USA > Pennsylvania > Early history of western Pennsylvania, and of the West, and of western expeditions and campaigns, from MDCCLIV to MDCCCXXXIII > Part 61
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"On first hearing of this unfortunate affair, I issued a proclamation, and had those two men apprehended and put into prison,* and make no doubt but to bring them to that punishment so heinous a crime deserves by the laws of the country. I have written to Sir William Johnson, and informed him of this accident; and as soon as my express returns you may be sure to hear from him further on this matter; and more to your satisfaction, as you will be convinced of the justice and upright intentions
* In the spring of 1767, several families of Indians, among whom were the White Mingo, Cornelius, Jonas, Cammell, three Indian women, two girls and a child, left the Big Island, in the west branch of the Susquehanna river, came to Middle creek, Cumberland county, (now Union, near Freeburg,) erected a cabin within fifteen miles from the mouth of the creek, where they resided, hunted, and were on friendly terms with their white neighbors. In the month of January, 1768, four of the Indians went to Stump's house, and were mur- dered by Stump, and their bodies cast through a hole in the ice into Middle creek. Stump, with his servant, John Ironcutter, then proceeded to a cabin about four miles from his house, where he murdered the two girls and the child, and set fire to the cabin. Capt. William Patterson, residing some twenty or thirty miles from the place, hearing of this murder, immediately repaired to the place, with a party of nineteen men, and after great exertion, arrested Stump and Ironcutter, brought them to Carlisle, and delivered them to the Sheriff, who had them committed to jail. The arresting and imprison- ing of these men produced a tremendous excitement-the friends and neigh- bors of Stump, laboring under a misapprehension as to the place of Stump's trial-" their fears were excited that the prisoners were to be taken to Phila- delphia, to be tried, but they not properly distinguishing between EXAMINATION and TRIAL," rescued them from prison, on the 29th of January, and carried them off." And though every effort was made by the properly authorized persons, the " rescued criminals," could not be apprehended by them-con- sequently, they escaped examination, trial, and penalty of the infracted laws of this country. For a detailed account of this affair, the reader is referred to a work entitled, History of Dauphin and Cumberland counties, by I. D. Rupp, pp. 173-179, and History of Union county.
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APPENDIX-NO. XIX.
of all his Majesty's subjects towards your several nations." A belt. Given under my hand, and the lesser seal of the said prov- ince of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, the 22d February, A.
L. S.
D. 1768. JOHN PENN.
By his Honor's command.
JOSEPH SHIPPEN, jr., Secretary.
" Wednesday 27th April-Mr. Croghan and the commissioners of Pennsylvania had a meeting with the chiefs of the several tribes, and explained to them the heads of the several speeches to be delivered to them from the Governor of Pennsylvania. After the above chiefs had considered what had been told them, the Delawares and Shawanese, on a belt and string of wampum, expressed their satisfaction at seeing com- missioners from Pennsylvania at their council fire ; and returned Mr. Croghan thanks for introducing them to their several nations, assuring him they would pay due attention to what those gentlemen should say to them from their brother Onas, and their brethren of the province." A belt and string.
" Friday, 29th April, 1768-Present, the same as before. Mr. Cro- ghan addressed himself to all the different tribes, and spoke as follows :
" Brethren : The other day I introduced you to the commissioners from Pennsylvania, and informed you they had several messages to you from the Governor, and good people of that province. They are now going to speak to you, and I desire you will pay due attention to what they shall say.
The commissioners then, in the name of the Governor of Pennsylva- nia, delivered the following messages to the Indians :
The Hon. John Penn, Esq., Lieutenant Governor, &c., to the seve- ral Tribes of Indians living on, and beyond the Ohio, viz: Six Nations, Shawanese, Delawares, &c.
