommend it to the governor to place two or three faithful
persons over the mountains who may be agreeable to him and us, with
commissions empowering them immediately to remove every one who may
presume after this to settle themselves, until the Six Nations
shall agree to make sale of their land."
To enforce this they gave a string of wampum, and received one in
return from the magistrates, with the strongest assurances that
they would do their duty.
On Tuesday, the twenty-second of May, Matthew Dill, George Croghan,
Benjamin Chambers, Thomas Wilson, John Finley, and James Galbreath,
Esqrs., justices of the said county of Cumberland, attended by the
under-sheriff, came to Big Juniata, situate at the distance of
twenty miles from the mouth thereof, and about ten miles north from
the Blue Hills--a place much esteemed by the Indians for some of
their best hunting-ground; and there they found five cabins or
log-houses; one possessed by William White, another by George
Cahoon, another not quite yet finished, in possession of David
Hiddleston, another possessed by George and William Galloway, and
another by Andrew Lycon. Of these persons, William White and George
and William Galloway, David Hiddleston, and George Cahoon, appeared
before the magistrates, and, being asked by what right or authority
they had possessed themselves of those lands and erected cabins
thereon, they replied, by no right or authority, but that the land
belonged to the proprietaries of Pennsylvania. They then were asked
whether they did not know that they were acting against the law,
and in contempt of frequent notices given them by the governor's
proclamation? They said they had seen one such proclamation, and
had nothing to say for themselves, but craved mercy. Hereupon the
said William White, George and William Galloway, David Hiddleston,
and George Cahoon, being convicted by said justices on their view,
the under-sheriff was charged with them, and he took William White,
David Hiddleston, and George Cahoon into custody; but George and
William Galloway resisted, and having got at some distance from the
under-sheriff, they called to us, "You may take our lands and
houses, and do what you please with them; we deliver them to you
with all our hearts, but we will not be carried to jail!"
The next morning, being Wednesday, the twenty-third of May, the
said justices went to the log-house or cabin of Andrew Lycon, and
finding none there but children, and hearing that the father and
mother were expected soon, and William White and others offering to
become security jointly and severally, and to enter into
recognisance as well for Andrew's appearance at court and immediate
removal as for their own, this proposal was accepted, and William
White, David Hiddleston, and George Cahoon entered into a
recognisance of one hundred pounds, and executed bonds to the
proprietaries in the sum of five hundred pounds, reciting that they
were trespassers, and had no manner of right, and had delivered
possession to me for the proprietaries. When the magistrates went
to the cabin or log-house of George and William Galloway, (which
they had delivered up as aforesaid the day before, after they were
convicted, and were flying from the sheriff,) all the goods
belonging to the said George and William were taken out, and the
cabin being quite empty, I took possession thereof for the
proprietaries; and then a conference was held what should be done
with the empty cabin; and after great deliberation, all agreed that
if some cabins were not destroyed, they would tempt the trespassers
to return again, or encourage others to come there should these
trespassers go away; and so what was doing would signify nothing,
since the possession of them was at such a distance from the
inhabitants, could not be kept for the proprietaries; and Mr.
Weiser also giving it as his opinion that, if all the cabins were
left standing, the Indians would conceive such a contemptible
opinion of the government that they would come themselves in the
winter, murder the people, and set their houses on fire. On these
considerations the cabin, by my order, was burnt by the
under-sheriff and company.
Then the company went to the house possessed by David Hiddleston,
who had entered into bond as aforesaid; and he having voluntarily
taken out all the things which were in the cabin, and left me in
possession, that empty and unfurnished cabin was likewise set on
fire by the under-sheriff, by my order.
The next day, being the twenty-fourth of May, Mr. Weiser and Mr.
Galbreath, with the under-sheriff and myself, on our way to the
mouth of the Juniata called at Andrew Lycon's, with intent only to
inform him that his neighbors were bound for his appearance and
immediate removal, and to caution him not to bring him or them into
trouble by a refusal; but he presented a loaded gun to the
magistrates and sheriff; said he would shoot the first man that
dared to come nigher. On this he was disarmed, convicted, and
committed to the custody of the sheriff. This whole transaction
happened in the sight of a tribe of Indians who had by accident in
the night time fixed their tent on that plantation; and Lycon's
behavior giving them great offence, the Shickcalamies insisted on
our burning the cabin, or they would do it themselves. Whereupon
every thing was taken out of it, (Andrew Lycon all the while
assisting,) and, possession being delivered to me, the empty cabin
was set on fire by the under-sheriff, and Lycon was carried to
jail.
Mr. Benjamin Chambers and Mr. George Croghan had about an hour
before separated from us; and on meeting them again in Cumberland
county, they reported to me they had been at Sheerman's creek, or
Little Juniata, situate about six miles over the Blue Mountain, and
found there James Parker, Thomas Parker, Owen McKeib, John McClare,
Richard Kirkpatrick, James Murray, John Scott, Henry Gass, John
Cowan, Simon Girtee, and John Kilough, who had settled lands and
erected cabins or log-houses thereon; and having convicted them of
the trespass on their view, they had bound them, in recognisances
of the penalty of one hundred pounds, to appear and answer for
their trespasses on the first day of the next county court of
Cumberland, to be held at Shippensburgh; and that the said
trespassers had likewise entered into bonds to the proprietaries,
in five hundred pounds penalty, to remove off immediately, with all
their servants, cattle, and effects, and had delivered possession
of their houses to Mr. George Stevenson for the proprietaries' use;
and that Mr. Stevenson had ordered some of the meanest of those
cabins to be set on fire, where the families were not large nor the
improvements considerable.
On Monday, the twenty-eighth of May, we were met at Shippensburgh
by Samuel Smith, William Maxwell, George Croghan, Benjamin
Chambers, William Allison, William Trent, John Finley, John Miller,
Hermanus Alricks, and James Galbreath, Esquires, justices of
Cumberland county, who informed us that the people in the Tuscarora
Path, in Big Cove, and at Aucquick, would submit. Mr. Weiser most
earnestly pressed that he might be excused any further attendance,
having abundance of necessary business to do at home; and the other
magistrates, though with much reluctance, at last consenting, he
left us.
On Wednesday, the thirtieth of May, the magistrates and company
being detained two days by rain, proceeded over the Kittochtinny
Mountains and entered into the Tuscarora Path or Path Valley,
through which the road to Alleghany lies. Many settlements were
formed in this valley, and all the people were sent for, and the
following persons appeared, viz.: Abraham Slach, James Blair, Moses
Moore, Arthur Dunlap, Alexander McCartie, David Lewis, Adam
McCartie, Felix Doyle, Andrew Dunlap, Robert Wilson, Jacob Pyatt,
Jr., William Ramage, Reynolds Alexander, Robert Baker, John
Armstrong, and John Potts; who were all convicted by their own
confession to the magistrates of the like trespasses with those at
Sheerman's Creek, and were bound in the like recognisances to
appear at court, and bonds to the proprietaries to remove with all
their families, servants, cattle, and effects; and having
voluntarily given possession of their houses to me, some ordinary
log-houses, to the number of eleven, were burnt to the ground; the
trespassers, most of them cheerfully, and a very few of them with
reluctance, carrying out all their goods. Some had been deserted
before, and lay waste.
At Aucquick, Peter Falconer, Nicholas De Long, Samuel Perry, and
John Charleton, were convicted on the view of the magistrates, and
having entered into like recognisances and executed the like bonds,
Charleton's cabin was burnt, and fire set to another that was just
begun, consisting only of a few logs piled and fastened to one
another.
The like proceedings at Big Cove (now within Bedford county)
against Andrew Donnaldson, John MacClelland, Charles Stewart, James
Downy, John MacMean, Robert Kendell, Samuel Brown, William
Shepperd, Roger Murphy, Robert Smith, William Dickey, William
Millican, William MacConnell, James Campbell, William Carrell, John
Martin, John Jamison, Hans Patter, John MacCollin, James Wilson,
and John Wilson; who, coming before the magistrates, were convicted
on their own confession of the like trespasses, as in former cases,
and were all bound over in like recognisances and executed the like
bond to the proprietaries. Three waste cabins of no value were
burnt at the north end of the Cove by the persons who claimed a
right to them.
The Little Cove (in Franklin county) and the Big and Little
Conolloways being the only places remaining to be visited, as this
was on the borders of Maryland, the magistrates declined going
there, and departed for their homes.
About the year 1740 or 1741, one Frederick Star, a German, with two
or three more of his countrymen, made some settlements at the place
where we found William White, the Galloways, and Andrew Lycon, on
Big Juniata, situate at the distance of twenty miles from the mouth
thereof, and about ten miles north of the Blue Hills,--a place much
esteemed by the Indians for some of their best hunting ground;
which (German settlers) were discovered by the Delawares at
Shamokin to the deputies of the Six Nations as they came down to
Philadelphia in the year 1742, to hold a treaty with this
government; and they were disturbed at, as to inquire with a
peculiar warmth of Governor Thomas if these people had come there
by the orders or with the privilege of the government; alleging
that, if it was so, this was a breach of the treaties subsisting
between the Six Nations and the proprietor, William Penn, who in
the most solemn manner engaged to them not to suffer any of the
people to settle lands till they had purchased from the Council of
the Six Nations. The governor, as he might with great truth,
disowned any knowledge of those persons' settlements; and on the
Indians insisting that they should be immediately thrown over the
mountains, he promised to issue his proclamation, and, if this had
no effect, to put the laws in execution against them. The Indians,
in the same treaty, publicly expressed very severe threats against
the inhabitants of Maryland for settling lands for which they had
received no satisfaction, and said that if they would not do them
justice they would do justice to themselves, and would certainly
have committed hostilities if a treaty had not been under foot
between Maryland and the Six Nations, under the mediation of
Governor Thomas; at which the Indians consented to sell lands and
receive a valuable consideration for them, which put an end to the
danger.
The proprietaries were then in England; but observing, on perusing
the treaty, with what asperity they had expressed themselves
against Maryland, and that the Indians had just cause to complain
of the settlements at Juniata, so near Shamokin, they wrote to
their governor, in very pressing terms, to cause those trespassers
to be immediately removed; and both the proprietaries and governor
laid these commands on me to see this done, which I accordingly did
in June, 1743, the governor having first given them notice by a
proclamation served on them.
At that time none had presumed to settle at a place called the Big
Cove--having this name from its being enclosed in the form of a
basin by the southernmost range of the Kittochtinny Hills and
Tuscarora Hills; which last end here, and lose themselves in other
hills. This Big Cove is about five miles north of the temporary
line, and not far west of the place where the line terminated.
Between the Big Cove and the temporary line lies the Little
Cove,--so called from being likewise encircled with hills; and to
the west of the Little Cove, toward Potowmec, lie two other places,
called the Big and Little Conollaways, all of them situate on the
temporary line, and all of them extended toward the Potowmec.
In the year 1741 or 1742 information was likewise given that people
were beginning to settle in those places, some from Maryland and
some from this province. But as the two governments were not then
on very good terms, the governor did not think proper to take any
other notice of these settlements than to send the sheriff to serve
his proclamation on them, though they had ample occasion to lament
the vast inconveniences which attend unsettled boundaries. After
this the French war came on, and the people in those parts, taking
advantage of the confusion of the times, by little and little stole
into the Great Cove; so that at the end of the war it was said
thirty families had settled there; not, however, without frequent
prohibitions on the part of the government, and admonitions of the
great danger they run of being cut off by the Indians, as these
settlements were on lands not purchased of them. At the close of
the war, Mr. Maxwell, one of the justices of Lancaster county,
delivered a particular message from this government to them,
ordering their removal, that they might not occasion a breach with
the Indians, but it had no effect.
These were, to the best of my remembrance, all the places settled
by Pennsylvanians in the unpurchased part of the province, till
about three years ago, when some persons had the presumption to go
into Path Valley or Tuscarora Gap, lying to the east of the Big
Cove, and into a place called Aucquick, lying to the northward of
it; and likewise into a place called Sheerman's creek, lying along
the waters of Juniata, and is situate east of the Path Valley,
through which the present road goes from Harris's Ferry to
Alleghany; and lastly, they extended their settlements to Big
Juniata; the Indians all this while repeatedly complaining that
their hunting-ground was every day more and more taken from them;
and that there must infallibly arise quarrels between their
warriors and these settlers, which would in the end break the chain
of friendship, and pressing in the most importunate terms their
speedy removal. The government in 1748 sent the sheriff and three
magistrates, with Mr. Weiser, into these places to warn the people;
but they, notwithstanding, continued their settlements in
opposition to all this; and, as if those people were prompted by a
desire to make mischief, settled lands no better, nay not so good,
as many vacant lands within the purchased parts of the province.
The bulk of these settlements were made during the administration
of President Palmer; and it is well known to your honor, though
then in England, that his attention to the safety of the city and
the lower counties would not permit him to extend more care to
places so remote.
Finding such a general submission, except the two Galloways and
Andrew Lycon, and vainly believing the evil would be effectually
taken away, there was no kindness in my power which I did not do
for the offenders. I gave them money where they were poor, and
telling them they might go directly on any part of the two millions
of acres lately purchased of the Indians; and where the families
were large, as I happened to have several of my own plantations
vacant, I offered them to stay on them rent free, till they could
provide for themselves: then I told them that if after all this
lenity and good usage they would dare to stay after the time
limited for their departure, no mercy would be shown them, but that
they would feel the rigor of the law.
It may be proper to add that the cabins or log-houses which were
burnt were of no considerable value; being such as the country
people erect in a day or two, and cost only the charge of an
entertainment.
RICHARD PETERS.
July 2, 1750.
From this summary proceeding originated the name of the place called
the Burnt Cabins, the locality of which is pointed out to the traveller
to this day.
