History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men, Part 6

Author: Hain, Harry Harrison, 1873- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Harrisburg, Pa., Hain-Moore company
Number of Pages: 1102


USA > Pennsylvania > Perry County > History of Perry County, Pennsylvania, including descriptions of Indians and pioneer life from the time of earliest settlement, sketches of its noted men and women and many professional men > Part 6


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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All that night, the deponents further say, they had great reason to sus- pect that the Indians were then thereabouts, and intended to do them some damage; for a dog these deponents had with them, barked that night, which was remarkable, for the said dog had not barked all the time they were out, till that night, nor ever since, which occasioned these de- ponents to stand upon their guard behind trees, with their guns cocked that night. Next morning these deponents went back to the corpses which they found to be barbarously and inhumanly murdered, by very gashed, deep cuts on their heads with a tomahawk or such like weapon, which had sunk into their skulls and brains; and in one of the corpses there ap- peared a hole in his skull near the cut, which was supposed to be made


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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


with a tomahawk, which hole these deponents do believe to be a bullet hole. And these deponents, after taking a particular view of the corpses, as their melancholy condition would admit, they buried them as decently as their circumstances would allow, and returned home to Paxton, the Allegheny road to John Harris'; thinking it dangerous to return the same way they went out. And further these deponents say not.


These same deponents being legally qualified, before me, James Arm- strong, one of his majesty's justices of the peace for the county of Lan- caster, have hereunto set their hands in testimony thereof.


JAMES ARMSTRONG.


Alexander Armstrong, Thomas McKee, Francis Ellis, John Florster, William Baskins, James Berry, John Watt, James Armstrong, David Denny.


The reader will note that the circumstances stated and those following relate to what was probably the first Indian massacre in the vicinity, that our country was yet in "His Majesty's" domain, and that the nearest county seat was then Lancaster. The mas- sacre was so shocking to the pioneers that a Provincial Council was assembled, the result of which was that the provincial inter- preter and Indian agent, Conrad Weiser, was dispatched in the name of the governor to Shamokin, to make demands for several others concerned in the murder.


As this document, the proceedings of the council, has been pre- served for posterity, it is reproduced here, spelling, language, etc., just as recorded, probably being the first case for that territory where an Indian Council became necessary to the settlement of a matter which was vital between the Indians and the provincial government.


At a council, April 25. 1744 .- "The governor, George Thomas, laid be- fore the Board a letter dated April 22, 1744, from Mr. Cookson, at Lan- caster, purporting that John Armstrong, an Indian trader, with his two servants, Woodward Arnold and James Smith, had been murdered at Juniata by three Delaware Indians, and that John Musemeelin and John- son of Neshalleeny, two of the Indians concerned in the murder had been seized by the order of Shikellamy, and the other Indian chiefs at Sha- mokin, and sent under a guard of Indians to be delivered up to justice ; that one was actually delivered up in jail at Lancaster; but the other had made his escape from the persons to whose care he was committed.


"His honor then sent to the chief justice to consult him about the steps proper to be taken to bring the Indian to his trial, but as he was absent at a Court of Oyer and Terminer in Bucks County, it was the opinion of the Board that the Indian, Musemeelin, should be immediately removed to Philadelphia jail, and that Conrad Weiser should be immediately dis- patched to the chiefs of the Delaware Indians at Shamokin to make a peremptory demand in his honor's name of the other murderers concerned, and that Shikellamy and the other Indians there do order immediate search to be made for the goods of which the deceased was robbed, in order to their being put into the hands of his brother for the satisfaction of his creditors, or the support of his family. And at the same time to inform them that the chiefs of the Indians which shall meet at Lancaster on the treaty with our neighboring governments, will be desired to depute some


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of their number to be present at the trial and at the execution of such as shall be found guilty.


"Conrad Weiser was accordingly sent to Shamokin. He writes in his journal, Shamokin, May 2d, 1744: This day I delivered the governor's message to Allumoppies, the Delaware chief, and the rest of the Dela- ware Indians in the presence of Shikellamy and a few more of the Six Nations. The purport of which was that I was sent express by the gover- nor and council to demand those that had been concerned with Musemeelin in murdering John Armstrong, Woodward Arnold and James Smith; that their bodies might be searched for, and decently buried; that the goods be likewise found and restored without fraud. It was delivered them by me in the Mohawk language, and interpreted into Delaware by Andrew, Madame Montour's son.


