USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 26
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velocity, and after leaving them far behind, he managed to reload his rifle as he ran. But the skin of the Indian having shrunk, began to gall his legs, whereupon, he took his hunting knife and ripped it off. Yet his legs were so galled that his speed was greatly retarded, and he had not advanced more than two miles more, before a dozen Indians were in view. 'Twas then that his courage began to forsake him; faint and tired, he was ready to sink upon the ground. " We've got you at last !" exclaimed one, and coming up, struck him a blow over the shoulders with the end of his musket. It was then that Murphy,
" Stood a foe with all the zeal, That young and fiery converts feel, Within whose burning bosom throngs The memory of a thousand wrongs;"
and turning indignantly around, he dashed his brains out at a blow. The others came up yelling like wolves sure of their prey. Murphy again plunged with his gun and the Indian's, into the woods ; but finding himself unable to run, he stopped abruptly behind a tree and discharged his own, and the In- dian's gun. On his firing the second time, their superstitious fears began to rise, but when he fired the third time, they were confirmed in their suspicions of his being leagued with the Wicked Spirit, to destroy them, and believing that he could shoot all day, they immediately decamped with all speed. He did not stop for a scalp, but slowly wended his way toward the fort, where he arrived in safety.
ANECDOTES, ETC.
At one time Murphy, and a small body of riflemen were. dis- spatched to destroy an Indian and tory village near Unadilla. After a laborious march through marshes, and over mountains,
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in which they endured innumerable privations, they arrived in sight of the village, which lay in a beautiful valley. They remained on the mountain until midnight, when they advanced slowly and cautiously. Luckily most of the Indians were absent, and after a warm contest, in which clubs, fists, feet and tomahawks, were used by the old Indians, squaws, and papooses, and were resented by the riflemen, with fists, feet, and the ends of their guns, the village was reduced to ashes. They had not returned far, before they were attacked by the Indians, and most of them destroyed. Murphy, who was in advance of the rest, ran some distance and crawled into a large hollow log, that lay near a small stream. He had not re- mained there long before he heard the voices of Indians, and as they came nearer, found to his amazement, they were going to encamp there. They came up, and one of them, perceiving the cavity of the log, stooped down, but. seeing a spider's web hanging over the aperture, (which luckily Murphy had not displaced,) he took no pains to examine further. They then built a fire beside the log, in which he was; after which they lay down to sleep, with their feet toward the fire. Mur- phy lay quietly until they began to snore, when he crawled softly to a split in the log, and looking through, observed eight Indians, laying with their rifles beside them : while one sat with his tomahawk and scalping knife, in his belt, to keep watch. Murphy drew himself back to his former position, concluding it most expedient to remain where he was for the time being. His position was by no means an enviable one, as ever and anon his olfactories were saluted with a discharge of light artillery, and the log was so burned, that he could see the Indians through the holes made by the fire .. Early in the morning, one of the Indians, (who was dressed in English style,) went down to the stream, and bent over to drink, until his coat flaps fell over his back. Murphy saw him through the end of the log, and being irritated by the heat, and having
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the end of his rifle in that direction, he fired : the Indian fell headlong into the water. The other Indians fled precipitately, when Murphy backed out of the log, scalped the Indian, and runing as fast as his feet would carry him, escaped.
Just before the battle of Saratoga, he went out of the Ame- rican camp, and having ascertained the British countersign, he went into one of their camps, and seeing an officer writing, alone, he whispered to him, (pointing to his hunting-knife,) that if he spoke a word he would make daylight shine through him. The officer, not having sword or pistols near, reluc- tantly marched before him to the American camp.
At the last battle at Saratoga, in which both armies were engaged, Murphy was, as he states, within five feet of Arnold, when he passed over the fortification, sword in hand. Murphy ascribed, to the day of his death, the chief honor of Burgoyne's defeat to General Arnold, and believed Arnold would never have betrayed his country, had he received the honors which he so richly merited.
At Unadilla, he also went into a fort, several years after- ward, where he made important discoveries of the strength of the enemy.
