USA > New York > Ulster County > Kingston > History and legend, fact, fancy and romance of the Old Mine Road, Kingston, N.Y., to the mine holes of Pahaquarry > Part 15
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
vailed, and she made her way for old Shawangunk, through dense thickets and over awful precipices, "where hills on hills. and Alps on Alps, arise." Being more fortunate than her sisters, who had started before, in finding the path; and having no child, as they had, to carry. she arrived first at the place of destination.
Andries Bevier's black woman, "Nan," put over the dinner pot, and built a good fire under it, and then secreted herself along the creek, a short distance from the house. Knowing that the Indans were not dis- posed to injure blacks, and being able to speak their dialect, she had but little to fear from them.
We must now notice the noble conduct of Capt. Coutrite on this occasion. As soon as he heard of the affair at Fantinekill, he directed his sergeant, (without waiting for orders from his superior officer,) to order out all his company, (about 70,) to be at his house the next morn- ing at daylight, armed and equipped, with provisions for two days. The summons was promptly obeyed. He stepped at the head of those "hearts of hickory," into whom he had, by his bold and soldierlike deportment and address, infused the same spirit, and marched them up to Graims- ville, a distance of 18 or 20 miles, with a view of intercepting the In- dians on their return from Fantinekill. He selected a suitable place, arranged his men in order, and awaited the arrival of the Indians. But, as usual, the Indians discovered him first; and instead of coming on the usual route, they passed by on his rear.
The first salute he received, was a volley from the Indians; and one ball struck within six inches of the old captain's head; but they kept at a proper distance, knowing they had a giant to grapple with. Not an Indian could be seen. As my informant says, who was present at the
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BURIAL OF THE SOCKS FAMILY.
time, "You can't see an Indian in the woods." An incident occurred here, which gave the soldiers some sport. A man by he name of Johan- nis Vernooy, affirmed that a ball had touched him. The soldiers, think- ing it only the result of his fears, sung out, "Where has it touched you, Honsum? Where has it touched you, Honsum?" At last is was dis- covered that the strap which held the buckle to his knee, was actually cut off by a bullet from the enemy .- The Indians soon made their way off, filling the woods with their yells and war-whoops, and the whites returned home. Thus ended another fruitless attempt to intercept the wily foe of the white.
The writer has been credibly informed that six of the individuals who perished at Fantinekill were buried in one grave, near the place where they lived and died. If those six were all of the Sock's family (which is believed to be the case,) then there were nine who lost their lives at this time, of the whites. The loss of the enemy is not known. The only house, which stood where the village of Ellenville is situated, was burnt. Its occupants made a narrow escape. It was owned by John Bodly. They, in common with several other families in the neighborhood of Loorenkill, fled to the mountain, and secreted them- selves; but fortunately the enemy did not reach that place.
In concluding this narrative the writer would simply ask if it would not be an act worthy of the "sons of noble sires," who lost their lives in procuring for us the inestimable boon of liberty, to erect a marble slab, with some suitable inscription, to perpetuate their memory? We ask not a monument like that on Bunker Hill, or the one contemplated to the memory of Washington. Then, when our children shall ask us in time to come, "What means this stone?" we will tell them that our
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
fathers were bondmen to King George, and that he made them "serve with rigor" in his wars, by sea and land-that he enacted laws, unwhole- some and tyrannical, and laid heavy taxes upon them without their con- sent-that the "Publicans," like the frogs of Egypt, come up over all the land-and that beneath this sod lays the honored dust of some who fell in obtaining redress for all those grievances.
NARRATIVE V.
Murder of John and Elsle Mack, by the Indians, in the Shawangunk Mountain-Narrow Escape of John Mans and Col. Jansen,
The writer is well aware that a detailed account of this massacre, and all the circumstances connected with it, has long since been published, though he has never been able to procure a copy of it; and knowing that a desire to see it in print exists, especially amongst the connections of John Mack, the writer has been induced to give a sketch of it in this place. He is indebted for the materials to two individuals who had the statement direct from the lips of John Mans, with whom they were both well acquainted.
