USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 22
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Burlington, (Tschichohacki,) ancient, or oldest planted land. There they said, that they planted their first town on the river! It was called Chycs island, (or Chygoes ?) after an Indian named Schigo which means widower. The Indian tribes there, and along the river, were the Mandas.
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Potowmak river, (Pedhámmôk,) they are coming (by water,) "sc Indians told Mr. H."
Chesapeake bay, (Tschsichwapéke,) great saltish bay.
Powhatan, the name of James river, and the chief also-the river of abundance.
Pocohantas, a run between two hills.
Rappahannok, (Lappihánne,) where water ebbs and flows.
Susquehanna, Hanna, means river, and Susque, muddy.
Temanen, probably Temened, (the chief?) the affable.
Some notable Indians, known to Heckewelder, to wit :
Nutimus, (Nútamæs,) a striker of fish with a spear, two brothers of that name, one Isaac, the other Pontius Nutamæs, an excellent man, was born where Philadelphia now stands, lived to a hundred years of age, and died at Muskingum, after thirty years' residence, in 1780. His brother Isaac, was also a chief, and a good man, and learned to work with tools, and at blacksmithing, died also near his brother in 1780.
Lawelochwelend, one who walks between two others, or the middle man. He also was born on the place now Philadelphia, he saw the first house building when about twelve or thirteen years of age; he caught fish and rabbits, and shot ducks, pheasants, &c., for the workmen-and the woman who cooked for them, and kept a little shop, gave him for them, needles, thread, scissors, knives, awl blades, &c., for his mother. In manhood he went to Ohio to dwell there, to trap beavers and otters, &c .; was made a chief there, he became afterwards a Moravian ; visited Philadelphia several times and saw its increase !- he died at ninety years of age, about the year 1779.
Nedowaway, (Netawátees,) of the Turtle tribe, was cheated of his lands by "the Long-walk ;" he was a signer to the treaty at Conestoga, in 1718-he died in 1776, at ninety years of age, in Ohio. In his possession as chief were the speeches, &c., of Wil- liam Penn, and his successors. He had himself seen William Penn, and spoke of those early speeches and times with great animation to Mr. H.
Kill-buck, Jun., (Gelelémend,) as chief of the Turtle tribe, had the bag containing the wampum speeches, and written documents of William Penn, carefully preserved, till surprised near Pittsburg by bad white people, and lost the bag among them, in making his escape. He died in 1811, aged eighty years, a Christian convert. Tedeuscung was burnt in his house on Susquehanna.
The Indian alarms and hostilities.
Secretary Peters presented in council, in Dec. 1755, a brief narra- tive of the incursions and ravages of the Indians in the province of
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Pennsylvania, beginning upon the 18th of October, upon the inha- bitants on Mahanatry creek, near the forks of the Susquehanna, "this being the first inroad ever made upon this province since its first set- tlement," and " thus driving in the inhabitants of all the frontier country, which extends from the rivers Potomac and Susquehanna, to the river Delaware, one hundred and fifty miles in length, and between twenty and thirty in breadth, but not fully settled, and leaving the whole entirely deserted"-" the houses and improve- ments reduced to ashes, and the cattle and grain carried off." All these hostile measures are imputed to the influence of the French after the defeat of Braddock, they gaining thereby to their interest the Delawares, Shawanese and many others formerly in our alliance, both from fear and from interest ; they promising them to reinstate them in their lands, and to make the Susquehanna river the boun- dary of the whites, and to this end that they would build a strong fort at Shamokin, nigh to the confluence, or forks of the two branches of the Susquehanna.
The ravages of Indians, as told on the Minutes of Council, were as follows, to wit ;
Oct. 18, 1755. A party of Indians fell upon the people on Ma- hanatry creek, that runs into the Susquehanna five miles below the great fork of that river, near Shamokin or Northumberland, and killed and carried off twenty-five persons, and burnt and destroyed their buildings, leaving the whole settlement deserted by the survivors.
Oct. 23d. Forty-six of the inhabitants on Susquehanna went up to Shamokin to inquire of Indians there, who they were who had so cruelly destroyed the above settlement, and on their return were fired upon by some Indians in ambush, and had four killed, four drowned, and the rest put to flight. From this cause all the settle- ments below, to Hunter's mill, (now McAllister's Fort Hunter,) for fifty miles along the river was deserted.
