USA > Pennsylvania > Mifflin County > History of Mifflin County : its physical peculiarities, soil, climate, &c. ; including an early sketch of the state of Pennsylvania Volume I > Part 2
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15
HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
The Scotch-Irish, a pertinacious and pugnacions race, tired wait -- ing on land office formalities and delays, treaties and surveys, kept pushing their settlements on the unpurchased lands along the Juniata, producing fresh exasperation among the Indians. Massa- cres ensued, and settlers were driven in below the mountains, and all was excitement and alarm. Below we give names and dates of" Governors, and those acting in that capacity by other cognomens,. from 1623 down, when Cornelius Jacob May planted a Dutch. colony on the coast of Delaware :
1624, William Usling.
1717, Win. Keith.
1630, David Peterson.
1726, Pat. Gordan.
1631, John Printz.
1736, James Logan.
1638, Peter Minuits.
1738, George Thomas.
1640, Wm. Keift.
1747, Anthony Palmer.
1643, John Printz.
1748, Jas. Hamilton.
1653,
- Papegoia.
1754, R. H. Morris.
1654,
- Risingh.
1756, Wm. Denny.
1657, - - Aldrich.
1759. J. Hamilton.
1658, Paul Jaquet-
1763, John Penn.
'1659, - Beekman.
1771, Richard Penn.
1664, Rob't Carr.
1776, Thos. Wharton.
1673, Anthony Colve.
1778, Joseph Reed.
1674, Edmond Andross.
1782, J. Dickinson.
1681, Wm. Penn.
1785, Benj. Franklin.
1684, Thos. Lloyd.
1788, Thos. Mifflin.
1687, Five Commissioners.
1791, Thos. Mifflin.
1688, J. Blackwell.
1799, Thos. Mckean.
1690, Gov. Council.
1808, Simon Snyder.
1691, Thos. Lloyd.
1817, Wm. Finley.
1692, Benj. Fletcher.
1820, Joseph Heister.
1693, Wm. Markham.
1823, J. A. Shultz.
1700, Wm. Penn.
1829, George Wolfe.
1701, A. Hamilton.
1835, Joseph Rttner.
1704, John Evans.
1839, David R. Porter.
1709, Chas. Gookin.
In the year 1800 Lancaster became the seat of government of Pennsylvania. In 1812 it was transferred to Harrisburg, where it still remains.
16
HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
ORGANIZATION OF MIFFLIN COUNTY,
AND INCIDENTS IN ITS EARLY HISTORY AND FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
M IFFLIN county was formed by an act of the Legislature, passed September 19, 1879. The census return of the next year. 1790, gave her a population of 7,562; ten years later, 1800, 13,809, and in 1810, 12,132; in 1820, 16,618, and in 1830, 21,690. This, it will be observed, was before the separation of its territory forming Juniata county. In 1840, after Juniata was formed, Mifflin contained 13,092, on an area, 370 square miles.
Mifflin county is traversed by a series of mountain ranges of picturesque beauty, and deep valleys that are not exceeded by fer- tility and improvements by any in the State. The soils resting on slate and limestone are exceedingly fertile, but this will be treated of in the Geological department of this work. The lovely vales of Chester, Donegal, Wyoming, Potomac and Cumberland are beau- tiful indeed, but do not exceed, Kishicoquillas, Juniata, Fergusan's or Dry Valley, and many similar ones that adorns this beautiful region, bedded on limestone rock, that inexhaustible element of fer- tility. The mountain ranges commencing on the southeast are Blue Mountain or Ridge, Jack's Mountain, Stone Mountain and Path Valley Mountains sometimes called Seven Mountains. The Juniata River enters Mifflin county at its southwest end and meanders lei- surely down the beautiful vale in which Lewistown forms the con- spicuons gem, and again enters the mountains at a romantic gorge called the Long Narrows, which is a trough four miles long between the Black Log and Shade Mountains barely wide enough for the river to pass. At the end of this trough the river breaks throngh the Shade Mountain. The arrangements of nature has been so far trespassed on by modern improvements that the turnpike, canal and the Pennsylvania Railroad now find a resting place and a passage through this mountain gorge on the banks of the river. Kishico- quillas Creek in like manner breaks by a deep gorge through Jack's Mountain four miles above Lewistown and enters the river near town,
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
forming an excellent and never-failing water power on its entire line. The minerals of iron, &c., forming the famed and merito- riously so Juniata, will be treated of under their proper head, also our noted caverns. The prominent exports of the country are wheat and iron. As early as the date of the old French war in 1755, a few adventurous pioneers from the Seotch-Irish settlements on the Conoeocheague (the grandfather of the writer one of the num- ber) found their way to the lonely valleys of Mifflin, then Cumber- land county.