That these ejected tenants _at will_ did not remain permanently
ejected from the fertile valley of the Juniata is evident from the fact
that their descendants, or many of them, of the third and fourth
generations, are now occupying the very lands they were driven from.
In July, 1750, the government was thrown into alarm by the rumor that a
Mr. Delany had, while speaking of the removal of the trespassers on the
unpurchased lands northwest of the Kittochtinny Hills, said, "that if
the people of the Great and Little Coves would apply to Maryland they
might have warrants for their lands; and if those of the Tuscarora Path
Valley would apply to Virginia, he did not doubt but they might obtain
rights there."
Petitions were sent to the Council from the residents of the Coves, in
which it was set forth that they did not wish to be either in the
province of Maryland or Virginia, and prayed permission to remain,
until the boundary of the provinces was determined, on the lands
purchased from the Indians.
This proposition was not accepted, and was only followed up by
proclamations imposing severe penalties upon trespassers. This was
deemed absolutely necessary by Governor Hamilton, for the French were
assuming a menacing attitude along the frontier, and it was necessary,
at all hazards, to preserve the alliance of the Indians.
The Provincial Government was strong enough to drive the settlers out
of the valley, but immeasurably too weak to keep them out. This brought
about the treaty at Albany in 1754, to which we have previously
alluded. Thomas and Richard Penn, seeing the government unable to
remove the squatters permanently, in consequence of the feelings of the
people being with the latter, bought from the sachems the very
considerable slice of land in which was included the Valley of the
Juniata, for the trifling consideration of £400. This was supposed to
act as a healing balm for the trespasses upon their hunting-grounds,
and at the same time the Penns undoubtedly entertained the idea that
they could realize a handsome profit in re-selling the lands at an
advanced price to those who occupied them, as well as to European
emigrants constantly arriving and anxious to purchase.
The Indian chiefs and sachems who were not present at this treaty were
highly indignant, and pronounced the whole transaction a gross fraud;
and those who were present at the treaty declared they were outwitted
by misrepresentations, and grossly defrauded. Conrad Weiser, the Indian
interpreter, in his journal of a conference at Aughwick, stated that
the dissatisfaction with the purchase of 1754 was general. The Indians
said they did not understand the points of the compass, and if the line
was so run as to include the west branch of Susquehanna, they would
never agree to it. According to Smith's Laws, vol. xxi., p. 120, "the
land where the Shawnee and Ohio Indians lived, and the hunting-grounds
of the Delawares, the Nanticokes, and the Tutelos, were all included."
So decided and general was the dissatisfaction of the Indians, that, in
order to keep what few remained from being alienated, the proprietors
found it necessary to cede back to them, at a treaty held in Easton, in
October, 1758, all the land lying north and west of the Alleghany
Mountains within the province. The restoration, however, came too late
to effect much good.
But even the lands west of the Alleghany Mountains were not sacred to
the Indians, mountainous as they were and unfertile as they were
deemed; for westward the squatter went, gradually encroaching upon the
red men's last reserve, until he finally settled in their midst. These
aggressions were followed by the usual proclamations from the
government, but they had little or no effect in preventing the bold
adventurers from crossing the Alleghany Mountains and staking out farms
in the valley of the Conemaugh. This continued for a number of years,
until the government, wearied by unavailing efforts to keep settlers
from Indian lands, caused a stringent law to be passed by Council in
February, 1768, when it was enacted "that if any person settled upon
the unpurchased lands neglected or refused to remove from the same
within thirty days after they were required so to do by persons to be
appointed for that purpose by the governor or by his proclamation, or,
having so removed, should return to such settlement, or the settlement
of any other person, with or without a family, to remain and settle on
such lands, or if any person after such notice resided and settled on
such lands, every such person so neglecting or refusing to remove, or
returning to settle as aforesaid, or that should settle after the
requisition or notice aforesaid, being legally convicted, _was to be
punished with death without the benefit of clergy_."
There is no evidence on record that the provision of this act was ever
enforced, although it was openly violated. It was succeeded by laws a
little more lenient, making fine and imprisonment the punishment in
lieu of the death-penalty "without the benefit of clergy." Neither does
the record say that the coffers of the provincial treasury ever became
plethoric with the collection of fines paid by trespassers.
During the Indian wars of 1762-63, many of the inhabitants of the
valley fled to the more densely populated districts for safety. Up to
this time few forts were built for defence, and the settlers dreaded
the merciless warfare of the savages. The restoration of peace in the
latter year brought a considerable degree of repose to the long
harassed colonies. The turbulent Indians of the Ohio buried the hatchet
in October, 1764, on the plains of Muskingum, which enabled the
husbandman to reassume his labors and to extend his cultivation and
improvements. The prosperity of Pennsylvania increased rapidly; and
those who were compelled by Indian warfare to abandon their settlements
rapidly returned to them. The Juniata Valley, and especially the lower
part of it, gained a considerable accession of inhabitants in the shape
of sturdy tillers of the soil and well-disposed Christian people.
For a time the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians maintained rule in religion;
but, about 1767, German Lutherans, Irish Catholics, and some few
Dunkards and other denominations, found their way to the valley.
Meeting-houses were built, stockade forts erected, and communities of
neighbors formed for mutual protection, without regard to religious
distinctions.
The first settlements of the upper portion of the valley were not
effected until between 1765 and 1770. True, there was here and there an
isolated family, but the danger of being so near the Kittaning Path was
deemed too hazardous. It was in the upper part of the valley, too, that
most of the massacres took place between 1776 and 1782, as the lower
end of it was too thickly populated and too well prepared for the
marauders to permit them to make incursions or commit depredations.
CHAPTER III.
JUNIATA ISLAND--AN INDIAN PARADISE--REV. DAVID BRAINERD AMONG THE
SAVAGES--THE EARLY SETTLERS, HULINGS, WATTS, AND BASKINS--INDIAN
BATTLES--REMARKABLE ESCAPE OF MRS. HULINGS, ETC.
Juniata Island--now called Duncan's Island, in consequence of the
Duncan family being the proprietors for many years--is formed by the
confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna. Stretching northward, it
presents a lovely and fertile plain, surrounded by gorgeous and
romantic scenery, surpassed by few places in the State. This must have
been a very paradise for the sons of the forest. Facing to the west,
before them lay their beautiful hunting-grounds; facing to the south,
the eye rested upon the "long crooked river," over whose rippling bosom
danced the light bark canoe, and whose waters were filled with the
choicest of fish. With such blessings within their reach, the
inhabitants of the Juniata Island should have been superlatively happy,
and probably would, had it not been for the internal feuds which
existed among the tribes. Although the wigwams of two distinct tribes
dotted the island on the arrival of the white man, social intercourse
and the most friendly terms of intimacy existed between them. They were
the Shawnees and the Conoys. Then, too, it betokened a peaceable spot,
and yet it had been a famous Indian battle-ground in its day. The
traditions speak of a battle fought many years ago, between the
Delawares and the Cayugas, on this island, when the gullies ran red
with blood of mighty warriors, and the bones of a thousand of them were
entombed in one common grave upon the battle-field. Both tribes
suffered severely. The Delawares, although they lost the most braves,
and were ultimately driven from the field, fought with the most savage
desperation; but the Cayugas had the advantage in point of numbers, and
some of them used fire-arms, then totally unknown to the Delawares.
The first adventurers who went up the Susquehanna were Indian traders,
who took up articles for traffic in canoes. Fascinated by the beautiful
scenery of the country, and impressed with the idea that corn and
fruits grew upon the island spontaneously, these traders did not fail
to give it a name and reputation; and curiosity soon prompted others to
visit the "Big Island," as they called it. Some of them soon went so
far as to contemplate a settlement upon it. This, however, the Indians
would not permit; they were willing to trade at all times with them,
but the island was a kind of reservation, and on no condition would
they permit the pale-faces to share it with them. Even had they
suffered white men to settle among them, none would have repented the
act, as a rash step, more bitterly than the white men themselves; for
the Shawnees were a treacherous nation, and exceedingly jealous of any
innovations upon their rights or the customs of their fathers.
Still, the island became settled at an early day. The roving Shawnees
pushed their way westward, and the prejudices of those who took their
place were probably overcome by presents of guns, ammunition, tobacco,
and _fire-water_.
The Rev. David Brainerd, a devout and pious missionary, visited the
island in 1745, in the spring while going up the river, and in the fall
while returning. His object was to convert the Indians, which he found
quite as hopeless a task as did Heckwelder and Loskiel, who preceded
him with the same object in view. During his peregrinations Brainerd
kept a journal, which, together with his life, was published by the
American Tract Society. From this journal we extract the following, in
order to give his views of savage life, as well as an interesting
account of what he saw and heard at the island:--
Sept. 20.--Visited the Indians again at Juneauta Island, and found
them almost universally very busy in making preparations for a
great sacrifice and dance. Had no opportunity to get them together
in order to discourse with them about Christianity, by reason of
their being so much engaged about their sacrifice. My spirits were
much sunk with a prospect so very discouraging, and specially
seeing I had this day no interpreter but a pagan, who was as much
attached to idolatry as any of them, and who could neither speak
nor understand the language of these Indians; so that I was under
the greatest disadvantages imaginable. However, I attempted to
discourse privately with some of them, but without any appearance
of success; notwithstanding, I still tarried with them.
The valuable interpreter was probably a Delaware Indian, who was a
visitor to take part in the dance and sacrifice, while the inhabitants
of the island were Shawnees, who originally came from the south, and
their languages were entirely dissimilar. Brainerd calls them "pagans"
and "idolaters." This is a charge the Indians used to combat most
vehemently. They most unquestionably had small images carved out of
wood to represent the Deity; yet they repudiated the idea of
worshipping the wood, or the wooden image, merely using it as a symbol
through which to worship the Unseen Spirit. If such was the fact, they
could not well be called pagans in the common acceptation of the term.
The journal goes on to say:--
In the evening they met together, nearly one hundred of them, and
danced around a large fire, having prepared ten fat deer for the
sacrifice. The fat of the inwards they burnt in the fire while they
were dancing, which sometimes raised the flame to a prodigious
height, at the same time yelling and shouting in such a manner that
they might easily have been heard two miles or more. They continued
their sacred dance nearly all night; after which they ate the flesh
of the sacrifice, and so retired each one to his own lodging.
Making a burnt-offering of the deer-fat to illuminate the dance, and to
make a meat-offering to the insatiate Indian appetite, after undergoing
such fatigues, of the roasted venison, had not much idolatry in it.
Unconnected with any religious ceremony, such a proceeding might have
been considered rational, and coming altogether within the meaning of
the Masonic principle which recognises "refreshment after labor." Mr.
Brainerd continues:--
Lord's-day, Sep. 21.--Spent the day with the Indians on the island.
As soon as they were well up in the morning, I attempted to
instruct them, and labored for that purpose to get them together,
but soon found they had something else to do; for near noon they
gathered together all their powaws, or conjurors, and set about
half a dozen of them playing their juggling tricks and acting their
frantic, distracted postures, in order to find out why they were
then so sickly upon the island, numbers of them being at that time
disordered with a fever and bloody flux. In this exercise they were
engaged for several hours, making all the wild, ridiculous, and
distracted motions imaginable; sometimes singing, sometimes
howling, sometimes extending their hands to the utmost stretch and
spreading all their fingers: they seemed to push with them as if
they designed to push something away, or at least to keep it off at
arm's-end; sometimes stroking their faces with their hands, then
spouting water as fine as mist; sometimes sitting flat on the
earth, then bowing down their faces to the ground; then wringing
their sides as if in pain and anguish, twisting their faces,
turning up their eyes, grunting, puffing, &c.
This looks more like idolatry than sacrificing ten fat deer and dancing
by the light of their burning fat. Yet, if curing disease by powwowing,
incantation, or the utterance of charms, can be considered idolatry, we
are not without it even at this late day. We need not go out of the
Juniata Valley to find professing Christians who believe as much in
cures wrought by charms as they do in Holy Writ itself.
"Their monstrous actions tended to excite ideas of horror, and
seemed to have something in them, as I thought, peculiarly suited
to raise the devil, if he could be raised by any thing odd,
ridiculous, and frightful. Some of them, I could observe, were much
more fervent and devout in the business than others, and seemed to
chant, whoop, and mutter, with a degree of warmth and vigor as if
determined to awaken and engage the powers below. I sat at a small
distance, not more than thirty feet from them, though undiscovered,
with my Bible in my hand, resolving, if possible, to spoil their
sport and prevent their receiving any answers from the infernal
world, and there viewed the whole scene. They continued their
hideous charms and incantations for more than three hours, until
they had all wearied themselves out, although they had in that
space of time taken several intervals of rest; and at length broke
up, I apprehend, without receiving any answer at all."
Very likely they did not; but is it not most singular that a man with
the reputation for piety and learning that Brainerd left behind him
should arm himself with a Bible to spoil the spirit of the Indians, in
case their incantations should raise the demon of darkness, which, it
would really appear, he apprehended? In speaking of the Shawnee
Indians, or "Shawanose," as they were then called, he stigmatizes them
as "drunken, vicious, and profane." What their profanity consisted of
he does not say. According to all Indian historians, the Indians had
nothing in their language that represented an oath. Brainerd goes on to
say of the Shawnees:--
Their customs, in various other respects, differ from those of the
other Indians upon this river. They do not bury their dead in a
common form, but let their flesh consume above the ground, in close
cribs made for that purpose. At the end of a year, or sometimes a
longer space of time, they take the bones, when the flesh is all
consumed, and wash and scrape them, and afterward bury them with
some ceremony. Their method of charming or conjuring over the sick
seems somewhat different from that of the other Indians, though in
substance the same. The whole of it, among these and others,
perhaps, is an imitation of what seems, by Naaman's expression, (2
Kings v. 11,) to have been the custom of the ancient heathen. It
seems chiefly to consist of their "striking their hands over the
deceased," repeatedly stroking them, "and calling upon their God,"
except the spurting of water like a mist, and some other frantic
ceremonies common to the other conjurations which I have already
mentioned.
