USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > Bethlehem > A history of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1741-1892, with some account of its founders and their early activity in America > Part 38
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Bethlehem to the principles of the Church, persuading them to show the calmness and forti- tude of implicit trust in the Lord under this severe strain; influence the panic-stricken neighborhood by this kind of moral strength ; use constant vigilance to thwart approaches by the enemy and prevent the necessity of violent collision as long as possible ; and to think of actually using fire-arms only as the last desperate defence. The sending of those arms from New York came nearer than any other incident, to breaking the internal, moral disci- pline at Bethlehem, and in a letter to the friends in New York in reference to their well- meant act, Spangenberg took pains to strongly present his position. That the cobble-stones in the windows were to be thrown down on the heads of Indians by the women was erron- eous information or supposition. This was merely the walling-up to protect from bullets mentioned in the text.
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
besought the Saviour to graciously prevent all bloodshed at our place, and, to Him be thanks, He heard our prayer."
The disbursements by the Commissioners for the relief of white refugees had not amounted to much, and the burden their presence laid upon the Brethren was very hard to bear, along with caring for their own large number of dependent women and children, while feeling the effect of very short crops and the almost complete stoppage of industries at Bethlehem during those hard winter months. Five thousand extra bushels of grain had to be bought between New Year and the next harvest to cover their own needs, apart from what was furnished the refugees and only in part paid for by the gov- ernment. During January and February, 1756, it furthermore became necessary to borrow over £700. They were assisted in bearing the burden by some benevolent people of Philadelphia who, at the instance of Anthony Benezet, to whom Bishop Spangenberg had appealed in behalf of the refugees, sent considerable quan- tities of clothing and provisions for distribution to the needy. The donors gave instructions that the Gnadenhuetten Indians should also be helped out of the stores sent. Several wagon-loads of such supplies were likewise sent by friends in the lower part of Bucks County. Referring to this in his autobiography, Bishop Spangenberg says : "I appointed two Brethren and instructed them to make a list of all the things that came into our hands, and, not only to distribute the articles carefully, but to record each day to whom this and that thing was given. This was done, and we afterwards put the account of receipts and disbursements into the hands of our worthy Magistrate (Horsfield), so that all should be done honestly and orderly, not only before God but also before men. When afterwards a worthless individual came and accused the Brethren of appropriating these donations to their own use, the Magistrate defended us and at once stopped the mouth of the slanderer." Writing to Franklin again, March 8, 1756, after the receipt of the latter's letter which reflected somewhat harshly upon the refugees; Spangenberg said: "It might be good to buy for them now, what they will want till the harvest time; for many of them having lost houses, barns, grain, cattle, horses and all, if even they should be willing to return to their respective places, they cannot live without being helped. What the Brethren have received for them by charitable hands, is, most part, given unto them, and what is left yet, will cheerfully be bestowed upon them and accounts kept, which either our Magistrates or any
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1755-1756.
·
of the benefactors may examine at pleasure." In June, 1757, Spangenberg, writing to Anthony Benezet about the calumny, which seems to have grieved him deeply, says: "I have thought sometimes whether the said accounts should not be published. But considering that the Names of poor honest People must be exposed to the Public (and many poor honest People would rather suffer the greatest Hardship than see themselves in their Poverty exposed) in so doing, have thought it best to leave it in Mr. Horsfield's Hands for the use of all who want to see it."10
After the month of January, 1756, had been safely passed, people began to breathe easier again at Bethlehem. The second week in February, it was thought safe to reduce the guard. By the middle of the month all but sixty of the refugees had ventured to return home or go elsewhere, even though reports of raids by the savages
10 Some writers have erroneously confused this matter with the objections raised in the Assembly against the accounts presented by the Brethren to the Commissioners for expenses incurred in behalf of the Indians. See Matthew Henry-History of the Lehigh Valley, p. 207-208. The accounts kept of these donations to refugees were not required by any one, but were kept voluntarily, just in order to guard against such gossip. The Commissioners had nothing to do with these accounts, and they never went before the Assembly. Mr. Henry takes singular pains to minimize the good offices of Spangenberg and the Moravians in this matter, and even speaks disrespectfully of Spangenberg, saying, e.g., that " he occa- sionally used flattery to the Governor in order to attain his ends." The "Obrigkeit" referred to by Spangenberg in his autobiography quoted by Mr. Henry from Risler, did not mean the Governor, but the local magistrate, Timothy Horsfield. He, and not the Governor, " spoke a good word for the Brethren."
