USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > Ransom > History and directory of Newton and Ransom townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania; > Part 4
USA > Pennsylvania > Lackawanna County > Newton > History and directory of Newton and Ransom townships, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania; > Part 4
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gaged in warfare were extremely simple and lazy. Patches of open land or 'Indian clear- ings' early were found in the valley, where on- ions, cantaloupes, beans and corn, and their favorite weed, tobacco, were half cultivated by the obedient squaw." Their burying ground was located on the east bank of the Lackawanna, above the mouth of Nay Aug Creek. The Monseys accompanied the Delawares to Ohio, and subsequently were merged in the latter tribe.
The Mohicans came with the Delawares in 1742 and built a village on the east bank of Abraham's creek, near its confluence with the Susquehanna. Their chief's name was Abra- ham, from whom the creek received its name. Rising in Dallas township, it crosses Kingston township, runs through Wyoming borough, and flows into the Susquehanna at Forty Fort.
The Nanticokes had their village on the west bank of Nanticoke creek, near the river, where the borough of the same name is now located. The Nanticokes were a dependency of the Iro- quois, living along Chesapeake Bay. Their name in the several languages signified tidewa- ter or sea-shore people. They passed up to Wy- oming in 1748, either under the orders of the Iroquois or by their permission. Zeisberger says they were adverse to the Gospel, and surpassed all other Indians in their heathenism and sor- cery. However, several became Moravian con- verts. The entire population of the Nanticoke village removed to the Province of New York in May, 1753, and from there to Ohio.
Smallpox and ardent spirits carried off the greater part of the Nanticokes, so that in 1785 (then in Ohio) there were scarcely fifty of them. They sided with the British, and ulti- mately settled in Canada, alongside the Shawa- nese, who had invited them.
The Indians occupied the valley in greater or less numbers until 1763, when, after the death of their chief, Teedyuscung, they depart- ed. However, a few of them continued to visit the fertile plains of Wyoming for some years later, as shown by references in the diary of the Moravian Indian village at Wyalusing. (1765- 1772). A little before the abandonment of the Wyalusing mission by the Moravians in 1772, the Connecticut migration had set in, and with it disappeared all Indians from the valley of the Susquehanna.
THEIR TRUE CHARACTER.
"The Indians of our country have ever been looked upon with interest by every lover of his- tory. They have justly been charged with savage cruelties, such as make the blood chill, when called to mind. But when we look upon them as natives of the soil, and we the invaders- when we consider how all nations are affected
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by intrusion and oppression, and what excesses of barbarity the most civilized nations have al- lowed and practiced ; we might do well to ex- tend charity to the less cultivated and refined, who have not had the advantages with which we have been favored.
"Those who have taken an interest in them, and studied their character, instructing them in civilization and Christianity, claim that many of them make the most humane, sensible and reliable men.
"The original Indians were not beasts of prey, but have become such by provocation. In por- traying the character of the Indians of Pennsyl- vania we will go back to the time when it had not yet become changed by associating with the Europeans. They were very hospitable, and expected hospitality in return. Courtesy was a distinct trait in their character. A "good morning, father," "grandfather." "uncle," and so on, down to a small grandchild, was the common form of address. Even the children saluted one another affectionately and respect- fully. Quarrels were avoided. Fighting, they said, is only for dogs and beasts. It was a rare thing to hear of murders among them in the days before the settlement of Pennsylvania. This we know from the testimony of reliable and well-informed Indians, who helped to build the first houses in Philadelphia." Colum- bus, the first white man to know the red men, pays them this high compliment: "They love their neighbors as themselves."
"The character of the Indians was greatly changed after the white men came to this coun- try. They were the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere. They were driven from their hunting grounds, their camps were broken up, and they suffered cruel treatment from the white men who settled in this country. One of the early missionaries among the Indians said : "Often I have listened to these descriptions of their hard sufferings, until I felt ashamed of being a white man." It is not surprising that the Indians are cruel and avengeful.
THEIR MODE OF LIFE.