In order to give Mr. Brainerd's impression of their customs, as well as
an interesting account of a "medicine-man" who possessed rather
singular religious opinions, we shall close with his journal, with
another paragraph:--
When I was in this region in May last, I had an opportunity of
learning many of the notions and customs of the Indians, as well
as observing many of their practices. I then travelled more than
one hundred and thirty miles upon the river, above the English
settlements, and in that journey met with individuals of seven or
eight distinct tribes, speaking as many different languages. But of
all the sights I ever saw among them, or indeed anywhere else, none
appeared so frightful or so near akin to what is usually imagined
of _infernal powers_, none ever excited such images of terror in
my mind, as the appearance of one who was a devout and zealous
reformer, or rather restorer of what he supposed was the ancient
religion of the Indians. He made his appearance in his _pontifical
garb_, which was a coat of _bear-skins_, dried with the hair on,
and hanging down to his toes; a pair of bear-skin stockings, and a
great _wooden_ face, painted, the one half black, the other half
tawny, about the color of an Indian's skin, with an extravagant
mouth, but very much awry; the face fastened to a bear-skin cap,
which was drawn over his head. He advanced toward me with the
instrument in his hand which he used for music in his idolatrous
worship, which was a dry tortoise-shell with some corn in it, and
the neck of it drawn on to a piece of wood, which made a very
convenient handle. As he came forward, he beat his tune with the
rattle, and danced with all his might, but did not suffer any part
of his body, not so much as his fingers, to be seen. No one would
have imagined, from his appearance or actions, that he could have
been a human creature, if they had not had some intimation of it
otherwise. When he came near me, I could not but shrink away from
him, although it was then noonday, and I knew who it was, his
appearance and gestures were so prodigiously frightful. He had a
house consecrated to religious uses, with divers images cut upon
the several parts of it. I went in, and found the ground beaten
almost as hard as a rock with their frequent dancing upon it. I
discoursed with him about Christianity. Some of my discourse he
seemed to like, but some of it he disliked extremely. He told me
that God had taught him his religion, and that he never would turn
from it, but wanted to find some who would join heartily with him
in it; for the Indians, he said, were grown very degenerate and
corrupt. He had thoughts, he said, of leaving all his friends, and
travelling abroad, in order to find some who would join with him;
for he believed that God had some good people somewhere, who felt
as he did. He had not always, he said, felt as he now did; but had
formerly been like the rest of the Indians, until about four or
five years before that time. Then, he said, his heart was very much
distressed, so that he could not live among the Indians, but got
away into the woods, and lived alone for some months. At length, he
said, God comforted his heart, and showed him what he should do;
and since that time he had known God and tried to serve him, and
loved all men, be they who they would, so as he never did before.
He treated me with uncommon courtesy, and seemed to be hearty in
it. I was told by the Indians that he opposed their drinking strong
liquor with all his power; and that if at any time he could not
dissuade them from it by all he could say, he would leave them, and
go crying into the woods. It was manifest that he had a set of
religious notions, which he had examined for himself and not taken
for granted upon bare tradition; and he relished or disrelished
whatever was spoken of a religious nature, as it either agreed or
disagreed with _his standard_. While I was discoursing, he would
sometimes say, "Now that I like; so God has taught me," &c.; and
some of his sentiments seemed very just. Yet he utterly denied the
existence of a devil, and declared there was no such creature known
among the Indians of old times, whose religion he supposed he was
attempting to revive. He likewise told me that departed souls went
_southward_, and that the difference between the good and bad was
this: that the former were admitted into a beautiful town with
spiritual walls, and that the latter would forever hover around
these walls in vain attempts to get in. He seemed to be sincere,
honest, and conscientious, in his own way, and according to his own
religious notions, which was more than ever I saw in any other
pagan. I perceived that he was looked upon and derided among most
of the Indians as a _precise zealot_, who made a needless noise
about religious matters; but I must say that there was something in
his temper and disposition which looked more like true religion
than any thing I ever observed among other heathens.
If Brainerd was not grossly imposed upon, the Indian was a remarkable
man, and his code of ethics might be used with profit by a great many
persons now treading the paths of civilization and refinement. But it
is more than probable that he had based the groundwork of his religion
on what he had learned from the Moravian missionaries. In the ensuing
summer Brainerd again ascended the Susquehanna, where he contracted
disease by exposure, and died in the fall.
The earliest permanent white settler upon the island was a gentleman
named Hulings, who located near the mouth of the Juniata, over which,
in after years, he established a ferry; and, after travel increased and
the traders took their goods up the rivers on pack-horses, he built a
sort of causeway, or bridge, for the passage of horses, at the upper
end of the island. He settled on the island in 1746. He was followed by
another adventurer, named Watts, who staked out a small patch of land,
with the view of farming it. It was already cleared, and he purchased
it from the Indians. The children of these families intermarried, and
their descendants to this day own the greater portion of the island. A
few years after the settlement of Watts and Hulings, a gentleman named
Baskin came from below, and settled near the point of the island. He
was an enterprising man, and had no sooner erected himself a temporary
shelter than he established a ferry across the Susquehanna. The ferry
became profitable, and Baskin realized a fortune out of it. It was a
sort of heirloom in the family for several generations, until the State
improvements were built, when a bridge was erected. Baskin's Ferry was
known far and wide; and there are still some descendants of the name
residing, or who did reside a few years ago, where the ferry crossed.
Shortly after Braddock's defeat, the country was greatly alarmed by
rumors that the French and Indians were coming down the Susquehanna in
great numbers, with the avowed intention of slaughtering the British
colonists and laying waste all their habitations. Nor was this rumor
without foundation; for the massacres already committed up the
Susquehanna seemed fully to justify the apprehension. Travel along the
river was suspended, and a portion of the settlers fled to Paxton.
Hulings abandoned his ferry, and, with a convoy of friendly Delaware
Indians, he went to Fort Duquesne, where he immediately purchased land,
with the view of settling permanently. There, however, he found little
more peace and quiet than he enjoyed at the island. The country was
rife with alarms of Indian depredations, and the settlers were in
constant dread of an attack which they could not repel. Hulings became
dissatisfied, because the exchange had disappointed all his reasonable
expectations, and he determined to return. To this end he disposed of
his land for £200--land which now composes the heart of the city of
Pittsburg, and could not be purchased for £2,000,000. In company with
another party of friendly Indians on their way to the east, he returned
to the island, re-established his ferry, built himself a house at the
bridge, and for some years lived in security.
About 1761, accounts of Indian depredations above again alarmed the
lower settlements; but Mr. Hulings paid no attention to them, until a
large number of them were seen but a short distance above the island,
encamped upon a piece of table-land. In great haste he packed up a few
of his most valuable articles, and, putting his wife and child upon a
large black horse, took them to the Point, so as to be ready to fly the
moment the savages made their appearance. At this place there was a
half-fallen tree, from the branches of which an excellent view of his
house, as well as of the path beyond it, could be obtained. Here
Hulings watched for some time, hoping that if the Indians did come
down, and find his house abandoned, they would go up the Juniata.
Suddenly it occurred to Hulings that in his haste he had left some
valuable keepsakes, and he returned forthwith alone. After
reconnoitering for some time, he entered the house, and was somewhat
surprised to find an Indian tinkering at his gun-lock. The savage was
unable to shoot, and, as Hulings was a man of powerful frame, he feared
to make a personal attack upon him. Both appeared to be ready to act
upon the defensive, but neither was willing to risk an attack.
In the mean time, the reconnoitering and parleying of Hulings had taken
up so much time that Mrs. Hulings became alarmed, and concluded that
her husband had been murdered. Without a thought of the danger, she
took her child upon the horse before her, plunged him into the
Susquehanna, and the noble charger carried them safely to the other
shore--a distance of nearly a mile, and at a time, too, when the river
was unusually high! Such an achievement in modern times would make a
woman a heroine, whose daring would be extolled from one end of the
land to the other.
Soon after this extraordinary feat, Mr. Hulings arrived, and he, in
turn, became alarmed at the absence of his wife; but he soon saw her
making a signal on the other side, and, immediately unmooring a canoe
at the mouth of the Juniata, he got into it and paddled it over. It was
the only canoe in the neighborhood,--an old one left by Baskin when he
fled. Hulings had scarcely rejoined his wife before he saw the flames
shooting up from the old log ferry-house, and the savages dancing
around it, brandishing their weapons; but they were out of harm's way,
and succeeded in reaching Paxton the same day. In a year or so they
returned, and ended their days on the island.
Reference is made by historians to a battle fought between the whites
and Indians on the island in 1760. The old inhabitants, too, spoke of
one, but we could ascertain nothing definite on the subject. No mention
whatever is made of it in the Colonial Records.
After this period but few of the roving bands or war-parties ever came
down either the Susquehanna or the Juniata as far as the island. The
massacre of the Conestoga Indians inspired the up-country savages with
so much terror that they deemed it certain death to go near the
settlement of the Paxton boys.
By the time the Revolution commenced, the neighborhood of the mouth of
the Juniata was thickly populated, and the inhabitants had within their
reach ample means of defence; so that the savages in the employ of the
British prudently confined their operations to the thickly-settled
frontier.
CHAPTER IV.
INDIAN TOWNS ALONG THE JUNIATA--LOST CREEK VALLEY DISCOVERED--MEXICO
FIRST SETTLED BY CAPTAIN JAMES PATTERSON IN 1751--INDIAN ATTACK UPON
SETTLERS AT THE HOUSE OF WILLIAM WHITE--MASSACRE OF WHITE--CAPTURE OF
A LAD NAMED JOHN RIDDLE--HIS RELEASE FROM CAPTIVITY, ETC.
[For the facts on which the two chapters following are based we are
indebted to a gentleman named ANDREW BANKS, an old resident of Lost
Creek Valley, Juniata county. He was born near York, and settled
near his late place of residence in 1773, and was nearly
eighty-nine years of age when we called upon him early in December,
1855. We found him enjoying the evening of a long and well-spent
life, with his sense of hearing somewhat impaired, but his
intellect and memory both good. He was a man of considerable
intelligence, and we found him quite willing to give all he knew of
the past worthy of record. He died about the last of the same
month.]
The river, from the island to Newport, is hemmed in by mountains; and
while it afforded excellent territory for hunting, fishing, and
trapping, it held out no inducements for the Indians to erect their
lodges along it. The first Indian village above the mouth of the river
was located on the flat, a short distance above where the town of
Newport now is. Another was located at the mouth of a ravine a little
west of Millerstown. At the former place the Cahoons, Hiddlestons, and
others were settled, who were ejected, and had their cabins burnt by
Secretary Peters. After the purchase of these lands at Albany, in 1754,
both these towns were destroyed, and the Indians went to Ohio.
Lost Creek Valley, unquestionably one of the most beautiful valleys in
the Juniata region, was entered by some Indian traders as early as
1740. They found it occupied by two or three Indian settlements, and
they made a successful barter with the aborigines. The next year they
essayed to revisit the place, but were unable to find it. The following
summer they found it again; hence arose the name of the _lost_ creek.
There is no record of any massacres by the Indians in this valley, and
the impression is that they left it about 1754, some going toward the
frontier, and others to the head of Tuscarora Valley.
The first settlement on the river, in what now constitutes Juniata
county, was made in 1751, by an adventurous Scotch-Irishman known as
Captain James Patterson. He came across the country from Cumberland
county, accompanied by some five or six others, most of whom settled
very near to where Mexico now stands. Patterson was a bold and fearless
man; and he had not long resided in his new location before the Indians
of the neighborhood both hated and feared him. He and his companions
cleared the land on both sides of the river, built two large
log-houses, and pierced them with loopholes, so that they might defend
themselves from any attacks the savages might make. Patterson soon
became aware of the fact that his reckless daring, especially in
braving the proclamations of the proprietors in settling upon
unpurchased Indian lands, had inspired the Indians with fear; hence he
did not condescend to make an effort to purchase from the Indians, or
even build a fort for the protection of his little colony. In addition
to his recklessness, he possessed a good share of cunning, that on many
occasions served his purpose. For instance, he used to keep a target,
the centre of which was riddled with bullets, leaning against a tree.
Whenever he found a party of friendly Indians approaching, he used to
stand under his door and blaze away at the target, but always stop when
the Indians were near the house. The Indians would invariably examine
the target, measure the distance--about four hundred feet--with the
eye, and conclude among themselves that Patterson would be an
exceedingly tough customer in a fight! His reputation for shooting
obtained for him among the Delawares the name of "Big Shot."
Patterson was a very bold squatter, and staked off for himself a large
body of land, declaring that Providence had designed it for the use of
Christian people to raise food upon, and not for Indian war-dances.
But, with all his fancied security and his contemptuous opinion of the
"cowardly red-skins," they put him to his trumps at last. In the year
1755 they no longer visited his settlement on the friendly mission of
bartering furs and venison for rum and tobacco, but they commenced
prowling about in small parties, painted for war, armed with the
rifle--the use of which they had already acquired--and exceedingly
dangerous-looking knives and tomahawks. Patterson became alarmed, and,
actuated by a settled conviction that "discretion" was the better part
of valor, himself and his companions crossed the Tuscarora Mountain and
took refuge in Sherman's Valley. A few years after he returned, but he
found his land parcelled, and occupied by others, who held deeds of
purchase for it from the proprietory government. Nothing daunted,
however, he took possession of another piece of land, and commenced
cultivating it, without going through the land-office formula of
obtaining a legal title for it. He was a man of some intelligence, and
held in supreme contempt the Penn family and their treaties with the
Indians. He declared that the Albany treaty did not give them a shadow
of right to the land; and, as it was not considered morally wrong for
the Penns to wheedle the Indians out of millions of acres of land for
the paltry sum of £400, he did not see any wrong in his cheating the
Penn family out of a farm.