Mr. John Mack, mentioned above, lived in Wawasink; he had a son-in-law named John Mans, who lived on the east side of the Shaw- angunk. Sometime during the war he resolved to go over to visit his daughter, accompanied by another daughter, named Elsie. In the morn- ing, as they started, they called at Peter Vernooy's. Elsie, who was
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MURDER OF JOHN AND ELSIE MACK.
dressed in white, looked in the glass and observed, that she "looked like a corpse." This has always been considered very remarkable.
There was at this time a footpath crossing the mountain. It began on the west side, at a place called Port Hyxon, and ended at Col. Jansen's afterwards General Jansen, west of the Shawangunk village. They crossed the mountain in safety, and made the contemplated visit. On their return his son-in-law accompanied him with two horses, as far as the top of the mountain, for him and Elsie to ride on, the old man being rather infirm. John Mans proposed to take his rifle with him, but his father warmly opposed it, saying it was not necessary. When they arrived at the top of the hill, where they were to separate, they dismounted, and the old man seated himself on a log and smoked his pipe. Whilst setting here, Mans discovered by the horses' ears that they saw something, and looking round he discovered two men advanc- ing in the path which they had just left, and another, whom he recog- nized as a notorious Indian, called Shanks Ben, taking a circuitous route through the woods, in order to get in advance. and so surround them. Mans understood his design, and was aware of the imminent danger that awaited him. It was then that he regretted bitterly that he had not taken his rifle. He said he might have shot the Indian, if he had had it. The other two were Tories. They had with them two young negroes which they had taken prisoners at Col. Jansen's. Mans started with Elsie by the hand, in a direction so as to elude the design of his enemy. The old man, knowing it would be vain for him to attempt to flee, sat still, re-
. It may be proper here to state that John Mana and Shanks Ben had been well acquainted before the war ;- had lived on terma of intimacy with each other-had often joined in the chase, for which both were famous, and also for running; but a quarrel about a dog, and the war, had broke up this intimacy, and they were now bitter enemies.
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INDIAN NARRATIVES
signed to his awful fate. Mans ran with the girl until he came to a precipice of about twenty feet perpendicular, down which he jumped. Here he was obliged to leave the girl, notwithstanding her earnest en- treaties to the contrary. He thought he might have saved her, had it not been for a little dog which followed them. and kept constantly bark- ing, by which the Indian could follow. In jumping down the precipice he sprained his ancle, which troubled him considerably. He was obliged to take off his shoe and stocking and go bare-footed, on account of the swelling of his foot.
When he came in sight of Col. Jansen's, he saw a number of men around, and not knowing whether they were friends or foes, he tarried some time, until he discovered they were whites. He then approached, and related the awful tale; but the fatal blow was struck-the scalping- knife and tomahawk had done their work-his father-in-law and the blooming maiden were found side by side, covered with purple gore, and their immortal spirits fled for ever .- The scene was solemn and af- fecting beyond description It was with difficulty, in after times, that Mans could be persuaded to relate this melancholy tale; and he could never do it without shedding a flood of tears; and the recital of which usually affected his auditors in the same way. Hard indeed must be the heart of that man in whose eye the tear will not start at scenes like this.
Intimately connected with this narrative is the account of the nar- row escape of Col. Jansen from being taken by the same party who killed Mr. Mack and daughter.
A desperate effort was made by Shanks Ben and others, to take Col. Jansen, and some other distinguished individuals who lived in that vicinity. It is probable that a large reward was placed on their heads by
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ESCAPE OF MANS AND JANSEN.
the British. That notorious Indian, as has since been ascertained, had been laying for whole days and nights in places of concealment, waiting for an opportunty to take those distinguished "sons of liberty," but a kind providence would not permit him to accomplish his nefarious de- sign.
Early one morning the Colonel went to his barn to see his stock, and discovered Shanks Ben in the stable. He ran for the house with all his might, and the Indian in close pursuit. The black woman, who was in the stable milking, saw the race. She said that the Indian came so close that he grasped after the skirts of his coat-but he reached the house in safety, closed the door, and secured it. The Indian, disap- pointed of his prey, and exasperated, seized an axe which happened to lay near by, and began to work his way through the door, the Colonel then called to his wife to fetch him his pistols, which he fired, or in- tended to fire through the door. The Indian however desisted, and went into the kitchen, where he and the two Tories, (who were recognized as such by the black woman, who observed that they had blue eyes and painted faces), helped themselves to the best that the house could afford, not forgetting the cider, of which the Indians are excessively fond.