"The Indians had no code of laws, except a few unwritten rules of justice and courtesy, which were enforced by the chiefs and their counsellors. The wampum, or Indian money, necessary to carry an order of the chief into effect, was freely given. Important transac- tions were ratified by strings and belts of wam- pum. Black wampum signified war: white, peace, friendship, good-will. The pipe of peace, which was made of black or red stone, had to be whitened before it was used for such a pur- pose. To keep treaties fresh in the memory. the chiefs met occasionally at some chosen spot
in the forest and rehearsed them. Thus, between the years 1770 and 1780, the Delawares could relate very minutely what had passed between William Penn and their forefathers. On such occasions, the Indians sat around a chest, took out one string or belt after another, handed it to every person present, and repeated the words spoken at its delivery."
NO SCHOOLS
"The Indians had no schools. The parents taught the children. The first lessons were about the Great Spirit and about the duties to parents and elders. Reading and writing were unknown arts to them. The Iroquois and Dela- wares understood a little counting. The posi- tion of the sun served to show the time of day ; and the stages of the corn, the season of the year. The marriage tie was weak, and poly- gamy was permitted. The children followed the mother in case of separation. The name, as a rule, was given by the father, who gener- ally selected that of some animal. Other names were frequently added. Thus, one who wore torn or patched shoes was called Bad Shoes; one who had large eyes, Great Eye. To the white men the Indians gave suggestive names of their own. When the Delawares had learned the meaning of Penn's name, they at once called him Miquon, feather or quill. The Iroquois called him Onas, for the same reason. Ingen- ious compounds were invented. Thus, the name for Philadelphia was Quequenaku, 'the grove of the long pine trees.' "
OCCUPATIONS
"Hunting was considered the most honorable occupation. The Delawares early trained their boys to run so fast as to overtake a deer, and to shoot small fishes with their bows and arrows. The oyster, the land-tortoise and the locust were also in demand for food. Vegetables of various kinds were raised; but maize, (corn) aside from meat and fish, was the chief food. They planted it after the hazelnut was in bloom, as a precau- tion against frost. The shoulder-blade of a deer or a tortoise shell was used to hoe-a work that fell to the women."
The Indians considered it disgraceful for a man to work, and labor was principally confin- ed to the squaws. An Indian would go three or four miles to shoot a deer or bear, which he would carry on his shoulders until perhaps with- in a mile or less from home, where he would leave his game and proceed to the wigwam. His wife would then go for the prize and carry it into camp. The Indian thought this perfectly proper.
INDIAN AMUSEMENTS
"Dancing and singing were the Indian's
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HISTORY OF THE WYOMING VALLEY
amusements, though he indulged in them for other purposes. This grotesque performance ended in a disagreeable yell, which resembled the mewing of the cat-bird at the close of its pretty song. The war dance was to terrify, not to please. It was performed around a painted post, and the dancers went through all the mo- tions and actions of the battle. After a victory, a dance of thanksgiving was in order. It was religions in its nature." --- History of Pennsylva- nia.
A GLIMPSE OF AN INDIAN VILLAGE
It is late afternoon of a hazy day in October in the small Indian village of Maughwauwame, or Wyoming, on the banks of the winding Sus- quehanna. Here and there among the great forest trees stand peaked wigwams of white deer-skin fantastically painted with the sym- bols of the tribe. Groups of children are merrily playing along the banks of the river; at one place an imaginary battle is being fought be- tween young braves decorated with feathers, berry-juice and daubs of gayly colored paint. The little Indian girls are busily keeping "wig- wam" with small wooden images for children. Further up the river the older boys are having a diving and swimming contest.
Already the sun is setting in the west; a soft, grey mist is slowly rising from the river and from the deep forests where it is gradually blot- ting out the gray autumn foliage. Soon, thin columns of smoke, twisting upwards from the wigwams to meet the thickening mist, warn the young Delawares that it is nearly time for the evening meal and for their fathers to re- turn from the hunt. The little girls hurry home to help their mothers and the boys eager- ly await the arrival of the great men of the tribe. In a very short time they appear ; some of the younger braves have pheasants and quail slung over their shoulders and here and there the beautiful bronze plumage of the wild turkey is conspicuous. Last of all, the older warriors emerge from the fast-gathering gloom of the forest. Proudly one of their number bears a young deer on his back. A small stream of blood is trickling from the breast of the animal, where a poisoned arrow has pierced his heart.