For some years peace and quiet reigned in the neighborhood; but in the
spring of 1763 the red man again lifted the hatchet, and the settlers
were thrown into awe and consternation. Constant rumors were afloat of
their depredations, and at length a scouting party returned with the
unwelcome intelligence that a body of Shawnees were encamped in
Tuscarora Valley. As speedily as possible, all the movable effects were
placed upon pack-horses, and the settlers, by extremely cautious
manoeuvering, succeeded in escaping safely, and again took up their
residence in Sherman's Valley.
The spring having been exceedingly favorable, the grain crop was ready
to cut early in July, and a party was formed by the settlers, and some
few others, to go back and assist each other in getting in their
harvest. On their arrival they set vigorously to work; and, no traces
of savages being perceptible, in their anxiety to get in the grain they
appeared to forget them, notwithstanding each man carried with him his
trusty rifle wheresoever he went. On Sunday, while resting from their
labors, some ten or twelve Shawnee Indians approached the house of
William White, where all the settlers were spending the Sabbath. They
crawled up to the house unperceived, and fired a volley through the
open door, killing Mr. White and wounding some of his family. The
wildest consternation seized upon the party within, and, in the great
confusion which followed, all escaped by the back-door except William
Riddle. Some swam the river; others escaped in different directions.
Riddle did not see a son of his, aged about twelve years, escape; and,
without probably being conscious of what he was doing, walked toward
the front-door, where a savage fired at him. The muzzle of the gun was
so near Riddle's face that the discharge literally filled it with
gunpowder. The ball grazed, but did not injure him. At the moment the
savage discharged his rifle, Riddle was tripped by something upon the
floor, and fell. The Indians took it for granted that both were killed,
and set up a loud shout of victory. While holding a consultation about
their future movements, Riddle jumped up suddenly and ran. Several
Indians fired, and for a short distance pursued him; but he soon
distanced the fleetest runner among them. The marauders then returned,
and, after scalping Mr. White, plundered the house of all the
ammunition they could find, some few other trifling articles, and then
set fire to it.
On taking their departure from the place, from a high bluff near the
house they discovered Riddle's son, who was trying to conceal himself
in a rye-field. They captured him and took him along with them. In
order to give an account of his captivity, we shall be compelled to
defer an account of the further depredations of the same band until the
next chapter.
Some years after peace was restored--the precise year not known, but
supposed to have been in 1767,--Riddle started for the frontier in
search of his son. This was a time of almost profound peace, which
followed the numerous massacres of the few preceding years, and a time,
too, when the Indians had been taught some severe lessons, and were
disposed to act friendly toward the whites. Riddle travelled on
horseback, and passed numerous Indian villages, but could hear no
tidings of his son until he came upon an encampment of Shawnee Indians
near Lake Erie. As he neared the village, he saw the warriors returning
from the chase, and among them a youthful-looking brave with an
eagle-feather waving on his cap, and all the paraphernalia of a young
chief decorating his person. His bearing erect, his step firm, he trod
the path with a proud and haughty air. But a single glance sufficed for
Riddle to recognise in the youthful warrior his son John. Dismounting
from his horse, he sprang forward and attempted to throw himself into
his arms; but, strange to say, his _advances were repulsed_! Even
when the lad was convinced that he was Riddle's offspring, he refused
to go with him, but declared his determination to remain with the
tribe.
During the few years that he had been among the sons of the forest, he
had most thoroughly imbibed their habits and a strong love for their
wild and romantic life. The chase, the woods, the council-fires and the
wigwams, the canoe and the dance of the squaws, were enchantment to
him, in the enjoyment of which he lost all recollections of home or his
parents; and when his father declared that he would use a parent's
prerogative to force him to accompany him, young Riddle, almost frantic
with despair, called upon his warrior friends to interfere in his
behalf. But the Indians, fearful of the consequences that might result
from any interference of the kind, acknowledged Riddle's right to
reclaim his son, since the red man and the white man had smoked the
pipe of peace. It was, therefore, with great reluctance that John
Riddle prepared to depart immediately. He took a hasty farewell of his
warrior companions, and, mounting behind his father, they turned their
faces toward the valley of the Juniata. Mr. Riddle, with commendable
zeal and a great deal of prudence, put as much ground between him and
the Shawnee village, before nightfall, as possible. He pitched his tent
for the night on the edge of a thicket, and partook of some provisions
which he had in his saddle-bag; and, after talking for an hour or two,
they stretched themselves before the fire to sleep. Young Riddle
appeared resigned, and had even conversed gayly and cheerfully with his
father; but the old man had his misgivings, and he feared that
treachery was hidden beneath this semblance of cheerfulness. The
consequence was that he lay awake for hours; but at length the fatigues
of the day overcame him, and he sank into a deep sleep, from which he
did not awake until the sun was up, and then only to find that his son
had fled! The emotions of a father under such circumstances may be
imagined, but certainly they cannot well be described. A man of less
energy would have given up the object of his mission as hopeless, and
returned home.
Not so, however, with Riddle, for he hastened back to the Indian
village, and asked the Indians sternly for his son. Unused or unwilling
to dissemble, they frankly told him that he was in the council-house,
and demanded their protection; that he had eaten, drank, and smoked,
with the red man, and that he was unwilling to acknowledge a pale-face
as a father or a brother. This highly incensed Riddle, and he declared
that if his son were not delivered up to him, he would bring the forces
from the nearest fort and exterminate them; and, further, that, if any
injury befell him, his friends, who knew his mission, would follow and
avenge him. A council was immediately called, and the subject debated.
The young warriors of the village were determined that young Riddle
should remain among them at all hazards; but the counsel of the older
chiefs, who evidently foresaw what would follow, prevailed, and young
Riddle was again placed in charge of his father. The old man, profiting
by experience, took his son to a frontier fort, and from thence home,
reasoning with him all the way on the folly of adopting the life of a
savage.
Riddle grew to manhood, and reared a large family in Walker township,
all of whom many years ago went to the West. He is represented by Mr.
Banks as having been a quiet and inoffensive man, except when he
accidentally indulged in the too free use of "_fire-water_." It
was then that all the characteristics of the red man manifested
themselves. "On such occasions his eye flashed, and all his actions
betokened the wily savage."
CHAPTER V.
EARLY SETTLERS AT LICKING CREEK--RELICS OF AN INDIAN BATTLE--HOUSE
OF ROBERT CAMPBELL ATTACKED--JAMES CAMPBELL WOUNDED AND TAKEN
PRISONER--SCOUT SENT FROM SHERMAN'S CREEK--ENCOUNTERED INDIANS AT
BUFFALO CREEK--FIVE OF THE SCOUT KILLED, ETC.
The neighborhood of the mouth of Licking Creek was settled about 1750.
The first settler was Hugh Hardy, a Scotch-Irishman, who located about
a mile from the mouth of the creek. He was followed by families named
Castner, Wilson, Law, Scott, Grimes, and Sterrit, all Scotch-Irish, and
the last two traders in Indian goods.
At the time of their advent at Licking Creek, the Indians were
exceedingly friendly, and pointed out to them a famous battle-ground
near the creek. The oral tradition of the battle preserved by them was
as follows:--On the one side of the creek was a village of the
Delawares, on the other a village of the Tuscaroras. Both tribes lived
in harmony--hunted on the same grounds, seated themselves around the
same council-fires, and smoked in common the pipe of peace, and danced
the green-corn dance together beneath the pale rays of the mellow
harvest-moon. These amicable relations might have existed for years,
had not a trivial incident brought about a sad rupture. Some Indian
children at play on the bank of the creek commenced quarrelling about a
grasshopper. High words led to blows. The women of the respective
tribes took up their children's quarrel, and in turn the wives' quarrel
was taken up by the men. A bloody and most sanguinary battle was the
result. The struggle was long and fierce, and hundreds of warriors,
women, and children, fell beneath the deadly tomahawk or by the
unerring arrow. To this day, relics, such as arrow-heads, pipes, and
human bones, are found upon the spot where tradition says the battle
occurred. The "grasshopper war" was long held up by the sachems as a
terrible warning to any tribe about to embroil itself in a bootless
war.
Some historians assert that there was once a fort at the mouth of
Licking Creek, called Fort Campbell, all traces of which are now
obliterated. Such was not the case. Robert Campbell owned the largest
house in the settlement, which was pierced with loopholes for defence
similar to that belonging to Patterson. The settlers had also been
driven away, and had returned to reap their harvest. On the Sabbath
referred to in the preceding chapter, while the harvesters were
gathered in the house of Campbell, and immediately after the massacre
at Patterson's, the same hand of Indians stealthily approached the
house of Campbell and fired a volley at the inmates. Several persons
were wounded, but there is no authentic record of any one being killed.
James Campbell was shot through the wrist, and taken prisoner. He was
taken to the frontier, probably to Lake Erie, and returned in a year or
eighteen months afterward. But the particulars attending his captivity
were never published, neither could we find any person who knew any
thing about the matter further than that he was captured, and returned
again to his home.
Immediately after the Indians had discharged their rifles, one of them
sprang into the house, and with uplifted tomahawk approached a bed on
which a man named George Dodds was resting. Fortunately for Dodds, his
rifle was within reach, which he immediately grasped and fired at the
savage, wounding him in the groin. The Indian retreated, and Dodds made
his way up-stairs, and through an opening in the roof he escaped, went
direct to Sherman's Valley, and spread the alarm.
This same band of marauders proceeded up Tuscarora Valley, laying waste
the country as they went. In the dusk of the evening, they came to the
house of William Anderson. They shot down the old man, who was seated
by the table with the open Bible upon his lap, and also killed and
scalped his son and a young woman--an adopted daughter of Mr. Anderson.
Two brothers named Christy, and a man named Graham, neighbors of Mr.
Anderson, hearing the guns firing, conjectured that the Indians had
attacked him; and, their own means of defence being inadequate, they
fled, and reached Sherman's Valley about midnight. Their arrival spread
new terror, and a volunteer force of twelve men was soon raised to go
over to the valley to succor the settlers. This force consisted of
three brothers named Robinson, John Graham, Charles Elliot, William and
James Christy, Daniel Miller, John Elliot, Edward McConnel, William
McCallister, and John Nicholson.
Fearing that the savages would murder men engaged in harvesting farther
up the valley, they endeavored to intercept them by crossing through
Bigham's Gap early on Monday morning. They had no sooner entered the
valley than they discovered traces of the enemy. Houses were pillaged,
and some razed to the ground. At one place they had killed four hogs
and a number of fowls, which they had roasted by a fire, fared
sumptuously and dined leisurely. At Graham's there were unmistakable
signs that they had been joined by another party, and that the entire
force must number at least twenty-five Indians. From their tracks, too,
it was evident that they had crossed the Tuscarora Mountain by way of
Run Gap. The dread to encounter such a force would have deterred almost
any small body of men; but the Robinsons, who appeared to be leaders of
the party, were bold, resolute back-woodsmen, inured to hardship, toil,
and danger, and, without taking time to reflect, or even debate, upon
the probability of being attacked by the enemy from ambuscade, they
pushed forward rapidly to overtake the savages.
At the cross-roads, near Buffalo Creek, the savages fired upon the
party from an ambuscade of brush, and killed five. William Robinson was
shot in the abdomen with buckshot; still he managed to follow Buffalo
Creek for half a mile. John Elliot, a mere lad of seventeen, discharged
his rifle at an Indian, and then ran. The Indian pursued him, but,
fearing the boy would get off, he dropped his rifle, and followed with
tomahawk alone. Elliot, perceiving this, threw some powder into his
rifle at random, inserted a ball in the muzzle, and pushed it in as far
as he could with his finger; then, suddenly turning around, he shot the
Indian in the breast. The Indian gave a prolonged scream, and returned
in the direction of his band. There is little doubt but that the Indian
was killed; but, agreeably to their custom, his companions either
concealed the body or took it with them.
Elliot went but a short distance before he overtook William Robinson,
who was weltering in his blood upon the ground, and evidently in the
agonies of death. He begged Elliot to carry him off, as he had a great
horror of being scalped. Elliot told him it was utterly impossible for
him to lift him off the ground, much less carry him. Robinson then
said--
"Take my gun, and save yourself. And if ever you have an opportunity to
shoot an Indian with it, _in war or peace_, do so, for my sake."
There is no record of the fact that he obeyed the dying injunction of
his friend; but he did with the rifle what was more glorious than
killing ignorant savages; he carried it for five years in the
Continental army, and battled with it for the freedom of his country.
How many of his Majesty's red-coats it riddled before the flag of
freedom floated over the land, is only known to the God of battles. The
body of Robinson was not found by the Indians.
During the action Thomas Robinson stood still, sheltered by a tree,
until all his companions had fled. He fired a third time, in the act of
which two or three Indians fired, and a bullet shattered his right arm.
He then attempted to escape, but was hotly pursued by the Indians, one
of whom shot him through the side while in the act of stooping to pass
a log. He was found scalped and most shockingly mutilated. John Graham
died while sitting upon a log, a short distance from the scene of
action. Charles Elliot and McConnel escaped, and crossed Buffalo Creek,
but they were overtaken and shot just as they were in the act of
ascending the bank. Their bodies were found in the creek.
These bloody murders caused the greatest alarm in the neighborhood. The
Indians, flushed with success, manifested no disposition to leave; and
the inhabitants of the sparsely-settled country fled toward the lower
end of Sherman's Valley, leaving all behind them. A party of forty men,
armed and organized and well-disciplined, marched in the direction of
the Juniata for the purpose of burying the dead and slaying the
Indians; but when they came to Buffalo Creek, they were so terrified at
the sight of the slaughtered whites and probably exaggerated stories of
the strength of the enemy, that the commander ordered a return. He
called it _prudent_ to retire; some of his men called it _cowardly_.