As Murphy was passing toward Summit, in company with Follok, (a half-blood,) who generally acted as his pilot, he saw four Indians, headed by a tory, with scalps hanging on their bayonets. They crawled through a swail; and as they came within plain view, they saw on the bayonet of the tory, what appeared to be the scalp of a woman. They moved carefully, but at last one of them, stepping on a limb of a tree, which made a creaking, three of the Indians fired before them. They both aimed at the tory, who fell, when they escaped by running.
On another occasion, as himself, Follok, Tufts and Evans, were passing through the woods, they saw ten or twelve Cana- dians, marching toward them, in Indian file, with what ap-
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peared to be muskets on their shoulders. The four secreted themselves until the Canadians got between them, when what appeared to be guns, were mere clubs of black birch. They all arose simultaneously, and presenting, ordered them to sur- render. Being unarmed, (except with hunting-knives,) they complied, and very demurely walked to the American camp.
Soon after Murphy came to Schoharie, he went on a hunt- ing and scouting excursion, and as he was returning, late in the evening, he saw several men setting fire to an out-house of a building near the Schoharie river. When he arrived within half a mile of the place, he saw several tories standing at the corner of the house, and one peeping in the window. After a short time the inmates were aroused, and a man, a negro and two boys, came rushing out of doors to extinguish the fire. The tories then hid behind the fence, excepting one, more re- solute than the rest, who fired, most probably at the man, but hit one of the boys, who fell, and was carried into the house by the mother who had been alarmed by his cries. This aroused the vengeance of Murphy, who stood on his knees be- hind a stump, and laying his rifle over the stump, he shot the tory to the very heart. The others, on seeing him fall, and hearing the report in an unexpected direction, scampered away. Murphy then walked up, and was hailed by the inhabi- tants with tears of joy. No sleep was enjoyed by them that night. In the morning, the tory killed was found to be no less a person than -, who had pretended to be a whig. Verily, he received the reward of his treachery! The next day the family removed to the fort, where the boy recovered in a short time from his wounds.
Shortly after the war, a Fourth of July was celebrated, at a tavern near Gallupville, which Murphy attended. In the evening they commenced drinking healths, and after several patriotic toasts were offered, a tory gave, in ridicule, "A health to George III." This Murphy determined not to suffer with
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impunity, and rising, as the tory walked toward the door, he pitched him headlong from the stoop. The tory picked him- self up, and left for Canada, or some other country, as he was never heard of afterwards.
Just before the conclusion of the war, as Murphy was at labor in clearing a piece of woodland, he saw a tall Indian ap- proaching him from the woods, with a rifle on his shoulder. As he came nearer, a belt might be seen around his waist, in which were a tomahawk and scalping-knife, that were partially concealed by a large blanket thrown over his shoulders.
"Which way are you travelling ?" asked Murphy.
"Don't know," said the Indian.
" Where do you live ?" inquired Murphy.
"There," returned the Indian, (pointing toward Canada,) "and where do you live ?"
"Down here."
"Do you know old Murphy ?" was the next question.
"Well-well-yes !" was the response.
"Where does he live ?"
"Away off-yonder," (pointing in a wrong direction, ) "but what do you want of him ?"
" Oh, nothing," said the Indian, apparently embarrassed.
" Murphy was a wicked old devil."
"Yes," said the Indian; "he kill my brother-he kill Indian-he scalp Indian. They say he witch-he shoot with- out loading-Indian no hit him-he kill good many Indian --- but he no kill me-I kill him." Murphy's blood began to boil, but he concealed his excitement as much as possible, and remarked :
"You've a very good rifle there."
"Yes."
"Did you ever shoot at a mark ?"
"Oh, yes-do you shoot at mark ?"
"Well, suppose we try," said Murphy.
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The Indian then ran off some distance, and putting up a € mark against a stump, returned.
"You shoot first," said the Indian.
"No, no," said Murphy, "you shoot first."
The Indian then shot, and to the astonishment of Murphy, pierced the centre of the mark. The rifle was then reloaded, and on Murphy's receiving it, he bounded back, exclaiming, " I am Murphy !" The savage gave a yell that reverberated through the hills, and drawing his hunting-knife, sprang to- ward Murphy; but ere he reached him a ball from the rifle entered his breast.
