USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, from its first beginnings to the present time; including chapters of newly-discovered, Vol. II > Part 102
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When Frances had given her reasons for not desiring to leave her home, "Captain " Brouillette spoke up and said : "The people about here, at Logansport and at Miamisport [Peru], have known me ever since the country was settled by the whites. They know me to be industrious, to manage well, and to maintain my family respectably. My mother-in-law's sons are dead, and I stand in their place to her. I mean to maintain her well as long as she lives-for the truth of which you may depend on the word of 'Captain ' Brouillette." "What
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'Captain ' Brouillette says," quickly added the old lady, "is true. He has always treated me kindly, and I hope my connections will not feel any uneasiness about me. The Indians are my people. I do no work. I sit in the house with these my two daughters, who do the work, and I sit with them." "But won't you at least go and make a visit to your early home, and when you have seen us, return again to your children?" asked Joseph Slocum. " I cannot, I cannot ! I am an old tree. I can- not move about. I was a sapling when they took me away. * I * should not be happy with my white relatives. I am glad enough to see them, but I cannot go, I cannot go. I have done."
" When the whites take a squaw," said Brouillette, with much ani- mation-as if delighted with the decision of the old lady-" they make her work like a slave. It was never so with this woman." * * *
Frances' elder daughter, the wife of Brouillette, then assented to all that had been said, and added that "the deer cannot live out of the forest." O-zah-shin-quah, the younger daughter, then confirmed what her sister had stated, and said that she thought her mother could not go even on a visit, because " the fish dies quickly out of the water." This remark- able and pathetic interview now came to a close. Frances bade her white relatives adieu, and, mounting her pony, galloped away, followed by her daughters and "Captain " Brouillette.
Dr. George Peck says* "Frances looked like an Indian, talked like an Indian, lived like an Indian, seated herself like an Indian, ate like an Indian, lay down to sleep like an Indian, thought, felt and reasoned like an Indian ; she had no longings for her original home, or the society of her kindred ; she eschewed the trammels of civilized life and could only breathe freely in the great, unfenced out-doors which God gave to the red man. There was, however, this to comfort the Slocums-their sister was not degraded in her habits or her character ; * * her Anglo-Saxon blood had not been tainted by savage touch, but bore itself gloriously amid the long series of trials through which it had passed."
A day or two after Frances' visit to Peru the Slocums set out for their respective homes, and in due time Joseph Slocum reached Wilkes- Barré, very much gratified at what he had seen and learned. The won- derful story he had to tell was listened to with the most intense interest by his family and friends.
Nearly two years later Joseph Slocum completed preparations for a second visit to his sister Frances, and set out from Wilkes-Barré Sep- tember 10, 1839, accompanied by his eldest child, Hannah Fell (Mrs. Ziba Bennett), by his youngest, Harriet Elizabeth, and by Charles Saylor. Eighteen days later they arrived at Peru, Indiana, having traveled by means of stage-coaches, lake steamers, canal-boats and rail -. roads, via Tunkhannock, Montrose, Owego, Ithaca, Rochester, Lock- port, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Sandusky City, Maumee City and Fort Wayne. Peru was reached at three o'clock on Saturday morning, Sep- tember 28th, and on the following Monday morning, a two-horse wagon and a driver having been hired, Mr. Slocum, his two daughters, Charles Saylor, James T. Miller (the interpreter) and James B. Fulwiler, previ- ously mentioned, set out for " Deaf Man's Village."
Mrs. Hannah Fell (Slocum) Bennett kept a diary of the incidents of the journey from Wilkes-Barre to Peru and back. This diary has
* In his sketch of Frances Slocum, in "Wyoming; its History, Romantic Adventures, etc."