Oct. 31. An Indian trader and two other men in the Tuscarora valley, were killed by Indians, and their houses, &c. burned. The rest of the inhabitants left their plantations and fled.
Nov. 3. Two women are carried away from Conegochege by the Indians, and the same day Canalaways and Little Cove, two con- siderable settlements, were attacked by Indians-the houses were burned and the inhabitants put to flight.
Nov. 16. A party of Indians crossed the Susquehanna, and fell upor. the county of Berks-murdered thirteen persons, burned a great number of houses, destroyed much cattle, grain and fodder, and laid waste a large extent of country.
Nov. 21. A fine settlement of Moravians, called Gnadenhutten, in Northampton county, on the West branch (Lehigh) of Delaware river, was attacked-six persons killed-their meeting-house and dwelling houses burned.
December. During all this month, the Indians were employed in burning and destroying all before them in Northampton county, even
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as far as within twenty miles of Easton, its chief town. It was even said that some French officers were within the same county directing the general progress of the war and the destruction.
A letter from James Hamilton, Esq., then at Easton, Dec. 25, 1755, says-" The country along the river is absolutely deserted from this place to Broadhead's, which last place was stoutly defended by nis sons and others against the frequent assaults of the Indians. There are here three companies of soldiers, waiting for more arrivals, for the people here, though so injured, are very backward to engage in the service to revenge themselves ; they are dispirited, and we must have men from a distance to be able to garrison these block-houses which we purpose to build over the hills soon.
The following notice of a reward for scalps, I had at first some scruples to record ; but truth is truth, and on second thought I ven- ture to give it, as it is, only adding that there were other views che- rished by "the Association for preserving peace with the Indians," as organized at Philadelphia in the time of Gov. Hunter, in 1756.
At a council at Philadelphia, 6th July, 1764, present John Penn, Lieut .- Gov., Thomas Cadwalader and Richard Penn, Esqs. The council, having before agreed to give encouragement for a more successful war on the frontiers against the Indians, agreed to give a reward for scalps, &c., provided it should be approved, &c., by Sir William Johnson. His answer of 18th June, '64, is, "I cannot but approve of your design to gratify the desire of the people in your province by a bounty on scalps," &c. Whereupon the council resolved to issue a proclamation the 7th July, 1764, and to publish it in the Gazette, to wit: for every prisoner, male, deli- vered, 150 dollars-for every female, 138 dollars-for the scalp of every male, 134 dollars-for every female, 50 dollars, &c. &c. After this, I saw fears expressed by Conrad Weiser and others, that the reward for scalps would induce even friendly Indians to kill white men for their scalps. It is to be hoped that the ill-judged severity passed away without any practical operation. Gov. Hunter began it in 1756, as a proclamation, but nothing was done there- from.]
May 5, 1758. Information is given that an Indian, William Sock, a Conestogoe, just returned from the New York country, and his comrade, a Cayuga, had for some time been tampering with the Conestogoe Indians, near Lancaster, and that they were at the in- stance of those Indians proposing to remove from the manor, his honour had therefore written to James Wright to inquire into the matter.
A letter was also read from Edward Shippen, Esq., of Lancaster, of 3d May, 1758, saying among other things, that "the Conestogoe Indians are going to leave their town ; they say they were not kindly treated lately at Philadelphia, they being left there unnoticed, and left naked and barefooted, which was a breach of the governor's word, before given, &c .: that as they were no longer to be allowed
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to hunt for deer, and as they were forced to go into the wilderness to seek clothing for themselves and families, they should therefore go a little beyond Fort Augusta, and there build Indian cabins for their use, for six months or so, and then return. Mr. McKee, our friend, informs that he made it his business to inquire about these things, and that he learned from Betty Sock, the mother of William afore- said, that he and some of the young men were absolutely resolved to go and help the French. Such being the facts, I shall use my ut- most to restrain them from going, as an affair of much importance to the province."
[The foregoing statements probably explained, in part, the reason of the fears and jealousies of the Paxton men, then a part of Lan- caster county, against that tribe.] Mr. Wright afterwards makes an- swer that the young men are going away for want of hunting grounds, and that the people here are in general greatly prejudiced against them, and so that there was some fear, even in sending old Sesane and some others, with the Cayuga, to Philadelphia, to hold a conference, which he however does, accompanied by a friend of the government. He does not palliate or excuse them, he only says he thinks they may not intend ill.