Joyfully, but in a subdued manner, the wo- men and children welcome the warriors. After the game has been sufficiently admired, and the prowess of the hunters praised, the families withdraw to their wigwams Soon the Indian village is hidden in darkness, with the exception of a bright fire which has been kindled, where, later the warriors will assemble to talk of the hunt and to make plans for the coming winter. Darker and darker it grows; the tepees become uncertain silhouettes against the western sky : the council fire is dead save for an occasional
ember fanned to a glow by the night brecze; Maughwauwame is asleep.
FIRST HOUSES BUILT IN WYOMING VALLEY
Teedyuscung, the King of the Delawares, wished to settle down with his tribe in the Wyoming valley. He sent a petition to the Assembly and asked that a settlement be given them in the valley and protection by the Gov- ernment. They did not wish a fort, but simply some houses so that they might have a home where all would be peace and where men might be sent to teach them and their posterity the doctrines of the Christian religion.
The Assembly petitioned the Governor and recommended that a favorable answer be given. He consented to this, and held a meeting with a council selected for that purpose, as to the best way to build the houses and the choice of men to send to do the work. It was decided that Captain Hughes with Shippen and Galbraith should take charge of the building of the houses.
These men, with a guard of about one hun- dred and fifty members of the provincial troops, set out for Wyoming in October, 1757. Teedy- uscung and some of his warriors accompanied them. When they arrived in the valley, the chief pointed out the spot which he had selected for the building of the houses. This site was within the precincts of the Tenth Ward of the present city of Wilkes-Barre. Work was begun and, by the middle of November, when the first snows whitened the ground, two houses were finished and six more were started. Teedyus- cung then told the company, that as long as he did not intend to spend the winter there, they could leave their work as it was until the spring and go back to Philadelphia. Advantage was taken at once of this permission.
When spring came, Shippen and some others could not accompany the Indians to Wyoming. Henry Pawling was therefore appointed to aid Hughes in carrying out the Governor's orders. This time they were joined by the Delaware chief and about one hundred Indians. They followed the old Indian trail over the moun- tains to the Winding River and the valley of Wyoming.
In the midst of their labor one of the white men was killed by some strange Indians from the North, thus adding fear to the many trials of the little band. Finally, the houses were fin- ished. They were simple log huts, most of them fourteen by twenty feet, while one, pre- sumably for the chief, was sixteen by twenty- four feet. These had been erected for the In- dians by the proprietary government of Penn- sylvania at an expense of eighteen hundred Spanish milled dollars.
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These houses were built of squared logs and dove-tailed. Eleven were built at this time, but there must have been more erected later, for "on the night of April 19, 1763, the dwelling of Teedyuscung and twenty others around it were set on fire by a party of Iroquois who had visited the valley under the guise of friendship, and the chief, under the influence of liquor, perished in the flames. This was an act of savage vengeance for the death of an Iroquois warrior at the hand of Teedyuscung in 1758."
Thus the little settlement known as Maugh- wauwame was established June 7, 1758, by a tribe of Delaware Indians under the leadership of Teedyuscung.
THE GRASSHOPPER WAR
"While the warriors of the Delawares were engaged upon the mountains in a hunting ex- pedition, a number of squaws from Maughwau- wame, were gathering wild fruits along the margin of the river, about a mile below their village, near the line between Wilkes-Barre and Hanover townships, where they found a number of Shawanese squaws and their chil- dren, who had crossed the river in their canoes upon the same business. A child belonging to the Shawanese, having captured a large grasshopper, a quarrel arose among the chil- dren for the possession of it, in which their mothers soon took a part. The Delaware squaws contending that the Shawanese had no privi- leges upon that side of the river, the quarrel soon became general; but the Delawares, being the most numerous, soon drove the Shawanese to their canoes and to their own bank, a few having been killed upon both sides. Upon the return of the warriors, both tribes prepared for battle to revenge the wrongs which they consid- ered their wives had sustained.
"The Shawanese, upon crossing the river, found the Delawares ready to receive them and oppose their landing. A dreadful conflict took place between the Shawanese in their canoes and the Delawares on the bank. At length, after great numbers had been killed, the Shawa- nese effected a landing, and a battle took place about a mile below Maughwauwame, in which many hundred warriors are said to have been killed on both sides; but the Shawanese were so much weakened in landing that they were not able to sustain the conflict, and after the loss of about half their tribe, the remainder were forced to flee to their own side of the river, shortly after which they abandoned their town and removed to Ohio."-Chapman's His- tory of Wyoming.