Arthur Buchanan, a man who loved the woods and preferred a half-civilized life to that of civilization, built himself a cabin, en- tered the land where Lewistown now stands, in 1755. His cabin stood near the mouth of the creek where the canal bridge now is. He had several sons frontier men like himself, one of whom was somewhat noted, and known as Col. Buchanan. "There was a Fort Granville built about the same time about a mile above Lewistown, and near a very fine spring." The canal passed over the spring and destroyed its waters and at the same time erased an ancient mound near the canal bridge in which were sepulchered many bones in a decayed state.
A word in regard to these ancient mounds. They are over North America from the valley of the Hudson down the Ohio and Mis- sissippi, over northern Ohio and Illinois, thickly set along the banks of the Illinois and the upper Mississippi rivers, are over Wisconsin and Minnesota and extend west to the Rocky Moun- tains. Proceeding southward they extend over Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, and finally disappear in Central Mexico and further south. In the east and north their extreme age leaves few of their contents'in a preserved state. As we proceed southward they be- come more numerous and of less age. I have dug from them, on the banks of the Illinois River, human remains remarkably well preserved, and assisted in the work of the Scientific Association of Peoria, Illinois, in their excavation of a mound on the banks of Peoria Lake which contained three skeletons, a man, a woman and a baby, the two former seven feet high and the baby about three feet, the remains of the latter reposing on the arms of the woman's remains. They had been peacefully and earefully buried and the skulls showed a mental development of high order of intellect in all three subjects. The newness of the remains and the greater number of mounds in the south, prove that the nation who built them removed from the north to the south and possessed a higher 2
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
state of civilization and of the arts than was known to the Indian. Their well-finished copper instruments, their practice of dentistry and their residences still in the Colorado Mountains prove an advance- ed state of culture and civilization. The object of these mounds seem to have been for three purposes and are of three different forms of structure. They were used for sacrificial, mausoleum, and observatory purposes, and are heptagon, oval and circular in form.
After the defeat of Braddock had emboldened the French and Indians, they made incursions upon all parts of the unprotected fron- tier in 1755 and 1756. The attack upon Fort Granville was made during harvest time, 1756. The fort was commanded by Lieuten- ant Armstrong, Lieutenant Faulkner had sent a small detachment to guard the reapers in Tuscarora Valley. The following account of the capture of the fort we extract, somewhat condensed, from Gordon's History of Pennsylvania :
" On the 22d of July a party of sixty Indians appeared before Fort Granville and challenged the garrison to combat, which was declined by the commander, in consequence of the weakness of his force. The Indians fired at them and wounded one man belonging to the fort, who had been a short distance from it, yet he got in safe; after which they divided themselves into small parties, one of whom attacked the plantation of one Baskins, whom they mur- dered, burned his house, and carried off his wife and children; and another party made Hugh Carroll and his family prisoners. On the 13th of July, Captain Ward, commanding Fort Granville, left the fort with all his men, except 24 under the command of Lieut. Armstrong, to guard some reapers in Sherman's Valley. Soon after the captain's departure, the fort was attacked by about 100 French and Indians, who having assaulted it in vain, during the afternoon and night of that day, took to Juniata Creek, and pro- tected by its banks, attained a deep ravine, by which they were enabled to approach, without fear or injury, to within thirty or \ forty feet of the fort, to which they succeeded in setting fire. Through the hole thus made they succeeded in killing the lieu- tenant and one private, and wounded three others while endeavor- ing to put out the fire. The enemy then offered quarters to the beseiged if they would surrender, and one Turner immediately opened the gate to them. They took prisoners twenty-two soldiers, three women and some children, whom they loaded with burdens and drove before them. The fort was burned by Captain Jacobs, pursuant to the order of the French commander.
19
HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
When the Indians reached Kittatinny they put Turner to death, with most horrid tortures. They tied him to a post, danced around him, made a great fire, heated gun-barrels red-hot, and ran them through his body. Having tormented him for three hours, scalped him alive and at last held up a boy with a hatchet in his hand to finish the work."