The name of the valiant captain could not be ascertained.
Captain Dunning went up the valley from Carlisle with a posse,
determined to overtake and punish the savages if possible. Before his
arrival, however, some five or six men conceived the rash idea of
giving the Indians battle, and attacked them while in a barn. The
attack was an exceedingly ill-judged affair, for but few Indians were
wounded, and none killed. They bounded out with great fury, and shot
the entire party but one, who managed to escape. Those who were killed
were Alexander Logan and his son John, Charles Coyle, and William
Hamilton. Bartholomew Davis made his escape, and at Logan's house
overtook Captain Dunning and his command. Judging that the Indians
would visit Logan's for plunder, Captain Dunning ambuscaded his men,
and in a very short time the savages came, boldly, and entirely
unconscious of impending danger. They were greeted by a volley from
Dunning's men, and but a short engagement followed. Three or four
Indians fell at the first fire; and the rest, dismayed, fled in
consternation toward the mountain, and were not pursued.
Thus it will be perceived that a large number of most cruel and
cold-blooded murders were committed by these marauders before they were
checked, simply because in treachery and cunning the white men could
not cope with them.
CHAPTER VI.
TUSCARORA VALLEY--ITS EARLY SETTLERS--ITS MOUNDS AND ITS FORTS--
MASSACRES, ETC.
Tuscarora Path Valley, as it was formerly called, is one of the most
fertile and beautiful within the Juniata range. It embraces an extent
of probably thirty miles in length, beginning in Franklin county, and
ending at the river at Perrysville, in Juniata county. The name of
"Path" was given to it in consequence of the old western Indian path
running through it nearly its entire length.
Tuscarora, in its day, must have been a famous place for the Indians.
Its great natural advantages, and the abundance of game it contained,
must alone have rendered it an attractive place, independent of the
fact that it was the regular highway between the East and the West,
where the warrior, the politician, and the loafer, could lie in the
"Umbrageous grots and caves of cool recess,"
before the wigwam door, and hear from travellers all the news astir
worthy of their profound attention.
Tradition, however, speaks of battles among them; for they would fight
among themselves, and that, too, with all the relentless fury that
characterized their warfare with the whites. But of these battles said
to be fought in the valley the tradition is so vague and unsatisfactory
that we omit any further mention of them.
There are two mounds in the valley,--one of them near its head, the
other some twelve or fourteen miles from its mouth, at or near a place,
we believe, now called Academia. Some persons who examined this mound
about twenty years ago tried to make it appear that it had been
enclosed in a fortification, as they averred that they had discovered
fragments of a wall. This was probably a wrong conclusion, as a
burial-place would not likely be within a fortification. If the mound
was once enclosed within a wall for protection, it was an act that
stands without a parallel in Indian history.
Near the lower mound is an academy; and during the last ten years the
students used their leisure hours in exhuming the bones and searching
for relics, so that by this time, probably, but a mere visible trace of
it is left.
The first settlers in Tuscarora were Samuel Bigham, Robert Hagg, and
James and John Grey,--all Scotch. They came from Cumberland county
about the year 1749, or probably 1750. They were in search of a
location for permanent settlement. The valley pleased them so well that
they immediately staked out farms; and, notwithstanding the Indians of
the valley treated them with apparent hospitality, they took the
precaution to build themselves a fort for defence, which was named
Bigham's Fort. By the year 1754 several other persons had settled in
Tuscarora, among them George Woods and a man named Innis.
Some time in the spring of 1756, John Grey and Innis went to Carlisle
with pack-horses, for the purpose of procuring groceries. On their
return, while descending the mountain, in a very narrow defile, Grey's
horse, frightened at a bear which crossed the road, became unmanageable
and threw him off. Innis, anxious to see his wife and family, went on;
but Grey was detained for nearly two hours in righting his pack. As far
as his own personal safety was concerned, the detention was a
providential one, for he just reached the fort in time to see the last
of it consumed. Every person in it had either been massacred or taken
prisoners by the Indians. He examined the charred remains of the bodies
inside of the fort, but he could find none that he could bring himself
to believe were those of his family. It subsequently appeared that his
wife and his only daughter, three years of age, George Woods, Innis's
wife and three children, and a number of others, had been carried into
captivity. They were taken across the Alleghany to the old Indian town
of Kittaning, and from thence to Fort Duquesne, where they were
delivered over to the French.
Woods was a remarkable man, and lived to a good old age, and figured
somewhat extensively afterward in the history of both Bedford and
Alleghany counties. He took his captivity very little to heart, and
even went so far as to propose marriage to Mrs. Grey while they were
both prisoners in the fort.
The French commander, in apportioning out the prisoners, gave Woods to
an old Indian named John Hutson, who removed him to his own wigwam. But
George proving neither useful nor ornamental to Hutson's establishment,
and as there was no probability of any of his friends paying a ransom
for him--inasmuch as he had neither kith nor kin,--he opened
negotiations with George to let him off. The conditions made and
entered into between the two were that the aforesaid George Woods
should give to the aforesaid John Hutson an annuity of ten pounds of
tobacco, until death should terminate the existence of either of the
parties named. This contract was fulfilled until the massacre of the
Bedford scout, when Harry Woods, a lieutenant of the scout, and son of
George Woods, recognised among the most active of the savages the son
of John Hutson, who used to accompany his father to Bedford, where
Harry Woods had often seen him. It is hardly necessary to add that old
Hutson never called upon Woods after that for his ransom annuity.
Woods was a surveyor by profession, and assisted in laying out the city
of Pittsburg, one of the principal streets of which bears his name, or,
at least, was named after him, notwithstanding it is called "Wood"
instead of Woods street.
Mr. Woods, after he removed to Bedford, became a useful and influential
citizen. He followed his profession, and most of the original surveys
in the upper end of the Juniata Valley were made by him. He reared a
large family, and his descendants are still living. One of his
daughters was married to Ross, who was once a candidate for the office
of governor of the State. He lived to a good old age, and died amid the
deep regrets of a most extended circle of acquaintances.
Mrs. Grey and her daughter were given to some Indians, who took them to
Canada. In the ensuing fall John Grey joined Colonel Armstrong's
expedition against Kittaning, in hopes of recapturing, or at least
gaining some intelligence of, his family. Failing to do this, he
returned home, broken in health and spirits, made his will, and died.
The will divided the farm between his wife and daughter, in case they
returned from captivity. If the daughter did not return, a sister was
to have her half.
About a year after the fort was burnt, Mrs. Grey, through the
connivance of some traders, managed to escape from bondage, and reached
her home in safety, but, unfortunately, was compelled to leave her
daughter behind her. She proved her husband's will and took charge of
the property. The treaty of 1764 brought a large number of captive
children to Philadelphia to be recognised and claimed by their friends.
Mrs. Grey attended, in hopes of finding her child; but she was
unsuccessful. There remained one child unclaimed, about the same age as
Mrs. Grey's; and some person, who evidently knew the provisions of the
will, hinted to her the propriety of taking the child to save the
property. She did so, and in the year 1789, the heirs of the sister,
having received some information as to the identity of the child,
brought suit for the land. The trial was a novel one, and lasted from
1789 to 1834, a period of forty-five years, when it was decided in
favor of the heirs and against the captive.
Innis remained among the Indians until the treaty. His wife escaped a
short time previous. Two of her children she recovered in Philadelphia,
but a third had been drowned by the savages on their way to some place
in Canada. By the exposure it became sick and very weak, and, to rid
themselves of any further trouble with it, they put it under the ice.
When the captive children were at Philadelphia, some person had taken
one of Innis's, and he had considerable difficulty to recover it. Had
it not been for a private mark by which he proved it, the person who
had it in charge would probably never have surrendered it.
The Indians of Tuscarora, before the French war, were on terms of great
intimacy with the whites. They used to meet at the fort, and shoot
mark, and, when out of lead, would go to the mouth of the valley, and
return with lead ore, almost pure. Lead was a valuable article, and
difficult to transport; hence the settlers were anxious to discover the
location of the mine. Many a warrior was feasted and liquored until he
was blind drunk, under a promise of divulging the precise whereabouts
of the lead mine. Its discovery, if it contained any quantity of ore,
would have realized any man a speedy fortune in those days; but, in
spite of Indian promises and the most thorough search for years, the
lead mines of Tuscarora were never found, and probably never will be
until it is occupied by another race of cunning Indians.
The fort burnt down in 1756 was rebuilt some four years afterward,
through the exertions of Ralph Sterrit, an old Indian trader. His son
William was born in Bigham's Fort, and was the first white child born
in Tuscarora Valley. At the time of burning the first fort, Sterrit was
absent with his family.
It is related of Ralph Sterrit, that, one day, while sitting outside of
the second fort, a wayworn Indian came along, who was hungry, thirsty,
and fatigued. Sterrit was a humane man, and called the savage in, gave
him bread and meat, a drink of rum, and some tobacco, and sent him on
his way rejoicing.
The circumstance had entirely passed out of Sterrit's mind, when, one
night in the spring of 1763, when the Indians had again commenced
hostilities, the inmates of the fort were alarmed by a noise at the
gate. Sterrit looked out, and by the light of the moon discovered that
it was an Indian. The alarm was spread, and some of the more impetuous
were for shooting him down as a spy. Sterrit, more cool than the
others, demanded of the Indian his business. The Indian, in few words,
reminded him of the circumstance above narrated, and for the
hospitality extended to him he had come to warn the white man of
impending danger. He said that the Indians were as "plenty as pigeons
in the woods," and that even then they had entered the valley, and,
before another moon, would be at the fort, carrying with them the firm
determination to murder, scalp, and burn, all the whites in their path.
The alarm was sounded, and it was soon determined, in consequence of
the weakness of the fort, to abandon it. Nearly all the settlers of the
valley were in it; but the number stated by the savage completely
overawed them, so that they set to work immediately packing upon horses
their most valuable effects, and long before daylight were on their way
to Cumberland county.
The Indians came next night, and, after reconnoitering for a long time,
approached the fort, which, much to their astonishment, they found
evacuated. However, to show the settlers that they had been there, they
burnt down the fort, and, on a cleared piece of ground in front of it,
they laid across the path a war-club painted red--a declaration of war
to the death against the whites.
The benevolent act of Sterrit, in relieving the weary and hungry
Indian, was the means of saving the lives of eighty persons.
CHAPTER VII.
FORT GRANVILLE--OLD INDIAN TOWN--THE EARLY SETTLERS--CAPTAIN
JACOBS--ASSAULT ON AND CAPTURE OF THE FORT.
Previous to the settlement by the whites, the flat on which the eastern
part of Lewistown now stands was an Indian town of considerable
importance. It was the outlet of a large and fertile valley, through
which ran a north-western Indian path, and in which dwelt five or six
tribes, who found this the natural outlet to the Juniata. The
council-house stood upon the east side of the creek, near its mouth,
and the line of wigwams stretched toward the north.
The first white settlers in this neighborhood came from the
Conecocheague, by way of Aughwick. They consisted of Arthur Buchanan
and his two sons, and three other families, all Scotch-Irish. Buchanan
was a man of great energy, and very fond of roving in the woods, far
from the haunts of men. He was the master-spirit of the party, and with
great self-reliance pitched his tent opposite the Indian village, on
the west bank of the creek. He then called upon the Indians, and
signified his intention to purchase land. They were at first unwilling
to sell; but Captain Jacobs, (as Buchanan christened the chief, in
consequence of his close resemblance to a burly German in Cumberland
county,) who was the head chief, having been liberally plied with
liquor, decided that Buchanan should have the much-coveted land. What
was paid for it never transpired, but it is more than probable that the
remainder of the contents of Buchanan's rum-keg, a few trinkets, and
some tobacco, made him owner of the soil. This was in 1754.
Captain Jacobs had always professed great friendship toward the British
colonists; but he was among the very first won over by the French. He
became very much dissatisfied with Buchanan, more especially as the
latter had induced a number of his friends and acquaintances to come
there and settle. By this means the lands of Jacobs were encroached
upon, which greatly roused his temper; and one day, without deigning to
give an explanation of any kind, the Indians destroyed their town and
left. This was a movement the settlers did not understand; neither did
they like it, for it seemed to forebode no good. After a very brief
consultation among them, they resolved forthwith to build a fort for
protection. They had for a time noticed a growing coldness on the part
of Jacobs and his warriors, and, fearful that they might come down the
valley, joined by other bands, and massacre the people, Fort Granville
was erected with as much despatch as possible. It was located about a
mile above Lewistown, in order to be near a large spring. Contrary to
expectations, the Indians did not come, and things generally prospered
about Fort Granville settlement during the summer and winter of 1755.
In the spring of 1756 the Indians made their appearance in
Kishicoquillas Valley, in considerable numbers; and parties of roving
tribes in search of scalps and plunder, emboldened by the success of
the French and Indians the year previous, sometimes came down to the
mouth of the creek, but, unable to ascertain the power of resistance
concentrated within the fort, they never made an attack upon it. These
incursions, however, became so frequent, that in the summer of 1756 the
settlers only left the fort when necessity demanded it. Finally, succor
reached them in July. The government despatched Lieutenant Armstrong
from Cumberland county with a militia force to protect them while
engaged in taking in their harvest, and, directly after his arrival,
hearing of the exposed condition of the people in Tuscarora, Armstrong
sent a portion of his command, with Lieutenant Faulkner, in order to
guard them while reaping their grain.
In the absence of the latter, on or about the 22d of July, (the Indians
having ascertained the strength of the garrison,) some sixty or seventy
warriors, painted and equipped for battle, appeared before the fort and
insolently challenged the settlers to combat. The commander pretended
to treat the challenge with contempt, though in truth he was
considerably alarmed at the prospect of an attack. The Indians fired at
one man, and wounded him. He happened to be outside, but got into the
fort without sustaining any serious injury. The Indians divided
themselves into small parties and started off in different directions.