" Brethren : It is not long since I sent a message to you, to be deliv- ered to you by Mr. Alexander McKee. You will see that that message was sent on purpose to acquaint you; that two of our inhabitants had murdered some of our Indian brethren, at Middle creek, near Susquo- hanna, and that I was taking all the pains in my power to have the murderers apprehended, and brought to the punishment they justly de- serve. Ever since I sent that message to you, my heart has been so deeply afflicted with sorrow, for the loss you have sustained by that bar- barous act, that I could not rest or sleep quiet in my bed ; as I well knew it was a very great breach of the solemn engagements we had entered into, of preserving the strictest friendship between us, in not suf- fering the least link of the chain to be broken, or any way hurt.
" I have longed much to come myself to the Ohio, to take you by the hand, and sit down and condole with you on so melancholy an occa- sion, in the losses you have sustained in the death of some of our good brethren, the Indians ; but I must let you know that the great affairs I have to manage in the government, necessarily detain me at this time in Philadelphia. I have therefore appointed my good brothers, John Allen, Esq., and the provincial secretary, Joseph Shippen, Esq., commis- sioners to meet you on this occasion, and to speak and condole with [184 ]
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you in my stead. They will deliver this message to you in my name, and whatsover they shall say to you, you may hear and believe in the same manner as if I was present among you, and spoke to you myself ; for you may depend on it, they will say nothing to you but the real truth, and what are the sincere sentiments of my heart." A string.
" Brethren : I told you also in that message, that I had communicated this melancholy news to Sir William Johnson, and promised you that as soon as I should receive his answer, you should hear from me again, and I hoped in such a manner as would be to your satisfaction.
"Brethren : I am now to inform you that I have since received Sir William Johnson's answer, and am pleased to hear that he has laid this matter before a large number of the Indians, as well as the Six Nations, as of several other northern tribes of Indians, with whom he has lately held friendly conferences at his house ; and Mr. Croghan will relate to you whatever was done at that treaty." A string.
" Brethren : The unhappy accidents which have happened to some of your people in my government, have given me great concern, as I have already told you. I, with this string of wampum, gather up the bones of all our dead friends, and bury them in the earth, that they may be no more seen." A string.
" Brethren : As I have buried the bones of all our deceased friends, I condole with you for the loss you have sustained in them, and cover their graves with these few goods." Delivered the condolence presents.
"Brethren: With this belt of wampum I clear the blood off the leaves and earth, wherever it was sprinkled, that the sweet herbs which come through the earth may have their usual verdure, and that we may all for- get the unhappy accidents that have happened." A large white belt.
" Brethren : Hearken now to what I have to say further to you, in behalf of myself and all the good people of this province. I am in- formed that some wicked and ill disposed people have told you lies ; endeavored to make you believe that the good people of my province are not well affected towards you, but intend you some mischief, and are not desirous of preserving the chain of friendship bright and entire between us. You may depend on it, that all such representations are false, and without the least foundation, and are made with no other view than to make a breach between us ; and the authors must be looked upon as our greatest enemies. To assure you that I am desirous and sincere in my intentions, to live always in the strictest harmony with you ; and to remove every uneasiness that may be lodged in your breasts, I have impowered and instructed my commissioners to confer with you on any matters which may immediately relate to my government, and to hear what you may have to say to me, with regard to all such things as may contribute to preserve the peace, and strengthen that band of friendship in which you are united with the good people of this province ; and I make no doubt but you have the same good dispositions that I have, to promote that end; and that all things will be freely communicated to one another in these conferences. I desire, therefore, that you will fully inform my commissioners of every thing that gives you the least uneasiness, that I may know it, and endeavor to remove all cause of dis- content among you." A belt.
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APPENDIX-NO. XIX.
