History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 10

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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35 Pottsville. 611

Port Carbon

620

Tamaqua 800

Ashland 856

Frackville. 1476

Head of Mahanoy Plane. 1482

Foot of Mahanoy Plane 1129

SOUTHI.

1176 Hampton. 220

131% White Bear

346

157% Geigertown. 429

1616 Cold Run 522

1976 Joanna 624

216 Springfield. 642

22% Conestoga 644

Westchester. 403

SOUTHWEST.

8} Fritztown 469

10 Deep Cut (South Mt. Summit) 570

12ª Reinhold's 446

19% Ephrata

381

35 Lancaster 309

45₴ Columbia 261

EAST.

Glasgow 162

Manatawny 189

Iron Stone .. 309

Colebrookdale 313

Boyertown 386

New Berlin

361

Bechtelsville

398

Barto. 466

NORTHEAST.

5 Temple. 384

8 Blandon

415

11} Fleetwood. 446

15 Lyons

468

18₺ Topton.

482

Trexlertown 411

36 Allentown 254

NORTHWEST.

Swatara Gap 444

Pine Grove. 517

Tremont. 763

Shamokin 735

Mine Hill Gap. 827

Mine Hill Plane 1524

SOUTHEAST.

Exeter 190

Birdsboro' 170

10}

Monocacy 159

134 Douglassville 158

18 Pottstown 147

Phoenixville 107

30%

32₺ Perkiomen Junction 106

41 Norristown

53 West Falls. 58

58 Philadelphia 25

468

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

WEST.

Schuylkill Bridge. 271

Sinking Springs 345

Wernersville 385

12}

Robesonia. 438

Womelsdorf 453

173

Sheridan

456

Richland

488

214

Meyerstown

471

Prescott.

498

Avon

484

Lebanon

463

Cornwall 600

Harrisburg 318

CHAPTER III.

INDIANS.

Origin-Delawares : Tribes, Clans and Sachems-Ganawese -Five Nations-Manners and Customs-Retreat of In- dians-Present Location-Villages-Indian Names-In- dian Relics.

ORIGIN .- Where the Indians of this vicinity came from and when they settled in this imme- diate section of country no one has yet deter- mined. It has been generally conceded that they migrated eastwardly hundreds of years ago till they reached the "Great Salt-water Lake," the large body of water which we call the Atlantic Ocean. As a nation they were known as the Lenni Lenape.1 This general name comprehended numerous distinct tribes which spoke dialects of a common language- the Algonquin. According to the traditions 2 of their ancestors, the Lenni Lenape were an un- mixed and unchanged race, residing many cen- turies ago toward the setting of the sun, some- where in the western part of this continent. For some reasons, not explained, they deter- mined to migrate toward the rising of the sun. After journeying for a time they arrived at the Mississippi River3 (Namasi Sipu, meaning

Fish River). There they fell in with another nation of Indians, who were also in quest of a new home to the eastward. Those were the Mengwe, or, as they have been named by the French, the Iroquois. At that river both na- tions united their forces, because they antici- pated opposition to the east of the river from the Alligewi, who were a populous race of gigantic form. Shortly after their union, and before they had advanced any distance, they realized their anticipations, for they were com- pelled to fight many severe battles in carrying out their determination to march onward. At last their enemy, the Alligewi, to escape exter- mination, abandoned the country to them, fled far southward and never returned. The victors then divided the country between themselves -- the Iroquois choosing the country to the north along the great lakes and their tributary streams, and the Lenape taking possession of the country to the south of them, from the river eastward to the ocean.

The Lenape, on their way hither, became divided into three separate bodies. One body settled along the Atlantic Ocean and the country adjacent for some hundreds of miles to the west of the coast, comprising, it was supposed, one- half of the nation, and the other bodies settled to the east and to the west of the Mississippi River. That part of the body which was sit- nated in Pennsylvania became known as the " Delawares." 4

DELAWARE TRIBES .- The Delawarex divided themselves into three tribes-the Unamis or Turtle, the Unalachtgo or Turkey, and the Minsi 5 or Wolf. The first two were settled on the territory which lay nearest to the ocean, between the coast and the high mountains, and, as they increased in numbers, they extended their settlements from the Hudson River to the Potomac. The Minsi lived back of the other

" This name signifies " original people."