One of these parties killed a man named Baskins, a short distance from
the river, burnt his house, and carried his wife and children into
captivity. Another party took Hugh Carrol and his family prisoners.
On the 30th of July, Captain Edward Ward had command of Fort Granville,
with a company regularly enlisted and in the pay of the province. He
went, with all of his men but twenty-four, to Sherman's Valley, to
protect the settlers while harvesting. The enemy soon ascertained this,
and on the first of August, according to the affidavit of John Hogan,
then and there taken prisoner, (Colonial Records, vol. vii. p. 561,)
one hundred Indians and fifty Frenchmen made an attack upon the fort.
They assaulted the works during the entire afternoon and part of the
night without gaining any advantage. About midnight the enemy got below
the bank of the river, and by a deep ravine they approached close
enough to the fort to set fire to it before they were observed. The
fire soon spread, and through an aperture made the Indians shot
Lieutenant Armstrong, and wounded some two or three others who were
endeavoring to put out the fire. The French commander ordered a
suspension of hostilities, and offered quarter to all who would
surrender, on several occasions; but Armstrong would not surrender on
any condition. He was certainly a brave man, and held out nobly almost
against hope. Peter Walker, who was in the fort at the time and taken
prisoner, after his escape from Kittaning gave an account of the
capture of the fort to General John Armstrong. He said that "of the
enemy not less than one hundred and twenty returned, all in health,
except one Frenchman, shot through the shoulder by Lieutenant
Armstrong, a little before his death, as the Frenchman was erecting his
body out of the hollow to throw pine-knots on the fire made against the
fort; and of this number there were about a dozen of French, who had
for their interpreter one McDowell, a Scotchman."
There appears to be a discrepancy between the statements of Hogan and
Walker in regard to the number engaged in the assault, but it is quite
likely that the latter's estimate is correct.
General Armstrong, in his letter to Robert Hunter Morris, goes on to
say:--
This McDowell told Walker they designed very soon to attack Fort
Shirley with four hundred men. Captain Jacobs said he could take
any fort that would catch fire, and would make peace with the
English when they had learned him to make gunpowder. McDowell told
Walker they had two Indians killed in the engagement; but Captains
Armstrong and Ward, whom I ordered on their march to Fort Shirley
to examine every thing at Granville and send a list of what
remained among the ruins, assure me that they found some parts of
eight of the enemy burnt, in two different places, the joints of
them being scarcely separated; and part of their shirts found,
through which there were bullet-holes. To secrete these from the
prisoners was doubtless the reason why the French officer marched
our people some distance from the fort before he gave orders to
burn the barracks, &c. Walker says that some of the Germans flagged
very much on the second day, and that the lieutenant behaved with
the greatest bravery to the last, despising all the terrors and
threats of the enemy whereby they often urged him to surrender.
Though he had been near two days without water, but little
ammunition left, the fort on fire, and the enemy situate within
twelve or fourteen yards of the fort, under the natural bank, he
was as far from yielding as when at first attacked. A Frenchman in
our service, fearful of being burned up, asked leave of the
lieutenant to treat with his countrymen in the French language. The
lieutenant answered, "The first word of French you speak in this
engagement, I'll blow your brains out!" telling his men to hold out
bravely, for the flame was falling, and he would soon have it
extinguished; but he soon after received the fatal ball. Col. Rec.,
vol. vii. p. 232.
Directly after Armstrong fell, a man named Turner opened the gates and
admitted the enemy. A soldier named Brandon, who had been shot through
the knee, approached the French, told them he was a Roman Catholic, and
would go with them. His faith, however, availed him little; for, as
soon as it was discovered that he was not in marching condition, one of
the Indians clove his skull with a tomahawk.
The soldiers, who loved their lieutenant, asked permission to bury him;
but the inhuman French officer refused, although they offered to do it
in a very few minutes where they had raised clay to stay the progress
of the flames.
The Indians were under the command of Captain Jacobs and Shingas, but
the name of the gallant French officer has not been preserved.
The prisoners taken were twenty-two soldiers, three women, and several
children. For fear of being overtaken by the provincial forces, they
made forced marches to Kittaning. When they arrived there, they pitched
upon Turner to make a terrible example of. In front of the
council-house they planted a stake painted black, and to this they tied
him; and, after having heated several old gun-barrels red-hot, they
danced around him, and, every minute or two, seared and burned his
flesh. Without knowing but what such might be their own fate, the
prisoners were compelled to look at the heart-rending sight, and listen
to the shrieks and groans of the victim, without daring to utter a
word. After tormenting him almost to death, the Indians scalped him,
and then held up an Indian lad, who ended his sufferings by laying open
his skull with a hatchet.
Some of the prisoners made their escape, and others were restored to
their friends; but some few of the soldiers were never heard of again,
having probably shared the fate of Turner.
One of the prisoners, named Girty, returned in a wounded condition.
When he escaped, he was followed by two Indians to the head-waters of
Blacklick, where they attempted to re-capture him; but in the fight
that followed he slew one of the Indians, and the other ran. He scalped
the one he killed, and took his scalp to Aughwick. The women and
children were recovered, by the first exchange of prisoners that took
place, in 1757.
CHAPTER VIII.
ORGANIZATION OF MIFFLIN COUNTY--DISPUTE WITH HUNTINGDON COUNTY ABOUT
THE BOUNDARY LINE--RIOT IN LEWISTOWN, ETC.
[NOTE.--It was not the author's original intention to publish any
thing of modern occurrence in the Juniata Valley, but to confine
himself exclusively to its early history; but several friends in
Lewistown made a particular request that we should insert an
account of the dispute arising from the boundary question, and the
riot of 1791. The latter has been repeatedly published. Still, as
it occurred sixty-four years ago, and few, if any, living witnesses
of the occurrence are to be found, it may be as well to preserve
the record.]
Shortly after Mifflin county was formed, in 1789, an attempt was made
to run the boundary line,--a proceeding which gave rise to great
excitement and came very near ending in riot and bloodshed. The bone of
contention was a strip of disputed territory claimed by both Huntingdon
and Mifflin counties; and we are under the impression that a majority
of those residing in the territory in dispute favored the Mifflin
county cause. They were mostly Irish; and, since the wars were over and
no enemy to fight, were ever ready, with true Irish _hospitality_,
to take a brush with their neighbors. Accordingly, when the sheriff of
Huntingdon came into the disputed territory to serve a process upon a
man, a party congregated at an Irish tavern, and, lying in wait for the
sheriff, arrested and carried him to Lewistown and committed him to
jail. He sued out a _habeas corpus_, and the judge discharged him.
Filled with wrath, the sheriff went home swearing vengeance. He soon
summoned a posse in Huntingdon, for the avowed purpose of taking his
man at all hazards, and proceeded to the disputed territory. The
people, aware of his coming, fired signal guns, and soon met in great
numbers. The sheriff and his posse fortunately took a different route,
which alone prevented riot and bloodshed. The boundary question was
soon after settled amicably.
[Illustration: SCENE ON THE RIVER BELOW M'VEYTOWN.]
The riot of 1791, however, was a more serious affair. It will be
remembered that in those days the military spirit in the Juniata Valley
ran very high, though we are free to acknowledge that it has sadly
degenerated since then. A gentleman named Bryson had been appointed an
Associate Judge by the governor. Previous to his appointment, he held
the office of Brigade Inspector; and, in his official capacity, refused
to commission two colonels elected by their regiments, but in their
stead commissioned two men of his own selection. This he had a right to
do under the existing militia law; nevertheless, the men composing the
regiments looked upon it as a most unwarrantable assumption of power in
thus setting at defiance the expressed will of the majority, and they
resolved that Judge Bryson should not enjoy his office. The following
copy of a letter published in a paper in York, Pennsylvania, from the
district attorney, is a full history of the case:
On Monday, the 12th of September, 1791, the Hon. W. Brown, James
Bryson, and James Armstrong, Esquires, met in the fore-noon, in
order to open the court and proceed to business; but Thomas Beale,
Esq., one of the associate judges, not having arrived, their honors
waited until three o'clock in the afternoon; at which time he
arrived, and was requested to proceed with them and the officers of
the court to the court-house. He declined going, and the procession
moved on to the court-house, where the judges' commissions were
read, the court opened, and the officers and the attorneys of the
court sworn in, and the court adjourned till ten o'clock next
morning.
About nine o'clock, while preparing business to lay before the
grand-jury, I received information that a large body of men were
assembled below the Long Narrows, at David Jordan's tavern, on the
Juniata, and were armed with guns, swords, and pistols, with an
avowed intention to proceed to Lewistown and seize Judge Bryson on
the bench, and drag him from his seat, and march him off before
them, and otherwise ill-treat him. This information was instantly
communicated to Messrs. Brown, Bryson, and Armstrong, the judges,
who agreed with me that Samuel Edminton, Esq., the prothonotary,
Judge Beale, ---- Stewart, Esq., ---- Bell, Esq., should, with
George Wilson, Esq., the sheriff of Mifflin county, proceed and
meet the rioters. And the sheriff was commanded to inquire of them
their object and intention; and, if hostile, to order them to
disperse, and tell them that the court was not alarmed at their
proceedings.
Two hours after this the court opened, and a grand-jury was
impanelled. A fife was heard playing, and some guns fired, and
immediately the mob appeared, marching toward the court-house, with
three men on horseback in front, having the gentlemen that had been
sent to meet them under guard in the rear; all of whom, on their
arrival at Lewistown, they permitted to go at large, except the
sheriff, whom four of their number kept a guard over. The court
ordered me, as the representative of the commonwealth, to go and
meet them, remonstrate against their proceedings, and warn them of
their danger; which order was obeyed. But all endeavors were in
vain, the mob crying out, "March on! march on! draw your sword on
him! ride over him!" I seized the reins of the bridle that the
principal commander held, viz., ---- Wilson, Esq., brother of the
sheriff aforesaid, who was well mounted and well dressed, with a
sword, and, I think, two pistols belted around him; a cocked-hat,
and one or two feathers in it. He said he would not desist, but at
all events proceed and take Judge Bryson off the bench, and march
him down to the Narrows, to the judge's farm, and make him sign a
written paper that he would never sit there as a judge again.
The mob still crying out, "March on! march on!" he drew his sword,
and told me he must hurt me unless I would let go the reins. The
crowd pushed forward and nearly pressed me down; one of them, as I
learned afterward, a nephew of Judge Beale, presented his pistol at
my breast, with a full determination to shoot me. I let the reins
go, and walked before them until I arrived at the stairs on the
outside of the court-house, when Judge Armstrong met me, and said,
"Since nothing else will do, let us defend the stairs." We
instantly ascended, and Mr. Hamilton, and the gentlemen of the bar,
and many citizens; and the rioters, headed by William Wilson,
Colonel Walker, and Colonel Holt, came forward, and the general cry
was, "March on, damn you; proceed and take him!" Judge Armstrong
replied, "You damned rascals, come on; we will defend the court and
ourselves; and before you shall take Judge Bryson you shall kill me
and many others, which seems to be your intention, and which you
may do!" At this awful moment, one Holt seized Judge Armstrong by
the arm with intent to pull him down the stairs, but he extricated
himself. Holt's brother then got a drawn sword and put it into his
hands, and damned him to run the rascal through; and Wilson drew
his sword on me with great rage, and young Beale his sword, and
cocked his pistol, and presented it. I told them they might kill
me, but the judge they could not, nor should they take him; and the
words "fire away!" shouted through the mob. I put my hand on his
shoulder, and begged him to consider where he was, who I was, and
reflect but for a moment. I told him to withdraw the men, and
appoint any two or three of the most respectable of his people to
meet me in half an hour and try to settle the dispute. He agreed,
and with difficulty got them away from the court-house. Mr.
Hamilton then went with me to Mr. Alexander's tavern, and in Wilson
and Walker came, and also Sterrett; who I soon discovered to be
their chief counsellor.
Proposals were made by me that they should return home, offer no
insult to Judge Bryson or the court, and prefer to the governor a
decent petition, stating their grievances, (if they had any,) that
might be laid before the legislature; and that, in the mean time,
the judge should not sit on the bench of this court. They seemed
agreed, and our mutual honor to be pledged; but Sterrett, who
pretended not to be concerned, stated that great delay would take
place, that injuries had been received which demanded instant
redress, and objected to the power of the governor as to certain
points proposed. At this moment young Beale and Holt came up, the
former with arms, and insisted on Wilson's joining them, and broke
up the conference. I followed, and on the field, among the rioters,
told Wilson, "Your object is that Judge Bryson leave the bench and
not sit on it this court." He and Walker said "Yes." "Will you
promise to disperse and go home, and offer him no insult?" He said,
"Yes;" and our mutual honor was then pledged for the performance of
this agreement.
Mr. Hamilton proceeded to the court, told the judge, and he left
his seat and retired. I scarce had arrived until the fife began to
play, and the whole of the rioters came on to the court-house, then
headed by Wilson. I met them at the foot of the stairs, and told
them the judge was gone, in pursuance of the agreement, and charged
them with a breach of the word and forfeiture of honor; and Walker
said it was so, but he could not prevail on them. Wilson said he
would have the judge, and attempted going up the stairs. I
prevented him, and told him he should not, unless he took off his
military accoutrements. He said he had an address to present, and
complied with my request, and presented it, signed "The People."
Young Beale, at the moment I was contending with Wilson, cocked and
presented his pistol at my breast, and insisted that Wilson and all
of them should go; but on my offering to decide it by combat with
him, he declined it; and by this means they went off swearing, and
said that they were out-generalled.
The next day, Colonel M'Farland, with his regiment, came down and
offered to defend the court, and addressed it; the court answered,
and stated that there was no occasion, and thanked him.