In stature, Murphy was about five feet six inches, with an eye that would kindle and flash like the very lightning, when excited. He was exceedingly quick in all his motions, and possessed an iron frame that nothing, apparently, could affect. . And what is very remarkable, his body was never wounded or scarred during the whole war.
He had nine children by his first wife, and was married again in 1812 or 1813, to Miss Mary Robertson, by whom he had four children. Soon after this marriage, he removed to Charlotteville, in Schoharie county, where he remained until a short time before his death, when he moved back to Fulton. He had suffered many years from an obstinate cancer on his neck, which finally terminated his existence in 1818, in the 67th year of his age. He was a good and charitable neighbor, but inveterate to his enemies. He detested the very name of tory, and if possible, with more acrimony than that of Indian ; and took the greatest delight in relating the feats and adven- tures in which he participated ; saying that he was resolved to kill himself rather than be taken a prisoner, knowing that they would inflict on him the most inhuman tortures. He re- peatedly declined holding civil office, considering it would in- fringe on his natural independence ; he always refused promo- tion during the war, on the ground that it would confine him
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to one fort, and frequently prevent his joining scouting parties. In his pecuniary transactions he was perfectly honest, and liberal to the indigent. That he had faults, we are not dis- posed to deny; but his greatest errors were in furtherance of what he conceived to be the best interests of his country, rather than from any selfish or sinster designs. Those who knew him, speak most in his praise. And it is to be hoped, that it will be long ere the citizens of Schoharie and Delaware, will forget the name of Murphy.
"He was a man, take him all in all, We shall not look upon his like again."
Among the veterans of the American Revolution, were two noble and brave spirits, whose thrilling stories were deeply impressed on my mind when a boy. Unconnected with the army called to protect the settlements in a confined interior ; their names were not entered upon the public roll, and have not appeared upon the historic page. Their services and fame were known, and highly appreciated by those around them, and their memories are still held in high veneration in my native neighborhood, where their bones lie beneath the clods of the valley. Their names were Harper and Murphy, the latter an Irishman. They were among the pioneers who settled at the head of the Delaware river, which rises from a fountain of pure water; called by the Indians Utstayantho. Around this lake is a small valley, then central rendezvous of the savage tribes, whose walks extended from the Mohawk in the north, far down the Delaware, Lackawaxen, Lackawana and the Susque- hanna in the south. It was an isolated spot surrounded by mountains and hills, covered with lofty pines, and a variety of evergreens. Its scenery was romantic and beautiful ; formed by nature for a retreat such as the rude children of the forest suppose the Great Spirit delights to dwell in. "For a long time
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the lords of the forest built their council fires in the amphi- theatre of Utstayantho. There they manufactured their stone pots, their flint arrow-points and their bows. There they smoked the pipe of peace, performed the terrific war dance, and tortured their unfortunate prisoners. There, too, many of their bravest warriors fell, beneath the avenging hand of the enraged inhabitants. There (says the author,) I first drew my vital breath, there I grew up to manhood, there I have ploughed up the bones of those who were slightly buried, and there I have often listened to the following narratives :
At the commencement of the American Revolution the Indian tribes in that section of country, were influenced by two tories, Brant and McDonald, to enlist in favor of the British. Their tomahawks and scalping-knives were soon bathed in the blood of mothers and infants, as well as in that of husbands and fathers. In the spring of 1777 they murdered several families and took a number of prisoners. Among them were Harper and Murphy. As these were the leading men of the settlement, it was decided to take them down the Dela- ware about 60 miles to an Indian station called Oquago, now Deposit. They were put in charge of eleven warriors, who started with their victims pinoned and bound. The second night, fatigued with their march, they all lay down before a fire, and the savages were soon soundly asleep. A supply of rum during the day and a hearty drink as they stretched themselves out to sleep, rendered their stupor more complete than it otherwise would have been. This opportunity could not pass unimproved by such men as Harper and Murphy. Although closely wedged between the Indians, they arose with such caution as not to awake them. They soon released each other from the bark thongs, with which their arms were bound, and hesitated for a moment, whether to flee or attempt to dispatch the cruel foe. They soon decided upon the latter, removed the arms to some distance, and with tomahawk in
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hand, commenced the work of death. Each blow was sure and deep-a messenger of death. So profound was their sleep, and so rapid the work of death, that eight of the eleven were dispatched before the other three awoke. While attempt- ing to rise upon their feet, two of them met the deadly blow of two champions, and fell dead beneath their own weapons. One alone escaped and fled to Oquago to relate the doleful tidings. The two heroes each took a gun and the all ammuni- tion, secreted the other guns, and with some parched corn and dried venison, guided by the polar star, commenced their journey back, keeping near the river until daylight, when they took the ridge to avoid meeting Indians, and in the evening reached a small settlement within ten miles of home. They were there met with joy unspeakable, as the news of their capture had already reached that place, and with most as much surprise as if they had arisen from the dead.