I read the minute books of council down to the year 1760. The last twenty-five years, however, more superficially than the pre- ceding ones. The last ten years were much engrossed with Indian concerns and deliberations, and with communications from Indians and Indian agents. The Indian conferences and speeches were generally of little interest ; they contained no incidental history worth noticing.
We here add sundry facts gleaned from the New York Mercury, g.c., from the years 1755 to 1763.
1755. The people settled on the west side of the Susquehanna are all alarmed and moving eastward into the settlements. The peo- ple of Juniata have all run off and left their grain to ruin-alarms also at Carlisle.
1757. We learn from Northampton county, that at Lynn township, in same county, a party of Indians assaulted Adam Clawse and his neighbours whilst cutting his corn-Martin Yager and his wife were killed and scalped ; Abram Secler and a child were scalped, but sur vive ; two men shot through, but still live ; two children murdered ; two men and two women, and a girl escaped. A party was made up and went in pursuit of them.
1757. We learn from York county, the 2d July, that a woman and three children were carried away by the Indians, and the house burnt. The farmer and his sons were abroad at work.
1757. From Carlisle, we learn, that Alexander Miller, of Antrim township, in Cumberland county, was killed in June, and two of nis children carried off. His boy of fourteen years of age, shut him- self in the house, and kept up such a defensive fire as to save him- self bv alarming his neighbours. The wife being out hid herself
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in the bushes-one man was killed at about six miles from Carlisle.
1757. Two men were killed in Shearman's valley-one man who was wounded made his escape into Carlisle.
1757. From Tulpehocken, July 4, one says-the Indians are murdering about six miles from my house. Last Friday three wo- men and four children were murdered only seven miles from me. If we do not get speedy assistance all the inhabitants will move away
1757. From Heidelberg, July 9,-yesterday afternoon an assault was made upon a house in which were twenty women and children, while the men were all abroad picking cherries. They scalped one woman who still lives; another they cut terribly with a tomahawk. Three of the children they carried off prisoners.
1757. From Reading, July 12. Two Indians were seen close by the town on the 4th instant, in the evening-two were also seen before, about eight miles off. They are frequently seen in different parts of this country. We have a scheme to secure this town; and if we are not surprised by the French, we fear but little what the Indians can do.
1758. York county, April 5. Three Indians were seen this day near Thomas Jamieson's, at the head of Marsh creek. After the alarm was given, six men proceeded to Jamieson's house and found Robert Buck killed and scalped-all the rest of the family are miss ing. The same day a person going to Shippenstown, saw a num ber of Indians. These facts have caused much alarm.
1758. A letter from an officer at Tulpehocken, April 8th, says- We were informed last night at Shearman's valley, that a woman had been killed and scalped there-we are now setting off with sol- diers in pursuit. The list of killed, with one prisoner, is as follows, to wit : At Swatara, two young men brothers; in Tulpehocken, one Levergood and wife killed; at Northkill, the wife of Nicholas Gieger and his two children, and the wife of M. Titleser-all killed and scalped. The Indians keep themselves divided in small parties through the woods.
1758. July. The Indians lately appeared near Harris' ferry. (now Harrisburg,) on the Susquehanna. One of them seized on Capt. Craig about seven miles from Harris', as he was riding along the road. The Indian cast his tomahawk and cut him in the cheek, a number of Indians at same time setting up a cry. Craig gave spurs to his horse and got off. The same day a lad, driving a plough, was shot at and one of his horses killed, the boy escaped. An In- dian, at night, got his gun through the palisade at Mr. Harris' house, and endeavoured to fire at the people in the house, but his gun flashing in the pan, alarmed the people-on which the enemy made off.
1763. A letter from Carlisle of July, says-We have now eighty or ninety volunteers scouring the woods. The inhabitants of Shear- man's valley, Tuscorara, &c., have all come over, and the people of VOL. II-Y 16*
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this valley, near the mountain, are beginning to move in, so that in a few days there will be scarcely a house inhabited north of Car- jisle. This letter mentions the names and places of several families attacked, and of several killed on the Juniata, and at Shearman's valley-grain destroyed-houses sometimes burnt, by small parties of Indians, only thirty or forty miles from Carlisle. The sheriff and his party overtook a party of fifteen to twenty Indians, and had a fight in Shearman's valley, and beat them off. At same time there are Indian alarms and surprises near Cumberland, in Frederick county, in Maryland. The papers contain many accounts of mas- sacres all about the South mountain, Tuscarora mountains, &c. Retreating families pass through Fredericktown, Maryland, daily. The families of Fincher and of Miller, twenty-four miles from Read ing, were all murdered-the Indians were pursued. At this time sermons were preached in most of the churches in Philadelphia, to raise funds and necessaries for the back inhabitants, and besides col- lections are made generally among the citizens, by going from house to house.