2 See Heckewelder's work on the " Indian Nations " (pub- lished by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania).

$ It has been asserted latterly that the Indians wandered eastwardly through the lower extremity of the territory which is now known as British America to the St. Law- rence River, and thence proceeded southwardly, scattering themselves through the territory which is now known as the Eastern and the Middle States.

4 '. The word ' Delaware' is unknown in the Indian lan- guage. At first the Indians thought that the white people had given this name to them in derision, but when they were informed that they were named after a great white chief- Lord de la Ware-they were satisfied."-Heckewelder's " Indian Nations," xli

5 Sometimes called Monseys.

6 Mohicannittuck, or river of the Mohicans. Subse- quently named " Hudson" after the great navigator.

INDIANS.

tribes, to form, as it were, a bulwark for their protection and to watch the actions of the Mengwe. Their settlements extended from Minisink, on the Hudson (a place named after them where they had their council-seat), to the west, far beyond the Susquehanna. Their northern boundaries were supposed to be along the head-waters of the great rivers Delaware and Susquehanna, which flowed thirongh their territory, and their southern boundaries along that ridge of hills known in Pennsylvania by the name of Lehigh.

Many clans sprang from these three tribes. They selected distant spots as places of settlement, and gave themselves names or received names from other tribes. Their names were generally taken after simple natural objects or something striking or extraordinary. Though they formed separate and distinct clans, yet they did not deny their origin, retaining their affection for the parent tribe, of which they were proud to be called grandchildren. Many families of them, with their connections, lived by them- selves. They were settled along the larger and smaller streams throughout the country. They had towns and villages, in which they lived in separate clans, with a chief in each clan ruling over them. These chiefs were subordinate to the council which comprised the great chiefs of the nation.

MINSI CLANS - LENAPE SACHEMS .- The clans of the Minsi Indians were the Schuyl- kills, Susquehannas, Neshamines, Conestogas, Assunpinks, Rankakos, Andastakas and Shack- maxons.

These clans were regarded as the most war- like of all the Indians in these tribes. Each clan had a chief to control its actions. The chief of the Schuylkill clan, which was settled along the Schuylkill and its tributaries in this vicinity, was, for a time, Manangy ; and each chief was under the command of a "Grand Sachem." The sachems of the Lenni Lenape, from the time of the first English settlements till the Indians retreated before the onward march of civilization and eventually disappeared entirely from this part of our country, were, in succession, Kekerappan, Opekasset, Taminent, Allumapees (who was afterward also called

Sassoonan) and Teedyuscung. They had their headquarters at Minisink, on the Delaware River, some miles above the Blue Mountains (now in Pike County), and also at Shamokin, on Shamokin Creek (at one time in Berks County for a period of twenty years, and since 1772 in the eastern part of Northumberland County).

DELAWARE INDIAN.

GANAWESE .- The Ganawese1 were also one of the tribes of the Lenni Lenape. They had lived formerly along the Potomac River, and were permitted by the Governor of Pennsylva- nia to locate among the Schuylkill Indians, near Tulpehocken, in pursuance of a request from Manangy-the Indian chief in this sec- tion-with a guaranty of their friendship by

1 Sometimes called Shawnees ; also Piscataway.

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the Conestoga Indians. This request was made in the year 1705,1 because the Ganawese had been reduced by sickness to a small num- ber and had expressed a desire to settle here. It is not known whether they came here imme- diately or not ; but four years afterward they were classed with the Indians in this vicinity. In 1728 they were represented at Philadelphia by their king, Manawkyhickon, who was called Shekellamy, also Winjack. He was appointed

DELAWARE INDIAN FAMILY. (A reproduction from an old design.)

by the " Five Nations," in 1728. It is sup- pased that he then lived at Shamokin, his tribe having by this time removed thither be- yond the Blue Mountains. After Conrad Weiser had settled in Tulpehocken, in 1729, an intimacy was cultivated between him and Shekellamy. In 1732 these two were ap- pointed to travel between the Indians and the

settlers, "in order to speak the minds of each other truly and freely, and to avoid misunder- standings;" and as such agents they per- formed invaluable services in our early history by the satisfactory and amicable adjustment of disputes. "They were universally respected for their wisdom in council, their dignity of manner and their conscientious administration of public affairs."