The accounts which some in the Assembly wanted to repudiate were those "for supplies and entertainment furnished to the Christian Indians who had fled thither after the massacre on the Mahoning ; and to Indians who sojourned there with the knowledge of Government, pending negotiations for Peace between it and Teedyuscung, King of the Delawares, 1756- 1757"-published in Memorials of the Moravian Church, by Wm. C. Reichel, Philadelphia, 1870. The heaviest of those accounts were for supplies furnished to Indians who were not among the Moravian converts, were a burden and nuisance, and at times even a peril to Bethlehem, tolerated there at the instance of the Government and supplied by Govern- ment orders, April, 1756, to April, 1758. No objection was made to the first several accounts rendered by agreement of the Commissioners of the Assembly. The heaviest bills went in after large troops of Indians flocked to the neighborhood for the Council, on invitation of the Governor ; and he, on June 23, 1756, in a letter to Timothy Horsfield, specially author- ized the Brethren "to support and maintain them till they have my further orders," and promising that " any expenses attending this service will be paid by the Government." This being an order by the Governor and not by the Assembly or its Commissioners, the Assem- bly objected in consistency with the relations between them and the Governor, each oppos- ing on general principles whatever the other said or did. The last of these accounts were finally paid in June, 1758.
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
in more distant regions continued to come in. New excitement was occasioned by the Governor's "declaration of war against the Dela- wares," April 14, 1756, and the proclamation of bounty for Indians killed or captured-the "scalp money" he was constrained to offer at the instance of the Commissioners, under strong pressure from certain frontier settlers who proposed to have, at least, the grim satisfaction of turning the hazardous employment of hunting Indians, like that of hunting beasts of prey, to pecuniary account. Here was a new temptation to men in whose eyes one Indian was the same as another, to again turn sinister attention to the inoffensive Indians at Bethlehem.
Spangenberg went to Philadelphia in April to have an interview with the Governor about attempting an embassy to the Indians up on the Susquehanna, with a view to negotiations for peace. He had consulted with Mr. Parsons about this project already in January, then with certain Assemblymen, and had also written to the Gover- nor. The result was that, at the end of April, three Indian deputies sent by the Governor arrived at Bethlehem to undertake this mis- sion, accompanied by Augustus, the most intelligent and reliable Bethlehem Indian for such an enterprise. They returned to Bethle- hem, May 19, coming down the Lehigh by canoe under convoy of a detail from the Fort Allen garrison, flying the English flag. From Augustus it was learned that three times the hostiles had planned a decisive blow against Bethlehem and Nazareth; that Paxnous and Abraham had sturdily opposed all hostilities, and that the enemy were now willing to parley and to consider terms of peace. Two days later, when they were in Philadelphia reporting to the Gover- nor, a day of fasting and prayer was observed in the Province, in view of the formal declaration of war against France by the King of England, and, as a result of their report, the Governor, on June 3, declared an armistice, with the intention of trying such a council ; the proclamation of scalp-money and aggressive plans against the Delawares, as well as the general declaration of war against France and her allies, being thought of combined service, in disposing the Indians to come to terms more readily.
Upon this, the gathering of troops of Indians from a distance at Bethlehem, which caused so much discomfort, annoyance, and, at times, danger, for more than a year, began; and there was much correspondence with the government on this subject prior to the Council, which finally took place at Easton, the last week in July.
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1755-1756.