Indian news from Northampton county, October, 1763, says- The Indians attacked John Stinton's house, eight miles from Beth- lehem, and killed some. Capt. Wetherholt from Fort Allen, (Al- lentown,) with his party went in pursuit. The captain and sergeant got mortally wounded.
N. Marks, of Whitehall township, and Hance Snider's families, were also assaulted-some killed and wounded. The inhabitants are all in alarm. Most of the people of Allentown, &c., have fled to Bethlehem and Nazareth, and this last is put into a state of de- fence. About the same time an expedition of one hundred and fifty men, under Col. Armstrong, went up the West branch of the Susquehanna to the great encampment of the Indians at the Great island, and they fled beyond the frontiers. The Indians appeared in Sussex county, New Jersey, on the Delaware river side, and killed several whites. On the 15th of November, the Indians killed three men, twenty-two miles from Reading, on the north side of the mountains, at the forks of the Schuylkill. They were just return- ing back to their plantation, which they had before deserted.
Indian ravages and incidents, near Carlisle and Harrisburg.
In the year 1807, Archibald Loudon, of Carlisle, (alive in 1835,) wrote and published a work in two volumes, 12mo., wherein he set forth his narrative of Indian wars in general, and several instances of occurrences in and near Shearman's valley, where he was born. They are curious now, as showing the rapid changes of civilization and cultivation in the same regions of country along the line of the Susquehanna, even in the short period of eighty years. When we contemplate the present state of Harrisburg and its society, we cannot but feel surprised that such a thickly populated country, so well im
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proved, should have been so recently rescued from the terrors of pre- datory Indians and the horrors of the scalping knife.
James Watson and William McMullin, who lived in Cumberland county, between Conodoquinett creek and the Blue mountain, were surprised by Indians while at their barn, they endeavoured to reach their fort, where others were gathered for safety, but got wounded, overtaken and finally killed.
In the year 1756, the Indians beset the house of one Woolcomber, on Shearman's creek, at a time when all the rest of the inhabitants had gathered into the fort at George Robinson's. He being a Quaker, refused to seek refuge, saying that the Indians would be peaceable but for the Irish ; while at his dinner the Indians came in, he asked them to come eat with him, but an Indian answered that they did not want food, but scalps-he then drove his tomahawk into his head. His son of fourteen years of age made off and alarmed the fort, consisting of about forty men.
July, 1756. The Indians waylaid the fort in Shearman's valley in harvest time, and when the reapers had gone out, they were about to assault it, but Robert Robinson and James Wilson, standing at the gate of the fort and firing at a mark, alarmed the Indians, so that they made off, killing a daughter of Robert Miller, the wife of James Wilson, and the widow Gibson, and taking prisoners Hugh Gibson and Betsey Henry.
Samuel Bell and James Bell, near Carlisle, in 1755-6, agreed to go to Shearman's valley to hunt deer, and were to have met together upon Croghan's gap. Before they met, however, Samuel Bell, saw three Indians in the valley, all fired at each other from their trees. He wounded one of them, and received some shot in his own clothes. The two Indians unhurt moved at same time to get him between them; in doing so, he shot one of them dead. The other Indian ran and took the dead one on his back to make escape ; but he pursuing wounded the carrier, who dropped his charge and made off some distance, where he was afterwards found dead. The first wounded Indian was visited and killed. Thus one man killed three Indians within an hour. Samuel Bell was a farmer upon Stony ridge.
[The names of sundry forts were in general after the name of the owner of the farms where situate, and were stockade defences generally, for the refuge and defence of families, acting as farmers and settlers, and not for real soldiers. Hunter's fort was the same as Hunter's mill.]
In the year 1755, Peter Shaver, John Savage, and two other men, were killed at the mouth of Shaver's creek on Juniata, by Indians.