FIVE NATIONS .- The Five Nations were a confederacy of Indians which in- habited the territory now the State of New York. As confederates, they called themselves Aquanuschioni, or united people; and the French called them Iroquois. They comprised the following five nations of Indians : Cayugas, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onon- dagas and Senecas.

The language of these nations was radically the same, but it was somewhat different from that of the Lenni Lenâpé.

The Mohawks took the lead in matters pertaining to warfare, and the Onondagas in matters pertaining to the adjustment of their own per- sonal rights and difficulties. The Senecas were regarded as the most powerful nation in respect to num- bers and military energy.

The grand council-fire of the con- federacy was held in the Onondaga Valley, and it was guarded by the Onondagas.

The Iroquois (as they were mostly called by the settlers) were possessed of remarkable height, strength and symmetry of personal development. These char- acteristics distinguished them from other nations. They were as brave as they were strong, as cruel as they were ferocious and as overbearing as they were treacherous. They effected an early alliance with the Dutch settlers on the Hudson River, in the vicinity of Albany, and thereby secured the use of fire-arms. With this powerful auxiliary they were enabled to repel the encroachments of the French, and to exterminate or reduce to vassalage other nations of Indians. It is said

1 This is the earliest reference made to any Indians in this immediate vicinity.

INDIANS.

that they even conquered the Lenni Lenape, and held this great and powerful nation under subjection till 1756, when Teedyuscung forced from them an acknowledgment of their inde- pendence.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS .- The early set- tlers of Pennsylvania found the Indians pos- sessed of a kindly disposition and inclined to share with them the comforts of their rude dwelling-places. When they were guests of the Indians their persons were regarded as sacred. Penn said that they excelled in liber- ality ; that they never had much, for they never wanted much ; that their wealth circulated like the blood; that none wished for the property of another ; and that they were exact observers of the rights of property. " They are not disquieted with bills of lading and exchange," said he, "nor perplexed with chancery suits and ex- chequer reckonings. We sweat and toil to live ; they take pleasure in hunting, fishing and fowling, which feeds them. They spread their table on the ground anywhere, and eat twice a day, morning and evening. They care for lit- tle, for they want but little. If they are ignor- ant of our pleasures, they are free from our pains."

The Indians loved rum. Traders generally carried quantities of it in bartering with them. It was to them-as they called it-" fire-water," for it inflamed their passions and made them savage and destructive. In 1731 their chief here (Sassoonan) complained to the provincial government about its introduction and sale. He then "desired that no Christians should carry any rum to Shamokin 1 to sell ; when they wanted any they would send for it themselves ; they would not be wholly deprived of it, but they would not have it brought by Christians ; they desired that some rum might be lodged at Tulpehocken and Paxtang to be sold to them, so that their women might not have too long a way to fetch it." In purchases of land the Executive Council at times included rum as a part payment of the consideration. Doubtless the Indians asked for it.

The Indians, in their peculiar savage life,

possessed, on the one hand, certain personal vir- tues, a high sense of honor (according to their perceptions of duty), mutual fidelity among individuals, fortitude that mocked the most cruel torments and devotion to their own tribe, for whose welfare they were ready to make any sacrifice; but, on the other hand, they had no appreciation of domestic virtues, for they treated their wives with cruelty and their children with indifference. They were gloomy, stern and severe, and strangers to mirth and laughter. They permitted no outward expression of pain. Remarkable indifference to the good or ill of life was one of the grand elements of their character ; and they exhibited no pleasure in any- thing, save boisterous joy in the moment of vic- tory. They had a great aversion to regular labor, and yet they were capable of enduring the greatest possible exertions during the chase or times of war. They were extremely improv- ident. When they had an abundance of food and liquor they ate and drank great quantities, not thinking of the morrow and the famine they might have to endure. They recognized polygamy. They believed in the existence of a Supreme Being and of a Being in a subordinate position. The former was the Great Spirit to them which did not require prayers for aid and protection, but the latter was looked upon as hostile to them, and to this they addressed their worship. And they also believed in a future state, where the souls of brave warriors and chaste wives enjoyed a happy existence with their ancestors and friends. Their funerals were conducted with great decorum. They dressed the deceased persons in their best clothes, and buried them in various ways and in different places-some were buried in the air on scaffolds, some in the water and some in the earth. They also practiced cremation.2

The general dress of the Indians in the tem- perate and cold parts of the country, previous to the arrival of the Europeans, consisted of three articles-a cloak of buffalo skin (which hung from the shoulder), a piece of skin used as an

I Sassoonan lived at Shamokin.