In KISHICOQUILLAS a friendly Indian had his wigwam near Bu- chanan's cabin. Some of the friendly Indians gave notice to the Buchanan family of the expected attack on the fort, and the neigh- bors all fled with their families to Carlisle.
The settlers returned cautiously after the Indians had retired, but not many additions were received to their numbers until after 1768, when a new purchase was made by the treaty of Fort Stan- wix which included this territory, and a Land office was opened in 1769. Samuel Milliken, William Brown and a Mr. McNitt, Mr. Sterret, Alexander Cochrane, Mr. Glass and others, were the early settlers of Kishicoquillas Valley. Samuel McClay came near the same time as surveyor. Old family records in the hands of the writer gives the dates of the birth of children in the east end of " Big Valley," as early as 1763. There was also a settlement in the west end of the county, among whom we find the names of Bratton, Junkins, Wilson, Ross, Stackpole, &c., bespeaking a Scotch-Irish origin.
Another friendly Indian chief, and one who was worthy of a better fate than he received of the white savages who caused his and his friend's death, had his cabin for a number of years beside a noted limestone water spring on Kishicoquillas Creek, a mile or two above the beautiful mountain gorge, the Narrows, where the creek passes through Jack's Mountain. We refer to LOGAN, the celebrated Mingo Chief, whose kindness to the early settlers in supplying their wants ; whose noted eloquence and immense talents proves him to have been a most noble specimen of the human race. He was a descendant of a chief of the Cayugas. Logan's spring is on the left bank of the creek, north of the turnpike gate on the Bellefonte Pike, above the town of Reedsville, near Brown's Mills.
Wm. Brown, one of the first settlers of the valley, and one of the associate judges of this county from its organization till his death, at the age of ninety-one or ninety-two, has left on record the following in regard to the celebrated LOGAN.
He says: "The first time I ever saw that spring, my brother, James Reed and myself had wandered out in the Valley in search
20
HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
of land, and finding it very good, we were looking for springs. About a mile from this we started a bear, and separated to get a shot at him. As I was treading along looking about on the rising ground for the bear, I came suddenly upon the spring, and being dry, was more rejoiced to find the spring than to have killed a dozen bears. I set my rifle against a bush and rushed down the bank and laid down to take a drink. Upon putting my head down I saw re- flected in the water on the opposite side, the shadow of an Indian. I sprang to my rifle, when the Indian gave a yell, whether for peace or war I was not then sufficiently master of my faculties to deter mine, but upon seizing my rifle and facing him, he knocked up the pan of his gun, threw out the priming, and extended his open palm towards me in token of friendship.
After putting down our guns we again met at the spring and shook hands. This was Logan, the best specimen of humanity I ever met, either white or red. He could speak a little English, and told me there was another white hunter a little way down the stream, and offered to gnide me to his camp. There I met a Mr. Maclay. We remained together in the valley near a week looking for springs and selecting lands, and laid the foundation of a friendship which has never had an inter- ruption in the slightest degree. We visited Logan at his camp at Logan Springs, and Maclay and Logan shot mark at a dollar a shot. Logan lost fonr or five rounds and acknowledged himself beaten.
"When we were about to leave, he went to his hut and brought out as many deer skins as he had lost dollars, and handed them to Mr. Maclay, who refused to take them, alleging that we had been his gnests and did not come to rob him, that the shooting had been a trial of skill, and the bet merely formal. Logan replied with dignity : ' Me bet to make yon shoot your best-me gentleman, and me take your dollar if me beat.' So he was obliged to take his skins or affront his friend, whose sense of honor would not allow him to receive a horn of powder in return."
Logan left this Valley for the region of the Allegheny, never to return. His whole family were murdered by white savages below Wheeling, on the Ohio River, withont cause or provocation. Many other interesting incidents could be given of this celebrated Chief. He once said : "I appeal to any white man to say that he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave him not meat; if he ever came cold and naked and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war Logan remained idle in his cabin, the advocate of peace. Such was my love for the whites that my country-
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
men pointed at me as they passed, and said : 'Logan is the friend of the white man.' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man, Colonel Cresap, the last Spring, in cold blood, murdered, unprovokedly, the whole family of Logan, not sparing even the women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This calls on me for revenge; I have sought it; I have killed many ; I have fully glntted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice in the beams of peace, but do not harbor a thought that mine is a joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He would not turn his heel to save his life Who is there to mourn for Logan ? Not one."
