USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 19
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They delighted to regard and boast of the power of the French, and a favorite comparison was of the king, like an old man asleep, who would shortly awaken and rouse himself to take summary vengeance upon his enemies.
3. When running the southern boundary line of Pennsylvania, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were accompanied by an escort of Indians who were delegated by their natives to observe the running of the line and to note that it was fairly done. It is reported that "after they had surveyed the distance of 23 miles, 18 chains, and 21 links from the place of beginning, and were at the bottom of a valley on Dunkard's Creek, a branch of the Monongehela, an Indian path crossed their route, and their aboriginal escort informed them that it was 'the will of the Sioux Nation that the surveys cease ;' and they terminated accordingly, leaving 36 miles, 6 chains, and 50 links as the exact distance remaining to be run west to the southwest angle of Pennsylvania." This occurred in 1762.
4. In May, 1793, Messrs. Irvine, Ellicott, and Gallatin were to ar- range to lay out the town of Erie, with Captain Denny's company of sol- diers to protect them. They were also charged to establish a post at LeBoeuf, two miles below the site of the old French Fort. But the feeling
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was still high in both English and Indian quarters, and the commission was strictly charged to give no offense in that quarter. Indeed, a letter from General Wilkins at Fort Franklin to the Quarter-master of Pennsyl- vania, Clement Biddle, advises that the conditions are not favorable to laying out the town of Presque Isle, and that the Indians are being irri- tated by the British throughout this region; that "The English are fixed in their opposition to the opening of the road to Presque Isle, and are deter- mined to send a number of English and Indians to cut them off. The Chief Cornplanter communicated the same thing to the commanding officer at Franklin. To heighten the excitement, a friendly Indian was murdered by a dissolute man, named Robertson. The Indians were very much in- censed that the murderer was not given up to them, and fears were enter- tained that some innocent person would be made to suffer in his place. 'The English,' said they, 'always promise to punish crimes, but have never done it.' The father of Robertson sent for John Nicholson to endeavor to appease the Indians, which he affected by calling a council, and offering to pay one hundred dollars to replace, in an Indian way, the man that was dead." This will show something of the state of our county even so late as 1793.
5. Deposition of D. Ransom. Allegheny County, ss .: "Personally appeared before me, John Gibson, one of the Associate Judges of the above county, Daniel Ransom, who being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that he, this deponent, hath for some time past traded at Fort Franklin with the Senecas and other Indians, and that a chief of the Senecas, named Tiawon- cas, or Broken Twig, came there and informed him the time would soon be bad, and advised him to move off his family and effects. On this, he, this deponent, asked him how he knew the time would soon be bad. The Indian then informed him that the British and Indians had sent a belt of Wampum to him inviting him to council at Buffalo Creek; that he had declined going, and that the messengers then informed him of the in- tended plans of the Indians; they said that the Cornplanter had been bought by the British, and had joined them; that he (the Cornplanter) intended soon to come to Fort Franklin, on pretense of holding a council respecting the Indian who was killed by Robertson; that then the British and Indians were to land at Presqu'ile, and there form a junction with Cornplanter on French Creek, and were then to clear it, by killing all the people and taking all the posts on it; that he was so much affected as to shed tears, and said, 'What shall I do? I have been at war against the
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Western Indians, in company with Captain Jeffers, and killed and scalped one of them. If I now go back to the Indians, after having discovered this, they will kill me.' He also informed this deponent that a number of cannon had been purchased by the British, and collected at Jurisdagoe, the town where Cornplanter lives, for the purpose of conveying the In- dians down the river.
"He, this deponent, further saith, that the Standing Stone, a chief of the Onondagoes, also informed him, at Fort Franklin, that he thought the times would soon be bad, and pressed him very much to leave Fort Franklin, and assisted him in packing up his goods, etc .; that from what he had heard and seen from other Indians, he has every reason to believe the above account to be true; that seven white men came down the Alle- gheny, a few days ago, to Fort Franklin, who informed him, they saw the above-mentioned cannon at Jurisdagoe; and the Indians appeared very surly, and had not planted any corn on the river at their towns.
"Sworn and subscribed at Pittsburg, this 11th June, 1794."