JOHN SERGEANT.
John Seargeant, the first Christian missionary to the Wyoming valley, was the son of Jona-
than Sergeant, whose earlier home had been in New England, but who, at the time of the birth of his son, was living in Newark, New Jersey. John was educated in the best schools of the day, and in 1729, at the early age of nineteen years, was graduated from Yale College. For some years after he remained there as a tutor, but was at the same time pursuing his theological studies. It is said that he was one of the most successful tutors that the college has ever known. Later he declared: "I feel I have been called to become a missionary to the Indians. I would rather be that than have the best parish England can offer."
A mission had been established in Stock- bridge, Mass., which was meeting with great success, and Mr. Sergeant became a teacher there.
In June, 1741, accompanied by several Stock- bridge Indians, this young man came to Wyom- ing in order to teach the Gospel to the Indian tribes, the Mohegans and the Shawanese, who lived in the valley. They were kindly received and well treated, but the Indians did not seem to be very enthusiastic about the doctrine which was being preached to them. Mr. Sergeant preached one sermon in which he called them brothers, and offered to instruct them in the principles of Christianity. This they refused, because of a promise, that "they never would receive Christianity from the English." This they had made to the Senecas, from whom they had bought their land. Another reason for re- fusing the doctrine was the way in which the white traders had acted toward their squaws. Finally, discouraged and down-hearted, he re- turned to Massachusetts. Still he had hope that some day a way would be opened by which the Indians would become converted to Christian- ity. He died at Stockbridge in July, 1749, be- lieving that some day, some more successful man would accomplish the fulfillment of his plans.
THE FIRST MASSACRE OF THE WHITES IN WYOMING.
That Saturday, October 15, 1763, which dawned so bright and clear in the Wyoming valley and set amid bloodshed and conflagra- tion, is, perhaps, not so well known as that day of the great massacre of 1778, but, nevertheless, it shows only too well the cruelty and treachery of the redmen. The settlers at Mill Creek, pro- fiting by the fair weather, were busily engaged in their various occupations, unprepared for danger. Some were at work in the saw-mill, others were on the flats caring for their crops; some were felling trees along the edges of the forest, now glorious in its gay autumnal colors, others were erecting more log-cabins which were necessary for the comfort and accommodation
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IHISTORY OF THE WYOMING VALLEY
of the rapidly growing colony. The wonien were performing their simple household duties in their rough homes, while the children were merrily playing around the block-house.
It was near the hour of noon in this happy, peaceful settlement, when suddenly the blood- curdling warwhoop of Indians rang through the depths of the surrounding forest, striking fear and dread into hearts of old and young. "Captain Bull." the son of Teedyuscung, to avenge his father's death (caused by the burn- ing of the Indian village, Maughwauwame, by the Iroquois Indians, on the night of April 19, 1763, which was charged upon the settlers), swooped down on the terrified people, with one hundred and thirty-five brave warriors. Blood- shed and destruction resulted. Some of the panic-stricken inhabitants, having no time to flee, were quickly scalped and murdered. Eigh- teen or twenty persons lost their lives in this way and many others were taken prisoners. One man is said to have escaped the keen eyes of the Indians by hiding in the tall grass, be- ing almost the only one who was at work on the open flats, who survived the dreadful massacre.
The settlers who were at the mill, the block- house and some of the more remote cabins, hear- ing the cries and gunshots on the flats near the river, fled, without provisions or sufficient cloth- ing, through the woods to the mountains on the east. As they looked back at the valley during their ascent, they saw the savages plun- dering their former peaceful homes and driving their cattle away. When darkness fell, the merciless red man set fire to the cabins and soon the weary fugitives beheld the sky lighted with the flames of their own dwellings. The settlers, almost starved and chilled with the keen au- tumn winds, were forced to flee through the forest, over rivers and morasses, sixty miles to the nearest settlement on the Delaware and thence back to their friends in Connecticut. Many, in spite of the dangers they encountered and the hardships they were forced to endure, accomplished this journey in safety, while others, lost in the swamps and worn out with want and fatigue, died alone in the desolate wilderness.