When taken by the Indians, Murphy and Harper were in the woods, making maple sugar, and knew not that their fami- lies had just been murdered by the brutal savages. Imagine, you who are husbands and fathers, the bitter anguish of their souls, when informed that their wives and children had been butchered by a party of Indians, led on by the tory Brant. The day following, most of the men left the block-house, and escorted them home, there to behold a scene, too awful for re- flection, too horrible for description, too painful for humanity. Murphy had two children, one two years old; the other three months. The eldest had filed under the bed, and been pulled - out far enough to be tomahawked and scalped, and then left, The mother, a beautiful woman of about twenty-two, seemed not to have attempted an escape, as her hands and arms were much cut, and she lay in the back part of the room. She had re- ceived three blows on the head with a tomahawk, one of which penetrated the brain. Her cranium was literally bare. Across her lifeless body, lay her lovely babe, smiling in death. It
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had been finished by a single blow, and was not mutilated. The tears of sympathy flowed from all but Murphy ; he stood silent, with dry and glaring eyes, immovably fixed upon the companion of his youth, and the pledges of their love. Dark and awful was the storm that gathered in the bosom of Mur- phy. At length he took his murdered infant in his arms, and with a firm and desperate resolve, swore to be avenged or die, and sealed that vow by a kiss upon the cold cheek of the life- less infant. How well that vow was kept, the history of his after life tells. A rude grave was then prepared, lined with bark, in place of a coffin, and the mournful duties of sepulchre closed the bloody scene. The children were placed in the arms of the mother, upon that bosom that had so often nour- ished them.
They then proceeded to the dwelling of Mr. Harper, and found it empty. His wife was an amiable young lady, only nineteen years of age, with an infant at her breast. She had attempted to escape to the woods, and was overtaken a few rods from the house, where she and her babe had been mur- dered, and their bodies had been subsequently torn to pieces by wolves or some other wild animals. This scene was more heart-rending than the other. The husband wrung his hands in anguish, as his friends deposited the scattered fragments beneath the clods of the valley. Harper also resolved to sub- due the foe; but his was not that maniac revenge of Murphy. His resolution was equally firm as the other, but his designs more expansive. A block-house was immediately erected, to which the surviving settlers all removed. This done, imme- diate measures were taken to meet the attack which they ex- pected from the Indians, to avenge the death of those Indians who had been killed by Harper and Murphy. Murphy re- turned to Schoharie to obtain assistance from the fort, and Har- per went to Albany and obtained a captain's commission, au- thorizing him to organize a company from the contiguous set-
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tlement. Col. Hager, who commanded the fort at Schoharie, immediately accompanied Murphy, with ninety men, to Ustay- antho : when in the narrows, about two miles east of that place, the advance guard returned hastily, having met a large body of warriors, fresh painted, advancing furiously.