6. In the pioneer days of this county, a peculiar form of bodily prostration occurred in connection with religious meetings, and which came to be called "the bodily exercise." A description of such an instance has been preserved, and was on this wise: "On a certain Sabbath eve- ning after the benediction was pronounced, there was an evident reluct- ance to leave the house. Whilst a solemn awe was visible on every face, five or six appeared to be awakened to a sense of their lost and undone condition, amongst whom were two of the most unlikely persons in the house. One of them was the largest man in the assembly, and full of self-importance; the other a file-leader in the devil's camp, who attempted to escape by flight, got entangled in the bushes, and was forced to come back for a light to find his path, and who, the moment he set his foot inside the door, fell prostrate on the floor, under a sense of condemnation."
"I have seen men and women sitting in solemn attitude, pon- dering the solemn truths that were presented, and, in a moment, fall from their seats, or off their feet, if they happened to be standing, as helpless as though they had been shot, and lie for ten, or fifteen, or twenty min- utes, or even half an hour, as motionless as a person in a sound sleep. At other times the frame would be thrown into a state of agitation so violent as seemingly to endanger the safety of the subject ; and yet, in a moment, this agitation would cease, and the persons arise in the possession of all their bodily powers, and take their seats composed and solemn, without (16)
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the least sensation of pain or uneasiness." "Some who had lain on the floor without one discernable sign of life except the natural warmth and color of the skin, have told me that they could hear and reflect whilst in this condition as well as better than when in possession of their natural faculties." "Some who were thus exercised failed to obtain hope, and in some cases in after years became pious, yet did not trace their con- viction to this cause. I can not account for the matter at all. I do not think it can be traced to physical causes. Physicians who were present, and anxious to understand the phenomena, and examined the subjects, were completely at a loss to account for the matter, or explain it to their own satisfaction." . "I have preached to a crowded assembly when more than one-half of the people were lying helpless before me dur- ing the greater portion of divine service, without the least noise or dis- turbance of any kind to divert or interrupt the attention of any individual from the word spoken."
7. In the Sabbath services of the old log church of "Fairview" on the banks of the lake near the mouth of Walnut Creek, a good and faithful man named Johnnie Pherrin, could always be relied upon to be on hand and 'line out' and start the tunes. A great favorite of the times was one tune called "Liberty Hall." This "clerk" or music leader, would arise at the head of the ministers' pew, call out the name of the tune and then strike in with "the full force of his musical voice." "This clerk was a good-hearted, excellent man, but unfortunately still in single blessedness, and, having a cabin of his own, kept house by himself, keeping, as it was called, 'Bachellor's Hall'." "It so occurred that the hymn given out on a certain occasion had for its first stanza the words appropriated to that tune in the music book. It was therefore altogether natural to sing it. Rising therefore in the accustomed place, after clearing his throat and raising the forefinger of his right hand in readiness for beating the time, the good clerk proclaimed in a loud voice, 'Sing Bachelor's Hall.' No sooner were the unfortunate words uttered than the good man was con- scious of his mistake, but he wisely forbore to correct it. He proceeded to sing the tune that was in his mind, but it was a very painful effort."
"The hymn was concluded, but for once in his life it was thought by the leader to be too long. There were young men and maidens there, and for them it was difficult to preserve their equilibrium." .
"Liberty Hall was frequently sung after this, but its name was never
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afterwards pronounced by the clerk. When it was used, the first signal was the striking of the key note."
8. This same "clerk" was a man of many handycrafts. He made the pioneer spinning wheels, the reels and other implements for the women, and fanning-mills and plows for the men. It was he who made so many of the "Grandfather's Clocks" of that period, which descended to the next generation, some of which are probably still doing yeoman's service.
Another service he did for his community was leading a singing school. "The chairs and benches were arranged around the walls of the room leaving a clear space for the teacher. Each singer had brought a tallow candle from home with a bit of paper wrapped around the lower end of it, by which it might be held in the hand when lighted for use. When all were ready, the singing commenced. At the first the music was in manuscript, copied from an old Dauphin County book by the deft hand of the clerk himself. The teacher, without condescending to look at the music himself, led off as he walked the floor beating time with both arms swinging loosely from the shoulder. The tunes were of the most staid and orthodox kind, hoary with age and sanctified by the use of centuries."
