USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Centennial : the settlement, formation and progress of Dauphine County, Pennsylvania, from 1785 to 1876 > Part 3
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
them both, burned several houses, and carried off Samuel Ainsworth, a lad about thirteen years old. The next day they scalped a German, whose name has not been given.
From entries made in their duplicates by the tax col- lectors of East Hanover and West Hanover townships for the year 1756, it is shown that the following settlers had fled from their houses in that year. The whole du- plicate contains the names of about one hundred taxables. The names of those who deserted their "clearings," in East Hanover, now principally in Lebanon county, have come down to us, as follows:
Andrew Karsnits,
Barnhart Bashore,
Andrew M'Mahon,
John Gilliland,
Jacob Bashore,
Thomas Hume,
John M'Culloch,
Matthias Bashore,
Thomas Strean,
Walter M'Farland,
William M'Culloch,
John Hume,
Robert Kirkwood,
Philip Colp,
Peter Wolf,
William Robeson,
Casper Yost,-
Henry Kuntz,
Valentine Staffolbeim,
Conrad Cleck,
William Watson,
Andrew Clenan,
Christian Albert,
John Stewart.
Rudolph Fry,
Daniel Moser,
John Porterfield,
Peter Walmer,
John M'Clure,
David Strean,
James Rafter,
John Anderson, Thomas Shirley, James Graham,
John Strean, Andrew M'Grath,
John Bruner,
Barnet M'Nett,
Conrad Rice,
Frederick Noah,
Andrew Brown,
Alexander Swan,
Jacob Moser,
William Brown,
John Green.
Philip Maurer,
In West Hanover, all of which is in the present limits of this county, we have a list of those driven from their farms, containing the following, which is as complete as possible : John Gordon, Robert Huston, Widow Cooper,
Richard Johnston,
Benjamin Wallace,
David Ferguson,
Alexander Barnet,
William Bennett,
Widow DeArmond.
James M'Caver,
Bartholomew Harris,
James Wilson,
Robert Porterfield,
John Swan, James Bannon,
James Brown,
Philip Robeson, John Hill,
William M'Clure,
Widow M'Gowen,
Thomas Bell,
Thomas M'Clure,
Samuel Brown,
Thomas Maguire,
John Henry,
Thomas Hill,
William M'Cord,
James Riddle,
James Johnston, (killed.)
John M'Culloch,
Moses Vance,
James M'Curry,
Samuel Barnett,
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
Adam Reed, under date of Hanover, October 14, 1756, thus addresses Edward Shippen and others, on the situa- tion of affairs in his neighborhood:
"Friends and Fellow Subjects :
"I send you in a few lines, the melancholy condition of the frontiers of this county. Last Tuesday, the 12th inst., ten Indians came to Noah Frederick while plough- ing, killed and scalped him, and carried away three of his children that were with him-the oldest but nine years old-and plundered his house, and carried away everything that suited their purpose; such as clothes, bread, butter, a saddle, and a good rifle gun, &c., it being but two short miles to Capt. Smith's fort at Swatara Gap, and a little better than two miles from my house.
"Last Saturday evening an Indian came to the house of Philip Robeson, carrying a green bush before him- said Robeson's son, being on the corner of his fort, watch- ing others that were dressing flesh by him; the Indian perceiving that he was observed, fled; the watchman fired, but missed him; this being about three-fourths of a mile from Manady Fort ;- and yesterday morning, two miles from Smith's Fort at Swatara, Mt. Bethel township, as Jacob Farnwell was going from the house of Jacob Meylin to his own, was fired upon by two Indi- ans and wounded, but escaped with his life ;- and a little after, in said township, as Frederick Hewly and Peter Sample were carrying away their goods in wagons, were met by a parcel of Indians and all killed, lying dead in one place, and one man at a little distance. But what more has been done, has not come to my ears-only that the Indians were continuing their murders.
"The frontiers [people] are employed in nothing else than carrying off their effects, so that some miles are now waste. We are willing, but not able, without help -you are able, if you be willing, (that is, including the lower parts of the county,) to give such assistance as
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
will enable us to recover our waste land. You may de- pend upon it, that, without assistance, we, in a few days, will be on the wrong side of you; for I am now on the frontier, and I fear that by to-morrow night I will be left two miles.