"In the afternoon Allumoppies, in the presence of the aforesaid Indians, made the following answers :


"Brother, the Governor: It is true that we, the Delaware Indians, by the. investigation of the evil spirit, have murdered James Armstrong and his men; we have transgressed and we are ashamed to look up. We have taken the murderer and delivered him to the relations of the de- ceased, to be dealt with according to his works.


"Brother, the Governor: Your demand for the guard is very just; we have gathered some of them; we will do the utmost of what we can to find them all. We do not doubt but that we can find out the most part, and whatever is wanting, we will make up with skins, which is what the guard are sent for to the woods.


"Brother, the Governor: The dead bodis are buried. It is certain that John Armstrong was buried by the murderer, and the other two by those that searched for them. Our hearts are in mourning, and we are in a dismal condition, and cannot say anything at present.


"Then Shikellamy with the rest of the Indians of the Six Nations there present said :


"Brother, the Governor: We have been all misinformed on both sides about the unhappy accident. Musemeelin has certainly murdered the three white men himself, and upon his bare accusation of Neshaleeny's son, which was nothing but spite, the said Neshaleeny's son was seized, and made a prisoner. Our cousins, the Delaware Indians, being then drunk, in particular Allumoppies, never examined things, but made an innocent person prisoner, which gave a great deal of disturbance amongst us. However the two prisoners were sent, and by the way in going down the river they stopped at the house of James Berry; James told the young man, 'I am sorry to see you in such a condition, I have known you from a boy, and always loved you.' Then the young man seemed to be very much struck to the heart, and said, 'I have said nothing yet, but I will tell all, let all the Indians come up, and the white people also, they shall hear it.' And then told Musemeelin in the presence of all the peo- ple: 'Now I am going to die for your wickedness; you have killed all the three white men. I never did intend to kill any of them.' Then Musemeelin in anger said: 'It is true, I have killed them; I am a man, you are a coward; it is a great satisfaction to me to have killed them ; I will die with joy for having killed a great rogue and his companions.' Upon which the young man was set at liberty by the Indians.


"We desire therefore our brother, the governor, will not insist to have either of the two young men in prison or condemned to dic; it is not with Indians as with white people, to put people in prison on suspicion or trifles. Indians must first be found guilty of a crime, then judgment is given and immediately executed. We will give you faithfully all the


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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


particulars ; and at the ensuing treaty entirely satisfy you; in the mean- time we desire that good friendship and harmony continue; and that we may live long together, is the hearty desire of your brethren, the Indians of the United Six Nations present at Shamokin.


"The following is what Shikellamy declared to be the truth of the story concerning the murder of John Armstrong, Woodward Arnold and James Smith from the beginning to the end, to wit:


"That Musemeelin owing some skins to John Armstrong, the said Arm- strong seized a horse of the said Musemeelin and a rifle gun; the gun was taken by James Smith, deceased. Some time last winter Musemeelin met Armstrong on the river Juniata, and paid all but twenty shillings, for which he offered a neck-belt in pawn to Armstrong and demanded his horse, and James Armstrong refused it, and would not deliver up the horse, but enlarged the debt, as his usual custom was, and after some quarrel the Indian went away in great anger without his horse to his hunting cabin. Some time after this, Armstrong, with his two companions on their way to Ohio, passed by the said Musemeelin's hunting cabin, his wife, only being at home, demanded the horse of Armstrong, because he was her proper goods, but didn't get him. Armstrong had by this time sold or lent the horse to James Berry; after Musemeelin came from hunting, his wife told him that Armstrong was gone by, and that she demanded the horse of him, but did not get him-and as is thought pressed him to pursue and take revenge of Armstrong. The third day in the morning after James Armstrong was gone by, Musemeelin said to the two young men that hunted with him, come let us go toward the Great Hills to hunt bears; accordingly they went all three in company; after they had gone a good way Musemeelin, who was foremost, was told by the two young men that they were out of their course. Come you along, said Musemeelin, and they accordingly followed him till they came to the path that leads to the Ohio. Then Musemeelin told them he had a good mind to go and fetch his horse back from Armstrong, and desired the two young men to come along; accordingly they went. It was then al- most night and they traveled till next morning. Musemeelin said, now they are not far off. We will make ourselves black, then they will be frightened and will deliver up the horse immediately, and I will tell Jack that if he does not give me the horse I will kill him, and when he said so he laughed. The young men thought he joked, as he used to do. They did not blacken themselves, but he did. When the sun was above the trees, or about an hour high, they all came to the fire, where they found James Smith sitting, and they also sat down. Musemeelin asked where Jack was; Smith told him that he was gone to clear the road a little. Muse- meelin said he wanted to speak to him, and went that way, and after he had gone a little distance from the fire, he said something, and looked back laughing, but he having a thick throat, and his speech being very bad, and their talking with Smith, hindered them from understanding what he said; they did not mind it. They being hungry, Smith told them to kill some turtles, of which they were plenty, and we would make some bread, and by and by, they would all eat together. While they were talking, they heard a gun go off not far off, at which time Woodward Arnold was killed, as they learned afterwards. Soon after Musemeelin came back and said, why did you not kill that white man according as I bid you? At this they were surprised, and one of the young men com- monly called Jimmy, run away to the riverside. Musemeelin said to the other, how will you do to kill Catabaws, if you cannot kill white men? You cowards, I'll show you how you must do; and then taking up the English axe that lay there, he struck it three times into Smith's head, be-


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EARLIEST RECORDS OF INDIAN INHABITANTS


fore he died. Smith never stirred. Then he told the young Indian to call the other; but he was so terrified he could not call. Musemeelin then went and fetched him and said to him that two of the white men were killed, he must now go and kill the third; then each of them would have killed one. But neither of them dare venture to talk anything about it. Then he pressed them to go along with him-he went foremost; then one of the young men told the other as they went along, my friend, don't you kill any of the white people, let him do what he will; I have not killed Smith, he has done it himself, we have no need to do such a bar- barous thing. Musemeelin being then a good way before them in a hurry, they soon saw John Armstrong sitting upon an old log. Musemeelin spoke to him and said, where is my horse? Armstrong made answer and said, he will come by and by, you shall have him. I want him now, said Musemeelin. Armstrong answered, you shall have him. Come let us go to that fire -- which was at some distance from the place where Armstrong sat-and let us talk and smoke together. Go along then, said Muse- meelin. I am coming, said Armstrong, do you go before; Musemeelin, do you go foremost. Armstrong looked then like a dead man, and went toward the fire and was immediately shot in his back by Musemeelin and fell. Musemeelin then took his hatchet and struck it into Armstrong's head, and said, give me my horse, I tell you. By this time one of the young men had fled again that had gone away before, but he returned in . a short time. Musemeelin then told the young men, they must not offer to discover or tell a word about what had been done for their lives, but they must help to bury Jack, and the other two were to be thrown into the river. After that was done Musemeelin ordered them to load the horses and follow towards the hill, where they intended to hide the goods; accordingly they did and as they were going, Musemeelin told them that as there were a great many Indians hunting about that place, if they should happen to meet with any, they must be killed to prevent betraying them. As they went along, Musemeelin going before, the two young men agreed to run away as soon as they could meet with any Indians, and not to hurt anybody. They came to the desired place, the horses were unloaded, and Musemeelin opened the bundles and offered the two young men each a parcel of goods. They told him that they had already sold their skins, and everybody knew they had nothing, they would cer- tainly be charged with a black action, were they to bring any goods to the town, and therefore they would not accept of any; but promised never- theless not to betray him. Now, says Musemeelin, I know what you were talking about when you stayed so far behind.