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been published wholly, or in part, at different times, in three or four books hereinafter mentioned, and from it we learn that "Captain " Brouillette, having received intelligence of the approach of the Slocum party, came riding through the woods to meet them. He dismounted, shook hands with them all, and bade them welcome. Then he remounted his horse and galloped off with great speed to apprize his mother-in-law of the approach of the visitors. On reaching the house the latter found Frances seated in a chair, with her two daughters standing by her. The coldness and reserve of the former visit were now entirely gone, and Frances expressed great joy at again seeing her brother, and pleased that he had brought his daughters so far to see her. From the diary of Mrs. Bennett we learn further :
"The whole family appeared glad to see us, and made us as welcome as they knew how. The ' Captain ' speaks broken English. They are much more cleanly about their housekeeping and cookery than I expected to find them. We staid with them till Tues- day noon. * * She [Frances] is of small stature, not very much bent ; her hair is somewhat gray ; her eyes a bright chestnut, clear and sprightly for one of her age ; her face is very much wrinkled and weatherbeaten. * * The interior of her hut seemed well supplied with all the necessaries, if not with luxuries. They had six beds, principally composed of blankets and other goods folded together. One room contained the cooking utensils, the other the table and dishes. They spread a cloth on their table and gave us a very comfortable meal of fried venison, tea and short-cake. * * A great many trinkets hang about the house-beads and chains of silver and polished steel. Some of their dresses are richly embroidered with silver brooches-seven and eight rows of brooches as closely as they can be put together. They have many silver ear-rings. My aunt had seven pairs in her ears ; her daughters perhaps a dozen apiece. They have saddles and bridles of the most costly kind-six men's saddles and one side-saddle. They have between fifty and sixty horses, 100 hogs, seventeen head of cattle, also geese and chickens. Their house is enclosed with a common worm-fence, with some outhouses, principally built of logs. A never-failing spring of excellent water is near the door, with a house over it. They have a section of land (640 acres) given to the two daughters [as tenants in common] .* The treaty was ratified by the Government this Spring. *
"'Captain ' Brouillette, Frances' son-in-law, is now with her, providing for the family by killing game, as he is a noted hunter. He provides the wood-which is rather unusual for an Indian-and lays up corn and hay for the Winter. The husband of the younger daughter and he did not agree very well, as the former was a lazy, indolent Indian, who would not provide, but was ready to spend and eat what was provided. Brouillette left, was absent seven months, during which time the other died, in April [1839]. In June she [O-zah-shin-quah ] married a secondt ; he was killed by a Weaf in August [1839]. There is a dispute between the Miamis and the Weas respecting their annuity. The Miamis disclaim all connection with the Weas ; they had a dispute, and it ended in the death [of O-zah-shin-quah's husband].
The time for parting between the families of Frances and Joseph Slocum finally came. Frances made an effort to prevail upon her brother to come and live with her-offering to give him half of her land. Her sincerity and earnestness in this matter were affecting. As Frances, her daughters and "Captain" Brouillette shook each of their relatives warmly by the hand, they showed, by words as well as actions, the gratification they had received from the visit. Brouillette gave Mr. Slocum the most ample assurances that he would take good care of his mother-in-law while she lived.
This was the last time Joseph Slocum saw his sister, although he frequently heard from her down to the close of her life. Before leaving Peru Mr. Slocum arranged with George Winter, an English artist then residing at Logansport, to paint a portrait of Frances. It was executed in due time, and subsequently a second portrait was painted by the same
* Under the treaty described on page 1126, ante.
t In reality he was her fourth husband.
# The Weas, who had a common origin with the Miamis, were once a powerful tribe, and lived on the lower Wabash. In 1820 they made a final cession of all their lands along the Wabash and its affluents, and agreed to leave; but many of them remained.
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artist. Both are now in the possession of relatives in Wilkes-Barré, to- gether with various curious and interesting articles of apparel which were worn by Frances in her latter years. Mr. Slocum and his daughters left Peru on October 3d, and, journeying via Logansport, In- dianapolis, Cincinnati, Wheel- ing, Cadiz, Steubenville, Pitts- burg, Hollidaysburg, Northum- berland and Danville, arrived at Wilkes-Barre October 28th. As it was stipulated in the treaty of 1840 (see page 1126, ante) that the Miamis should abandon their homes on the Wabash within five years from the ratification of the treaty, there began to be much uneasi- ness manifested among many of the older members of the tribe as the time for taking their departure drew near. Among those who mourned over the coming emigration of the tribe was Frances Slocum. It was her earnest desire to be permit- ted to remain at her home on the banks of the Mississineva, MAC-ON-A-QUAH ( FRANCES SLOCUM). From a portrait painted by George Winter in 1889. (Reproduced through the courtesy of Mrs. Martha B. Phelps.) and, when she died, to be buried by the side of her husband and sons. She therefore appealed for advice and assistance to her brothers Isaac and Joseph, all the other members of her father's family being now dead-her sister Mary (Mrs. Towne) having died in April, 1844. It was finally decided to have Frances appeal to Congress, and ask if she could not be exempted from the terms of the treaty. Therefore a memorial, carefully and properly drawn up, under the date of January 17, 1845, and signed "Frances Slocum," was presented and read in the National House of Represent- atives. It was in part as follows :