"Gentlemen: Consider what you will do, and don't be long about it; and don't let the world say that we died as fools died! Our hands are not tied, but let us exert ourselves and do something for the honor of our country and the preservation of our fellow subjects. I hope you will communicate our grievances to the lower part of our county, for surely they will send us help, if they under- stood our grievances.
"I would have gone down myself, but dare not; my family is in such danger. I expect an answer by the bearer, if possible.
"I am, gentlemen, " Your very humble servant,
"ADAM REED. "Edward Shippen and others.
"P. S .- Before sending this away, I would mention, I have just received information that there are seven killed and five children scalped alive, but have not the account of their names."
May 16, 1757. Eleven persons killed at Paxton by the Indians.
August 19, 1757. Fourteen people killed and taken from Mr. Finley's congregation, and one man killed near Harris Ferry, (now Harrisburg). At this period nego- tiations for peace commenced with the powerful chieftain of the Delaware and Shawanese tribes, when the barbari- ties of the Susquehanna Indians somewhat abated. But the French, and western Indians, still roamed in small parties over the country, committing many depredations.
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
The following extracts are from the Pennsylvania Ga- sette, of 1757:
"We hear from Lancaster, that six persons were taken away by the Indians, from Lancaster county, on the 17th August."
"Since our last, we learn from Lancaster, that there was nothing but murdering and capturing among them by the Indians. That on the 17th of August, one Beatty was killed in Paxton-that the next day James Mackey was murdered in Hanover, and William and Joseph Bar- nett wounded. That on the same day were taken pris- oners a son of James Mackey, a son of Joseph Barnett, Elizabeth Dickey and her child, and the wife of Samuel Young and her child, and that ninety-four men, women and children were seen flying from their places in one body, and a great many more in smaller parties. So that it was feared the settlements would be entirely for- saken."
"Our accounts in general from the frontiers, are most dismal; all agree that some of the inhabitants are killed or carried off-houses burned and cattle destroyed daily -and at the same time, they are afflicted with severe sickness and die fast. So that in many places, they are neither able to defend themselves when attacked, nor to run away."
A letter from Hanover township, dated October Ist, 1757, says that the neighborhood is almost without in- habitants, and on that day, and the day before, several creatures were killed by the enemy in Hanover.
On the 25th of November, Thomas Robeson and a son of Thomas Bell were killed and scalped by the Indians in Hanover township; but the Indians immediately went off after committing other murders.
The following letter was written to Governor Denny by the commandant at Fort Hunter, a few miles north of the present site of Harrisburg:
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
"FORT HUNTER, the 3d of October, 1757.
"May it please Your Honor :
"In my coming back from ranging the frontiers, on Saturday, the 3d inst., I heard that the day before, twelve Indians were seen not far from here. As it was late and not knowing their further strength, I thought to go at day-break next morning, with as many soldiers and bat- taux men as I could get; but in a short time heard a gun fired off, and running directly to the spot, found the dead body of one William Martin, who went into the woods to pick up chestnuts, were the Indians were lying in ambush. I ordered all the men to run into the woods, and we ranged until it got dark. The continued rain we have had, hindered me from following them. A num- ber of the inhabitants had come here to assist in pur- suing the Indians, but the weather prevented them. There were only three Indians seen by some persons who were sitting before Mr. Hunter's door, and they say all was done in less than four minutes. That same night I cautioned the inhabitants to be on their guard; and in the morning I ranged on this side of the moun- tain; but the next day, my men being few in number by reason of fourteen of them being sick, I could not be long from the garrison; and it seems to me, there is a great number of the enemy on this side of the river.
"The townships of Paxton and Derry have agreed to keep a guard some time in the frontier houses, from Manady to Susquehanna; and expect that your Honor will be pleased to reinforce this detachment.
"If these townships should break up the communica- tion between Fort Augusta and the inhabitants, they would be greatly endangered.
"I am, with great respect, etc.,
"CHRISTIAN BUSSE."
We have advices, says the Pennsylvania Gazette, Octo- ber 27, 1757, from Paxton:
Historical Sketch of Dauphin County. 37
"On the 17th inst., as four of the inhabitants near Hun- ter's Fort, were pulling their Indian corn, when two of them-Alexander Watt and John M'Kennet-were killed and scalped, their heads cut off; the other two scalped. That Captain Work of the Augusta regiment, coming down with some men from Fort Halifax, (the present site of the town of Halifax,) met the savages on Peter's mountain, about twenty of them, when they fired upon him at about forty yards distance; upon which his party returned the fire and put the enemy to flight, leaving be- hind them five horses, with what plunder they had got; and that one of the Indians was supposed to have been wounded by the blood that was seen in their tracks. None of Captain Work's men were hurt."