"The two young men being in great danger of losing their lives-of which they had been much afraid all that day-accepted of what he of- fered to them, and the rest of the goods they put in a heap and covered them from the rain, and then went to their hunting cabin. Musemeelin unexpectedly finding two or three more Indians there, laid down his goods, and said he had killed Jack Armstrong and taken pay for his horse, and should any of them discover it, that person he would likewise kill; but otherwise they might all take a part of the goods. The young man, called Jimmy, went away to Shamokin, after Musemeelin was gone to bury the goods with three more Indians, with whom he had prevailed; one of them was Neshaleeny's son, whom he had ordered to kill James Smith, but these Indians would not have any of the goods. Some time after the young Indian had been in Shamokin, it was whispered about that some of the Delaware Indians had killed Armstrong and his men. A drunken Indian came to one of the Tudolous houses at night and told the man of the house that he could tell him a piece of bad news. What


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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


is that? said the other. The drunken man said, some of our Deleware Indians have killed Armstrong and his men, which, if our chiefs should not resent, and take them up, I will kill them myself to prevent a dis- turbance between us and the white people, our brother. Next morning Shikellamy and some other Indians of the Delawares were called to assist Allomoppies in council.


"When Shikellamy and Allumoppies got one of the Tudolous Indians to write a letter to me to desire me to come to Shamokin in all haste; that the Indians were inuch dissatisfied in mind. This letter was brought to iny house by four Delaware Indians sent express; but I was then in Philadelphia, and when I came home and found all particulars mentioned in this letter, and that none of the Indians of the Six Nations had been down, I did not care to meddle with Delaware Indian affairs, and staid at home till I received the governor's orders to go, which was about two weeks after. Allumoppies was advised by his council to employ a con- jurer, as they call it to find out the murderer; accordingly he did and the Indians met ; the seer being busy all night, told them in the morning to examine such and such an one, they were present when Armstrong was killed, naming the two young men; Musemeelin was present. Accordingly Allumoppies, Quietheyyquent and Thomas Green, an Indian, went to him that had fled first and examined him; he told the whole story very freely ; then they went to the other, but he would not say a word, but went away and left them. The three Indians returned to Shikellamy and informed of what discovery they had made. When it was agreed to secure the murderers, and deliver them up to the white people, a great noise arose among the Delaware Indians, and some were afraid of their lives and went into the woods; not one cared to meddle with Musemeelin, and the other that could not be prevailed on to discover anything, because of the resentment of their families; but they being pressed by Shikellamy's son to secure the murderers, otherwise they would be cut off from the chain of friendship; four or five of the Delawares made Musemeelin and the other young man prisoners and tied them both. They lay twenty- four hours and none would venture to conduct them down; because of the great division among the Delaware Indians, and Allumoppies in danger of being killed, fled to Shikellamy and begged for protection. At last Shikellamy's son Jack went to the Delawares, most of them being drunk, as they had been for several days, and told them to deliver the prisoners to Alexander Armstrong, and they were afraid to do it; they might sepa- rate their heads from their bodies, and lay them in the canoe, and carry them to Alexander to roast and eat them, that would satisfy his revenge, as he wants to eat Indians. They prevailed with the said Jack to assist them, and accordingly he and his brother and some of the Delawares went with two canoes and carried them off."


No available records remain to show the final disposition of Musemeelin.


According to a record left by John Harris, of Harris' Ferry (now Harrisburg), Jack's Narrows, near Mapleton on the Juniata, came to be named this way. Harris referred to them thus: "Jack Armstrong's narrows, so called from his being there murdered." Other writers claim they were called after Captain Jack, a reso- lute Indian hater, described elsewhere in this book. While either may be the truth, yet the fact that the murder happened at this point inclines one to believe that the mountain was named after the trader, Armstrong, who was murdered there.


CHAPTER III. INTRUDING SETTLERS EVICTED.


T HE lands now comprising Perry County probably caused the provincial government a greater amount of anxiety dur- ing a number of years than any other in Pennsylvania. In a treaty made with the Indians for certain lands west of the Sus- quehanna River no lands north of the Kittatinny or Blue Moun- tains were included, yet notwithstanding this fact pioneers, im- patient over the delays of the land office, began entering the val- leys between the Kittatinny and Tuscarora ranges, as well as north of the latter, erected cabins and started to clear the lands, without the sanction of the provincial authorities, as the following pages show.