* * "That she [the memorialist] is now, and for the last thirty years has been, recognized as a member of the Miami tribe. * * That she has entirely lost her mother- tongue, and can only enjoy the society of her adopted people, with whom she intermar- ried, and became the mother of a family, and with whose manners and customs she has assimilated. That she is informed that the greater part of the Miamis will be obliged to emigrate to the home assigned them west of the Mississippi in the course of one or two years, where their annuities will thereafter be paid them. That she is too old to endure the fatigue of removing; and that, under any circumstances, she would deplore the necessity of being placed beyond the reach of her white relatives, who visit her frequent- ly, and have extended their kindnesses towards her since she was discovered by them. That her children are the owners of a section of land granted to them by the treaty between the United States and said tribes of Indians of the 6th November, 1838, who now reside upon and cultivate the same, and with whom your memorialist now lives ; and that it is the wish and design of her children and their families * * to continue to reside upon and cultivate the same. * * Your memorialist therefore prays that Con- gress may by law direct that the following persons * *
* [twenty-one in number], children and grandchildren of your memorialist, as also your memorialist, and such chil- dren as they may hereafter have, shall hereafter receive their annuities at Fort Wayne, or at Peru, Indiana, as to your honorable body may seem expedient and proper."
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In the latter part of January, 1845, the Committee on Indian Affairs of the House of Representatives reported "A joint-resolution for the benefit of Frances Slocum and her children and grandchildren, of the Miami tribe of Indians." The Hon. Benjamin A. Bidlack, of Wilkes-Barre, who then represented the Wyoming district in Congress, expressed the hope that no motion would intervene to prevent the pass- age of the resolution. He said further, relative to Frances Slocum and her memorial :
"Her relatives are among the most worthy and meritorious of my constituents- they are my neighbors and friends ; they searched after the captive with zealous and praiseworthy efforts and diligence, from the time of her capture until within a few years, and they have found her in the condition set forth in the memorial and report. The incidents set forth and connected with her eventful history would afford a beautiful theme for elucidation and remark. * * What I desire is, not to make a speech, but to ask the unanimous consent of the Members for the immediate passage of the resolution. Frances Slocum was taken from her white friends when a child. She is now desirous of dying among her red friends-where she has lived for half a century-without being compelled to remove west of the Mississippi. Let her first and last request be granted. The proposition is intended to extend to her, as the widow of an Indian chief, the same privileges in relation to the payment of annuities due her and her family as are provided for by treaty stipulation in regard to certain of the Miami chiefs."
The resolution then passed the House and was sent to the Senate, by which body it was adopted on the next to the last day of the session, to wit, on March 3, 1845. It read in part as follows :
"Resolved, * * That the portions, or shares, of the annuities or other monies which are now, or may hereafter become, payable to the Miami tribe of Indians, due to the following named persons-members of said tribe of Indians-shall be hereafter and forever payable to them and their descendants at Fort Wayne, or Peru, or such other place in the State of Indiana as the Secretary of War shall direct, viz .: To Frances Slocum [and the twenty-one persons named in the memorial previously mentioned]. And be it further resolved, that if the aforesaid Indians, their descendants or any part thereof, shall hereafter remove to the country west of the Mississippi River, assigned to the Miami tribe of Indians, then and in such case the portions or shares of annuities, or other monies payable to said tribe, shall be paid to such persons so removing at the place of payment of annuities to said tribe of Indians."
The prompt action of Congress in granting the petition of Frances Slocum pleased her greatly, and removed a load of anxiety from her mind. She and her descendants were now free to remain at their Indi- ana homes, while those of the Miamis not exempted were compelled to depart. The great emigration began in 1846. Under an escort of guides and soldiers the long Indian train moved across the country, over the prairies of Illinois and Iowa to the new reservation provided for the emigrants in Kansas.
After the departure of the Miamis there was a rush of white land- grabbers to acquire the abandoned lands of the Indians, and soon new settlers began to make improvements all around the reservation occu- pied by Frances and her family. The presence of these neighbors was not calculated to promote the comfort and quiet of the old lady, and she sent for her brother Isaac and arranged with him to have his son, George R. Slocum, remove from Ohio and live with her.