The treaty of peace and friendship between the Eng- lish and Indians, at Easton in 1758, in some measure calmed the apprehensions of the people, and for a time the settlers of this region enjoyed a period of rest. But the English and French were still at war, and cruel mur- ders still continued among the outer settlements down to the close of, and after, the war of 1762. The Shaw- anese, a ferocious southern tribe of Indians, had formed a secret confederacy with the tribes on the Ohio and its tributary waters, to attack simultaneously all the English posts and settlements on the frontiers. Their plan was deliberately and skillfully projected. The border settle- ments were to be invaded during harvest; the men, corn and cattle were to be destroyed, and by thus cutting off the supplies, the out-posts were to be reduced by famine. In accordance with this plan, the Indians fell suddenly upon the traders, whom they had invited among them .- Many of these they murdered, and plundered others of their effects, to a great value. The frontiers of Pennsyl- vania were again overrun by scalping parties, marking in their hostile incursions the way with blood and devas-
C
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
tation. The upper part of Cumberland county and parts of the present territory of Dauphin county, was overrun by savages in 1763, who set fire to houses, barns, corn, hay and everything that was combustible; and some of the inhabitants were surprised and murdered with the utmost cruelty and barbarity.
This well matured onslaught by the Indians, drove the whites to acts of desperation, which only find extenua- tion from the circumstances, that there were no limits to the atrocities of the savages. Wherever they went, murder and cruelty marked their path, and even pro- fessed friendly Indians had fallen under strong suspicions as being, to some extent, concerned in these foul mur- ders.
Jonas Seely, Esq., writing from Reading, September II, 1763, said: "We are all in a state of alarm. Indians have destroyed dwellings and murdered, with savage barbarity, their helpless occupants, even in the neighbor- hood of Reading. Where these Indians come from and are going, we know not. Send us an armed force to aid our rangers of Lancaster and Berks."
In another letter from the same gentleman, dated Reading, September, 1763, he writes: "It is a matter of wonder that Indians, living among us for numbers of years, should suddenly become grum friends, or most deadly enemies. Yet there is too much reason for sus- picion. The rangers sent in word that these savages must consist of fifty, who travel in companies of from five to twenty, visiting Wyalusing, Wichetunk, Nain, Big Island, and Conestoga, under the mark of friendly Indi- ans. Our people have become almost infuriated to madness. These Indians were not even suspected of treachery, such had been the general confidence in their
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
fidelity. The murders recently committed, are of the most aggravated description."
Similar suspicions of treachery among the professed friendly Indians, alluded to in the above letter, had long been prevalent among the settlers of Paxton and Done- gal townships. It was strongly believed by them, that the perpetrators of many of the atrocious murders were harbored, if not encouraged and assisted, by a settlement of friendly Indians at Conestoga, now, as then, in Lan- caster county. A deadly animosity was thus raised among the people of Paxton and adjoining townships, against all of Indian blood, and against the Quakers and Moravians-who were disposed to conciliate and protect the Indians-frequently, as the Paxton men thought, at the expense of the lives of the settlers.
This feeling among the settlers, finally led to the mas- sacre of the Indians at Conestoga manor, on the night of the 14th of December, 1763. The accounts of this affair, and of similar murders of defenceless Indians in the prison at Lancaster, on the 27th of December of the same year, are so various and conflicting, that it is almost impossible to form an intelligent historic narrative of them. The act was most probably committed by the younger and more hot-blooded members of the Rev. Col. Elder's corps of rangers, led by Capt. Lazarus Stew- art, a daring partisan, and a man of considerable influ- ence and standing in the Paxton settlement. He soon afterwards joined the Connecticut men, and became very conspicuous in the civil wars of Wyoming. He was once taken prisoner there, and delivered to the Sheriff of York county for safe-keeping; but his rangers rescued him, and he suddenly appeared again with many of them at Wyoming. He was slain near Wilkesbarre, during the
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
Revolution, in the disastrous battle of 3d of July, 1778.