9. A deer hunt at the present site of Swanville: "By this time the hunters were on the borders of the Pine Swamp" (just south of the west hill on the Ridge Road at Walnut Creek) "and must be on the lookout for game. Silently they threaded the mazes of the forest. Their feet seemed to make no noise in the virgin snow. Not a word was said, and at the slightest sound they stood motionles as statues. They wore dresses so as to attract the least possible attention from the inhabitants of the forest. On their heads they wore caps of white rabbit skin; and over their usual dress they had drawn a long white shirt that reached nearly to their knee. In this way they passed quietly and almost breathlessly, looking eagerly in every direction. Soon they were on a track that to their experi- enced eyes gave token of game in the near neighborhood of where they were. The men both stooped over it and in soft whispers exchanged ideas : 'That track's fresh ; see how sharp it cuts the snow!' 'Yes, and it's a buck ! See how his horns have jarred the snow from that low bush as he passed under it. He's not scar't nor frisky either; we'll get him, if we're careful. See if we don't!' 'You take the first shot, H., 'cause you started the hunt; besides, you have your smooth bore and that never misses.'
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"The chase was resumed in silence, H. leading the way, and both peering through the trees and underbrush as though they would pierce the gloom that always gathered over the Pine Swamp. As they entered its profound shadows they were more cautious than ever, making not the least noise with their feet, and constantly on the lookout for decayed branches that might be crushed beneath their tread. Suddenly H. pauses as though he had been petrified on the instant, and, with nerves as of steel, brings his smooth bore to his cheek and fires. The sharp crack dies away and the little column of smoke rises, when, turning to his com- panion, he whispers: 'The buck's turned over all right; I saw the twitch of his tail as the lead struck him, and the doe will not run far; you just take her track, while I let the blood out of the veins of the buck.' 'Are you sure there is another? I saw nothing.' 'Yes! I just saw the white flag she set up as her mate fell. You can take her track when we come up to where the buck lies.'
"Sure enough, as the men came up a noble buck was lying on the snow, his great antlers quivering, as his life was running out. In a short distance from the spot the other neighbor found the track of the smaller deer and followed it in the same cautious manner as had characterized the former chase. Using his hunting knife to open the veins of the fallen deer, H. had hardly succeeded in hanging it upon a sapling, when he heard the crack of his neighbor's rifle, and, by the time he had fully secured his game, saw him approaching, dragging the smaller deer over the light snow. This, too, was secured by the side of the first, when the friends congratulated themselves on the success of the morning. The second deer had but just joined its mate at the time of the first shot, and had not run far before it tarried to await its companion."
10. On the occasion of a visit from his minister, Rev. Johnston Eaton, the first pastor of the Fairview Church at the mouth of Walnut Creek, Mr. James Blair, residing on his plantation just west of "The Devil's Back- bone" in Girard Township, related how he had caught a bear. His wife had just told how she made the delicious corn cake they had eaten, by mixing the meal with hot water and putting some bear's grease in it; then spreading the dough out thinly on the johnny-cake board, the board leaned up before the fire and propped by the smoothing iron, "and," she said, "the work was soon done." "I might tell my part too," said Mr. Blair, "about the bear. I had a deal of trouble getting him. He had car- ried away a number of my pigs, and I feared that when the corn should
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be ready for him he would destroy it. But I set a trap for him by build- ing a pen of strong logs with a sliding door fixed like a deadfall, and by this means got him in prison. And here is some of his meat." "We have had jerked venison, but do you know what the process is? It is very easy to jerk venison, when you know how. We take the deer just as it comes in from the woods, dress it in the ordinary way, then cut the flesh across the grain in large flakes, looking almost like a fleece of wool. Then we stick some pegs of wood into the ground and spread these flakes on the top of them, kindling a smudge of fire underneath, made out of clean, sweet chips. After it has partially dried, then it is turned; then it is taken from the pegs, rolled up in the deer's skin, kneaded and tramped, then placed on the pegs again, and so worked until it is dry and ready to stow away."