One of the guard, a brother of the Colonel, had been so closely pursued as to receive a wound in' the shoulder from a tomahawk, when suddenly turning around, he plunged his bayonet through the body of the Indian. Mr. Hager after- ward pointed out to me the precise spot, (says the historian,) where it occurred, being at the junction of two small streams that empty into the lake. The Colonel immediately formed his men in order of battle. Pausing a while for the approach of the enemy, and hearing nothing from them, Murphy was dispatched with five men to reconnoitre their position, followed with the main body about forty rods in the rear. ›When pass- ing out of the narrows, within half a mile of the lake, three of the enemy were seen retreating, one of whom fell beneath the unerring aim of the enraged Irishman. This was the signal for the Colonel to rush on, and in a few minutes he was en- gaged with the whole savage force. Murphy took his station behind a large pine tree, within twelve rods of the Indians, who lay in a ravine directly before him. For a moment they directed their whole fire to that point, and pierced the tree with more than fifty balls, many of which I cut out after I was old enough to use an axe. In front, Murphy discovered the very savage who escaped from him and Harper to Oquago. He drew up his rifle, and called the savage by name, who gave a terrific whoop, and fell lifeless to the ground, another victim to the unerring aim of the Indian Killer. At that moment, a charge was ordered. With the force of an ava- lanche the men rushed on, and in less than three minutes the Indians took to flight. A part of them, with Bennett, fled down the Delaware, and a part down the Charlotte, a stream
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that empties into the Susquehanna. Four of Colonel Hager's men were killed, and about thirty of Brant's allies. Harper left the fort in charge of a small force; the Colonel proposed to return, and buried his dead in one common grave, (on the peak of a round bluff near the lake,) whose bones I assisted in removing to a more proper place of repose, about forty years ago. The account of this battle, I had from Col. Hager, as well as from several of his men.
In the mean time Captain Harper was returning by the way of Cherry Valley, deeming that the safest route. As he was crossing the hills west of the white settlements on the Dela- ware, he came suddenly in contact with a party of fifteen Indians, who had been at the recent battle. To flee he knew would be certain death; he therefore advanced boldly, gave them his hand, and succeeded in making them believe that he was their friend. Their leader he knew well, but, fortu- nately, he was not recognized in turn. He learned from them, their disasters at the lake, and learned that they were on their way to a white settlement on the Susquehanna, probably for the purpose of murder. He then shook hands with them, and hastened to a settlement a few miles distant, where a number of armed men were making maple sugar. Supposing that the savages would encamp at the foot of the hill, on the bank of Schenevus creek, the Captain had no trouble in persuading them to accompanying him in pursuit of the savages he had met. With two days' provision, they immediately started in pursuit, and just before day the next morning gained the top of the hill above the Indian encampment. Capt. H. and his men descended, forded the creek, succeeded in taking away the guns of the enemy without awaking them, and took the whole of them prisoners, and safely lodged them in a fort, a few miles distant. Learning from them that they had left a party of nineteen in the Charlotte valley, Capt. Harper and his men determined to pursue them. They replenished their provi-
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sions, commenced their march, and on the second day struck on a fresh Indian trail. They advanced rapidly, and toward evening heard the report of a gun at some distance in the forest. They then halted to refresh them and wait until the savage foes should encamp for the night. Soon after dark the Captain and his men advanced with the utmost caution, and . in about an hour discovered their encampment. Hours glided slowly away, and yet several of the red men did not lie down. At length all but one appeared to be asleep. A slow and cautious advance was soon commenced. Every man was instructed in case the' Indians aroused, to take his station behind a tree, and not to fire until the enemy came near enough to reach them with the muzzle of his gun. They all examined the priming of their guns and fixed their bayonets securely. A deep silence pervaded the dense forest of hemlock and pine. Not a breeze was perceptible, not a leaf was moving on the trees. The moments were full of suspense and deep anxiety. The recent murder of his wife and babe nerved the Captain for the combat. Courage, fearless and strong, nerved every man to death or victory. They drew nearer and nearer. The quick ear of the wakeful savage soon caught the sound of their foot-steps on the dry leaves. A piercing war whoop startled all upon their feet.
They seized the arms and stood ready for action; for a moment no motion agitated the parties, but the beating heart, and the purple current rushing through their veins, with a tenfold velocity. At length the savages commenced a slow and cautious movement towards the Captain and his men. They were between the fire and the avengers of blood, each of whom marked his victim. Sure and deadly was the aim. Twelve of the warriors fell at the first fire, and three were mortally wounded. The whites advanced and surrounded the survivors. A short and desperate conflict ensued ; the nineteen savages were all in a few moments locked in the embrace of death.
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