In The Wabash Gazette of the fore part of August, 1855, there was printed an article entitled "The White Woman ; or the Mysteries of Providence." It contained an account of the captivity of Frances Slocum and her discovery by her relatives, and concluded with the fol- lowing paragraph :
" 'The White Woman,' as she was called, requested that his [Isaac Slocum's] son, George R. Slocum, should be adopted into her family, which was accordingly done. Brother Slocum afterwards removed with his family into the vicinity of the tribe, where
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he now resides. This adoption into the family of his aunt has enabled him to exert a great and highly salutary influence over the tribe, and he has done much for the sup- pression of intemperance among them, to counteract the influence of the ' traders,' and to instruct them in agriculture and religion. Mrs. Slocum has also spent much time and labor in instructing the women in sewing, spinning, cooking, etc., as well as imparting religious instruction. The result has been, in connection with the labors of others, a great improvement in the condition of the tribe, and the hopeful conversion of some of them. Two of their principal men, who married daughters of . The White Woman,' viz., Peter Bondy and Jean Baptiste Brouillette, have united with the Antioch Baptist Church in their vicinity, and are now good citizens and worthy members of the Church."
Soon after the visit of her Wilkes-Barre relatives in 1839, Frances had a new log house built on the hill a few hundred yards in the rear of her old home, which stood on the brink of the river. In this new house she lived with her family until her death, which occurred March 9, 1847. She was buried by the side of the remains of her hus- band and two young sons in the Indian grave-yard, situated only a short distance from her house. She was survived by her two daughters- Ke-ke-nok-esh-wah and O-zah-shin-quah.
Ke-ke-nok-esh-wah, or "Cut Finger," was born about 1800. She was married about 1819 to a Miami Indian, who died a year or two later, leaving an infant daughter. It is alleged that this daughter was poisoned to death, about 1836 or '37, by the friends of a young Indian who wanted to marry the girl, but who, on account of his general worth- lessness, was refused permission by Ke-ke-nok-esh-wah. Some years be- fore this-probably about 1834-Ke-ke-nok-esh-wah was married (2d) to Jean Baptiste Brouillette, a half-breed Frenchman. Thenceforward she was generally known as "Nancy Brouillette." At the time of the death of her mother she was ill, and was so prostrated by that occurrence that she died four days later. Some time afterwards " Captain " Brouillette (as he was commonly called) was married (2d) to Eliza Godfroy, a daughter of his sister-in-law, O-zah-shin-quah, by her first husband. Brouillette was born in 1796 in what is now Indiana, near the city of La Fayette, of French and Indian parentage, and was brought up as a Miami Indian. In middle life he was very straight and slim, and six feet and two inches in height. His mind was clear and strong, and he had great comprehension and scope of thought. He had considerable reputation as an orator, and also as a " medicine-man." He was a very peaceable man, and had many friends among the whites. He was the first Miami Indian to cultivate corn with a plow. Through the mis- sionary labors of George R. Slocum (previously mentioned) " Captain " Brouillette was converted to Christianity in 1854. He attached himself to the Baptist denomination and entered into his religious profession with earnest zeal-so much so that he labored as a missionary among the Miamis who continued to live in Indiana. He died at " Deaf Man's Village " June 17, 1867, and was buried in the Indian grave-yard where the remains of his first wife and his mother-in-law had been laid twenty years previously.
O-zah-shin-quah, or " Yellow Leaf," the younger daughter of Mac- on-a-quah, was born on the banks of the Mississineva River in 1815 or '16. When quite young she was married to Louis Godfroy, a nephew of Francis Godfroy who had succeeded her father as war-chief of the Miamis, and was the last member of the tribe to hold that office. She bore her husband two daughters, and shortly afterwards was separated from him because of his abusive treatment of her. Later he removed
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with other Miamis to the country west of the Mississippi, and shortly afterwards O-zah-shin-quah was married (2d) to Wap-shing-quah, of the Miami tribe. To him she bore a daughter named Kin-o-zach-wa, or Elizabeth, who grew to womanhood and became the wife of Gabriel, son of Francis Godfroy, previously mentioned. She died October 28, 1879, aged forty-three years and one month, and was survived by four sons and one daughter. The second husband of O-zah-shin-quah hav- ing either died or disappeared, she was married (3d) about 1838 to Tac- co-nah, also of the Miami tribe. Shortly afterwards (in April, 1839) he died, and O-zah-shin-quah was ready for a fourth husband. He soon came along (in June, 1839) in the person of Ma-ma-mundra, brother of "No. 3." By this last union there was one daughter-Lavinia, who grew to maturity. The fourth husband of O-zah-shin-quah having been killed in August, 1839, by a quarrelsome Indian, she was married in 1840 to Wah-pah-pe-tah, or Peter Bondy, to whom she bore four sons and three daughters.