In February, 1756, Indians came to Juniata from Shamokin, to the house of Hugh Mitcheltrees, and killed his wife and a young man ; they thence went and killed Edward Nicholous and his wife, and took Joseph, Thomas and Catherine Nicholous, John Wilcox, James Armstrong's wife and two children prisoners. About same
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time James Cotties and his boy left that party, and went to Shear man's creek, and killed William Sheridan and his family of thirteen persons !- thence they went down the creek to a family of three aged persons, and killed them. The same Cotties, in the year 1757, went to Hunter's fort, and killed a young man of the name of William Martin, whilst he was gathering chestnuts. After the war was over, the same Cotties, being at the same fort, was killed by an Indian of the name of Hambus, who reproached him for the death of young Martin.
In July, 1756, Hugh Gibson was captured from Robinson's fort in Shearman's valley-at same time killed his mother. He saw a prisoner white woman burned to death, they stripped and bound her to a stake, they applied hot irons to her, the skin sticking to them at every touch, and she screaming and crying for mercy! Several prisoners were compelled to stand as spectators.
In the year 1755, the province of Pennsylvania erected Fort Gran- ville at Old town, situate at the junction of Kishecoquilles creek and Juniata. It was the station of a company of enlisted soldiers, when it was attacked by a body of Indians, they at same time firing it with pine knots and combustibles. The captain was killed, and his lieutenant of name of Turner surrendered ; some were massacred the others borne off, only one man escaped wounded to Carlisle. Poor Turner they burnt to death, so that he saved nothing by his too tame surrendering !
The same party next attacked Bingham's fort in Tuscarora, this they also burned, killing and capturing all that were in it. About the same time they killed Robert Cochran on his own farm, and bore off his wife and son.
The Indians, in one of their inroads into Shearman's valley, mur- dered a family of seven persons on the creek ; thence passing over Croghan's gap they wounded a man and killed his horse. At Conodoquinett creek, in the next valley, they captured Mrs. Boyle and her two sons and a daughter.
At another time they came upon the frontiers of Lancaster county, (now that part called Dauphin county,) assaulting a family moving by wagon, killed the driver; the rest made off to a fort near by. As the men went from this fort to the next, nine miles distant, to give the alarm, they were waylaid and all killed except two, who escaped wounded.
Mrs. Boggs, of the same neighbourhood, while riding to a neigh- bour's house, was fired upon by the Indians, and her horse killed, she had a sucking child with her, which they killed and scalped, the mother they took away.
At Paxton, the defenceless state of the people induced four men living in one house " to erect a fort round it ;" [this perhaps shows the manner of many of them named after the individual owners.] It so happened that a captain with his company had halted there to pass the night; it also chanced that the gate was left unfastened
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By this means some Indians, who knew not of the accidental increase of strength, got into the enclosure and closed it, summoning at same time a surrender. The house door was opened ; as they entered they were shot down, and those who fled, not being able to find the gate, were all killed !
In the spring of 1763, the Indians began to kill and scalp the frontier inhabitants, and in a short time drove them all as far as the North mountain ; however, when harvest came on, some of the peo- ple of Tuscarora and Shearman's valley ventured to go back to secure their crops; but the Indians came upon them, before they had begun, and when the people, because of its being Sabbath day, were in their houses. The most of those of Tuscarora were killed. Eight persons were killed in Dodds' house, Dodds himself got off to Shearman's valley and gave the alarm. Two companies went on to bury the dead, &c., to wit : the Upper company and the Buffaloe company : as the latter were returning they were surprised by the Indians, and six of their company were killed, the remaining six per- sons escaped. Then the Indians went up the valley, and seeing five men approaching they concealed themselves, and killed John Logan and Charles Coil, and wounded William Hamilton, who died soon after at Carlisle.
In the second war, say on the 5th July, 1763, as told by Robert Robinson, the Indians went to Juniata in harvest time, where the people had gone back to reap their crops, while the reapers all lay upon the floor in William White's house on Sunday, the Indians crept up and shot them all, save one boy, who leaped out of the window and got off.
The same Indians, went off to Robert Campbell's, on the Tus- carora creek, surprised them in the same way, shot them on the floor where they were resting themselves. One Dodds made his escape up the chimney, and fled to Shearman's valley ; thence they went to William Anderson's, and killed him; thence they went to Collins' and committed depredations, burned Graham's house, &c. They were afterwards pursued and overtaken at Nicholson's, and a battle ensued, there being twenty-five Indians, to twelve white per- sons ; five of the latter were killed.
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