Judge Bryson read a paper, stating the ill-treatment he received,
and mentioned that no fear of danger prevented him from taking and
keeping his seat; but that he understood an engagement had been
entered into by his friends that he should not, and on that account
only he was prevented. The court adjourned until two o'clock that
day, and were proceeding to open it, with the sheriff, coroner, and
constable in front, when they observed that Judge Beale was at the
house of one Con. They halted, and requested the sheriff to wait on
him and request him to walk with them. He returned, and said the
judge would not walk or sit with Bryson, and addressed Judge Bryson
with warmth, who replied to it in a becoming manner. The sheriff
struck at him, and kicked also. Judge Armstrong seized the sheriff,
and commanded the peace, and took the sheriff's rod from him; the
coroner took his place, and the sheriff was brought up before the
court. I moved he might be committed to gaol; and his mittimus
being written and signed, the court ordered the coroner and gaoler
to take him, and he submitted. The court adjourned. After night the
drum beat, and Holt collected about seventy men, who repeatedly
huzzaed, crying out "liberty or death;" and he offered to rescue
the sheriff, but the sheriff refused. At ten o'clock at night I was
informed expresses were sent down the Narrows, to collect men to
rescue the sheriff, and Major Edmiston informed me he was sorry for
his conduct, and offered to beg the court's pardon and to enter
into recognisance. I communicated this to the Judges Brown and
Armstrong, and requested they would write to the gaoler to permit
him to come down. They did, and the sheriff came with Major
Edmiston, begged pardon of every member of the court but Judge
Bryson, who was not present, and entered into recognisance to
appear at next sessions.
The next day near three hundred were assembled below the Narrows,
and I prevailed on some gentlemen to go down and disperse them; and
upon being assured the sheriff was out of gaol, they returned to
their respective homes, and the court have finished all business.
Nothing further requiring the attendance of the grand-jury, the
court dismissed them and broke up. I must not omit to inform that
Judge Beale had declared, during the riot, in court, that he would
not sit on the bench with Judge Bryson, and that both he and said
Stewart appeared to countenance the rioters, and are deeply
concerned.
I must now close the narrative with saying that, owing to the
spirit and firmness of Judge Armstrong and the whole of the bar, I
was enabled to avert the dreadful blow aimed at Judge Bryson, and
to keep order and subordination in court; and unless the most
vigorous measures are exerted soon, it will be impossible ever to
support the laws of the State in that county, or punish those who
dare transgress.
The excise law is execrated by the banditti; and, from every
information, I expect the collection of the revenue will be
opposed.
I am happy to add, the dispute, which originated by a mistake,
between Huntingdon and Mifflin counties, is happily closed in the
most amicable manner, without any prosecution in Mifflin.
I am, sir, your most obedient,
JOHN CLARK, Dy. St. Attorney.
_To_ THOMAS SMITH, _Esq., President of the Court of Mifflin
county._
The following is another account of the affair, and evidently written
by a friend of the offending judge:--
_Carlisle, September 21._
At a period when the general voice of the people proclaims the
excellence of the Federal Government, and the State of Pennsylvania
in particular is anticipating every blessing from a Constitution so
conformable to it, an alarming sedition, together with a most
daring turbulent temper, has unhappily manifested itself in the
county of Mifflin.
The Governor has lately appointed Samuel Bryson, Esquire, second
Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of that county. This
gentleman, having been Lieutenant of the county of Mifflin, had
excited the determined enmity of two men who were ambitious of
being colonels of militia, and against the commissioning of whom
(as unfit persons) Mr. Bryson, as County Lieutenant, had made
representations. Enraged at the promotion of Judge Bryson, and
unhappily yielding to the impulse of the most unjustifiable
passions, one William Wilson, brother to the sheriff of Mifflin
county, and one David Walker, levied a considerable force, and
marched at the head of about forty armed men, with a fife playing,
to Lewistown, with the avowed determination to seize upon the
person of Judge Bryson whilst on the bench, drag him from thence,
oblige him to resign his commission, and compel him to march many
miles along the rugged Narrows of Juniata River.
Secresy marked this unexampled treasonable riot. It was not known
at Lewistown until about an hour before the insurgents appeared.
Justice Stuart, who had been lately commissioned, and who is a very
worthy man, had been imprisoned in the morning by four men who
belonged to the party of the rioters. They attempted to make him
engage his word that he would not give information; but he refused.
Ignorant of the private movers of this daring and turbulent
procedure, it was agreed by Judges Brown and Armstrong, and other
gentlemen, to request the sheriff of the county and Judge Beale,
who were presumed to have influence over them, together with the
prothonotary of the county, to represent the illegality and
imprudence of their conduct, and prevail on them if possible, to
return. No advantage has been derived from this step. Mr. Edmiston,
the prothonotary, was insulted; the sheriff was taken into a mock
imprisonment; and Judge Beale soon after adopted a part which
evinced that little real exertion could have been expected from him
in quieting this disturbance.
The court was sitting when this armed force, levying war against
the State, with a fife playing, marched resolutely forward. At this
juncture Judge Bryson asked Judge Beale if it was not likely they
would stop; to which the other replied that they never would whilst
such a rascal sat upon the bench.
Mr. Clark and Mr. Hamilton, two attorneys of the court, at the
desire of some of the judges, remonstrated with Mr. Wilson, who was
on horseback and within a few paces of the court-house, at the head
of the troops, respecting his conduct. Mr. Wilson was dressed in a
military style, with a cockade in his hat, and was armed with a
horseman's sword and pistols. He declared his intention was to
oblige Mr. Bryson to resign his commission and go down the Narrows
with him and his men. He was warned by the gentlemen of the danger
of the attempt; he observed that nothing would divert him from his
purpose, and immediately drew his sword and marched to storm the
court-room, where Judge Armstrong and others were stationed at the
door. The two gentlemen who had addressed Wilson ran to the steps
in front of the force, where they found a number of persons on the
stairs. The rioters followed, with a cry of "Liberty or Death!" Mr.
Armstrong halloed out repeatedly, "Villains, come on, but you shall
first march over my dead body before you enter." This resolution,
seconded by the circumstance of the gentlemen above mentioned, and
a number of other persons, keeping their ground on the stairs,
(although once or twice some called to the rioters to fire,) seemed
to stagger the resolution of Wilson. At this moment a gentleman
proposed to him that if he would disarm, he might have admittance
into the court-room. To this he seemed immediately to accede. The
troops were filed off to a short distance. It was then agreed that
a meeting should take place in half an hour with the leaders of the
party. Messrs. Clark and Hamilton, with the assent of some members
of the court, met Messrs. William Wilson, David Walker, and William
Sterrett, who appeared on behalf of the rioters. Entertaining hopes
of preserving the person of Mr. Bryson from injury, it was thought
prudent to promise, if the party would disperse, that Mr. Bryson
would not sit during that week on the bench. During this
conference, Mr. Wilson offered no other charge against Mr. Bryson
but what respected the militia commissions for him and Mr. Walker;
but it was not until after much discourse that the leaders of the
troops could be convinced that an extorted resignation would not
avail. When they saw the futility of this idea, it was long
insisted that Mr. Bryson should go with them down the Narrows.
Mr. Wilson, in contravention of the agreement, marched the troops
to the court-house. In the meantime, Judge Bryson had sent for a
horse and effected his escape. It was then Mr. William Sterrett
exclaimed, with an oath, "We are out-generalled!"
An address was presented by Mr. Wilson to the court, who went in
unarmed, signed "The People." It was in the handwriting, as is
supposed, of Mr. Sterrett. It congratulated the other judges upon
their appointments, but mentioned and avowed their design in coming
armed to the court to force the dismission of Judge Bryson. Mr.
Beale, one of the most active of the rioters, armed with a sword
and pistols slung around him, wished to force his way into the
court-room, but was prevented by Mr. Clark. Four armed men
surrounded the person of the sheriff. Under this delusive
imprisonment, all intercourse of conversation with him was
prohibited. In the evening, the rioters departed in a turbulent,
straggling manner, generally intoxicated. At night, one Corran, who
had been very active in raising men, was drowned, together with his
horse, in a mill-dam, about one mile and a half from the town.
About twelve or one o'clock the next day, Judge Bryson returned.
Soon afterward, Col. James McFarland, with about seventy militia on
horseback, appeared in support of the court and the laws. At three
o'clock, Judges Brown, Bryson, and Armstrong, preceded by the
sheriff, prepared to open the court. The sheriff was sent with a
message to Judge Beale, informing him that the judges waited for
him to join them in proceeding to the court-house. His reply was
that he would not go whilst Mr. Bryson was with them. The judges
had not walked more than a few paces, followed by the attorneys and
citizens, when the sheriff, with his rod of office in his hand,
suddenly stopped, and demanded of Mr. Bryson if he had said any
thing injurious of him. Mr. Bryson made a very moderate reply;
notwithstanding, he was immediately assaulted by the sheriff, and
received a kick in the same leg which had been shattered by a ball
at the battle of Germantown. The sheriff was immediately taken into
custody. The coroner received the sheriff's rod, and undertook to
go before the judges to court. There the sheriff refused to give
any recognisance for his appearance at the next court, and was
therefore committed to jail.
Colonel McFarland presented an address to the judges on behalf of
himself and the militia under his command, mentioning his
abhorrence of the proceedings which had taken place, and offering,
at the hazard of their lives, to protect the court. To which the
following answer was returned:--
"The judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county of Mifflin
are very sensible of the laudable zeal of Colonel McFarland and the
militia now under arms, subject to his command, in support of the
laws and government of Pennsylvania, and particularly for the
purpose of protecting this court from injury and insult. They trust
that the daring mob who, being armed, assembled yesterday and
assaulted the court, threatening the lives of the members, are now
too conscious of the magnitude of their offence and the spirit of
the citizens of this county to repeat their attack. Measures are
preparing to vindicate the dignity of our insulted laws, and to
bring to a just punishment the atrocious offenders and their
abettors, who have brought disgrace upon the county and trampled
upon the most sacred rights of the community. The court, therefore,
sir, return you thanks for the support which you and the militia
under your command have with so much alacrity brought to the aid of
the administration of justice in this county; but being of opinion
that all danger from these infatuated men has ceased, we do not
think it necessary that your attendance should be longer
continued."
After which Judge Bryson, standing at the bar, spoke the following
words:--
"Fellow-citizens:--It is not my intention to resume my seat on the
bench during this term. I do not decline it from any apprehension
of the mob who yesterday assaulted the court and marked me for
their vengeance. Supported by my country, by every virtuous
citizen, and a consciousness of my integrity, I have nothing to
fear; but understanding that some gentlemen, anxious for my
personal safety, entered into an engagement with the leaders of the
banditti that I should not sit as judge during this court, my
respect for these gentlemen is my sole and only motive for making
this declaration."
Colonel McFarland, after this, thanked the militia in the following
terms:--
"Colonel McFarland returns his thanks to the militia of his
regiments who now attend in support of the laws of their country.
He is particularly indebted to Captain Robert Johnston and Captain
John Brown, for their extraordinary vigilance in collecting the men
of their respective companies upon a notice given to them so late
as last night after twelve o'clock. He has no doubt but that the
same zeal which has distinguished the militia under his command
upon this occasion will always be as honorably manifested, should
this county ever be so unhappy as to be disgraced by a similar
necessity."
Soon after which, the militia, having been discharged by the court,
returned home.
The evening of the day was replete with alarms. One Holt, who
thought he had cause of complaint respecting a militia commission,
assembled a body of men to the amount of about forty. They paraded
a considerable time with sound of drum. At length, at eight
o'clock, they appeared before the prison-door, with an intention to
break it and enlarge the sheriff. Mr. Sterrett then appeared, and
informed them that the sheriff thanked his friends for their
intention to serve him, but this is not a proper period; or words
to that effect.
About nine o'clock, several persons, having long applied to the
sheriff without success, prevailed on him at length to give a
recognisance to appear at the next court to answer for the assault
and battery on Judge Bryson. Happily, the sheriff, in this
instance, relinquished a system which was collecting new horrors
and threatened to involve in new scenes of guilt a number of the
inhabitants. Great numbers in Tuscarora Valley and its vicinity
prepared the following day to march and liberate the sheriff, and
probably to demolish the court-house and prison. The news of his
release arrived in time to stop the progress of those infatuated
men, who appear to have lost sight of the social compact, and whose
felicity seems to lie in scenes of tumult, disorder, and
licentiousness. It is to be hoped, however, that government, when
it comes to enforce the laws, will contemplate the ignorance and
delusion of these unfortunate men, and that mercy will so far
temper the prosecution as that it will not be extended to a capital
charge; yet it is indispensably necessary that they be taught that
genuine liberty consists in the power of doing every thing which is
not prohibited by the laws, and that the exercise of an unbounded
licentiousness which threatens the dissolution of society itself
must receive a punishment in some degree commensurate to the
greatness of the offence.
How far Mr. Bryson's representations to the governor against
Messrs. Wilson, Walker, and Holt, have been founded in a just
estimate of the characters of these men, cannot be elucidated here;
but it would appear to afford the highest evidence of its propriety
that they were the principals in this most unexampled riot.
CHAPTER IX.
KISHICOQUILLAS VALLEY--THE SHAWNEE CHIEF KISHICOKELAS--THE MINGO
CHIEF LOGAN.
Among the many valleys composing the Juniata Valley, or, indeed, among
all the fine and productive valleys of the State, few, if any, can
surpass Kishicoquillas. Its outlet is at Lewistown, from whence it
stretches west a distance of nearly thirty miles, varying in breadth
from two to four miles.
After the treaty of Fort Stanwix, the whites returned to the
neighborhood of Granville, and some of them commenced exploring the
valley. The land was then included in what was termed the new purchase,
and was in the market. The land-office was opened in 1769, and the
first actual settler in the valley was Judge Brown.