FRANCES SLOCUM "The Lost Sister of Wyoming."
The history of Frances Slocum, the child of Jonathan and Ruth (Tripp) Slocum of Wilkes- Barre, has been for nearly one hundred and thirty-five years one of the most pathetic and fascinating romances of American history.
Frances was captured by the Delaware In- dians when nearly five years of age, November 2, 1778, near the south-west corner of North Pennsylvania avenue and East North street, where the North Street School is located. After
fifty-nine years of ceaseless searching by her brothers and relatives, she was found Septem- ber 22, 1837, living near Peru, Indiana, the widow of a Miami Indian chief and the mother of two married daughters. Her Indian name was Ma-con-a-quah.
IIer relatives endeavored to persuade her to return to the home of her birth, but she would not consent. She said she had become ac- custom to the Indian habits and method of liv- ing, and at her advanced age did not care to leave her daughters and Indian friends and re- turn to the East.
FRANCES SLOCUM
Made from a portrait painted from life in 1839, when 66 years of age.
(Courtesy of Wyoming Historical Society)
On December 16th, about six weeks after her capture, her father, with Isaac Tripp (Mrs. Slo- cum's father) and William, a youth, were fod- dering cattle from a stack near the fort when they were fired upon by the Indians. Mr. Slo- cum was shot dead; Mr. Tripp was speared and tomahawked, and both were scalped; William, wounded by a ball in the heel, escaped and gave the alarm. Thus in a very short time Mrs. Slo- cum lost her child, husband and father at the hands of the cruel and merciless savages. Mrs. Slocum died May 6, 1807, aged 72 years.
No monument has ever been erected to the memory of Frances Slocum in the Wyoming Valley where she was born. But a very hand- some one was placed over her remains near Re-
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HISTORY OF THE WYOMING VALLEY
serve, Indiana, where she died March 9, 1847. This monument was erected in 1900, by a com- mittee of thirteen descendants of Jonathan Slo- cum. In the family of her father's descend- ants various interesting relics of her person, her home, and her history are preserved with great care and reverence.
On the 2nd day of November, 1906, the spot of her capture was marked by the erection of a bronze tablet on the wall of the North Street Public School in Wilkes-Barre, the school-house being within a few feet of the actual spot where Frances Slocum was captured. At the same time another, a larger tablet, was erected on the wall of the Wyoming Historical Society build- ing. These tablets were erected by the same committee that erected the monument.
SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN
After the Wyoming Massacre, Gen. Washing- ton placed Gen. Sullivan, the hero of Long Island and Chad's Ford, in command of a large force of regulars with a full equipment of ar- tillery and cavalry, to make an invasion of the Indian strongholds. A similar force, from the vicinity of the Mohawk valley, under General James Clinton was ordered to co-operate.
Early in the summer of 1779 three thousand men under Gen. Sullivan assembled in the up- per Susquehanna valley, in the lately deserted region, and moved up the river, clearing a road through the vast original forest sufficient to move heavy artillery and army supplies. "Sul- livan's road" is still traced along the river, es-
pecially at Wilkes-Barre and Meshoppen.
While on the way, Sullivan was joined by Gen. Clinton's force who had come by the way of Otsego Lake and the Susquehanna. The united forces amounted to about five thousand men, of which Sullivan had general command. At just what point on the river this union of forces took place is not known, but probably at Chenango Point, now Binghamton, N. Y.
The Indians and their allies, the Tories, had received information of the intended invasion, and appeared in arms to oppose them. They were much inferior in force, however, being about fifteen hundred Indians and two hundred Tories. A battle took place at Newtown on the 29th of August, in which the enemy was easily defeated.
Sullivan then pushed forward into the heart of the Indian country, penetrating as far as the Genesee river, laying everything waste, setting fire to deserted dwellings, destroying corn fields, orchards, gardens, everything that could give sustenance to a Tory or a savage; the design be- ing to exterminate the Indians and starve them out of the country.
The latter retreated before him with their families, and, at length took refuge under the protection of the British Garrison at Niagara. Having completed his purpose Sullivan return- ed to Easton, in Pennsylvania. The thanks of Congress was voted to him and his army.
As has been stated, the expedition was the result of Washington's broad generalship, and forever cleared the Wyoming and Mohawk val- leys of hostile Indian tribes.
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