A PIONEER HOME
11. How they cleared the land of the great forests. The pioneers made much community sociability out of some of the laborious tasks they were compelled to undertake. This resulted in neighborhood "bees" known as "husking bees," "logging bees," and bees for putting up their log houses, churches and barns.
"In the logging, or getting the heavy timber that covered the coun- try into heaps, ready to be burned, this combined effort was a common thing. It was usually done in the autumn time, after the harvest had been gathered. The trees were cut down and divided into lengths, and left to dry. Before the logging time the whole was set on fire, burning up the brush, and leaving only the logs, blackened and begrimed, but yet ready for the logging. The men assembled for the work, expecting no compensation, but simply a return in kind when they should call for help. Sometimes two of these forms of work were carried on at the same time. The women would have a 'quilting' in the house whilst their
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brethren were engaged in logging on the edge of the woods." The neigh- boring men would gather with their ox teams and log chains, sometimes six or eight crews of them. One such logging had been arranged, and "The whole party set to with a will, and the work went on splendidly. A large tree that had fallen out of root and had not been cut up was selected as the bed of the first log-heap. The log chain was attached to the nearest log and with shouting to the team, was brought up by its side and rolled into position by the men who were equipped with hand- spikes. Then another log was rolled on the top of this one by means of skids; and so the work went on with shouting and many a joke and smart saying, as the great heaps multiplied all along the edge of the clearing. The minister in the meantime busying himself in carrying
E
MIDDLEBROOK CHURCH
water for the men to drink from 'The Far Spring.' This spring he con- sidered the best in all the country; indeed, it is doubtful whether he did not prefer it to the much larger spring that gushed out of the rock, at his father's door, away across the mountains."
12. Mr. William Dickson, of North East, once related the episode of the building of the first meeting house in Erie County, at Middlebrook, in the summer (August) of 1801. This was just a short distance north of Lowville, on the east side of the present road therefrom to North East, where the old burial ground is situated. He said, "Our house was the first place of worship erected in the County of Erie. It was on this wise: Mr. Satterfield had been sent into our neighborhood to preach a Sabbath. We fixed a kind of pulpit for him under a beech tree in the woods, and then notified every family in the congregation of his com- ing. We had a good congregation and enjoyed the meeting. At the
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close, old father Hunter who had been an Elder over the mountains, called a number of the young men together and said: 'Boys, I want you all to meet me on next Thursday morning, early, at a certain land corner, and bring your axes and dinners with you.' We all knew what was wanted and at the appointed time were on the ground bright and early. The old man said in a brief speech: 'We must have a house of worship. The Lord will be with us if we serve Him. Now let us go to work.' And work we did, with a will. The trees were cut down and cut into lengths, notched and laid up. Whilst some were doing this, others cut down a red-oak and split a part of it for clapboards for the roof, and a part into puncheons for the floor, and so diligently did we work, that just as the sun was going down, the whole structure was complete. There was not a nail nor a bit of iron in the entire arrangement. The door was made of thin puncheons with wooden hinges and latch. Openings were cut for windows, but the windows not put in. Even the chunking and daub- ing was done, with seats and pulpit complete. Of course the pulpit was not as stylish an affair as Johnny Pherrin made for you," (for the Fair- ยท view Church at Walnut Creek) "but it answered the purpose."
"We found one of the nicest red-oaks you ever saw, to make the punch- eons of. It split just like a ribbon, and when the strips of wood fell apart they required very little dressing to fit them for their purpose. The breastwork of the pulpit was simply a narrow strip of wood pinned to two upright strips, and all was complete. The truth was, we were real proud of our meeting-house." . "It was in the summer of 1801: I have the date and the facts recorded in my journal, and they will go down to the generations to come, as an evidence of what their fathers could do in the settlement of the beech-woods." "Yes,
Judah Colt first made a profession of religion at that place; and many other good men and women came into the Church whilst your friend Robert Patterson was preaching there. It would have done you good to have seen the meeting of the boys, that evening, after the house was finished, around the red-oak stump that had furnished the tree for the puncheons. Father Hunter made us another little speech, he said 'Now boys, we've got a meetin' house, we must have preachin'; 'these minis- ters can't come here and preach for nothin', swimming streams and sleep- ing in the woods at the roots of trees, as Mr. Wood did not long ago. We must raise a little fund to pay them for their work. Now I propose that we appoint a treasurer and raise a fund, giving twenty-five cents
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each.' This was good advice and we at once began to lay our money on the stump, mostly laying down fifty cents apiece. When it came Father Hunter's turn he laid down a dollar. Seeing this, one of the number took up his half and laid down a dollar instead. This was the beginning of a fund that was never exhausted whilst I continued in that congregation. The blessing of the Lord seemed to rest upon it."