The following extracts are from a series of historical papers in the Lancaster Intelligencer & Journal of 1843, written by Redmond Conyngham, Esq .:
"Imagination cannot conceive the perils with which the settlement of Paxton was surrounded from 1754 to 1765. To portray each scene of horror would be impossible- the heart shrinks from the attempt. The settlers are goaded on to desperation; murder followed murder. The scouts brought in the intelligence that the mur- derers were traced to Conestoga. Rifles were loaded and horses were in readiness. They mounted; they called on their pastor to lead them. He was then in the 57th year of his age. Had you seen him then, you would have beheld a superior being. He had mounted, not to lead them on to the destruction of Conestoga, but to de- ter them from the attempt; he implored them to return ; he urged them to reflect: "Pause, pause before you pro- ceed!" It was in vain: "The blood of the murdered cries aloud for vengeance; we have waited long enough on Government; the murderers are within our reach, and they must not escape." Mr. Elder reminded them, that "the guilty and innocent could not be distinguished." "Innocent! can they be called innocent who foster mur- derers?" Mr. Elder rode up in front, and said: "As your pastor, I command you to relinquish your design." "Give way then," said Smith, "or your horse dies," pre- senting his rifle. To save his horse, to which he was much attached, Mr. Elder drew him aside, and the ran- gers were off on their fatal errand."
The following narrative was drawn up by Matthew Smith, one of the chief actors in the massacre:
"I was an early settler in Paxton, a member of the congregation of the Rev. Mr. Elder. I was one of the chief actors in the destruction of Conestoga, and in storming the work-house in Lancaster. I have been stigmatized as a murderer. No man, unless he were
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
living at that time in Paxton, could have an idea of the sufferings and anxieties of the people. For years the Indians had been on the most friendly terms; but some of the traders were bought by the French; these cor- rupted the Indians. The savages unexpectedly de- stroyed our dwellings and murdered the unsuspicious. When we visited the wigwams in the neighborhood, we found the Indians occupied in harmless sports, or domes- tic work. There appeared no evidence that they were in any way instrumental in the bloody acts perpetrated on the frontiers.
"Well do I remember the evening when
stopped at my door; judge my surprise when I heard his tale: "Tom followed the Indians to the Big Island ; from thence they went to Conestoga; as soon as we heard it, five of us, , -, rode off for the village. I left my horse under their care, and cautiously crawled where I could get a view; I saw In- dians armed; they were strangers; they outnumbered us by dozens. I returned without being discovered. We meet to-night at -; we shall expect you with gun, - knife and amunition." We met, and our party, under cover of the night, rode off for Conestoga. Our plan was well laid; the scout who had traced the Indians, was with us; the village was stormed and reduced to ashes. The moment we were perceived an Indian fired at us, and rushed forward, brandishing his tomahawk. Tom cried, "mark him," and he fell by more than one ball. . ran up and cried: "It is the villain who murdered my mother." This speech roused to vengeance, and Conestoga lay harmless before us. Our worst fears had been realized; these Indians, who had been housed and fed as the pets of the Province, were now proved to be our secret foes; necessity compelled us to do as we did. We mounted our horses and returned. Soon we were informed, that a number of Indians were in the work- house at Lancaster. was sent to Lancaster, to get all the news he could. He reported that one of the Indians concerned in recent murders was there in safety.
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
Also, that they talked of rebuilding Conestoga, and placing these Indians in the new buildings.
"A few of us met to deliberate; Stewart proposed to go to Lancaster, storm their castle, and carry off the assassin. It was agreed to; the whole plan was arranged. Our clergyman did not approve of our proceeding further. He thought everything was accomplished by the destruc- tion of Conestoga, and advised us to try what we could do with the Governor and Council. I, with the rest, was opposed to the measure proposed by our good pastor. It was painful to us to act in opposition to his will, but the Indian in Lancaster was known to have murdered the parent of -, one of our party.
"The plan was made: three were chosen to break in the doors; five to keep the keepers, &c., from meddling; Captain Stewart to remain outside with about twelve men, to protect those within, to prevent surprise and keep charge of the horses. The three were to secure the Indian, tie him with strong cords, and deliver him to Stewart. If the three were resisted, a shot was to be fired as a signal. I was one of them who entered; you know the rest; we fired; the Indians were left without life; and we rode hastily from Lancaster.
"This gave quiet to the frontiers, for no murder of our defenceless inhabitants has since happened."
Matthew Smith, the writer of the above, after the revo- lution, in which he performed excellent service and rose to high rank in military and civil life, removed to Milton, Northumberland county.