In habits and manners O-zah-shin-quah was a thorough Indian, and never learned to speak the English language, although she lived to be sixty-two years of age. She was reserved and of a retiring disposi- tion ; but, like her mother, was industrious and desirous of accumulat- ing property. After her last marriage she was commonly called "Jane Bondy." She died January 25, 1877, at the house built by her mother on the hill near the Indian grave-yard at " Deaf Man's Village." Peter Bondy, the last husband of O-zah-shin-quah, was born on Eel River, near Fort Wayne, in July, 1817, the son of a Mohegan woman and a French trader, named Antoine Bondie, who had lived among the Miamis since the age of twelve years. In 1840-about the time of his marriage to O-zah-shin-quah-Peter Bondy was adopted by the Miami tribe. Under the ministrations of George R. Slocum he became a convert to the Bap- tist Church, and for twenty-six years thereafter labored as a missionary among his people. He spoke broken English, with a strong French accent. He died subsequently to 1891.
In May, 1900, a handsome monument was erected over the grave of Frances Slocum in the little Indian grave-yard near Reserve, Indi- ana, at the expense of members of the Slocum family residing in vari- ous parts of the United States. The monument was unveiled, with interesting ceremonies, in the presence of a large assemblage of Slocums and others gathered from near and from far. On the east face of the monument is the following inscription :
" FRANCES SLOCUM, a child of English descent, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island, March 4, 1773 ; was carried into captivity from her father's house at Wilkes- Barré, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1778, by Delaware Indians, soon after the Wyoming Massacre. Her brothers gave persistent search, but did not find her until September 21, 1837."
On the south face of the monument is the following inscription:
"SHE-PO-CON-AH, a Miami Indian Chief, husband of Frances Slocum-Ma-con-a- quah-died here in 1833 (?) at an advanced age. Their adult children were : Ke-ke-nok- esh-wah, wife of the Rev. Jean Baptiste Brouillette, died March 13, 1847, aged forty-seven years, leaving no children. O-zah-shin-quah, or Jane, wife of the Rev. Peter Bondy, died January 25, 1877, aged sixty-two years, leaving a husband and nine children."
On the north side of the monument are these words :
"When, inclined by a published letter describing an aged white woman in the Miami Indian village here, two brothers and a sister visited this place, they identified her. She lived near here about thirty-two years with the Indian name Ma-con-a-quah. She died on this ridge March 9, 1847, and was given a Christian burial."
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On the west face of the monument is this inscription :
"FRANCES SLOCUM became a stranger to her mother-tongue. She became a stranger to her brethren, and an alien to her mother's children, through her captivity. (See Psalms, LXIX : 8.)
"This monument was erected by Slocums and others who deemed it a pleasure to contribute, and was unveiled by them with public ceremonies May 17, 1900."
In November, 1906, certain descendants of Judge Joseplı Slocum (younger brother of Frances), residing in Wilkes-Barré, erected upon the front wall of The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society's building, Wilkes-Barré, a bronze tablet commemora- tive of Frances Slocum ; IN MEMORY OF FRANCES SLOCUM MA-CON-A-QUAH and at the same time, upon one of the walls of the public-school building on North Street, they placed "THE LOST SISTER OF WYOMING CAPTURED BY DELAWARE INDIANS WHEN FIVE YEARS - OLD NOVEMBER 211778 NEAR a second tablet, indicating THE SOOTAWEST CORNER OF NORTH PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE the spot, near by, where AND EAST NORM: STREET H. WILKES - BARNE PA. formerly stood the house SHE TIAS THE DAUGHTER OF JONATHAN AND RUTH TRIPP SLOCUIR of' Jonathan Slocum from AND WAS DISCOVERED DIVING NEAR PERU INDIANA which Frances was carried SY BER RELATIVES SEPTEMBER 22.307 AND DIED MARCH 9, 1847 away in 1778. The His- torical Society tablet bears a diagram showing the loca- tion of the Slocum house of 1778 with relation to the present North and Scott Streets and Pennsylvania Avenue ; while the inscription upon this tablet (a photo-reproduction of which is herewith given) reads as follows :
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