13. The peculiar notions of some of the first residents as to the qualifications for church membership, might compare favorably with the notions of some immigrants as to their qualifications for American citi- zenship not so long ago.
A man presented his certificate of membership in a church in Ire- land, which certified his dismission in regular order, and recommending him "to any church in whose bounds Providence might cast his lot." As the certificate was dated some ten years before, and his own reputation as to sobriety and temperance, and perhaps other things, had been not of the best, the session of the church tried to point out to him that he would have to seek membership on other grounds than those represented in his certificate. He was highly indignant, and admonished them 'Sure and wasn't I dacently christened by the Minister of Glendermot, whin I was a child? And didn't I answer the questions with the best of thim at the examines? And didn't I take the sacrament the very first chance arther I was sixtheen"?
All of which they admitted might be perfectly true, but that his life was very much at variance with his certificate. "But doesn't it say under Mr. Craig's own hand that all was right in the ould counthry? I can na' read mysel', by the ministher, and a blessed gintleman he was too, tould me that the wee bit o' paper wi' his name to't would mak' it all right wi' me wereiver I wint. And sure whin he sent me out a Christian, it's little becomin' the likes o' ye to be afther turnin' me over to the divil."
Notwithstanding his vehement protests, the session felt obliged to dismiss his case, and he departed "hurling fearful anathemas against the apostate concern that would turn away a 'dacent Christian for jist no cause at all' ".
14. On one occasion, during the absence of her husband, Mrs. Eaton had her nerves sorely tried by seeing a bear coming up the steep bank of Walnut Creek behind their cabin, and seemed to be making for her cabin. But the bear had in mind, not her house, but the pen near the
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house which contained some little pigs. Bruin adroitly seized one of the little porkers, and in spite of its squeals bore it swiftly down the steep bank and across the creek. At another time when alone with her little family, their faithful dog began barking in the night, which was very inclement. He kept up his barking throughout the night. She believed that danger in some form was near, but could not learn what it could be. There was but little sleep in the cabin that night, and they were up betimes in the morning; when, as the sun rose from behind the hills, the dog's renewed barking turned their attention to a husky Indian step- ping out from the woods, and approaching the cabin, clad in the rude style of his people-leggings of deerskin and moccasins of the same ma- terial, and with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He carried the customary gun and tomahawk, in spite of which Mrs. Eaton met him at the door. He proved to be entirely friendly, and at length she was made to understand that he was hungry and had slept over on the side-hill. She hastily set a hearty meal before him of which he partook with great relish. He then stepped out, took up his gun from before the door, and made his way back into the deep forest. Such episodes were of frequent occurrence in this county in the early years of its settlement.
15. It is related of Hon. John Grubb, who made his settlement on Nicholson Hill south of Erie in the early spring of 1796 (having come here as captain of the soldiers who guarded the engineers who plotted the city of Erie in June and July of 1795 and selected his tract), that being near his house one morning, and hearing a noise across the yard, he looked up in time to see a big bear in the act of seizing one of his choice shoats. He at once made for the bear, not realizing until he had almost reached him that he was unarmed. As the big bear arose from the pen with the squealing pig in its arms, Mr. Grubb found himself face to face with, not alone a big bear, but a real dilemma. With a surly growl the bear strode off into the forest with his protesting prize, leaving Mr. Grubb regretfully watching the performance, and helpless to prevent the robbery. He watched several days after this with his gun in hand, but did not have another view of the bear.
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