Whilst the enemy were thus engaged, a white girl by the name of Goetches was observed by the black woman coming to the house. She made signs to her to go back, but she misunderstood them, thinking she meant her to come, which she did, when she was taken prisoner. The enemy took her a short distance; but she being unwilling to go with them, they dragged her along for some time, and then killed and scalped her. They took two young negroes of Col. Jansen's, who have never been heard of since. They were seen by Mans in the mountain. An
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
alarm was given at Jansen's, either by blowing a horn or firing a gun, and the neighbors come to his relief; but, as usual, the work of death was done, and the enemy were beyond the reach of pursuit.
Such are some of the miseries of war. May we, by contrast, learn to appreciate the blessings of peace, and all those invaluable institutions for which our venerable ancestors pledged their "lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor;" and which they so nobly won.
NARRATIVE VI.
Burning of Wawasink-Murder of Kettle-Noble Conduct of Captains Kortrite, Harden- bergh and Pierson-Capture of Hine and Bouck-Their Sufferings and Escape-End of the War.
This last attempt of the savages, under the command and direction of British authority, to exterminate the inhabitants of this frontier, oc- curred on the 12th of August, 1781, and was the most extensive invasion since the commencement of the war. The design was bold and well con- certed; but a kind and gracious providence, to whom they were much more indebted than to the efficiency of their sentinel, would not permit them to accomplish it, as will be seen in the sequel. This expedition against the frontier inhabitants, was fitted out at one of the British posts, and put under the command of a white man by the name of Caldwell, with directions to commence his assault at Capt Andries Bevier's at
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BURNING OF WAWASINK.
Naponoch; and to kill or capture all the inhabitants, and to destroy or carry off their property until they came to the widow Hasbrouck's 12 miles northeast of Naponoch-commonly known in those times at the "rest place," from its being the half-way house, or place where travellers usually called, on their way to Kingston-if he thought he could get back alive; and if he did not, he should be tried for his life on his return.
It will now be necessary to give an account of the spies, or rangers, as they were sometimes called, who were captured by the Indians; and of the intelligence given to the Indians by the Tories, through which they were taken. As has been stated in the Introduction, it was the practice to keep out spies in the direction from which the enemy was expected, in order that thy might not be taken by surprise. In preparing for one of the "scouts," Philip Hine had occasion to purchase some meat of Jeremiah Kettle, who resided in the vicinity of Newtown. He made par- ticular inquiries of Mr. H. as to where he was going, &c., to which he gave honest replies, not suspecting it would appear at the time that he was a Tory. No sooner did he know his intentions, than he found some means of communicating it to the enemy-[It should be remembered here, that the neighborhood of Newtown abounded with Tories, that they had frequent intercourse with the Indians, and joined with them in their assaults on the whites.] Mr. Hine, accompanied by Mr. Bouck, went on the contemplated cruise. When they came along the Neversink creek, 20 odd miles southwest of Naponoch, they discovered a body of Indians and Tories* advancing. They watched their course secretly un- til they saw that their place of destination was Wawasink; they then took a circuitous route, and struck the road, as they supposed, far in
. The traditionary accounts of the number of the enemy vary from 392 to 500.
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
advance of the enemy; but in this they were mistaken. The Indians having been apprised by the Tory Kettle that spies were out, were on the alert, and discovered some footmarks where the spies had crossed a stream of water. With all the dispatch characteristic of that wily foe, runners were sent in pursuit, and soon overtook them. My informant says it was not more than half an hour after the spies struck the road before they were taken by the Indians. At this period of our narrative the reader will be ready to exclaim with David-"all these things are against me!" but there was a providence in this; and out of this apparent evil, the Lord brought much good to his people.
The prisoners were required, on pain of death, to give a correct ac- count of the fortifications, and other means of defence on the frontier at Wawasink. They told them there was a cannon at Capt. Bevier's at Naponoch. On account of this intelligence they did not commence their attack at that place, and consequently much property, and perhaps precious lives, were saved. As those Indians were part of the confed- erated Six Nations who took part in the French and Indian war of 1755, it is probable that some of them at least had witnessed the destructive power of grape-shot and cannon balls; and also in the expedition of Gen. Schuyler against them, in the war of 1776. But in this case they would not have been injured, for the old cannon laid on the woodpile without a carriage, and could have been of no use in defending the fort, or the place. The fort also was unfinished.