A large delegation of Iroquois journeyed to Philadelphia in July, 1742, to receive the second and last payment for the lands which were sold to the proprietary in 1736. Canassatego, a chief, made a speech in which he refers to the Juniata lands, which in- clude the soil of Perry County and which was a matter of con- tention for years, finally leading to the burning of the cabins of "squatters," as portrayed further on in this chapter. He said :


"We know our lands are now become more valuable; the white people think we do not know their value, but we are sensible that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon worn out and gone. For the future we will sell no lands, but when our brother Onas (William Penn) is in the country, and we will know before hand the quantity of goods we are to receive. Besides, we are not well used with respect to the lands still unsold by us. Your people daily settle on these lands and spoil our hunting. We must insist on your removing them, as you know they have no right to the northward of Kittochtinny Hills. In particular, we renew our complaints against some people who are settled at Juniata, a branch of the Susquehanna, and all along the banks of that river, as far as Mahaniay, and desire that they may be made forthwith to go off the land, for they do great damage to our cousins, the Delawares."


This was not their first protest, as the governor's reply would indicate. He replied that "on your former complaints against peo- ple settling the land on Juniata, and from thence all along the river Susquehanna as far as Mahaniay, some magistrates were sent ex- pressly to remove them, and we thought no person would stay after that." To which the Indians rejoined, "These persons who were sent did not do their duty ; so far from removing the people, they made surveys for themselves and they are in league with the trespassers. We desire more effectual methods to be used, and honester persons employed."


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HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA


The governor promised them this would be done and after let- ting the period between July 7 and October 5 elapse he issued a proclamation from the contents of which one would infer that the sections most in contention were at the mouth of the Juniata and probably as far as the Juniata County line and in Fulton County and up the Susquehanna as far as Wyoming.


These lands were among the choicest of the Indians, who made their living by hunting and fishing, being especially noted as a great hunting ground for deer, probably excelling all others, as the fol- lowing extract from a letter by Conrad Weiser, the interpreter, dated April 22, 1749, will show : He was on his way to Shamokin with a messenger from the provincial government to the Indians and met the sons of Shikellamy, at the trading house of Thomas McKee, and delivered to them the message, as he had been in- formed that all the Indians were absent from Shamokin. In the letter referred to, addressd to Richard Peters, secretary of the province, having just returned from this trip, he writes:


"The Indians are very uneasy about the white people settling beyond the Endless Mountains, on Joniady (Juniata), on Sherman's Creek and elsewhere. They tell me that about thirty families are settled upon the Indian lands this spring, and daily more go to settle thereon. Some have settled almost to the head of Joniady River along the path that leads to Ohio. The Indians say (and that with truth) that that country is their only hunting ground for deer, because farther to the north, there was nothing but spruce woods and the ground covered with calmnia (laurel) bushes, not a single deer could be found or killed there. They asked very seriously whether their brother Onas (William Penn ) had given the people leave to settle there. I informed them of the contrary, and told them that I believed some of the Indians from Ohio, that were down last sum- mer, had given liberty (with what right I could not tell) to settle. I told them of what passed on the Tuscarora Path last summer, when the sheriff and three magistrates were sent to turn off the people there settled; and that I then perceived that the people were favored by some of the In- dians above mentioned; by which means the orders of the governor came to no effect. So far they were content and said the thing must be as it is, till the Six Nation chiefs would be down and converse with the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania about the affair."


The Six Nations having consulted in council on the subject sent a delegation to Philadelphia with remonstrances, but the Senecas had already been there and had been dismissed with £100 and little satisfaction. The Six Nations were given £50. Return- ing disgusted they killed the cattle and ruined the orchards along the way.


In May, 1750, a conference was held at George Croghan's, in Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, between the whites and the Indians, to give the Indians the assurance that those who had intruded on their lands on the Juniata should be removed with- out further delay. Present at the meeting were Richard Peters, secretary of the province; Conrad Weiser, James Galbreath,




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