" Brethren : I have told you every thing I had to say to you relative to the unhappy murder committed by two of our wicked people, on some of your brethren ; and as I am, and have been doing every thing in my power, to bring those offenders to justice, I cannot help remind- ing you of the number of people I have lost in the Indian country, by some of your foolish young men; and as I am determined that the strictest justice shall be done you, I must let you know, that I expect the same justice from you for the loss of his Majesty's subjects intrusted to my care. This is agreeable to the treaties of friendship long sub- sisting between your several nations and us; and if we both unite in attending strictly to those treaties, we shall be able to preserve the chain of friendship bright, and without rust. It was likewise agreed at those treaties, that whenever any accident should happen that might give the least uneasiness, or in any manner endanger the friendship subsisting between us, we should immediately inform each other of it. Now you see that I have not forgotten those ancient treaties ; for as soon as I had knowledge of those unlucky accidents which happened in my province, I immediately sent you notice of them by a speech and belt, to be de- livered to you by Mr. McKee, and I now send my two commissioners to condole with you on that melancholy occurrence. I must now inform you of such English sujects belonging to my province, as have been murdered in the Indian country, and have come to my knowledge, viz : Henry O'Brien, Peter Brown, and eight other men, in proceeding down the Ohio, last August, (1767) with two large batteaux loaded with goods, were murdered by the Indians, and part of the goods taken away, near the falls of that river. Thomas Mitchell, a trader, was likewise mur- dered in one of the Shawanese villages last fall. John McDonald was also murdered near fort Pitt, in December last, by a Delaware Indian." A belt.
" Brethren : With this belt I renew, brighter and more strong, the chain of friendship that subsists between us; I have still fast hold of one end of it, and I desire you will also keep fast hold of the other end; and let us both forever hold it fast, that we may hereafter continue as one man, and act together in all matters relating to our mutual welfare, as brothers who have the same interests and concern for each other's peace and happiness."
A belt representing a chain held by a hand at each end, of eleven rows.
JOHN PENN.
1
By his commissioners, JOHN ALLEN, [Seal]
JOSEPH SHIPPEN, Jr .. [Seal ]
ยท Dated at Fort Pitt, April 29, 1768.
The commissioners having delivered the Governor's messages in council, Mr. Croghan addressed the Indians as follows :
" Brethren : You have now heard what the Governor of Pennsylvania hath said to you by his commissioners, and you see that he and the wise men of that province have not forgotten the former friendship which subsisted between your forefathers and theirs. They have now con- doled with you for your lost friends, agreeable to your ancient customs, and spoke their minds freely on every subject that has caused their [186]
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CROGHAN'S JOURNAL, 1768.
meeting you at this time, and have called upon you to do the same on your parts. They have brightened the chain of friendship, and have done every thing in their power to preserve that friendship, which was made between your forefathers and the first settlers of this province, who came over with your ancient brother Onas.
" Brethren : I now desire you will assemble all the wise men of your several tribes together, and call to mind your former treaties with the good people of Pennsylvania, and consider what has been said to you, and speak your mind freely and openly to the Governor's commissioners that every thing which gives you uneasiness or discontent, may be fully known to your brother Onas, as he has desired."
After the above speeches were interpreted to the different nations, one of the chiefs spoke and said they would take them into consideration, and let us know when they should be ready to answer them.
Then a deputy sent from the Six Nation country got up, and delivered the following message to the several nations present :
"Brethren : I am sent from the Six Nation council with this speech to inform you that they have considered well the past conduct of their warriors, in going through this country to and from war, who have inade a practice of stealing horses, and behaving otherwise very ill to their brethren, the English, and have forbidden them their doing any mischief for the future ; and do now desire you the Shawanese, Delawares and Wyandotts to do the same, and throw all evil thoughts out of your minds and hearts ; and to think of nothing but promoting a lasting friendship with your brethren, the English, as we your older brothers, the Six Nations have determined to do." A belt.
After the Six Nation deputy had finished the foregoing speech, and it was interpreted to the Indians, Mr. Croghan informed them of the Congress Sir William Johnson held with the Six Nations, Canada Indians, and other northern tribes, of the business transacted with them, and the peace settled between those several nations and the Cherokees ; and that the deputies of the latter with a number of the Six Nations were to return home by the way of fort Pitt, and recommended it to the different tribes present to behave in a friendly manner to them, and see that they passed safe through their country, on which Mr. Croghan gave them a belt.
Sunday, May 1st, 1768-Present, same as before. QUEQUEDAGAY- THO, speaker for the Delawares, rose up and made the following answer to the message from the Governor of Pennsylvania :
"Brother : We return you thanks for your kindness in sending com- missioners to condole with us on account of the unhappy accidents which have happened between us; as also for the friendly messages they have delivered to us in your name, and you may be assured we shall pay due regard to every thing you have therein said to us."