An insight into this troublesome situation will be gotten from several instances. Two Indians, Nicodemus and Jo Pepy, who had been among the converts of Brainerd referred to in a previous chapter, and had then first affiliated with the Moravian Indians and finally joined the enemies of the Government, but now professed penitence, came, among others, on June 21, hearing of the amnesty proclaimed. Their presence excited particular resentment among some people in the neighborhood. Spangenberg was constrained to write to the Governor on June 26, and represent the particular embarrassment they occasioned. He says: "To tell your Honour the truth, I don't believe that either Jo Pepy or Nicodemus and their families can stay at Bethlehem. We have been obliged to put people out of the (Indian) house to make room for them. But this is not all. There is such a rage in the neighborhood against the said poor creatures, that I fear they will mob us and them together. For Jo Pepy having lived among the Presbyterians, and treacherously being gone from them, hath exasperated them in the highest degree. We have put two men with them to be their safeguard, but your Honour knows very well that this won't hinder the stream when it is coming upon us and them at the same time. They have told me the families which are inclined to come, and will come if they can, with New Castle" (the famous Indian messenger of the Government). "The most of them are well-known here to be good-for-nothing, and quite faithless creatures. I therefore humbly beg of your Honour to remove the said Jo Pepy and Nicodemus and their families, the sooner the better, to Philadelphia ; for they are in the heart of the country, and mischief may be prevented which could breed evil consequences."
The next perplexity was presented in a letter by Justice Horsfield to the Governor, July 6. He writes : "We labour under much diffi- culty on account of these Indians-a son of Paxnous and three others from Tioga-wanting their guns repaired, and to have some powder and lead, which we cannot by any measure do unless we have your Honour's express commands for it ; if it be your Honour's pleasure it shall be done, or not, please to signify it. Your Honour shall be strictly obeyed." Governor Morris replied, July 9, with the approval of the Council as follows: "Tell him (the son of Paxnous) I wish it could have consisted with the circumstances of their families for them to have given me the satisfaction of seeing them here; but as this does not suit them now, and they are in want of provisions, I have ordered you to supply them with as much as they can carry,
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
and a small quantity of powder and lead, as much as may be wanted, for the present, to serve their necessities; more I would give them, but it would be dangerous to themselves, if met by our enemy Indians, to have more." With this message the Governor adds privately to Horsfield: "I think three or four pounds of powder will be enough, and as much provisions as they can carry ; how much that will be, must be left to your judgment, but they should by all means be sent very well satisfied."11
Again, on July 7, Horsfield addressed the Governor on the great peril involved in the tarrying of Indians in the vicinity, pending the delayed Council at Easton, under an amnesty which expired on July 3. In many cases it could not be known whether they were friends or foes. Embittered white people could take advantage of the expiration of the proclamation, to form a "scalping party" under the bounty- act and attack them, occasioning riot and bloodshed. Indians armed, and now not feeling bound to a cessation of hostilities, might perfid- iously attack Bethlehem and commit outrages in the neighborhood. It was announced that a deputation would visit the Governor to personally lay the situation before him.
The crowded condition of Bethlehem was referred to-twenty and more persons compelled to occupy one room, in many cases, and seventy occupants in the Indian House of two rooms. The Provincial Council, on July 10, advised the Governor to extend the amnesty, and in view of the crowded state of things at Bethlehem, with no troops there for a defence, to order these Indians, waiting for the conference at Easton, to be transferred to that place where there was a guard. There at the county seat, they, as guests of the Government, belonged. Instructions were sent, the next day, to Mr. Parsons to make such provision, and so Bethlehem was relieved the following week for a season, of this large number of "strange Indians." At the same time Teedyuscung, the "Delaware King," whose name was now on all lips and whose presence was dreaded by many, while many were inquisitive to see him, made his appear- ance with Captain New Castle and a large retinue. Then, to the dismay of the people at Bethlehem, the word came that the treaty
II This matter of furnishing powder and lead from the Bethlehem store continued to be a very troublesome and risky one, for obvious reasons, and was continually made the subject of suspicious comment and groundless stories by ill-disposed persons ; just as it later was, under quite other circumstances, during the Revolutionary War. Hence the care taken to have government instructions.