_1 Lewistown Riot.
On Monday, September 12, 1791, Hon. W. Brown, James Bryson and James Armstrong, Esqs., met in the forenoon to open conrt and proceed with the business thereof, but Thomas Beale, Esq., one of the judges, not having arrived, the others waited until three o'clock when he arrived and was requested to proceed with them and the officers of the court to the court house, but he declined going and the procession then moved on to the court house (this was the for- mality of proceedings of that day) where the judges' commissions were read and the court opened and the officers and the attorneys of the court sworn in, and the court adjourned until ten o'clock the next morning.
About nine o'clock, while preparing the business of the grand jury, the court received information that a large body of men were as- sembled below the Long Narrows of Jordan's tavern, on the Ju- niata, and were armed with guns, swords, pistols, &c., with the avowed intention to proceed to Lewistown, and seize Judge Bryson on the bench and drag him from his seat, march him before them and otherwise ill treat him. When this information was communi- cated to the court, Messrs. Brown, Bryson and Armstrong, the judges, agreed to unite with John Clark, Samuel Edminson, the prothono- tary, Judge Beale, Mr. Stewart, Mr. Bell and George Wilson, sheriff, and proceed to meet the rioters, and the sheriff was to inquire into their object and intention, if hostile, to order them to disperse and to inform them that the court was alarmed at their proceedings.
Two hours after this arrangement the court opened and the grand jury was impaneled. A fife was then heard playing and some guns were fired, and the mob appeared marching towards the court house with three men in front on horse back, having the gen-
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
tlemen that had been sent to meet them under guard in the rear, all of whom on their arrival at Lewistown they permitted to go at large, except the sheriff, whom four of their number kept guard over. The court ordered, as representative of the Commonwealth, John Clark, deputy state attorney, to go out and meet them, and remonstrate against their proceedings and warn them of their danger.
Mr. Clark obeyed the summons of the court, but all endeavors were in vain, the mob crying out " march on, march on ; draw your sword on him ; ride over him," &c. Mr. Clark seized the reins of the bridle of the principal commander, a Mr. Wilson, a brother of the sheriff aforesaid, who was well mounted, with a sword and two pistols in his belt, a cocked hat and two or three feathers in it. He said they would not desist, but at all hazards would take Judge Bryson off the bench and march him down the Narrows to the judge's farm and make him sign a written promise that he would never sit as judge there again. The mob still crying out "march on," he drew his sword and informed Mr. Clark that he must hurt him unless he let go the reins. The crowd pressed on, a party presenting a pistol at the heart of Mr. Clark with a determination to shoot him. He let go the reins and walked before them until they arrived at the foot of the stairs outside of the court house, when Judge Armstrong met Clark and said: "Since nothing else will do let us defend the stairs." They instantly ascended the stairs and Mr. Hamilton and the gentlemen of the bar and many citizens, and the rioters headed by Mr. Wilson, Col. Walker and Col. Holt came forward, and a general cry was, "march on, proceed and take him," with much profanity. Judge Armstrong replicd, "you rascals come on we will defend the court and ourselves, and before you shall take Judge Bryson you shall kill me and others, which seems to be your intention, which you may do." At this moment one had seized Judge Armstrong's arm, with intent to pull him down the stairs and lie extricated himself. Holt's brother then got a drawn sword and put it into his hands and urged him to run the rascal through, and Wilson drew his sword on him with great rage, also giving Beale his sword, and cocked his pistol and presented it. Mr. Clark told them they might kill him, but the judge they should not, nor take him away, and the word fire away was shouted through the mob. Clark put his hand on his shoulder and begged him to'consider who he was, where he was, and to re- flect for a moment. He told him to withdraw his men and appoint
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
two or three of his most respectable people to meet him in half an hour and try and settle any dispute there might exist. To this he agreed, and with difficulty he got his men away from the court house. Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Clark then went to Alexander's tavern and in came Wilson and Walker, also Mr. Sterrett, who was then discovered to be their chief counselor. Proposals were made that they should return home, offer no insult to Judge Bryson, or the court, and forward to the Governor a petition stating their grievances, if they had any, that it might be laid before the Legis- laturc, and that in the meantime the Judge should not sit on the bench of this court. They seemed agreed, and their mutual honor pledged, but Sterrett, who pretended not to be concerned, stated that a good deal of delay would take place, that injuries had been received which demanded instant redress, and objected to the power of the Governor as to certain points proposed.