The prisoners were tied hand and foot, apart from each other. In this situation they were compelled to remain for the most part of three days and nights without any thing to eat or drink, until the Indians re- turned .- Whoever has experienced the sensation caused by holding the
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BURNING OF WAWASINK.
limbs in one position for a length of time -- and then add to that, hunger and thirst, fear from wild beasts, and the well-founded apprehension that the wives of their bosom, their children, and all that were dear to them by the ties of nature and affection, would in all probability fall a prey to the ruthless tomahawk and scalping-knife-may form some idea of their awful sufferings.
I should be guilty of injustice to the memory of a noble and virtu- ous man, if I omitted to relate the following circumstance, which oc- curred at this time. It had been the intention of the Indians to dispatch one hundred of their troops, under the command of Shanks Ben, across the forest, from the Delaware river to Newtown. to commence the work of death there, and meet their comrades at some place in the valley of the Rondout. But by an accident which occurred in drying some powder which had been wet, Shanks Ben and several other were burnt, so that he was unable to perform the service. Hereupon, the Indians proposed to Silas Bouck that if he would perform that service, they would grant him his liberty the moment he came to Newtown. This proposal he nobly rejected, with disdain. He said "they could but kill him." and he would rather die on the spot than be accessory to the death of his countrymen! How unlike the conduct of Benedict Arnold is this, who, for a little paltry dust, was willing to sacrifice an army of patriots, and the cause of liberty.
After securing the prisoners, and obtaining information from them, as above stated, they set forward for Wawasink. On that ever memor- able Sabbath, the 12th of August, 1781, early in the morning, they ar- rived at the old Stone Fort in Wawasink. which was situated on the present site of B. C. Hoornbeek's house, near the old church. Having
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
taken the spies, no notice had been received at the fort of their approach, and most of its occupants were yet in their beds. Two individuals, how- ever, had left the fort that morning, viz., Mr. Johanis Hoornbeek, and a colored man named Flink. A young woman named Catharine Vernooy, was also about leaving the fort, to go and milk, when she saw the In- dians coming. She returned to the fort, closed the door, and called to Chambers to assist her in getting the huge brace against it. This Cham- bers was stationed on the sentry-box at the time, but being somewhat deranged, he did not fire his gun. Fortunately, however, he sung out, "vyand, vyand."-enemy, enemy. No sooner had they secured the door, than the Indians came against it with all their might, in order to burst it in. Had not the door been secured at that instant, the enemy would inevitably have gained admittance to the fort, and the fate of its inmates would have been sealed.
The Atheist and the Epicurean may attribute this narrow escape to the influence of that imaginary being whom they call Fortune, or Chance, but the Christian sees and acknowledges in this the hand of an overruling providence, without whose sovereign will and pleasure not so much as a sparrow can fall to the ground. It is due to the memory of our Huguenot and Dutch ancestors to state that they have always acknowledged the hand of God in this preservation, and given Him the glory.
The negro Flink soon discovered the Indians approaching the fort, after he left it. He concealed himself until he saw that they did not obtain an entrance into the fort, and then left his milk-pail and made his way with all possible speed to the fort at Naponoch, to inform them of the arrival of the enemy. Mr. Hoornbeek, the other individual who
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BURNING OF WAWASINK.
left the fort to see to his corn-field, heard the alarm when about a mile from the fort. Being a large fleshy man, and not able to travel fast on foot, he succeeded in catching a horse owned by Mr. Bruyn, which he mounted, and made off to his father's Benjamin Hoornbeek, who lived at Rochester, where Deyo now lives. When he came there, he was so completely exhausted by excitement and fatigue, that he fell upon the floor as dead, but recovered sufficiently to be able to return home in the afternoon, in company with the troops who went in pursuit of the In- dians.
The old stone fort was now the scene of active operations. The men leaped from their beds, and without much attention to dress, as the reader will readily imagine, seized their guns, which were always at hand, and commenced their defence. John Griffin was the first who fired, and he brought one of the sons of the forest to the ground. Another Indian came to remove him from the ground, and just as he stooped to raise him up, Cornelius Vernooy gave him a charge of shot, having had his gun loaded with shot to kill a duck which came in his mill-pond. The other Indians soon hurried them both away, and they were seen no more. It is probable that they were both killed. Finding it "was vain to fight when lead was all their booty," the Indians dispersed through the neighborhood -some to plunder and fire buildings, and others to attack other fortified -- posts.