He then requested the several nations present to attend to what he was about to say farther to their brother, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and proceeded :
" Brother : The grief and concern which you have expressed to us on account of the late mischiefs committed on our people, we believe to You have be very sincere, and that they were caused by the evil spirit.
[187 ]
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APPENDIX-NO. XIX.
also mentioned in a particular manner several losses which you have sustained in the Indian country. We are heartily sorry for them, but must acquaint you that as to the murder of the ten men in the batteaux down this river, we have heard of it as well as you, but it was commit- ted by another nation, and not by any of the tribes here present, so that we have not had the least concern in this unhappy affair. It is too true that one of your people was killed by the Shawanese, and we are also very sorry for that accident. As to the man who you say was killed near fort Pitt, by a Delaware Indian, we tell you that the person who committed that act was half a white man and the other half an Indian ; so you see brothers, that you are equally concerned with us in that breach of friendship; but I hope brother, all these misfortunes are now buried in oblivion, and that our children may never think of them more, and that we may continue in the strictest friendship." A belt.
"Brother : I shall in the next place speak to you concerning the friendship that subsists between us. I hope we shall always be firm in it; and we shall endeavor on our parts to keep the chain as bright and strong as our forefathers did at their first councils, which were held by wise men." A string.
He then repeated the same ceremonies that we had used in burying the bones, and said :
" Brother : I now gather all the bones of your deceased friends and bury them in the ground in the same place with ours so deep that none of our young people may ever know that misfortunes have happened between us ; and it gives us great satisfaction that our brother Onas has not forgotten this ancient custom of condoling with our losses." A belt.
"Brother : By this belt I also wipe away the blood, as you have done from the earth, and make your bodies quite clean, that you may appear to have as good hearts as those of our wise forefathers ; and we hope what passes in this council will never be forgotten." A belt.
After repeating what had been said to them relating to the chain of friendship, he concluded :
" Brethren : We are much obliged to the Governor for speaking so freely and openly to us from his heart, and as he has recommended to us to take fast hold of the chain of friendship, we assure him we shall take his advice, and will do it; and that we shall likewise speak to him from our hearts ; for we look upon this as the only way to preserve our friend- ship ; and we shall take care to guide and direct our young people, to behave as they ought to do, in promoting the peace and cultivating the strictest harmony between us.". A belt.
n y
The BEAVER, a chief of the Delawares, then rising up, desired all present to pay attention to what he should say to his brother, the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania :
" Brother : We, the old men of the different nations present, are much rejoiced that the chain of friendship is now brightened by our brother, the Governor of Pennsylvania, and we return him thanks for putting it into our hands in the manner he has done, which convinces us of his good intentions. We, the Delawares, Shawanese, Munsies, Mohickons, Wyandotts and our uncles, the Six Nations, will keep fast hold of the chain of friendship, in the manner you desire us. We now desire the [188 ]
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C h y Sa
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SI
CROGHAN'S JOURNAL, 1768.
Governor will also take hold of the end of this belt, which we stretch along the road between him and us, in order to clear it of the briars and brush that have grown up in it, that we may all travel it in peace and safety.
" Brethren : We make the road smooth and pleasant for your com- missioners to travel home, and make a report to you at our ancient coun- cil fire in Philadelphia, of what they now hear from us ; and when you consider our speeches, you will find that our hearts are good, and that we are determined to preserve the road of peace free from any interrup- tion on our parts. We desire that you will take the same care on your parts ; for if logs shall be laid across it by any of your people, it will be undoing every thing that is now agreed on between our several nations and you, at this meeting." A belt.
Then QUEQUEDAGATHO rose and said, that they had spoken every thing they had to say at this time, to their brother ONAS, and addressing himself to Mr. Croghan, spoke as follows :
" Brother : We have been long acquainted with you, and are well pleased with your behavior towards us ; and at this time are the more obliged to you, for introducing to us the commissioners from the govern- ment of Pennsylvania ; as it has given us a good opportunity of renew- ing our peace with the good people of that province, with whom our forefathers always lived in the most perfect friendship. You spoke to us the other day, and recommended to us to take into our most serious consideration, the several matters we have heard from the Governor of Pennsylvania by his commissioners ; and to weigh them well in our minds, before we give our answers to them.