A letter of the Rev. Mr. Elder to Governor Penn, Jan- uary 27, 1764, states:
"The storm which had been so long gathering, has at length exploded. Had Government removed the Indi- ans from Conestoga, which had frequently been urged without success, this painful catastrophe might have been avoided. What could I do with men heated to madness? All that I could do, was done; I expostulated; but life
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
and reason were set at defiance. And yet, the men, in private life, are virtuous and respectable; not cruel, but mild and merciful.
"The time will arrive, when each palliating circum- stance will be calmly weighed. This deed, magnified into the blackest of crimes, should be considered as one of those youthful ebulitions of wrath caused by moment- ary excitement, to which human infirmity is subjected."
In connection with this subject an extract from a re- monstrance presented to Governor John Penn, from the inhabitants of Lancaster county, is quoted:
"We consider it a grievance, that we are restrained from electing more than ten representatives in the fron- tier counties-Lancaster four, York two, Cumberland two, Berks one, Northampton one-while the city and county of Philadelphia, and the counties of Chester and Bucks, elect 26. A bill is now about to be passed into a law, that any person accused of taking away the life of an Indian, shall not be tried in the county where the deed was committed, but in the city of Philadelphia. We can hardly believe that the Legislature would be guilty of such injustice as to pass this bill, and deprive the people of one of their most valuable rights. We protest against the passage of such a law, as depriving us of a sacred privilege.
"We complain, that the Governor laid before the Gen- eral Assembly letters without signatures, giving exagger- ated and false accounts of the destruction of the Indians at Conestoga, and at Lancaster. That he paid but little attention to the communications received from our rep- resentatives and Mr. Shippen; that certain persons in Philadelphia are endeavoring to rouse the fury of the people against the magistrates, the principal inhabitants of the borough of Lancaster, and the Presbyterians of Paxton and Donegal, by gross misrepresentations of facts; that we are not allowed a hearing at the bar of the House, or by the Governor; that our rangers have
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
never experienced any favors from Government, either by remuneration of their services, or by any act of kind- ness; that although there is every reason to believe, that the Indians who struck the blow at the Great Cove, re- ceived their arms and amunition from the Bethlehem Indians, Government protects the murderers at Philadel- phia; that six of the Indians now in Philadelphia, known to have been concerned in recent murders, and de- manded by us, that they may be tried in Northampton county, are still at liberty; that Renatus, an Indian who was legally arrested and committed on the charge of murder, is under the protection of government in Bucks county, when he was to be brought to trial in the county of Northampton, or the county of Cumberland. Shall these things be?
pr&q " MATTHEW SMITH, "JAMES GIBSON."
The following document, printed at the time, is inter- esting in this connection :
"DECLARATION. LET ALL HEAR!"
"Were the counties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks and Northampton protected by Government? Did not John Harris, of Paxton, ask advice of Col. Croghan, and did not the Colonel advise him to raise a company of scouters, and was not this confirmed by Benjamin Franklin? And yet, when Harris asked the Assembly to pay the scouting party, he was told that 'he might pay them himself.' Did not the counties of Lancaster, York, Cumberland, Berks and Northampton, the frontier set- tlements, keep up rangers to watch the motions of the Indians; and when a murder was committed by an Indi- an, a runner with the intelligence was sent to each scouting party, that the murderer or murderers might be punished? Did we not brave the summer's heat and the winter's cold, and the savage tomahawk, while the
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Historical Sketch of Dauphin County.
inhabitants of Philadelphia, Philadelphia county, Bucks and Chester 'ate, drank and were merry.'
"If a white man kill an Indian, it is a murder far ex- ceeding any crime upon record; he must not be tried in the county where he lives, or where the offence was com- mitted, but in Philadelphia, that he may be tried, con- victed, sentenced and hung without delay. If an Indian kill a white man, it was the act of an ignorant heathen, perhaps in liquor; alas, poor innocent !- he is sent to the friendly Indians, that he may be made a Christian. Is it not a notorious fact, that an Indian who treacherously murdered a family in Northampton county, was given up to the magistrates, that he might have a regular trial; and was not this Indian conveyed into Bucks county, and is he not provided with every necessary, and kept secured from punishment by Israel Pemberton? Have we not repeatedly represented that Conestoga was a harbor for prowling savages, and that we were at a loss to tell friend or foe, and all we asked was the removal of the Christian Indians? Was not this promised by Governor Penn, and yet delayed? Have we forgotten Renatus, that
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