Old Kishicokelas was a Shawnee chief, on terms of friendship with the
whites. With the Buchanans he was very intimate, and gave them early
intimation of the impending danger, which enabled them to escape. While
the Delawares and most of his own tribe went over to the French in a
body, Kishicokelas remained loyal to the proprietary government; and,
although they made him splendid offers at the time they corrupted
Jacobs, he rejected them all, and declared that no earthly
consideration could induce him to lift the hatchet against the sons of
Onas.
It is to be regretted that historians never made mention of
Kishicokelas, except incidentally. He was the fast friend of the old
chief Shickalemy, who resided at Fort Augusta, and it is probable that
he was converted by some of the Moravian missionaries. He died in 1756,
as appears by a letter directed to his sons, as follows:--
"_Philadelphia, June 13, 1756._
"I am obliged to you for your letter by our good friend, John
Shickcalamy. Your father's letter and present were received by the
late Governor Hamilton, who acquainted me with it; and I intended,
at a time when less engaged by public business, to have sent you my
acknowledgments and answer.
"I heartily condole with you on the loss of your aged father, and
mingle my tears with yours, which however I would now have you wipe
away with the handkerchief herewith sent.
"As a testimony of love the proprietors and this government retain
for the family of Kishycoquillas, you will be pleased to accept of
the present which is delivered to John Shickcalamy for your use.
"May the Great Spirit confer on you health and every other
blessing. Continue your affection for the English and the good
people of this province, and you will always find them grateful.
"I am your assured friend,
"ROBERT H. MORRIS."
Soon after the treaty at Albany,--probably in 1755,--settlers, who had
heard of the beauty and fertility of Kishicoquillas Valley, flocked
thither for the purpose of locating lands. Few locations, however, were
effected, for the Indians of the valley, with the exception of the
chief Kishicokelas and his immediate followers, were opposed to it, and
threw every obstacle, short of downright murder, in the way of the
new-comers. There is no positive evidence that any murders were
committed in Kishicoquillas at that period, but the savages certainly
did every thing in their power to menace and harass the settlers, in
order to induce them to relinquish the design of settling upon what
they still considered their lands. The following letter from Colonel
Armstrong to Governor Morris gives some information of the trials these
early settlers were subjected to:--
"_Carlisle, May 26, 1755._
"This day I received a letter from my brother, who is laying out
lands for the settlers in the new purchase, giving an account of
three Indians, very much painted, who last week robbed and drove
off several settlers from the Valley of Kishicoquillas. One of the
Indians, by his skulking position, seemed as if he designed
secretly to have shot, but, the white man discovering him, escaped.
They took three horses, three or four guns, and some cash. 'Tis
said they robbed another man up Juniata.
"To-morrow I am to set out for Kishicoquillas, there to decide some
controversies, and thence to proceed to Susquehanna, near Shamokin,
where I expect to meet Conrad Weiser. If he is there, he may, by
the assistance of the Shickcalamies, be of use in regard to those
robberies.
"I am, sir, yours, &c.,
"JOHN ARMSTRONG."
Colonel Armstrong did go to Shamokin, where he met Shickalemy, and
induced him to use his influence in behalf of the settlers in the new
purchase; but Shickalemy's labors were lost, for he could effect
nothing among the savages of Kishicoquillas, and the settlers were
forced to fly for protection to Fort Granville; nor did they or any
other whites venture into the valley until some time in 1765.
Shickalemy, or Shickellimus, as he was sometimes called, was a Cayuga
chief, of the Six Nations, and for many years resided at Fort Augusta,
on the Susquehanna, where Sunbury now stands. He was converted to
Christianity by the Moravian missionaries about 1742, and was, to the
day of his death, the firm and steadfast friend of the English
colonists. To his exertions, in a great measure, may be traced the
cause why none of the Six Nations on the Susquehanna joined the French,
and why a portion of the Delawares spurned the most tempting offers of
the French agents and remained loyal to the colonists.
Shickalemy attended numerous treaties in Philadelphia, during which he
was kindly entertained by James Logan, the secretary of the province.
The chief esteemed him so highly that he named his second son after
him, on his return from one of these treaties, and immediately had him,
as well as two other sons, baptized with Christian rites by the
Moravians.
In 1755, Shickalemy paid a visit to the old chief Kishicokelas, for the
purpose of adopting some conciliatory measures to prevent the Indians
of the valley from committing depredations upon the settlers. On this
occasion he was accompanied by his sons, John and James Logan. The
latter, probably charmed with the beauty of the valley, soon after the
demise of Kishicokelas settled in the valley which bore the name of his
father's friend. He built himself a cabin (not a wigwam) by the side of
a fine limestone spring, whose pure waters gushed out of a small
hill-side in the very heart of the valley, where his sole pursuit was
hunting. This was Logan, the Mingo chief, whose name is perpetuated by
counties, towns, townships, valleys, paths, mountains, and even hotels,
and which will live in history, probably, to the end of time.
There is no evidence that he had a family at the time he resided in
Kishicoquillas; neither was he a chief at that time, for he lived away
from his tribe, and what little intercourse he held with his fellow-men
was with the whites, to whom he bartered venison and deer-skins for
such articles as he stood in need of. He maintained himself solely by
hunting, and was passionately fond of it. A gentleman who saw Logan at
Standing Stone, in 1771 or 1772, described him to Mr. Maguire as "a
fine-looking, muscular fellow, apparently about twenty-eight years of
age. He weighed about two hundred pounds, had a full chest, and
prominent and expansive features. His complexion was not so dark as
that of the Juniata Indians, and his whole actions showed that he had
had some intercourse with the whites." This noble specimen of the red
men, unfortunately, had the failing common to his kind: he would
indulge in intoxicating liquors to excess on nearly every occasion that
offered. When sober, he was dignified and reserved, but frank and
honest; when intoxicated, he was vain, boastful, and extremely foolish.
Judge Brown, a short time previous to his death, in the course of a
conversation with R. P. Maclay, Esq., about Logan, said:--
"The first time I ever saw that spring, (Logan's,) my brother,
James Reed, and myself, had wandered out of the valley in search of
land, and, finding it very good, we were looking about for springs.
About a mile from this we started a bear, and separated to get a
shot at him. I was travelling along, looking about on the rising
ground for the bear, when I came suddenly upon the spring; and,
being dry, and more rejoiced to find so fine a spring than to have
killed a dozen bears, I set my rifle against a bush, and rushed
down the bank, and laid down to drink. Upon putting my head down, I
saw reflected in the water, on the opposite side, the shadow of a
tall Indian. I sprang to my rifle, when the Indian gave a yell,
whether for peace or war I was not just then sufficiently master of
my faculties to determine; but upon my seizing my rifle and facing
him, he knocked up the pan of his gun, threw out the priming, and
extended his open palm toward me in token of friendship. After
putting down our guns, we again met at the spring, and shook hands.
This was Logan--the best specimen of humanity I ever met with,
either _white_ or _red_. He could speak a little English, and told
me there was another white hunter a little way down the stream, and
offered to guide me to his camp. There I first met your father,
(Samuel Maclay.) We remained together in the valley for a week,
looking for springs and selecting lands, and laid the foundation of
a friendship which never has had the slightest interruption.
"We visited Logan at his camp, at Logan's Spring, and your father
and he shot at a mark, for a dollar a shot. Logan lost four or five
rounds, and acknowledged himself beaten. When we were about to
leave him, he went into his hut and brought out as many deer-skins
as he had lost dollars, and handed them to Mr. Maclay, who refused
to take them, alleging that he had been his guest, and did not come
to rob him; that the shooting had only been a trial of skill, and
the bet merely nominal. Logan drew himself up with great dignity,
and said, 'Me bet to make you shoot your best; me gentleman, and me
take your dollar if me beat.' So he was obliged to take the skins,
or affront our friend, whose nice sense of honor would not permit
him to receive even a horn of powder in return.
"The next year," said Judge Brown, "I brought my wife up, and
camped under a big walnut-tree on the bank of Tea Creek, until I
had built a cabin near where the mill now stands, and I have lived
in the valley ever since. Poor Logan" (and the tears chased each
other down his cheeks) "soon after went into the Alleghany, and I
never saw him again."
Many other characteristic anecdotes are given of Logan, the publication
of which in these pages would answer no very desirable end.
In looking over the few pages of manuscripts left by the late Edward
Bell, Esq., we find mention made of "Captain Logan, an Indian friendly
to the whites." This confirmed us in the belief that there were two
Logans. "Logan, the Mingo chief," left Kishicoquillas Valley in 1771;
while Captain Logan resided in the upper end of Huntingdon county at
that time, and a few years afterward in Logan's Valley, in Blair
county. When the Revolution broke out, he moved toward the mountain, in
the neighborhood of Chickalacamoose, near what is now Clearfield. He
served as a spy for the settlers, and rendered them valuable service.
He was an Iroquois or Mingo Indian, too, and a chief; whereas Logan,
the Mingo, was no chief until he removed to Ohio after his relatives
were murdered and he took up the hatchet against the whites. This
explanation is necessary, because many people of Huntingdon and Blair
counties are under the impression that the Captain Logan who resided in
Tuckahoe as late as 1785, and Logan, the Mingo chief, were one and the
same person.
Logan, in consequence of Kishicoquillas becoming too thickly populated,
and the game becoming proportionately scarce, emigrated to Ohio, where
he settled at the mouth of Yellow Creek, thirty miles above Wheeling.
There he was joined by his surviving relatives and some Cayugas from
Fort Augusta, and a small Indian village of log-huts was built up.
Heckwelder, who must have seen him previous to settling at Yellow
Creek, speaks of him as follows:--
About the year 1772, Logan was introduced to me by an Indian
friend, as son of the late reputable chief Shikelemus, and as a
friend to the white people. In the course of conversation, I
thought him a man of superior talents than Indians generally were.
The subject turning on vice and immorality, he confessed his too
great share of this, especially his fondness for liquor. He
exclaimed against the white people for imposing liquors upon the
Indians. He otherwise admired their ingenuity; spoke of gentlemen,
but observed the Indians unfortunately had but few of these
neighbors, &c. He spoke of his friendship to the white people,
wished always to be a neighbor to them, intended to settle on the
Ohio, below Big Beaver; was (to the best of my recollection) then
encamped at the mouth of this river, (Beaver;) urged me to pay him
a visit. I was then living at the Moravian town on this river, in
the neighborhood of Cuskuskee. In April, 1773, while on my passage
down the Ohio for Muskingum, I called at Logan's settlement, where
I received every civility I could expect from such of the family as
were at home.
Indian reports concerning Logan, after the death of his family, ran
to this: that he exerted himself during the Shawnees war (then so
called) to take all the revenge he could, declaring he had lost all
confidence in the white people. At the time of the negotiation, he
declared his reluctance to lay down the hatchet, not having (in his
opinion) yet taken ample satisfaction; yet, for the sake of the
nation, he would do it. His expression, from time to time, denoted
a deep melancholy. Life, said he, had become a torment to him; he
knew no more what pleasure was; he thought it had been better if he
had never existed. Report further states that he became in some
measure delirious; declared he would kill himself; went to Detroit,
and, on his way between that place and Miami, was murdered. In
October, 1781, while a prisoner, on my way to Detroit, I was shown
the spot where this was said to have happened.
That Logan's temper should have soured on the murder of his relatives
and friends, after the friendship he had always extended to the whites,
is not at all strange. These murders changed his nature from a
peaceable Indian to a most cruel and bloodthirsty savage. Revenge
stimulated him to the most daring deeds; and how many innocent white
men, women, and children, he ushered into eternity to appease his
wrath, is only known to Him "whose eye seeth all things."
His people--some say his family, but it never was ascertained that he
had any--were murdered in May, 1774. Some roving Indians had committed
depredations in the neighborhood, and the settlers, highly incensed,
determined to drive them out of the neighborhood. To this end, about
thirty men, completely armed, and under the command of Daniel
Greathouse, without knowing the character and disposition of Logan and
his friends, made a descent upon the village and destroyed it, and
killed twelve and wounded six or eight of the Indians. Among the former
was Logan's sister and a son of Kishicokelas. Logan was absent, at the
time of the occurrence, on a hunting expedition. On his return, as soon
as he saw the extent of the injury done him, he buried the dead, cared
for the wounded, and, with the remnant of his band, went into Ohio,
joined the Shawnees, and fought during their war against the whites
with the most bitter and relentless fury.
In the autumn of 1774, the Indians, getting some very rough usage, and
fearing that the powerful army of Lord Dunmore would march upon and
exterminate them, sued for peace. Lord Dunmore sent a belt of wampum to
all the principal chiefs, and, among the rest, one to Logan, inviting
them to a treaty. Logan refused to attend the council, but sent the
following speech by an interpreter, in a belt of wampum. The treaty was
held under an oak-tree, near Circleville, Ohio, and it was there that
the eloquent and purely Indian speech which rendered Logan's name
immortal was read, and brought tears to the eyes of many of the sturdy
pioneers assembled:--
"I appeal," says Logan, "to any white man to say if he ever entered
Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if he came naked
and cold, and I clothed him not. During the last long and bloody
war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate of peace. Such
was my love for the whites that my countrymen, as they passed,
said, 'Logan is the friend of the whites.' I had thought of living
among you, but for the injuries of one man. Captain Cressap, last
spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations
of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not
one drop of my blood in any living creature. This called on me for
revenge. I have sought it; I have killed many; I have fully glutted
my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice in the beams of peace. But
do not harbor the 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 authorship of this speech was attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but
he most emphatically denied it, as did others who were present at the
treaty.
With respect to Captain Cressap, Logan was doubtless misinformed. It is
true Captain Cressap was a daring frontier-man, who considered it an
obligation imposed upon him by the Creator to slay Indians, but he was
altogether innocent of the charge made against him by Logan. The
massacre in q
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