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1755-1756.
would be held here-a thing spoken of before, but thought to have been averted. Just.as they had concluded to accept the inevitable and had begun, with heavy hearts, to prepare for it, instructions again came from the Governor, countermanding this. So, on July 24, the Council finally opened at Easton. It was the proper place, being the official center of the neighborhood. The long and prolix parley which there took place may be passed over. It was a disap- pointment to many who hoped for definite results. Horsfield, Nathanael Seidel, Shebosh and David Zeisberger went from Beth- lehem, by request, to join a large number of Friends from Phila- delphia, in trying to influence the issue in the interests of peace. The only definite result was the appointment of another council to be held in the autumn.
The dreaded Teedyuscung lingered about Bethlehem several days after that, and there are references to "disagreeable visits" to the officials at Bethlehem by him. Sometimes he was sober, but more frequently not. But worse than this, very disturbing rumors of dangerous talk indulged in by him were soon rife. The latter part of August, several letters from Parsons, Horsfield and Edmonds, and one from Sir Charles Hardy, in reference to his suspicious conduct and treacherous utterances after the treaty, were considered by the new Governor, William Denny, and the Council, with former Governor Morris present for consultation. This, and the dangerous outlook for the frontier from French movements at the time, with the weakness of the Pennsylvania Government, through the lack of good understanding between Governor and Assembly, were impressed upon the Bethlehem people by Spangenberg, on September 9, and the need of faith and prayer, loyalty and unity was impressed.
CHAPTER X.
TO THE END OF THE GENERAL ECONOMY.
1756-1762.
During the first part of the year 1756, the condition of Bethlehem was one of much turmoil, when compared with its normal state ; but, when compared with that of the surrounding neighborhoods, the situation would have seemed to an onlooker from the outside, one of undisturbed order and unruffled serenity. The ordeal produced no demoralization. The principles, discipline, general tone and even, to a surprising extent, the common daily routine of the place were maintained through it all. It was fortunate that the deliberations of 1754, on the question of continuing or abolishing the existing system, resulted in the conclusion to make no changes at that time. A general toning up and strengthening of the Economy resulted, instead of steps towards a radical alteration of the establishment. If the latter course had then been taken, things would have been in transition, disorganized and not yet properly reconstructed in other shape, when this strain came, and therefore not, by far, so well prepared to withstand it. Many features of the Economy organ- ization served, in this emergency, for the special measures that would under other circumstances have been instituted at such a time, with the additional advantage of long training in such ways and methods. Therefore it was Providential that the General Economy yet existed intact. Amidst the troublous conditions which continued, there was no thought of tampering with it. Hence it came that the arrangement ran on for six years longer.
Not only the necessities of the situation, but also the wise purpose to keep men, as far as possible, occupied in natural and ordinary ways and to maintain all that could be of normal spirit and habit, prompted Spangenberg and those who were in counsel with him, to proceed with plans to start the wheels of industry moving regularly again in all departments, even when the town was overrun with refugees and the watch against surprises by the savages had to be
344
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preserved every hour of the day and night. Thus, already the middle of January, steps were taken to start up a saw-mill again at Bethlehem ; that at Gnadenhuetten, now burned down, having, along with that at Christiansbrunn, taken the place, for some years, of the first one built at Bethlehem. Material was gotten together, but it was not until the 9th of June that the masons went to work. It was completed in September and on the 21st of that month, the sawing of lumber at Bethlehem was recommenced.