At Peter Vernooy's, who lived about a quarter of a mile southeast of the fort, they made an attack, but were bravely repulsed by the little garrison, which consisted of but one efficient man, and two others who were not able to afford much assistance. On the first advance of the Indians, Vernooy shot one from from a window in the southeast side of
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the house. One of the men went into the garret to try to get a crack at them. He discovered some of them behind a ledge of rocks northeast of the house, watching for an opportunity to fire, when any one came be- fore the port-holes. Whilst he was preparing to fire at them, he saw the flash of their priming-he drew back his head suddenly, and the ball just grazed his face. An old hat which hung up in the garret had been mistaken for a man's head, and was full of bullet-holes.
The conduct of the women at this place was worthy of the daughters of liberty, and deserves to be noticed. It appears there were three in the house-Mrs. Peter Vernooy and two of her connections from Lacka- wack. Some of them loaded the guns for the men (of which it appears they had a double set) whilst other stood with axes, determined to plunge them into their foes, if they should attempt to break through the win- dows, which were fortified with blocks of oak, or other hard wood. Mrs. V. had a family of small children at this time. Some of them were laying in the bunk, and became very uneasy at the unusual proceedings about them, but the heroic matron addressed them in language so de- cided and unequivocal as instantly to secure their quiet.
At Cornelius Bevier's, where E. Vernooy now lives, the enemy found none to oppose them. They entered the house, built a fire on the floor, with some of the furniture; and then left it, taking with them a colored woman and two deformed colored boys a short distance, when they let them return home. The fire had progressed but little, and they succeeded in putting it out.
It does not appear that the Indians had any desire to kill the blacks -probably because they were slaves, and no bounty was paid by the British for their scalps. It is evident that the Indians used to regard
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MURDER OF KETTLE.
the negroes as a race of beings far inferior to themselves. They used to designate them by an opprobious epithet, which modesty forbids me to mention.
The next assault was made at Cornelius Depuy's, where a few neigh- bors were assembled, as the custom was, for mutual safety, and defence. The enemy advanced from the hills southeast of the house. The person who acted as commander of this little garrison ordered them not to fire until they came quite near, but a lad of 16, named Garret Vanwagenen, full of enthusiasm and patriotic fire, could not wait for the word of com- mand. He had his old Holland gun well charged. and levelled at one of them. He fired, and brought him to the ground. The Indians then fled in another direction. Some shots were discharged at them, but with what effect is not known.
The next attack was at the stone house of John Kettle, where John Stall now lives.
It will now be necessary to give a sketch of the noble conduct of Capt. J. L. Hardenbergh, on this occasion. He was at Esq. J. G. Hard- enbergh's at the time of the alarm, one mile east of Kettle's, with only six men with him-(some say but two.) He determined to go to the relief of his countrymen, notwithstanding the imminent danger which he had to face. When he came in sight of Kettle's house, he saw a num- ber of Indians in advance, in the road. To attempt to fight them with so few men, without any fortification, was vain, and there was no time to be lost-all depended on the decision of the moment. His vigorous and active mind furnished a stratagem which answered his design to admiration. He turned aside into the woods, with his little band of Spartan heroes, so that their numbers could not be perceived by the
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INDIAN NARRATIVES.
enemy, took off his hat, huzzaed with all his might, and advanced towards Kettle's house, which was in the same direction as the Indians. The enemy, supposing that a company of Tories were coming from New- town, or, what is more probable, that the troops were coming up from Pinebush, skulked off in every direction. This gave the captain time to reach the house. Just as he reached the door, the Indians, discovering the trick, poured a shower of bullets at him, which struck against the door and sides of the building, but our heroes escaped unhurt. They broke holes through the rear of the house with an axe, which fortunately had remained in the house, and also through the roof, for port-holes, and then defended themselves without much difficulty. Some Indians were killed here. The captain found the house occupied by three sol- diers, one of whom was Henry Kettle, son of John Kettle, whom the Indians murdered.
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