At this moment yonng Beale and Holt came up, the former with arms, and insisted on Wilson joining them, and broke up the con- ference. Clark followed then, on the field among the rioters, and said to Wilson, "your object then is that Bryson leave the bench." He and Walker then replied "yes." "Will you promise then to dis- perse and go home and offer him no insult?" They replied "yes," and their mutual honor was then pledged for the performance of this agreement.
Mr. Hamilton proceeded to the court, told the judge the agree- ment and he retired. The fife then began to play and the whole of the rioters came on to the court house headed by Wilson.
Clark met them at the foot of the stairs and told them the judge was gone, pursuant to agreement, and charged them with a breach of word and a forfeiture of honor. Walker admitted these facts, but could not prevail on the men to disperse.
Wilson said he would have the judge, and attempted to go up stairs. Clark prevented him, and told him he should not unless he took off his military accoutrements.
He said he had an address to present, and complied with Clark's request and presented it, signed "The People." Young Beale, at the moment Clark was contending with Wilson, presented his pis- tol at Clark's breast and insisted that Wilson and all of them should go, but on Clark offering to decide the combat with him personally he declined it and said they were out-generaled. The next day Colonel McFarland, with his regiment, came down and offered to defend the court. The court replied, stating that the occasion for
24
HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
that was passed, and thanked him for his kind offer. Judge Bry- son then read a paper, stating the ill-treatment he had received, and mentioned that no fear of danger had prevented him from taking and keeping his seat, but that he understood that an engagement had been entered into by his friends that he should not, and on that account only was he prevented. The court adjourned until two o'clock that day, and were proceeding to open with the sheriff, cor- oner and constable in front, when they observed that Judge Beale was at the house of one Con. They delayed further proceedings and requested the sheriff to wait on him and request him to walk with them. He returned and said the judge would not walk or sit with Judge Bryson, and addressed Judge Bryson with warmth, to which Judge Bryson replied in a becoming manner. The sheriff strnck at Beale, when Judge Armstrong seized the sheriff and com- manded the peace and took the sheriff's rod from him; the coroner took his place and the sheriff was brought before the court.
Clark moved that he be committed to jail and his mittimus was written and signed and the court ordered the eoroner and jailor to take him and he submitted and the court adjourned. After night the drum beat and Holt collected about seventy men who huzzaed and eried out "Liberty or Death," and ordered the release of the sheriff, but the sheriff refused. At ten o'clock at night information was received that messengers had been sent down the Narrows to colleet men to rescue the sheriff, and Major Edminson informed the sheriff he was sorry for his eonduet and begged the court's pardon and would enter into a cognizance to keep the peace.
Clark communieated this to Judges Brown and Armstrong, and the jailor was requested to release him, which he did, and the sheriff came into eonrt with Major Edmiuson, begged the pardon of every member of the court but Judge Bryson, who was not present, and entered into a eognizanee to appear at the next session. The next day three hundred men were assembled below the Narrows, Clark prevailed on some men to go down and disperse them, assuring them that the sheriff was out of jail, the conrt had finished business and had returned to their respective homes. Judge Beale had declared during the riot that he would not sit on the bench with Judge Bry- son, and both he and Stewart countenaneed the rioters and were deeply concerned in their success. We will elose this detailed ac- count of this riot with the remark that the firmness and manage- ment of Armstrong, Clark, &e., averted the blow and dispersed the rioters and maintained the law.
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HISTORY OF MIFFLIN COUNTY.
Anecdotes of Logan.
Logan supported his family by killing deers, dressing the skins, and selling them to the whites. He sold quite a parcel to a tailor, who dealt quite extensively in buckskin breeches, receiving his pay therefor in wheat. When this was taken to the mill it was found so worthless that the miller refused to grind it. Failing in this, he ยท took the matter before his friend Brown, then a magistrate, who heard his case, and awarded a decision in favor of Logan. A writ was given to Logan to hand to a constable, with the assurance that it would bring the money for the skins. But the untutored Indian could not see by what magic this little paper could force the tailor against his will to pay his debts. The magistrate took down his own commission with the arms of the king upon it, and explained to him the principles and operations of civil law. Logan listened attentively and exclaimed, " Law good, make rogues pay."
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