At a general meeting, the end of March, the subject of building a new and larger pottery was discussed. The products of this estab- lishment were much in demand, so that it was one of the most profitable industries. At the same time the suspended tavern- building project was anew considered, but it was not deemed expedient to proceed at once with this undertaking. The grist-mill was kept running, and those industries which furnished material for clothing were not permitted to remain idle, when enough order was restored to start them up again. All that could be done in the winter and early spring, to enlarge the cultivated area at Bethlehem, as well as on the Nazareth domain, was persevered in, even when men had to work under guard at clearing, grubbing and fencing. The Indians living under protection at Bethlehem were employed, to a considerable extent, at this kind of work for stipulated wages. Receipts for wages paid them, signed with the marks of the tribes and clans to which they belonged, are interesting mementos of those times still preserved at Bethlehem. On through the spring and summer they rendered valuable service in times of danger, as guards and rangers in the surrounding woods, when men were plow- ing and sowing, and companies of women were helping in harvest time, to get in the hay and the precious grain. More than one com- pany of women went out to distant parts of the fields and back, or to and fro between Bethlehem and Nazareth under the protection of such an Indian escort. The Indian women were, much of the time, busily engaged in making baskets, brooms, mats and other such articles, for which they received compensation. Thus they helped to supply things that were continually needed and that could be put on the market, and habits of industry, self-dependence and thrift were cultivated among them; while the men, who had learned that it was no more of a disgrace for an Indian than for a white man to labor with his hands, were, by object-lessons, teaching this to other Indians who came to Bethlehem. To the skill of these Indians at
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
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347
1756-1762.
bush-net fishing frequent important additions to the food supply were also due. Thousands of shad and rockfish were thus caught by them in the Lehigh.
When the refugees, for the most part, returned to their homes, leaving the quarters they had occupied vacant, and the number of men continually needed as guards was gradually reduced, the workshops all resumed their customary appearance. On June 3, the nursery and girls' school of Nazareth were moved back to their quarters in the Whitefield House and the adjacent log cabin, while the company of men, who had vacated the water-tower house to make room for these children, returned to their quar- ters. Apart from the Indians from distant places loitering about Bethlehem, as Government pensioners, little in the appearance of the village would have indicated that such times had been passed through and that the air was yet full of uncertainty and dread. Special efforts were made to keep the attention of the children in the large boys' school and in the boarding-school for girls engaged with their regular routine. On November I, when the time for the second large gathering of Indians at Easton was near; when unruly bands of them, here and there, coming down the country, were com- mitting depredations, and even murders; when a state almost of panic had again been aroused in some neighborhoods, and there was every reason for anxiety and dread at Bethlehem, a school exami- nation took place, as if the times had been the most quiet and peace- ful. A hundred and ninety-nine boys and girls were assembled in the present "Old Chapel." They were examined in spelling and read- ing, both English and German, and in arithmetic. Specimens of pen- manship were on exhibition, as well as of spinning, knitting and sewing by the girls, while vocal and instrumental music was furnished by the classes under John Andrew Albrecht, then the principal teacher and leader of music.
At that very time the symptoms of trouble were sufficient that measures were being taken to put Bethlehem in as complete a posi- tion of defence as the previous winter. The guard was restored to full strength, watch-houses were again constructed where several previous ones had been removed, and many windows and back doors of the large buildings were again walled up, the following week. On November 8, the second Council between the Governor of Pennsyl- vania and the grotesquely haughty Teedyuscung, with other chiefs and warriors and their retinue, opened at Easton. It continued until the 17th. The very day on which these exchanges of grandiloquent
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A HISTORY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA.
and evasive rhetoric, ostensibly in the interests of honest peace, began, the in-rush of refugees from the Blue Mountains at Nazareth and Bethlehem also began anew, while reports of outrages by some loitering savages in other directions were received. Even if Teedy- uscung, as a matter of expediency for the time being, was trying to prevent such things, it was clear that his word did not weigh with all the savages, and the fact that many repudiated his pretended author- ity and scouted his assumptions, was also appearing. Resentment awakened by the severe blow dealt the Indians, in the encounter at Kittanning, by Col. Armstrong, was leading some of them in the east to perpetrate petty retaliations.
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