" Brother : We have taken your advice, and you may be convinced of this, by what we have just now said in behalf of the Delawares, Munsies and Mohickons." A belt.
The speaker of the Delawares then observed, that they had finished what they had to say at this time. Then the chief of the Six Nations rose up, and addressing himself to the commissioners of Pennsylvania, said :
" Brother : We have heard, with attention, what the Delawares have now said to you, and we shall speak to you to-morrow ; and so will our younger brothers, the Shawanese."
Monday, May 2, 1768. Present-The same as before.
TOHONISSAHGARONA, a chief of the Six Nations, got up, and addres .. sing himself to the several nations present, said :
" Brother : The Great Giver of life has brought us all together at this council fire, in order to premote the good work of peace ; and we have heard what our brother ONAS has said to us by his commissioners ; and you will now hearken attentively to what the Six Nations are about to say to him, in answer to his message." A string.
Then addressing himself to the commissioners of Pennsylvania, he said :
" Brothers : You have already heard what our nephews, the Dela- wares have said to you. They have spoken freely and openly to you from their hearts ; and we hope it has made a proper impression on you. We are now, in like manner, going to open our hearts to you freely,
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APPENDIX-NO. XIX.
and we also hope, that what we shall deliver, will be received by you in a friendly manner." A string.
Brother ONAS : In your several speeches, you have desired us to open our minds freely, and to speak before you every thing that gives us un- easiness. We are obliged to you for this advice, which we shall follow, and are glad of an opportunity to speak to you in council.
" Brother : It is not without grief, that we see our country settled by you, without our knowledge or consent; and it is a long time since we first complained to you of this grievance, which we find has not yet been redressed ; but settlements are still extending farther into our country. Some of them are made directly on our war path leading to our enemies country, and we don't like it.
" Brothers : You have laws amongst you to govern your people by ; and it will be the strongest proof of the sincerity of your friendship, to let us see that you remove the people from our land ; as we look upon it, it will be time enough for you, when you have purchased them, and the country becomes yours." A belt.
" Brother : We have heard with pleasure what you have said to us ; you have made our hearts easy with respect to the losses we have suf- fured by you ; and therefore, we shall not take notice of any past mis- fortunes. We are glad to find our nephews, the Delawares, have taken fast hold of the chain of friendship with you ; and by this belt, we join our hands with you and them, in holding it fast. We speak now in be- half of the Six Nations residing in this country, as there are some of every tribe present ; and we wish, brethren, that you may be strong and well disposed to preserve that friendship, as we are." A belt.
" Brother : I have now done speaking, and have told you every thing that remains in our hearts, which gives us, and the several nations in this country, any uneasiness."
Tuesday, May 3d, 1768. Present-The same as before.
NYMWHA, a speaker of the Shawanese, addressed himself to all the Indians, desired they would attend to what he was going to say to the commissioners of Pennsylvania, and all the English brethren present, and spoke as follows :
"Brethren: When you talked of peace to us at the time we were: struggling in war, we did not hearken to you at first. You mentioned it a second time to us ; we still refused to attend to you ; but after re- peating it to us several times, we consented to hear you. We then looked at you, and saw you holding instruments of war in your hands, which we took from you, and cast them into the air out of our sight .- We afterwards desired you to destroy your forts, as that would be the way to make all nations of Indians believe you were sincere in your friendship ; and we now repeat the same argument to you again. We also desired you not to go down this river in the way of the warriors belonging to the foolish nations to the westward; and told you that the waters of this river, a great way below this, were colored with blood .- You did not pay any regard to this, but asked us to accompany you in going down, which we did, and we felt the smart of our rashness, and with difficulty returned to our friends. We see you now about making batteaux, and we make no doubt you intend going down the river again,
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