2 See interesting and valuable article on Mortuary Cus- toms, with numerous illustrations, by H. C. Yarrow, in Powell's Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1879-80, pp. 89-199,

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

apron, and a pair of moccasins or loose boots, manufactured ont of undressed skin. The women wore a long robe of buffalo skin, which was fastened around the waist.

Their habitations were huts or cabins, gener- ally of a circular form, constructed of poles fixed in the ground and tied together at the top. The outer covering consisted of the bark of trees. A hole was left at the top for ven- tilation, or for smoke to escape. Beds and seats were made out of skins. The width of some huts was thirty and even forty feet.

The painting of their bodies was a nniversal custom. Tattooing was practiced; some painted only their arms, others both arms and legs; those who had attained the summit of renown in successful warfare had their bodies painted from the waist upward. This was the heraldry of the Indians. Besides this ornamentation, the warriors also carried plnmes of feathers on their heads.

Their weapons consisted of the tomahawk, knife, club and bow and arrow. When the Dutch arrived they introduced the rifle to them ; and then the Indians became as expert in the use of this weapon as they had been in the use of the tomahawk and bow and arrow.

They subsisted chiefly on wild game and fish. They were great hunters and fishers. In the use of the spear in fishing they were very suc- cessful. They carried on agriculture to a lim- ited extent in raising maize, beans and pump- kins; but the labor was performed entirely by their women.

Each tribe was governed by an elected chief and council. In matters of great importance all the warriors were consulted. In their delib- erations, questions were decided by the consent of all, not by a majority. Their assemblies were conducted with great formality. Their debates were carried on by set speeches which abounded in bold figures and bursts of impas- sioned eloquence. The oldest chief always com- menced the discussion of a question. The young men were permitted to attend, but not to speak.

They conducted their warfare in a particular and peculiar manner. They declared war by sending a slave with a hatchet (the handle of which was painted red) to the offending party.

In taking the field for action, they proceeded in small squads, and from the time of entering the enemy's territory they killed no game, they lighted no fires, they made no disturbance of any kind; but they advanced with the utmost cantion, not even speaking to one another, only communicating by signs and motions. In mak- ing an attack, they would first lie flat a whole night, and at the break of day, upon the signal of the chief, rush upon the enemy. If they sncceeded-as they generally did succeed in such a quiet, but deliberate, mode of warfare- their horrifying deeds baffled description.

PURCHASES BY TREATY. - The Indians owned this territory by right of possession. Penn's arrival found them occupying and claiming the land, he negotiated with them by treaties and purchased their title. In this way he won their high regard. They sold him large tracts at different times, and as they sold the land they departed. The first departure from land in this section was in 1718, the district lying to the south of South Mountain ; and the next was in 1732, when they left all that section lying between the South Mountain and the Blne Mountain.

Having mentioned that Penn held certain treaties with the Indians in carrying on his negotiations with them, the following descrip- tion of a treaty by Penn himself in 1683 will be interesting in this connection :

" Every king hath his council ; and that consists of all the old and wise men of the nation-which is per- haps two hundred people. Nothing of moment is undertaken-be it in war, peace, selling of land or traffic-without advising with them; and, what is more, with the young men too. It is admirable to consider how powerful the kings are, and yet how they move by the breath of their people. I have had occa- sion to be in council with them, upon treaties for land, and to adjust the terms of trade. Their order is thus :

" The king sits in the middle of an half-moon, and hath his council-the old and wise-on each hand. Behind them, or at a little distance, sit the younger fry in the same figure. Having consulted and resolved their business, the king ordered one of them to speak to me. He stood up, came to me, and, in the name of his king, saluted me. Then he took me by the hand and told me he was ordered by his king to speak to me and that now it was not he but the king that spoke, because what he should say was the king's

INDIANS.

mind. He first prayed me to excuse them that they had not complied with me the last time. He feared there might be some fault in the interpreter, being neither Indian nor English. Besides, it was the Indian custom to deliberate and take up much time in council before they resolve. And that, if the young people and owners of the land had been as ready as he was, I had not met with so much delay. Having thus introduced his matter, he fell to the bounds of the land they had agreed to dispose of and the price-which now is little and dear, that which would have bought twenty miles not buying now two. During the time that this person spoke, not a man of them was observed to whisper or smile-the old grave, and the young reverent, in their deportment. They speak little, but frequently, and with elegance. I have never seen more natural sagacity, considering them without the help (I was going to say the spoil) of tradition ; and he will deserve the name of wise that outwits them in any treaty about a thing they understand. When the purchase was agreed to, great promises passed between us : 'of kindness and good neighborhood, and that the Indians and English must live in love as long as the sun gave light,' which done, another made a speech to the Indians in the name of all the Sachamakers or kings-first, to tell them what was done; next, to charge and command them to love the Christians, and particularly live in peace with me and the people un- der my government; that many governors had been in the river, but that no governor had come himself to live and stay here before ; and having now such an one that had treated them well, they should never do him, or his, any wrong. At every sentence of which they shouted, and said amen in their way."

RETREAT OF INDIANS. - The Indians hav- ing moved north of the Blue Mountain in 1732, the "Friends" then entered and took up large and fine tracts of land in the Maiden Creek Valley. Within the previous decade, against the complaints of the Indians, a small colony of Germans had settled in the Tulpe- hocka Valley. Onward, persistently onward, along the flowing, meandering streams and toward their wild and rich sources, the early settlers proceeded. Were these enterprising Christians bent upon ascertaining where the streams rose, in their efforts to gratify a desire for the best settlements, and, consequently, their worldly enrichment, just as the Indians-the heathen, as they were called-were bent upon ascertaining where the sun rose in their journey around the world to gratify a desire for spiritual enrichment ? Before 1750 these settlers had reached and occupied points beyond the Blue

Mountain, lying towards the sources of the Schuylkill. And thus, as they came and pressed forward, the Indians went. The Indians had, indeed, reached the " Great Sea ; " but, for want of worldly cupidity or genius, they did not, or could not master its mighty rolling waters. Therefore, they began to return, not because they had no more worlds to conquer, not because they had completed their great journey, but be- cause they had met the Bible! Wonderful revelation to them, indeed ! Return ? No, they had to retreat ! The "Armor of God " pre- vailed against them! Cupidity had found this great country of theirs, but persecution was peopling it. This persecution justified (?) the persecuted immigrants to take possession of their lands and homes and hunting-grounds, which they had possessed time out of mind, in order to spread the " Kingdom of God." These immigrants were forced to have a home where they could worship God freely, according to the dictates of their own consciences ; and they got it. But the Indians had to lose theirs ! The immigrants-moved more by cowardice than by enterprise in leaving their homes where they were born and where they expected to take affairs as they found them or improve them in the course of time if they could-reasoned ap- parently like the enterprising (?) men of the present generation in appropriating the property and possessions of others for the promotion of the public weal. First, the quiet possession of the Indians had to be disturbed by the Christians for the public advancement of civiliza- tion and the general improvement of morals ; then, that of the Christians by corporations for the general improvement of communities in re- spect to convenience and wealth. This is wonderful. What agency is coming in the future to disturb the corporations ? Two hun- dred years were required to develop the right and exercise of eminent domain. What right or rights will two hundred years more develop in the great interests of mankind, so that all men, irrespective of condition or position, will have justice pure and simple done to them in all departments of life, not through the law's delays, but by the natural and noble impulses of the whole community ?

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

PRESENT LOCATION .- And having been forced, if not driven, ont of the territory which we have come to occupy, where are the brave and strong Lenni Lenape now ? Back again in the vast wilderness which their great progeni- tors had occupied years and years before them. Like locusts before the storm, they were swept by the tide of civilization westward, westward beyond the Mississippi. Centuries elapsed,-how many, no one knows-between their march hither and thither. Their own energy and de- termination had brought them hither; but the energy and determination of a mighty and pro- gressive element sent them thither. What a mistake they found that they had made in searching too persistently after knowledge, in going the way of the material world ! Instead of realizing their fond hopes of finding what they wanted to know, what they yearned to see, they could only look, look to the eastward into the restless sea, there to find at last coming to- wards them an " armor-bearer," with the " cross of salvation " before him, directed, as it were, by the King of Day, against the motion of the world and across the wide expanse of waters. And this was, apparently, the "light " which their tradition had inspired them to look for through centuries of time.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 10

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418